A.
The purpose of this bylaw is to protect the health, safety, general
welfare, and environment in the management, operation, and maintenance
of the Town's stormwater system by regulating or prohibiting
actions detrimental to either the proper quality or quantity of water
in the system. Actions regulated or prohibited include unauthorized
or improper connections and discharges to the stormwater system, allowing
or enabling pollutants to enter the system, and controlling construction
site runoff and post-construction runoff. Stormwater runoff is potentially
a major cause of:
(1)
Impairment of water quality and flow in lakes, ponds, streams, rivers,
wetlands, groundwater and drinking water supplies;
(2)
Contamination of drinking water supplies;
(3)
Contamination of downstream areas;
(4)
Alteration or destruction of aquatic and wildlife habitat;
(5)
Overloading or clogging of municipal stormwater management systems;
and
(6)
Flooding.
B.
The objectives of this bylaw are to:
(1)
Protect water resources;
(2)
Comply with state and federal statutes and regulations relating to
stormwater discharges, including total maximum daily load (TDML) requirements;
(3)
Prevent pollutants from entering the Town's municipal separate
storm sewer system (MS4) and reduce or eliminate pollutants entering
the Town's MS4 from existing uses;
(4)
Prohibit illicit connections and unauthorized discharges to the MS4
and require their removal;
(5)
Establish minimum construction and post-construction stormwater management
standards and design criteria for the regulation and control of stormwater
runoff quantity and quality;
(6)
Establish provisions for the long-term responsibility for, and maintenance
of, structural stormwater control facilities and nonstructural stormwater
management practices to ensure that they continue to function as designed,
are maintained, and pose no threat to public safety; and
(7)
Establish the Town of Westwood's legal authority to ensure compliance
with the provisions of this bylaw through inspection, monitoring,
and enforcement.
Definitions applicable to this bylaw are provided herein:
Any person, individual, partnership, association, firm, company,
corporation, trust, authority, agency, department, or political subdivision
of the commonwealth or the federal government to the extent permitted
by law requesting a land disturbance permit for proposed land-disturbance
activity.
An activity, procedure, restraint, or structural improvement
found to be effective and practical to reduce the quantity or improve
the quality of stormwater runoff.
A certified specialist in soil erosion and sediment control.
This certification program, sponsored by the Soil and Water Conservation
Society in cooperation with the American Society of Agronomy, provides
the public with evidence of professional qualifications.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.) as hereafter amended.
The modification of land to accommodate a new use or expansion
of use, usually involving construction.
The addition from any source of any pollutant or combination
of pollutants into the MS4 or into the waters of the United States
or commonwealth from any source.
Any action that causes a change in the position, location,
or arrangement of soil, sand, rock, gravel or similar earth material.
The wearing away of the land surface by natural or artificial
forces, such as wind, water, ice, gravity, or vehicle traffic and
the subsequent detachment and transportation of soil particles.
A document containing a narrative, drawings and details developed
by a qualified professional engineer (PE) or a certified professional
in erosion and sedimentation control (CPESC), which includes best
management practices (BMPs), or equivalent measures designed to control
surface runoff and erosion and sedimentation during preconstruction
and construction-related land disturbance activities.
Water beneath the surface of the ground.
A surface or subsurface drain or conveyance which allows
an illicit discharge into the MS4, including without limitation sewage,
process wastewater, or wash water, and any connections from indoor
drains, sinks, or toilets, regardless of whether said connection was
previously allowed, permitted, or approved before the effective date
of the Stormwater Management Bylaw.
Direct or indirect discharge to the MS4 that is not composed entirely of stormwater, except as exempted in § 350-9. The term does not include a discharge in compliance with an NPDES stormwater discharge permit or resulting from firefighting activities exempted pursuant to § 350-9D(1) of the Stormwater Management Bylaw.
Any material or structure on or above the ground that prevents
water from infiltrating the underlying soil, including without limitation
roads, paved parking lots, sidewalks, and rooftops.
A stormwater pond created by either constructing an embankment
or excavating a pit which retains a permanent pool of water.
The act of conveying surface water into the ground to permit
groundwater recharge and the reduction of stormwater runoff from a
project site.
Any activity that causes a change in the position or location
of soil, sand, rock, gravel, or similar earth material.
Land uses or activities with higher potential pollutant loadings,
as defined in the Massachusetts Stormwater Management Standards, such
as auto salvage yards, auto fueling facilities, fleet storage yards,
commercial parking lots with high-intensity use, road salt storage
areas, commercial nurseries and landscaping, outdoor storage and loading
areas of hazardous substances or marinas.
131A and its implementing regulations, 321 CMR 10.00, which
prohibit the taking of any rare plant or animal species listed as
endangered, threatened, or of special concern.
The standards issued by the Department of Environmental Protection,
and as amended, that coordinate the requirements prescribed by state
regulations promulgated under the authority of the Massachusetts Wetlands
Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40, and Massachusetts Clean
Waters Act, MGL c. 21, §§ 23 through 56. The policy
addresses stormwater impacts through implementation of performance
standards to reduce or prevent pollutants from reaching water bodies
and controlling the quantity of runoff from a site.
Municipal separate storm sewer system; the system of conveyances
designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, including
any road with a drainage system, street, gutter, curb, inlet, piped
storm drain, pumping facility, retention or detention basin, natural
or man-made or altered drainage channel, reservoir, and other drainage
structure that together comprise the storm drainage system owned or
operated by the Town of Westwood.
A permit issued by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency or jointly with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that authorizes
the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States.
Discharge to the MS4 not composed entirely of stormwater.
A plan setting up the functional, financial and organizational
mechanisms for the ongoing operation and maintenance of a stormwater
management system to ensure that it continues to function as designed.
A person with a legal or equitable interest in property.
An individual, partnership, association, firm, company, trust,
corporation, agency, authority, department or political subdivision
of the commonwealth or the federal government, to the extent permitted
by law, and any officer, employee, or agent of such person.
Any element or property of sewage, agricultural, industrial
or commercial waste, runoff, leachate, heated effluent, or other matter,
whether originating at a point or nonpoint source, that is or may
be introduced into any MS4, sewage treatment works or waters of the
commonwealth. Pollutants shall include without limitation:
Paints, varnishes, and solvents;
Oil and other automotive fluids;
Nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes;
Refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned
objects, ordnances, accumulations and floatables;
Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers;
Hazardous materials and wastes, sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens;
Dissolved and particulate metals;
Animal wastes;
Rock, sand, salt, and soils;
Construction wastes and residues; and
Noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
All activity in preparation for construction.
Water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into
direct contact with or results from the production or use of any material,
intermediate product, finished product, or waste product.
The process by which groundwater is replenished by precipitation
through the percolation of runoff and surface water through the soil.
Development, rehabilitation, expansion, demolition or phased
projects that disturb the ground surface on previously developed sites.
Rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation water flowing over the
ground surface.
Mineral or organic soil material that is transported by wind
or water, from its origin to another location; the product of erosion
processes.
The process or act of deposition of sediment.
Any lot or parcel of land or area of property where land
disturbing activities are, were, or will be performed.
Any earth, sand, rock, gravel, or similar material.
Runoff from precipitation or snow melt and surface water
runoff and drainage.
Town of Westwood Conservation Commission or its authorized
agent(s).
A plan required as part of the application for a land disturbance
permit.
Any material which, because of its quantity, concentration,
chemical, corrosive, flammable, reactive, toxic, infectious or radioactive
characteristics, either separately or in combination with any substance
or substances, constitutes a present or potential threat to human
health, safety, welfare, or to the environment. Toxic or hazardous
materials include any synthetic organic chemical, petroleum product,
heavy metal, radioactive or infectious waste, acid and alkali, and
any substance defined as "toxic" or "hazardous" under MGL c. 21C and
c. 21E, and the regulations at 310 CMR 30.000 and 310 CMR 40.0000.
Any sanitary waste, sludge, or septic tank or cesspool overflow,
and water that during manufacturing, cleaning or processing comes
into direct contact with or results from the production or use of
any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product
or waste product.
A natural or man-made channel through which water flows or
a stream of water, including a river, brook or underground stream.
All waters within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth, including,
without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments,
estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, and groundwater.
Areas specified in the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection
Act, MGL c. 131, § 40, and in the Town of Westwood Wetlands
Protection Bylaw.
Tidal and nontidal areas characterized by saturated or nearly
saturated soils most of the year that are located between terrestrial
(land-based) and aquatic (water-based) environments, including freshwater
marshes around ponds and channels (rivers and streams), brackish and
salt marshes; common names include "marshes," "swamps" and "bogs."
This bylaw is adopted under authority granted by the Home Rule Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution, the home rule statutes, the regulations of the Federal Clean Water Act found at 40 CFR 122.34, Chapter 1, § 1-4, of the General Bylaws of the Town of Westwood and Chapter 9 of the Charter of the Town of Westwood.
The Stormwater Authority shall administer, implement and enforce
this bylaw. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the Stormwater
Authority may be delegated in writing by the Stormwater Authority
to its employees or agents.
A.
Following a public hearing on a waiver request, the Stormwater Authority
may waive strict compliance with any requirement of this bylaw or
the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder, where:
B.
All waiver requests shall be submitted in writing and shall be accompanied
by an explanation or documentation supporting the waiver request and
demonstrating that strict application of the bylaw does not further
the purposes or objective of this bylaw.
C.
All waiver requests shall be discussed and voted on at the public
hearing for the project.
D.
If in the Stormwater Authority's opinion, additional time or
information is required for review of a waiver request, the Stormwater
Authority may continue a hearing to a certain date announced at the
meeting. In the event the applicant objects to a continuance, or fails
to provide requested information, the waiver request shall be denied.
A.
The Stormwater Authority may adopt, and periodically amend, regulations,
rules and/or written guidance relating to the terms, conditions, definitions,
enforcement, fees, procedures and administration of this bylaw by
majority vote after conducting a public hearing to receive comments.
Such hearing shall be advertised in a newspaper of general local circulation,
at least 14 days prior to the hearing date. Failure of the Stormwater
Authority to issue such rules, or regulations, or a legal declaration
of their invalidity by a court, shall not act to suspend or invalidate
the effect of this bylaw.
B.
Such regulations, rules or guidance may include without limitation, provisions for the establishment of one or more categories of administrative review approvals for specific types or sizes of projects. Administrative review applications that meet all the standard requirements may be issued by one or more agents designated in writing by the Stormwater Authority, without the requirement for a public hearing as detailed in Article III of this bylaw. Administrative review approval shall comply with all other provisions of this bylaw.
The provisions of this bylaw are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, paragraph, sentence, or clause of this bylaw or
the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstances
shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other
provisions or application of this bylaw.
