[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Brookhaven as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-16-1987 by L.L. No. 7-1987]
A.
By virtue of the Royal Charter from Charles II to
James Duke of York dated December 22, 1663, the Dongan Patent from
Governor Thomas Dongan to the Town of Brookhaven dated December 27,
1686, and the Constitution of the State of New York enacted on April
20, 1777, the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town
of Brookhaven, now known as the "Board of Trustees," were entrusted
with title to all subterranean waters within the boundaries of the
Town of Brookhaven and are vested with the duty and obligation to
protect these valuable waters so that they are not appropriated, polluted
or removed in such a manner as to diminish the supply of water to
the detriment of the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of
the Town of Brookhaven.
B.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Town
of Brookhaven to protect the supply of groundwaters within the Town
of Brookhaven from appropriation, pollution and removal so that the
residents of the Town of Brookhaven will be ensured of an ample supply
of clean and safe drinking water.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid or waste substance,
or a combination thereof, resulting from any process of industry,
manufacturing, trade or business or from the development or recovery
of any natural resources, which may cause or might reasonably be expected
to cause pollution of the groundwaters located within the Town of
Brookhaven.
Any corporation, form of partnership, association, trust,
estate or one or more individuals, and any unit of government or agency
of subdivision thereof.
All those waters lying and being within the aquifers underlying
the Town of Brookhaven.
The Board of Trustees of the Town of Brookhaven, also known
as the "Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of
Brookhaven."
A.
No person may remove subterranean waters located within
the Town of Brookhaven without first having obtained a permit from
the Trustees and the Town Board as provided herein.
B.
No person may discharge any industrial waste within
the Town of Brookhaven without first having obtained a permit from
the Trustees and the Town Board as provided herein.
The provisions of this article shall not apply
to the removal of subterranean waters for the use of the residents,
industries and businesses located within the Town of Brookhaven, provided
that said waters are recharged into the ground within the Town of
Brookhaven.
A.
Procedure. An application for the removal of subterranean waters
or for the discharge of industrial waste shall be made simultaneously
to the Trustees and the Town Board on such form and in such manner
as shall be prescribed by the Town Board. Said application shall be
filed with the Town Clerk and shall be accompanied by a fee as established
by Town Board resolution.
[Amended 12-19-2019 by L.L. No. 27-2019, effective 12-31-2019]
B.
Public hearing. No later than 90 days after receipt
of an application, a public hearing shall be held by the Town Board
and the Trustees. Said time period may be extended with the consent
of the applicant. The Town Clerk shall cause notice of said public
hearing to be published in an official newspaper of the Town of Brookhaven
no less than 10 days prior to the scheduled date of said public hearing.
C.
Departmental review. All such applications shall be
forwarded to the Commissioner of the Department of Planning, Environment
and Development, who shall cause a review of said applications to
be made and shall report, in writing, to the Trustees prior to the
public hearing provided herein. With the permission of the Town Board,
said Commissioner shall have the power to employ experts for the purpose
of reviewing each application.
A.
The Trustees and the Town Board may issue a permit
only upon the finding that the appropriation and removal of subterranean
waters or the discharge of industrial waste into the groundwaters
within the Town of Brookhaven will not diminish or harm the supply
of subterranean waters to the detriment of the residents and property
owners of the Town of Brookhaven.
B.
The Trustees and Town Board shall have the power to
impose such conditions on the issuance of any permit as it deems necessary
to protect the supply of subterranean waters located within the Town
of Brookhaven.
The Trustees and the Town Board shall have the
power to establish rates and charges for the appropriation and removal
of subterranean waters from the Town of Brookhaven. Said rates shall
be established after a public hearing held on notice as provided herein.
Said fees shall be paid to the Town Clerk.
A.
Criminal sanctions.
(1)
Any person who violates any provision of this article
or the conditions imposed by the Trustees upon an approved permit
shall, for the first offense, be guilty of a violation punishable
by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, and for a second
and each subsequent offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000, or a term
of imprisonment of not less than 15 days nor more than six months,
or both. Each offense shall be a separate and distinct offense, and,
in the case of a continuing offense, each day's continuance thereof
shall be a separate and distinct offense.
(2)
Any corporation which violates any provision of this
article or the conditions imposed by the Trustees upon an approved
permit shall, for the first offense, be guilty of a violation punishable
by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, and for a second
and each subsequent offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000 or a term of
imprisonment of not less than 15 days nor more than six months, or
both. Each offense-shall be a separate and distinct offense, and,
in the case of a continuing offense, each days' continuance thereof
shall be a separate and distinct offense.
B.
Equitable relief. The Town of Brookhaven shall have
the right to seek equitable relief to restrain any violation or threatened
violation of any provisions of this article.
[Adopted 1-29-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015, effective 2-17-2015]
The Town Board finds that it is the policy of the Town of Brookhaven
to maintain and, through time, improve water quality in the Carmans
River and its associated aquatic and wetland environments, and in
groundwater beneath terrestrial environments situated in the watershed
of the Carmans River, by reducing the concentration levels of various
nitrogen compounds in surface and groundwater in accordance with the
short- and long-term water quality goals established by the Town Board.
To that end, the Town Board in 2013 adopted the Carmans River Conservation
and Management Plan. Implementation of the Plan included setting forth
discharge standards for existing and new intermediate flow sanitary
systems and sewage treatment facilities within the one-hundred-year
groundwater contributing area to the Carmans River at levels below
current standards accepted by the Suffolk County Department of Health
Services. The stricter standard is being implemented in order to protect
the ecological integrity of the Carmans River. The stricter standard
is necessary because the standard in use by the Suffolk County Department
of Health Services is generally intended to protect human health,
but is not sufficient to protect ecological health and to avoid ecological
impacts to the Carmans River.
A.
The discharge standards for existing and new intermediate flow sanitary
systems in the Carmans River one-hundred-year groundwater contributing
area is applicable to the entire one-hundred-year groundwater contributing
area of the Carmans River as set forth within the Carmans River Conservation
and Management Plan and applies to all properties with existing or
future intermediate sanitary flow of wastewater between 1,000 gallons
per day and 30,000 gallons per day.
B.
The criteria set forth in this article are in addition to any and
all other approvals required by other government agencies.
All new sanitary systems and sewage treatment plants requiring
Suffolk County Department of Health Services approval and SPDES permit,
producing a sanitary flow of between 1,000 gallons per day and 30,000
gallons per day, shall utilize best available technology (BAT), which
results in nitrogen not exceeding three parts per million over a twelve-month
rolling average. At no point shall the monthly average exceed five
parts per million.
A.
All new
sanitary systems and sewage treatment facilities shall be required
to comply with the terms and conditions herein as of the effective
date of this article.
B.
All intermediate flow sanitary systems and sewage treatment plants
existing prior to the effective date of this article shall make the
necessary improvements and upgrades to comply with the terms and conditions
herein within 10 years of the effective date of this article.
(1)
The Town Board may grant an extension of time for implementing the
necessary improvements and upgrades, upon written request from the
applicant/owner to the Town Clerk. The Town Board may grant a maximum
of one extension, not to exceed five years. Said request must sufficiently
demonstrate that:
A.
Any applicant/owner of a project that requires Suffolk County Department
of Health Services approval for an existing or proposed intermediate
sanitary flow of wastewater between 1,000 gallons daily and 30,000
gallons daily within the designated district shall also submit an
application to the Division of Environmental Protection, which shall
include a copy of such Suffolk County Department of Health Services
application.
B.
The Division of Environmental Protection, or its designee, shall
review such application for conformance with the discharge standards
set forth herein. If the application is in conformance with discharge
standards, the Division of Environmental Protection shall issue a
notice of compliance. If the application is not in conformance with
the discharge standards, the Division of Environmental Protection
will issue a notice of non-compliance and notify the Suffolk County
Department of Health Services that the application is in violation
of Town Code standards.
C.
Permitting and reporting.
(1)
Any application shall demonstrate that all permitting fees and reporting
requirements are in compliance with requirements of the Suffolk County
Sanitary Code and/or ECL Article 17 relating to the State Pollution
Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) program. A copy of any and all
monitoring reports, engineer's reports, and performance and maintenance
reports required pursuant to the Suffolk County Sanitary Code and/or
ECL Article 17 shall also be submitted to the Division of Environmental
Protection of the Town of Brookhaven in the same manner as required
by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.
A.
Penalties and fines.
(1)
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, for
the first offense, be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of
not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, and for a second and each
subsequent offense, be guilty of a fine of not less than $1,000 nor
more than $2,000. Each offense shall be a separate and distinct offense,
and, in the case of a continuing offense, each day's continuance
thereof shall be a separate and distinct offense.
(2)
Any corporation which violates any provision of this article shall,
for the first offense, be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine
of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000, and for a second and each
subsequent offense, be guilty of a fine of not less than $1,000 nor
more than $2,000. Each offense shall be a separate and distinct offense,
and, in the case of a continuing offense, each day's continuance
thereof shall be a separate and distinct offense.
B.
Any fines collected pursuant to this article shall be deposited in
the Carmans River Conservation and Management Plan Fund, the purpose
of which shall be to provide funding to implement recommendations
of the Plan, as recommended by the Carmans River Conservation and
Management Plan Performance Committee, and approved by resolution
of the Town Board.
C.
Equitable relief. The Town of Brookhaven shall have the right to
seek equitable relief to restrain any violation or threatened violation
of any provisions of this article.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or item of §§ 78-9 through 78-15 shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not impair nor invalidate the remainder hereof; but such adjudication shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or item directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
