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Hopkinton's
Aquifer Protection Map
The shaded areas are
protected by the Water Resources Protection Overlay by-law. This
map can be found in the Planner's office at the town hall.
WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICT
SECTION I. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Water Resources Protection Overlay
District is to preserve and protect the quality and quantity of
present and potential drinking water supplies, both public and
private, and their recharge areas.
SECTION II. GENERAL DEFINITIONS
AQUIFER: A geologic formation composed of rock or sand
and gravel that contains significant amounts of potentially
recoverable potable water.
GROUNDWATER: All the water found beneath the surface of
the ground. In this by-law, the term refers to the slowly moving
subsurface water present in aquifers and recharge areas.
RECHARGE AREAS: Areas from which precipitation or surface
water can migrate into an aquifer.
DISPOSAL: The deposit, injection, dumping, spilling,
leaking, incineration, or placing of any hazardous material into
or on any land or water so that such hazardous material or any
constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into
the air or discharged into any water, including groundwater.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS: Any substance or combination of
substances, that because of quantity, concentration or physical,
chemical or infectious characteristics, poses a significant
present or potential hazard to water supplies or to human health
if disposed of into or on any land or water in this town. Any
substance deemed a "hazardous waste" in Massachusetts
General Laws, Chapter 21C shall also be deemed a hazardous
material for purposes of this by-law.
IMPERVIOUS: Impenetrable by water.
SOLID WASTES: Useless, unwanted or discarded solid
materials, with insufficient liquid content to be free flowing,
including for example, rubbish, garbage, scrap materials, junk,
refuse, inert fill material and landscape refuse that has been
chemically treated.
WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICT: The Water
Resources Protection Overlay District shall be comprised of the
aquifer and watershed as well as the watershed above reservoirs
that are used for surface water supplies. It shall include the
highly permeable unconsolidated stratified drift deposits which
yield reliable supplies of water, as well as the unstratified
deposits and/or upland areas upgradient of which effectively
provide secondary recharge to the aquifer.
SECTION III. ESTABLISHMENT OF DISTRICTS
For the purpose of this by-law, there is hereby established
within the Town of Hopkinton an overlay district consisting of
certain aquifer protection areas which are delineated on a map
entitled "Water Resources Protection Overlay District, Town
of Hopkinton", dated September 17, 1989 and as further
amended, and which shall be considered as superimposed over
other districts established by the Zoning By-laws of this town.
When a portion of a lot is in the Water Resources Protection
Overlay District, only the portion of the lot in the Water
Resources Protection Overlay District shall be governed by this
by-law.
SECTION IV. USE REGULATION
1. Uses otherwise not permitted in the underlying
zoning district shall not be permitted in this
superimposed district.
2. Permitted uses: Within the Water Resources
Protection Overlay District, no land shall be used except
for one or more of the following uses:
a. Any use or structure or accessory thereto
permitted by right in the underlying district;
b. Recreational use of land or water;
c. Agricultural, horticultural, or forestry uses.
All other uses are prohibited, unless authorized by
special permit.
3. Special Permit Uses: The following uses may be
authorized by special permit subject to the approval of
the Special Permit Granting Authority under such
conditions as they may require. All uses in the underlying
district which require a special permit shall be subject
to the Special Permit provisions set out in this section
and in Section V.
a. Excavation other than for a structure or grading
resulting in creation of exterior grades less than six
(6) feet above the maximum groundwater table elevation,
other than for ponds under Special Permit Uses item (h);
b. Sewage treatment facilities, public or private,
other than a subsurface disposal system as allowed by
state and local code of 1500 gallons a day or less;
c. Solid waste transfer station;
d. Golf courses;
e. Storage of deicing chemicals in amounts exceeding
100 pounds;
f. Application of pesticides, herbicides, and
fertilizers for commercial purposes;
g. Any use that will render impervious more than 15%
or 2,500 square feet of any lot, whichever is greater. A
system for groundwater recharge must be provided which
does not degrade groundwater quality. For
non-residential uses, recharge shall be by stormwater
infiltration basins or similar system covered with
natural vegetation, and dry wells shall be used only
where other methods are unfeasible. For all
non-residential uses, all such basins and wells shall be
preceded by oil, grease, and sediment traps to
facilitate removal of contamination. Any and all
recharge areas shall be permanently maintained in full
working order by the owner;
h. Creation of ponds;
i. Use of sodium deicing chemicals in excess of the
minimum amount determined by the highway surveyor as
necessary to insure the safety of the walking and
motoring public;
j. Electronic component assembly.
4. Prohibited Uses:
a. New installation of underground storage tanks of
liquid petroleum and/or chemical products of any kind;
b. Disposal, treatment or generation of any hazardous
materials or placement of contaminated fill;
c. Storage of hazardous materials in quantities
greater than those amounts usually associated with
household uses;
d. Sanitary landfill, jointured, salvage yard, other
solid or hazardous waste disposal or incineration;
e. Industrial or commercial uses which discharge
processed wastewater on site;
f. Excavation other than for a structure, or grading
resulting in creation of exterior grades within four (4)
feet of the maximum high groundwater table elevation
other than for ponds allowed under Special Permit Uses
item (h);
g. Dry cleaning and commercial laundry
establishments;
h. Motor vehicle sales, service, washing and repair
establishments, and filling stations;
i. Truck terminal;
j. Commercial wood finishing using chemicals;
k. Electronic component manufacturing;
l. Metal plating or finishing;
m. Commercial photo finishing;
n. Underground transmission lines for chemicals or
liquid petroleum products;
o. The disposal of snow containing sodium deicing
chemicals;
p. Wastewater treatment facilities other than
individual sewage disposal systems except for
replacement, repair or systems treating contaminated
ground or surface water;
q. Automobile graveyards and junkyards as defined in
M.G.L. Ch. 140B Sec. 1;
r. Storage of more than one (1) unregistered motor
vehicle, with the exception of farm vehicles in
accordance with M.G.L. Ch. 90;
s. Individual sewage disposal systems that are
designed in accordance with 310 CMR 15.00 to receive
more than 110 gallons of sewage per quarter acre under
one ownership per day, or 440 gallons of sewage on any
one acre under one ownership per day, whichever is
greater, provided that:
i. the replacement or repair of a system, which
will not result in an increase in design capacity
over the original design, or the design capacity of
310 CMR 15.00, whichever is greater, shall be
exempted;
ii. in Open Space and Landscape Preservation
Development subdivisions the total sewage flow
allowed shall be calculated based on the number of
percable lots in the entire parcel.
t. Components of an individual sewage disposal system
that are not located on the same property as the use
that is served by the system.
SECTION V. SPECIAL PERMITS
1. The Special Permit Granting Authority (SPGA) shall
be the Zoning Board of Appeals.
2. If the bounds of the Water Resources Protection
Overlay District as delineated on the Water Resources
Protection Overlay District Map, are challenged, the
burden of proof shall be upon the owner(s) of the land in
question to show evidence supporting an alternative bound.
3. Application:
a. Any person who desires to obtain a special permit
shall submit a written application to the SPGA. Each
application, together with a filing fee, shall contain a
complete description of the proposed use, together with
any supporting information and plans which the SPGA may
require. The applicant shall file ten (10) copies of the
application with the SPGA.
b. The application, where applicable, shall include:
· A complete list of
the quantities and names of all chemicals, pesticides,
fuels, and other potentially hazardous materials to be
used or stored on the premises accompanied by a
description of measures proposed to protect from
vandalism, corrosion and leakage, and to provide for
spill prevention and countermeasures;
· A description of
quantities of potentially toxic or hazardous wastes to
be generated, indicating storage and disposal method;
· Evidence of approval
by the Department of Environmental Protection of any
industrial waste treatment or disposal system and of
any wastewater treatment system over 15,000 gallons
per day capacity;
· Analysis by a
registered professional engineer experienced in
groundwater evaluation or qualified professional
hydrogeologist, with an evaluation of the proposed use
including its probable effects or impact on surface
and groundwater quality and quantity, and natural flow
patterns of water courses.
c. The SPGA shall refer copies of the application to
the Board of Health, Planning Board, Conservation
Commission, Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners,
Hazardous Waste Coordinator, Building Inspector, Highway
Surveyor, Fire Chief, and Board of Selectmen who shall
review the application and submit recommendations to the
SPGA within thirty-five (35) days of the referral date.
Failure to submit recommendations to the SPGA within
such time shall be deemed lack of opposition.
d. The SPGA shall hold a public hearing on the
application no later than sixty-five (65) days after the
date of filing of an application. The SPGA shall issue a
decision no later than ninety (90) days following the
close of the hearing. The required time limits for a
public hearing and said action may be extended by
written agreement between the SPGA and the applicant.
The agreement shall be filed in the office of the Town
Clerk.
4. Findings by SPGA: The SPGA shall not issue a special
permit unless it shall find that the proposed use:
a. Is not in conflict with the purpose and intent of
this by-law;
b. Will not be injurious to the Overlay District;
c. Is appropriate to the natural topography, soils,
and other characteristics of the site to be developed;
d. Will not, during construction or thereafter, have
an adverse environmental impact on the aquifer or
recharge area;
e. Will not adversely affect an existing or potential
water supply.
5. Special Permit Conditions: The special permit shall
include sufficient conditions to satisfy the purposes of
this by-law. The conditions may include, but are not
limited to, analysis or monitoring of ground and surface
waters, hydrogeologic evaluation, erosion or siltation,
compaction, sedimentation control, drainage and recharge
provisions, and any other limitations or standards deemed
necessary by the SPGA. In making a determination regarding
the issuance of a special permit, the SPGA shall give
consideration to the simplicity, reliability, and
feasibility of the control measures proposed and the
degree of threat to water quality and quantity which would
result if the control measures were to fail. The SPGA may
require a bond to ensure that these conditions are
fulfilled.
6. Special Permit Time Limitations: A special permit
shall lapse if a substantial use thereof has not commenced
except for good cause within two years from the effective
date of the special permit.
7. Effective Date of Special Permit: No special permit
shall take effect until a copy of the decision has been
recorded in the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds, or for
registered land, in the Land Registration Section of said
Registry. Such decision shall bear the certification of
the Town Clerk that twenty days has elapsed after the
decision has been filed in the office of the Town Clerk
and no appeal has been filed, or if such appeal was filed,
it has been dismissed or denied.
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