Agenda

Registration:                        8:00 – 8:30 am

Morning Session:                8:30 am – 12:15 pm

Lunch (On your own):         12:15 – 1:15 pm

Afternoon Session:             1:15 – 4:30 pm

Identifying Wetlands M. Schweisberg

   Identifying and delineating resource areas under the
   Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (WPA), and wetlands
   and other waters under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA)
      • Wetland Resource areas under the Mass WPA — types and definitions
      • Waters of the United States under the federal CWA
      • Boundary determination for resource areas, including buffer zones
      • Delineating bordering vegetated wetlands under the WPA and
   wetlands under the CWA
   Identification and delineation under the federal CWA, Mass WPA and
   municipal by laws — similarities and important differences

 Understanding Federal and Massachusetts’ Wetlands Laws and Regulations J. Shea

   The Federal Clean Water Act
   Rivers and Harbors Act
   Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and regulations
   Municipal Home Rule Laws
   Implementing/enforcing agencies
      • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
      • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
      • Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
      • Local Conservation Commissions
   Enforcement defense
      • Conservation Commissions
      • MassDEP/ Attorney General
      • Army Corps of Engineers/ EPA

Wetlands Permitting Process J. Shea

   State and local
      • Jurisdictional determinations
      • Determination of applicability
      • Order of resource area delineation
      • Notice of intent
      • Order of conditions
      • Variance (local, state)
      • Appeals: MassDEP and courts
   Federal
      • Jurisdictional determinations
      • Massachusetts general permits
      • Self-verification
      • Individual permits
      • Appeals

Wetland Preservation, Restoration, Creation
and Enhancement
M. Schweisberg

   Compensatory mitigation: restoration, replication/creation,
   enhancement and preservation
   Protected interests under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act
   Ecological functions of wetlands and other waters under section 404
   of the federal Clean Water Act
   Compensatory mitigation — types and definitions
      • Restoration
      • Creation/replication
      • Enhancement
      • Preservation
      • Regulatory requirements
   Design considerations
      • Reference areas
      • Location, location, location
      • Pre-design factors — water source
      • Topography
      • Hydrology
      • Soils
      • Plants
      • Monitoring and performance standards
      • Long-term protection
    Best practices
      • Planning
      • Budget
      • Contractors
      • Oversight

Credits

 Architects & Landscape Architects
     6.5 HSW Contact Hours
     6.5 AIA LU|HSW
     6.5 LA/CES HSW PDHs
Professional Engineers
     6.5 PDHs/CE Hours
Floodplain Managers
     6.5 ASFPM CECs
Massachusetts Attorneys
     Non-Credit CLE
Contractors
     Non-Credit Continuing Ed.


Continuing Education Credit Information

This seminar is open to the public and offers 6.5 HSW contact hours to architects in most states, including Massachusetts. Educators and courses for Massachusetts architects are not subject to pre-approval.

This course offers 6.5 PDHs/CE hours to professional engineers in most states and 6.5 HSW CE hours to landscape architects in most states. Continuing education is not mandatory in Massachusetts. Refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility. This course is not eligible for New York engineer, architect, and landscape architect continuing education credit, as it contains information specific to Massachusetts.

This course is approved by the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System for 6.5 LU|HSW (Sponsor No. J885) and the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System for 6.5 HSW PDHs. Only full attendance is reportable to the AIA/CES and LA/CES. Visit www.halfmoonseminars.org for complete AIA/CES information.

The Association of State Floodplain Managers has approved this event for 6.5 CECs.

This courses offers a continuing legal education opportunity to Massachusetts attorneys. Massachusetts does not require CLE for attorneys.

Speakers

Matt Schweisberg

PWS Principal with Wetland Strategies and Solutions, LLC in Merrimac, MA

Mr. Schweisberg provides policy, regulatory and technical advice and assistance for clients seeking to navigate a wide range of regulatory and non-regulatory issues related to wetlands and other aquatic resources. He works throughout the U.S. Mr. Schweisberg is a Professional Wetland Scientist under the Professional Certification Program of the Society of Wetland Scientists. He is a retired federal wetlands ecologist and wildlife biologist who spent over 32 years with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency at its headquarters office in Washington, D.C., and at the New England Region office in Boston. Mr. Schweisberg served as chief of the New England Region’s Wetlands Protection Program, as senior wetland ecologist, and on national work groups developing guidance and regulations on Clean Water Act jurisdiction, among other issues. He has testified before federal grand juries and has served several times as an expert witness in federal, state, and private litigation. Mr. Schweisberg has taught courses in wetland regulation, restoration, and creation; wetland ecology; and wetland identification and delineation for federal and state agencies, academic organizations, and environmental consultants. He received his degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Maine.

John Shea

Mackie Shea P.C.

Shareholder, Mackie Shea P.C.
Mr. Shea has practiced environmental and land use law for over 35 years. He focuses on wetlands, water, wildlife and hazardous waste laws. Mr. Shea is recognized as a master strategist in securing approvals for complex and controversial projects, developing environmental compliance plans for proactive and troubled companies and successfully defending permits in administrative and court appeals. He represents developers, businesses and high net worth individuals in permitting, siting, enforcement defense and litigation. Mr. Shea’s development projects include coastal homes, subdivisions, subsidized housing, hotels, assisted living facilities, hospitals, colleges, banks, coastal erosion protections, docks, marinas, aquaculture farms, radio antennas, industrial plants, office parks and retail complexes. He is recognized as a leader in environmental and land use law by Chambers USA’s America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The 2013 edition described Mr. Shea as a “Dean of the Environmental Bar;” the 2014 edition reported “there’s nothing he hasn’t seen or done;” and the 2019 edition observed that “he is great at permitting disputes as well as working effectively with regulators to reach a compromise.” He was selected as the 2013 Boston Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year” by The Best Lawyers in America®, and as one of the four best environmental lawyers in New England. Since 2004, he is designated a Massachusetts and New England SuperLawyer by Boston Magazine and Thomson Reuters. Mr. Shea enjoys an AV Preeminent rating for the highest levels of professional excellence from Martindale-Hubbell. He chairs professional programs and lectures to lawyers, engineers and business groups. Mr. Shea is a member of The Planetary Society and The Mars Society and lectures on space law.

CD/Manual Price: $289.00

Currently, our self-study products DO NOT qualify for AIA, LACES, ASLA or CLARB credit.

HalfMoon will mail you these materials via USPS. Please allow 5 weeks from the date of purchase to receive your product. If the live seminar is in the future, please allow 5 weeks from the date of the live seminar.

The CD/Manual package includes an audio recording of a live seminar on CDs, along with a bound copy of the manual that was distributed at the seminar. The manual contains written materials prepared by the seminar speaker(s).

The CDs contain embedded number codes, which you are required to document and return to HalfMoon if you wish to obtain a certificate of completion for the program. The acceptance of self-administered continuing education activities vary widely between states and professions. Before undertaking any self-study effort, you should review the rules of your licensing/certifying entity.

HalfMoon Education guarantees its products. The self-study products are recorded from a live seminar and there are circumstances where an audio recording is not available. HalfMoon will contact you and issue a full refund if the product you ordered is not available. If you are not happy with a product you receive, you can return the product for a full refund. However, refunds will not be issued if completion certificates are requested.

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