About the Conservation Commission
Open letter received from the ConCom, addressed to Norfolknet readers, in response to the discussion relating to town growth and management.
10/3/2000Let me introduce myself, I am Andy Bakinowski, Member of the Conservation Commission. I have prepared this summary to provide readers of Norfolknet.com as to what the Conservation Commission does. The Conservation Commission is made of a seven member board that is all volunteer. The professional experience of the members is varied - a hydrogeologist/consultant, a sales rep, a freelance journalist, financial planner, a research microbiologist, public health consultant and environmental consultant.
An earlier poster said that the Commission deals only with wetlands, well that's only part of it. The Conservation Commission is the local regulatory body which has jurisdiction over "resource areas" (which includes wetlands, the buffer zone, riverfront areas and vernal pools to name a few) protected under the State of Massachusetts regulations, Chapter 131 of the Massachusetts General laws and the local wetlands regulations of the Town of Norfolk. There are cases where the jurisdiction does extend to the interest of the Federal Clean Water Act.
The focus of the Chapter 131 or the Wetlands Protection Act has eight primary interests where the Commission has ability to regulate activity where proposed work could adversely impact the resource(s) of interest as they relate to public and private water supply, groundwater, flood control (and flood plains), storm damage prevention, prevention of pollution, protection of land containing shellfish, protection of fisheries and protection of wildlife habitat. At the local level, the Commission also addresses projects where development is being performed in the buffer zone, the area which extends 100 feet out from a resource area, with the exception of a riverfront area which extends out 200 feet from the bank of a river.
The Conservation Commission does not issue variances. The Commission issues a legal document, called an Order of Conditions that must be recorded against the property at the county registry of deeds. The Order of Conditions establishes the work parameters under which the project may be completed. For example a simple condition would be defining procedures and placement of haybales to prevent erosion, more complex conditions would be related to street runoff and review the necessary technology to remove oil, sediment, and other chemicals in street runoff that would otherwise negatively impact a wetland, stream, pond or river. There are legal implications to the Order of Conditions. Failure to complete the work as required will prevent a Certificate of Completion (or a release so to speak) from being signed off by the Commission.
The Commission approves a project based upon information presented in a public hearing where the burden of proof is on the applicant to demonstrate through sound engineering and best management practices that the proposed work will not adversely impact the resource area(s). In some cases this review may take several hearings due to incomplete information or the fact that specific requirements of the local, state or federal regulations have not been addressed. Having personally made presentations in front of other Conservation Commissions in other parts of the New England, other Commissions open and close a public hearing in one night. This results in a high rate of project denials. The Norfolk Conservation Commission is unique in that we work with the applicant to come to an agreeable solution that protects the interests of what the Commission is charged with and the applicant can complete his work. This may take several public hearings. There are the few occasions were denials have been issued but compared to the number of approved projects, the denial rate is less than 1 percent. As for numerous public hearings that one poster had commented on - that project was in fact approved, and the groundwork was laid so future filings by the applicant will go through more smoothly.
If you would like to find out more about the Conservation Commission our next public hearing is Thursday October 12, 2000 at 7:30 pm. Our meeting after that is October 26, 2000. Hope to see you there.