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 Carmel
 Code of Ordinances
 Part II. General Legislation
 Chapter 89. Freshwater Wetlands

  § 89-12. Statewide minimum land use regulations.  

Latest version.
  • A. 
    These statewide minimum land use regulations establish the compatibility categories to be used in conjunction with the different types of land use activities to be conducted upon freshwater wetlands or adjacent area. For activities and land uses not shown on the chart, the Environmental Conservation Board or the Department of Environmental Conservation, as appropriate, must first make a determination that the activity is a regulated activity as defined in the Freshwater Wetlands Act and § 89-3. If the activity is regulated, then an independent determination of compatibility using the three tests for compatibility contained in the standards for permit issuance in § 89-11 must be used.
    (1) 
    Area categories:
    (a) 
    FWW: Freshwater wetland.
    (b) 
    AA: Adjacent area.
    (2) 
    Compatibility categories:
    (a) 
    LP: Compatible; letter of permission issued.
    (b) 
    C: Usually compatible.
    (c) 
    N: Usually incompatible.
    (d) 
    X: Incompatible.
    (e) 
    E: Exempt.
    B. 
    The following categories are used in the statewide minimum land use regulations:
    (1) 
    "LP" means that a letter of permission will be issued for the proposed activity. These are activities which are neither specifically exempted from regulation nor identified for regulation according to § 24-0701 of the Freshwater Wetlands Act, but which the Environmental Conservation Board has determined will not have a significant adverse impact on freshwater wetlands.
    (2) 
    "C" means that a regulated activity may be compatible with a wetland and its functions and benefits, although in some circumstances the proposed action may be incompatible.
    (3) 
    "N" means that a regulated activity is usually incompatible with a wetland and its functions and benefits, although in some cases the proposed action may be insignificant enough to be compatible.
    (4) 
    "X" means that a related activity is incompatible with a wetland and its functions and benefits.
    (5) 
    "E" means that an activity is exempted in § 24-0701 of the Freshwater Wetlands Act, or is not regulated by the Act because the activity will not substantially impair any of the functions or benefits of freshwater wetlands. Exempt actions are not regulated, but are included in the following two tables to assist permit application reviewers in determining regulatory requirements.
    C. 
    Exempt activities. The following activities either have been exempted from regulation by the Freshwater Wetlands Act or are not regulated because they will not substantially impair any of the functions or benefits of freshwater wetlands.
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Item
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    1.
    Continuing lawfully existing uses and continuing all activities normally and directly associated with any such use, except for those activities covered by items 38, 39, 40 and 41 (found below) where such continuance does not involve expansion or significant alteration of the existing use and does not affect additional wetland area.
    E
    E
    2.
    Establishing scenic, historic, wildlife and scientific preserves, where no significant impairment of the wetland or its benefits are involved.
    E
    E
    3.
    Boating, hiking, swimming, camping, picnicking, and other similar nonmotorized forms of outdoor activity, where no significant impairment of the wetland or its benefits are involved.
    E
    E
    4.
    Depositing or removing the natural products of wetlands in the process of recreational or commercial fishing, shell fishing, aquaculture, hunting or trapping, including the erection and maintenance of temporary (no more than 72 hours) hides or blinds.
    E
    E
    5.
    Conducting educational and scientific research activities where no significant impairment of the wetland or its benefits is involved.
    E
    E
    6.
    Establishing walking trails, where no significant impairment of the wetland or its benefits is involved.
    E
    E
    7.
    Establishing an individual recreation mooring.
    E
    E
    8.
    Gathering firewood, except as covered by items 22, 23, and 24.
    E
    E
    9.
    Conducting an agricultural activity as in § 89-3
    E
    E
    D. 
    Existing structures and facilities.
    (1) 
    Normally, maintenance, repair, or restoration of existing facilities will not cause adverse impacts on wetlands. This is not always true, however, for construction activities that are associated with such maintenance, repair, or restoration, such as the placing of access roads, staging areas, and utilities. Various such activities are listed elsewhere in these charts.
    (2) 
    Expansion or substantial restoration or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities can have significant impacts on the functions and benefits of wetlands. These impacts can be greater than those caused by the total replacement of the structures or facilities or by their construction in a different location.
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Item
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    10.
    Ordinary maintenance and repair of existing functional structures, facilities or improved area, including but not limited to bridges, roads, highways, culverts, railroad beds, bulkheads, docks, beaches, piers, wharves, pilings, dolphins, utility rights-of-way, buildings, landscaped or paved area, lawns, and mosquito control ditches. Such maintenance and repair might include, for example, replacing broken boards in docks, repainting structures, redriving pilings, resurfacing paved areas, and installing and removing docks on a seasonal basis but does not include activities covered by Items 22, 23, 24, 38, 39, 40, and 41 or other applicable items listed in this chart.
    E
    E
    11.
    In-kind and in-place replacement of existing functional bulkheads and similar structures.
    LP
    LP
    12.
    Routine beach regrading and cleaning.
    LP
    LP
    13.
    Restoring, reconstructing or modifying existing functional structures or facilities which involves a temporary disturbance of less than 50 square meters (approximately 540 square feet) of ground surface.
    C
    LP
    14.
    Expanding or substantially modifying existing functional structures or facilities, except for activities covered by Items 13, 19 or 31
    N
    C
    E. 
    Operating motor vehicles. Intense use of motor vehicles may impair any of the several functions and benefits of wetlands by introducing or increasing contaminants, noise, or other forms of pollution, or by removing or reducing vegetation and exposing soil to erosion. Occasional use generally does not warrant regulation.
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Items
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    15.
    Operating all-terrain vehicles, air and motor boats, and snowmobiles, except as described in Item 16. (E for water bodies and watercourses - X for all other wetlands.)
    E
    E
    16.
    Intensive, organized, and repetitive use of all-terrain vehicles, air and motor boats, and snowmobiles.
    N
    C
    F. 
    Draining, filling, grading, clear-cutting, and dredging.
    (1) 
    Generally, draining of wetlands lowers groundwater levels, may increase downstream peak flows, and may decrease water storage capacity and downstream base flow. It may also cause changes in vegetation and water temperature, increased stream bed scouring, and sediment deposition. Draining can totally destroy a wetland.
    (a) 
    Filling decreases the number and size of wetlands, thereby decreasing their ability to collect runoff and prevent erosion and sediment deposition downstream. Certain fill materials may adversely effect water quality. Disposal of dredge material may result in erosion and cause turbidity and sediment deposition. Filling eliminates wetland habitat for fish and wildlife, may alter the water table and groundwater flow and adversely affect groundwater recharge, and can irreversibly destroy a wetland.
    (b) 
    Grading a wetland or adjacent area can substantially alter surface water drainage and flow patterns, may temporarily increase erosion, and may eliminate fish and wildlife habitat.
    (c) 
    Clear cutting removes the vegetative cover of wetlands and may reduce their ability to absorb water and serve as habitat. It may also cause soil erosion.
    (d) 
    Dredging or excavating may increase water depth and remove wetland vegetation, thus altering the basic characteristics of, and perhaps destroying, wetlands. Fish and wildlife feeding or reproductive capacities may be altered, as may cover types, turbidity, sediment deposition, and erosion patterns.
    (2) 
    Any of these activities can cause the permanent loss of benefits provided by wetlands, and may, in fact, destroy the wetlands entirely .
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Item
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    17.
    Draining and altering water levels, except as part of an agricultural activity.
    X
    X
    18.
    Removing or breaching beaver dams.
    N
    C
    19.
    Constructing, expanding, or substantially modifying drainage ditches, except as part of an agricultural activity.
    X
    N
    20.
    Filling, including filling for agricultural purposes.
    X
    N
    21.
    Installing or creating a dry well, retention basin, filter, open swale, or pond.
    N
    N
    22.
    Clear-cutting trees.
    N
    C
    23.
    Clear-cutting vegetation other than trees except as part of an agricultural activity.
    X
    N
    24.
    Cutting but not the elimination or destruction of vegetation, such that the functions and benefits of the wetland are not significantly adversely affected.
    LP
    LP
    25.
    Grading, and dredging not included in Item 26.
    X
    N
    26.
    Dredging less than 400 cubic meters (approximately 523 cubic yards) to maintain present navigation channels.
    C
    C
    27.
    Mining.
    X
    X
    28.
    Constructing roads, except for winter truck roads as defined in § 89-3, "agricultural activities."
    X
    N
    29.
    Drilling a water well to serve an individual residence.
    C
    LP
    30.
    Drilling a well, except for activities covered in Item 29.
    X
    N
    G. 
    Dams, docks and bulkheads. Generally, structures of this type are indicative of associated development which may increase disruptive human use or occupancy of wetland areas.
    (1) 
    A structure sometimes interferes with surface or subsurface water flow, increases water levels, or otherwise affects water supply. The impact of such a structure is related to its size, location, and design. For example, docks on piles are generally more compatible with the functions and benefits of wetlands than are docks on fill.
    (2) 
    Dams alter normal flow patterns and often increase water levels, thus eliminating or altering the natural vegetation. Depending on the size of the structure, entire wetlands can be destroyed.
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Items
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    31.
    Installing a dock, pier, wharf, or other structures, built on floats or open-work supports and having a top surface area of 20 square meters (approximately 200 square feet) or less.
    C
    C
    32.
    Installing any dock, pier, wharf, or other structure used as a landing place on water, except for activities covered by Item 31.
    N
    N
    33.
    Constructing groins, bulkheads, and other shoreline stabilization structures.
    X
    N
    34.
    Constructing or removing berms, levees, dikes, dams, and other control structures.
    X
    N
    H. 
    Utilities.
    (1) 
    Installing overhead lines in or adjacent to wetlands will be presumed to cause less damage to wetlands if little or no additional clearing and grading is necessary. Where extensive clearing and construction of access or maintenance roads occurs, erosion and sedimentation may be the most serious problems.
    (2) 
    Installing overhead lines, while often spanning wetlands and thereby minimizing construction impacts, will result in a permanent adverse aesthetic impact on wetlands. Overhead power lines may also result in higher bird mortality rates, either through collision or electrocution.
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Item
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    35.
    Installing overhead lines to an individual residence.
    LP
    E
    36.
    Installing electric, telephone, or other lines from an existing distribution facility to a structure, except for activities covered by Item 35, where no major modifications or construction activities in the wetland are necessary.
    C
    LP
    37.
    Installing utilities, except for activities regulated by Article VII or VIII of the Public Service Law or by Item 36.
    X
    N
    I. 
    Pollution and pesticides. Introduction of sewage effluent, runoff of pesticides or disposal of toxic substances into wetlands or adjacent area may contaminate ground and surface water with undesirable chemicals, nutrients and organisms. The contamination may be temporary or permanent. It may result from activities located directly in wetlands or in adjacent areas, but, due to runoff and drainage patterns, it may also be caused by activities located some distance away. Distant activities can have adverse effects as severe as those caused by activities within or adjacent to wetlands. The presence of pollutants or pesticides in wetlands or adjacent area may increase mortality rates among fish and wildlife, alter their behavior or reproductive capability, and adversely affect their value as a food source. Excessive nutrients alter vegetative cover, fish and wildlife distribution, and water potability. Resulting organisms may also create a health hazard.
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Item
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    38.
    Introducing or storing any hazardous or toxic substance, material or waste, including any chemical, petrochemical, solid waste, nuclear waste, sewage effluent, or other pollutant, except as described in Item 39, 40, or 41.
    X
    X
    39.
    Application of a pesticide conducted pursuant to a permit issued under Article 15 of the Environmental Conservation Law (see 6 NCYRR Part 327, 328, 329).
    N
    C
    40.
    Application of a pesticide where no permit is required under Article 15 of the Environmental Conservation Law (see 6 NYCRR 327, 328, 329).
    X
    X
    41.
    Application of a pesticide to the grounds of a private residence when such use is by the owner.
    C
    LP
    J. 
    Buildings. Constructing buildings, accessory roads, and parking areas can have several effects on wetlands, not the least of which is the increased pressure to continue development beyond the initial construction.
    (1) 
    Roofs and paved areas quickly shed rain where that rain previously had an opportunity to soak into the ground. This can result in more turbulent streamflow, more erosion and sedimentation, and higher water levels in surrounding areas, including nearby wetlands.
    (2) 
    The effects of filling, grading, and draining are discussed elsewhere in this chart.
    Compatibility
    By Area
    Item
    Activities
    FWW
    AA
    42.
    Constructing a residence or related structures or facilities.
    X
    N
    43
    Constructing commercial or industrial facilities, public buildings, or related structures or facilities.
    X
    X