(1)
Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to safeguard persons, protect property and prevent damage to the environment caused by stormwater runoff from land-disturbing activities, new development, and redevelopment. This chapter advances that purpose through the following specific objectives:
(A)
Prevent accelerated soil erosion and control stormwater runoff resulting from land-disturbing activities both during and after construction through the use of best management practices.
(B)
Eliminate the need for costly maintenance and repairs to roads, embankments, ditches, streams, wetlands, and stormwater control facilities due to inadequate soil erosion and stormwater runoff control.
(C)
Reduce stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion, sediment, and nonpoint source pollution from development and redevelopment to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or underground injection controls (UIC) through stormwater best management practices (BMPs).
(D)
Provide long-term responsibility for and maintenance of stormwater BMPs.
(E)
Protect the condition of state (and U.S.) waters for all reasonable public uses and ecological functions.
(F)
Facilitate the integration of stormwater management and pollution control with other resolutions, programs, policies, and the comprehensive plan of Chelan County.
(G)
Establish legal authority to carry out all the inspection and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this chapter.
(H)
Facilitate compliance with state and federal standards and permits by owners of construction sites, developments, and permanent stormwater BMPs within Chelan County.
(I)
Enable Chelan County to comply with the Eastern Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit, Washington Department of Ecology’s Guidance for UIC Wells that Manage Stormwater, and applicable federal and state regulations.
(2)
Applicability.
(A)
This chapter shall be applicable to all land development or redevelopment, including, but not limited to, subdivision applications, unless exempt pursuant to subsection (2)(B) or (C) of this section. These provisions apply to any new development or redevelopment site located within the Chelan County Stormwater National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Boundary as established by Resolution No. 2008-06 and as shown in Appendix A[1] as now and hereafter amended and meets one or more of the following criteria:
(i)
New development that disturbs one acre or more.
(ii)
Redevelopment that disturbs one acre or more.
(iii)
Development activities that are smaller than the minimum applicable criteria set forth above (less than one acre) if such activities are part of a larger common plan of development, even though multiple, separate and distinct land development activities may take place at different times on different schedules.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A Chelan County NPDES Phase II Boundary is included as an attachment to this title.
(B)
Partial exemptions or exceptions may be granted in accordance with the Stormwater Management Manual for Eastern Washington (SWMMEW). Jurisdiction-wide exceptions to the requirements in the SWM-MEW shall be approved by the county engineer and Washington State Department of Ecology.
(C)
The following practices shall be exempted from the requirements of this chapter:
(i)
Private development that can provide for the on-site retention of the total water intercepted and collected by the development and the areas (improved or unimproved) lying and draining presently to and through the proposed development. Submittal to Chelan County of a drainage plan, stamped by a professional engineer in Washington State, in accordance with this chapter, is required to demonstrate this exemption.
(ii)
The county will exempt projects that create less than 0.1 cfs (cubic feet per second) of runoff from the flow control design storm. Submittal to the county engineer of an analysis, stamped by a professional engineer in Washington State, in accordance with this chapter is required to demonstrate this exemption.
(iii)
Forest practices regulated under WAC Title 222. Conversions of forest lands to other uses are not exempt. Silvicultural roads that are used to access other land uses subject to this chapter are not exempt.
(iv)
Commercial agriculture practices involving working the land for production. Construction of impervious surfaces is not exempt.
(v)
Construction of oil and gas field drilling sites, oil and gas field waste management pits, and access roads, as well as construction of oil and gas transportation and treatment support structure such as pipelines, natural gas treatment plants, natural gas pipeline compressor stations, and crude oil pumping stations.
(vi)
Road Maintenance. The following road and parking area maintenance practices are exempt:
(a)
Pothole and square cut patching;
(b)
Crack sealing;
(c)
Resurfacing with in-kind material without expanding the road prism;
(d)
Overlaying existing asphalt or concrete pavement with bituminous surface treatment (BST or “chip seal”), asphalt or concrete without expanding the area of coverage;
(e)
Shoulder grading;
(f)
Reshaping/regrading drainage systems; and
(g)
Vegetation maintenance.
(vii)
Road Repair and Safety Improvement. The following road, parking area maintenance, and road safety improvement practices are exempt:
(a)
Removing and replacing a concrete or asphalt roadway to base course or subgrade or lower without expanding or improving the impervious surfaces.
(b)
Repairing the roadway base or subgrade.
(c)
Projects to improve motorized and/or nonmotorized user safety that do not enhance the traffic capacity of a roadway. Safety improvement projects such as sidewalks, bike lanes, bus pullouts and other transit improvements that replace soft shoulder with curb-and-gutter on roadways with an average daily traffic volume of seven thousand five hundred vehicles or more are not exempt.
(d)
Overlaying existing gravel, asphalt or concrete with bituminous surface treatment (BST or “chip seal”) without expanding the area of coverage, or overlaying BST with asphalt, without expanding the area of coverage. For roads, these practices are exempt only if the traffic surface will be subject to an average daily traffic volume of less than seven thousand five hundred on an urban road or an average daily traffic volume of less than fifteen thousand vehicles on a rural road, freeway, or limited access control highway. For parking areas, these practices are exempt only if the traffic surface will be subject to less than forty trip ends per one thousand square feet of building area or one hundred total trip ends.
(D)
Linear Construction Projects. Linear construction projects, such as pipeline or underground utility line installation, that do not result in the installation of any impervious surface and that replace the ground surface with in-kind material or materials with similar runoff characteristics are exempt.
(E)
Prior Approval. Any part of a land development that was approved by Chelan County prior to the effective date of the resolution codified in this chapter.
(4)
Liability.
(A)
Any person who undertakes or causes to be undertaken any land development shall ensure that soil erosion, sedimentation, increased pollutant loads and changed water flow characteristics resulting from the activity are controlled so as to minimize pollution of receiving waters. The requirements of this chapter are minimum standards and a person’s compliance with the same shall not relieve such person from the duty of enacting all measures necessary to minimize pollution of receiving waters.
(B)
By approving a plan under this regulation, Chelan County does not accept responsibility for the design, installation, and operation and maintenance of stormwater BMPs.
(5)
Authority Designated. The county engineer is hereby authorized and designated as the official responsible for the enforcement and administration of this chapter. The county engineer may designate employees within his division to act on his/her behalf. The use of the terms “stormwater authority,” “administrative authority,” “code official,” “authority having jurisdiction” and similar such terms as contained in this chapter and in the codes and standards adopted by reference under this chapter shall be construed as referring to the county engineer and their designees.
(6)
Design Manuals.
(A)
The county engineer will utilize information including technical specifications of the latest edition of the SWMMEW as the basis for decisions about design, implementation, maintenance, and performance of structural and nonstructural stormwater BMPs.
(B)
For linear projects, such as roadways, the county engineer will utilize information including technical specifications of the latest edition of the WSDOT Highway Runoff Manual (HRM).
(C)
The SWMMEW includes a list of acceptable stormwater treatment practices, including specific design criteria for each stormwater practice. Use of BMPs from other technical stormwater manuals approved by Ecology shall be consistent with Chelan County climate, soils, and specific site conditions appropriate for said BMP use. Stormwater practices that are designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with these design and sizing criteria will be presumed to meet the minimum water quality performance standards of the Eastern Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit requirements.
(i)
Amendments to Design Manuals.
(a)
The SWMMEW and the HRM may be updated and expanded from time to time, based on advancements in technology and engineering, improved knowledge of local conditions, or local monitoring or maintenance experience. The most current version of the SWMMEW or the HRM is to be used where referenced by this chapter.
(b)
If the specifications, guidelines, or other information in the SWMMEW or the HRM are amended subsequent to the submittal of an application for approval pursuant to this chapter but prior to approval, the new information shall control and shall be utilized in reviewing the application and in implementing this chapter with regard to the application.
(D)
Use of BMPs not designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with the approved manuals shall be subject to the Washington State Department of Ecology’s approval and must be monitored for performance to demonstrate that they meet the minimum water quality performance standards of the Eastern Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit requirements.
(Res. 2010-19 (part), 2/16/10)