Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members have elected Republican member Kristen Hammar to serve as the panel's chairman for a one-year term.

IWC members elected Ms Hammar to the position without opposition in a vote at a February 10 IWC meeting.

Ms Hammar replaces Democrat Mary Curran as chairman. IWC members elected Ms Curran to the post of vice chairman. Ms Curran replaces unaffiliated member Sharon Salling as vice chairman.

Also, IWC members elected unaffiliated member Craig Ferris as secretary. Mr Ferris replaces Ms Hammar in that position.

Attending the February 10 session were Ms Hammar, Ms Curran, Mr Ferris, and Ms Salling. Absent were Republican members Suzanne Guidera and John Davin. The seven-member appointed panel has one vacancy.

The IWC administers the town's inland wetlands and watercourses regulations. The agency also administers the town's forest practices regulations.

Members of the IWC also serve as the town's Aquifer Protection Agency (APA), a panel which reviews development applications involving activity in the town's Aquifer Protection District (APD).

The APD is an overlay zone located above Pootatuck Aquifer, an underground geological formation containing water that is the source for two public water supplies and hundreds of individual domestic water wells.

In its role as an environmental protection agency, the IWC plays a key role in reviewing development proposals involving high-density construction in environmentally sensitive areas.

During the past year, the IWC granted wetlands/watercourses protection permits to the developers of a mixed-use project off Hawleyville Road that will include a 180-unit rental apartment complex, a diner, and a church.

Also, the IWC granted a wetlands/watercourses protection permit for The River Walk at Sandy Hook Village, a planned 65-unit condominium complex on Washington Avenue. IWC members, in their role as the APA, also reviewed the aquifer protection aspects of the River Walk project.