This article shall known as the "Stormwater
Management and Erosion Control Law" of the Town of Eden.
The Town of Eden (herein after referred to as
the "the Town") finds that uncontrolled drainage and runoff associated
with land development has a significant impact upon the health, safety
and welfare of the community. Specifically:
A. Stormwater runoff can carry pollutants into receiving
water bodies, degrading water quality;
B. The increase of nutrients in stormwater runoff such
as phosphorus and nitrogen accelerates eutrophication of receiving
waters;
C. Improper design and construction of drainage facilities
can increase the velocity of runoff, thereby increasing stream bank
erosion and sedimentation;
D. Construction requiring land clearing and the alteration
of natural topography tends to increase erosion;
E. Siltation of water bodies resulting from increased
erosion decreases their capacity to hold and transport water, interferes
with navigation, and harms flora and fauna;
F. Impervious surfaces increase the volume and rate of
stormwater runoff and allow less water to percolate into the soil,
thereby decreasing groundwater recharge and stream base flow;
G. Improperly managed stormwater runoff can increase
the incidence of flooding and the level of floods which occur, endangering
property and human life;
H. Substantial economic losses can result from these
adverse impacts on community waters;
I. Many future problems can be avoided if land is developed
in accordance with sound stormwater runoff management practices.
In order to protect, maintain and enhance both
the immediate and the long-term health, safety and general welfare
of the citizens of the Town, this article has the following objectives:
A. Prevent increases in the magnitude and frequency of
stormwater runoff so as to prevent an increase in flood flows and
in the hazards and costs associated with the flooding;
B. Prevent decreases in groundwater recharge and stream
base flow so as to maintain aquatic life, assimilative capacity, and
potential water supplies;
C. Maintain the integrity of stream geometry so as to
sustain the hydrologic functions of streams;
D. Control erosion and sedimentation so as to prevent
its deposition in streams and other receiving water bodies;
E. Facilitate the removal of pollutants in stormwater
runoff so as to perpetuate the natural biological functions of streams;
and
F. To the extent practical, secure multiple community
benefits such as groundwater replenishment, open space protection
and increased recreational opportunity through integrated land use-stormwater
management planning.
In accordance with Article 9 and/or Article
10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law of the Town Law of the State of
New York, the Town has the authority to enact local laws for the purpose
of promoting the health, safety or general welfare of the Town, including
the protection of the property of its inhabitants. The Town may include
in any such local law provisions for the appointment of any municipal
officer or employees to effectuate and administer such local law.
Upon approval of this article by the Town, all
site preparation and construction activities requiring approval under
this article shall be in conformance with the provisions set forth
therein.
Unless specifically defined below, words or
phrases shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have
in common usage and to give this article its most effective application.
Words used in the singular shall include the plural and the plural
the singular; words used in the present tense shall include the future
tense. The word "shall" connotes mandatory and not discretionary;
the word "may" is permissive.
CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL AREA
A specific geographic area designated by a state or local
agency having exceptional or unique characteristics that make the
area environmentally important.
DEVELOPMENT
To make a site area available for use by physical alteration.
Development includes but is not limited to providing access to a site,
clearing of vegetation, grading, earth moving, providing utilities
and other services such as parking facilities, stormwater management
and erosion control systems, and sewage disposal systems, altering
landforms, or construction of a structure on the land.
DRY WELL
Similar to an infiltration trench but smaller with inflow
from pipe; commonly covered with soil and used for drainage areas
of less than one acre, such as roadside inlets and rooftop runoff.
EROSION
The removal of soil particles by the action of water, wind,
ice or other geological agents.
EXFILTRATION
The downward movement of runoff through the bottom of an
infiltration system into the soil.
EXTENDED DETENTION
A practice to store stormwater runoff by collection as a
temporary pool of water and provide for its gradual (attenuated) release
over 24 hours or more. A practice used to control peak discharge rates,
and which provides gravity settling of pollutants.
FIRST FLUSH
The delivery of a disproportionately large load of pollutants
during the early part of storms due to the rapid runoff of accumulated
pollutants. The first flush in these guidelines is defined as the
runoff generated from a one-year twenty-four-hour storm event from
land which has been made more impervious from predevelopment conditions
through land grading and construction/development activities.
FLOODPLAIN
For a given flood event, that area of land temporarily covered
by water which adjoins a watercourse.
FOREBAY
An extra large storage area or treatment area such as a sediment
pond or created wetland, near an inlet of a stormwater management
facility to trap incoming sediments or take up nutrients before they
reach a retention or extended detention pond.
IMPERVIOUS AREA
Impermeable surfaces, such as pavement or rooftops, which
prevent the percolation of water into the soil.
INFILTRATION
A practice designed to promote the recharge of groundwater
by containment and concentration of stormwater in porous soils.
INFILTRATION BASIN
An impoundment made by excavation or embankment construction
to contain and exfiltrate runoff into the soil layer.
OUTFALL
The terminus of a storm drain where the contents are released.
PEAK FLOW
The maximum rate of flow of water at a given point and time
resulting from a storm event.
PEAK FLOW ATTENUATION
The reduction of the peak discharge of storm runoff by storage
and the gradual release of that storage.
POND
Any man-made body of water (other than a store-bought, pre-fab
type of decorated reservoir or basin) with a surface area greater
than 100 square feet and/or a depth of more than 18 inches.
RETENTION
A practice designed to store stormwater runoff by collection
as a permanent pool of water without release except by means of evaporation,
infiltration, or attenuated release when runoff volume exceeds the
permanent storage capacity of the permanent pool.
RIPRAP
A combination of large stone, cobbles and boulders used to
line channels, stabilize stream banks or reduce runoff velocities.
RISER
A vertical pipe that is used to control the discharge rate
from a pond for a specified design storm.
STREAM CORRIDOR
The landscape features on both sides of a stream, including
soils, slope and vegetation, whose alteration can directly impact
the streams physical characteristics and biological properties.
SUBDIVISION
The division of a lot of record into two or more parcels.
When a parcel of land is being divided into two smaller parcels and
one of the smaller parcels is to merge with another lot, it will not
be considered subdivision for subdivision review. "Lots of record"
shall mean a parcel of land, whether improved or unimproved, as shown
on the land records as of the effective date of this article.
SWALE
A natural depression or wide shallow ditch used to temporarily
route, or filter, runoff.
Stormwater management and erosion control plans
shall be prepared in accordance with performance standards that have
been structured to achieve the purposes and objectives of this article
as well as to ensure that the quality of runoff after development
is not substantially altered from predevelopment conditions. The performance
standards in Chapter V of the NYSDEC manual "Reducing the Impacts
of Stormwater Runoff from New Development " will be used.
The Town may allow stormwater runoff that is
of unacceptable quality or which would be discharged in volumes or
rates in excess of those otherwise allowed by this article to be discharged
into stormwater management facilities off the site of development
if all of the following conditions are met:
A. It is not practicable to completely manage runoff on-site in a manner that meets the performance standards in §
177-10.
B. The off site drainage facilities and channels leading
to them are designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with
the requirements of this article.
C. Adverse environmental impacts on the site of the development
will be minimized;
(1) Adequate provision is made for the sharing of construction
and operating costs of the off-site facilities. The developer may
be required to pay a portion of the cost of constructing the facilities
as a condition to receiving approval of the drainage plan.
(2) Use of regional off-site stormwater management facilities does not eliminate the requirement that the first flush be captured and treated on-site pursuant to the §
177-10 performance standards.
(3) A request to use off-site stormwater management facilities
and all information related to the proposed off-site facilities shall
be made a part of the developer's stormwater management plan.
Any person aggrieved by the action of any official
charged with the enforcement of this article, as the result of the
disapproval of a stormwater management and erosion control plan, issuance
of a written notice of violation, or an alleged failure to properly
enforce the law in regard to a specific application, shall lave the
right to appeal the action to the Town Board. The appeal shall be
filed in writing within 20 days of the date of official transmittal
of the final decision or determination to the applicant, shall state
clearly the grounds on which the appeal is based, and shall include
such other information as the Town Board may require. The Town Board
shall hold a public hearing on the appeal within 30 days of the appeal
and shall render its decision within 30 days after holding the public
hearing.
The Town Planning Board may grant a written
variance from any requirement of this article using the following
criteria:
A. There are special circumstances applicable to the
subject property or its intended use; and
B. The granting of the variance will not result in:
(1) An increase or decrease in the rate or volume of surface
water runoff;
(2) An adverse impact on a wetland, watercourse or water
body;
(3) Degradation of water quality; or
(4) Otherwise impair attainment of the objectives of this
article.