The Borough of East Stroudsburg finds that:
A. The groundwater underlying the Borough is a major
source of its existing and future water supply, including drinking
water.
B. The groundwater aquifers are integrally connected
with and flow into the surface waters, lakes and streams which constitute
a major source of drinking water for East Stroudsburg.
C. Accidental spills and discharges of toxic and hazardous
materials may threaten the quality of such groundwater supplies and
related water resources in the Borough, posing potential public health
and safety hazards.
D. Unless preventive measures are adopted to control
the discharge and storage of toxic and hazardous materials within
the Borough, spills and discharges of such materials will predictably
occur, and with greater frequency and degree of hazard by reason of
increasing construction, commercial and industrial development, population
and vehicular traffic in the Borough.
The purpose of this article is to protect the
public health, safety and welfare through the preservation of the
Borough's major groundwater resources to ensure a future supply of
safe and healthful drinking water for the Borough of East Stroudsburg,
local residents and employees and the general public. The designation
of Aquifer Protection Zones (Wellhead Zone, Zone 1 and Zone 2) and
careful regulation of development activities within these zones can
reduce the potential for groundwater contamination. The purpose of
this article is to protect areas having a high potential for use as
a water supply and thereby to maintain the existing quality and improve
the future quality of the groundwater of the Borough of East Stroudsburg.
All applications for a special use permit pursuant to §
157-104F(2) shall include an aquifer impact assessment. The purpose of this assessment shall be to demonstrate that no activities will be conducted upon the property that will result in groundwater infiltration into a designated aquifer such that, at a confidence level of 90%, the Pennsylvania State Drinking Water Standards will not be violated at the property line, Said assessment shall be prepared by a qualified hydrogeologist at the expense of the applicant. The cost to the Borough of hydrogeologic review of such assessment shall be paid by the applicant. The aquifer impact assessment shall include, insofar as it is pertinent to the application:
A. Aquifer flow characteristics, including a delineation
of the primary recharge area, distribution of transmissivity and details
of the hydrologic budget, including natural and man-induced sources
of recharge and withdrawal. Existing data from Borough studies on
the aquifer areas may be used in the aquifer impact assessment.
B. Details of the proposed aquifer usage, including static
conditions of the potentiometric surface, range of withdrawals anticipated
and the potentiometric surface at critical points in that range. An
estimate of the quantity of induced surface flows at each critical
point in the range shall also be detailed.
C. Potential impacts resulting from the planned discharges
or withdrawals, including impacts to other users of the aquifer (wells,
surface expressions of groundwater, etc.), in terms of levels, quantity
of water available and induced quality changes. The impacts resulting
from induced infiltration, including quantity implication to both
the groundwater and surface water systems, shall be addressed.
D. Proposed measures to mitigate any adverse impacts,
the system for monitoring quantity, quality or any other aspect deemed
important, including monitoring wells, and a reporting schedule shall
be specified.