Description

There was once a brook that ran beside St. Bernadette's Church and it appears to have been back filled. It use to run behind Royal Crest apartments, the old Holywell Nursing Home (Nurses R Us) all the way almost up behind Pho Boston Resteraunt . I noticed working in my parents backyard 2 years ago a lot of leapord frogs that I hadn't been seeing where then under wet leaves while I was raking. It appears that when someone back filled this stream and brook that once ran beside St. Bernadette's parking lot it has dried up the flow of the brook and stream? I was wondering how that is possible considering the vegetation (Fern etc) that's been growing in that area for over 50 years how was that approved to backfill that weland area?

I also noticed a man behind the old Holywell Nursing home (Nurses R Us) location walking around the back of the old building with a machete and noticed an Ash Tree had come down in the woods? Also, there has been illegal dumbing of debrea in the woods and parking lot?

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Thank you,

The Terrio Family Webster, St. Randolph, Ma.
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Wetlands Protection Act

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act?

The Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (General Laws Chapter 131, §40; the Act) protects important water-related lands such as wetlands (“swamps”), floodplains, riverfront areas, and other areas from destruction or alteration. Most work proposed to be done in those areas requires a permit (known as an Order of Conditions) from the local conservation commission.

Regulations for the Act (310 CMR 10.00), and related guidance and policy documents, are issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA DEP).

Many cities and towns have adopted local zoning or non-zoning wetland ordinances or bylaws that are stricter than the Act. Applications for work in wetland resource areas covered by state and local wetland laws are usually processed together by the conservation commission.

What is a wetland?

Wetlands are land areas that contain surface water all or part of the time, as well as some adjacent land areas. Legally the term includes not only areas we typically think of as wetlands, such as cattail marshes and red maple swamps, but also intermittent streams, floodplains, and other areas that may be dry for a significant portion of the year. The Act specifically regulates activities in or near these areas.

The most commonly regulated wetlands are bordering vegetated wetlands (BVWs), which are wetlands that share a border with a stream, pond or lake.

What is a floodplain?

A floodplain is a type of wetland resource area that floods following storms, prolonged rainfall, or snow-melt. Three types of floodplain areas are protected under the Act: coastal areas, areas bordering rivers and streams, and certain isolated depressions that flood at least once a year. The first two areas are defined by the 100-year floodplain - the upper boundary of the area which floods on average once every 100 years.