A. 
No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or open into, use, alter, disturb, introduce a new discharge or increase the volume currently discharged to any public way, stormwater sewer, or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written stormwater connection permit from the DPW.
B. 
Any connections to the stormwater system owned or maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MDOT) will require its approval.
Each applicant for a stormwater connection permit must be made at the office of the Department of Public Works on forms provided for that purpose.
[Amended 12-21-2022 by Order No. FY 23-069]
A. 
There shall be two classes of stormwater connection permit applications:
(1) 
Residential. This includes all single- and two-family individual dwelling units, not including subdivisions.
(2) 
Nonresidential. This includes all multifamily dwellings, subdivisions, commercial, industrial and institutional uses.
B. 
The application form shall be signed by the owner of the property or by their authorized representative. Permit fees shall be set by the Mayor and are nonrefundable. Applications may be transferred to a new owner with permission of the DPW.
C. 
In addition to the stormwater connection permit, the owner must obtain an excavation/trench permit from the DPW where subsurface work is to be done on public property, within the public way or on private property.
D. 
Contact DIG SAFE 1-888-344-7233 for utility notification.
A. 
Applications for residential stormwater connection permits must be submitted to the Department of Public Works at least 10 working days prior to the proposed connection date.
B. 
Applications for nonresidential stormwater connection permits require the submittal of a stormwater management plan. Applications shall be submitted to the Department of Public Works at the same time as the submittal of the site plan application, if site plan approval is required, or 30 working days prior to the proposed connection date if site plan approval is not required.
[Amended 12-21-2022 by Order No. FY 23-069]
Two copies of a stormwater management plan shall be submitted to the Department of Public Works for all nonresidential stormwater connection permits. The applicant may request and the Director may grant a waiver from any information requirements the Director judges to be unnecessary to review of a particular plan.
A. 
Computations. Pre- and post-development drainage calculations shall be completed for a two-year and a ten-year twenty-four-hour storm event. The one-hundred-year twenty-four-hour storm event must be evaluated for downstream impacts (flooding). Peak discharge rates must be calculated using the point of discharge or the downgradient property boundary. Separate drainage calculations shall be submitted for each point of discharge of flow from the site. Based on the particulars of each site, the DPW Engineering Director will determine the appropriate methodology for developing drainage calculations.
B. 
Existing site characteristics:
(1) 
Location of all property boundaries.
(2) 
Topographic survey showing the existing contours, including the area necessary to determine downstream analysis for the proposed stormwater management system.
(3) 
Soils investigation, including borings and test pits, for areas where construction of small ponds and infiltration practices will occur.
(4) 
Description of all watercourses, impoundments, and wetlands on or adjacent to the site or locations into which stormwater flows.
(5) 
Delineation of the one-hundred-year floodplain and all wetlands, if applicable.
(6) 
Groundwater levels at the time of probable high groundwater elevation (November to April) in areas to be used for stormwater retention, detention and infiltration structures.
C. 
Proposed site alterations:
(1) 
Location of all existing and proposed buildings, other structures and impervious surfaces.
(2) 
Any proposed changes to the existing contours.
(3) 
Location of all existing and proposed roads and utilities.
(4) 
Location of all existing and proposed stormwater management systems.
(5) 
Structural details of all components of the proposed stormwater management system. Notes on the plan specifying materials to be used, construction specifications, and typicals.
(6) 
Location of erosion and sediment controls and details of types used.
(7) 
Timing schedule and sequence of development, including: land clearing, grubbing, and stripping, rough grading, construction, final grading and vegetative stabilization.
(8) 
Written inspection and maintenance plan of the stormwater management system to ensure that it functions as designed. A maintenance schedule shall be developed for the life of all stormwater management systems and shall state the maintenance to be completed, the time period for completion, and who shall perform the maintenance.
(9) 
Breakdown of the estimated construction costs of the stormwater management system.
The stormwater management plan shall be coordinated with any order of conditions from the Conservation Commission and requirements under the Wetlands Protection Act. The provisions of this regulation do not supersede any requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or the Conservation Commission.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 423, Wetlands Protection; and Ch. 515, Art. I, Conservation Commission Rules and Regulations.
When one or more of these management standards cannot be met, the applicant must demonstrate that an equivalent level of stormwater protection will be provided.
A. 
The stormwater management system shall be designed so that the post-development peak discharge rates do not exceed the pre-development discharge rates for a ten-year twenty-four-hour storm.
B. 
Loss of annual recharge to groundwater should be minimized through the use of infiltration measures to the maximum extent practicable. The annual recharge from the post-development site should approximate the annual recharge from the pre-development or existing site conditions based on soil types.
C. 
New development shall be designed to remove 80% of the average annual load (post-development conditions) of total suspended solids (TSS). It is presumed that this is met when:
(1) 
Suitable nonstructural practices for source control and pollution prevention are implemented.
(2) 
Stormwater management best management practices (BMPs) are used to capture the prescribed runoff volume. For details on BMPs, see the Massachusetts DEP's Stormwater Management, Vol. 1 & 2, March 1997.
(3) 
Stormwater management BMPs are maintained as designed.
D. 
Redevelopment projects must meet these management standards to the maximum extent practicable. If it is not practicable to meet all the minimum standards, the stormwater management systems shall be designed to improve existing conditions.
E. 
Erosion and sediment controls must be implemented to prevent impacts during construction or land disturbance activities.
A. 
Stormwater management systems are encouraged to be designed to incorporate the use of natural topography and land cover. The use of such features as natural swales and depressions as they exist prior to development, to the degree that they can accommodate the additional flow of water, are recommended.
B. 
All stormwater management systems shall be designed to provide an emergency overflow system, and incorporate measures to provide a nonerosive velocity of flow along its length and at any outfall.
C. 
The applicant shall consider public safety in the design of a stormwater management system. The banks of detention, retention, and infiltration basins shall be sloped at a gentle grade into the water as a safeguard to personal safety, to encourage the growth of vegetation and to allow the alternative flooding and exposure of areas along the shore. Basins shall be fenced or shall have a slope of 4:1 to a depth two feet below the control elevation. Side slopes must be stabilized and planted with vegetation to prevent erosion and provide pollution removal. The banks of detention and retention areas shall be designed with sinuous rather than straight shorelines, so that the length of the shoreline is maximized and offering more space for the growth of vegetation.
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125]
All costs and expense incident to the installation, connection, use, and maintenance of the stormwater system shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation, connection, use, and maintenance of the stormwater system. The owner shall further indemnify the City from any loss or damage from stormwater backups, overflows, or blockages.
The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a stormwater management system, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing, and backfilling the trench, shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the Department of Public Works.
[Amended 12-21-2022 by Order No. FY 23-069]
The DPW shall perform the following inspections and shall, in writing, either approve it or notify the applicant in what respects there has been a failure to comply with the requirements of the approved stormwater management plan. The applicant shall promptly correct any portion of the work that does not comply with the approved plan.
A. 
Initial site inspection: prior to approval of any stormwater management plan.
B. 
Erosion control inspection: after commencement of construction; to ensure erosion control practices are in compliance with the approved plan.
C. 
Construction inspection: prior to backfilling any underground drainage or stormwater conveyance structures.
D. 
Final inspection: when all work, including construction of the stormwater management system, has been completed and the applicant has submitted as-built plans. The Director will provide certification of completion.
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125; 12-21-2022 by Order No. FY 23-069]
A. 
Prior to issuance of any stormwater permit for which a stormwater management plan is required, the applicant will be required to execute an inspection and maintenance agreement with the City binding on all subsequent owners of land served by the private stormwater management system. Such agreement shall provide for access to the stormwater management system at reasonable times for regular inspections by the Director to ensure that the system is maintained and is in proper working condition to meet the performance standards and any provision established.
B. 
The inspection and maintenance agreement and the stormwater management plan shall be recorded by the applicant and/or owner in the land records of the Franklin County Registry of Deeds prior to the issuance of a stormwater permit.
The owner(s) of the property on which work has been done pursuant to this regulation for a private stormwater management system, or any other person or agent in control of such property, shall maintain in good condition and promptly repair and restore all grade surfaces, walls, drains, dams, structures, vegetation, erosion and sediment control measures, and other protective devices. Repairs or restoration and maintenance shall be done in accordance with an approved stormwater management plan.
[Amended 4-17-2019 by Order No. FY 19-125]
The Director may require from the developer a surety or cash bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or other means of security acceptable to the City as reviewed by its attorney, prior to the issuance of a stormwater permit. The amount of the security shall not be less than the total estimated construction cost of the stormwater management system. The bond so required in this section shall include provisions relative to forfeiture for failure to complete work specified in the approved stormwater management plan, compliance with all the provisions of this chapter and other applicable laws and regulations, and any time limitations. The bond shall not be fully released without a final inspection of the completed work by the DPW representative, submission of "as-built" plans, and certification of completion by the DPW of the stormwater management system as being in compliance with the approved plan.