Aquatic Habitat Restoration: Regulation and Policy in Massachusetts

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Aquatic Habitat Restoration Regulation and
Policy in Massachusetts
Mitt Romney, Governor Kerry Healey, Lt.
Governor Ellen Roy Herzfelder, Secretary,
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs David
Peters, Commissioner, Department of Fish and Game
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28 Watersheds - 3,000 Dams
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River Restore Program

• River Restore is dedicated to
• reconnecting natural and cultural river
  communities by selective removal of dams and
  other obstructions.
• building interagency communication and
  cooperation and a network of services for
  communities and others
• restoring ecological functions and values
• respecting concerns for public safety and
  historic preservation

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River Restore Program

• River Restore is not a campaign to remove all
  dams
• dams may be serving a purpose that should be
  preserved
• impoundments may be managed for fisheries and
  wildlife propagation
• community values (recreation, historic,
  aesthetic) may be associated with dams

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EOEA Executive Office of Environmental
Affairs (Secretary Ellen Roy Herzfelder)
DFA Department of Food and Agriculture
DEP Department of Environmental Protection
DFG Department of Fish and Game
DCR Department of Conservation and Recreation
 
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Old Berkshire Mill Dam, Dalton
Crane and Company, East Branch, Housatonic River
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Courtesy of Foresight Land Services
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(No Transcript)
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Old Berkshire Mill Regulatory Summary

• Federal
• 404 Programmatic General Permit Category II
  proactive aquatic restoration
• NPDES stormwater
• S. 106 National Historic Preservation Act
  timber crib dam
• State
• Mass Environmental Policy Act Phase I waiver to
  stabilize upstream water line
• Chapter 253 Dam Safety
• Chapter 91 waterways
• S. 401 Water Quality Certificate expedited
  review
• Mass Wetlands Protection Act limited project
  to restore natural capacity of stream, issued by
  Town
• Mass Historic Commission adverse effect on
  timber crib dam, archaeological documentation
• Beneficial reuse of concrete

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Town Brook - Plymouth, MA
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Town Brook Billington Street Dam Removal 2002
Army Reserves
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Town Brook, 2003
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Billington Street Regulatory Summary

• Federal
• 404 Programmatic General Permit Category II
  proactive aquatic restoration
• S. 106 National Historic Preservation Act Town
  Brook Historic and Archaeological District
• State
• Mass Environmental Policy Act Phase I waiver to
  abate asbestos transite tiles
• Chapter 253 Dam Safety
• Chapter 91 waterways
• S. 401 Water Quality Certificate
• Mass Wetlands Protection Act limited project
  to restore natural capacity of stream, issued by
  Town
• Mass Historic Commission adverse effect,
  accepted via MOA to record site and retain
  partially collapsed stone wall c. 1790
• CZM Consistency Review
• Mass Contingency Plan asbestos abatement,
  hauling and disposal

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Silk Mill Dam Removal February 2003
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Silk Mill Dam Before and After
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Silk Mill Regulatory Summary

• Federal
• 404 Programmatic General Permit Category II
  proactive aquatic restoration
• Upstream of National Wild and Scenic River
  Corridor, required consultation with National
  Park Service
• State
• Mass Environmental Policy Act no EIR required
• Chapter 253 Dam Safety
• Chapter 91 waterways
• S. 401 Water Quality Certificate
• Mass Wetlands Protection Act limited project
  to restore natural capacity of stream, issued by
  Town
• Mass Historic Commission no adverse effect
• Mass Highway Department State Highway Access
  Permit

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Dam Removal Project Cost Summary
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• The Massachusetts regulatory framework, intended
  to prevent adverse environmental impacts, was not
  designed to facilitate proactive restoration
  projects.  The three primary areas of concern 
• 1.     time frames for environmental review and
  permitting often lead to delays in implementation
  that are deleterious to aquatic resources and, at
  times, endanger project funding
• 2.     environmental review and permitting costs
  are often disproportionate relative to the costs
  of project implementation (in some cases, two to
  three times as much) and
• 3.     environmental review and permitting is
  consistent with that applied to
  development/construction projects, without regard
  to the long-term benefits of aquatic resource
  restoration.

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EOEA Water Policy Task Group Membership
Facilitator James Stergios, EOEA Staff Karl
Honkonen, Vandana Rao, EOEA
Bennet Heart, CLF Pamella Heidell, MWRA Joan
Kimball, Riverways, DFG Leo Pierre Roy, Vanasse
Hangen Brustlin Inc. Eileen Simonson, WSCAC Joe
Superneau, Springfield Water Sewer
Commission Margaret Van Deusen, CRWA Lou Wagner,
Mass Audubon Peter Weiskel, USGS John Yunits,
Mayor, Brockton
Ralph Abele, EPA Region 1 Elizabeth Ainsley
Campbell, NRWA David Begelfer, NAIOP Ilyas
Bhatti, The Bhatti Group Roger Brooks, Leominster
Water Sewer Phillip Christiansen, Mass
Homebuilders Vicki Gartland, DCR Bob Golledge,
DEP Commissioner Bill Guenther, Mass Insight Phil
Guerin, Worcester DPW
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Mass Water Policy Restoration Rationale

• Creating a single point of contact and
  coordination to provide a regulatory process that
  supports and encourages proactive protection and
  restoration of aquatic habitat, and prevents
  habitat fragmentation, so as to improve the
  health of fish and wildlife.
• Due to recent changes to Massachusetts dam safety
  regulations, there is reason to believe that the
  number of dam removal project proposals will
  increase significantly, highlighting the need to
  improve the permitting process for dam removals
  and other natural resource restoration projects.

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• Improve the permitting process for dam removal so
  that the state, municipalities and private owners
  can take actions without incurring exorbitant
  costs.
• Evaluating data from three dam removal projects
  (Dalton, Plymouth, Becket) to investigate time
  frames, costs, environmental benefits
• Researching New Hampshire Single Permit
  Application for applicability in Massachusetts
• Collecting data on number and type of requests
  for help regarding a prospective dam removal
• Implementing process that holds pre-application
  meeting among all parties (including the Army
  Corps of Engineers and MassHistorical) and tries
  to coordinate public comment processes

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Mass Water Policy Task Force Draft Recommendations

• Seeking a rebuttable presumption and an MOU with
  the ACOE and MassHistorical to provide clarity
  and shorter timelines for permits related to dam
  removal and restoration projects
• Creating a template for a single permit
  application used by all regulatory reviews by
  agencies
• Evaluating whether the Environmental Results
  Program is appropriate for Small Dams (identify
  the type and extent of dams that could qualify
  for self-certification apply Environmental Risk
  Index hazard and impact criteria etc.)
• Running a pilot that (a) provides the template
  for recommended process(es) (b) helps establish
  criteria for determining what projects qualify as
  aquatic restoration and, if appropriate, helps
  develop a certification program for small dams

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River Restore Program
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT...
Karen Pelto, River Restore Coordinator Brian
Graber, Fluvial Geomorphologist Riverways
Program
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of
Environmental Affairs, 251 Causeway Street,
Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114 617-626-1542
www.massriverways.org