To file a Request for Determination of Applicability in Massachusetts, you download WPA Form 1 from the MassDEP website, complete it with your site information and the specific determination you want from your Conservation Commission, attach a project description and site plan, and submit the signed original to the commission (with a copy to the appropriate MassDEP regional office) along with written notice to every abutter within 100 feet. The commission then has 21 days to issue its ruling. There is no state filing fee, though your municipality may charge one.
When to Use WPA Form 1
WPA Form 1 is for property owners who want to know whether the Wetlands Protection Act applies to their land or a planned project before any work begins. If you’re thinking about putting up a fence, removing trees, regrading a yard, building a shed, or doing anything else within a wetland resource area or inside the 100-foot buffer zone, you have two paths: file a Notice of Intent and go through the full permitting process, or file an RDA and ask the commission the threshold question first.1Cornell Law Institute. Massachusetts Code 310 CMR 10.05 – Procedures
The Act covers freshwater wetlands, coastal beaches, salt marshes, banks, land under water bodies, land subject to flooding, and riverfront areas.2Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Protecting Wetlands in Massachusetts An RDA is the lighter option: if the commission finds the Act doesn’t apply, you skip the Notice of Intent entirely.
Where to Get the Form
WPA Form 1 is available as a fillable PDF and as a Word document on the MassDEP website. Paper copies are usually available at your municipal Conservation Commission office as well.3Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 1 – Request for Determination of Applicability
Filling Out the Form
Section A: General Information
Enter the street address of the project site. If you know them, add the assessor’s map or plat number, parcel number, and lot number. These identifiers are required when the lot does not contain a residence, school, or commercial or industrial building, or when the lot is being subdivided.4Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 1 – Request for Determination of Applicability Instructions You can pull them off your property tax bill or get them from the local assessor’s office.
If someone other than the owner is filing (a contractor, attorney, or environmental consultant), their contact details go in a separate section of the form.
Section C: Type of Determination Requested
Section C is where you tell the commission exactly what you want answered. Check one or more of the five boxes:
- 1a — Jurisdiction over land: is the area shown on your plan subject to the Wetlands Protection Act?
- 1b — Wetland boundary confirmation: are the boundaries of delineated wetland resource areas on your plan accurate? Not all commissions will confirm boundaries through an RDA, so ask first.
- 1c — Jurisdiction over activities: does the Act apply to the work you’ve planned within a resource area or buffer zone?
- 1d — Local bylaw applicability: does the town or city have a local wetlands ordinance that applies?
- 1e — Riverfront Area alternatives: is the scope of alternatives you’ve considered adequate for activities in a Riverfront Area?
Most homeowners filing an RDA for a backyard project will check 1a, 1c, or both. The information you need to supply in the rest of the form depends on which boxes you check.4Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 1 – Request for Determination of Applicability Instructions
Attachments the Commission Actually Reads
The form by itself is not enough. The commission needs to be able to find your site, understand what you’re doing, and judge whether the work might affect a resource area.1Cornell Law Institute. Massachusetts Code 310 CMR 10.05 – Procedures
Project Description
Describe what you plan to do, how you plan to do it, and what equipment you will use. If you will install erosion controls or take other protective steps during construction, say so.3Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 1 – Request for Determination of Applicability Be specific. “Building a shed” invites a request for more information and resets your timeline. “Constructing a 10-by-12-foot wooden shed on concrete piers, 65 feet from the bordering vegetated wetland, using hand tools only” gives the commission what it needs to rule.
Site Plan or Map
Include a drawing that shows where the proposed work will happen in relation to any wetlands, buffer zones, or other resource areas. A full professional survey isn’t always required for an RDA, but the plan must be clear enough for commissioners to verify distances. For complex projects, the commission can require that plans be prepared by a registered engineer, land surveyor, landscape architect, or other licensed professional.4Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 1 – Request for Determination of Applicability Instructions For a simple backyard project, a clean hand-drawn sketch with measured distances and labeled landmarks often works.
How to File
Submit the signed original of WPA Form 1 and all attachments to your local Conservation Commission by certified mail or hand delivery. At the same time, send one copy to the appropriate MassDEP regional office. If you are filing as someone other than the property owner, you must also send a copy to the owner.3Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 1 – Request for Determination of Applicability MassDEP’s contacts page lists which regional office covers which towns.
There is no state filing fee for an RDA. Your Conservation Commission may charge a local fee under its own bylaws, and amounts vary by municipality.3Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 1 – Request for Determination of Applicability Call the commission’s office before filing to confirm the amount and accepted payment methods.
Notifying Abutters
You are responsible for notifying every abutting property owner whose land is within 100 feet of your property line. Notification must be in writing and delivered by hand, by certified mail with return receipt, or by certificate of mailing, at least seven days before the public hearing.1Cornell Law Institute. Massachusetts Code 310 CMR 10.05 – Procedures Bring the mail receipts to the hearing. The commission will check them before proceeding.
Where properties are separated by a street or body of water, you still need to notify the abutter if their lot is within 100 feet of your line. Parcels of 50 acres or more, and linear projects longer than 1,000 feet, have modified notification distances.1Cornell Law Institute. Massachusetts Code 310 CMR 10.05 – Procedures Get an abutters list from your town assessor’s office; most will generate one for a small fee.
What Happens After You File
The Conservation Commission has 21 days from the date it receives a complete application to issue its ruling on WPA Form 2.1Cornell Law Institute. Massachusetts Code 310 CMR 10.05 – Procedures During that window, the commission schedules a public hearing where commissioners discuss your application, hear from abutters, and may ask you questions. Members may also visit the site beforehand to confirm that the plan matches actual conditions.
The ruling will be either a Negative Determination (the Act does not require a Notice of Intent, sometimes with conditions attached, generally valid for three years) or a Positive Determination (the Act applies, and no work may proceed until you file a Notice of Intent and receive an Order of Conditions).5Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 2 – Determination of Applicability Incomplete submissions are the most common cause of delays and of unnecessary Positive Determinations: when commissioners can’t tell exactly what you’re doing or how close you are to a wetland, they err on the side of caution.6Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 2 – Instructions for Completion
If You Disagree With the Ruling
You can request a Superseding Determination of Applicability from MassDEP. So can the property owner (if different from the applicant), abutters, any aggrieved person, or any group of ten residents in the town. The request must be filed within 10 business days of the determination, sent by certified mail or hand delivery to the appropriate MassDEP regional office with the required filing fee and a completed Request for Departmental Action Fee Transmittal Form. Copies must go to both the Conservation Commission and the applicant at the same time.7Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 2 – Determination of Applicability
Once a Superseding Determination is requested, work cannot proceed, even on a Negative Determination, unless MassDEP fails to act within 35 days. After that, work may proceed at the owner’s risk, but only after notifying both MassDEP and the Conservation Commission.5Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. WPA Form 2 – Determination of Applicability
Why Not to Skip the Form
Starting work in a resource area or buffer zone without filing an RDA or Notice of Intent is a violation of the Wetlands Protection Act. Violations carry fines of up to $25,000 and potential imprisonment for up to two years, and violators are typically required to restore altered land to its original condition. An RDA costs nothing to file at the state level and takes 21 days.