On Thursday, May 26th the Supreme Court ruling on Sackett v. the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cut back on the Agency’s ability to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act. In short, under this ruling, the Clean Water Act now applies only to wetlands directly connected, via surface water, to bodies that are considered “waters of the United States.” This is part of an ongoing trend at the Supreme Court to limit the reach of environmental regulations. While this trend is frustrating and worrying for those of us diligently working to protect the natural resources in the U.S., the question Ipswich River Watershed Association always comes back to is “How will this impact the Ipswich River?”
Fortunately for us, in the absence of federal protections for wetlands, state and town governments can enforce their own wetlands protection laws that are more stringent than national laws in order to safeguard our local resources. Massachusetts’s state regulations are in many cases already more stringent than federal regulations. The state Wetlands Protection Act has established a 100 foot buffer zone around any wetland and a 200 foot buffer zone from any riverfront, limiting activities in these buffer zones to protect our water bodies. IRWA continues to advocate at the statehouse for more stringent protection, working with our regional representatives and senators to advance bills through the legislature. We are also working with regulators at the Massachusetts Department of the Environment to ensure that the regulations protecting our watershed are stringent, based in science, and adequately enforced.
Despite guidance (or a lack thereof) from the state and federal governments, the fate of the Ipswich River really lies in the hands of the cities and towns within our watershed and who rely on Ipswich River water. In Massachusetts, each town’s conservation commission is responsible for creating and enforcing their own wetland bylaw and associated regulations. These regulations determine the type of development that can happen in protected areas, including the extent of the buffer zones for wetlands and rivers. IRWA continues to work with our local cities and towns to improve existing regulations and their enforcement. For example, last year IRWA along with our Greenscapes partners reviewed the bylaws of 30 North Shore communities, analyzed them for their support for low-impact development strategies, and came up with recommendations for improvement to those bylaws. This year, work with our partners has focused on helping communities to implement some of those changes. We have worked directly with Andover, North Andover, Boxford, and Georgetown on making revisions to their bylaws. We are also publishing a tool at the end of June to help any town interested in improving their bylaw or regulations to generate model language to do so. We know that this is a time-consuming process for town staff and IRWA is committed to supporting local efforts to strengthen laws to protect our watersheds!
We could always use your help on local efforts to protect the valuable natural resources of the Ipswich River Watershed. Here are three things you can do:
Stay informed. Do you know what projects are under consideration in your town and how they will impact our river and wetlands? Attend a local Conservation Commission meeting or look at previous meeting minutes or upcoming agendas to find out.
Get involved. Are you concerned about threats to local wetlands in your town? Write a comment letter to your planning board or conservation commission voicing your concerns. In general, towns get very little public involvement when making these types of decisions – expressing your concerns can go a long way in helping volunteer commissions make responsible water stewardship decisions. If you’d like guidance on how to write a comment letter, we’re happy to help. Reach out directly to Erin at [email protected] with any questions.
Volunteer. If you are passionate about protecting our rivers and wetlands, volunteer for your community’s Conservation Commission or Planning Board. These volunteer commissions are responsible for the enforcement of local wetland protection laws. Towns regularly have trouble finding enough volunteers to fill these commissions. If you have some time to give and a dedication to protecting your community’s waterways, you are fully qualified to serve on these committees. Reach out to your community for information on open positions and required commitments.