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., post-construction)
stormwater BMPs will be properly operated and maintained.
A.
BMP operations and maintenance plan for the project site shall establish
responsibilities for the continuing operations and maintenance of
all permanent stormwater BMPs, as follows:
(1)
Ownership at discretion of Township. The Township has no objection
to own stormwater BMPs as ownership of permanent stormwater BMPs shall
be at the option of the Township.
(2)
Ownership by the Township. Where an approved plan provides for the
dedication of permanent stormwater BMPs to the Township on a separate
lot, the BMPs shall be operated and maintained by the Township. Nothing
contained herein shall require the municipality to accept dedication
of the BMP until the Township determines that it is constructed and
operates in accordance with the requirements of the approved BMP operations
and maintenance plan and any other requirements of the Township.
(3)
If a BMP operations and maintenance 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.
(4)
If a BMP operations and maintenance 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.
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.
The maintenance responsibilities for permanent stormwater runoff
control facilities shall be determined based upon the type of ownership
of the property which is controlled by the facilities.
A.
Single entity ownership. In all cases where the permanent stormwater
runoff control facilities are designed to manage runoff from property
in a single entity ownership as defined below, the maintenance responsibility
for the stormwater control facilities shall be with the single entity
owner. The single entity owner shall enter into an agreement with
the Township which specifies that the owner will properly maintain
the facilities consistent with accepted practice as determined by
the Township Engineer. The agreement shall provide for regular inspections
by the Township, shall contain such provisions as are necessary to
ensure timely correction of any maintenance deficiencies by the single
entity owner, and shall be recorded in the miscellaneous docket in
the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
For the purposes of this chapter, the term "single entity" shall be
defined as an individual, association, public or private corporation,
partnership firm, trust, estate, or any other legal entity empowered
to own real estate.
B.
Multiple ownership. In cases where the property controlled by the permanent stormwater control facilities shall be in multiple ownership (i.e., many individual owners of various portions of the property), the developer shall dedicate the permanent stormwater control facilities to the Township for maintenance unless, in the opinion of the Board of Commissioners, another ownership and maintenance alternative, as permitted in Subsection C, below, will better serve the public interest. The developer shall pay a fee to the Township corresponding to the present worth of maintenance of the facilities in perpetuity. The estimated annual maintenance cost for the facilities shall be based on a fee schedule provided by the Township Engineer and adopted by the Township Board of Commissioners. The fee schedule must be reasonable.
C.
In certain multiple ownership situations, the public may benefit
should the Township require that maintenance responsibilities be borne
by an individual or other legal entity. In these instances, the Township
and the responsible individual or entity shall, at the Township's
opinion, enter into a formal agreement regarding such maintenance
obligation.
D.
The following BMP maintenance responsibility statements shall be
provided on the plans to be recorded above a comprehensive list of
all BMPs by location (as may be part of the project's NPDES permit):
(1)
An annual report shall be submitted by the entity having maintenance
responsibilities to the Township Public Works Department each March
1 indicating all operations and maintenance that have been performed
for each BMP listed below upon its installation;
(2)
The PCSM plan, BMP inspection reports, and BMP monitoring records
shall be made available by the entity having maintenance responsibilities
for review by DEP, NCCD, and the Township upon request;
(3)
The entity having maintenance responsibilities is responsible to
provide an annual report to the Township, and for recordkeeping of
monitoring the listed BMPs in perpetuity; and
(4)
Access to the site via agreements and/or easements satisfactory to
the Township shall be provided for Township stormwater inspection
and maintenance.
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 entity having maintenance responsibilities shall sign an operations
and maintenance agreement with the Township covering all stormwater
BMPs that are to be privately owned. The agreement shall include the
terms of the format agreement referenced in Appendix E of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix E is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
Other terms 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.
C.
The BMP operations and maintenance agreement shall run with the land
and bind the owner and all subsequent owners, transferees, and occupants
of the land. Any violation of the BMP operations and maintenance agreement
is prohibited and shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
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 § 220-58.
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 office of the Recorder
of Deeds for Northampton County, 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.
C.
The agreement shall be subject to the review and approval of the
Township.
D.
The agreement and the obligations thereunder shall constitute covenants
running with the land, and it shall be the obligation of every owner,
grantor or transferor of property covered in whole or in part by the
agreement to provide a copy of the agreement to every subsequent owner,
grantee, or transferee.
E.
All recording costs shall be paid by the applicant.
A.
The Township may require persons installing stormwater BMPs to pay
a specified amount to the Township Stormwater BMP Operations and Maintenance
Fund to help defray costs of inspections and/or 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 Township 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.
