SECTION I Purpose of District
A. A Watershed Protection District is established in the Town of Hudson for
the following purposes:
1) To preserve and protect the lakes, ponds, streams, brooks, rills, marshes, swamps, bogs, and other water bodies and water courses in the town;
2) To protect, preserve and maintain the water table and water recharge areas within the town, so as to preserve present and potential sources of water supply for the public health and safety;
3) To protect the community from the detrimental use and development of land and waters within the watershed protection district; and
4) To conserve the watershed areas of the Town of Hudson for the health, safety, welfare, and enjoyment of its people.
SECTION II Establishment and Definition of District
A. The intent of the Watershed Protection District is to include lands lying adjacent to water courses and surface water bodies, as part of their natural drainage system. The district includes all areas designated on the Watershed Protection District Maps for the Town of Hudson, on file in the Office of the Town Clerk, which are hereby made part of the town zoning map(s), including all land lying within 25 feet of the normal highwater line of lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, bogs, brooks, streams and rivers.
B. The Watershed Protection District is an overlay district and shall be superimposed on the other districts established by these bylaws. Uses not permitted in the portions of the districts so overlaid shall not be permitted within the district.
Amendment to Watershed Protection District Map Art. 27 of ATM 5/5/97
SECTION III Permitted Uses
A. The following uses are permitted within the watershed protection district,
subject to Section IV, provided that all necessary permits, orders and approvals required by local, state, or federal law are also obtained:
1) conservation of soil, water, plants, and wildlife;
2) outdoor recreation, nature study, boating, fishing, and hunting where
otherwise legally permitted;
3) boat docks, landings, foot, bicycle and/or horse paths and bridges;
4) proper operation and maintenance of existing dams splash boards, and
other water control, supply and conservation devices;
5) residential development, as permitted in the underlying district, with a
maximum density of one unit per acre, provided that the average slope of each lot shall not exceed 12%;
6) repair, maintenance and reconstruction of structures and uses lawfully
existing prior to the adoption hereof may be continued as permitted pursuant to Chapter 40A of the Massachusetts General Laws. Existing dwellings may be expanded provided that the design of a new individual sewage disposal system not exceed 440 gallons of sewage per acre per day;
7) farming, gardening, nursery, conservation, forestry, harvesting, and
grazing.
SECTION IV Prohibited Uses
A. THE FOLLOWING USES ARE PROHIBITED WITHIN THE
WATERSHED PROTECTION DISTRICT:
1) the location of landfills, sludge and septage landfilling and the storage of
salt and road de_icing chemicals;
1.1) Landfills receiving only wastewater and/or septage residuals including those approved by the Department of Environlental Protection pursuant to M.G.L. c111 §17; M.G.L. c83 §6 and 7, and regulations promulgated
2) any building, structure, land_disturbing activities, or excavations with 25
feet from the normal .highwater line of all water bodies and courses within the watershed protection district;
3) any animal feedlot, pasture, confinement area or drainage from such
activities within 25 feet from the seasonal highwater line of all water bodies and courses, and the storage of manure unless covered and contained in accordance with the specifications of the United States Soil Conservation Services;
4) the disposal of solid waste, other than brush;
5) The storage of liquid hazardous materials as defined in M.G.L. c21E, and liquid petroleum products, unless such storage is above ground and level; on an impervious surface; and either in container (s) or above ground container(s) within a building or; outdoors in covered containers(s) in
above ground tank(s) in an area that has a containment system designed to hold either 10% of the total possible storage capacity of all containers or 110% of the largest container’s storage capacity, which ever is greater.
6) the dumping of snow contaminated by de_icing chemicals which is brought
in from outside the district;
7) Petroleum fuel oils and heating oil bulk stations and terminals including, but not limited to those listed under Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes 5171 and 5983. SIC codes are established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and may be determined by referring to the publication, Standard Industrial Classification Manual, and other subsequent amendments;
8) facilities that generate, treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste that are
subject to Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 21 C and 310 CMR 30.00 except for the following: (i) very small quantity generators, as defined by 310 CMR 30.00; (ii) household hazardous waste collection centers or events operated pursuant to 310 CMR 30.390; (iii) waste oil retention facilities required by Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 21, Section 52A; and (iv) treatment works approved by the D.E.P. designed in
accordance with 314 CMR 5.00 for the treatment of contaminated ground or surface waters;
9) automobile graveyards and junk yards, as defined in Massachusetts
General Laws, Chapter 140B, Section 1;
10) the storage of sludge and septage, as defined in 310 CMR 32.05, unless
such storage is in compliance with 310 CMR 32.30 and 310 CMR 32.31;
11) the storage of commercial fertilizers and soil conditioners, as defined in
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 128, Section 64 unless such storage is within a structure designed to prevent the generation and escape of contaminated runoff or lechate;
12) the removal of soil, loam, sand, gravel, or any other mineral substances
within four (4) feet of the historical high groundwater table elevation (as determined from monitoring wells and historical water table fluctuation data compiled by the United States Geological Survey), unless the substances removed are redeposited within forty_five (45) days of removal on site to achieve a final grading greater than four (4) feet above the historical high water mark, and except for excavations for the construction of building foundations or the installation of utility works;
13) land uses that result in the rendering impervious of more than fifteen (15)
per cent or 2500 square feet of any lot, whichever is greater, unless a system for artificial recharge of precipitation is provided that will not result in the degradation of groundwater quality;
14) individual sewage disposal systems that are designed in accordance with
310 CMR 15.00 to receive more than 110 gallons of sewage per quarter acre or 440 gallons of sewage on any one acre, whichever is greater, except the replacement or repair of an existing system that will not result in an increase in design capacity above the original design;
15) treatment works that are subject to 314 CMR 5.00 except the following:
a) the replacement or repair of an existing system(s) that will not
result in a design capacity greater than the design capacity of the existing system(s);
b) the replacement of an existing subsurface sewage disposal
system(s) with wastewater treatment works that will not result in a design capacity greater than the design capacity of the existing system(s);
c) treatment works approved by the Department designed for
treatment of contaminated ground or surface water;
Any lawful building or structure or use of a building, structure or premises existing at the time this by_law is adopted, even if not in conformance with its provisions may be continued, rebuilt if damaged or destroyed.
SECTION V Special Permit Uses
A. The Board of Appeals may allow the following uses, subject to Section
IV, within the Watershed Protection District, hereof and subject to any additional conditions the Board of Appeals may impose.
1) those commercial and industrial activities permitted in the
underlying district, with a site plan review;
2) the construction of dams or other water control devices, including the
temporary alteration of the water level for emergency or maintenance purposes and periodic cleaning;
3) conditions under which ponds or pools or other changes in water bodies or
courses, created for swimming, fishing, or other recreational uses, agricultural uses, or drainage improvements may
be undertaken;
4) the application of pesticides for non_agricultural uses in combination with
erosion and sedimentation control plans, provided that all necessary precautions shall be taken to prevent hazardous concentrations of pesticides in the water or the land within the watershed protection district as a result of such application. Such precautions include, but are not limited to, erosion control techniques, the control of runoff water, or the use of pesticides having low solubility in water, the prevention of volatilization and redeposition of pesticides and the lateral displacement, of pesticides, such as a wind drift; and
5) the application of fertilizers for non_agricultural uses in combination with
erosion and sedimentation control plans provided that such application
shall be made in such a manner as to minimize adverse impacts on surface and groundwater due to nutrient transport and deposition and sedimentation;
residential construction upon a lot with an average slope exceeding 12%;
SECTION VI Procedures for Issuance of Special Permit
A. Each application for a special permit shall be filed with the Board of
Appeals and shall be accompanied by three (3) copies of the plan.
B. Said application and plan shall be prepared in accordance with the data
requirements of the proposed development, such as site plan review, erosion, and sedimentation control plan, etc.
C. The Board of Appeals shall refer copies of the application to the Board of
Health, the Conservation Commission, and Town Engineer/Department of Public Works. These boards and departments shall review, either jointly or separately, the application and shall submit written recommendations.
Failure to make recommendations within 35 days of referral of the
application shall be deemed to constitute no opposition to the application.
D. The Board of Appeals shall hold a hearing, in conformity with the
provisions of the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A, Section 9 within 65 days after the filing of the application and after the review of the aforementioned town boards and departments.
Notice of the public hearing shall be given by publication and posting and by first_class mailings to "parties in interest" as defined in the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A, Section 11. The decision of the Board of Appeals and any extension, modification, or renewal thereof, shall be filed with the Board of Appeals and Town Clerk within 90 days following the closing of the public hearing.
Failure of the Board of Appeals to act within 90 days shall be deemed a granting of the permit. However, no work shall commence until a certification is recorded as required under said Section 11 of Chapter 40A.
E. After notice and public hearing, and after due consideration of the reports
and recommendations of the Board of Health, the Conservation Commission and Town Engineer/Department of Public Works; the Board of Appeals may grant such a special permit provided that it finds that the proposed use:
1) is in harmony with the purpose and intent of this by_law and will
promote the purpose of the Watershed Protection District;
2) is appropriate to the natural topography, soils, and other
characteristics of the site to be developed;
3) will not, during construction or thereafter, have an adverse
environmental impact on any water body or course in the district; and
4) will not adversely affect an existing or potential water supply.
SECTION VII Limit of Authority
Establishment of this district does not limit the existing authority of the Conservation Commission pursuant to Section 40 of Chapter 131 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
SECTION VIII Development Regulations
All construction and land disturbing activities within the watershed protection district shall be designed or sited to minimize erosion and runoff by adhering to the practices outlined in a text entitled "Erosion and Sediment Control in Site Development the Massachusetts Conservation Guide" (U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, Amherst, MA, copy right date September 1983) to include minimizing the construction period, slope stabilization, ditch maintenance, filtering, sedimentation basins, and revegetation.
| 
