[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Sharon
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as Art. 37 of the Town Bylaws]
This bylaw is adopted in accordance with the authority granted, inter alia, by Amendment Article 89 to Article II of the Massachusetts Constitution and MGL c. 43B, § 13. The Select Board is delegated hereby the responsibility and authority to enforce and administer this bylaw. The Select Board may appoint the Town Engineer or Assistant Town Engineer or such other Town employee as the Select Board may from time to time determine and designate in a writing to aid the Select Board in the enforcement and/or administration of this bylaw.
In partial fulfillment of the obligations of the Town under
the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) (the "Act")
and under the Town's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
Stormwater Permit, the Town hereby establishes a comprehensive and
fair system of regulation of discharges to the Town's municipal separate
storm sewer system (sometimes referred to herein as the "MS4").
The purpose and intent of this bylaw is to:
A.
Protect the waters of the U.S., as defined in the Act and its implementing
regulations, from uncontrolled discharges of stormwater or discharges
of contaminated water which have a negative impact on the receiving
waters by changing the physical, biological and chemical composition
of those waters, resulting in an unhealthy environment for aquatic
organisms, wildlife and people; and
B.
Reduce discharges of contaminated water into the MS4 and resultant
discharges from the MS4 into waters of the U.S. and improve surface
water quality; and
C.
Permit and manage reasonable access to the MS4 to facilitate proper
drainage; and
D.
Assure that the Town can continue to fairly and responsibly protect
the public health, safety and welfare.
As used in this bylaw, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The Select Board and, to the extent delegated and designated,
the Town Engineer or Assistant Town Engineer or such other Town employee
as delegated and designated by the Select Board.
Water that contains higher levels of pollutants, including,
without limitation implied, heavy metals, toxins, oil and grease,
solvents, nutrients, viruses and bacteria, than permitted in waters
of the U.S. by the Act and its implementing regulations.
Any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including
but not limited to any pipe, drain, channel, conduit, tunnel, or swale,
whether above ground or below ground, which directs water into the
MS4.
A license granted by the Town for the continued maintenance
by an owner of a direct connection to the MS4.
Any non-naturally occurring addition of water or of stormwater
to the MS4.
An act or omission of any person or entity, the proximate
result of which is the introduction of a pollutant into the MS4.
Discharges from the following sources unless in any instance
such discharge would result in exceeding the requirements of 314 CMR
4.00, Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards:
Water line flushing.
Landscape irrigation.
Diverted stream flows.
Rising groundwater.
Pumped groundwater.
Discharges from potable water sources.
Foundation drains.
Air conditioning condensation.
Irrigation water.
Springs.
Water from crawl space pumps.
Footing drains.
Lawn watering.
Individual residential car washing.
Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands.
Dechlorinated swimming pool discharges (e.g., where the discharge
contains less than one ppm of chlorine).
Street wash water.
Rain run-off from roofs.
Any building, structure, facility or installation from which
there is a flow of stormwater or exempted discharge, the construction
of which building, structure, facility or installation occurred prior
to the promulgation of this bylaw.
Any drain, conduit, or other conveyance, whether on the surface
or subsurface, which allows an illicit discharge to enter the MS4.
Any discharge into the MS4 of contaminated water, any discharge
of stormwater from a direct connection for which a direct connection
license is not in force and effect, any discharge which is not an
exempted discharge, or any discharge from an indirect connection not
in compliance with this bylaw.
The natural drainage of stormwater over or under the surface
of the ground (whether instigated by human endeavor or not) via gravity
into the MS4.
The stormwater collection system which is made up of open
watercourses, swales, ditches, culverts, canals, streams, catch basins
and pipes through which the stormwater flows and the Town public ways
over which it flows which are owned and operated by the Town for the
purpose of collecting or conveying stormwater to a discharge point.
Any building, structure, facility or installation from which
there is or may be a discharge of stormwater, the construction of
which building, structure, facility or installation commenced after
adoption of this bylaw.
The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit
issued by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to the Town.
The owner of a parcel of land recorded in the Assessor's
Office of the Town.
Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash,
sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological
materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment,
rocks, sand, animal or agricultural waste, oil, grease, gasoline or
diesel fuel.
Any road (including such appurtenances as berms, curbs, drains,
catch basins, sewers, water mains, sidewalks and paved and unpaved
shoulders within the paper layout) to which the public has access
and that the Town is responsible for maintaining.
Rainfall that exceeds the soil's capacity contemporaneously
to absorb it and which, instead, runs across the surface of the ground
as run-off.
A.
No person or entity shall do or suffer to be done any dumping into
the MS4, including, without limitation implied, the placing or emptying
into any catch basin or other portal to the MS4 of any pollutant.
B.
No owner shall cause an illicit discharge to be made to the MS4 whether
from a direct or indirect connection.
C.
No direct connections, whether from a new or existing source, shall
be installed after the effective date of this bylaw.
D.
Direct connections from an existing source shall be allowed to continue
after the effective date, provided that:
E.
Indirect connections from existing sources shall be allowed, provided
that:
A.
Any person or entity who or which causes or suffers to occur a dumping
shall be subject to a fine of $100.
B.
Any owner who causes or suffers to occur an illicit discharge to
emanate from his property shall be subject to a fine of $100 per day
for each day that the illicit discharge continues after notice thereof
is given by or at the direction of the Select Board. This fine may
be waived by the Select Board members to allow time for compliance.
C.
Any owner who allows a direct connection to be maintained on his
property (whether or not it results in an illicit discharge) without
applying for and receiving a direct connection license from the Town
shall be subject to a fine of $100 per day for each day that the unlicensed
direct connection continues after the deadline set for abatement by
the Select Board.
A.
Violations of § 230-5 of this bylaw may, without limitation, be disposed of through the noncriminal procedure specified in MGL c. 40, § 21D.
B.
If an illicit discharge or a dumping occurs or an illicit connection
is maintained, the Board shall give or cause to be given written notice
directed to the owner of the parcel from which the illicit discharge
is emanating, or on which the illicit connection is maintained, ordering
an immediate cessation of any act or condition in violation of this
bylaw.
C.
The Board, either with such notice or at any reasonable time thereafter,
may order the owner or any other person or entity responsible for
violating this bylaw to begin and thereafter diligently prosecute
to completion such remediation efforts as the Board in its reasonable
discretion may deem appropriate.
D.
If the Board determines that the illicit discharge resulted from
a direct connection to the MS4, the Board shall revoke the owner's
direct connection license forthwith. After the owner has fully completed
all remediation ordered by the Board, the owner may thereafter apply
to the Board on the form included herein as Exhibit A, and utilizing
the procedures from time to time prescribed by the Board, for a new
direct connection license, which the Board shall consider in the same
manner as any other new application. A direct connection license form
is included herein as Exhibit B. The forms set forth in Exhibits A
and B are intended to serve as examples and may be changed from time
to time at the discretion of the Board.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibits A and B are on file in the Town offices.
A.
Any person or owner aggrieved by an action of the Board which was
neither (i) the assessment of a penalty for which the provisions of
MGL c. 40, § 21D apply, nor (ii) an action taken by the
Board at a meeting of which the aggrieved person or owner was given
notice and was afforded the opportunity to present evidence and argument
with a view to causing the Board to modify its earlier action (such
action being a "final action") shall, within 30 days of such Board
action, request a hearing before the Board at which the aggrieved
person or owner may present evidence and argument concerning final
action by the Board. The Board shall hold such hearing within 30 days
following said request and within 30 days thereafter shall either
confirm the Board's previous action or order such other final action
as it may determine.
B.
A person or owner aggrieved by a decision of the Select Board under
this bylaw may appeal such decision to the appropriate court of competent
jurisdiction.
If any clause, section, or other part of this bylaw shall be
held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction,
the remainder of this bylaw shall not be affected thereby but shall
remain in full force and effect.
This bylaw shall take effect upon approval by the Office of
the Attorney General and as otherwise required by MGL c. 40, § 32.
[Adopted 5-2-2022 ATM by Art. 19[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article repealed former Art. II, Construction
Activity Discharges, adopted as Art. 38 of the Town Bylaws.
This bylaw is adopted in accordance with the authority granted, inter alia, by Amendment Article 89 to Article II of the Massachusetts Constitution and MGL c. 43B, § 13.
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.
The purpose of this bylaw is to protect public health, safety, general
welfare, and environment by regulating illicit connections and discharges
to the storm drain system or, directly or indirectly, to a watercourse
or into the waters of the commonwealth, as well as to control the
adverse effects of construction site stormwater runoff and post-construction
runoff. Stormwater runoff can be a major cause of:
(1)
Impairment of water quality and flow in lakes, ponds, streams, rivers,
coastal waters, wetlands, groundwater and drinking water supplies;
(2)
Contamination of drinking water supplies;
(3)
Contamination of downstream coastal 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 requirements;
(3)
Prevent and reduce pollutants from entering the Town's municipal
separate storm sewer system (MS4);
(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
best management practices to ensure that they continue to function
as designed, are maintained, and pose no threat to public safety;
and
(7)
Recognize the Town's legal authority to ensure compliance with
the provisions of this bylaw through inspection, monitoring, and enforcement.
A.
Article II of this bylaw shall apply to all activities that result in disturbance of land. No person may undertake a construction activity or land disturbance, including clearing, grading, excavation or redevelopment, that will disturb equal to or greater than thresholds outlined in the Stormwater Management and land disturbance Regulations without an administrative land disturbance review or a land disturbance permit approved by a majority of the Stormwater Authority members or as otherwise provided in this bylaw.
(1)
Administrative land disturbance review is required for "minor" projects
disturbing land.
(2)
A land disturbance permit is required for "major" projects disturbing
land, or the proposed use is listed as a land use of higher potential
pollutant loads as defined in the Massachusetts Stormwater Management
Standards, regardless of the amount of land to be disturbed.
B.
Any person that fails to follow the requirements of a land disturbance
permit and the related erosion and sedimentation control plan, and
operation and maintenance plan, or any land disturbance permit issued
under the Stormwater Management Regulations, shall be in violation
and subject to enforcement action.
A.
The Stormwater Authority, or its authorized agent, may waive strict
compliance with any requirement of this bylaw or the rules and regulations
promulgated hereunder, where such action is:
B.
Any person seeking a waiver must submit a written waiver request.
Such a request 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 objectives of this bylaw.
C.
All waiver requests shall require a public hearing.
D.
If in the opinion of the Stormwater Authority or its authorized agent,
additional time or information is required for review of a waiver
request, the Stormwater Authority may continue a hearing to a date
certain 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 shall adopt within one year, and may periodically
amend, regulations, rules and/or written guidance to the terms, conditions,
definitions, enforcement, fees, procedures and administration of this
Stormwater Management 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.
Stormwater management regulations, rules or guidance shall identify
thresholds and requirements for land disturbance review and land disturbance
permits required by this bylaw and be consistent with, or more stringent
than, the most recent Massachusetts Small Municipal Separate Storm
Sewer System (MS4) General Permit.
C.
The Stormwater Management Regulations may identify one or more categories
for projects requiring a land disturbance review that, because of
their size, scope and common features or characteristics, may be approved
by the Stormwater Authority. For such projects, the Stormwater Management
agent(s) will identify minimum stormwater management standards pursuant
to this bylaw, compliance with which is required before the project
is approved.
D.
The Stormwater Management Regulations may identify one or more categories
for projects subject to exemptions, prohibitions, or waivers.
E.
In addition to § 230-17, the Stormwater Management Regulations shall provide clarity and guidance to the application process, site plan review process, and site plan requirements.
F.
The Stormwater Management Regulations shall identify the thresholds
and stipulations for violations, enforcement, and penalties.
G.
The appeals process shall be further identified and outlined within
the Stormwater Management Regulations.
A.
An administrative land disturbance review or land disturbance permit
must be obtained prior to the commencement of land disturbing activity
or redevelopment based on thresholds established in the Stormwater
Management Regulations. An applicant seeking an approval and/or permit
shall file an appropriate application with the Stormwater Authority
in a form and containing information as specified in this bylaw and
in regulations adopted by the Stormwater Authority.
B.
Permit procedures and requirements are outlined in the Regulations.
Where appropriate, said Regulations will require an erosion and sedimentation
control plan and/or an operation and maintenance plan.
A.
Filing an application for an approval or permit grants the Stormwater
Authority and its employees or agents permission to enter the site
to verify the information in the application and to inspect for compliance
with approval or permit conditions.
B.
The Stormwater Authority or its designated agent(s) shall make inspections
as outlined in the Stormwater Management Regulations to verify and
document compliance with the land disturbance review and/or permit.
This bylaw and its related Stormwater Management Regulations
shall be implemented in accordance with the requirements of United
States Environmental Protection Agency's most recent Massachusetts
Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General Permit relating
to illicit connections and discharges, construction site runoff, and
post-construction stormwater management, as well as the Massachusetts
Wetlands Management Act. The Stormwater Authority may establish additional
requirements by regulation to further the purposes and objectives
of this bylaw so long as they are not less stringent than those in
the MS4 General Permit for Massachusetts.
The Stormwater Authority may require the applicant to post before
the start of land disturbance or construction activity a surety bond,
irrevocable letter of credit, cash, or other acceptable security.
The form of the bond shall be approved by the Stormwater Authority
and be in an amount deemed sufficient by the Stormwater Authority
to ensure that the work will be completed in accordance with the permit.
If the project is phased, the Stormwater Authority may release part
of the bond as each phase is completed in compliance with the permit.
Upon completion of the work, the applicant shall submit a report
(including certified as-built construction plans) from a professional
engineer (P.E.), surveyor, or certified professional in erosion and
sediment control (CPESC), certifying that all BMPs, erosion and sedimentation
control devices, and approved changes and modifications, have been
completed in accordance with the conditions of the approved erosion
and sediment control plan and stormwater management plan. The Stormwater
Authority may, by regulation, require ongoing reporting to ensure
long-term compliance, including, but not limited to, appropriate operation
and maintenance of stormwater BMPs. Any discrepancies shall be noted
in the cover letter.
If any clause, section or part of this bylaw shall be held invalid
or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder
of this bylaw shall not be affected thereby but shall remain in full
force and effect.
This bylaw shall take effect upon approval by the Office of
the Attorney General and as otherwise required by MGL c. 40, § 32.
Approval by the Stormwater Authority of a land disturbance
activity that does not require a land disturbance permit because of
its size and/or scope.
Any activity which will measurably change the ability of
a ground surface area to absorb water or will change existing surface
drainage patterns. "Alter" may be similarly represented as "alteration
of drainage characteristics," and "conducting land disturbance activities."
Any activity on an area of land that changes the water quality,
force, direction, timing or location of runoff flowing from the areas.
Such changes include change from distributed runoff to confined, discrete
discharge, change in the volume of runoff from the area, change in
the peak rate of runoff from the area, and change in the recharge-to-groundwater
on the area.
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 soil erosion and sediment control permit for
proposed land-disturbance activity.
Drawings that completely record and document applicable aspects
and features of conditions of a project following construction using
stormwater management plans derived from a land disturbance permit.
An activity, procedure, restraint, or structural improvement
that helps to reduce the quantity or improve the quality of stormwater
discharges.
A certified specialist in soil erosion and sediment control.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.) as hereafter amended.
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
A contiguous or noncontiguous land area under one ownership
on which multiple separate and distinct construction activities are
occurring under one development plan.
Any activity that causes a change in the position or location
of soil, sand, rock, gravel or similar earth material for the purpose
of building roads, parking lots, residences, commercial buildings,
office buildings, industrial buildings or demolitions.
Excess or discarded building or site materials, including
but not limited to concrete truck washout, chemicals, litter and sanitary
waste at a construction site that may adversely impact water quality.
The plot of land located within the Town on which the construction
activity will occur.
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 activity such as clearing, grading and excavating that
exposes soil, sand, rock, gravel or similar earth material.
The wearing of the land surface by natural or artificial
forces such as wind, water, ice, gravity or vehicular traffic and
the subsequent detachment and transportation of soil particles from
their origin to another location.
A document containing narrative, drawings and details developed
by a qualified professional engineer (PE), a professional land surveyor
(PLS), or a certified professional in erosion and sediment control
(CPESC), which includes best management practices, or equivalent measures
designed to control surface runoff, erosion and sedimentation during
preconstruction and construction-related land disturbance activities.
A local and temporary inundation or a rise in the surface
of a body of water, such that it covers land not usually under water.
Changing the level or shape of the ground surface.
All water beneath any land surface including water in the
soil and bedrock beneath water bodies.
The act of clearing land surface by digging up roots and
stumps.
Any material or structure on or above the ground that prevents
water from infiltrating through the underlying soil. Impervious surface
is defined to include, without limitation: paved parking lots, sidewalks,
rooftops, driveways, patios, and paved, gravel and compacted dirt-surfaced
roads.
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; results in
an increased amount of runoff or pollutants; measurably changes the
ability of a ground surface to absorb waters, involves clearing and
grading, or results in an alteration of drainage characteristics.
A permit issued by the Stormwater Authority pursuant to this
bylaw prior to commencement of land disturbing activity or redevelopment.
The policy issued by the Department of Environmental Protection,
and as amended, that coordinates 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 control the quantity of runoff from a site.
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 Sharon.
The Clean Water Act prohibits a person from discharging "pollutants"
through a "point source" into a "water of the United States" unless
they have an NPDES permit. The permit will contain limits on what
you can discharge, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other
provisions to ensure that the discharge does not hurt water quality
or people's health. In essence, the permit translates general
requirements of the Clean Water Act into specific provisions tailored
to the operations of each person discharging pollutants.
A plan describing 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 point source at which a municipal separate storm sewer
system discharges to waters of the commonwealth.
A person with a legal or equitable interest in property.
Any individual, group of individuals, association, partnership,
corporation, company, business organization, trust, estate, the commonwealth
or political subdivision thereof to the extent subject to Town bylaws,
administrative agency, public or quasi-public corporation or body,
the Town of Sharon and any other legal entity, its legal representatives,
agents, or assigns.
Any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including,
but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well,
discrete fissure, or container from which pollutants are or may be
discharged.
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, ordnance, 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.
The conditions that reasonably may be expected or anticipated
to exist after completion of the land development activity on a specific
site or tract of land. Post-development refers to the phase of a new
development or redevelopment project after completion, and does not
refer to the construction phase of a project.
The conditions that exist at the time that plans for the
land development of a tract of land are submitted to the Stormwater
Authority. Where phased development or plan approval occurs (preliminary
grading, roads and utilities, etc.), the existing conditions at the
time prior to the first plan submission shall establish pre-development
conditions.
All activity in preparation for construction.
The process by which groundwater is replenished by precipitation
through the percolation of runoff and surface water through the soil.
Development, rehabilitation, expansion, demolition, construction,
land alteration, or phased projects that disturb the ground surface,
including impervious surfaces, on previously developed sites. The
creation of new areas of impervious surface or new areas of land disturbance
on a site constitutes development, not redevelopment, even where such
activities are part of a common plan which also involves redevelopment.
Redevelopment includes maintenance and improvement of existing roadways
including widening less than a single lane, adding shoulders, correcting
substandard intersections, improving existing drainage systems and
repaving; and remedial projects specifically designed to provide improved
stormwater management such as projects to separate storm drains and
sanitary sewers and stormwater retrofit projects.
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 depositing mineral or organic soil
material in stormwater as a result of erosion.
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.
The use, singly or in combination, of mechanical, structural,
or vegetative methods, to prevent or retard erosion.
An enforcement order issued, which requires that all construction
activity on a site be stopped.
Rainfall and snow melt that exceeds the soil's capacity
contemporaneously to absorb it and which, instead, runs across the
surface of the ground as runoff.
As delegated by the Stormwater Authority, the Town Engineer,
the Assistant Town Engineer, Conservation Administrator, and the Stormwater
Manager will serve in this capacity.
The Conservation Commission or its authorized agent(s). The
Conservation Commission is responsible for coordinating the review,
approval and permit process as defined in this bylaw. Other boards
and/or departments participate in the review process as defined in
the Stormwater Regulations adopted by the Conservation Commission.
A permit issued by United States Environmental Protection
Agency or jointly with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that authorizes
the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States.
Stormwater that runs off from the construction site into
the MS4 or otherwise into waters of the commonwealth.
Best management practices that are constructed or installed
during construction activity to slow velocities and prevent or reduce
pollutants from entering stormwater discharges, or to reduce the quantity
of stormwater discharges that will occur after construction activity
has been completed. Examples include, but are not limited to: on-site
attenuation by vegetation or natural depressions, outfall velocity
dissipation devices, retention structures, and water quality detention
structures.
A document containing narrative, drawings and details prepared
by a qualified professional engineer (PE) or a professional land surveyor
(PLS), which includes structural and nonstructural best management
practices to manage and treat stormwater runoff generated from regulated
development activity. A stormwater management plan also includes an
operational and maintenance plan describing the maintenance requirements
for best structural management practices.
A qualified administrator and/or Town employee who provides
managerial support to the Stormwater Authority.
The permit issued by the Town to the applicant which allows
construction activity to occur as outlined by the applicant in its
application and stormwater pollution prevention plan.
The plan required of all applicants in which they outline
the erosion and sedimentation BMPs they will use, the BMPs they will
use to control wastes generated on the construction site, the stormwater
management measures they will construct and their plan for long-term
maintenance of these measures.
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 Sharon Wetlands
Protection Bylaw and Regulations.[1]
Tidal and non-tidal 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.
