No regulated earth disturbance activities within the Township
shall commence until approval by the Township of the BMP operations
and maintenance plan which describes how the permanent (e.g., postconstruction)
stormwater BMPs will be properly operated and maintained.
A.
The BMP operations and maintenance plan for the project site shall
establish responsibilities for the continuing operation and maintenance
of all permanent stormwater BMPs, as follows:
(1)
If a plan includes structures or lots which are to be separately
owned and in which streets, sewers and other public improvements are
to be dedicated to the Township, stormwater BMPs may also be dedicated
to and maintained by the Township; and
(2)
If a plan includes operations and maintenance by a single owner or
if sewers and other public improvements are to be privately owned
and maintained, then the operation and maintenance of stormwater BMPs
shall be the responsibility of the owner or private management entity.
B.
The Township shall make the final determination on the continuing
operations and maintenance responsibilities. The Township reserves
the right to accept or reject the operations and maintenance responsibility
for any or all of the stormwater BMPs.
It shall be unlawful to alter or remove any permanent stormwater
BMP required by an approved BMP operations and maintenance plan or
to allow the property to remain in a condition which does not conform
to an approved BMP operations and maintenance plan unless an exception
is granted in writing by the Township.
A.
The property owner shall sign an operations and maintenance agreement
with the Township covering all stormwater BMPs that are to be privately
owned. The agreement shall be substantially the same as the agreement
in Appendix E[1] of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix E is on file in the Township
offices.
B.
Other items may be included in the agreement where determined by
the Township to be reasonable or necessary to guarantee the satisfactory
operation and maintenance of all permanent stormwater BMPs. The agreement
shall be subject to the review and approval of the Township.
Stormwater management easements shall be provided by the property owner if necessary for access for inspections and maintenance or for preservation of stormwater conveyance, infiltration, detention areas and other BMPs by persons other than the property owner. The purpose of the easement shall be specified in any agreement under § 219-34 of this chapter.
A.
The owner of any land upon which permanent BMPs will be placed, constructed
or implemented, as described in the BMP operations and maintenance
plan, shall record the following documents in the county Office of
the Recorder of Deeds for Northampton County, as applicable, within
90 days of approval of the BMP operations and maintenance plan by
the Township:
B.
The Township may suspend or revoke any approvals granted for the
project site upon discovery of the failure of the owner to comply
with this section of the chapter.
A.
Persons installing stormwater BMPs shall be required to pay a specified
amount to the Township Stormwater BMP Operations and Maintenance Fund
to help defray costs of operations and maintenance activities. The
amount may be determined as follows:
(1)
If the BMP is to be privately owned and maintained, the amount shall
cover the cost of periodic inspections by the municipality in perpetuity,
as determined by the Township;
(2)
If the BMP is to be owned and maintained by the Township, the amount
shall cover the estimated costs for operation and maintenance in perpetuity,
as determined by the Township; and
(3)
The amount shall then be converted to present worth of the annual
series values.
B.
If a BMP is proposed that also serves as a recreation facility (e.g.,
ball field, lake), the Township may adjust the amount due accordingly.
