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12/23/2020 08:09 AMWith a small group of residents thwarting cease-and-desist orders of the Essex Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), its members are asking the Essex Board of Selectmen (BOS) to consider amending the town’s IWC regulations to issue violators fines of up to $1,000.
The request by the [Inland] Wetlands Commission was prompted by what appeared to be flagrant violations of wetlands regulations, “and short of going to Superior Court, they have no ability to enforce them,” First Selectman Norman Needleman said at a Dec. 2 BOS meeting.
In the last six months, the commission issued several cease-and-desist orders for activities in violation of the town’s inland wetlands and watercourses regulations, according to Needleman.
In addition, the IWC has “been dealing with a lot of after-the-fact permit applications” over the last six to eight months, IWC Vice Chair Andre Roussel said at a Dec. 8 meeting of the commission.
Roussel continued, saying that “in some cases, we might assume that the violator was new and was just acting and asking for permission later,” but that there were other instances when it was a clear violation of known IWC regulations.
Under state law, a municipality can amend its regulations to allow the imposition of fines without going to Superior Court, as proposed by the commission. Any new language must incorporate an appeals process and denote into which municipal fund the monies collected would be deposited.
In addition to this change, the commission is asking to add language that would allow the town to charge residents for the cost of clearing or removing debris, or other materials, from a waterway. This would allow the town to act to ensure the free flow of flood waters when the action is not first taken by the property owner, or in an emergency.
At the Dec. 8 IWC meeting, Roussel acknowledged that an effort is needed to educate citizens regarding IWC regulations.
“I think this is an opportunity for us to help educate our fellow residents…that there is an IWC,” he said. “That there is such a thing as a 100-foot upland review area. That wetlands don’t have to look like a pond or a stream or a river to be wetlands.”
Essex’s IWC enforces regulations dealing with inland wetlands and watercourses in accordance with Connecticut’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act.
According to this state law, inland wetlands is defined by soil type. These soils are “poorly drained, very poorly drained, alluvial and floodplain,” according to the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.
When a property includes an inland wetland or watercourse, a resident must apply for a permit from the IWC to conduct certain activities such as clearing of brush or trees, grading, piping, dredging or excavating, to name a few examples.
If unregulated activities, or activities in violation of a permit, are done without the commission’s permission, the IWC will issue a series of warnings including permit revocation or suspension. A cease-and-desist order is the last step before taking the matter to Superior Court.
No action was taken at the December meeting of the BOS in relation to the changes proposed by the IWC. The topic is an agenda item for the board’s Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 meeting, during which it is anticipated that members of the IWC will discuss the proposed amendments.