This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Borough of Pennsburg Stormwater Management Ordinance."
The governing body of the municipality finds
that:
A.
Stormwater runoff from lands modified by human activities
may threaten public health and safety by causing decreased infiltration
of rainwater and increased runoff flows and velocities, which may
overtax the carrying capacity of existing streams and storm sewers,
and greatly increase the cost to the public to manage stormwater.
B.
Inadequate planning and management of stormwater runoff
resulting from land development and redevelopment throughout a watershed
can also harm surface water resources by changing the natural hydrologic
patterns, accelerating stream flows (which increase scour and erosion
of streambeds and streambanks thereby elevating sedimentation), destroying
aquatic habitat and elevating aquatic pollutant concentrations and
loadings such as sediments, nutrients, heavy metals and pathogens.
Groundwater resources may also be impacted through loss of recharge.
C.
A program of stormwater management, including reasonable
regulation of land development and redevelopment causing loss of natural
infiltration, is fundamental to the public health, safety, welfare,
and the protection of the people of the municipality and all the people
of the commonwealth, their resources, and the environment.
D.
Stormwater can be an important water resource by providing
groundwater recharge for water supplies and base flow of streams,
which also protects and maintains surface water quality.
E.
Public education on the control of pollution from
stormwater is an essential component in successfully addressing stormwater.
F.
Federal and state regulations require certain municipalities
to implement a program of stormwater controls. These municipalities
are required to obtain a permit for stormwater discharges from their
separate storm sewer systems under the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES).
G.
Nonstormwater discharges to municipal separate storm
sewer systems can contribute to pollution of waters of the commonwealth
by the municipality.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote health, safety, and welfare within the municipality and its watershed by minimizing the harms and maximizing the benefits described in § 94-2 of this chapter, through provisions designed to:
A.
Manage stormwater runoff impacts at their source by
regulating activities that cause the problems.
B.
Provide review procedures and performance standards
for stormwater planning and management.
C.
Utilize and preserve the existing natural drainage
systems as much as possible.
D.
Manage stormwater impacts close to the runoff source,
in a manner which requires a minimum of structures and relies on natural
processes.
E.
Focus on infiltration of stormwater to maintain groundwater
recharge and to prevent degradation of surface and groundwater quality
and to otherwise protect water resources.
F.
Maintain existing flows and quality of streams and
watercourses.
G.
Meet legal water quality requirements under state
law, including regulations at 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93.4a to protect
and maintain "existing uses" and maintain the level of water quality
to support those uses in all streams, and to protect and maintain
water quality in "special protection" streams.
H.
Prevent scour and erosion of streambanks and streambeds.
I.
Provide for proper operations and maintenance of all
permanent stormwater management BMPs that are implemented in the municipality.
J.
Provide a mechanism to identify controls necessary
to meet the NPDES permit requirements.
K.
Implement an illegal discharge detection and elimination
program to address nonstormwater discharges into the municipality's
separate storm sewer system.
The municipality is empowered to regulate land
use activities that affect stormwater impacts by the authority of
53 P.S. § 46202 et seq., and 53 P.S. § 47201 et
seq., of the Borough Code and 53 P.S. § 10501 et seq., of
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
A.
This chapter applies to any regulated earth disturbance
activities within the municipality, and all stormwater runoff entering
into the municipality's separate storm sewer system from lands within
the boundaries of the municipality.
B.
Earth disturbance activities and associated stormwater
management controls are also regulated under existing state law and
implementing regulations. This chapter shall operate in coordination
with those parallel requirements; the requirements of this chapter
shall be no less restrictive in meeting the purposes of this chapter
than state law.
Any other ordinance provision(s) or regulation
of the municipality inconsistent with any of the provisions of this
chapter is hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency only.
In the event that any section or provision of
this chapter is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect the validity of any of the remaining
provisions of this chapter.
A.
Approvals issued and actions taken under this chapter
do not relieve the applicant of the responsibility to secure required
permits or approvals for activities regulated by any other code, law,
regulation or ordinance. To the extent that this chapter imposes more
rigorous or stringent requirements for stormwater management, the
specific requirements contained in this chapter shall be followed.
B.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect
any of the municipality's requirements regarding stormwater matters
which do not conflict with the provisions of this chapter, such as
local stormwater management design criteria (e.g., inlet spacing,
inlet type, collection system design and details, outlet structure
design, etc.). Conflicting provisions in other municipal ordinances
or regulations shall be construed to retain the requirements of this
chapter addressing state water quality requirements.
