[Adopted 10-19-2020 ATM by Art. 15]
For the purposes of this Bylaw, the following shall mean:
AGRICULTURAL USE
The normal maintenance or improvement of land in agricultural
or aquacultural use, as defined by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection
Act, M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, and its implementing regulations.
APPLICANT
Any person, individual, partnership, association, firm, company,
corporation, trust, authority, agency, department, or political subdivision,
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the federal government to
the extent permitted by law requesting a soil erosion and sediment
control permit for proposed land-disturbance activity.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
An activity, procedure, restraint, or structural improvement
that helps reduce the quantity or improve the quality of stormwater
runoff.
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
Document issued by the Stormwater Permitting Authority upon
receipt of a final inspection report and acknowledgement that all
conditions of the Stormwater Management Permit have been satisfactorily
completed.
CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL (CPESC)
A certified specialist in soil erosion and sediment control.
This certification program, sponsored by the Soil and Water Conservation
Society in cooperation with the American Society of Agronomy, provides
the public with evidence of professional qualifications.
ENFORCEMENT ORDER
A written order issued by the Stormwater Permitting Authority
to enforce the provisions of this Bylaw.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4) or MUNICIPAL STORM
DRAIN SYSTEM
The system of conveyances designed or used for collecting
or conveying stormwater, including any road with a drainage system,
street, gutter, curb, inlet, piped storm drain, pumping facility,
retention or detention basin, natural or man-made or altered drainage
channel, reservoir, and other drainage structure that together comprise
the storm drainage system owned or operated by the Town of Abington,
MA.
NEW DEVELOPMENT
Any construction, land alteration, or addition of impervious
surfaces on previously undeveloped sites resulting in a total disturbance
of land equal to or greater than one acre (or activities that are
part of a larger common plan of development disturbing greater than
one acre) that does not meet the definition of redevelopment.
OWNER
A person with a legal or equitable interest in property.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, association, firm, company, trust,
corporation, agency, authority, department or political subdivision
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the federal government, to
the extent permitted by law, and any officer, employee, or agent of
such person.
REDEVELOPMENT
Development, rehabilitation, expansion, demolition, or phased
projects that disturb the ground surface or increase the impervious
area on previously developed sites. Any construction, land alteration,
or improvement of impervious surfaces resulting in total disturbance
of land equal to or greater than one acre (or activities that are
part of a larger common plan of redevelopment disturbing greater than
one acre) that does not meet the definition of New Development.
STORMWATER
Stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface water runoff
and drainage.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PERMIT
The written approval granted by the Stormwater Permitting
Authority to undertake a construction activity pursuant to a Stormwater
Management Permit Application. A valid Stormwater Management Permit
must be signed by the Stormwater Permitting Authority participating
at a duly noted public hearing, and such permit must be recorded at
the Plymouth Registry of Deeds, prior to the start of any work.
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
All waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes,
ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters,
groundwaters, and vernal pools.
WETLAND RESOURCE AREAS
Areas specified in the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection
Act Regulations, 310 CMR 10.00, as amended, and in the Town of Abington
Wetland Bylaw, as amended.
No person may undertake a construction activity, including clearing,
grading, or excavation that results in a land disturbance to an area
equal to or greater than one acre of land or will disturb less than
one acre of land but is part of a larger common plan of development
or sale that will ultimately disturb an area equal to or greater than
one acre of land within the Town of Abington without first obtaining
a Stormwater Management Permit issued by the Stormwater Permitting
Authority (SWPA).
This Bylaw is adopted under authority granted by the Home Rule
Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution, the Home Rule statutes,
G.L. c. 83, §§ 1, 10, and 16, as amended by St. 2004,
c. 149, §§ 135-140, and pursuant to the Regulations
of the federal Clean Water Act found at 40 CFR 122.34.
The Planning Board may adopt, and periodically amend, the Stormwater
Management Rules and Regulations relating to the terms, conditions,
definitions, enforcement, fees (including application, inspection,
and/or consultant fees), procedures and administration of this Bylaw
by majority vote of the Planning Board, after conducting one advertised
public hearing to receive comments on any proposed revisions. The
hearings shall be duly advertised in a paper of general circulation
in the Town of Abington no less than 14 days prior to the date of
the public hearing. Failure by the Planning Board to promulgate such
rules and regulations or a legal declaration of their invalidity by
a court shall not act to suspend or invalidate the effect of this
Bylaw.
At the applicant's expense, the SWPA may retain independent
consultants as needed to review applications for Stormwater Management
Permit and to advise the Board on any and all aspects of a specific
project. Independent consultants may include but are not limited to
registered professional engineers and environmental site monitors.
The SWPA may require the permittee to post before the start
of land disturbance or construction activity, a surety bond, irrevocable
letter of credit, cash, or other acceptable security. The form of
the bond shall be approved by Town counsel and be in an amount deemed
sufficient by the SWPA to ensure that the work will be completed in
accordance with the permit. If the project is phased, the SWPA may
release part of the bond as each phase is completed in compliance
with the Stormwater Management Permit but the bond may not be fully
released until the SWPA has received the final inspection report as
required by the Stormwater Management Rules and Regulations and issued
a Certificate of Completion.
If any provision, paragraph, sentence, or clause of this Bylaw
shall be held invalid for any reason, all other provisions shall continue
in full force and effect.