This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sediment Control Law of the Town of Ossining."
A. 
Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted to have common English usage, to give effect to the purpose set forth in § 168-3 and to provide reasonable application of this chapter.
B. 
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
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.
DEVELOPER
A person who undertakes land development activities.
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."
FACILITY OWNER
A person who owns stormwater control facilities as defined herein.
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 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.
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 which 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.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, organization or other legal entity of any kind, including public agencies and municipal corporations.
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.
PROJECT
Land development activity.
RECHARGE
The replenishment of underground water reserves.
SEDIMENT CONTROL
Measures that prevent eroded sediment from leaving the site.
SILVICULTURAL
Of or relating to the management and care of forests.
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES GP-02-01
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.
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER DISCHARGES FROM MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORMWATER SEWER SYSTEMS GP-02-02
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.
STABILIZATION
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
STOP-WORK ORDER
An order issued by the duly authorized municipal authority which requires that all land development activity and other 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, officer or duly authorized representative 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 upon implementation.
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.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP)
A plan for controlling stormwater runoff and pollutants from a site during and after construction activities.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
Flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.
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 that also meet the criteria of this definition, are not waters of the state. This exclusion applies only to man-made bodies of water that 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.
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 as defined in § 105-2B of this Code.
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, grading, excavating, soil disturbance or placement of fill during construction tends to increase soil erosion and add to the loss of native vegetation necessary for terrestrial and aquatic habitat.
D. 
Improper design, maintenance and construction of stormwater management practices can increase the velocity of stormwater runoff, thereby increasing streambank 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 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 § 168-3 hereof. This chapter seeks to meet this purpose by achieving the following objectives:
A. 
Meet the requirements of minimum measures 4 and 5 of the SPDES general permit for stormwater discharges from municipal separate stormwater sewer systems (MS4 SPDES No. NYR20A370), Permit No. GP-02-02, or as amended or revised.
B. 
Require land development activities to conform to the substantive requirements of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) general permit for construction activities GP-02-01, or as amended or revised.
C. 
Minimize increases in the rate of stormwater runoff from land development activities in order to reduce flooding, siltation, increases in stream temperature, and streambank 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 that flows from any specific site during and following development to the maximum extent practicable.
F. 
Reduce stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion and nonpoint source pollution, wherever possible, through stormwater management practices, and 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 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 chapter.
A. 
This chapter shall be applicable to all land development activities as defined in § 168-2 of 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:
(1) 
Review the plans;
(2) 
Upon approval by the Town Board, 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.
C. 
All land development activities subject to review and approval by the Planning Board shall be reviewed subject to the standards contained in this chapter.
D. 
All land development activities not subject to review as stated in § 168-6C 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 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.
G. 
Cemetery graves.
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 noncommercial structure.