No activity shall be permitted in any district unless it shall be in conformity with the standards for environmental protection included herein.

The Inspector of Buildings may require an applicant for a building or occupancy permit to supply, at the applicant's expense, such technical evidence as is necessary in support of the application and may, in connection therewith and at the applicant's expense, obtain expert advice as necessary to review the plans and proposals of the applicant. Payment of such expert advice to the Inspector of Buildings shall be made, or guaranteed by bond or other legally binding device, before further consideration of the application shall continue.

After a permit is issued in accordance with this article, continuing compliance is required. When the Inspector of Buildings suspects a subsequent violation, the Inspector may, as necessary, obtain expert advice, which, if the violation is established, shall be paid for by the violator and otherwise by the town.

Water quality. No discharge at any point into any public sewer, private sewerage disposal system, stream or water body or into the ground of any materials of such nature or temperature as can contaminate such water body or water supply or cause emission of dangerous or offensive elements in reaction thereto shall be permitted except in accordance with applicable federal, state and local health and water pollution control laws and regulations.

Air quality. No building or occupancy permit shall be issued for any facility subject to regulation under the Massachusetts Air Pollution Control Regulations, 310 CMR 7.00, until compliance with those regulations has been demonstrated and, if applicable, the appropriate permit(s) has been obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Waste Prevention. The provisions of said regulations shall apply to dust, flash, gas, fume, mist, odor, smoke, vapor, pollen, microorganism, radioactive material, radiation, heat, sound, any combination thereof or any decay or reaction product thereof in the ambient air space.

Noise. No use shall be permitted within the Town of Chelmsford which, by reason of excessive noise generated therefrom, would cause nuisance or hazard to persons or property. Exempt from the provisions of this subsection are vehicles not controlled by an owner or occupant of a lot within the town, temporary construction activities occurring during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, occasionally used safety signals, warning devices, emergency pressure-relief valves or other such temporary activity and the use of power tools and equipment such as lawn mowers, snowblowers, chain saws, tractors and similar equipment for the maintenance of property. For the purposes of this chapter, the standards in the Noise Table shall apply for sounds generated continuously from any source not otherwise exempted above.

Solid waste storage. Any accessory receptacle or structure with holding capacity of at least 100 cubic feet for temporary storage of solid or liquid waste materials, including garbage, rubbish, junk, discarded bulk items and similar waste items, shall be located not less than 10 feet from any structure and shall be screened from all adjacent premises and streets from which it would otherwise be visible in accordance with § 195-44B of this chapter. Screening materials will not be attached to any structure.

No vibration, odor, glare or flashing shall be detectable without instruments at any lot line of a residential or institutional use.

Cinders, dust, fumes, gases, odors, smoke, radiation, refuse or other waste materials shall be effectively confined to the premises and treated or disposed of in accordance with state, federal and Town laws and regulations.

No process shall be used which creates visual or audible interference in any radio or television receivers off the premises or causes fluctuations in excess of 10% in line voltage off the premises.

All activities involving, and all storage of, inflammable and explosive materials shall be provided with adequate safety devices against hazards from fire and explosion and with adequate fire-fighting and fire-suppression equipment standard in this industry. Burning of waste materials in the open contrary to state law is prohibited.

All materials which may be edible by or attractive to rodents or insects shall, when stored indoors or outdoors, be stored in tightly closed containers.

Grading or construction which will result in final slopes of 15% or greater on 50% or more of the lot area or on 30,000 square feet or more on a single lot, even if less than half the lot area, shall be allowed only under special permit from the Planning Board, which shall be granted only upon demonstration that adequate provisions have been made to protect against erosion, soil instability, uncontrolled surface water runoff or other environmental degradation. Applications and plans for such special permits shall be referred to the Conservation Commission for its advisory review.

All such slopes exceeding 15% which result from site grading or construction activities shall either be covered with topsoil to a depth of four inches and planted with vegetative cover sufficient to prevent erosion or be retained by a wall constructed of masonry, reinforced concrete or treated pile or timber or other acceptable means.

No area or areas totaling one acre or more on any parcel or contiguous parcels in the same ownership, or part of a larger development, shall have existing vegetation clear-stripped or be filled six inches or more so as to destroy existing vegetation unless in conjunction with agricultural activity; or unless necessarily incidental to construction on the premises under a currently valid building permit; or unless within streets which are either public or designated on an approved subdivision plan; or unless a special permit is approved by the Planning Board on condition that runoff will be controlled, erosion avoided and either a constructed surface or cover vegetation will be provided not later than the first full spring season immediately following completion of the stripping operation. No stripped area or areas which are allowed by special permit shall remain through the winter without a temporary cover of winter rye or similar plant material being provided for soil control, except in the case of agricultural activity where such temporary cover would be infeasible.

The Inspector of Buildings may require the submission of all information from the building permit applicant or the landowner, in addition to that otherwise specified herein, necessary to ensure compliance with these requirements, including, if necessary, elevations of the subject property, description of vegetative cover and the nature of impoundment basins proposed, if any.

In granting a special permit hereunder, the Planning Board may require a performance bond to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section.

Hillside areas, except naturally occurring ledge or bedrock outcroppings or ledge cuts, shall be retained with vegetative cover or appropriate stabilization.