A.
The Westmoreland County Integrated Water Resources Plan provides
an online decision-making tool to assist developers, designers, and
property owners in addressing all water resources during development
and redevelopment and should be consulted. Refer to www.paiwrp.com
for the decision-making tool and www.westmorelandstormwater.org.
B.
Applicants should refer to the Westmoreland County Integrated Water
Resources Plan (IWRP), located at www.westmorelandstormwater.org,
for mapping of impaired streams, riparian buffers and pollutant loading
to determine appropriate BMPs to address sources of impairments.
C.
Before submitting the stormwater management plan, and any other plan
required by a reviewing agency, applicants are urged to consult with
the Municipality, Westmoreland County Department of Planning and Development
and Westmoreland Conservation District, and PennDOT where applicable,
on the requirements for safely managing the development site in a
manner consistent with the municipal ordinances, applicable watershed
stormwater management plan and federal and state requirements. These
agencies may also be helpful in providing necessary data for the stormwater
management plan.
D.
Applicants are encouraged to submit a sketch plan with a narrative
description of the proposed stormwater management controls for general
guidance and discussion with the Municipality and other agencies.
E.
The preapplication phase is not mandatory; any review comments provided
by the Municipality or other agencies are advisory only and do not
constitute any legally binding action on the part of the Municipality
or any county agency.
A.
Submission of plans.
(1)
A stormwater management plan application shall be submitted
with the preliminary and final subdivision/land development applications
or, if no subdivision or land development is involved, then with the
application for development.
(2)
Copies of the SWM site plan shall be submitted to the following
agencies as determined by Municipality:
(a)
Two copies to the Municipality(ies).
(b)
One copy to the Municipal Engineer (when applicable).
(c)
One copy to the Westmoreland Conservation District (when applicable).
(d)
One copy to the local Sanitary Authority (when applicable).
(e)
One copy to the Westmoreland County Department of Planning and
Development (if applicable).
(f)
One copy to the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety/local
emergency management coordinator (when applicable).
(g)
One copy to DEP (when applicable).
B.
Notification of affected municipalities. The Municipality shall notify
municipalities upstream and downstream of the development site which
may be affected by the stormwater runoff and proposed controls for
the site. Copies of the plans will be made available to the affected
municipalities upon request. Comments received from any affected municipalities
will be considered by the Municipal Engineer and county agencies in
their reviews.
C.
Review by Municipality Engineer.
(1)
Stormwater management plans shall be reviewed by the Municipal
Engineer. BMPs shall be shown on all stormwater management plans and
erosion and sedimentation control plans, as applicable. At its discretion,
the Municipality may also engage other specialists in hydrology or
hydraulics to assist with the stormwater management plan review. The
WCD will review the plan for general compliance with the watershed
plan standards and criteria and watershed-wide impacts and, where
appropriate, may consult with adjacent municipalities and counties
for their comments. If the WCD review identifies the improper application
of the watershed standards and criteria or the possibility of harmful
impacts downstream from the development site's proposed stormwater
management system, the applicant and Municipal Engineer will be notified
so that the necessary modifications can be made to promote safe stormwater
management.
(2)
The Municipality and the WCD shall notify the applicant in writing
within 45 days whether the SWM site plan is approved or disapproved.
If the SWM site plan involves a subdivision and land development plan,
the notification shall occur within 90 days, unless the applicant
is notified that a longer notification period is provided by other
statute, regulation or ordinance. If modifications are required, the
review period may be extended by the Municipality and the WCD, in
order for the applicant to address inadequacies.
D.
A disapproved stormwater management plan may be resubmitted, with
the revisions addressing the Municipality's and/or WCD's
concerns, to the Municipality and the WCD in accordance with this
article.
E.
Municipality of Murrysville Engineer review. The Municipal Engineer
shall approve or disapprove the stormwater management plan based on
the requirements of the municipal ordinances, the standards and criteria
of the watershed plan, applicable state and federal requirements and
good engineering practice. The Municipal Engineer shall submit a written
report, along with supporting documentation, stating the reasons for
approval or disapproval.
F.
Status of the Engineer's determination. The approval/disapproval
of the site's stormwater management plan by the Municipal Engineer
shall be submitted to the Municipality of Murrysville Council for
final action. Final approval of the plan rests with the Municipality.
G.
Permits required from other governmental agencies. Where the proposed
development requires a permit from the Pennsylvania DEP, PennDOT,
or an erosion/sedimentation permit or Chapter 105 permit from the
Westmoreland Conservation District, then final stormwater management
plan approval shall be conditional upon receipt of such permits. However,
no building permit shall be issued, nor construction or development
started, until the permits are received and copies filed with the
Municipality.
A.
Upon final stormwater management plan approval and receipt of all
necessary permits, financial guarantees and agreements, the applicant
may commence to install or implement the approved stormwater management
plan, BMP plan or erosion and sedimentation plan controls.
B.
If site development or building construction does not begin within
five years of the date of final approval of the stormwater management
plan, then before doing so, the applicant shall resubmit the stormwater
management plan, BMP plan or erosion or sedimentation plan to verify
that no condition has changed on the property, adjacent to the site
or within the watershed that would affect the feasibility or effectiveness
of the previously approved stormwater management controls. Further,
if for any reason development activities are suspended for five years
or more, then the same requirement for resubmission of the stormwater
management plan shall apply.
If the request for a plan modification is initiated before construction
begins, the stormwater management plan must be resubmitted and reviewed
according to the procedures contained in this chapter.
A.
If the request for a plan modification is initiated after construction
is underway, the Municipality Engineer shall have the authority to
approve or disapprove the modification based on field conditions,
provided: the requested changes in stormwater controls do not result
in any modifications to other approved Municipality land use/development
requirements (e.g., building setbacks, yards, etc.); and the performance
standards in this chapter are met. Notification of the Engineer's
action shall be sent to the Municipality of Murrysville Council, which
may issue a stay of the plan modification within five days and require
the permittee to resubmit the plan modification for full stormwater
management plan review in accordance with this chapter.
B.
It shall be unlawful to, and no person shall, alter, replace, modify,
landscape or remove, or otherwise adversely affect, any permanent
stormwater management facilities, BMP controls, or any area within
a stormwater easement or dedicated or designated area for stormwater
facilities and BMPs required by an approved stormwater management
plan, or BMP operations and maintenance plan, or to allow the property
to remain in a condition which does not conform to an approved stormwater
management plan, or BMP operations and maintenance plan, unless an
exception is granted in writing by the Municipality and/or approval
is secured from all relevant agencies of the commonwealth.
A.
The Municipal Engineer or a designated representative shall inspect
the implementation, construction, condition, operation and maintenance
of the temporary and permanent stormwater management system and controls
for the development site. The Municipality or a designated representative
shall have the right to temporarily locate on any BMP in the Municipality
such devices as are necessary to conduct monitoring and/or sampling
the discharge from such BMP.
B.
The permittee shall notify the Municipal Engineer and the WCD 48
hours in advance of the completion of the following key development
phases:
(1)
At the completion of preliminary site preparation, including
stripping of vegetation, stockpiling of topsoil and construction of
temporary stormwater management control facilities.
(2)
At the completion of rough grading but prior to placing topsoil,
permanent drainage or other site development improvements and ground
covers.
(3)
During construction of the permanent stormwater facilities and
BMPs at such times as specified by the Municipal Engineer.
(4)
Upon completion of permanent stormwater management facilities
and BMPs, including established ground covers and plantings.
(5)
Upon completion of final grading, vegetative control measures
or other site restoration work done in accordance with the approved
plan and permit.
C.
The Municipality and/or WCD may conduct inspections during construction
as it deems appropriate.
D.
No work shall commence on any subsequent phase until the preceding
one has been inspected and approved. If there are deficiencies in
any phase, the Municipal Engineer and/or WCD shall issue a written
description of the required corrections and stipulate the time by
which they must be made.
E.
If, during construction, the contractor or permittee identifies any
site condition, such as subsurface soil conditions, or alterations
in surface or subsurface drainage, which could affect the feasibility
of the approved stormwater facilities or erosion and sedimentation
controls, he/she shall notify the Municipal Engineer within 24 hours
of the discovery of such condition and request a field inspection.
The Municipal Engineer shall determine if the condition requires a
modification of the stormwater management plan, BMP plan or erosion
and sedimentation control plan.
F.
In cases where stormwater facilities or erosion and sedimentation
controls are to be installed in areas of landslide-prone soils or
where other special site conditions exist, the Municipality may require
special precautions such as a geotechnical study, soil tests and core
borings, full-time inspectors and/or similar measures. All costs of
any such measures shall be borne by the permittee.
A.
The developer shall be responsible for providing record drawings
of all stormwater management facilities and BMPs as built and included
in the approved stormwater management plan. The record drawings and
an explanation of any discrepancies with the construction plans shall
be submitted to the Municipality and/or WCD.
B.
The record drawing submission shall include a certification of completion
signed by a qualified professional verifying that all permanent stormwater
management facilities and BMPs have been constructed according to
the approved plans and specifications. The latitude and longitude
coordinates for all permanent stormwater management facilities and
BMPs must also be submitted, at the central location of the BMPs.
If any licensed qualified professionals contributed to the construction
plans, then a licensed qualified professional must sign the completion
certificate.
C.
After receipt of the completion certification by the Municipality,
the Municipality and/or WCD may conduct a final inspection.
