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 flooding
and quantities of waterborne pollutants, including siltation of aquatic
habitats 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 habitats.
D. Improper design and construction of stormwater management
practices can increase the velocity of stormwater runoff, thereby
increasing stream bank 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 municipality;
G. Stormwater runoff, soil erosion and nonpoint source
pollution can be controlled and minimized through the regulation of
stormwater runoff and sediment and erosion control 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 chapter is to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety, and welfare of the public residing within this jurisdiction and to address the findings of fact in §
183-1 hereof. This chapter seeks to meet those purposes by achieving the following objectives:
A. Meet the requirements of minimum measures 4 and 5 of the current
SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Municipal Separate
Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4s), as amended or revised;
[Amended 9-11-2012 by L.L. No. 4-2012]
B. Require land development activities to conform to the substantive
requirements of the current New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES)
General Permit for Construction Activities, as amended or revised;
[Amended 9-11-2012 by L.L. No. 4-2012]
C. Minimize increases in stormwater runoff from land
development activities in order to reduce flooding, turbidity, siltation,
increases in stream temperature, and stream bank 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; and
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 designed, maintained and eliminate threats to public
safety.
In accordance with § 10 of the Municipal
Home Rule Law of the State of New York, the Town Board of the Town
of Geddes has the authority to enact local laws and amend local laws
for the purpose of promoting the health, safety or general welfare
of the Town of Geddes and for the protection and enhancement of its
physical environment. The Town Board of the Town of Geddes 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 terms used in this chapter or in documents
prepared or reviewed under this chapter shall have the meanings as
set forth in this section.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
The activity of an active farm including grazing and watering
livestock, irrigating crops, harvesting crops, using land for growing
agricultural products, and cutting timber for sale, but shall not
include the operation of a dude ranch or similar operation, or the
construction of new structures associated with agricultural activities.
APPLICANT
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed
an application for a land development activity.
BUILDING
Any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls
and a roof, designed for the shelter of any person, animal, or property,
and occupying more than 100 square feet of area.
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
The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for
general public use.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
DESIGN MANUAL
The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual, most
recent version, including applicable updates, that serves as the official
guide for stormwater management principles, methods and practices
(a sample of which is attached hereto as Schedule A.)
DEVELOPER
A person who undertakes land development activities.
EROSION CONTROL
A measure that prevents sediment from being transported from
a site.
EROSION CONTROL MANUAL
The most recent version of the New York Standards and Specifications
for Erosion and Sediment Control Manual, commonly known as the "Blue
Book."
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, driveways, etc).
INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER PERMIT
A State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued
to a commercial industry or group of industries which regulates the
pollutant levels associated with industrial stormwater discharges
or specifies on-site pollution control strategies.
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
of equal to or greater than one acre, or activities disturbing less
than one acre of total land area that are 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.
QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
A person that is knowledgeable in the principles and practices
of stormwater management and treatment, such as a licensed professional
engineer, registered landscape architect or other Department-endorsed
individual(s). Individuals preparing SWPPPs that require the post-construction
stormwater management practice component must have an understanding
of the principles of hydrology, water quality management practice
design, water quantity control design, and, in many cases, the principles
of hydraulics in order to prepare a SWPPP that conforms to the Department's
technical standard. All components of the SWPPP that involve the practice
of engineering, as defined by the New York State Education Law (see
Article 145), shall be prepared by, or under the direct supervision
of, a professional engineer licensed to practice in the State of New
York.
[Added 9-11-2012 by L.L. No. 4-2012]
RECHARGE
The replenishment of underground water reserves.
SENSITIVE AREAS
Cold-water fisheries, shellfish beds, swimming beaches, groundwater
recharge areas, water supply reservoirs, and habitats for threatened,
endangered or special-concern species.
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES) issued to developers of construction activities to
regulate disturbance of one or more acres of land.
[Amended 9-11-2012 by L.L. No. 4-2012]
STABILIZATION
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
The first land disturbing activity associated with a development,
including land preparation such as clearing, grading and filling;
installation of streets and sidewalks; excavation for basements, footings,
peers or foundations; erection of temporary forms; and installation
of accessory buildings.
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 HOTSPOT
A land use or activity that generates higher concentrations
of hydrocarbons, trace metals or toxicants than are found in typical
stormwater runoff, based on monitoring studies.
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 municipality to
accept and review stormwater pollution prevention plans, forward the
plans to the applicable municipal board and inspect stormwater management
practices.
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.
SURFACE 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.
TRAINED CONTRACTOR
An employee from the contracting (construction) company that
has received four hours of Department endorsed training in proper
erosion and sediment control practices from a Soil and Water Conservation
District or other Department endorsed entity. After receiving the
initial training, the trained contractor shall receive four hours
of training every three years.
[Added 9-11-2012 by L.L. No. 4-2012]
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.
WETLAND
An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence
of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions,
commonly known as hydrophytic vegetation.
[Amended 9-11-2012 by L.L. No. 4-2012]
A. This chapter shall be applicable to all land development activities
as defined in this chapter.
B. The municipality shall designate a Stormwater Management Officer
who shall accept and review all stormwater pollution prevention plans
and forward such plans to the applicable municipal board. The Stormwater
Management Officer may:
(2) Upon approval by the Town Board of the Town of Geddes, engage the
services of a registered professional engineer to review the plans,
specifications and related documents at a cost not to exceed a fee
schedule established by said governing board; or
(3) Accept the certification of a qualified professional that the plans
conform to the requirements of this chapter.
C. An owner or operator of a land development activity that is subject
to the requirements of this chapter must first develop a SWPPP in
accordance with all applicable requirements of this chapter and then
have its SWPPP reviewed and accepted by the Stormwater Management
Officer prior to submitting the notice of intent (NOI) to the Department.
The owner or operator shall have the MS4 SWPPP acceptance form signed
by the Stormwater Management Officer and then submit that form along
with the NOI to the address referenced under "Notice of intent (NOI)
submittal" in the applicable SPDES permit.
D. All land development activities subject to review and approval by
the applicable board of the Town of Geddes under subdivision, site
plan, and/or special permit regulations shall be reviewed subject
to the standards contained in this chapter.
E. All land development activities not subject to review as stated in subsection
C above shall be required to submit a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) to the Stormwater Management Officer who shall approve the SWPPP if it complies with the requirements of this chapter.
The following activities may be exempt from
review under this chapter:
A. Agricultural activity as defined in this chapter.
B. Silvicultural activity, except that landing areas
and log haul roads are subject to this chapter.
C. Routine maintenance activities that disturb less than
five acres and are performed to maintain the original line and grade,
hydraulic capacity or original purpose of a facility.
D. Repairs to any stormwater management practice or facility
deemed necessary by the Stormwater Management Officer.
E. Any part of a subdivision if a plat for the subdivision
has been approved by the Town of Geddes on or before the effective
date of this chapter.
F. Land development activities for which a building permit
has been approved on or before the effective date of this chapter.
H. Installation of fence, sign, telephone, and electric
poles and other kinds of posts or poles.
I. Emergency activity immediately necessary to protect
life, property or natural resources.
J. Activities of an individual engaging in home gardening
by growing flowers, vegetables and other plants primarily for use
by that person and his or her family.
K. Landscaping and horticultural activities in connection
with an existing structure.