[Adopted 4-18-1988 by Ord. No. 88]
It is hereby determined that the lakes and waterways within the Borough of Wanaque are at times subjected to flooding, that such flooding is a danger to the lives and property of the public; that such flooding is a danger to the natural resources of the Borough of Wanaque, county and state; that development tends to accentuate such flooding by increasing stormwater runoff, due to alteration of the hydrologic response of the watershed in changing from the undeveloped to the developed condition; that such increased flooding produced by the development of real property contributes increased quantities of water-borne pollutants and tends to increase channel erosion; that such increased flooding, increased erosion and increased pollution constitutes deterioration of the water resources of the Borough of Wanaque, in the county and the state; and that such increased flooding, increased erosion and increased pollution can be controlled to some extent by the regulation of stormwater runoff from such development. It is therefore determined that it is in the public interest to regulate the development of real property and to establish standards to regulate the additional discharge of stormwater runoff from such developments as provided in this article.
The provisions of this article shall be applicable to each of the types of development named below.
A. 
All site plans and subdivision plans that will add one or more acres of impervious surface, except as provided in § 95-3 below.
B. 
Any construction of one or more of the following uses:
(1) 
Confined feeding and holding areas that provide for more than 100 head of cattle, 15,000 head of poultry, 500 swine, 4,000 turkeys or 10,000 ducks; this section shall also apply to all other equivalent numbers of animal units as determined by the Soil Conservation Service procedure for measuring BOD-producing potential.
(2) 
Pipelines, storage or distribution systems for petroleum products or chemicals.
(3) 
Storage, distribution or treatment facilities, excluding on-site sewage disposal systems, for liquid waste.
(4) 
Solid waste storage, disposition, incineration or landfill.
(5) 
Quarries, mines or borrow pits.
(6) 
Land application of sludge or effluents.
(7) 
Storage, distribution or treatment facilities for radioactive wastes, except where permitted and subject to a New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permit or an approved DPCC Plan.
C. 
In the event that control of stormwater runoff is mandated in certain areas for construction covering less than one acre of ground, such lesser developments shall come under provisions of this article.
D. 
In the case of projects for which county as well as municipal approval of proposed drainage facilities is required, the applicants shall be required to comply with all provisions of this article. In such a case, the only provisions of the municipal ordinance which shall govern are those requirements which are stricter than those of the county.
A. 
Burden of proof. Whenever an applicant seeks a municipal approval of a development to which this article is applicable from any board or official of the municipality; that applicant shall be required to demonstrate that his project meets the standards set forth in this article.
B. 
Submission materials due. The applicant shall submit materials, as required by § 95-6 hereof, to the municipal board or official from which he seeks municipal approval prior to or at the same time he submits his application for the municipal approval.
C. 
Review. The applicant's project shall be reviewed by the municipal board or official from which he seeks his municipal approval. That municipal board or official shall consult with the Municipal Engineer to determine if the project meets the standards set forth in this article.
D. 
Time for decision. The municipal board or official shall promptly determine (within 30 days) if the project meets the standards set forth in this article. The time for that determination should be the time permitted to review and act on the application for a municipal approval.
E. 
Failure to comply. Failure of the applicant to demonstrate that the project meets the standards set forth in this article is reason to deny the applicant's underlying application for a municipal approval.
F. 
Variance. The municipality may grant a waiver of the standards given in § 95-4 below. In each such case, the municipality must make a report within 30 days to the County Planning Board, giving a full explanation of the nature of the variance and the reasons why it was granted.
Each proposed project not exempted from the operation of this article shall meet the following storm drainage standards:
A. 
General standards. The project plans submitted shall demonstrate careful consideration of the general and specific concerns, values and standards of the Municipal Master Plan and applicable county, regional and state storm drainage control programs and any County Mosquito Commission control standards and shall be based on environmentally sound site planning, engineering and architectural techniques.
B. 
Alternatives to detention basins.
(1) 
It is not necessary that basic requirements be satisfied by means of detention basins. Storage tanks, infiltration pits or dry wells may be used for the purpose, with appropriate consideration for length of life and feasibility of continued maintenance.
(2) 
Nonstructural management practices, such as cluster land use development, open space acquisition, stream encroachment and flood hazard controls should be coordinated with detention requirements. Changes in land use can often reduce the scope and cost of detention provisions required by means of appropriate changes in runoff coefficients.
C. 
Specific standards.
(1) 
Flood and erosion control. A detention facility must accommodate site runoff generated for two-year, ten-year, twenty-five-year and one-hundred-year twenty-four-hour storms considered individually (in each case a Type III rainfall as defined in Soil Conservation Service publications). Runoff greater than that occurring from the one-hundred-year, twenty-four-hour storm will be passed over an emergency spillway. Detention will be provided such that, after development neither the peak rate of flow from the site, nor the total flow during the hour of maximum releases will exceed the corresponding flows which would have been created by similar storms prior to development. For purposes of computing runoff, all lands in the site shall be assumed, prior to development, to be in good condition, if the lands are pastures, lawns or parks; with good cover, if the lands are woods; or with conservation treatment if the land is cultivated, regardless of conditions existing at the time of computation.
[Amended 11-9-1988 by Ord. No. 10-88-88]
(2) 
Water quality control. In order to enhance water quality of stormwater runoff, all stormwater management plans must provide for the control of a water quality design storm. The water quality design storm shall be defined as the one-year-frequency Soil Conservation Service Type III twenty-four-hour storm or a one-and-one-fourth inch, two-hour rainfall. The water quality design storm shall be controlled by one of the following practices.
(a) 
In dry detention basins, provisions shall be made to ensure that the runoff from the water quality design storm is retained such that not more than 90% will be evacuated prior to 36 hours for all nonresidential projects or 18 hours for all residential projects. The retention time shall be considered a brim-drawdown time and, therefore, shall begin at the time of peak storage. The retention time shall be reduced in any case which would require an outlet size diameter of three inches or less. Therefore, three-inch-diameter, orifices shall be the minimum allowed.
(b) 
In permanent ponds or wet basins, the water quality requirements of this article shall be satisfied where the volume of permanent water is at least three times the volume of runoff produced by the water quality design storm.
(c) 
Infiltration practices such as dry wells, infiltration basins, infiltration trenches, buffer strips, etc., may be used to satisfy this requirement provided that they produce zero runoff from the water quality design storm and allow for complete infiltration within 72 hours.
(3) 
In all cases, multiple-level outlets or other fully automatic outlets shall be designed so that discharge rates from the development for the design storms will not be increased from what would occur if the development were not constructed. Outlet waters shall be discharged from the development at such locations and velocities as not to, cause additional erosion or cause additional channels downstream of the development.
(4) 
Where the project consist of two phases, phase (a), new construction which requires provisions of storm drainage under the terms of this article, and phase (b), repair or rehabilitation of structures and surfaces which does not result in increasing the extent of impervious areas or in rendering existing surfaces less pervious, the detention requirements may be computed on the basis of phase (a) exclusively.
(5) 
If detention basins or other detention facilities are provided through which water passes at times other than following rainfall, the Municipal Engineer should be consulted concerning design criteria. It will be necessary for detention requirements to be met, despite the necessity of passing certain low flows. This applies to all on-stream or on-line detention basins.
(6) 
Outlets from detention facilities shall be designed to function without manual, electric or mechanical controls.
(7) 
The retention of site runoff as required by this article will result in the accumulation in the detention basin of sediment, including particulate polluting substances, silt and debris. Provision must be made for periodic removal of accumulated solid materials. Computations for storage capacity shall include estimates for one year's accumulation of solid materials.
(8) 
Dams. Any stormwater basin that impounds water through the use of an artificial dike, levee or other barrier and raises the water level five feet or more above the usual, mean low-water height when measured from the downstream toe-of-dam to the emergency spillway crest is classified as a dam and subject to N.J.A.C. 7:20, the New Jersey Dam Safety Standards. All such dams must be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in compliance with the rules of N.J.A.C. 7:20.
(9) 
In many instances, the provisions of separate detention facilities for a number of single sites may be more expensive and more difficult to maintain than provisions of joint facilities for a number of sites. In such cases, the municipality will be willing to consider provisions of joint detention facilities which will fulfill the requirements of this regulation. In such cases, a properly planned staged program of detention facilities may be approved by the municipality in which compliance with some requirements may be postponed at early stages while preliminary phases are being undertaken and construction funds accumulated. The necessary planning to facilitate such arrangements may be accomplished by Phase II planning under provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:8.
D. 
Detention facilities in flood hazard areas.
(1) 
Whenever practicable, developments and their stormwater detention facilities should be beyond the extent of the flood hazard area of a stream. When that is not possible and detention facilities are proposed to be located partially or wholly within the flood hazard area, as defined by the New Jersey Division of Water Resources, Bureau of Floodplain Management, or other areas which are frequently flooded, some storm conditions will make the facility ineffective at providing retention of site runoff. This will happen if the stream is already overflowing its banks and the detention basin, causing the basin to be filled prior to the time it is needed. In such eases the standards established in these regulations will be modified in order to give only partial credit to detention capacities located within a flood hazard area. The credit will vary in a ratio intended to reflect the probability that storage in a detention basin will be available at the time a storm occurs at the site.
(2) 
Detention storage provided below the elevation of the edge of the one-hundred-year floodplain will be credited as effective storage at a reduced proportion as indicated in the table below:
Size of Drainage Area*
Elevation
Less than 5 Square Miles
5 to 100 Square Miles
Greater than 100 Square Miles
Less than 2 feet below
40%
65%
90%
Between 2 feet and 4 feet below
25%
50%
75%
Over 4 feet below
10%
25%
50%
*NOTE: The area contributing floodwaters to the flood hazard area at the site in question.
This effective detention storage will be required to provide for drainage of the developed land in accordance with the criteria already established in these regulations. However, the gross storage considered for crediting will not exceed that which would be filled by runoff of a one-hundred-year storm from the site.
(3) 
As an alternative to the approach stated in Subsection D(2) above, if the developer can demonstrate that the detention provided would be effective, during runoff from the one-hundred-year twenty-four-hour Type II storm, peaking simultaneously at the site and on the flood hazard area, his plan will be accepted as complying with provisions of Subsection D(2) above.
(4) 
In making computations under Subsection D(2) or (3) above, the volume of net fill added to the flood hazard area portion of the projects site will be subtracted from the capacity of effective detention storage provided. ("Net fill" is defined as the total amount of fill created incidental to the completion of the project less the amount of excavated material removed during the completion of the project, both measured below the elevation of the edge of the flood hazard area.)
(5) 
Where detention basins are proposed to be located in areas which are frequently flooded but have not been mapped as flood hazard areas, the provisions of either Subsection D(2) or (3) will be applied, utilizing the elevation of a computed one-hundred-year flood.
(6) 
Developers are also required to show compliance with the flood hazard area regulations of the Department of Environmental Protection.
E. 
Standards for stream corridor protection (recommended). To the extent practicable and consistent with other site planning criteria and with appropriate beneficial use of the site as a whole, it is recommended that no alteration of the natural terrain should occur and no impervious surfaces should be located within a stream corridor. The corridor should include all floodplain areas, adjacent slopes of 12% or greater, and contiguous areas where the depth of the seasonal high-water table is one foot or less.
The following submissions shall be required for each proposed project subject to review under this article. The applicant is free to combine exhibits or otherwise consolidate the required information, so long as all required information is clearly presented.
A. 
Topographic base map. A topographic base map of the site, and extending a minimum of 200 feet beyond the limits of the proposed development, at a scale of one inch equals 20 feet, with two-foot contour intervals. Scales of one inch equals 30 feet or one inch equals 40 feet would be acceptable if the project area is very large and the land slopes are less than 4%. The base map must be at the same scale as the plans submitted for subdivision and/or site plan review. The map shall indicate at least the following: existing water surface drainage, marshlands, outlines of woodland cover, existing man-made structures, road utilities, bearing and distances of property lines and significant natural and man-made features not otherwise shown.
[Amended 11-9-1988 by Ord. No. 10-88-88]
B. 
Vicinity map. Applicants must prepare a map at a scale of one inch equals 400 feet or greater on a paper print of the latest air photographs available, updated in the field to reflect current conditions, showing the relationship of the proposed development to significant features in the general surroundings. The map must indicate at least the following: roads, pedestrianways, access to the site, adjacent land uses, existing open space, public facilities, landmarks, places of architectural and historic significance, utilities, drainage, including, specifically, streams and other surface water shown on United States Geological Survey and soils maps and other significant features not otherwise shown.
C. 
Environmental site analysis. A written and graphic description of the natural and man-made features of the site and its environs. This description should include a discussion of soil conditions, slopes, wetlands, vegetation and animal life on the site. Particular attention should be given to unique, unusual or environmentally sensitive features and to those that provide particular opportunities or constraints for development.
D. 
Project description and site plan(s). A map or maps at the scale of the topographical base map indicating the location of proposed buildings, roads, parking areas, utilities, structural facilities for detaining or recharging stormwater and sediment control and other permanent structures. The map(s) shall also clearly show areas where alterations in the natural terrain, cover and grade are proposed and changes in natural cover, including lawns and other landscaping. A written description of the site plan and justification of proposed changes in natural conditions may also be provided.
E. 
Water detention facilities map. The following information, illustrated on a map of the same scale as the topographic base map, shall be included:
(1) 
Total area to be paved or built upon, estimated land area to be occupied by water detention facilities and the type of vegetation thereon and details of the proposed plan to control and dispose of surface water.
(2) 
Details of all water detention plans, during and after construction, including discharge provisions, discharge capacity for each outlet at different levels of detention and emergency spillway provisions with maximum discharge capacity of each spillway.
(3) 
Maximum discharge and total volume of runoff which would occur from the project area before and after development for the following storms:
(a) 
One and one-fourth inches of rainfall occurring within two hours or a one-year-frequency Type III twenty-four-hour storm.
(b) 
The specified design storms two-year, ten-year, twenty-five-year and one-hundred-year twenty-four hour Soil Conservation Survey Type III.
[Amended 11-9-1988 by Ord. No. 10-88-88]
F. 
The municipal official or board reviewing an application under this article may, in consultation with the Municipal Engineer, waive submission of any of the above requirements when the information requested is impossible to obtain or when it would create a hardship on the applicant to obtain and where its absence will not materially affect the review process.
A. 
Responsibility for operation and maintenance of detention facilities, including periodic removal and disposal of accumulated particulate material and debris, shall remain with the owner or owners of the property with permanent arrangements that it shall pass to any successive owner, unless assumed by a government agency. If portions of the land are to be sold, legally binding arrangements shall be made to pass the basic responsibility to successors in title. These arrangements shall designate for each project the property owner, governmental agency or other legally established entity to be permanently responsible for maintenance, hereinafter in this section referred to as the "responsible person."
B. 
Prior to granting approval to any project subject to review under this article, the applicant shall enter into an agreement with the municipality to ensure the continued operation and maintenance of the detention facility. This agreement shall be in a form satisfactory to the Municipal Attorney and may include, but may not necessarily be limited to, personal guaranties, deed restrictions, covenants and bonds. In cases where property is subdivided and sold separately, a homeowners' association or similar permanent entity should be established as the responsible entity, absent an agreement by a governmental agency to assume responsibility.
C. 
In the event that the detention facility becomes a danger to public safety or public health or if it is in need of maintenance, the municipality shall so notify, in writing, the responsible person. From that notice, the responsible person shall have 14 days to affect such maintenance and repair of the facility in a manner that is approved by the Municipal Engineer or his designee. If the responsible person fails or refuses to perform such maintenance and repair, the municipality may immediately proceed to do so and shall bill the cost thereof to the responsible person.
In addition to any fee due to the municipality as a result of the applicants underlying application for a municipal approval, there shall be due to the municipality at the time of submission of materials in support of this application a fee as follows:
A. 
The application shall be submitted with a filing fee of $250. In addition to the filing fee, the applicant will be requested to post an escrow account to reimburse the borough for the actual professional fee incurred, and if need be, during the course of the procedure, the applicant will be required to make additional deposits to cover professional fees rendered for the proper review of the application. Any unused portion of the escrow is refundable to the applicant.
B. 
This fee is an approximation of the estimated cost to the municipality to have its professional staff and consultants review the proposed project.
Should any section or provision of this article be declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such a declaration shall not affect the remaining sections or provisions of this article which are hereby declared to be severable.
this article shall take effect upon final passage and approval by the County Planning Agency or Water Resources Association, as appropriate, or 60 days after submission to said Agency if it fails to act.