A. 
For all regulated activities, submission of the stormwater management permit application provided in chapter Appendix B[1] is required.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix B is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
For all regulated activities, unless preparation of a SWM site plan is specifically exempted in § 424-302:
(1) 
Preparation and implementation of an approved SWM site plan is required.
(2) 
No regulated activities shall commence until the City issues written approval of a SWM site plan, which demonstrates compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
C. 
SWM site plans approved by the City, in accordance with § 424-406, shall be on site throughout the duration of the regulated activity.
D. 
The City may, after consultation with DEP, approve measures for meeting the state water quality requirements other than those in this chapter, provided that they meet the minimum requirements of, and do not conflict with, state law, including, but not limited to, the Clean Streams Law.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.
E. 
For all regulated earth disturbance activities, erosion and sediment control BMPs shall be designed, implemented, operated, and maintained during the regulated earth disturbance activities (e.g., during construction) to meet the purposes and requirements of this chapter and to meet all requirements under Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code and the Clean Streams Law. Various BMPs and their design standards are listed in the Erosion and Sediment Pollution Control Program Manual (E&S Manual),[3] No. 363-2134-008 (April 15, 2000), as amended and updated.
[3]
Editor's Note: See Reference 2 of § 424-901.
F. 
For all regulated activities, implementation of the volume controls in § 424-303 is required, unless otherwise exempted by § 424-302.
G. 
Impervious areas:
(1) 
The measurement of impervious areas shall include all of the impervious areas in the total proposed development even if development is to take place in stages.
(2) 
For development taking place in stages, the entire development plan must be used in determining conformance with this chapter.
(3) 
For projects that add impervious area to a parcel, the total impervious area is subject to the requirements of this chapter, except that the volume controls in § 424-303 and the peak rate controls of § 424-304 do not need to be retrofitted to existing impervious areas that are not being altered by the proposed regulated activity.
(4) 
For redevelopment projects in which the existing site is disturbed, the entire proposed site is subject to the plan preparation and approval requirements of this chapter. Existing conditions are considered to be the existing site prior to disturbance, and 20% of the existing impervious area must be considered as meadow in good condition for all stormwater calculations. For redevelopment projects in which the existing site is already controlled by a stormwater management facility, the requirement to consider 20% of existing impervious area as meadow is waived provided the existing facility meets the water quality, volume, and peak rate standards and criteria of this chapter.
H. 
Stormwater flows onto adjacent property shall not be created, increased, decreased, relocated, or otherwise altered without written notification of the adjacent property owner(s). Such stormwater flows shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter.
I. 
All regulated activities shall include such measures as necessary to:
(1) 
Protect health, safety, and property;
(2) 
Meet the water quality goals of this chapter by implementing measures outlined in the Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual (BMP Manual)[4] to:
(a) 
Minimize disturbance to floodplains, wetlands, and wooded areas.
(b) 
Maintain or extend riparian buffers.
(c) 
Avoid erosive flow conditions in natural flow pathways.
(d) 
Minimize thermal impacts to waters of this commonwealth.
(e) 
Disconnect impervious surfaces by directing runoff to pervious areas, wherever possible.
[4]
Editor's Note: See Reference 1 of § 424-901.
(3) 
Incorporate methods described in the Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual (BMP Manual).[5] If methods other than green infrastructure and LID methods are proposed to achieve the volume and rate controls required under this chapter, the SWM site plan must include a detailed justification demonstrating that the use of LID and green infrastructure is not practicable.
[5]
Editor's Note: See Reference 4 of § 424-901.
J. 
The design of all facilities over mined or karst areas shall include an evaluation of measures to minimize adverse effects.
K. 
Infiltration BMPs should be spread out, made as shallow as practicable, and located to maximize use of natural on-site infiltration features while still meeting the other requirements of this chapter.
L. 
Storage facilities, to the greatest extent possible and at the discretion of the City Engineer, shall completely drain both the volume control and rate control capacities over a period of time not less than 24 hours and not more than 72 hours from the end of the design storm.
M. 
Storage facilities shall incorporate features to maximize the length of the flow path and increase the travel time through the facility.
N. 
The design storm volumes to be used in the analysis of peak rates of discharge should be obtained from the Precipitation-Frequency Atlas of the United States, Atlas 14, Volume 2, Version 3.0, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service, Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center, Silver Spring, Maryland. NOAA's Atlas 14 can be accessed at: http://hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/hdsc/pfds/.[6]
[6]
Editor's Note: See Reference 5 of § 424-901.
O. 
For all regulated activities, SWM BMPs shall be designed, implemented, operated, and maintained to meet the purposes and requirements of this chapter and to meet all requirements under Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code, the Clean Streams Law,[7] and the Storm Water Management Act.[8]
[7]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.
[8]
Editor's Note; See 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq.
P. 
Various BMPs and their design standards are listed in the BMP Manual.[9]
[9]
Editor's Note: See Reference 1 of § 424-901.
A. 
Regulated activities that create impervious areas or earth disturbance shall adhere to Table III.1 to meet the requirements of this chapter. The larger of the two areas determines the applicable requirements of this chapter (i.e., if only 500 square feet of impervious area is proposed, but 15,000 square feet of earth disturbance, the requirements follow Row 3 of Table III.1).
Table III.1. Stormwater Management Requirements and Exemptions
Proposed Impervious Area
(square feet)
Proposed Total Earth Disturbance
(square feet)
Ordinance Exemptions
Stormwater Management Requirements
What is required to submit to municipality?*
<1,000
<5,000
§ 424-303, § 424-304, and Article IV of this chapter
Ensure § 424-301, General requirements, are met
N/A
1,000 to 5,000
5,000 to 10,000
§ 424-303, § 424-304, and Article IV of this chapter
Disconnected Impervious Area (DIA) as in Appendix C.1[1]
Appendix C.1 worksheet and sketch (or equivalent) [2]
OR
OR
Capture and control first 1 inch of runoff over proposed impervious areas as in Appendix E[3]
Appendix E worksheet and sketch (or equivalent)[4]
5,000 to 10,000
10,000 to 20,000
§ 424-304 and Article IV of this chapter
Capture and permanently remove the first 2 inches of runoff over proposed impervious areas as in § 424-303B of this chapter
Appendix D[5] worksheet and sketch (or equivalent)
>10,000
>20,000
None
All requirements of this chapter
SWM site plan
NOTE:
*
In addition to the stormwater management permit application provided in Appendix B.[6]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Appendix C.1 is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[2]
Editor’s Note: Appendix C.1 is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[3]
Editor’s Note: Appendix E is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[4]
Editor’s Note: Appendix E is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[5]
Editor’s Note: Appendix D is included as an attachment to this chapter.
[6]
Editor's Note: Appendix B is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
Agricultural activity is exempt from the rate control and SWM site plan preparation requirements of this chapter provided the activities are performed according to the requirements of 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102.
C. 
Forest management and timber operations are exempt from the rate control and SWM site plan preparation requirements of this chapter provided the activities are performed according to the requirements of 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102.
D. 
Exemptions from any provisions of this chapter shall not relieve the applicant from the requirements in § 424-301A through P.
E. 
The City may deny or revoke any exemption pursuant to this section at any time for any project that the City believes may pose a threat to public health and safety or the environment.
The green infrastructure and low-impact development practices provided in the BMP Manual[1] shall be utilized for all regulated activities to the maximum extent practicable. Water volume controls shall be implemented using the Design Storm Method in Subsection A or the Simplified Method in Subsection B below. For all regulated activities that require submission of a formal SWM site plan, both the Design Storm Method and the Simplified Method shall be calculated; the larger control volume based on the two calculations shall be controlled. Subsection C below provides requirements for mined or other geologically limiting areas where infiltration shall not occur.
A. 
The Design Storm Method (CG-1 in the BMP Manual)[2] is applicable to any size of regulated activity. This method requires detailed modeling based on site conditions.
(1) 
Do not increase the post-development total runoff volume for all storms equal to or less than the two-year twenty-four-hour duration precipitation.
(2) 
For modeling purposes:
(a) 
Existing (predevelopment) non-forested pervious areas must be considered meadow in good condition.
(b) 
Twenty percent of existing impervious area, when present, shall be considered meadow in good condition in the model for existing conditions.
[2]
Editor's Note: See Reference 1 of § 424-901.
B. 
When Design Storm Method CG-1 guidelines are not used, the Simplified Method (CG-2 in the BMP Manual)[3] has been modified to accommodate two inches of permanently removed runoff volume. This method (provided below) is independent of site conditions and should be used if the Design Storm Method is not followed. For new impervious surfaces:
(1) 
The first two inches of runoff from new impervious surfaces shall be permanently removed from the runoff flow (i.e., it shall not be released into the surface waters of this commonwealth). Removal options include reuse, evaporation, transpiration, and infiltration.
(2) 
Wherever possible, infiltration facilities should be designed to accommodate infiltration of the entire permanently removed runoff; however, in all cases at least the first 0.5 inch of the permanently removed runoff should be infiltrated.
(3) 
Facilities, to the greatest extent possible and subject to the City Engineer's discretion, shall be designed to drain the permanently removed runoff volume in a period no less than 24 hours and no greater than 72 hours.
(4) 
Runoff volume in excess of two inches shall be safely conveyed to existing stormwater collection systems or streams, in the direction of the existing drainage course.
(5) 
This method is exempt from the requirements of § 424-304, Rate controls.
[3]
Editor's Note: See Reference 1 of § 424-901.
C. 
Before infiltration is proposed on a site, site conditions shall be evaluated by a qualified design professional through subsurface investigation and testing to determine if site conditions are suitable to support proposed infiltration facilities to manage runoff. If it is determined that infiltration is not feasible due to physical constraints of the site, or will adversely impact the environment as demonstrated by the presence of acid mine drainage, sinkhole formation, or other serious environmental issues, then the above volume controls must be achieved through surface BMP mitigation. Reference the BMP Manual[4] for alternative mitigation measures that do not require infiltration.
[4]
Editor's Note: See Reference 1 of § 424-901.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Reference 1 of § 424-901.
A. 
Areas not covered by a Stormwater Management District Map contained in Appendix F.1 of this chapter.
(1) 
Post-development discharge rates shall not exceed the predevelopment discharge rates for the one-through 100-year, twenty-four-hour storms. If it is shown that the peak rates of discharge indicated by the post-development analysis are less than or equal to the peak rates of discharge indicated by the predevelopment analysis for one- through 100-year, twenty-four-hour storms, then the requirements of this section have been met. Otherwise, the applicant shall provide additional controls as necessary to satisfy the peak rate of discharge requirement.
B. 
Areas designated as District B-2 — Nescopeck Creek Watershed only:
(1) 
If a mine reclamation project is proposed, the post-development discharge rates shall not exceed the predevelopment discharge rates for the one-, two-, five-, ten-, twenty-five-, fifty-, and 100-year storms. Predevelopment land cover conditions shall be considered forest in good condition.
(2) 
Proposed land development projects shall apply the 60% release rate criterion for the one-, two-, five-, ten-, twenty-five-, fifty-, and 100-year storms. This applies to all sites, including those that have been previously reclaimed. Predevelopment land cover conditions shall be considered forest in good condition.
A. 
In order to protect and improve water quality, a riparian buffer easement shall be created and recorded as part of any subdivision or land development that encompasses a riparian buffer.
B. 
Except as required by Pa.Code, the riparian buffer easement shall be measured to be the greater of the limit of the 100-year floodplain or a minimum of 35 feet from the top of the streambank (on each side).
C. 
Minimum Management requirements for riparian buffers:
(1) 
Existing native vegetation shall be protected and maintained within the riparian buffer easement.
(2) 
Whenever practicable invasive vegetation shall be actively removed and the riparian buffer easement shall be planted with native trees, shrubs and other vegetation to create a diverse native plant community appropriate to the intended ecological context of the site.
D. 
The riparian buffer easement shall be enforceable by the City and shall be recorded in the appropriate County Recorder of Deeds office, so that it shall run with the land and shall limit the use of the property located therein. The easement shall allow for the continued private ownership and shall count toward the minimum lot area as required by zoning, unless otherwise specified in the City Zoning Ordinance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 575, Zoning.
E. 
Any permitted use within the riparian buffer easement shall be conducted in a manner that will maintain the extent of the existing 100-year floodplain, improve or maintain the stream stability, and preserve and protect the ecological function of the floodplain.
F. 
The following conditions shall apply when public and/or private recreation trails are permitted within riparian buffers:
(1) 
Trails shall be for nonmotorized use only.
(2) 
Trails shall be designed to have the lease impact on native plant species and other sensitive environmental features.
G. 
Septic drain fields and sewage disposal systems shall not be permitted within the riparian buffer easement and shall comply with setback requirements established under 25 Pa. Code Chapter 73.