Wetlands Act Variances issued by MA Dept. of Environmental Protection
May 1999 - March 2004
pursuant to 310 CMR 10.05 (10)

compiled by Friends of the Blue Hills 12/04 with data obtained via 9/04 public records request
       
 1. 5/14/1999    Norumbega Covered Storage/Weston   Signed by
DEP/Edward Kunce
  90,550 sq ft BVW wetland replication proposed for 83,150 sq ft project impacts including BVW and ILSF. Replication includes off-site work at Weston Reservoir.  

Applicant
 MWRA
   
 2. 9/21/99    Commercial building/Leominster        Signed by
DEP/Edward Kunce
  30,000 sq ft BVW impact. Denied for lack of public purpose. Only denial in 17 variances issued between 5/99 and 3/04.   Applicant
 private developer
   
 3. 9/25/00    Rt. 3 widening/Tyngsborough   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
  Says 1:1 mitigation achieved for BVW loss project-wide, plus $4 million for "open space acquisition and preservation."   Applicant
 MA Highway
   
 4. 11/10/00    MBTA commuter rail station/Ashland   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
  Total BVW impact 19,050 sq ft. BVW replication of 43,200 sq ft required--"slightly greater than 2:1."   Applicant
 MBTA
   
 5. 11/17/00    Rt. 3 widening/Lowell   Applicant
 MA Highway
  Acknowledges 6.25 acre BVW loss in Lowell and only 2.86 acres will be replicated, but says 1:1 standard will be met "on corridor-wide basis."   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
       
 6. 12/22/00    Norwood Airport/Norwood   Applicant
 Norwood Airport Commission
  10,350 sq ft BVW impact. 20,000 sq ft to be replaced, for 2:1 "replication to impact ratio."   Signed by
DEP/probably Lauren Liss
       
 7. 1/26/01    Rt. 3 widening/Bedford   Applicant
 MA Highway
  2.08 acres permanent BVW loss. 1.78 acres replication required. Again cites 1:1 ratio on "corridor-wide basis."   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
       
8. 1/26/01    Rt. 3 widening/Billerica   Applicant
 MA Highway
  4.61 acres permanent loss BVW. 3.69 acres replication.   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
       
 9. 1/26/01    Rt. 3 widening/Burlington   Applicant
 MA Highway
  .57 acres permanent loss BVW. 1.5 acres BVW to be provided. Language changes (from prior variances) regarding overall BVW mitigation ratio, no longer saying 1:1 but instead "mitigation provided by the project as a whole will serve to replace wetland functions lost in individual communities." Names $4 million provided for open space acquisition and preservation.   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
       
 10. 1/26/01    Rt. 3 widening/Chelmsford   Applicant
 MA Highway
  4.65 acres permanent loss BVW. 11.83 acres replication.  
"Full mitigation for the 3,890 linear feet of Bank and 0.37 acres of Land Under Water will be provided by 4,556 linear feet of Bank and 3.62 acres respectively as part of an open water mitigation site."		   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
       
 11. 5/18/01    Provincetown Airport/Provincetown   Applicant
 Provincetown Airport
  10,200 sq ft permanent BVW impact (salt marsh). Mitigation via financial support for Hatches Harbor salt marsh restoration project, restoring 60-90 acres and potentially creating 7 acres fresh marsh.   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
     
 12. 5/12/02    Rt. 495/140 interchange relocation/Franklin   Applicant
 MA Highway
  30,454 sq ft BVW impact. 1,533 sq ft LUW impact. 758 ft bank impact. Mitigation is 64,974 sq ft BVW and 7365 sq ft LUW, for 1.4:1 mitigation/loss (mitigation is 140% size of lost areas).   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
     
13. 11/18/02    Greenbush Line/Hingham   Applicant
 MBTA
  Requires 2:1 in-kind replication.   Signed by
DEP/Lauren Liss
     
14. 4/16/03    Westover Air Force Base/Chicopee   Applicant
 Westover Air Force Base
  Permanent BVW loss of 43,200 sq ft. Replication is 45,738 sq ft (slightly better than 1:1).   Signed by
DEP/Edward Kunce
     
15. 11/7/03    Blue Hills Covered Storage/Quincy   Applicant
 MWRA
  Permanent impacts cited as 8.7 acres Land Under Water, 2210 linear feet Bank, and 1057 sq ft BVW.  Replication limited to 10,000 sq ft ILSF. No mitigation ratio cited.  Actual ratio approximately 1:37.   Signed by
DEP/Robert Golledge
       
16. 3/5/04    Greenbush Line/Scituate   Applicant
 MBTA
  Includes impact table citing 53,841 sq ft BVW permanent impacts. "Potential mitigation sites to provide 2:1 wetland mitigation to impact ratio."  Rosseau property on North River chosen w/replication of 119,000 sq ft BVW, LUW, and salt marsh.  Applicant proposes to acquire six acres of land in Scituate for wetland mitigation purposes.   Signed by
DEP/Robert Golledge
       
17. 3/22/04    Greenbush Line/Cohasset   Applicant
 MBTA
  Includes impact table showing: 63,447 sq ft permanent BVW impact, 1,166 linear feet permanent Bank impact, 198 sq ft permanent LUW impact, 2,994 sq ft permanent BLSF impact.
Mitigation in-kind at off-site Davenport & Barnes sites amounts to restoration of 4.26 acres filled wetlands.  "The MBTA will achieve in excess of the 2:1 mitigation ratio required by this variance."		   Signed by
DEP/Robert Golledge