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 water-borne
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
stream bank erosion and sedimentation.
E.
Impervious surfaces allow less water to percolate into the soil,
thereby decreasing groundwater recharge and stream base flow.
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
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, and related stormwater management provisions in Chapter 209, Subdivision of Land, and Chapter 249, Zoning (see Article XI, § 249-40, Site and development plan approval, and Article XVIIA, Stormwater Control), 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 § 203-1 hereof. This chapter, and related stormwater management provisions in Chapter 209, Subdivision of Land, and Chapter 249, Zoning (see Article XI, § 249-40, Site and development plan approval, and Article XVIIA, Stormwater Control), seeks to meet those purposes by achieving the following objectives:
A.
It is the purpose of these regulations to establish minimum acceptable
standards for stormwater management within the Town of Wallkill. These
minimum acceptable standards must be met and paid for by the person
or firm proposing the subdivision, development and/or site plan where
the facilities will be used;
B.
The limitations on construction of stormwater management facilities
imposed herein specifically do not apply to mapped subdivisions, developments
and site lands which have been finally approved by the Town of Wallkill
Planning Board or other authorized authority for which a final map
has been filed in the office of the Orange County Clerk;
C.
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-0-08-002 or as amended or revised;
D.
Require land development activities to conform to the substantive
requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) general permit
for construction activities GP-0-08-001 or as amended or revised;
E.
Minimize increases in stormwater runoff from land development activities
in order to reduce flooding, siltation, increases in stream temperature,
and stream bank erosion and maintain the integrity of stream channels;
F.
Minimize increases in pollution caused by stormwater runoff from
land development activities which would otherwise degrade local water
quality;
G.
Minimize the total annual volume of stormwater runoff which flows
from any specific site during and following development to the maximum
extent practicable; and
H.
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.
In accordance with Article 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law
of the State of New York, the Town Board 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 Wallkill and for the protection
and enhancement of its physical environment. The Town Board 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.
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases shall be
interpreted so as to give them the meanings they have in common usage
and to give these regulations their most effective application. Words
used in the singular shall include the plural, and the plural shall
include the singular; words used in the present tense shall include
the future tense. The work "shall" connotes mandatory and not discretionary
the word "may" is permissive.
Any modifications, alterations or effects on a feature or
characteristic of public waters, wetlands or adjacent lands, including
their quality, quantity, hydrology, surface area, species composition,
living resources, aesthetics or usefulness for human or natural uses,
which are or may potentially be harmful or injurious to human health,
welfare, safety or property, to biological productivity, diversity
or stability or which unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of
life or property, including outdoor recreation.
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.
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed
an application for a land development activity.
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.
A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and
banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for
general public use.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual, most
recent version including applicable updates, which serves as the official
guide for stormwater management principles, methods and practices.
A permanent structure for the temporary storage of runoff,
designed so as not to create a permanent pool of water, which gradually
releases water over 24 hours at a rate not exceeding the predevelopment
rate of runoff. This structure is used to control the peak discharge
rates of stormwater and provide gravity settling of pollutants.
Any person who engages in development either as the owner
or the agent of the owner of property.
Construction, installation, alteration, demolition or removal
of a structure, impervious surface or drainage facility.
Clearing, scraping, grubbing or otherwise removing or killing
the vegetation of a site; or
Adding, removing, exposing, excavating, leveling, grading, digging,
burrowing, dumping, piling, dredging or otherwise significantly disturbing
the soil, mud, sand or rock of a site.
Any component of the drainage system.
The system through which the water flows from the land. In
includes stormwater, watercourses, water bodies, groundwater and wetlands.
the wearing away or washing away of soil by the action of
wind or water.
The most recent version of the "New York Standards and Specifications
for Erosion and Sediment Control" manual, commonly known as the "Blue
Book."
The first 1/2 inch of runoff or the runoff generated from
a one-year storm event, whichever is greater, from all land areas
that have been made more impervious than predevelopment conditions
through land clearing, grading, construction and/or development activities.
The temporary rise in the level of any water body, watercourse
or wetland which results in the inundation of areas not ordinarily
covered by water.
Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions
thereof.
Those surfaces, improvements and structures that cannot effectively
infiltrate rainfall, snow melt and water (e.g., building rooftops,
pavement, sidewalks, driveways, gravel areas, etc.).
A surface which has been compacted or covered with a layer
of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water.
It includes semi-impervious areas such as compacted clay, as well
as most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking
lots and other similar structures.
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 pollution control strategies.
The process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.
A permanent structure designed to recharge stormwater runoff
to groundwater.
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."
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 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.
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed
restriction and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater
management practices.
Systems which predominately consist of or use those communities
of plants, animals, bacteria and other flora and fauna which occur
indigenously on the land, in the soil or in the water.
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.
The person in whom is vested the fee ownership, dominion
or title of property, i.e., the proprietor. This term may also include
a tenant, if chargeable under his lease for the maintenance of the
property, and any agent of the owner or tenant, including a developer.
Any and all persons, natural or artificial, and includes
any individual, firm, corporation, government agency, business trust,
partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common
interest or any other legal entity.
Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with
the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the
next.
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.
Land development activity.
Any water bodies, watercourses or wetlands into which surface
waters flow either naturally, in man-made ditches or in closed conduit
systems.
The replenishment of underground water reserves.
A permanent structure which provides for the storage of runoff
by means of a permanent pool of water without release except by means
of evaporation, infiltration or attenuated release when runoff volume
exceeds the permanent storage capacity.
The fine particulate material, whether mineral or organic,
that is in suspension or has settled in a water body.
Measures that prevent eroded sediment from leaving the site.
Any structure or area which is designed to hold runoff water
until suspended particles have settled.
Cold-water fisheries, shellfish beds, swimming beaches, groundwater
recharge areas, water supply reservoirs, and habitats for threatened,
endangered or special concern species.
Any tract, lot or parcel of land, or combination of tracts,
lots or parcels of land, which are in one ownership or are contiguous
and in diverse ownership where development is to be performed as part
of a unit, subdivision or project.
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.
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES) issued to municipalities to regulate discharges from
municipal separate storm sewers for compliance with EPA-established
water quality standards and/or to specify stormwater control standards.
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
An order issued which requires that all construction activity
on a site be stopped.
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
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.
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.
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed,
stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater
runoff.
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. Plan reviews and site inspections may be delegated to a
consulting engineer and/or a consultant paid for through the applicant's
escrow account; however, a municipal employee or board member must
make the final approval.
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 monopoint source pollution
inputs to stormwater runoff and water bodies.
A plan for controlling stormwater runoff and pollutants from
a site during and after construction activities.
Flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.
That which is built or constructed, an edifice or building
or any piece of work artificially built or composed of parts joined
together in some definite manner, but shall not include fences or
signs.
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.
All plant growth, including trees, shrubs, herbs, vines,
ferns, mosses and grasses.
Any natural or artificial pond, lake, reservoir or other
area which ordinarily or intermittently contains water and which has
a discernible shoreline.
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
A drainage area or basin contributing to the flow of water
in a receiving body of water.
Any and all water on or beneath the surface of the ground.
It includes the water in any watercourse, water body or drainage system.
It also includes diffused surface water and water standing, percolating
or flowing beneath the surface of the ground.
A channel that directs surface runoff to a watercourse or
to the public storm drain.
Any area meeting the requirements of the "Federal Manual
for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands" (latest edition),
and/or any area identified by the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYSDEC) as being a state-protected wetland.
Since improperly managed stormwater runoff can increase the
incidence of flooding and erosion which can adversely affect human
life, flora and fauna, these regulations have the following objectives:
A.
To protect, maintain and enhance both the immediate and long-term
health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of
Wallkill.
B.
To prevent damage from flooding.
C.
To protect, restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological
integrity of community waters.
D.
To encourage protection of natural drainage systems, such as wetlands,
and use them in ways that do not impair their beneficial functioning.
E.
To protect, restore and maintain the habitat of fish and wildlife.
F.
To assure the attainment of these objectives by requiring the approval
and implementation of SWPPPs for all activities which may adversely
impact surrounding areas.
A.
This chapter, and related stormwater management provisions in Chapter 209, Subdivision of Land, and Chapter 249, Zoning (see Article XI, § 249-40, Site and development plan approval, and Article XVIIA, Stormwater Control), shall be applicable to all land development activities as defined in this Chapter 249, Zoning, § 249-3.
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:
(1)
Review the plans;
(2)
Upon approval by the Town Board of the Town of Wallkill, 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 licensed professional that the plans conform to the requirements of this chapter and related stormwater management provisions in Chapter 209, Subdivision of Land, and Chapter 249, Zoning (see Article XI, § 249-40, Site and development plan approval, and Article XVIIA, Stormwater Control).
C.
All land development activities subject to review and approval by the Planning Board of the Town of Wallkill under subdivision, site plan, and/or special permit regulations shall be reviewed subject to the standards contained in this chapter and related stormwater management provisions in Chapter 209, Subdivision of Land, and Chapter 249, Zoning (see Article XI, § 249-40, Site and development plan approval, and Article XVIIA, Stormwater Control).
D.
All land development activities not subject to review as stated in Subsection C 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 and related stormwater management provisions in Chapter 209, Subdivision of Land, and Chapter 249, Zoning (see Article XI, § 249-40, Site and development plan approval, and Article XVIIA, Stormwater Control).
E.
Unless exempted pursuant to § 203-7, soil erosion and sediment control flow and/or an SWPPP must be submitted and approved before:
(1)
A plat is recorded or land is subdivided;
(2)
An existing drainage system is altered, rerouted, deepened, widened,
enlarged, decreased or obstructed; or
(3)
The issuance of a building permit;
(4)
Site plan or special use permit granted by Planning Board;
(5)
Approval of a plan which proposes construction of a Town or private
road.
The following activities shall be exempt from review under this chapter and related stormwater management provisions in Chapter 209, Subdivision of Land, and Chapter 249, Zoning (see Article XI, § 249-40, Site and development plan approval, and Article XVIIA, Stormwater Control):
A.
Developments which do not disturb more than then one acre (43,560
square feet). For projects which disturb between 10,000 square feet
and 43,560 square feet, an erosion and sediment control plan shall
be implemented and maintained as directed by the Stormwater Management
Officer, and a grading and filling permit must be obtained from the
Town Building Department.
[Amended 8-26-2021 by L.L. No. 6-2021]
B.
Agricultural land management activities as defined in Chapter 249, Zoning, § 249-3. For projects involving agricultural structures disturbing between 10,000 square feet and 43,560 square feet, a soil erosion and sediment control plan shall be implemented and maintained as directed by the Stormwater Management Officer.
C.
Any maintenance, alteration, use or improvement to an existing structure
not changing or affecting quality, rate or location of surface water
discharge.
D.
Silvicultural activity.
E.
Routine maintenance activities that disturb less than one acre and
are performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic capacity
or original purpose of a facility.
F.
Repairs to any stormwater management practice or facility deemed
necessary by the Stormwater Management Officer or Town's consultant.
G.
Land development activities for which a building permit has been
approved on or before the effective date of this chapter.
H.
Cemetery graves.
I.
Installation of fences, signs, telephone, and electric poles and
other kinds of posts or poles.
J.
Emergency activity immediately necessary to protect life, property
or natural resources.
K.
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.
L.
Landscaping and horticultural activities in connection with an existing
structure.
