Cranberry companies claim mining in wetlands is exempt from wetlands laws is exempt from the law as “agriculture”
Often, cranberry companies skirt the wetlands laws and they are not really exempt
Town conservation commissions are responsible for making sure that any cranberry mining projects claiming to be exempt follow the rules
The state’s Farming in Wetlands Resource Areas from 1996 explains what “agriculture” projects are exempt from the wetlands law.
Find the Guidelines here.
To see some projects that claim they are exempt from wetlands laws, see our blog post.