310 CMR, § 10.04
Abutter means the same as owner of land abutting the activity.
Act means the Wetlands Protection Act, M.G.L. c. 131, § 40.
Activity means any form of draining, dumping, dredging, damming, discharging, excavating, filling or grading; the erection, reconstruction or expansion of any buildings or structures; the driving of pilings; the construction or improvement of roads and other ways; the changing of run-off characteristics; the intercepting or diverging of ground or surface water; the installation of drainage, sewage and water systems; the discharging of pollutants; the destruction of plant life; and any other changing of the physical characteristics of land.
Aggrieved means the same as person aggrieved.
Agriculture. For the purposes of 310 CMR 10.04 the following words and phrases have the following meanings:
(a) Land in Agricultural Use means land within resource areas or the Buffer Zone presently and primarily used in producing or raising one or more of the following agricultural commodities for commercial purposes:
1. animals, including but not limited to livestock, poultry, and bees;
2. fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, maple sap, and other foods for human consumption;
3. feed, seed, forage, tobacco, flowers, sod, nursery or greenhouse products, and ornamental plants or shrubs; and
4. forest products on land maintained in forest use, including but not limited to biomass, sawlogs, and cordwood, but not including the agricultural commodities described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (a)1. through 3.
Additionally, land in agricultural use means land within resource areas or the Buffer Zone presently and primarily used in a manner related to, and customarily and necessarily used in, producing or raising such commodities, including but not limited to: existing access roads and livestock crossings; windbreaks; hedgerows; field edges; bee yards; sand pits; landings for forest products; fence lines; water management projects such as reservoirs, farm ponds, irrigation systems, field ditches, cross ditches, canals/channels, grass waterways, dikes, sub-surface drainage systems, watering facilities, water transport systems, and water storage systems; agricultural composting sites; agricultural storage and work areas; and land under farm structures.
Land in agricultural use may lie inactive for up to five consecutive years unless it is under a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) contract for a longer term pursuant to the Conservation Reserves Program (the Food Securities Act of 1985, as amended by the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990; and 7 CFR 1410) , or it is used for the forestry purposes described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (b)14. through 17. The issuing authority may require appropriate documentation, such as a USDA Farm Plan or aerial photography, to demonstrate agricultural use.
(b) Normal Maintenance of Land in Agricultural Use, which in all cases does not include placing substantial amounts of fill in Bordering Land Subject to Flooding or filling or dredging a Salt Marsh, means the following activities, without enlargement as to geographical extent, that are occurring on land in agricultural use, when directly related to production or raising of the agricultural commodities referenced in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (a), when undertaken in such a manner as to prevent erosion and siltation of adjacent water bodies and wetlands, and when conducted in accordance with federal and state laws:
1. all crop management practices, not to include drainage in a Bordering Vegetated Wetland, customarily employed to enhance existing growing conditions, including but not limited to: tillage, trellising, pruning, mulching, shading, and irrigating; and all customary harvesting practices such as digging, picking, combining, threshing, windrowing, baling, curing, and drying;
2. the use of fertilizers, manures, compost materials, and other soil amendments; pesticides and herbicides; traps; and other such materials;
3. the repair or replacement of existing access roads and livestock crossings;
4. the maintenance of:
a. existing forest boundary lines up to five feet wide limited to cutting vegetation within the existing boundary lines;
b. windbreaks;
c. hedgerows; and d. fire breaks on land maintained in forest use and owned by the Metropolitan District Commission, the Department of Environmental Management, or the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Environmental Law Enforcement;
5. the management of existing field edges, limited to within 100 feet from the land in production, including the following practices:
a. mowing;
b. burning;
c. brush cutting; and d. removing trees.
The management of any field edge that falls within a Bordering Vegetated Wetland is not intended to allow the conversion of Bordering Vegetated Wetland into cropland. Therefore, the field management practices described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (b)(5)a. through d. may occur in a Bordering Vegetated Wetland provided that:
i. the cutting or removal of trees and understory vegetation shall not occur within 25 feet of the bank of a water body that is not managed within the land in production (field ditches, cross ditches, grass waterways, irrigation systems, and farm ponds are examples of managed water bodies) unless the trees or understory vegetation are removed to control alternative hosts but no more than 50% of the canopy may be removed, or except to maintain existing dikes;
ii. slash, branches, and limbs resulting from the cutting and removal operations shall not be placed within 25 feet of the bank of a water body that is not managed within the land in production; and iii. no tilling, filling, excavation, or other change in the existing topography shall occur within the field edge;
6. the maintenance and repair of existing fences and the management of temporary fence lines;
7. the cleaning, clearing, grading, repairing, dredging, or restoring of existing man-made or natural water management systems such as reservoirs, farm ponds, irrigation systems,
field ditches, cross ditches, canals/channels, grass waterways, dikes, sub-surface drainage systems, watering facilities, water transport systems, vents, and water storage systems, all in order to provide drainage, prevent erosion, provide more effective use of water, or provide for efficient use of equipment, and all for the purpose of maintaining favorable conditions for ongoing growing or raising of agricultural commodities;
8. the maintenance and repair of ongoing agricultural composting sites, storage areas, and work areas and the storage of fertilizers, pesticides, manures, compost materials, and other soil amendments, provided that such storage occurs only in the Buffer Zone or Bordering Land Subject to Flooding;
9. the repair and maintenance of existing farm structures;
10. the seeding of eroded or disturbed areas;
11. maintaining the flow of existing natural waterways;
12. the keeping of livestock and poultry and the management of beehives;
13. the cultivation of cranberries, including the following practices:
a. the activities described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (b)1. through 11.;
b. the application of sand to existing bogs and the excavation of sand from sand pits; c. the repair and reconstruction of water control structures including flumes, pumps, dikes, and piping above and below the ground;
d. the regrading, including modification of drainage, and replanting of existing cranberry bogs;
e. the repair and replacement of dikes;
f. water harvesting activities; and g. flooding and flood release;
14. the cutting and removal of trees for the purpose of selling the trees or any products derived therefrom, when carried out in accordance with a Forest Cutting Plan approved by the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46, and subject to the following:
a. the cutting and removal of trees within Bordering Vegetated Wetland shall be limited to no more than 50% of the basal area of the area to be cut and the work shall be conducted when the soil is frozen, dry or otherwise stable to support the equipment used;
b. except for the construction or maintenance of access described in 310 CMR 10.04(b)16., there shall be no filling, excavation, or other change in topography or hydrology of resource areas;
c. all soils that are exposed during or after any work described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (b)14. shall be stabilized to prevent the soils from eroding into Bordering Vegetated Wetlands beyond the work area or into open water bodies, in accordance with the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual;
d. the person claiming the exemption shall submit by certified mail or hand delivery at the same time to the conservation commission and the appropriate DEM Regional Office not less than ten days prior to the commencement of the activity, a copy of the Forest Cutting Plan that describes the proposed cutting and removal of trees and any activity within resource areas or the Buffer Zone. The conservation commission shall have the opportunity to comment to DEM on the plan;
e. landings for forest products shall not be located in Bordering Vegetated Wetland or Bank; and f. any Forest Cutting Plan that is not affirmatively approved by DEM under M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46 but instead is deemed approved due to the expiration of some period of time following the submittal of the plan to DEM for approval shall not be considered "approved" by DEM for the purposes of 310 CMR 10.04.
15. notwithstanding the use of the words "for commercial purposes" in the first sentence of 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (a), the cutting of trees within resource areas and the Buffer Zone by owners for their own use, not to exceed 5,000 board feet or ten cords of wood during any 12 month period without an approved Forest Cutting Plan or the cutting of trees within resources areas of greater than 5,000 board feet or ten cords but less than 10,000 board feet or 20 cords of wood during any 12 month period with an approved Forest Cutting Plan, provided that:
a. after the cutting, the remaining trees in the resource area (and the Buffer Zone,
if the activity is being conducted without an approved Forest Cutting Plan) shall be evenly distributed throughout the area where cutting occurred and the crown cover shall not be less than 50%. Crown cover is determined as the percent of the ground's surface that would be covered by a vertical projection of foliage from trees with a diameter at breast height of five inches or greater, where minor gaps between branches are disregarded and areas of overlapping foliage are counted only once;
b. the cutting and removal of trees shall occur only during those periods when the ground is sufficiently frozen, dry, or otherwise stable to support the equipment used;
c. the cutting, removal, or other destruction of trees and understory vegetation without a Forest Cutting Plan shall not occur within 25 feet of the Bank, except for the purpose of providing access for the activities described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (b)15.;
d. the placement of slash, branches, and limbs resulting from the cutting and removal operations shall not occur within 25 feet of Bank;
e. no filling, excavation, or other change shall occur in the existing topography or hydrology of a resource area;
f. landings for forest products shall not be located in Bordering Vegetated Wetland or Bank; and g. any Forest Cutting Plan that is not affirmatively approved by DEM under M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46, but instead is deemed approved due to the expiration of some period of time following the submittal of the plan to DEM for approval shall not be considered "approved" by DEM for the purposes of 310 CMR 10.04.
16. the construction of new temporary access or the maintenance of existing legally constructed access for forestry activities described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (b)14. or 15. provided that:
a. every practicable effort shall be made to avoid access, including stream crossings, and the construction of landings through and in resource areas;
b. where access, including stream crossings, through resource areas cannot be avoided, every practicable effort shall be made to minimize impacts resulting from construction of new access including, but not limited to, maintaining and improving (but not enlarging) existing access. Activities shall be conducted when the soil is frozen, dry, or otherwise stable to support the equipment used;
c. where DEM has determined through its review and approval of the Forest Cutting Plan that access is impracticable without constructing new access or stream crossings:
i. access shall be designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual;
ii. stream crossings shall be stabilized to prevent erosion using methods described in the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual. When crossings involve fill, culverts or other structures that will obstruct flow, they shall be designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual to allow the unobstructed passage of existing flows for at least the 25 year storm;
iii. access or stream crossings shall be removed within one year of completion of the work described in the approved Forest Cutting Plan;
iv. following removal of access, the topography and site conditions shall be substantially restored to allow pre-existing vegetation to be reestablished; and v. activities shall be conducted when the soil is frozen, dry, or otherwise stable to support the equipment used.
17. non-harvest management practices for forest products on land maintained in forest use limited to pruning, pre-commercial thinning or planting of tree seedlings.
(c) Normal Improvement of Land in Agricultural Use, which in all cases does not include filling or dredging a Salt Marsh, includes but is not limited to:
1. the following activities when they occur on land in agricultural use or when they occur within the Buffer Zone or Bordering Land Subject to Flooding that is not land in agricultural use, when they are directly related to production or raising of the agricultural commodities referenced in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (a), and when they are undertaken in such a manner as to prevent erosion and siltation of adjacent water bodies and wetlands and the activity is conducted in accordance with federal and state laws:
a. the installation of permanent fencing, windbreaks, hedgerows, or the cutting of vegetation to create forest boundaries up to five feet wide;
b. the installation of dikes within a cranberry bog;
c. the construction of farm structures, not including habitable dwellings, provided that the footprint of the farm structure does not exceed 4,000 square feet and no filling of Bordering Land Subject to Flooding occurs beyond the footprint of the building;
d. the squaring-off of fields and bogs, provided that the activity does not alter a Bordering Vegetated Wetland, there is no increase in the amount of land in production beyond the minimum increase necessarily resulting from making the boundary of any field or bog more regular, and no fill is placed within Bordering Land Subject to Flooding;
e. the construction of by-pass canals/channels and tail water recovery systems;
f. a change in commodity other than from maple sap production or forest products to any other commodity, provided that there is no filling of Bordering Vegetated Wetland and drainage ditches or the subsurface drainage system are not increased or enlarged;
g. the construction of a water management system such as a reservoir, farm pond, irrigation system, field ditch, cross ditch, canal/channel, grass waterway, dike, sub-surface drainage system, watering facility, water transport system, vent, or water storage system, or of a livestock access; and h. the construction of composting and storage areas.
For the activities described in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (c)(1)d. through h. there shall be no net loss of flood storage capacity; and
2. the reconstruction of existing dikes, the reconstruction and expansion of existing ponds and reservoirs, and the construction of tailwater recovery ponds and by-pass canals/channels occurring partly or entirely within a Bordering Vegetated Wetland, when directly related to production or raising of the agricultural commodities referenced in 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (a), in accordance with the following:
a. Prior to performing the work, the person claiming the exemption shall submit to the conservation commission for its review at a public meeting that portion of a certified farm Conservation Plan (CP) which relates to the work to be conducted in a Bordering Vegetated Wetland. The CP must be prepared in cooperation with the U.S.D.A. Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department and NRCS concerning CPs;
b. The conservation commission may, within 21 days of receiving the CP, provide the person claiming the exemption with written notification containing specific comments detailing the manner in which the CP has not been prepared in compliance with the terms of the MOU;
c. The person claiming the exemption shall provide SCS with a complete copy of the notification;
d. All revisions to the CP that relate to the delineation of Bordering Vegetated Wetlands shall be submitted to the conservation commission in accordance with 310 CMR 10.04: Agriculture (c)2.;
e. All work shall be done in accordance with the CP; and f. The maximum amount of Bordering Vegetated Wetland which may be altered by the above activities is:
i. 5,000 square feet for reconstruction of an existing dike;
ii. 10,000 square feet for expansion of an existing pond or reservoir;
iii. 10,000 square feet for construction of a tailwater recovery pond; and iv. 5,000 square feet for construction of a by-pass canal/channel.
Alter means to change the condition of any Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. Examples of alterations include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) the changing of pre-existing drainage characteristics, flushing characteristics, salinity distribution, sedimentation patterns, flow patterns and flood retention areas;
(b) the lowering of the water level or water table;
(c) the destruction of vegetation;
(d) the changing of water temperature, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and other physical, biological or chemical characteristics of the receiving water.
Provided, that when the provisions of 310 CMR 10.03(6) and 10.05(3) or 333 CMR 11.03(9) have been met, the application of herbicides in the Buffer Zone in accordance with such plans as are required by the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to 333 CMR 11.00: Right of Way Management, effective July 10, 1987, is not an alteration of any Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40.
Applicant means any person who files a Notice of Intent, or on whose behalf such a notice is filed.
Aquaculture.
(a) Land in Aquacultural Use means land presently and primarily used in the growing of aquatic organisms under controlled conditions, including one or more of the following uses: raising, breeding or producing a specified type of animal or vegetable life including, but not limited to, municipal shellfish propagation, finfish such as carp, catfish, black bass, flatfishes, herring, salmon, shad, smelt, sturgeon, striped bass, sunfishes, trout, whitefish, eel, tilapia; shellfish such as shrimp, crabs, lobster, crayfish, oysters, clams, periwinkles, scallops, mussels, squid; amphibians such as frogs; reptiles such as turtles; seaweeds such as irish moss and dulse; and edible freshwater plants.
(b) Normal Maintenance or Improvement of land in aquacultural use means the following activities, when done in connection with the production of aquatic organisms as defined above: draining, flooding, heating, cooling, removing, filling, grading, compacting, raking, tilling, fertilizing, seeding, harvesting, filtering, rafting, culverting or applying chemicals in conformance with all state and federal laws; provided, however, that such activities are clearly intended to improve and maintain land in aquacultural use and that best available measures are utilized to ensure that there will be no adverse effect on wetlands outside the area in aquacultural use, and further provided that removing, filling, dredging or altering of a salt marsh is not to be considered normal maintenance or improvement of land in aquacultural use.
Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 means any area specified in 310 CMR 10.02(1). It is used synonymously with Resource Area, each one of which is defined in greater detail in 310 CMR 10.21 through 10.66.
Bank (Coastal) is defined in 310 CMR 10.30(2).
Bank (Inland) is defined in 310 CMR 10.54(2).
Beach (Barrier) is defined in 310 CMR 10.29(2).
Beach (Coastal) is defined in 310 CMR 10.27(2).
Beach (Inland), a naturally occurring inland beach, means an unvegetated bank as defined in 310 CMR 10.54(2).
Best Available Measures means the most up-to-date technology or the best designs, measures or engineering practices that have been developed and that are commercially available.
Best Practical Measures means technologies, designs, measures or engineering practices that are in general use to protect similar interests.
Bordering means touching. An area listed in 310 CMR 10.02(1)(a) is bordering on a water body listed in 310 CMR 10.02(1)(a) if some portion of the area is touching the water body or if some portion of the area is touching another area listed in 310 CMR 10.02(1)(a) some portion of which is in turn touching the water body.
Bordering Vegetated Wetland is defined in 310 CMR 10.55(2).
Boundary means the boundary of an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. A description of the boundary of each area is found in the appropriate section of 310 CMR 10.00. For coastal areas, see310 CMR 10.21 through 10.37; for inland areas, see310 CMR 10.51 through 10.60.
Breeding Areas mean areas used by wildlife for courtship, mating, nesting or other reproductive activity, and rearing of young.
Buffer Zone means that area of land extending 100 feet horizontally outward from the boundary of any area specified in 310 CMR 10.02(1)(a).
Certificate of Compliance means a written determination by the issuing authority that work or a portion thereof has been completed in accordance with an Order. It shall be made on Form 8.
Coastal Wetlands are defined in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, para. 6.
Cold-water Fishery means waters in which the mean of the maximum daily temperature over a seven day period generally does not exceed 68ºF (20ºC) and, when other ecological factors are favorable (such as habitat) are capable of supporting a year round population of cold-water stenothermal aquatic life such as trout. Waters designated as cold-water fisheries by the Department in 314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards and waters designated as cold-water fishery resources by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife are coldwater fisheries. Waters where there is evidence based on a fish survey that a cold-water fish population and habitat exist are also cold-water fisheries. Cold-water fish include but are not limited to brook trout (Salvelinus fontanilis), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brown trout (Salmo trutta), creek chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus) and fallfish (semotilus corporalis).
Combined Application means an application that may serve as a Notice of Intent pursuant to 310 CMR 10.00, an application for a 401 Water Quality Certification pursuant to 314 CMR 9.00: 401 Water Quality Certification for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material, Dredging, and Dredged Material Disposal in Waters of the United States Within the Commonwealth, and/or an application for a Chapter 91 license, permit or other written approval for a water-dependent use, pursuant to 310 CMR 9.00: Waterways. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Combined Application may not serve as an application for an annual permit for a mooring, float, raft or small structure accessory to a residence in accordance with 310 CMR 9.07: Activities Subject to Annual Permit, an application for a Chapter 91 license for a small structure accessory to a residence in accordance with the simplified process set forth in 310 CMR 9.10: Simplified Procedures for Small Structures Accessory to Residences or the certification submitted as an application for a General License in accordance with 310 CMR 9.29: Permitting of Test Projects.
Combined Permit means a decision issued in response to a Combined Application that serves as two or more of the following: a Superseding Order of Conditions issued pursuant to 310 CMR 10.00; a 401 Water Quality Certification issued pursuant to 314 CMR 9.00: 401 Water Quality Certification for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material, Dredging, and Dredged Material Disposal in Waters of the United States Within the Commonwealth; and/or a Chapter 91 permit, license or other written approval issued pursuant to 310 CMR 9.00: Waterways.
Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to St. 1989, c. 240, § 101.
Conditions means those requirements set forth in a written Order issued by a conservation commission or the Department for the purpose of permitting, regulating or prohibiting any activity that removes, fills, dredges or alters an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. (See also 310 CMR 10.05(6).)
Confined Disposal Facility means a facility created in open water or wetlands consisting of confinement walls or berms built up or extending into existing land and is a "confined disposal facility" as defined in 314 CMR 9.02: Definitions.
Conservation Commission means that body comprised of members lawfully appointed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 40, § 8C. For the purposes of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 and 310 CMR 10.00, it shall also mean a mayor or board of selectmen, where no conservation commission has been established under M.G.L. c. 40, § 8C.
Creek means the same as a stream, as defined in 310 CMR 10.04
Critical Areas mean Outstanding Resource Waters as designated in 314 CMR 4.00, Special Resource Waters as designated in 314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards recharge areas for public water supplies as defined in 310 CMR 22.02: Definitions (Zone Is, Zone IIs, and Interim Wellhead Protection Areas for ground water sources and Zone As for surface water sources), bathing beaches as defined in 105 CMR 445.000: Minimum Standards for Bathing Beaches (State Sanitary Code: Chapter VII), cold-water fisheries and shellfish growing areas.
Dam means for the purposes of 310 CMR 10.11 through 310 CMR 10.14, 310 CMR 10.24(8), and 10.53(4) any artificial barrier placed across a watercourse that raises or has the potential to raise the level of water or which impounds and/or diverts water.
Date of Issuance means the date an Order is mailed, as evidenced by a postmark, or the date it is hand delivered.
Date of Receipt means the date of delivery to an office, home or usual place of business by mail or hand delivery.
Densely Developed Area means a riverfront area that has been designated by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs at the request of a city or town, limited to an area of ten acres or more that is being utilized, or includes existing vacant structures or vacant lots formerly utilized as of January 1, 1944 or sooner, for intensive industrial, commercial, institutional, or residential activities or combinations of such activities, including, but not limited to the following: manufacturing, fabricating, wholesaling, warehousing, or other commercial or industrial activities; retail trade and service activities; medical and educational institutions; residential dwelling structures at a density of three or more per two acres; and mixed or combined patterns of the above. Land which is zoned for intensive use but is not utilized for such use as of January 1, 1997 shall not be designated as a densely developed area. Rivers within the municipalities identified in 310 CMR 10.58(2)(a)3.a. also have 25 foot riverfront areas.
Department means the Department of Environmental Protection, and shall include the Commissioner and any other person employed by said Department, pursuant to St. 1989, c. 240, § 101.
Designated Port is defined in 310 CMR 10.26(2).
Determination.
(a) a Determination of Applicability means a written finding by a conservation commission or the Department as to whether a site or the work proposed thereon is subject to the jurisdiction of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be made on Form 2.
(b) a Determination of Significance means a written finding by a conservation commission, after a public hearing, or by the Department, that the area on which the proposed work is to be done, or which the proposed work will alter, is significant to one or more of the interests identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be made as part of the Order, on Form 5.
(c) a Notification of Non-significance means a written finding by a conservation commission, after a public hearing, or by the Department, that the area on which the proposed work is to be done, or which the proposed work will alter, is not significant to any of the interests of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be made on Form 6.
Direct Case means the evidence that a party seeks to introduce in support of its position, as well as any legal argument the party wishes to provide. The Direct Case may include, but is not limited to, statements under oath by lay witnesses and expert witnesses, technical reports, studies, memoranda, maps, plans, and other information that a party seeks to have the Presiding Officer review as part of the adjudicatory proceeding.
Disposal Site means a structure, well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, or other place or area, excluding ambient air or surface water, where uncontrolled oil or hazardous material has come to be located as a result of any spilling, leaking, pouring, ponding, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, discarding or otherwise disposing of such oil or hazardous material and is a "disposal site" as defined in M.G.L. c. 21E.
Dredge means to deepen, widen or excavate, either temporarily or permanently, land below the mean high tide line in coastal waters and below the high water mark for inland waters. The term dredge shall not include activities in Bordering or isolated vegetated wetlands.
Dune means coastal dune, as defined in 310 CMR 10.28(2).
Ecological Restoration Project means a project whose primary purpose is to restore or otherwise improve the natural capacity of a Resource Area(s) to protect and sustain the interests identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, when such interests have been degraded or destroyed by anthropogenic influences. The term Ecological Restoration Project shall not include projects specifically intended to provide mitigation for the alteration of a Resource Area authorized by a Final Order or Variance issued pursuant to 310 CMR 10.00 or a 401 Water Quality Certification issued pursuant to 314 CMR 9.00: 401 Water Quality Certification for Discharge of Dredged or Fill Material, Dredging, and Dredged Material Disposal in Waters of the United States Within the Commonwealth other than projects implemented pursuant to a US Army Corps of Engineers-approved in-lien fee program.
Ecological Restoration Limited Project means an Ecological Restoration Project that meets the eligibility criteria set forth in 310 CMR 10.24(8) or 10.53(4).
Estimated Habitat Map of State-listed Rare Wetlands Wildlife means the map of the estimated habitats of state-listed rare wetlands wildlife published by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (the Program or NHESP) in accordance with 321 CMR 10.12: Delineation of Priority Habitat of State-listed Species.
Environmentally Sensitive Site Design means design that incorporates low impact development techniques to prevent the generation of stormwater and non-point source pollution by reducing impervious surfaces, disconnecting stormwater sheet flow paths and treating stormwater at its source, maximizing open space, minimizing disturbance, protecting natural features and processes, and/or enhancing wildlife habitat.
Estuary means:
(a) any area where fresh and salt water mix and tidal effects are evident; or
(b) any partially enclosed coastal body of water where the tide meets the current of any stream or river.
Extension Permit means a written extension of time within which the authorized work shall be completed. It shall be made on Form 7.
Fill means to deposit any material so as to raise an elevation, either temporarily or permanently.
Final Order means the Order issued by the Commissioner after an adjudicatory hearing or, if no request for hearing has been filed, the Superseding Order or, if no request for a Superseding Order has been filed, the Order of Conditions.
Flat (Tidal) is defined in 310 CMR 10.27(2)(b).
Flood Control means the prevention or reduction of flooding and flood damage.
Formerly or Presently Owned means owned by the same owner at any time on or after August 1, 1996.
Freshwater Wetlands are defined in M.G.L. c. 131, § 7, para. 7.
General Performance Standards means those requirements established by 310 CMR 10.00 for activities in or affecting each of the Areas Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. They are found in 310 CMR 10.25 through 10.35, 10.37, and 10.54 through 10.60.
Ground Water Supply means water below the earth's surface in the zone of saturation.
Historic Mill Complex means the mill complexes in, but not limited to, Holyoke, Taunton, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Methuen, and Medford in existence prior to 1946 and situated landward of the waterside facade of a retaining wall, building, sluiceway, or other structure existing on August 7, 1996. An historic mill complex also means any historic mill included on the Massachusetts Register of Historic Places. An historic mill complex includes only the footprint of the area that is or was occupied by interrelated buildings (manufacturing buildings, housing, utilities, parking areas, and driveways) constructed before and existing after 1946, used for any type of manufacturing or mechanical processing and including associated structures to provide water for processing, to generate water power, or for water transportation.
Illicit Discharge means a discharge that is not entirely comprised of stormwater. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an illicit discharge does not include discharges from the following activities or facilities: firefighting, water line flushing, landscape irrigation, uncontaminated ground water, potable water sources, foundation drains, air conditioning condensation, footing drains, individual resident car washing, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands, dechlorinated water from swimming pools, water used for street washing and water used to clean residential buildings without detergents.
Important Wildlife Habitat Functions mean important food, shelter, migratory or overwintering areas, or breeding areas for wildlife.
Innovative Technology means technology that has not been commercially deployed or is in limited deployment in Massachusetts, and includes, but is not limited to, energy technology that obtains energy from the ocean, waterway, or conditions associated with the ocean or waterway, or other forms of renewable energy technology.
Interests Identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 means public or private water supply, ground water supply, flood control, storm damage prevention, prevention of pollution, protection of land containing shellfish, protection of fisheries, and protection of wildlife habitat.
Issuing Authority means a conservation commission, mayor, the selectmen or the Department, whichever is applicable.
Lake means any open body of fresh water with a surface area of ten acres or more, and shall include great ponds.
Land Containing Shellfish is defined in 310 CMR 10.34(2).
Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage means land subject to any inundation caused by coastal storms up to and including that caused by the 100-year storm, surge of record or storm of record, whichever is greater.
Land Subject to Flooding is defined in 310 CMR 10.57(2).
Land Subject to Tidal Action means land subject to the periodic rise and fall of a coastal water body, including spring tides.
Land under Salt Ponds is defined in 310 CMR 10.33(2).
Land under Water Bodies and Waterways means the bottom of, or land under, the surface of the ocean or any estuary, creek, river, stream, pond, or lake. Land under the ocean and estuaries is further defined in 310 CMR 10.25(2); land under inland water bodies is further defined in 310 CMR 10.56(2).
Land Uses with Higher Potential Pollutant Loads mean the following land uses: land uses identified in 310 CMR 22.20B(2), 22.20C(2)(a) through (k) and (m), 22.21(2)(a)1. through 8., and (b)1. through 6.; areas within a site that are the location of activities that are subject to an individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or the NPDES Multi-sector General Permit; auto fueling facilities (gas stations); exterior fleet storage areas; exterior vehicle service and equipment cleaning areas; marinas and boatyards; parking lots with high intensity use; confined disposal facilities and disposal sites.
Landowner means the owner of record of land or an interest in land that is subject of a Reviewable Decision.
Linear-shaped Project, for purposes of 310 CMR 10.05(4), means a project that is substantially longer than it is wide and is a project for the construction, reconstruction, or substantial enlargement of facilities that will be used in the service of the public to provide electric, gas, sewer, water, telephone, telegraph and other communication services, a project by a public agency or authority for the construction, reconstruction, expansion, repair or maintenance of public roads, bike paths or other paths for pedestrians, or public railways.
Lot means an area of land in one ownership, with definite boundaries.
Low Impact Development Techniques mean innovative stormwater management systems that are modeled after natural hydrologic features. Low impact development techniques manage rainfall at the source using uniformly distributed decentralized micro-scale controls. Low impact development techniques use small cost-effective landscape features located at the lot level.
Maintenance of a Stormwater Management System means the work to keep a stormwater management system functional and in good repair so that it may continue to operate as originally designed. Maintenance of a stormwater management system does not include work that:
(a) reduces the capacity of the system to treat stormwater, provide recharge or attenuate peak flow;
(b) increases the total and peak volume of the stormwater managed by the system;
(c) directs additional stormwater discharges to the system; or
(d) results in reduced use of above ground stormwater best management practices.
Major or Complex means an appeal of a Reviewable Decision issued for work in a resource area that will be so designated due to the complexity or novelty of the issues, the magnitude of the project, the potential for environmental harm or benefit, significant public interest or public financing or other relevant consideration, as determined by the Commissioner or a Presiding Officer.
Majority means more than half of the members of the conservation commission then in office.
Marsh is defined in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, para. 10.
Massachusetts Erosion and Sediment Control Guidelines means the Massachusetts Erosion and Sediment Control Guidelines for Urban and Suburban Areas originally prepared by the Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire Conservation Districts in 1997, for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs State Commission for Conservation of Soil, Water and Related Resources, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region I, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture and reprinted in May 2003.
Massachusetts River and Stream Crossing Standards or the Stream Crossing Standards means the standards developed by the River and Stream Continuity Partnership as corrected on March 8, 2012.
Meadow (or Wet Meadow) is defined in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, para. 9.
Mean Annual High-water Line is defined at 310 CMR 10.58(2).
MEPA means the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, M.G.L. c. 30, §§ 6 through 62H, and 301 CMR 11.00: General Application and Administration Environmental Code, Title 1.
Migratory Areas mean those areas used by wildlife moving from one habitat to another, whether seasonally or otherwise.
Mitigation means rectifying an adverse impact by repairing, rehabilitating or restoring the affected resource area or compensating for an adverse impact by enhancing or providing replacement resource areas.
Notice of Intent means the written notice filed by any person intending to remove, fill, dredge or alter an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be made on Form 3 or 4.
Ocean means the Atlantic Ocean and all contiguous waters subject to tidal action.
Openness Ratio means the cross-sectional area of a structure opening divided by crossing length when measured in consistent units. For a box culvert, the openness ratio equals (height x width)/length. For crossing structures with multiple cells or barrels openness is calculated separately for each cell or barrel. The embedded portion of a culvert is not included in the calculation of the cross-sectional area.
Order means an Order of Conditions, Order of Resource Area Delineation, Superseding, Order or Final Order, whichever is applicable.
Order of Conditions means the document issued by a conservation commission containing conditions which regulate or prohibit an activity. It shall be made on Form 5.
Outstanding Resource Water means a surface water of the Commonwealth so designated in the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards at 314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards.
Owner of Land Abutting the Activity means the owner of land sharing a common boundary or corner with the site of the proposed activity in any direction, including land located directly across a street, way, creek, river, stream, brook or canal.
Party to any proceeding before the Department means the applicant, the conservation commission and the Department, and pursuant to 310 CMR 10.05(7)(a) may include the owner of the site, any abutter, any person aggrieved, any ten residents of the city or town where the land is located and any ten persons pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, § 10A.
Person Aggrieved means any person who, because of an act or failure to act by the issuing authority, may suffer an injury in fact which is different either in kind or magnitude from that suffered by the general public and which is within the scope of the interests identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. Such person must specify in writing sufficient facts to allow the Department to determine whether or not the person is in fact aggrieved.
Plans means such data, maps, engineering drawings, calculations, specifications, schedules and other materials, if any, deemed necessary by the issuing authority to describe the site and/or the work, to determine the applicability of M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 or to determine the impact of the proposed work upon the interests identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. (See also General Instructions for Completing Notice of Intent (Form 3) and Abbreviated Notice of Intent (Form 4).)
Pond (Coastal) means Salt Pond as defined in 310 CMR 10.33(2).
Pond (Inland) means any open body of fresh water with a surface area observed or recorded within the last ten years of at least 10,000 square feet. Ponds may be either naturally occurring or human-made by impoundment, excavation, or otherwise. Ponds shall contain standing water except for periods of extended drought. Periods of extended drought for purposes of 310 CMR 10.00 shall be those periods, in those specifically identified geographic locations, determined to be at the "Advisory" or more severe drought level by the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force, as established by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency in 2001, in accordance with the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan (MDMP).
Notwithstanding the above, the following human-made bodies of open water shall not be considered ponds:
(a) basins or lagoons which are part of wastewater treatment plants;
(b) swimming pools or other impervious human-made basins; and
(c) individual gravel pits or quarries excavated from upland areas unless inactive for five or more consecutive years.
Practicable means available and capable of being done after taking into consideration costs, existing technology, proposed use, logistics and potential adverse consequences (e.g., degradation of Rare Species habitat, increased flood impacts to the built environment) in light of the overall project purposes and is permittable under existing federal and state statutes and regulations.
Prevention of Pollution means the prevention or reduction of contamination of surface or ground water.
Primary Frontal Dune or Primary Dune means a continuous or nearly continuous mound or ridge of sediment with relatively steep seaward and landward slopes immediately landward and adjacent to the beach and subject to erosion and overtopping from high tides and waves during coastal storms. The Primary Frontal Dune is the dune closest to the beach. The inland limit of the Primary Frontal Dune occurs at the point where there is a distinct change from a relatively steep slope to a relatively mild slope.
Private Water Supply means any source or volume of surface or ground water demonstrated to be in any private use or demonstrated to have a potential for private use.
Project Locus means the lot on which an applicant proposes to perform an activity subject to regulation under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40.
Project Purpose means the general, functional description of an activity proposed within the riverfront area (e.g., construction of a single family house, expansion of a commercial development).
Project Site means the area within the Project Locus that comprises the limit of work for activities, including but not limited to, the dredging, excavating, filling, grading, the erection, reconstruction or expansion of a building or structure, the driving of pilings, the construction or improvement of roads or other ways, and the installation of drainage, stormwater treatment, environmentally sensitive site design practices, sewage and water systems.
Protection of Fisheries means protection of the capacity of an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40:
(a) to prevent or reduce contamination or damage to fish; and
(b) to serve as their habitat and nutrient source. Fish includes all species of fresh and salt water finfish and shellfish.
See also the definition of Marine Fisheries contained in 310 CMR 10.23(15).
Protection of Land Containing Shellfish means protection of the capacity of an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40:
(a) to prevent or reduce contamination or damage to shellfish; and
(b) to serve as their habitat and nutrient source.
See also the definitions of Shellfish and Land Containing Shellfish in 310 CMR 10.34(2).
Public Water Supply means any source or volume of surface or ground water demonstrated to be in public use or approved for water supply pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, § 160 by the Division of Water Supply of the Department, or demonstrated to have a potential for public use.
Rare Species mean those vertebrate and invertebrate animal species officially listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife under 321 CMR 10.60.
Redevelopment means replacement, rehabilitation, or expansion of existing structures, improvement of existing roads or reuse of degraded or previously developed areas for purposes of 310 CMR 10.58, governing work in the riverfront area. For purpose of the Stormwater Management Standards as provided in 310 CMR 10.05(6)(k) through (q), redevelopment is defined to include the following projects:
(a) maintenance and improvement of existing roadways including widening less than a single lane, adding shoulders, correcting substandard intersections, improving existing drainage systems and repaving;
(b) development, rehabilitation, expansion and phased projects on previously developed sites provided the redevelopment results in no net increase in impervious area; and
(c) remedial projects specifically designed to provide improved stormwater management such as projects to separate storm drains and sanitary sewers and stormwater retrofit projects.
Remove means to take away any type of material, thereby changing an elevation, either temporarily or permanently.
Request for Determination of Applicability means a written request made by any person to a conservation commission or the Department for a determination as to whether a site or work thereon is subject to M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. It shall be submitted on Form 1.
Resource Area means any of the areas specified in 310 CMR 10.25 through 10.35 and 10.54 through 10.58. It is used synonymously with Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, each one of which is enumerated in 310 CMR 10.02(1).
Restoration Order of Conditions means an Order of Conditions issued pursuant to 310 CMR 10.05(6) and 10.14 for a project that meets the eligibility criteria set forth in 310 CMR 10.13.
Reviewable Decision means a MassDEP decision that is a superseding order of condition or superseding denial of an order of conditions, a superseding determination of applicability, and/or a superseding order of resource area delineation, or a variance.
River means any natural flowing body of water that empties to any ocean, lake, pond, or other river and which flows throughout the year. River is defined further at 310 CMR 10.58(2).
Riverfront Area is defined at 310 CMR 10.58(2).
Rocky Intertidal Shore is defined in 310 CMR 10.31(2).
Salt Marsh is defined in 310 CMR 10.32(2).
Severe Weather Emergency Declaration is a declaration issued by the Commissioner, following a destructive weather event, which authorizes widespread emergency recovery, debris cleanup, or roadway or utility repair, necessary for the protection of the health or safety of the residents of the Commonwealth, without filing a Notice of Intent or requesting an emergency certification or authorization pursuant to 310 CMR 10.06(1) through (7).
Sediment, for the purpose of dredging, means all inorganic or organic matter including detritus situated under tidal waters below the mean high water line as defined in 310 CMR 10.23, and for inland waters, below the upper boundary of a bank, as defined in 310 CMR 10.54(2).
Shellfish Growing Area means land under the ocean, tidal flats, rocky intertidal shores and marshes and land under salt ponds when any such land contains shellfish. Shellfish growing areas include land that has been identified and shown on a map published by the Division of Marine Fisheries as a shellfish growing area including any area identified on such map as an area where shellfishing is prohibited. Shellfish growing areas shall also include land designated by the Department in 314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards as suitable for shellfish harvesting with or without depuration. In addition, shellfish growing areas shall include shellfish growing areas designated by the local shellfish constable as suitable for shellfishing based on the density of shellfish, the size of the area and the historical and current importance of the area for recreational and commercial shellfishing.
Shellfish Suitability Area means an area located within land containing shellfish and identified on maps prepared in May 2011 by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries with input from local Shellfish Constables and commercial fishermen as suitable for shellfish. The areas covered include sites where shellfish have been observed since the mid 1970s but may not currently support shellfish and thus represent both existing and potential shellfish habitat areas.
Shelter means protection from the elements or predators.
Significant means plays a role. A resource area is significant to an interest identified in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 when it plays a role in the provision or protection, as appropriate, of that interest. Within the context of the protection of the riverfront area, no significant adverse impact means the level of protection of the performance standards provided under 310 CMR 10.58.
Special Flood Hazard Area means the area of land in the flood plain that is subject to a 1% chance of flooding in any given year as determined by the best available information, including, but not limited to, the currently effective or preliminary Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Study or Rate Map (except for any portion of a preliminary map that is the subject of an appeal to FEMA) for Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage, the Velocity Zone as defined in 310 CMR 10.04, and the Flood Insurance Study for Bordering Land Subject to Flooding as defined in 310 CMR 10.57.
Spring Tides means those tides which occur with the new and full moons, and which are perceptibly higher and lower than other tides.
State-listed Species mean the same as rare species, as defined in 310 CMR 10.04.
Storm Damage Prevention means the prevention of damage caused by water from storms, including, but not limited to, erosion and sedimentation, damage to vegetation, property or buildings, or damage caused by flooding, water-borne debris or water-borne ice.
Stormwater Best Management Practice means a structural or nonstructural technique for managing stormwater to prevent or reduce non-point source pollutants from entering surface waters or ground waters. A structural stormwater best management practice includes a basin, discharge outlet, swale, rain garden, filter or other stormwater treatment practice or measure either alone or in combination including without limitation any overflow pipe, conduit, weir control structure that:
(a) is not naturally occurring;
(b) is not designed as a wetland replication area; and
(c) has been designed, constructed, and installed for the purpose of conveying, collecting, storing, discharging, recharging or treating stormwater.
Nonstructural stormwater best management practices include source control and pollution prevention measures.
Stormwater Management System means a system for conveying, collecting, storing, discharging, recharging or treating stormwater on-site including stormwater best management practices and any pipes and outlets intended to transport and discharge stormwater to the ground water, a surface water or a municipal separate storm sewer system.
Stormwater Management System Improvement means:
(a) expansion of a stormwater management system beyond its existing geographic footprint to provide treatment for additional stormwater volume, provide additional groundwater recharge or enhance groundwater recharge or pollutant removal capability such as the addition of treatment train components; or
(b) modification to, or addition of, features within the existing geographic footprint of a stormwater management system to enhance groundwater recharge or pollutant removal capability, such as modifying outlet control structures.
Stream means a body of running water, including brooks and creeks, which moves in a definite channel in the ground due to a hydraulic gradient, and which flows within, into or out of an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40. A portion of a stream may flow through a culvert or beneath a bridge. Such a body of running water which does not flow throughout the year (i.e., which is intermittent) is a stream except for that portion upgradient of all bogs, swamps, wet meadows and marshes.
Superseding Determination means a determination of applicability, of significance or of non-significance, as the case may be, issued by the Department. It shall be made on Form 2.
Superseding Order means a document issued by the Department containing conditions which regulate or prohibit an activity. It shall be made on Form 5.
Surface Waters means all waters other than ground water within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, and coastal waters.
Swamp is defined in M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, para. 8.
Test Project means the installation or deployment of water dependent Innovative Technology in situ for purposes of evaluating its performance and environmental effects.
Velocity Zone or V-zone also known as the Coastal High Hazard Area means an area within the Special Flood Hazard Area that is subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources. The Velocity Zone Boundaries are determined by reference to the currently effective or preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), whichever is more recent (except for any portion of a preliminary map that is the subject of an appeal to FEMA), or at a minimum to the inland limit of the Primary Frontal Dune, whichever is farther landward.
Vernal Pool Habitat means confined basin depressions which, at least in most years, hold water for a minimum of two continuous months during the spring and/or summer, and which are free of adult fish populations, as well as the area within 100 feet of the mean annual boundaries of such depressions, to the extent that such habitat is within an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40 as specified in 310 CMR 10.02(1). These areas are essential breeding habitat, and provide other extremely important wildlife habitat functions during non breeding season as well, for a variety of amphibian species such as wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and the spotted salamander (Ambystoma macultum), and are important habitat for other wildlife species.
Vista Pruning means the selective thinning of tree branches or understory shrubs to establish a specific "window" to improve visibility. Vista pruning does not include the cutting of trees which would reduce the leaf canopy to less than 90% of the existing crown cover and does not include the mowing or removal of understory brush.
Wastewater Residuals Landfill means a facility or part of a facility approved by the Department for the disposal of wastewater residuals into or on land, but not including a site where wastewater residuals are land applied in accordance with 310 CMR 32.00: Land Application of Sludge and Septage.
Water-dependent Uses mean those uses and facilities which require direct access to, or location in, marine, tidal or inland waters and which therefore cannot be located away from said waters, including but not limited to: marinas, public recreational uses, navigational and commerical fishing and boating facilities, water-based recreational uses, navigation aids, basins, and channels, industrial uses dependent upon waterborne transportation or requiring large volumes of cooling or process water which cannot reasonably be located or operated at an upland site, crossings over or under water bodies or waterways (but limited to railroad and public roadway bridges, tunnels, culverts, as well as railroad tracks and public roadways connecting thereto which are generally perpendicular to the water body or waterway), and any other uses and facilities as may further hereafter be defined as water-dependent in 310 CMR 9.00: Waterways.
Waters of the Commonwealth means all waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters.
Wildlife means all mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians and, for the purposes of 310 CMR 10.37 and 10.59, all vertebrate and invertebrate animal species which are officially listed in 321 CMR 8.00: Endangered Wildlife and Wild Plants as endangered, threatened, or of special concern.
Wildlife Habitat means an Area Subject to Protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, which due to its plant community, composition and structure, hydrologic regime or other characteristics provides important food, shelter, migratory or overwintering areas or breeding areas for wildlife.
Wildlife Specialist means an individual with at least a masters degree in wildlife biology or ecological science from an accredited college or university, or other competent professional with at least two years experience in wildlife habitat evaluation.
Work means the same as activity.
310 CMR, § 10.04