This Part 3 shall be known and cited as the "Poquessing Creek
Stormwater Management Ordinance."
The governing body of the municipality finds that:
A.
Inadequate management of accelerated stormwater runoff resulting
from development throughout a watershed increases flood flows and
velocities, contributes to erosion and sedimentation, overtaxes the
carrying capacity of existing streams and storm sewers, greatly increases
the cost of public facilities to convey and manage stormwater, undermines
floodplain management and flood reduction efforts in upstream and
downstream communities, reduces groundwater recharge, and threatens
public health and safety.
B.
Inadequate planning and management of stormwater runoff resulting
from land development throughout a watershed can also harm surface
water resources by changing the natural hydrologic patterns, accelerating
stream flows (which increase scour and erosion of streambeds and stream
banks, thereby increasing sedimentation), destroying aquatic habitat,
and increasing aquatic pollutant concentrations and loadings such
as sediments, nutrients, heavy metals, and pathogens. Groundwater
resources are also impacted through loss of recharge.
C.
A comprehensive program of stormwater management, including minimization
of impacts of development, redevelopment, and activities causing accelerated
erosion and loss of natural infiltration, is fundamental to the public
health, safety, welfare, and the protection of the people of the municipality
and all of the people of the commonwealth, their resources, and the
environment.
D.
Stormwater is an important resource by providing groundwater recharge
for water supplies and base flow of streams, which also helps to protect
and maintain surface water quality.
E.
Impacts from stormwater runoff can be minimized by using project
designs that maintain the natural hydrologic regime and sustain high
water quality, groundwater recharge, stream base flow, and aquatic
ecosystems.
F.
Federal and state regulations require certain municipalities to implement
a program of stormwater controls. These municipalities are required
to obtain a permit for stormwater discharges from their separate storm
sewer systems under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES).
G.
Nonstormwater discharges to municipal separate storm sewer systems
can contribute to pollution of waters of the commonwealth.
The purpose of this Part 3 is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare within the Poquessing Creek Watershed by maintaining the natural hydrologic regime and by minimizing the harms and maximizing the benefits described in § 172-82 of this Part 3, through provisions designed to:
A.
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including
regulations of 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93 to protect, maintain, reclaim,
and restore the existing and designated uses of the waters of the
commonwealth.
B.
Preserve the natural drainage systems as much as possible.
C.
Manage stormwater close to the source.
D.
Provide procedures and performance standards for stormwater planning
and management.
E.
Maintain groundwater recharge to prevent degradation of surface water
and groundwater quality and to otherwise protect water resources.
F.
Prevent scour and erosion of stream banks and streambeds.
G.
Provide proper operation and maintenance of all stormwater best management
practices (BMPs) that are implemented within the municipality.
H.
Provide standards to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) requirements.
I.
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including
regulations at 25 Pa. Code § 93.4(a) requiring protection
and maintenance of existing uses and maintenance of the level of water
quality to support those uses in all streams, and the protection and
maintenance of water quality in special protection streams.
J.
Address the quality and quantity of stormwater discharges.
K.
Provide standards necessary to meet NPDES permit requirements.
L.
Implement an illegal discharge detection and elimination program
that addresses nonstormwater discharges into the municipality's
separate storm sewer system.
M.
Preserve and restore the flood-carrying capacity of streams.
N.
Prevent scour and erosion of stream banks and streambeds.
O.
Provide proper operation and maintenance of all stormwater management
facilities and BMPs that are implemented in the municipality.
The municipality is empowered to regulate land use activities
that affect runoff, surface water, and groundwater quality and quantity
by the authority of:
A.
All regulated activities and all activities that may affect stormwater runoff, including land development and earth disturbance activities, are subject to regulation by this Part 3. This Part 3 shall apply to those portions of the municipality that lie within the Poquessing Creek Watershed, in accordance with the stormwater management districts established in § 172-103. Regulated activities include the following:
(1)
Land development.
(2)
Subdivisions.
(3)
Alteration of the natural hydrologic regime.
(4)
Construction or reconstruction (See definition in § 172-91.) of or addition of new impervious or semipervious surfaces (e.g., driveways, parking lots, roads, etc.).
(5)
Construction of new buildings or additions to existing buildings.
(6)
Redevelopment.
(7)
Diversion piping or encroachments in any natural or man-made channel.
(8)
Stormwater BMPs or appurtenances thereto.
(9)
Earth disturbance activities of equal to or greater than 5,000 square
feet.
(10)
Any of the above regulated activities which were approved more than
five years prior to the effective date of this Part 3 and resubmitted
for municipal approval.
B.
In general,
minor building additions, patio constructions and slight changes to
the land would not rise to the level which will require a full stormwater
management plan. Therefore, these minor projects will not be required
to provide detailed design plans. However, any project that concentrates
stormwater runoff to adjacent property or changes the rate of runoff
to adjacent property will need to meet the standards identified in
the balance of the Township's Act 167 ordinances. All projects will
be required to submit an accounting of any additional impervious cover
which has been added to the property since the adoption of this subsection.
The Township Engineer shall be consulted to make an assessment as
to the potential impacts of a project on the community and he/she
will have the ability to require measures and improvements to mitigate
any adverse impacts. These measure can be required either prior to
or subsequent to construction in order to address any unintended adverse
impacts as a result of increased stormwater runoff.
[Added 1-13-2015 by Ord.
No. 695]
A.
Table 172-86[1] summarizes the eligibility for exemptions from certain requirements in this Part 3. "Proposed new impervious cover" in Table 172-86 includes new, additional, or replacement impervious surface/cover. "Repaving" existing surfaces without reconstruction (See § 172-91.) does not constitute replacement.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said table is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
(Note: Subappendix A-2[2] contains guidance for preparation of small project SWM
site plans for small regulated activities that create impervious surface
areas of less than 1,500 square feet. This guidance provides property
owners who propose such small regulated activities the opportunity
to submit SWM site plans without having to hire qualified persons.)
(1)
Disconnected regulated activities (regulated activities that create disconnected impervious areas) smaller in area than 500 square feet are exempt from the SWM site plan (§ 172-92) preparation requirements of this Part 3, except when the associated earth disturbance area is equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.
(2)
Disconnected regulated activities (regulated activities that create disconnected impervious areas), having an area equal to or greater than 500 square feet and less than 1,500 square feet, and with an associated earth disturbance area of less than 5,000 square feet, are exempt only from the peak rate control (§ 172-103) requirements of this Part 3 in the case of new development, and are exempt from peak rate control (§ 172-103) and stream bank erosion (§ 172-102) requirements in the case of redevelopment.
(3)
Agricultural plowing and tilling are exempt from the rate control and SWM site plan preparation requirements of this Part 3, provided the activities are performed according to the requirements of 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102.
(4)
Forest management and timber operations are exempt from the rate control and SWM site plan preparation requirements of this Part 3, provided the activities are performed according to the requirements of 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102.
(5)
For a development taking place in stages, the entire development
plan must be used in determining compliance with these exemption criteria.
The starting point from which to consider tracts as "parent tracts"
in which future subdivisions and respective impervious area computations
are cumulatively considered shall be the date of the municipality's
adoption of the original Poquessing Creek Watershed Stormwater Management
Plan Ordinance.
[2]
Editor's Note: Said subappendix is on file in the Township
offices. The updated stormwater ordinances and appendixes can also
be found online at www.lowermoreland.org.
C.
For example, if a property owner in Bucks County or Montgomery County
proposes a three-hundred-square-foot shed after adoption of the municipal
stormwater management ordinance, that property owner would be exempt
from site plan and peak rate control requirements. If, at a later
date, the property owner proposes to construct a garage and driveway
adding an additional 1,100 square feet of impervious surface, the
applicant will be required to submit a modified SWM site plan (or
a small project SWM site plan per Subappendix A-2[3] if the municipality has adopted it) demonstrating the
stormwater control requirements for the total impervious surface of
1,400 square feet.
[3]
Editor's Note: Said subappendix is on file in the Township
offices. The updated stormwater ordinances and appendixes can also
be found online at www.lowermoreland.org.
D.
Infiltration exemptions.
(1)
Depth to limiting zone. A minimum of two feet of soil suitable for
infiltration must exist between the invert of the infiltration BMP
and the top of the nearest limiting zone. Otherwise, the Rev requirement shall not be applied to the development
site, and the entire WQv must be treated.
(2)
Stormwater hot spots. Below is a list of types of hot spots that
may be recognized by the municipality. If a site is a potential hot
spot, it has important implications for how stormwater is managed.
First and foremost, untreated stormwater runoff from hot spots concentrated
into a collection system shall not be recharged into groundwater where
it may contaminate water supplies. Therefore, the Rev requirement shall NOT be applied to development sites that lie within
a hot spot (the entire WQv must still be treated).
Second, a greater level of stormwater treatment shall be applied at
hot spot sites to prevent pollutant wash-off after construction. The
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater program requires some industrial
sites to prepare and implement a stormwater pollution prevention plan.
(a)
List of potential hot spots:
[1]
Vehicle salvage yards and recycling facilities.
[2]
Vehicle fueling stations.
[3]
Vehicle service and maintenance facilities.
[4]
Vehicle and equipment cleaning facilities.
[5]
Fleet storage areas (bus, truck, etc.).
[6]
Industrial sites based on Standard Industrial Codes.
[7]
Marinas (service and maintenance).
[8]
Outdoor liquid container storage.
[9]
Commercial/industrial facilities.
[10]
Public works storage areas.
[11]
Facilities that generate, transfer, store, or dispose hazardous
materials.
[12]
Commercial container nursery.
(b)
The following land uses and activities are not normally considered
hot spots:
(3)
Rate of infiltration. When infiltration is not feasible due to poor
infiltration rates or hot spot, the water quality volume must be treated
by an approved SMP.
E.
Additional exemption criteria.
(1)
Exemption responsibilities. An exemption shall not relieve the applicant
from implementing such measures as are necessary to protect public
health, safety, property, water quality, and the environment.
(2)
Drainage problems. Where drainage problems exist downstream of the
proposed activity, then the municipality may deny exemptions.
(3)
Exemptions are limited to specific portions of this Part 3.
(4)
HQ and EV streams. The municipality shall deny exemptions in high
quality (HQ) or exceptional value (EV) waters and source-water protection
areas (SWPA).
(5)
For a development taking place in stages, the entire development
plan must be used in determining compliance with these exemption criteria.
The starting point from which to consider tracts as "parent tracts"
in which future subdivisions and respective impervious area computations
are cumulatively considered shall be the date of the municipal ordinance
adoption of the original Poquessing Creek Watershed Stormwater Management
Plan Ordinance.
F.
For example, if a property owner in Bucks County or Montgomery County proposes a three-hundred-square-foot shed after adoption of the municipal stormwater management ordinance, that property owner would be exempt from site plan and peak rate control requirements. If, at a later date, the property owner proposes to construct a garage and driveway adding an additional 1,300 square feet of impervious surface, the applicant would be required to submit a partial SWM site plan demonstrating the stormwater control requirements for the total impervious surface of 1,600 square feet. However, it need not address the items in §§ 172-102 and 172-103.
G.
The municipality may deny or revoke any exemption pursuant to this
section at any time for any project that the municipality believes
may pose a threat to public health, safety, property or the environment.
Approvals issued pursuant to this Part 3 do not relieve the applicant of the responsibility to secure required permits or approvals for activities regulated by any other applicable code, rule, act, or ordinance, including 25 Pa. Code Chapters 92,[1] 102 and 105.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former 25 Pa. Code Ch. 92 was repealed effective
10-9-2010. See now 25 Pa. Code Ch. 92a.
Notwithstanding any provision(s) of this Part 3, including exemptions,
any landowner or any person engaged in the alteration or development
of land that may affect stormwater runoff characteristics shall implement
such measures as are reasonably necessary to prevent injury to health,
safety, or other property. Such measures also shall include actions
as are required to manage the rate, volume, direction, and quality
of resulting stormwater runoff in a manner that otherwise adequately
protects health, safety, property, and water quality.
Any permit or authorization issued or approved based on false,
misleading, or erroneous information provided by an applicant is void
without the necessity of any proceedings for revocation. Any work
undertaken or use established pursuant to such permit or other authorization
is unlawful. No action may be taken by a board, agency, or employee
of the municipality purporting to validate such a violation.
