All land development activities shall be subject to the following performance
and design criteria:
A. Official guides. For the purpose of this chapter, the
following documents shall serve as the official guides and specifications
for stormwater management; stormwater management practices that are designed
and constructed in accordance with these technical documents shall be presumed
to meet the standards imposed by this chapter:
(1) The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual
(New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, most current version
or its successor, hereafter referred to as the Design Manual). See Schedule
A of this chapter for stormwater management practices acceptable for water
quality.
(2) New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and
Sediment Control (Empire State Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation
Society, 2004, most current version or its successor, hereafter referred to
as the Erosion Control Manual). A copy of the manual is on file in the office
of the Stormwater Management Officer.
B. Technical standards. All development proposals disturbing less than one acre of land are subject to the same requirements specified in the manuals in Subsections
A(1) and
(2) above for land development activities disturbing between one and five acres of land. Such requirements shall include but not be limited to the following:
(1) Grading, erosion control practices, sediment control
practices, and waterway crossings shall meet the design criteria set forth
in the most recent version of the Erosion Control Manual.
(2) Clearing, except that necessary to establish sediment
control devices, shall not begin until all erosion and sediment control devices
have been installed and have been stabilized.
(3) Erosion control requirements shall include stabilization
measures applied as soon as practicable in portions of the site where construction
activities have temporarily or permanently ceased but in no case more than
14 days after the construction activity in that portion of the site has temporarily
or permanently ceased. This requirement does not apply in the following instances:
(a) Where the initiation of stabilization measures by the
14th day after construction activity temporarily or permanently ceased is
precluded by snow cover or frozen ground conditions, stabilization measures
shall be initiated as soon as practicable.
(b) Where construction activity on a portion of the site
is temporarily ceased and earth-disturbing activities will be resumed within
21 days, temporary stabilization measures need not be initiated on that portion
of the site.
(4) If seeding or other vegetative erosion control method
does not germinate within two weeks, the Stormwater Management Officer may
require the site to be reseeded or a nonvegetative option employed.
(5) Special techniques that meet the design criteria outlined
in the Erosion Control Manual for steep slopes and/or drainageways shall be
used. Soil stockpiles must be stabilized. At the close of the construction
season, the entire site must be stabilized using a heavy mulch layer or another
method that does not require seed germination to control erosion (if seed
germination will not occur due to climate limitations).
(6) Techniques shall be employed to prevent the blowing of
dust or sediment from the site.
(7) Techniques that divert upland runoff past disturbed slopes
shall be employed. Sediment control requirements shall include settling basins,
sediment traps or tanks, and perimeter controls.
(8) Settling basins that are designed for adaptation to long-term
stormwater management require approval by the Stormwater Management Officer.
(9) If a wet watercourse will be crossed regularly during
construction, a temporary stream crossing practice approved by the Stormwater
Management Officer will be installed. Stabilization of the watercourse channel
and banks before, during and after any in-channel work will be completed.
(10) Stabilization adequate to prevent erosion located at
the outlets of all pipes, paved channels and on-site stormwater conveyance
channels shall be designed according to the criteria outlined in the Erosion
Control Manual.
(11) Construction site access requirements shall include a
temporary access road provided at all access points to ensure that sediment
is not tracked onto public streets by construction vehicles or washed into
storm drains or watercourses.
C. Water quality standards. Any land development activity
shall not cause an increase in turbidity that will result in substantial visible
contrast to natural conditions in surface waters of the State of New York.