[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the Township of Lower Merion 1-15-1975 by Ord. No. 1734. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for the owner of any land
to stop, fill up, confine, pave or otherwise interfere with or change
the course of any drain, ditch, stream or watercourse in the Township
of Lower Merion without first obtaining from the Township Secretary
a permit authorizing such work to be performed; and no drain, ditch,
stream or watercourse shall be stopped, filled up, confined, paved
or otherwise interfered with or the course thereof changed except
in strict accordance with the terms and conditions of such permit
and the plans and specifications submitted therewith.
[Amended 1-18-1978 by Ord. No. 1811; 11-20-1996 by Ord. No.
3433; 1-19-2002 by Ord. No. 3630]
The application for a permit shall be in a form
prescribed by the Township, verified by affidavit made by the owner
and accompanied by plans and specifications prepared by a registered
engineer or surveyor. Within five days after the application and plans
and specifications are filed, the Director of Building and Planning
of the Township of Lower Merion shall notify the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection or other agency overseeing permits relating
to watercourses of the size for which the permit is sought and all
municipalities which are adjacent to the Township of Lower Merion
of the occurrence and contents of the filings. The plans and specifications
shall show the exact nature of the work to be performed; the course,
structure and capacity of all drains, ditches, streams and watercourses;
the method of drainage of the adjacent or contiguous territory; and
any other necessary and explanatory details required by the Township.
The delineation of the identified floodplain area may be revised by
the Township of Lower Merion where natural or man-made changes have
occurred and/or more detailed studies conducted or undertaken by the
United States Army Corps of Engineers, a River Basin Commission or
other qualified agency or individual documenting the necessity for
such changes. However, prior to any such changes, approval must be
obtained from the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA).
[Amended 2-20-2013 by Ord. No. 3995]
The application and plans and specifications
shall be filed in triplicate with the Township Secretary. The Land
Development Committee of the Township may require alterations, changes
or modifications in the plans and specifications which it deems necessary
and may refuse a permit until such alterations, changes and modifications
have been made. No encroachment, alteration, or improvement of any
kind shall be made to any watercourse unless it can be shown that
the activity will not reduce or impede the flood-carrying capacity
of the watercourse in any way. The Land Development Committee shall
be composed of the heads of departments and such other Township employees
as the Chairman may appoint. The Chairman of the Land Development
Committee shall be appointed by the Township Manager. If the Land
Development Committee shall disapprove the plans and specifications
submitted and refuse a permit, the reasons therefor will be set forth
in writing and given to the applicant, who may, within 30 days thereafter,
appeal to the Board of Commissioners. Before acting upon such appeal,
the Board of Commissioners may, in its discretion, arrange for a public
hearing after giving such notice as it deems desirable. The appeal
will be considered at the next regular meeting of the Board, and its
decision will be final. The Township Secretary will issue a permit
to the applicant upon favorable action by the Land Development Committee
or the Board of Commissioners.
The Township Engineer shall be notified at least
24 hours in advance of the commencement of the work in order that
provision may be made for proper inspection thereof. Samples of material
and every reasonable facility for ascertaining whether the work is
in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and the Subdivision
and Land Development Ordinance of the Township of Lower Merion[1] shall be furnished to the employees of the Township in
the same manner as is required of contractors under the terms of the
Township Standards and Specifications for Highway Improvements.
[Amended 9-21-1977 by Ord. No. 1802]
A fee, as set forth in the Township Schedule
of Fees, as adopted and amended from time to time by the Board of
Commissioners,[1] shall be paid to the Township Secretary when the application
is filed; and the owner shall also pay the actual cost of any material
tests and reimburse the Township for necessary inspection at the rate
set forth in the Township Schedule of Fees for each hour or portion
thereof a Township inspector is engaged on the work.
[Amended 8-3-1988 by Ord. No. 3104]
Any person violating any of the provisions of
this chapter shall be liable, on conviction thereof, to a fine or
penalty not exceeding $600 for each and every offense; and when any
person shall have been notified by the Township Engineer or by service
of summons in a prosecution or any other way that he is committing
a violation of this chapter, each day in which the violation is continued
after such notification shall constitute a separate offense, punishable
by like fine or penalty.
[Added 7-21-1993 by Ord. No. 3330]
If, because of an accident or other activity
or incident, a substance which would pollute the waters of the commonwealth
located within the Township and could endanger downstream users of
the waters or its aquatic life or could damage property is discharged
into these waters, including but not limited to sewers, drains, ditches
or other channels of conveyance into the waters, or is so placed that
it might discharge, flow, leach, be washed or fall into them, it shall
be the responsibility of the person at the time of such incident in
charge of the substance or owning or occupying the premises, facility,
vehicle or vessel from or on which the substance is discharged or
placed to forthwith notify the Township Manager's office or the Township
Emergency Number (215-642-4200), such owner or occupant and the Department
of Environmental Protection in Conshohocken (215-832-6000) by telephone
of the location and nature of the incident and, if reasonably possible
to do so, to notify known downstream users of the waters.
