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 Southbury
 Code of Ordinances
 Part III. INLAND WETLANDS AND WATERCOURSES REGULATIONS

§ 1. Title, authority and purpose.  

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  • 1.1  Title: These regulations shall be known as the "Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Regulations of the Town of Southbury, Connecticut."

    1.2  Authority: These regulations are adopted by the Southbury Inland Wetlands Agency in accordance with Sections 22a-36 through 22a-45 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, and as authorized by an ordinance of the Town of Southbury adopted effective August 25, 1973.

    1.3  Purpose: The inland wetlands and watercourses of the State of Connecticut are an indispensable and irreplaceable but fragile natural resource with which the citizens of the state have been endowed. The wetlands and watercourses are an interrelated web of nature essential to an adequate supply of surface and underground water; to hydrological stability and control of flooding and erosion; to the recharging and purification of groundwater; and to the existence of many forms of animal, aquatic and plant life. Many inland wetlands and watercourses have been destroyed or are in danger of destruction because of unregulated use by reason of the deposition, filling or removal of material, the diversion or obstruction of water flow, the erection of structures and other uses, all of which have despoiled, polluted and eliminated wetlands and watercourses. Such unregulated activity has had, and will continue to have, a significant, adverse impact on the environment and ecology of the State of Connecticut and has and will continue to imperil the quality of the environment thus adversely affecting the ecological, scenic, historic and recreational values and benefits of the state for its citizens forever more.

    The preservation and protection of the wetlands and watercourses from random, unnecessary, undesirable, and unregulated uses, disturbance or destruction is in the public interest and is essential to the health, welfare and safety of the citizens of the Town of Southbury. It is, therefore, the purpose of this Agency to protect the citizens of the Town of Southbury by making provisions for the protection, preservation, maintenance and the use of the inland wetlands and watercourses by minimizing their disturbance and pollution; maintaining and improving water quality in accordance with the highest standards set by federal, state or local authority, preventing damage from erosion, turbidity or siltation; preventing loss of fish and other beneficial aquatic organisms, wildlife and vegetation and the destruction of the natural habitats thereof; deterring and inhibiting the danger of flood and pollution; protecting the quality of wetlands and watercourses for their conservation, economic, aesthetic, recreational and other public and private uses and values; and protecting the Town of Southbury's potable fresh water supplies from the danger of drought, overdraft, pollution, misuse and mismanagement, by providing an orderly process to balance the need for the economic growth of the Town of Southbury and the use of its land with the need to protect its environment and ecology.

    1.4  Regulation: The Agency shall enforce all provisions of Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act and shall issue, issue with modifications, and deny permits for all regulated activities on inland wetlands and watercourses in the Town of Southbury pursuant to Sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.