A solid success story for MassDEP is the Wetland Circuit Rider Program.  Established by the Wetlands and Waterways Program, Circuit Riders promote fair, consistent and environmentally sound wetland permitting by the 351 local conservation commissions in the state.  Circuit Riders accomplish these goals by offering technical, administrative, and regulatory assistance on numerous wetland topics to hundreds of commissions, municipal boards, and consultants each year.  The program has become a leading State resource for answering regulatory and technical wetlands questions and has received overwhelming support and praise for the Circuit Riders'  fair and consistent responses to questions and unparalleled professional outreach work from conservation commissions, municipal staff, and the regulated community alike.

Commissions should look for upcoming training opportunities here, through their regional circuit rider, or by contacting Alice Smith, Wetlands Circuit Rider Coordinator, by phone 617.292.5854 or by email: alice.smith@state.ma.us.

Get to Know Your Regional Circuit Rider

	Alice Smith is the Wetlands Circuit Rider Coordinator in Boston. Alice holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island. She also completed a Master's Degree in Environmental Management from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a focus on Hydrology and Water Resource Management. You can reach Alice by phone, 617.292.5854, and by email: alice.smith@state.ma.us.
	Christine Odiaga is the Circuit Rider for the Southeast Regional Office. She has a BS in Biology and minor in Marine Studies from Northeastern University. Christine did NPDES work on the Central Artery/Tunnel project for six years and is currently President of the Northeast Chapter of the International Erosion Control Association. You can reach Christine by phone, 508.946.2836 (in Lakeville) or 508.771.6117 (at the Cape Cod office), and by email: christine.odiaga@state.ma.us
	Mark Stinson is a Circuit Rider for the Western Regional Office. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and has also taken Masters level courses in Forestry Management at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He has over 13 years of experience at the conservation commission level as a commissioner, chair and agent for a Western Massachusetts community. Mark can be reached by phone, 413.755.2257, and by email: mark.stinson@state.ma.us
	Jennifer Gensel is the Circuit Rider for the Central Region. Jennifer graduated from Western CT State University with a B.A. in Planetary and Space Science and a M.S. in Environmental Science from University of New Haven. Prior to her position at MassDEP, Jennifer worked as an environmental consultant and wetland scientist focusing on wetland delineation, restoration and habitat studies. Jennifer has considerable knowledge of the local, state and federal environmental permitting process. Jennifer can be reached by phone at 508.767.2765 and by email:  jennifer.gensel@state.ma.us
	Pamela Merrill is the Circuit Rider for the Northeast Regional Office. Pamela is currently enrolled in the UNH Wetland Certification Program where she is working towards becoming a Certified Wetland Scientist in New Hampshire. She has 5 years of experience working as an agent for 2 North Shore Conservation Departments. Pamela also has experience working in the private sector, working with an environmental consulting company as an Associate Wetland Scientist. Reach Pamela by phone at 978.694.3249, and by email: pamela.merrill@state.ma.us

Highlights for the Circuit Rider Program

• The Wetlands Circuit Riders present a number of workshops and seminars during the year. This poster gives an idea of the types of workshops that are available to towns and communities within the Commonwealth. Schedules for upcoming  events can be found here on MassDEP's website, as well as contacting your regional circuit rider for more information.

• Wetlands Circuit Riders bring extensive experience to MassDEP, having worked for municipal boards, other state agencies, academia, environmental consulting and conservation organizations. This wealth of knowledge provides depth and breadth to the outreach offerings that they provide.  This year alone, Circuit Riders offered:

  77 Regulatory and Technical Workshops - The Circuit Riders conducted over 77 wetlands related workshops throughout the state in the past year, many of which go beyond the fundamentals of the Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) regulations.  One such topic of enormous public interest was Stormwater.  33 workshops covered revisions to WPA regulations that incorporated Stormwater Standards and more are planned.  The next two topics most frequently requested for workshops were Wetland Protection Act Basics (8 sessions) and Understanding How to Protect the Riverfront Area Through Alternatives Analysis (7 sessions). 

221 Training Sessions Tailored to Individual Conservation Commissions Needs - At the invitation of individual Conservation Commissions, Wetlands Circuit Riders attend regularly scheduled Commission meetings to provide regulatory, technical, and procedural assistance.  Individual Commissions request various types of assistance ranging from presentations on a specific subject of great interest to them to very informal question and answer sessions on many topics.  This year Circuit Riders visited over 221 Conservation Commissions statewide to provide specifically requested technical training.  Some are multiple visits to a single Commission. 

Responded to over 5500 email and phone calls on wetland related questions  - A very popular means of communication with Wetlands Circuit Riders is phone and email contact. They answer a wide variety of questions ranging from the simple to the complex and strive to respond to them in a timely manner.

Circuit Rider Outreach & Technical Assistance

MassDEP's main focus is to promote a greener Wetlands Program internally and to provide the opportunity for communities and businesses to do the same by transitioning from paper to electronic wetland permitting using eDEP and the new  Wetland Information Resource (WIRe) data management system. Find out more information about WIRe here on MassDEP's web site. This year, outreach goals for the Circuit Rider Program have expanded to introduce this program to Conservation Commissions and applicants and to help set up user accounts and learn how to use the system.  Preparation for release of  WIRe has been a component of Circuit Rider activities this summer and fall and will be a primary focus for outreach activities through the next year as the transition to electronic permit filing moves forward.

MassDEP's Wetlands Circuit Riders recently participated in MACC's annual conference, which was held February 28th in Worcester. The focus of the event for MassDEP was the registration of Conservation Commissions for eDEP. eDEP is the electronic filing system for permitting, and will, among other things,  feature revised NOI forms for town commissions. The new forms will be enhanced by the new program, WIRe. WIRe will bring many helpful features to the permit process, such as enhanced GIS technology and  project-specific information.  As noted by the following map, the circuit riders are making steady progress in the registration process.

Click on the map for a larger view. Is your community registered?