What work that I may want to do on my property is under the jurisdiction of the Becket Conservation Commission?
The purpose of the Wetlands Protection Act is to protect water resources, and the way the act does this is by creating jurisdictional areas comprised of the resource areas as well as certain buffer zones near those resources.
Under the act, no one may “remove, fill, dredge, or alter” any wetland, bank of a lake or stream, land under a water body, land within 100 feet of any of these resource areas, land within 200 feet of a perennial stream or river, or within a floodplain, without a permit from the Conservation Commission. The term ‘alter’ includes any activities that will change drainage characteristics, impact the water table, destroy vegetation, or impact the physical, biological, or chemical characteristics of the receiving water. The regulations prohibit most destruction of wetlands and naturally vegetated riverfront lands.
If you are doing any construction, digging, cutting of trees, or other work:
- Within 200 feet of a perennial stream.
- Within 100 feet of an intermittent stream.
- Within 100 feet of a wetland,
- Within 100 feet of a lake or pond
- Within a 100 year floodplain,
Then your work is under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission, and you may need to obtain a permit for such activity. Some minor activities may be exempt from these permitting requirements. You may call the Commission at Town Hall (413) 623-8934, to ask if your planned activities are exempt, or consult the regulations.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that the information on this website is meant to simplify very complicated regulations, and is not meant to substitute for applicants' responsibility to understand and follow applicable laws, and read the official forms and instructions carefully. In cases where information on this website disagrees or appears to disagree with state and local regulations and policies, the official regulations and policies take precedent.
Thanks to the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for contributing to information on this website.