Wetlands debacle and illegal zoning case

[mbartok]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts.

I am trying to help a group of families in one town over from me. The short version of the story is: about two years ago, a man who owned a very large piece of wetlands (zoned as conservation land), decided to sell the land to a developer. The original owner of the land was on the conservation commission of the town (conflict of interest!) and lo and behold, he got the land rezoned. As soon as they started building, the neighborhood abutting the wetlands began to flood terribly and water has been pouring into their houses and land ever since. All the houses (about 22) are filled with mold now, most will have to be condemned, and there is raw sewage on their lawns, their trees are falling over from the sink holes---you get the picture. People are getting sick too from the mold. They are paying mortgages as well as now having to rent places in town, and these are people with very few resources. The town selectmen refuse to do anything, the state and DEP and M. Romney all say it's the town's responsibility, and yet no one is doing anything. They are now trying to raise money to hire a civil engineer from outside to find out what happened (most people here think that the developer broke the water table). I have just found them an environmental lawyer, so I hope that works out. In the mean time, who is considered responsible in a situation like this? The first owner of the land? The contractor/developer? The town, which has a long history of corruption? The DEP which didn't do what their website says they are supposed to do in a situation like this. The DEP guy is pals with the town guys...it's all very slimey. There's more but I'll leave it at that for now. By the way, the town refused to pay for a civil eng. to find out what is going on down below---these people have also received threats from town officials as well as the state rep., who didn't like the bad press he got. Thanks for your time...

[nextwife]

Doesn't the state DNR have any say over wetlands?

What sort of Environmental Impact Statement was utilized in reviewing the rezoning, and WHY was the developer NOT required to provide alternate wetland landscaping? I mean, I see wetlands developed, but it is approved and done by creating an artificial wetlands in reserved areas of the site, comparable to what would be lost. The site would have needed to be reengineered to provide both species needs and drainage, runoff relief. And doesn't thwe Army Corp of Engineers also have control over waterways

Perhaps an environmental organization such as the Sierra Club would be interested in joining in on any legal action?