[Adopted 11-20-2007 by L.L. No. 11-2007]
It is hereby determined that:
A. Land development activities and associated increases
in site impervious cover often alter the hydrologic response of local
watersheds and increase stormwater runoff rates and volumes, flooding,
stream channel erosion, or sediment transport and deposition;
B. This stormwater runoff contributes to increased quantities
of waterborne pollutants, including siltation of aquatic habitat for
fish and other desirable species;
C. Clearing and grading during construction tends to
increase soil erosion and add to the loss of native vegetation necessary
for terrestrial and aquatic habitat;
D. Improper design and construction of stormwater management
practices can increase the velocity of stormwater runoff, thereby
increasing streambank erosion and sedimentation;
E. Impervious surfaces allow less water to percolate
into the soil, thereby decreasing groundwater recharge and stream
baseflow;
F. Substantial economic losses can result from these
adverse impacts on the waters of the Town of Bedford;
G. Stormwater runoff, soil erosion and nonpoint source
pollution can be controlled and minimized through the regulation of
stormwater runoff from land development activities;
H. The regulation of stormwater runoff discharges from
land development activities in order to control and minimize increases
in stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion, stream channel
erosion, and nonpoint source pollution associated with stormwater
runoff is in the public interest and will minimize threats to public
health and safety.
I. Regulation of land development activities by means
of performance standards governing stormwater management and site
design will produce development compatible with the natural functions
of a particular site or an entire watershed and thereby mitigate the
adverse effects of erosion and sedimentation from development.
The purpose of this article is to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety, and welfare of the public residing within the Town of Bedford and to address the findings of fact in §
103-1 hereof. This article seeks to meet those purposes by achieving the following objectives:
A. Meet the requirements of minimum measures 4 and 5
of the SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Municipal
Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4s), Permit No. GP-02-02, or
as amended or revised;
B. Require land development activities to conform to
the substantive requirements of the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES)
General Permit for Construction Activities GP-02-01 or as amended
or revised;
C. Minimize increases in stormwater runoff from land
development activities in order to reduce flooding, siltation, increases
in stream temperature, and streambank erosion and maintain the integrity
of stream channels;
D. Minimize increases in pollution caused by stormwater
runoff from land development activities, which would otherwise degrade
local water quality;
E. Minimize the total annual volume of stormwater runoff
which flows from any specific site during and following development
to the maximum extent practicable;
F. Reduce stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion
and nonpoint source pollution, wherever possible, through stormwater
management practices and to ensure that these management practices
are properly maintained and eliminate threats to public safety; and
G. Require, wherever possible, no increase in pollutants
of concern from land development stormwater discharges.
In accordance with § 10 of the Municipal
Home Rule Law of the State of New York, the Town of Bedford has the
authority to enact local laws and amend local laws and for the purpose
of promoting the health, safety or general welfare of the Town of
Bedford and for the protection and enhancement of its physical environment.
The Town of Bedford may include in any such local law provisions for
the appointment of any municipal officer, employees, or independent
contractor to effectuate, administer and enforce such local law.
The following activities may be exempt from
review under this article:
A. Silvicultural activity, except that landing areas
and log haul roads are subject to this article.
B. Routine maintenance activities involving land disturbance
that disturb less than one acre and are performed to maintain the
original line and grade, hydraulic capacity or original purpose of
a facility.
C. Repairs to any stormwater management practice or facility
deemed necessary by the Stormwater Management Officer.
D. Any part of a subdivision if a plat for the subdivision
has been approved by the Town of Bedford on or before the effective
date of this article.
E. Land development activities for which a building permit
has been approved on or before the effective date of this article.
G. Installation of fences, signs, telephone and electric
poles and other kinds of posts or poles.
H. Emergency activity, as determined by the Stormwater
Management Officer, immediately necessary to protect life, property
or natural resources.
I. Activities of an individual engaging in home gardening
by growing flowers, vegetable and other plants primarily for use by
that person and his or her family.
J. Landscaping and horticultural activities in connection
with an existing structure.
The terms used in this article or in documents
prepared or reviewed under this article shall have the meaning as
set forth in this section.
APPLICANT
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed
an application for a land development activity.
BUILDING
Any structure having a roof, supported by columns or by walls
or self-supporting, and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure
of persons, animals or chattel.
CHANNEL
A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and
banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.
CLEARING
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
DEDICATION
Deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for general
public use.
DESIGN MANUAL
The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual, most
recent version including applicable updates, that serves as the official
standard for stormwater management principles, methods and practices.
DEVELOPER
A person who undertakes land development activities.
EROSION CONTROL MANUAL
The most recent version of the New York Standards and Specifications
for Erosion and Sediment Control manual.
GRADING
Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions
thereof.
IMPERVIOUS COVER
Those surfaces, improvements and structures that cannot effectively
infiltrate rainfall, snowmelt and water (e.g., building rooftops,
pavement, sidewalks, paved driveways, etc.).
INFILTRATION
The process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.
LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Construction activity including clearing, grading, excavating,
soil disturbance or placement of fill that results in land disturbance
equal to or greater than one acre or activities disturbing less than
one acre of total land area that is part of a larger common plan of
development or sale, even though multiple separate and distinct land
development activities may take place at different times on different
schedules.
LANDOWNER
The legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding
the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding
proprietary rights in the land.
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed
restriction, and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater
management practices.
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
Pollution from any source other than from any discernible,
confined, and discrete conveyances, and shall include, but not be
limited to, pollutants from agricultural, silvicultural, mining, construction,
subsurface disposal and urban runoff sources.
PHASING
Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with
the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the
next.
POLLUTANT OF CONCERN
Sediment or a water quality measurement that addresses sediment
(such as total suspended solids, turbidity or siltation) and any other
pollutant that has been identified as a cause of impairment of any
water body that will receive a discharge from the land development
activity.
RECHARGE
The replenishment of underground water reserves.
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES
Normal, periodic maintenance of existing landscaped areas,
residential gardens, pastures for livestock, and crop fields.
STABILIZATION
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
STOP-WORK ORDER
An order issued which requires that all construction activity
on a site be stopped.
STORMWATER
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The use of structural or nonstructural practices that are
designed to reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate its adverse impacts
on property, natural resources and the environment.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed,
stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater
runoff
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER
An employee or officer designated by the Town of Bedford
to review and approve stormwater pollution prevention plans. The Stormwater
Management Officer shall be a professional engineer licensed in the
State of New York and shall have experience in stormwater issues.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (SMPS)
Measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined
to be the most effective, practical means of preventing flood damage
and preventing or reducing point source or nonpoint source pollution
inputs to stormwater runoff and water bodies.
WATERS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Lakes, bays, sounds, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs,
wells, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals,
the Atlantic Ocean within the territorial seas of the State of New
York and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial,
inland or coastal, fresh or salt, public or private (except those
private waters that do not combine or effect a junction with natural
surface or underground waters), which are wholly or partially within
or bordering the state or within its jurisdiction. Storm sewers and
waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons which
also meet the criteria of this definition, are not waters of the state.
This exclusion applies only to man-made bodies of water which neither
were originally created in waters of the state (such as a disposal
area in wetlands) nor resulted from impoundment of waters of the state.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
WATERWAY
A channel that directs surface runoff to a watercourse or
to the public storm drain.
WETLANDS
As defined in the Town of Bedford Freshwater Wetlands Law, Chapter
122 of the Code of the Town of Bedford.
All land development activities shall be subject
to the following performance and design criteria:
A. Technical standards. For the purpose of this article,
the following documents shall serve as the official guides and specifications
for stormwater management. Stormwater management practices that are
designed and constructed in accordance with these technical documents
shall be presumed to meet the standards imposed by this article:
(1) The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual
(New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, most current
version or its successor, hereafter referred to as the "Design Manual").
(2) New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion
and Sediment Control, (Empire State Chapter of the Soil and Water
Conservation Society, 2004, most current version or its successor,
hereafter referred to as the "Erosion Control Manual").
(3) New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual,
Chapter 10. Enhanced Phosphorous Removal Supplement, 5th Draft, November 8, 2006.
B. Water quality standards.
(1) Any land development activity shall not cause an increase
in turbidity that will result in substantial visible contrast to natural
conditions in surface waters of the State of New York.
(2) Any land development activity shall not increase,
wherever possible, a pollutant of concern to either an impaired water
identified on the Department's 303(d) list of impaired waters or a
total maximum daily load (TMDL) designated watershed for which pollutants
of concern have been identified as a source of the impairment.
[Adopted 12–18–2007 by L.L. No. 13-2007]
The purpose of this article is to provide for
the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Town
of Bedford through the regulation of nonstormwater discharges to the
municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) to the maximum extent
practicable as required by federal and state law. This article establishes
methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the MS4
in order to comply with requirements of the SPDES General Permit for
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. The objectives of this article
are:
A. To meet the requirements of the SPDES General Permit
for Stormwater Discharges from MS4s, Permit No. GP-02-02, or as amended
or revised;
B. To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the
MS4 since such systems are not designed to accept, process or discharge
nonstormwater wastes;
C. To prohibit illegal connections, activities and discharges
to the MS4;
D. To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection,
surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this article; and
E. To promote public awareness of the hazards involved
in the improper discharge of trash, yard waste, lawn chemicals, pet
waste, wastewater, grease, oil, petroleum products, cleaning products,
paint products, hazardous waste, sediment and other pollutants into
the MS4.
Whenever used in this article, unless a different
meaning is stated in a definition applicable to only a portion of
this article, the following terms will have meanings set forth below:
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general
good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational
practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices
to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly
to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems.
BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices
to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal,
or drainage from raw materials storage. Recommended BMPs are cited
in the following technical documents: New York State Stormwater Management
Design Manual, current edition; New York State Standards and Specifications
for Erosion and Sediment Control, 2004; and New York State Stormwater
Management Design Manual, Chapter 10, Enhanced Phosphorous Removal
Supplement, 5th Draft, November 8, 2006.
CLEAN WATER ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Activities requiring authorization under the SPDES Permit
for Stormwater Discharges From Construction Activity, GP-02-01, as
amended or revised. These activities include construction projects
resulting in land disturbance of one or more acres. Such activities
include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating,
and demolition.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination
thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical,
chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly
contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human
health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated,
stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
which allows an illegal discharge to enter the MS4, including but
not limited to:
A.
Any conveyances which allow any nonstormwater
discharge including treated or untreated sewage, process wastewater,
and wash water to enter the MS4 and any connections to the storm drain
system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain
or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved
by an authorized enforcement agency; or
B.
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial
or industrial land use to the MS4 which has not been documented in
plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement
agency.
ILLEGAL DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the MS4, except as exempted in §
103-15 of this article.
ILLEGAL DISCHARGE MANAGEMENT OFFICER (IDMO)
An employee, the Town engineer or other public official(s)
designated by the Town of Bedford to enforce this article. The IDMO
may also be designated by the Town to accept and review stormwater
pollution prevention plans, forward the plans to the applicable board
and inspect stormwater management practices.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities requiring the SPDES Permit for Discharges From
Industrial Activities Except Construction, GP-98-03, as amended or
revised.
MS4
Municipal separate storm sewer system.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains):
A.
Owned or operated by the Town of Bedford;
B.
Designed or used for collecting or conveying
stormwater;
C.
Which is not a combined sewer; and
D.
Which is not part of a publicly owned treatment
works (POTW) as defined at 40 CFR 122.2.
PERSON
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either
the owner or as the owner's agent.
POLLUTANT
Dredged spoil, filter backwash, solid waste, incinerator
residue, treated or untreated sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat,
wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand and industrial, municipal,
agricultural waste and ballast discharged into water; which may cause
or might reasonably be expected to cause pollution of the waters of
the state in contravention of the standards.
PREMISES
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
A.
Discharge compliance with water quality standards:
the condition that applies where the Town has been notified that the
discharge of stormwater authorized under their MS4 permit may have
caused or has the reasonable potential to cause or contribute to the
violation of an applicable water quality standard. Under this condition,
the Town must take all necessary actions to ensure future discharges
do not cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards.
B.
303(d) listed waters: the condition in the Town's
MS4 permit that applies where the MS4 discharges to a 303(d) listed
water. Under this condition, the stormwater management program must
ensure no increase of the listed pollutant of concern to the 303(d)
listed water.
C.
Total maximum daily load (TMDL) strategy: the
condition in the Town's MS4 permit where a TMDL including requirements
for control of stormwater discharges has been approved by EPA for
a water body or watershed into which the MS4 discharges. If the discharge
from the MS4 did not meet the TMDL stormwater allocations prior to
September 10, 2003, the Town was required to modify its stormwater
management program to ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern
specified in the TMDL is achieved.
D.
The condition in the Town's MS4 permit that
applies if a TMDL is approved in the future by EPA for any water body
or watershed into which an MS4 discharges: Under this condition, the
Town must review the applicable TMDL to see if it includes requirements
for control of stormwater discharges. If an MS4 is not meeting the
TMDL stormwater allocations, the Town must, within six (6) months
of the TMDL's approval, modify its stormwater management program to
ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern specified in the
TMDL is achieved.
STORMWATER
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
303(d) LIST
A list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial
uses of the water (drinking, recreation, aquatic habitat, and industrial
use) are impaired by pollutants, prepared periodically by the Department
as required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. 303(d) listed
waters are estuaries, lakes and streams that fall short of state surface
water quality standards and are not expected to improve within the
next two years.
TMDL
Total maximum daily load.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD
The maximum amount of a pollutant to be allowed to be released
into a water body so as not to impair uses of the water allocated
among the sources of that pollutant.
WASTEWATER
Water that is not stormwater, is contaminated with pollutants
and is or will be discarded.
This article shall apply to all water entering
the MS4 generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The Illegal Discharge Management Officer(s)
[IDMO(s)] shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions
of this article. Such powers granted or duties imposed upon the authorized
enforcement official may be delegated in writing by the IDMO as may
be authorized by the Town.
Where the IDMO has identified illegal discharges as defined in §
103-12 or activities contaminating stormwater as defined in §
103-17, the Town may require implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to control those illegal discharges and activities.
A. The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial
establishment shall provide, at his or her own expense, reasonable
protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other
wastes into the MS4 through the use of structural and nonstructural
BMPs.
B. Any person responsible for a property or premises, which is, or may be, the source of an illegal discharge as defined in §
103-12 or an activity contaminating stormwater as defined in §
103-17, may be required to implement, at said person's expense, additional structural and nonstructural BMPs to reduce or eliminate the source of pollutant(s) to the MS4.
C. Compliance with all terms and conditions of a valid
SPDES permit authorizing the discharge of stormwater associated with
industrial activity, to the extent practicable, shall be deemed compliance
with the provisions of this section.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction
activity SPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions
of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required
in a form acceptable to the Town prior to the allowing of discharges
to the MS4.
Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as
soon as any person responsible for a facility or operation, or responsible
for emergency response for a facility or operation has information
of any known or suspected release of materials which are resulting
or may result in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into
the MS4, said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the
discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release. In the event
of such a release of hazardous materials, said person shall immediately
notify emergency response agencies of the occurrence via emergency
dispatch services. In the event of a release of nonhazardous materials,
said person shall notify the Town in person or by telephone or facsimile
no later than the next business day. Notifications in person or by
telephone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed and mailed
to the Town within three business days of the telephone notice. If
the discharge of prohibited materials emanates from a commercial or
industrial establishment, the owner or operator of such establishment
shall also retain an on-site written record of the discharge and the
actions taken to prevent its recurrence. Such records shall be retained
for at least three years.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate
any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this
article. If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions
of this article, the IDMO may petition for a preliminary or permanent
injunction restraining the person from activities which would create
further violations or compelling the person to perform abatement or
remediation of the violation.
In addition to the enforcement processes and
penalties provided, any condition caused or permitted to exist in
violation of any of the provisions of this article is a threat to
public health, safety, and welfare, and is declared and deemed a nuisance,
and may be summarily abated or restored at the violator's expense,
and/or a civil action to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation
of such nuisance may be taken.
The remedies listed in this article are not
exclusive of any other remedies available under any applicable federal,
state or local law and it is within the discretion of the authorized
enforcement agency to seek cumulative remedies.