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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1756 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2016 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | James Arciero |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act providing for more efficient wetlands. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:James Arciero2nd Middlesex1/17/2023 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1756 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2016 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Arciero of Westford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2016) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | James Arciero relative to wetlands ordinances in cities and towns. Municipalities and Regional |
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| 20 | 20 | | Government. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 2129 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act providing for more efficient wetlands. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 8C of chapter 40 of the Massachusetts General Law as appearing |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2in the 2012 official edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the second paragraph the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3following paragraph:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 A Conservation Commission may administer and enforce a local wetlands ordinance or |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5by-law that is adopted by a municipality, only to the extent that it imposes standards or other |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6requirements that are more stringent than or otherwise exceed those set forth in Wetlands |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7Protection Act (G.L. Ch. 131 § 40) and regulations (310 CMR 10.00) thereunder, and only if, |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8prior to adoption by a municipality, the Department of Environmental Protection shall review |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9and approve any such proposed local wetlands ordinance or by-law based upon findings that the |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10proposed ordinance or by-law has a generally recognized scientific basis, is a recommended best 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11practice technique, is necessary to protect unusual local resources that warrant special or |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12enhanced protection, and does not conflict with the Wetlands Protection Act (G.L. Ch. 131 § 40) |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13and regulations (310 CMR 10.00) thereunder. An appeal of a decision made under a local |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14wetlands ordinance or by-law shall be made to the Department of Environmental Protection in |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15accordance with the Wetlands Protection Act (G.L. Ch. 131 § 40) and regulations (310 CMR |
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| 46 | 46 | | 1610.00) thereunder. |
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