It is hereby determined that:
A. Land development activities and the development of real property
and associated increases in site impervious cover often alter the
hydrologic response of local watersheds and increase stormwater runoff
rates and volumes, flooding, stream channel erosion, or sediment transport
and deposition;
B. This stormwater runoff contributes to increased quantities of waterborne
pollutants, including siltation of aquatic habitat for fish and other
desirable species;
C. Clearing and grading during construction tends to increase soil erosion
and add to the loss of native vegetation necessary for terrestrial
and aquatic habitat; improper disposal and clearing of vegetation
and other wastes can lead to unacceptable conditions;
D. Improper design and construction of stormwater management practices
can increase the velocity of stormwater runoff, thereby increasing
streambank erosion and sedimentation;
E. Impervious surfaces allow less water to percolate into the soil,
thereby decreasing groundwater recharge and stream base flow;
F. Substantial economic losses can result from these adverse impacts
on the waters of the municipality;
G. Stormwater runoff, soil erosion and nonpoint source pollution can
be controlled and minimized through the regulation of stormwater runoff
from land development activities;
H. The regulation of stormwater runoff discharges from land development
activities in order to control and minimize increases in stormwater
runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion, stream channel erosion, and
nonpoint source pollution associated with stormwater runoff is in
the public interest and will minimize threats to public health and
safety;
I. Regulation of land development activities by means of performance
standards governing stormwater management and site design will produce
development compatible with the natural functions of a particular
site or an entire watershed and thereby mitigate the adverse effects
of erosion and sedimentation from development.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety, and welfare of the public residing within this jurisdiction and to address the findings of fact in §
273-1 hereof. This chapter seeks to meet those purposes by achieving the following objectives:
A. Meet the requirements of minimum measures 4 and 5 of the SPDES general
permit for stormwater discharges from municipal separate stormwater
sewer systems (MS4s), Permit No. GP-02-02 or as amended or revised;
B. Require land development and/or work activities on real property
to conform to the substantive requirements of the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES) general permit for construction activities GP-02-01
or as amended or revised;
C. Minimize increases in stormwater runoff from land development activities
in order to reduce flooding, siltation, increases in stream temperature,
and streambank erosion and maintain the integrity of stream channels;
D. Minimize or decrease pollution caused by stormwater runoff from land
development activities which would otherwise degrade local water quality;
E. Minimize or decrease the total annual volume of stormwater runoff
which flows from any specific site during and following development
to the maximum extent practicable;
F. Reduce stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion and nonpoint
source pollution, wherever possible, through stormwater management
practices and to ensure that these management practices are properly
maintained and eliminate threats to public safety; and
G. Eliminate unstable soil conditions and the production of noxious
gases which result from improper stormwater practices, improper clearing
of vegetation, improper grading practices, and the burial of vegetative
or other wastes.
The following activities are exempt from review under this chapter:
A. Agricultural activity as defined in this chapter.
B. Routine maintenance activities that disturb less than five acres
and are performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic
capacity or original purpose of a stormwater management facility.
C. Repairs to any stormwater management practice or facility deemed
necessary by the Stormwater Management Officer.
E. Installation of fence, sign, telephone, and electric poles and other
kinds of posts or poles.
F. Emergency activity immediately necessary to protect life, property
or natural resources.
G. Activities of an individual engaging in home gardening by growing
flowers, vegetables and other plants primarily for use by that person
and his or her family.
H. Landscaping and horticultural activities in connection with an existing
structure.
I. Creation or restoration of wetlands pursuant to a state or federal
wetlands permit.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
The activity of an active farm, including grazing and watering
livestock, irrigating crops, harvesting crops, using land for growing
agricultural products, and cutting timber for sale, but shall not
include the operation of a dude ranch or similar operation or the
construction of new structures associated with agricultural activities.
APPLICANT
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed
an application for a land development activity.
BUILDING
Any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls
and a roof, designed for the shelter of any person, animal, or property
and occupying more than 100 square feet of area.
CHANNEL
A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and
banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.
CITY
The City of Watervliet and/or its agents.
CLEARING
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
DEDICATION
The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for
general public use.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
DESIGN MANUAL
The New York State Stormwater Design Manual, most recent
version, including applicable updates, that serves as the official
guide for stormwater management principles, methods and practices.
DEVELOPER
A person who undertakes land development activities.
EROSION CONTROL MANUAL
The most recent version of the "New York Standards and Specifications
for Erosion and Sediment Control" manual as amended, commonly known
as the "Blue Book."
GRADING
Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions
thereof.
IMPERVIOUS COVER
Those surfaces, improvements and structures that cannot effectively
infiltrate rainfall, snowmelt and water (e.g., building rooftops,
pavement, sidewalks, driveways, etc.).
INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER PERMIT
A State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued
to a commercial industry or group of industries which regulates the
pollutant levels associated with industrial stormwater discharges
or specifies on-site pollution control strategies.
INFILTRATION
The process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.
JURISDICTIONAL WETLAND
An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence
of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions,
commonly known as "hydrophytic vegetation."
LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
An activity, including clearing, grading, excavating, soil
disturbance or placement of fill, that results in land disturbance
of equal to or greater than one acre, or activities disturbing less
than one acre of total land area that is part of a larger common plan
of development or sale, even though multiple separate and distinct
land development activities may take place at different times on different
schedules.
LANDOWNER
The legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding
the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding
proprietary rights in the land.
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed
restriction and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater
management practices.
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
Pollution from any source other than from any discernible,
confined, and discrete conveyances and shall include, but not be limited
to, pollutants from agricultural, silvicultural, mining, construction,
subsurface disposal and urban runoff sources.
PHASING
Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with
the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the
next.
POLLUTANT OF CONCERN
Sediment or a water quality measurement that addresses sediment
(such as total suspended solids, turbidity or siltation) and any other
pollutant that has been identified as a cause of impairment of any
water body that will receive a discharge from the land development
activity.
PROJECT
Any construction or development activity upon real property.
RECHARGE
The replenishment of underground water reserves.
SENSITIVE AREAS
Cold-water fisheries, shellfish beds, swimming beaches, groundwater
recharge areas, water supply reservoirs, habitats for threatened,
endangered or special concern species.
SMP
See "stormwater management practices."
STABILIZATION
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
STOP-WORK ORDER
An order issued which requires that all construction activity
on a site be stopped.
STORMWATER
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
STORMWATER HOTSPOT
A land use or activity that generates higher concentrations
of hydrocarbons, trace metals or toxicants than are found in typical
stormwater runoff, based on monitoring studies.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The use of structural or nonstructural practices that are
designed to reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate its adverse impacts
on property, natural resources and the environment.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed,
stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater
runoff.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER
An employee or officer designated by the Council of the City
of Watervliet to accept and review stormwater pollution prevention
plans, forward the plans to the applicable municipal board, inspect
stormwater management practices and enforce this chapter.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (SMPs)
Measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined
to be the most effective, practical means of preventing flood damage
and preventing or reducing point source or nonpoint source pollution
inputs to stormwater runoff and water bodies.
SURFACE WATERS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Lakes, bays, sounds, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs,
wells, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals,
the Atlantic Ocean within the territorial seas of the State of New
York and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial,
inland or coastal, fresh or salt, public or private (except those
private waters that do not combine or effect a junction with natural
surface or underground waters), which are wholly or partially within
or bordering the state or within its jurisdiction. Storm sewers and
waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons which
also meet the criteria of this definition are not waters of the state.
This exclusion applies only to man-made bodies of water which neither
were originally created in waters of the state (such as a disposal
area in wetlands) nor resulted from impoundment of waters of the state.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
WATERWAY
A channel that directs surface runoff to a watercourse or
to the public storm drain.
Every soil disturbance shall meet the criteria set forth in
the New York Standards for Erosion and Sediment Control (aka "the
Blue Book"). Also, all land development activities shall be subject
to all of the following performance and design criteria:
A. Technical standards. For the purpose of this chapter, the following
documents shall serve as the official guides and specifications for
stormwater management. Stormwater management practices that are designed
and constructed in accordance with these technical documents shall
be presumed to meet the standards imposed by this chapter:
(1) New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control
(Empire State Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society,
2004, most current version or its successor, hereafter referred to
as the "Erosion Control Manual" or the "Blue Book").
(2) The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual (New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation, most current version
or its successor, hereafter referred to as the "Design Manual").
B. Equivalence to technical standards. Where stormwater management practices
are not in accordance with technical standards, the applicant or developer
must demonstrate equivalence to the technical standards set forth
in the Design Manual, and the SWPPP shall be prepared by a landscape
architect, certified professional in erosion and sediment control
(CPESC), soil scientist or professional engineer.
C. Water quality standards. Any land development activity shall not
cause an increase in turbidity that will result in substantial visible
contrast to natural conditions in surface waters of the State of New
York.
D. Permitting process; additional standards.
(1) Applications shall be made on forms prescribed by the City therefor,
which shall be accompanied by the required fee, if any, established
by the Council of the City of Watervliet.
(2) The Stormwater Management Officer shall review the application and
act to approve, approve with modification, or deny the requested SWPPP.
(3) In the event that the submittal is denied, the applicant may have
the decision reviewed by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(4) The smallest practical area of land shall be exposed at any one time
during the project.
(5) When land is exposed during development, the exposure shall be kept
to the shortest practical period of time.
(6) To protect areas in excess of one acre exposed for a period over
two weeks during development, the following controls shall be applied:
(a)
Temporary vegetation, mulch, geotextiles, and/or emulsion shall
be provided as needed to prevent soil erosion. Application of these
materials shall be by approved equipment.
(b)
On areas that will be exposed for short periods of time (daily),
where weather conditions are conducive to airborne soil particles,
a construction fence shall be installed, as directed by the SMO.
(c)
On areas such as temporary roadways, when dry conditions prevail,
the contractor shall be required to apply water or take other measures
as required to prevent dust during daily construction activities.
(7) Sediment basins, debris basins, silting basins, silt fencing, or
silt traps shall be installed and maintained to remove sediment from
runoff waters on lands undergoing development.
(8) Permanent final vegetation and structures shall be installed as soon
as practical in the development.
(9) The development plan should be fitted to the type of topography and
soils so as to create the least erosion potentials.
(10)
Wherever feasible, natural vegetation should be retained and
protected.
(11)
In areas of proposed fill, all existing vegetation and other
organic material, including the root mat, shall be removed prior to
placement of fill. The material shall be disposed of in an appropriate
off-site facility or processed for reuse on site in a manner that
will not be conducive to adverse effects of decomposition, such as
the production of odors or of concentrations of noxious or explosive
gases or the creation of unstable subsurface conditions. The proposed
method of on-site processing and reuse shall be specified in the permit
application and may require certification by a licensed professional
engineer as a safe and effective means of disposal.
(12)
No vegetation or other waste materials shall be buried on the
site.
(13)
All fill placed on the site shall be as free of organic material
as is practicable.
E. Deposit; performance of site work; inspection.
(1) To ensure that the site work is performed in accordance with the
controls of this chapter, before obtaining approval the applicant
shall deposit with the Director of Finance of the City of Watervliet
a cash escrow as set forth in the fee schedule adopted by the Council
of the City of Watervliet by resolution.
(2) Said site work shall be performed and completed in accordance with
the approved plan and schedule of vegetation removal and disposal,
grading, construction operation and erosion control methods on file
with the Stormwater Management Officer at the time of issuance of
the approval.
(3) Upon completion of the site work set forth in the plan, the applicant will request the City and/or its agents to inspect the work; upon approval of the site work, the City will direct the Director of Finance to release all of the applicant's money deposited pursuant to Subsection
E(1) above.
(4) Upon the failure of the applicant to perform the site work in accordance with the site plan submitted as aforesaid, the City and/or its agents shall be permitted to enter upon the premises and complete the necessary site work and charge the cost of the site work to the funds on deposit with the Director of Finance pursuant to Subsection
E(1) above, and the Director of Finance shall be authorized to pay any charge or charges approved by the City without further approval of the applicant. If the City should undertake completion of any site work upon the applicant's failure to do so, any sums remaining on deposit with the Director of Finance after completion of said site work shall be returned to the applicant.
The City of Watervliet may require any person undertaking activities
regulated by this chapter to pay reasonable costs at prevailing rates
for review of SWPPPs, inspections, or SMP maintenance performed by
City personnel or performed by a third party for the City of Watervliet.