The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Chatham
(the Borough) find that:
A. The groundwater underlying the Borough is a major
source of existing and future water supplies, including drinking water.
The groundwater underlying the Borough lies within the Buried Valley
Aquifer Systems of the Central Passaic River Basin, which are designated
as a "sole source" aquifer under Section 1424(e) of the Federal Safe
Drinking Water Act of 1974.
B. The groundwater aquifers are integrally connected
with, are recharged by, and flow into the surface waters, lakes and
streams, which also constitute a major source of water for drinking,
commercial and industrial needs.
C. Accidental spills and discharges of toxic and hazardous
materials may threaten the quality of these groundwater supplies and
related water sources.
D. Contaminated water from any source is a detriment
to the health, welfare and comfort of the residents of the Borough,
and other users of these water resources.
E. Spills or discharges of hazardous substances or hazardous
wastes may contaminate or pollute water. As a preventive measure,
the proximity of such materials to sources of water supplies, such
as public community wells, should be restricted so that there will
be sufficient time to find and clean up such spills or discharges
before water supplies become contaminated.
F. The Chatham Borough Planning Board, after careful
consideration of the need for well head protection in a form similar
to the Model Municipal Well Head Protection Ordinance (developed,
with the assistance of the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection, by the Passaic Valley groundwater Protection Committee
of the Passaic River Coalition), has amended the Borough Master Plan
to include well head protection area zoning.
The purpose of the addition of Article
IX, hereinafter described as "this article," to the Chatham Borough Land Development Ordinance, is to protect the public health, safety and welfare through the protection of the groundwater resources underlying the Borough to ensure a supply of safe and healthful drinking water for the present and future generations of local residents, employees and the general public in the Borough, as well as users of these water supplies outside the Borough. Areas of land surrounding each public community well, known as Well Head Protection Areas (WHPAs), from which contaminants may move through the ground to be withdrawn in water taken from the well, have been delineated. Through regulation of land use, physical facilities and other activities within these areas, the potential for groundwater contamination can be reduced. The purpose of the regulations contained in this article is to prevent the migration of potential pollutants from areas within a WHPA into groundwater that is withdrawn from a public community well.
The Borough of Chatham is empowered to regulate
these activities under the provisions of the New Jersey Municipal
Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., which authorizes each municipality
to plan and regulate land use to secure a safe and adequate drinking
water supply for its residents. The Board of Health of the Borough
has autonomous power granted by the State Legislature to develop this
article to protect public health, safety and welfare, as set forth
in the New Jersey Local Boards of Health Law, N.J.S.A. 26:3-1 et seq.,
and the New Jersey County Environmental Health Act, N.J.S.A. 26:3A2-21
et seq.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY
The Planning Board or the Board of Adjustment, whichever
has jurisdiction in a particular matter, acting after consultation
with the Board of Health, with all of the powers delegated, assigned,
or assumed by them according to statute or ordinance.
APPLICANT
Person applying to the Board of Health, Planning Board, or
the Construction Office proposing to engage in an activity that is
regulated by the provisions of this article, and that would be located
within a regulated Well Head Protection Area.
AQUIFER
A formation, group of formations, or part of a formation
that contains sufficient saturated permeable rock, sand, or gravel
which is capable of storing and transmitting usable quantities of
water to wells and springs.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
Performance or design standards established to minimize the
risk of contaminating groundwater or surface waters while managing
the use, manufacture, handling or storage of hazardous substances
or hazardous wastes.
CONTAMINATION
The presence of any harmful or deleterious substances in
the water supply.
DEVELOPMENT
The carrying out of any construction, reconstruction, alteration
of surface or structure or change of land use or intensity of use.
DISCHARGE
Any intentional or unintentional action or omission, unless
pursuant to and in compliance with the conditions of a valid and effective
federal or state permit, resulting in the releasing, spilling, pumping,
pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of a hazardous substance into
the waters or lands located within the Borough or into waters outside
the jurisdiction of the Borough when damage may result to the lands,
waters or natural resources within the jurisdiction of the Borough.
GROUNDWATER
Water contained in interconnected pores of a saturated zone
in the ground, also known as "well water." A saturated zone is a volume
of ground in which the voids in the rock or soil are filled with water
at a pressure greater than atmospheric.
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
Any substance designated under 40 CFR 116 pursuant to Section
311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq., the Spill Compensation and Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11
et seq., or Section 4 of the New Jersey Water Pollution Control Act,
N.J.S.A. 58:10A-1 et seq. Substances listed include petroleum, petroleum
products, pesticides, solvents and other substances.
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Any solid waste that is defined or identified as a hazardous
waste pursuant to the Solid Waste Management Act, N.J.S.A. 13:1E-1
et seq., N.J.A.C. 7:26-8, or 40 CFR Part 261.
MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL
The maximum permissible level of a contaminant in water which
is delivered to any user of a public community water system.
NJDEP
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
PERSON
Any individual, public or private corporation, limited liability
company, partnership, firm, association, owner or operator, political
subdivision of this state, and any state, federal or interstate agency
or an agent or employee thereof.
POLLUTED WATER
In the content of drinking water, water is polluted when
a pollutant is present in excess of a maximum contaminant level or
bacteriological limit established by law or regulation.
POTENTIAL POLLUTANT SOURCE (PPS)
Activity or land use which may be a source of a pollutant that has the potential to move into groundwater withdrawn from a well. For the purposes of this article potential pollutant sources are defined in §
165-52.
PUBLIC COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM
A public water system providing to a residential population,
such as a municipality or a subdivision, water for human consumption
through pipes or other constructed conveyances, if such system has
at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents, or which
regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.
SIC
Standard Industrial Classification.
SOLE-SOURCE AQUIFER
Any drinking water aquifer upon which more than 50% of a
population group depends and for which there is no practicable or
affordable alternate water supply, as certified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
TIME OF TRAVEL (TOT)
The average time that a volume of water will take to travel
in the saturated zone from a given point to a pumping well.
WELL
A structure by use of which groundwater may be extracted
from the ground.
WELL HEAD
The well borehole and appurtenant equipment.
WELL HEAD PROTECTION AREA (WHPA)
An area described in plan view around a well, from which
groundwater flows to the well and groundwater pollution, if it occurs,
may pose a significant threat to the quality of water withdrawn from
the well.
WHPA
Well Head Protection Area.
The following are major and minor potential
pollutant sources (PPS) subject to the requirements of this article.
This listing is consistent with the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water
Act Regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:10-11.7 through 7:10-12.12.
A. Major potential pollutant sources (PPS) include:
(1) Permanent storage or disposal of hazardous wastes,
industrial or municipal sludge or radioactive materials, including
solid waste landfills.
(2) Collection and transfer facilities for hazardous wastes,
solid wastes that contain hazardous materials, and radioactive materials.
(3) Any use or activity requiring the underground storage
of a hazardous substance or waste in excess of an aggregate total
of 50 gallons.
(4) Underground fuel and chemical storage and oil tanks
regulated by NJDEP under provisions of the Underground Storage of
Hazardous Substances Act (N.J.S.A. 58:10A-21 et seq.).
(5) Aboveground storage facility for a hazardous substance
or waste with a cumulative capacity greater than 2,000 gallons.
(6) Any industrial treatment facility lagoon.
(7) Any facility with a SIC Code number included under
the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water Act Regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:10A-1.14,
Table II(N), with a toxicity number of II or greater. (See Appendix
A.)
(8) Automotive service center (repair and maintenance).
(11)
Road salt storage facility.
(13)
Highway maintenance yard.
(14)
Truck, bus, locomotive maintenance yard.
(15)
Site for storage and maintenance of heavy construction
equipment and materials.
(16)
Site for storage and maintenance of equipment
and materials for landscaping.
(18)
Quarrying and/or mining facility.
(19)
Asphalt and/or concrete manufacturing facility.
(20)
Junkyard/auto recycling and scrap metal facility.
(21)
Residential or agricultural motor fuel in NJDEP
exempted underground storage tanks (i.e., under 1,000 gallons).
(22)
Oil and hazardous substance pipelines as defined by Chapter
189 (see conditions in §
165-148.3).
[Added 8-14-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-09]
B. Minor potential pollutant sources (PPS) include:
(1) Underground storage of hazardous substance or waste
of less than 50 gallons.
(2) Underground heating oil storage tank with a capacity
of less than 2,000 gallons.
(3) Sewage treatment facility.
(4) Sanitary sewer system, including sewer line, manhole, or pump station. (See conditions in §
165-52C.)
(5) Industrial waste line. (See conditions in §
165-52C.)
(7) Facility requiring a groundwater discharge permit
issued by the NJDEP pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:14A et seq.
(8) Stormwater retention-recharge basin.
(11)
Waste oil collection, storage and recycling
facility.
(12)
Agricultural chemical bulk storage and mixing
or loading facility including crop dusting facilities.
(13)
Aboveground storage of hazardous substance or
waste in quantities of less than 2,000 gallons.
C. Conditions:
(1) Sanitary sewer lines, industrial waste lines and storm
water lines may be located no closer than 100 feet to a regulated
well, and only if they are constructed of watertight construction
(that is steel, reinforced concrete, cast iron, PVC or other suitable
material).
(2) Manholes and/or connections to a sanitary sewer system
are prohibited within 100 feet of a regulated well.
(3) Dry wells dedicated to roof runoff and serving commercial
or industrial properties with SIC codes not listed in Appendix A may be located no closer than 100 feet to a regulated
well.
Any applicant proposing any change in land use or activity that involves any PPS, as listed in §
165-52, which would be located either wholly or partially within any WHPA, shall comply with and operate in a manner consistent with the following best management practices performance standards:
A. All portions or areas of a facility in which hazardous
substances or hazardous wastes are stored, processed, manufactured
or transferred outdoors, shall be designed so that the discharges
of hazardous substances will be prevented from overflowing, draining,
or leaching into the groundwater or surface waters.
B. Outdoor storage, dispensing, loading, manufacturing
or processing areas of hazardous substances or hazardous wastes must
be protected from precipitation, stormwater flows or flooding.
C. Wherever hazardous substances are stored, processed,
manufactured or transferred outdoors, the design features shall include
secondary containment and/or diversionary structures which may include
but not be limited to:
(1) Containers, dikes, berms or retaining walls sufficiently
impermeable to contain spilled hazardous substances, for the duration
of a spill event.
(3) Gutters, culverts and other drainage systems.
(4) Weirs, booms and other barriers.
(5) Lined diversion ponds, lined lagoons and lined retention
basins, holding tanks, sumps, slop tanks and other collecting systems.
D. Secondary containment and/or diversionary systems,
structure or equipment must meet the following standards:
(1) The system must block all routes by which spilled
hazardous substances could be expected to flow, migrate, or escape
into the groundwater or surface waters.
(2) The system must have sufficient capacity to contain
or divert the largest probable single discharge that could occur within
the containment area, plus an additional capacity to compensate for
any anticipated normal accumulation of rainwater.
(3) In order to prevent the discharge of hazardous substances
into groundwater, all components of the system shall be made of or
lined with impermeable materials sufficient to contain the substance
for the duration of a spill event. Such material or liner must be
maintained in an impermeable condition.
(4) No manufacturing area, processing area, transfer area,
dike storage area, or other storage area, or secondary containment/diversion
system appurtenant thereto shall drain into a watercourse, or into
a ditch, sewer, pipe or storm drain that leads directly or indirectly
into a surface or subsurface disposal area, unless provision has been
made to intercept and treat any spilled hazardous substances in an
NJDEP-approved industrial wastewater treatment or pretreatment facility,
or other NJDEP-approved facility.
(5) Catchment basins, lagoons and other containment areas
that may contain hazardous substances shall not be located in a manner
that would subject them to flooding by natural waterways.
E. Stormwater shall be managed so as to prevent contamination
of groundwater, and so as to be in accordance with applicable laws
and regulations of the State of New Jersey and of the Borough.
A prompt investigation shall be made by the appropriate personnel of the Board of Health of the Borough of any person or entity believed to be in violation hereof. If, upon inspection, a condition which is in violation of this article is discovered, the Borough may take such corrective action and seek fines or other penalties against the violator as are described in §§
165-172 and
165-173 of this chapter. The violation of any section or subsection of this article shall constitute a separate and distinct offense independent of the violation of any other section or subsection, or of any order issued pursuant to this article.