Too Close To The River
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The review for a transfer station by the state falls under the regulations of the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) and under the Massachusetts Site Assignment Regulations for Solid Waste Facilities (310 CMR 16.00). One restriction under the Massachusetts
Site Assignment regulations is that this facility must be at least 200 feet from the river, as measured from a line called the river’s “mean annual
high water line.” The actual location of this line has turned out to be controversial. According to the project engineer (SK Design) quoting
from state regulations, the mean annual high water line is “coterminous with the upper boundary of the bank.” He goes on to quote the regulation “…the upper boundary of a Bank is the first observable break in the slope or the mean annual flood level, whichever is lower”
(emhasis is engineer’s).However, as noted by the engineer himself, this definition of “mean annual high water” is from a 1997 document.
The regulations were revised on May 12, 2000 and clearly lead BEAT to a different conclusion as to where the mean annual high water line is.
| To the right is the 2000 version of the regulation. The text in paragraph a is the current version of the text quoted by the engineer. However, the text in paragraph b specifies that there are times when the mean annual high water line is higher than the first observable break in slope. Specifically, this occurs when the river is “characterized by at least two of the following features: low gradient, meanders, oxbows, histosols, a low-flow channel, or poorly-defined or nonexistent banks.”Of these six characteristics, the Housatonic at this location shows five (low gradient, meanders, oxbows, histosols, low flow channel). In this situation, the mean annual highwater line “is represented by bankfull field indicators.”These indicators “include but are not limited to: changes in slope, changes in vegetation, stain lines, top of pointbars, changes in bank materials, or bank undercuts.”In looking at these indicators, regulators are trying to determine the level to which the river can be expected to rise each spring. Field signs, including those mentioned in the regulations, indicate that the river at this site rises much higher than indicated by the engineer. In fact, neighbors report that the river regularly floods onto their properties. | 310 CMR: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION10.58: continued 2. Mean Annual High-Water Line of a river is the line that is apparent from visible markings or changes in the character of soils or vegetation due to the prolonged presence of water and that distinguishes between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial land. Field indicators of bankfull conditions shall be used to determine the mean annual high-water line. Bankfull field indicators include but are not limited to: changes in slope, changes in vegetation, stain lines, top of pointbars, changes in bank materials, or bank undercuts.
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