The Bureau of Resource Protection is responsible for protecting critical inland and coastal water resources, controlling point and nonpoint sources of pollution, safeguarding public drinking water supplies, ensuring public access to the waterfront, and administering revolving loan programs that help the state's towns and cities improve their environmental infrastructure.

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Since 1993, Massachusetts has had a Clean Water Strategy. The Strategy emphasizes watersheds as the fundamental hydrologic unit around which programs should be integrated, and results of programs delivered, to ensure scarce resources are targeted to solving the biggest problems at the lowest possible cost. This approach requires grass-roots involvement within the communities that share the resource to set priorities and plan for improvements.

The Watershed Approach ensures that a custom-tailored strategy, employing the most appropriate and cost-effective water quality solutions and relying heavily on partnerships with watershed associations, is pursued for each of the state's 27 river basins, or watersheds.

To better implement the Watershed Approach, the Bureau of Resource Protection is aligned in three major units:

• The Watershed Management Division, charged with monitoring and regulatory activities that affect water quality and quantity within the state's major river basins, comprises four water resource programs (Wetlands & Waterways, Wastewater Management, Watershed Planning, and Drinking Water) and focuses on building local and regional coalitions to bring about the next major increment of water quality improvement.
• The Municipal Services Division has responsibility for administering the wastewater and drinking water State Revolving Funds and delivers training and technical assistance to Massachusetts towns and cities, wastewater treatment plant operators, septic system inspectors and soil evaluators.
• Planning and Program Support is the administrative backbone of BRP, collecting and analyzing ecosystem, facility and public health data to measure the effectiveness of the bureau's initiatives and programs, and striving for continuous improvement measured not only by environmental indicators but also in the variety and quality of services provided to municipal officials.

Combined sewer overflows, or CSOs, were built as part of sewer collection systems that were designed to carry both sewage and stormwater in the same pipe. When there is not a lot of stormwater, this mix is transported to a wastewater treatment plant where it is processed. However, after heavy rainfall or snowmelt, stormwater and sewage overload the system. Without CSOs, this mix would back up into homes, businesses, and public streets.

Combined sewer systems have regulator structures that allow overloaded systems to discharge into rivers, lakes and coastal areas subjecting them to higher pollutant loads. This can compromise a water body's uses and lead to water quality violations in the receiving waters.

CSO discharges are regulated by MassDEP and US EPA in accordance with state and federal CSO policies and the State Water Quality Standards. Massachusetts has 24 CSO permittees that have National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by EPA Region 1 and MassDEP's Surface Water Discharge Permitting Program.

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The Drinking Water Program ensures that the drinking water delivered by public water systems in Massachusetts is fit and pure according to national and state standards. As US EPA'S Primacy Agent for the federal Safe Drinking Water Act in Massachusetts, the Program regulates water quality monitoring, new source approvals, water supply treatment, distribution protection, and reporting of water quality data. It also coordinates with MassDEP's Office of Watershed Management, the Water Resources Commission, and DEM's Division of Water Resources in regulating quantity of water used for drinking water supplies and in promoting water conservation. The Program maintains an active community technical assistance program to assist public water suppliers, Boards of Health, and other local groups to develop drinking water source protection plans, write local water supply bylaws, and comply with state and federal water supply regulations. Other Program activities include approval of new water supply technologies, regulation of water vendors, source approval for bottled water (bottling regulated by MA Department of Public Health), and public education on drinking water issues.

The Drinking Water Program administers and enforces:

• The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) as amended in 1986, and associated federal regulations (40 CFR 141-144).
• Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 111, Sections 159 and 160, and associated state regulations at 310 CMR 21.00-24.00, 27.00 and 28.00.
• The Water Management Act, MGL C. 21G, and associated regulations at 310 CMR 36.00 (In coordination with MA DEP/BRP/Division of Watershed Management).

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Estuaries are special bodies of water where the sea meets the mouth of a river or stream. They provide not only recreational opportunities but also important habitat for shellfish and sea grasses as well as breeding grounds for important marine fisheries. The 89 estuaries and embayments of southeastern Massachusetts stretch from Duxbury south and include Cape Cod, Buzzards Bay, the Islands, and Mt. Hope Bay. Protection of these coastal water resources has increasingly become a priority for Massachusetts oceanfront communities.

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As authorized by the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act, MassDEP regulates the discharge of pollutants to the ground waters of the Commonwealth. The regulations contained in 314 CMR 5.00 set forth the requirements for obtaining a permit to discharge to groundwater.

In general, any facility which discharges a liquid effluent equal to or greater than 10,000 gallons per day (gpd) to the ground from a sewage treatment facility is subject to these regulations. (There may be instances, particularly in nitrogen sensitive areas, where a groundwater discharge permit will be required for flows less than 10,000 gpd.)

The Groundwater program seeks to ensure that groundwater quality is protected for its highest use. Groundwater quality standards are established to coincide with drinking water standards in order to promote maximum protection of groundwater as a drinking water source.

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(Note that organizationally this program is not part of BRP.) To protect Massachusetts inland and coastal surface waters, groundwater, and sewer systems, the Industrial Wastewater Management Program regulates the discharge, treatment, and storage of industrial wastewater. Regulations can be found at 314 CMR 2.00 to 314 CMR 12.00. Industries in the following SIC Codes are covered by this program:

Any discharge of industrial wastewater to a conventional septic system, innovative/alternative (I/A) system or cesspool is prohibited. For a list of nonresidential on-site dischargers whose industrial wastewater is prohibited from on-site disposal, go to 310 CMR 15.004.

On-site discharges of industrial wastewater must go to an industrial wastewater holding tank.

If a discharge of industrial wastewater to an on-site system is being discontinued, then in addition to complying with requirements for holding tanks, the system owner must notify MassDEP's Underground Injection Control program that the discharge is being closed.

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The mission of the Division of Municipal Services is to preserve water quality and abate pollution by providing financial assistance for municipal water and wastewater infrastructure projects and encouraging implementation of innovative and alternative decentralized solutions to municipal water and wastewater management problems. The Division works to expand and upgrade the Commonwealth's water related infrastructure by providing loans to municipalities and districts to finance the planning, design, and construction of wastewater treatment plants, infiltration and inflow reduction projects, combined sewer overflow correction projects, collection systems, water supply treatment, water filtration, and pollution prevention activities. Secondary to the environmental gains this program achieves are significant benefits in the areas of job growth in the construction industry and substantial relief for the water and sewer rate payers throughout the Commonwealth.

The Division focuses on strengthening federal/state/municipal partnerships, improving communications with municipalities and districts, and optimizing capital spending to achieve measurable water quality improvements in the Commonwealth's watersheds, groundwater aquifers, and coastal ecosystems. The Division utilizes an integrated management planning approach to determine wastewater management needs in conjunction with local and regional officials with river basins as the fundamental planning unit. Primary responsibilities of the Division include implementing the State Revolving Fund Program, which oversees construction project financing for wastewater treatment projects and drinking water infrastructure projects, including the development, construction, payment, inspection, and closeout of SRF-financed projects.

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Nonpoint source pollution is a pervasive problem, affecting surface and groundwater quality in both urban and rural areas. It is diffuse and largely unregulated, and is caused primarily when rainwater and snowmelt flow over (and through) ground that has been disturbed by some sort of land use. This "runoff" carries contaminants from these sites and deposits them into nearby surface waters and/or washes them into groundwater. Nonpoint source pollution can also come from sediments deposited into streams, lakes, or coastal waters as well as from atmospheric (dry and wet) fallout. In short, nonpoint source pollution comes from a wide variety of sources, most of which are directly related to uses of land.

As the name implies, nonpoint pollution does not usually come from a pipe, or "point" source. Point sources of pollution are generally from man-made processes which discharge through a pipe, such as industrial discharges and sewage outfalls from municipal waste treatment facilities. This is what most of us envisioned when we thought of pollution in the late sixties and early seventies. Since enactment of the Clean Water act in 1972, the US EPA, through a permitting and monitoring system mostly administered by the states, has controlled most of these sources.

Following the regulation and cleanup of most of the major point sources of pollution in Massachusetts, it became apparent that pollution problems still prevailed in many areas. Controlling the obvious point sources was not doing enough to achieve and maintain the quality of water everyone expected. Nonpoint source pollution - estimated to be responsible for seventy-five percent of all water quality problems - was clearly the culprit. Unfortunately, nonpoint sources of pollution are difficult to control, primarily because they are not easily identified.

The contaminants that arise from nonpoint sources are as varied and numerous as the sources themselves, causing many of the same water quality problems as point sources. Runoff from urban streets, parking areas, rooftops, lawns and gardens can contain heavy metals, nutrients, sediments, toxic chemicals and bacteria. Agriculture activities contribute runoff laden with sediment, pesticides, herbicides, nutrients and bacteria. Airborne pollutants from automobiles and industries contribute to acid precipitation and heavy metal fallout that is destroying forests and aquatic habitats.

Nonpoint source pollution can also be caused by natural phenomena. There is always a certain amount of erosion, sedimentation and runoff from undisturbed land. However, water quality problems do not usually occur unless human activities cause an increase in the quantity and rate of polluted runoff.

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Residuals is a general term for the solid and semi-solid sludge and products resulting from the treatment of sanitary wastewater. Biosolids are residuals that have been properly treated to high standards, thus allowing them to be used as organic soil amendments. Other residuals not treated to the level of biosolids are landfilled, incinerated, or shipped out of state.

MassDEP's permitting process ensures that all biosolids intended for beneficial use are safe to use. The MassDEP program that regulates biosolids and residuals is the Residuals Management Program.

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Systems of pipes and pumps that transport wastewater to wastewater treatment plants are called sanitary sewers. Water used in homes or industry is flushed through their pipes until it reaches local sewer mains owned and operated by municipal or regional sewer departments.

Sewer mains flow into progressively larger pipes until they reach the wastewater treatment plant. In the ideal case, a sewer system is completely gravity-powered. In situations where gravity cannot do all the work, the sewer system includes grinder-pumps or lift stations to move the wastewater to the treatment plant. Manholes allow access to the sewers by means of vertical openings and covers.

MassDEP has responsibility for ensuring that sanitary sewer systems are in compliance with the requirements of the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act and the regulations adopted under 314 CMR 1.00 through 9.00.

Proper operation and maintenance of sanitary sewers is critical to public and environmental health. This website has guidance for owners, managers and operators seeking to optimize operation of their systems as well as information about notifying MassDEP about emergency overflows, bypasses, and sewage backups.

Infiltration and inflow (I/I) is groundwater, rainwater and snow melt that enter sewer systems through defects in sewers or illegal connections. I/I reduces the capacity of sewer systems and treatment facilities to transport and treat wastewater. During periods of high groundwater and large or sudden storm events, I/I entering sanitary sewers may cause surcharging, wastewater backups into homes and businesses, and inadequate treatment. The policy available on this website is intended to help municipalities manage infiltration and inflow.

In rare instances, property owners may experience flooding and sewage backups. See this page for guidance on managing risks from flooding and backups.

Newer sewer systems were built with separate systems for sanitary and stormwater flows. However, older cities across the state may still have combined systems designed to carry both sanitary sewage and stormwater in the same pipes. See Combined Sewer Overflows for more information.

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Rain or snow that falls either soaks into the ground to become groundwater, evaporates, or flows off over the land surface. The overland flow is called runoff or stormwater and is the primary water source for vernal pools, wetlands, streams, rivers, lakes, and water-supply reservoirs. (For an illustration of the water cycle, see http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclegraphic.html - link exits MassDEP.)

Stormwater washes along or dissolves some of the materials in its path. Vegetative surfaces slow the flow, filter out sediments, and can break down or trap pollutants in the root zone. In contrast, buildings, roads, parking areas, and exposed bedrock increase the volume and speed of stormwater runoff since none can soak in and the hard surfaces present little resistance to flow. To prevent flooding and protect property in developed areas, stormwater drainage systems collect stormwater runoff and carry it away from roadways and structures to a discharge point. Most discharges are into natural waters. Stormwater drainage systems consist of curbs, gutters, storm drains, channels, ditches, pipes, and culverts and do not treat the stormwater.

Stormwater becomes a transportation system for pollutants. Soil that erodes from a construction site, cigarette butts and other litter from parking lots, antifreeze and oil dripped from cars, fertilizers and pesticides from turf management, and grit and salt left from de-icing operations on roadways can be deposited untreated into our waterways. Water can contain and transport sediments, metals (copper, cadmium, chromium, lead, zinc), nutrients (nitrates, phosphates, ammonia), salt, petroleum products and coliform bacteria among other materials. This is why stormwater is such a significant contributor to water pollution.

In Massachusetts, polluted stormwater runoff and discharges in urbanized areas cause serious water-quality problems. Polluted runoffs to waterbodies have affected aquatic plant and animal life in streams and lakes, closed shellfish beds, reduced recreational activities such as boating and swimming, and increased existing flooding conditions caused by natural events. For more information, see the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency website (link exits MassDEP).

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The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program is administered in Massachusetts by the US EPA and MassDEP. As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the NPDES permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into surface waters. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Industrial, municipal and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters.

MassDEP has primary responsibility for selected individual permit development, individual permit reviews and application reviews for general permits. MassDEP assists EPA in the development and implementation of the Storm Water Phase II Program. In addition, MassDEP creates policies to address permit issues such as mixing zones and "highest/best" treatment for phosphorus. EPA and MassDEP regional offices have primary responsibility for enforcement issues.

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On-site wastewater disposal systems are systems that treat wastewater flows,usually under 10,000 gallons per day. On-site systems include conventional septic systems - a septic tank with a leaching field - and may include the use of innovative/alternative (I/A) systems. Over 30% of the homes in Massachusetts have on-site wastewater systems, as do small businesses and institutions that are located in unsewered areas.

Title 5 of the State Environmental Code, 310 CMR 15.000, is a regulation that protects you and your community. Title 5 requires the proper siting, construction, and maintenance of all on-site wastewater disposal systems. On-site systems that are not properly located and maintained can contribute pathogens and nutrients to surface and ground waters, endangering drinking water supplies, wildlife habitat, and surface water bodies.

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For most Massachusetts homes without access to municipal sewers, conventional septic systems provide for on-site wastewater treatment and disposal. However, site limitations can make it difficult to replace a failing cesspool or septic system with a conventional septic system that will meet state standards. Innovative/Alternative (I/A) on-site systems have several advantages:

• They are generally better than conventional septic systems at removing solids and other pollutants from wastewater before it goes to the soil absorption system (SAS).
• The SAS following an I/A technology can be expected to have a longer life.
• I/A technology can also provide advanced treatment to reduce the wastewater's nitrogen content. For this reason, nitrogen reducing systems may be required for new construction, including additions to existing homes, near a private or public water supply well or other nitrogen-sensitive areas.

Whether your home already has an I/A system or you are thinking about installing one, this web site will help you to get acquainted with the basics: what your alternatives are, how they work, what they cost to install and maintain, what is required to stay in compliance with Title 5, and who you can turn to for additional information and assistance.

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MassDEP is responsible under Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter 21 for monitoring the waters of the Commonwealth, identifying those waters that are impaired, and developing a plan to bring them back into compliance with the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards. The list of impaired waters, better known as the "303d list," identifies river, lake, and coastal waters and the reasons for impairment.

Once a waterbody is identified as impaired, MassDEP is required by the Federal Clean Water Act to essentially develop a "pollution budget" designed to restore the health of the impaired waterbody. The process of developing this budget, generally referred to as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), includes identifying the causes (types of pollutant) and source(s) (where the pollutants come from) of the pollutant from direct discharges (point sources) and indirect discharges (non-point sources), determining the maximum amount of the pollutant that can be discharged to a specific water body to meet water quality standards, and developing a plan to meet that goal.

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Wastewater reuse refers to the reclaiming of wastewater with advanced treatment so that it can be reused safely for applications such as landscaping, irrigation, and toilet flushing.

In some areas of Massachusetts, rapid growth has significantly lowered the water table in aquifers, rivers, ponds and wetlands. Using reclaimed water in controlled situations can preserve habitat for aquatic plants and animals and lessen the strain on drinking water supplies.

In other parts of the country and the world, the use of reclaimed water has been demonstrated to be a viable, affordable approach to minimize negative impacts on areas with stressed water resources.

MassDEP encourages wastewater reuse in situations where public health can also be protected.

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Wastewater treatment plants range in size and complexity from satellite plants treating sanitary wastewater from homes to large regional facilities treating millions of gallons a day of sanitary and industrial wastewater. Treatment plants may be publicly or privately-owned. Plants owned by municipalities are commonly called Public-Owned Treatment Plants, or POTWs.

In cooperation with local and federal authorities, MassDEP regulates many types of wastewater treatment plants:

• Over 200 large sanitary and industrial facilities discharging to groundwater.
• Almost 600 facilities discharging to surface waters.
• Approximately 1700 indirect dischargers (typically commercial and industrial facilities that treat their wastes before discharging it to wastewater treatment plants).

On-site Title 5 systems (including septic systems) are regulated by MassDEP's Title 5 Program.

The Board of Certification of Wastewater Treatment Operators and MassDEP classify wastewater treatment plants based on their complexity. The Board also oversees training, exams, and issuing of licenses to approximately 6,600 wastewater treatment operators, in order to ensure that treatment plants are operated by qualified professionals.

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The Water Management Act (M.G.L. c.21G - link exits MassDEP) became effective in March 1986. The Act authorizes MassDEP to regulate the quantity of water withdrawn from both surface and groundwater supplies. The purpose of the regulations (310 CMR 36.00) is to ensure adequate water supplies for current and future water needs. The Water Management Act (WMA) consists of a few key components, including a registration program and a permit program.

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Since 1988, persons planning to withdraw water from ground or surface sources in excess of an annual average of 100,000 gallons per day or 9 million gallons in any three month period must apply for a Water Management Act Permit. Withdrawers typically requiring a permit include public water suppliers, 18 hole golf courses, cranberry growers, ski areas, sand and gravel facilities, fish hatcheries, agricultural and industrial users. Withdrawers with a Water Management Registration do not need a permit if they do not increase withdrawals over their registered volumes or add any new withdrawal points to their system.

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The Division of Watershed Management's (DWM) Watershed Planning Program (WPP) relies on the assessment of credible scientific environmental monitoring data to support a variety of mandated programs under the Federal Clean Water Act.

The objective of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. To meet this goal the CWA requires states to develop information on the quality of their water resources and report this information to the US EPA, the U.S. Congress, and the public. To this end the Watershed Planning Program is charged with collecting data both from its own monitoring program, as well as those of other agencies and institutions, and analyzing that information against the Massachusetts Water Quality Standards or other appropriate guidance and criteria.

Data gathered during years 1 and 2 of the watershed management cycle are analyzed during Year 3 and these assessments are published in individual watershed reports that serve to answer the following questions. How many waters are actually monitored and assessed? Do these waters support aquatic life? Are they safe for swimming and other recreation? Are fish and shellfish living in these water safe to eat? In addition to these reports, the WPP submits a statewide Section 305(b) Summary of Water Quality Report to EPA every two years.

Based upon information gathered to assess water quality conditions in accordance with the 305(b) requirements, the WPP submits a list of impaired waterbodies to EPA, as required under Section 303(d) of the CWA. States must develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for each of these waterbodies and establish pollution control strategies to restore these waters to meet water quality standards. This requirement highlights the importance of having accurate and reliable assessments based on sound scientific monitoring data to ensure that limited resources are focused on restoring waters that are truly impaired and that management efforts, often involving large capital expenditures, are carried out on high priority waters.

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Surface water monitoring field operations and selected biological laboratory functions of MassDEP are performed by personnel of the Division of Watershed Management (DWM). The Division of Environmental Analysis provides analytical chemistry support at its laboratory, the Senator William X. Wall Experiment Station (WES). The goals of the DWM monitoring program are to provide data for the following purposes:

1. Assess whether the condition of the water resources of the Commonwealth is of sufficient quality and quantity to support their multiple uses, and to report findings in watershed assessment reports, the 305(b) Summary of Water Quality Report and the 303(d) List of Impaired Waters;
2. Identify causes and sources of water use impairments as the first step toward developing water quality and quantity management strategies;
3. Characterize and rank existing and emerging problems to target implementation strategies and funding from § 319 and other grant programs; and
4. Provide data for the development of appropriate simulation models in support of the calculation of TMDLs.

Like other watershed management program elements, DWM monitoring is also performed in accordance with the rotating five-year basin schedule. During the first year of the cycle, outreach activities and reconnaissance are performed to determine what information is available and what data will need to be obtained during the monitoring phase in "Year 2". DWM formulates monitoring plans aimed at filling the information gaps that are identified. This has resulted in a targeted monitoring program that includes sites of known or suspected poor water quality. These sites tend to be of most concern to the public and are typically in most need of remedial action.

While responding to the specific monitoring needs of the watershed teams, DWM's program continues to place emphasis on obtaining information that can be used to assess the Clean Water Act's National Goal Uses of aquatic life protection, and primary and secondary contact recreation. As such, the program has been marked in recent years by a shift toward the use of biological monitoring techniques and ecological "response indicators".

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The Commonwealth's primary tool for protection and promotion of public use of its tidelands and other waterways is Massachusetts General Law Chapter 91 (link exits MassDEP), the waterways licensing program. The Commonwealth formally established the program in 1866, but the philosophy behind Chapter 91 dates back to the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, most notably in the Colonial Ordinances of 1641-1647 (link exits MassDEP).

The Colonial Ordinances codified the "public trust doctrine," a legal principle that dates back nearly 2000 years, which holds that the air, the sea and the shore belong not to any one person, but rather to the public at large.

The oldest program of its kind in the nation, Chapter 91 regulates activities on both coastal and inland waterways, including construction, dredging and filling in tidelands, great ponds and certain rivers and streams.

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The Wetlands Program ensures the protection of Massachusetts' inland and coastal wetlands, tidelands, great ponds, rivers and floodplains. It regulates activities in coastal and wetlands areas, and contributes to the protection of ground and surface water quality, the prevention of flooding and storm damage and the protection of wildlife and aquatic habitat.

The Program administers and enforces the Wetlands Protection Act (Chapter 131 s 40 - link exits MassDEP); the Inland and Coastal Wetlands Restrictions Acts; and the 401 Water Quality Certification Program.

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