The inland wetlands and water courses 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 water courses are an interrelated web of nature essential
to an adequate supply of surface and underground water; the recharging
and purification of groundwater; and to the existence of many forms
of animal, aquatic and plant life. Many inland wetlands and water
courses 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 water courses. 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 now and forever more. The
preservation and protection of the wetlands and water courses 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 state. It is, therefore,
the purpose of these regulations to protect the citizens of the state
by making provisions for the protection, preservation, maintenance,
and use of the inland wetlands and water courses 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 water courses for their conservation,
economic, aesthetic, recreational, and other public and private uses
and values; and protecting the state's potable fresh water supplies
from the dangers of drought, overdraft, pollution, misuse, and mismanagement
by providing an orderly process to balance the need for the economic
growth of the state and the use of its land with the need to protect
its environment and ecology in order to forever guarantee to the people
of the State of Connecticut, the safety of such natural resources
for their benefit and enjoyment and for the benefit and enjoyment
of generations yet unborn.
These regulations shall be known as the "Inland
Wetlands and Water Courses Regulations for the Town of Orange, Connecticut."
The Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Commission
for the Town of Orange was established in accordance with an ordinance
adopted March 26, 1974, and shall implement the purposes and provisions
of the Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Act in the Town of Orange.
These regulations have been adopted and may
be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions of
the Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Act and these regulations.
The Commission shall enforce all provisions
of the Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Act and shall approve with
or without modifications, or deny permits for all regulated activities
on inland wetlands and water courses in the Town of Orange pursuant
to Sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive, of the Connecticut General
Statutes, as amended.
