Department of Environmental Quality Engineering v. Town of Hingham

This case is before the court on appeal from the entry of summary judgment, pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 56, 365 Mass. 824 (1974), in favor of the plaintiff, the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering (DEQE), in an action brought against the town of Hingham (town) to secure compliance with G. L. c. 131, § 40, commonly known as the Wetlands Protection Act.

The case was referred to a master who heard DEQE s motion for summary judgment on the following undisputed facts. In 1979 the town began work on the relocation of a section of Town Brook within Hingham to alleviate a drainage problem.…