As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:
PRIVATE UPLAND
Upland which abuts a waterway or watercourse and which is
owned by a private person, association, partnership or corporation.
TOWN
The Town of Babylon.
TOWN LAND
Land owned by the Town, whether upland or in the bed of a
waterway or watercourse.
Notwithstanding the prior granting of permission
so to do, no person shall remove any material from the bed of any
waterway or watercourse or from any private upland or any upland owned
by the Town without obtaining from the Town Clerk a written permit
therefor, issued on the order of the Town Board as hereinafter provided.
Before the granting of any application for a
permit hereunder, the Town, in its discretion, shall obtain an opinion
from the State Conservation Department regarding the merits of each
such application.
Each application for a permit hereunder shall be filed with the Town Clerk and shall be accompanied by an application fee of $25; and if the application involves the removal of material from upland belonging to the Town, by an amount estimated by the Town Clerk as necessary to defray all expenses which will be incurred by reason of the fact that the resolution required by §
108-7 hereof will be subject to a permissive referendum.
The Town Board may adopt a resolution directing the issuance of a permit hereunder for the removal of material from Town land if it shall find that the material proposed to be removed is not required for any Town purpose, that the proposed removal will not violate the provisions of §
108-18 hereof and that the public interest will not be otherwise prejudiced thereby. If the application involves the removal of material from upland belonging to the Town, such resolution shall be subject to a permissive referendum, as provided by Article 7, §§ 90 through 94, of the Town Law.
[Amended 2-15-1972]
If the Town Board shall find that a proposed removal of Town land will benefit the Town substantially as a necessary improvement of any waterway or waterways affected thereby, the resolution directing the issuance of a permit may waive all or any part of the payments provided in §
108-14 hereof. The Town Board is hereby authorized to modify the requirements contained in §
108-12 hereof, in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as to adequately protect the Town, the applicant and the residents of the Town, without placing an undue financial burden upon the applicant or his subcontractors.
The Town Board may adopt a resolution directing the issuance of a permit hereunder for the removal of material from private upland if it shall find that such proposed removal will not violate the provisions of §
108-18 hereof and that the public interest will not be otherwise prejudiced thereby.
The Town Board may, on the adoption of a resolution directing the issuance of any permit hereunder, impose conditions on the manner and extent of the proposed removal designed to eliminate or prevent any of the contingencies outlined in §
108-18 hereof and fix the time on which the removal operations must be commenced and within which they must be completed and require a deposit in such amount as it may deem necessary to be applied on account of the payments provided in §
108-14 hereof. The Town Board may also fix the times that the dredging operation may be conducted and shall prohibit, if necessary, any operation on holidays or weekends.
The Town Clerk, after a resolution pursuant
to this chapter directing the issuance of a permit hereunder has become
effective and after the receipt of a permit fee of $75 and of a performance
bond and public liability insurance policy and of the deposit required
by such resolution, shall issue such permit conditioned on compliance
with such resolution and this chapter.
The applicant for a permit hereunder shall,
before the issuance thereof by the Town Clerk, file with the Town
Clerk a bond in an amount and with sureties and in the form approved
by the Town Board, conditioned on compliance with the provisions of
this chapter and with the conditions, if any, imposed in the resolution
directing the issuance of such permit; and a policy of public liability
insurance with independent contractors and assumed liability coverage
insuring the Town as the named insured at the expense of the applicant
against any liability which may arise from the removal or deposit
of material under such permit, whether or not the act or omission
complained of is by the applicant or any individual employed by the
applicant or by the Town, and covering any and all damage which may
occur within two years after completion of the operations under such
permit in an amount not less than $200,000 for bodily injuries, including
death, to any one person and, subject to the same limit for one person,
in an amount not less than $500,000 on account of each accident; and
for property damage in an amount not less than $100,000 for one accident
and in an amount not less than $500,000 on account of all accidents.
Permits issued under this chapter shall be transferable
only on the written consent of the Town Board and on such conditions
as it may impose.
The applicant for a permit hereunder shall pay to the Town such sum as may be fixed by the Town Board for all soil, sand or other material removed from Town land as a result of his operations under such permit, as shown by and accompanying the biweekly certifications required by §
108-15 hereof. The final payment shall be made within 30 days after the date specified by the Town Board resolution authorizing issuance of the permit or within 30 days after the completion of the work, whichever shall sooner occur. The Town shall consult with the State Conservation Department or any other authority at any time to determine the value of the dredged material.
Commencing on the second Friday after the issuance
of a permit hereunder, whether or not removal operations have commenced,
the person to whom such permit is issued shall furnish biweekly certifications
of a competent professional engineer, duly licensed by the State of
New York, of the quantities of material removed or, if none has been
removed, a certification to that fact. There shall be attached to
such certification a sketch showing the progress of the removal operations
and any deviation from the terms of such permit.
The final payment under §
108-14 hereof shall be accompanied by a certificate by a licensed professional engineer of the amount of material removed and of compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
In computing the amount of material removed
under a permit issued hereunder, the Town Board, in its discretion,
may accept a certification of the amount of material deposited or
stored as a result of such removal, as the equivalent of the amount
removed.
If any person to whom a permit shall have been
issued hereunder shall fail at any time to comply with the provisions
of this chapter or with the conditions imposed by the resolution of
the Town Board directing the issuance of such permit, he shall, upon
the direction of the State Conservation Department or the Town Board,
immediately suspend all operations under such permit for such period
as may be prescribed by the Town and shall have a period of 30 days
to remedy any condition which the Town shall require of the permittee.
He shall cease all operations and remove all equipment used in connection
therewith and, upon such direction by the Town Board, his permit to
dredge shall be deemed null and void. However, the suspension or revocation
of such permit, as directed by the Town, shall in no way relieve the
permittee of any of his obligations hereunder.
Any person who shall remove any material from
Town land and any person who shall cause such material to be so removed,
without having a valid and effective permit pursuant to this chapter,
shall be liable for the payment to the Town of $1,000 for each day
or part thereof during which such removal shall take place for the
material removed such day, in addition to any penalties prescribed
by law and any other damages for which he may be liable.
[Amended 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022; 12-20-2023 by L.L. No. 25-2023]
Any person or entity violating this chapter
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine
of not less than $500 nor more than $2,500 or by imprisonment for
a period not exceeding six months for each such offense, or by both
such fine and imprisonment. Any person or entity found by the Bureau
of Administrative Adjudication to have violated this chapter shall
likewise be subject to a monetary penalty of not less than $500 nor
more than $2,500.