Wetland Permit Application Materials and Helpful Documents

Introduction

Thank you for visiting this informational website about wetland permitting in the Town of Andover.  The text and links below will hopefully provide you with the information you are looking for.

Under the state of Massachusetts’s Wetlands Protection Act and the Andover Wetlands Protection Bylaw, activities or projects to take place within a wetland itself or within 100 feet of wetlands and/or 200 feet of a perennial river or stream requires review and permitting through the Andover Conservation Commission.  The Andover Conservation Commission aims to protect the Town of Andover’s natural resources in accordance with the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (M.G.L. 131 Section 40A) and the Town's Wetlands Protection Bylaw, Article XIV. Wetlands include rivers, streams, ponds, marshes, wet meadows, bogs, swamps, and other wet areas.  These areas play a critical role in protecting Andover's drinking water supply, reduce storm and flood damage, and create habitat for countless wildlife and plant species.     

More information about the Andover Conservation Commission is available under the separate “Andover Conservation Commission” website, a link to which exits in the upper left portion of this page.  This separate page also contains the Commission’s yearly meeting calendar.  

If your project or activity will take place within a wetland itself or the 100 foot and 200 foot distances mentioned above, the next step is to submit a formal application, known as a Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA) or Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Andover Conservation Commission. 

Conservation Commission meetings – when they review wetland permit applications - are normally held on the first and third Tuesday of each month beginning at 7:00pm. Filing deadlines for meetings are 12pm on the Tuesday two weeks prior to the meeting date.  Additional information is available through the links below. 

Suggestions

1).  If you are unsure if the property in Andover that you are inquiring about contains wetlands, you may look up the property on the Town of Andover’s GIS Viewer.  The GIS Viewer shows wetlands as a “Nature Layer” which can be selected and turned on.  The link to access the GIS Viewer is below.

2).  If your proposed project or property does require wetland permitting, and if you are unfamiliar with the wetland permitting process, we recommend that you first review the “Wetland Permitting – An Applicant’s Guide” document at the link below.  It will provide you with a broad overview of the permitting process, the applicable regulations, how to choose the appropriate wetland permit application, etc.

3)  Conservation Commission meetings are currently being held virtually over Zoom.  Once you submit an application, you will receive an invitation to the meeting from Andover Conservation Staff.

4)  Wetland permit application packets contain a permit checklist and set of instructions that you should find helpful if you are preparing an application. 

You are welcome to contact Andover Conservation Staff at (978) 623 8630 and/or cdpconservation@andoverma.us with questions about the wetland permitting process.