Announcement of Watershed ACEC Designation

On August 25, 2008 Secretary Ian A. Bowles designated the Three Mile River Watershed Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). The ACEC covers approximately 14,275 acres in Dighton, Norton, and Taunton in southeastern .

The effective date of the designation is August 27, 2008, the date of publication of this issue of The Environmental Monitor, in accordance with 301 C.M.R. 12.11.

The newest ACEC increases the total number of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern throughout the Commonwealth to 29. The combined acreage statewide is now 255,275 acres in 74 communities.

This announcement includes the following documents:

• Three Mile River Watershed ACEC designation document, • Three Mile River Watershed ACEC boundary map, and • Regional ACEC map for Three Mile River Watershed ACEC, including adjacent Aquifer ACEC and ACEC, designated in 1991 and 1990 respectively.

The digital ACEC boundary will be available via the online mapping tools: for ACECs at http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/acecs/pages/main.jsp, and for “Oliver,” an interactive online data viewer, at http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/massgis_viewer/index.htm, and in the ACEC data layer that can be downloaded from the MassGIS web site at http://www.mass.gov/mgis/acecs.htm

For further information, please contact: Elizabeth Sorenson at (617) 626-1394 or [email protected] Please also visit the ACEC Program website for updates: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/acec/index.htm.

Three Mile River Watershed ACEC Canoe River Aquifer ACEC Designated: August 25, 2008 Hockomock Swamp ACEC Acreage: 14275 acres Dighton: 125 acres Norton: 5400 acres Taunton: 8750 acres

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation

Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Program

This map is intended to be used Canoe River Aquifer with the written boundary ACEC description contained in the ACEC designation document. The mapped boundary is not to be used by itself for definitive ACEC boundary delineation or regulatory interpretation. For review of site-specific projects within the ACEC boundary, determinations may need to be made in the field or in consultation with ACEC Program Staff.

For more information: www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/acec

ACEC Boundaries by Type Road/Rail based River based Three Mile River Wetland based Watershed ACEC Floodplain based Tide based Contour based Political boundary Property line based Other Digital update required

Areas not within this ACEC are shaded with a gray mask.

1

mile ´ SHARON STOUGHTON H

G BROCKTON U O R O B X O F EASTON WEST Canoe River BRIDGEWATER D

L Aquifer E I

F ACEC S Hockomock Swamp N A ACEC M B R I D G E W

NORTON A T E

Canoe River R Aquifer ACEC

RAYNHAM Three Mile River Watershed ACEC TAUNTON

REHOBOTH

DIGHTON BERKLEY

Areas of Critical Environmental Concern Program

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/acec/