The Town has in the past experienced problems regarding stormwater
management in that uncontrolled runoff can increase the amount of
flooding and sediment pollution, which in turn adversely affect water
quality that can impact human life, water quality, receiving stream
biodiversity, and the general health and safety of the public. Therefore,
the Town of Chester has the following objectives:
A. Set forth standards which comply with the requirements of the NYSDEC
General Permit for Stormwater Discharges, Permit No. GP-02-01, or
as amended or revised;
B. Establish methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants
into the MS4, in order to comply with requirements of the SPDES General
Permit for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4), Permit No.
GP-02-02, or as amended or revised;
C. Protect the public and prevent damage from flooding;
D. Encourage the protection of natural drainage systems, such as streams,
lakes, and state and federal wetlands, in order to preserve the beneficial
functions and values of those resources;
E. Require the implementation of sound stormwater management and soil
erosion and sediment control practices to be implemented on subdivisions,
site plans and construction sites;
F. Provide for the intro-fitting of current engineering practices on
redeveloped sites;
G. Implement a program to detect, enforce and eliminate illicit discharges
to the Town stormwater collection system;
H. Prohibit illicit connections, activities and discharges to the MS4;
I. Establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance
and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this
chapter and impose penalties and remedies for noncompliance; and
J. Promote public awareness of the hazards involved in the improper
discharge of trash, yard waste, lawn chemicals, pet waste, wastewater,
grease, oil, petroleum products, cleaning products, paint products,
hazardous waste, sediment and other pollutants into the MS4.
Whenever used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is
stated in a definition applicable to only a portion of this chapter,
the following terms will have meanings set forth below:
303(d) LIST
A list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial
uses of the water (drinking, recreation, aquatic habitat and industrial
use) are impaired by pollutants, prepared periodically by the Department
as required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. 303(d) listed
waters are estuaries, lakes and streams that fall short of state surface
water quality standards and are not expected to improve within the
next two years.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general
good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational
practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices
to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly
to stormwater, receiving waters or stormwater conveyance systems.
BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices
to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal,
or drainage from raw materials storage.
CLEAN WATER ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.) and any amendments thereto.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Activities requiring authorization under the SPDES Permit
for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity, GP-02-01, as
amended or revised. These activities include construction projects
resulting in land disturbance of one or more acres. Such activities
include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating
and demolition.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Any material, including any substance, waste or combination
thereof, which, because of its quantity, concentration or physical,
chemical or infectious characteristics, may cause, or significantly
contribute to, a present or potential hazard to human health, safety,
property or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported,
disposed of or otherwise managed.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
which allows an illegal discharge to enter the MS4, including but
not limited to:
A.
Any conveyances which allow any nonstormwater discharge including
treated or untreated sewage, process wastewater and wash water to
enter the MS4 and any connections to the storm drain system from indoor
drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain or connection had
been previously allowed, permitted or approved by an authorized enforcement
agency; and/or
B.
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial
land use to the MS4 which has not been documented in plans, maps or
equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement agency.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the MS4, except as exempted in §
78A-21 of this chapter.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM
A facility serving one or more parcels of land or residential
households, or a private, commercial or institutional facility, that
treats sewage or other liquid wastes for discharge into the groundwaters
of New York State, except where a permit for such a facility is required
under the applicable provisions of Article 17 of the Environmental
Conservation Law.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities requiring authorization under the SPDES Permit
for Discharges from Industrial Activities Except Construction, GP-0-06-002,
as amended or revised.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4)
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains):
A.
Owned or operated by the Town of Chester;
B.
Designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
C.
Which is not a combined sewer; and
D.
Which is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW)
as defined at 40 CFR 122.2.
PERSON
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either
the owner or occupant of premises, or as the owner's or occupant's
agent.
POLLUTANT
Dredged spoil, filter backwash, solid waste, incinerator
residue, treated or untreated sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat,
wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand and industrial, municipal,
agricultural waste and ballast discharged into water, which may cause
or might reasonably be expected to cause pollution of the waters of
the state in contravention of the standards.
PREMISES
Any building, lot, parcel of land or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
A.
Discharge compliance with water quality standards. The condition
that applies where a municipality has been notified that the discharge
of stormwater authorized under its MS4 permit may have caused or has
the reasonable potential to cause or contribute to the violation of
an applicable water quality standard. Under this condition the municipality
must take all necessary actions to ensure future discharges do not
cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards.
B.
303(d) listed waters. The condition in the municipality's
MS4 permit that applies where the MS4 discharges to a 303(d) listed
water. Under this condition the stormwater management program must
ensure no increase of the listed pollutant of concern to the 303(d)
listed water.
C.
Total maximum daily load (TMDL) strategy. The condition in the
municipality's MS4 permit where a TMDL, including requirements
for control of stormwater discharges, has been approved by EPA for
a water body or watershed into which the MS4 discharges. If the discharge
from the MS4 did not meet the TMDL stormwater allocations prior to
September 10, 2003, the municipality was required to modify its stormwater
management program to ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern
specified in the TMDL is achieved.
D.
The condition in the municipality's MS4 permit that applies
if a TMDL is approved in the future by EPA for any water body or watershed
into which an MS4 discharges. Under this condition the municipality
must review the applicable TMDL to see if it includes requirements
for control of stormwater discharges. If an MS4 is not meeting the
TMDL stormwater allocations, the municipality must, within six months
of the TMDL's approval, modify its stormwater management program
to ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern specified in
the TMDL is achieved.
STORMWATER
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATOR (SMA)
The Building Inspector, engineer or other person designated
by the Board of Trustees to enforce this chapter. The SMA may also
be designated by the municipality to accept and review stormwater
pollution prevention plans, forward the plans to the applicable municipal
board and inspect stormwater management practices.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL)
The maximum amount of a pollutant to be allowed to be released
into a water body so as not to impair uses of the water, allocated
among the sources of that pollutant.
WASTEWATER
Water that is not stormwater, is contaminated with pollutants
and is or will be discarded.