This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Unity Township
Stormwater Management and Land Disturbance Activity Ordinance."
The Unity Township Board of Supervisors finds that:
A.
Stormwater
runoff from lands modified by human activities threatens public health
and safety by causing decreased infiltration of rainwater and increased
runoff flows and velocities, which overtax the carrying capacity of
existing streams and storm sewers, causes property damage and risk
to public safety, and greatly increases the cost to the public to
manage stormwater.
B.
Inadequate
planning and management of accelerated stormwater runoff resulting
from land development and redevelopment throughout a watershed can
also harm surface water resources by changing the natural hydrologic
patterns, accelerating stream flows (which increase scour and erosion
of streambeds and stream-banks, thereby elevating sedimentation),
destroying aquatic habitat and elevating aquatic pollutant concentrations
and loadings such as sediments, nutrients, heavy metals and pathogens.
Groundwater resources are also impacted through loss of recharge.
C.
The
Township is located in the Sewickley Creek and Loyalhanna Creek Watersheds
and, as such, will endeavor to cooperate with other municipalities
located in these watersheds to address issues of stormwater management,
water quality, pollution and flooding.
D.
Nonstormwater discharges to municipal separate storm sewer systems
can contribute to pollution of waters of the commonwealth in the Township.
E.
Stormwater can be an important water resource by providing groundwater
recharge for water supplies and base flow of streams, which also protects
and maintains surface water quality.
F.
Public education on the control of pollution of stormwater is an
essential component in successfully managing stormwater.
G.
A comprehensive program of stormwater management, including reasonable
regulation of land development and redevelopment causing loss of natural
infiltration, is fundamental to the public health, safety, welfare,
and protection of the people of the Township and all the people of
the commonwealth, their resources, and the environment.
H.
The use of open space conservation, green infrastructure, low-impact
development (LID) and riparian buffers are intended to address the
root cause of water quality impairment by using systems and practices
which use or mimic natural processes to: 1) infiltrate and recharge;
2) evapotranspire; and/or 3) harvest and use precipitation near where
it falls to earth. Green infrastructure practices, LID, and riparian
buffers contribute to the restoration or maintenance of pre-development
hydrology.
I.
Stormwater structures are considered vital infrastructure and can
pose a significant hazard. Outlets and waterways which carry stormwater
shall be maintained free of obstructions to allow for nonrestricted
flow of stormwater to avoid impoundment of water.
J.
Occupancy and modification of floodplains must be avoided wherever
there is a practicable alternative to reduce long- and short-term
adverse impacts in order to reduce the risk of flood loss, minimize
the impact of floods on human safety, health and welfare, and to restore
and preserve the natural and beneficial values served by floodplains.
K.
Federal and state regulations require certain municipalities to implement
a program of stormwater controls. These municipalities are required
to obtain a permit for stormwater discharges from their municipal
separate storm sewer systems (MS4) under the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES). The Township is subject to MS4 requirements
by and through the stormwater and storm sewer facilities owned and
operated by the Township.
L.
The Westmoreland Conservation District (WCD) is a recognized regulatory
agency with authority in the county and the Township to regulate erosion
and sediment controls and stormwater management related to land development
activities. Because WCD's authority crosses municipal boundaries,
they are enabled to oversee environmental issues for the general benefit
of all county residents.
M.
The Westmoreland County Integrated Water Resources Plan (2018) addresses
all water resources and provides a decision-making tool for development
and redevelopment with respect to those resources, including stormwater
and its management. Refer to www.paiwrp.com and www.westmorelandstormwater.org.
N.
Proper stormwater management controls are essential to protect a)
the waters of this commonwealth from improper discharges, b) against
damage to real and personal property and personal injury from surface
water runoff, and c) the public health, safety and welfare of residents
of Unity Township. The failure to control or properly design and implement
stormwater runoff controls results in an increased risk of harm, is
necessarily adverse to the public health, safety and welfare and constitutes
a public nuisance.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote health, safety, and
welfare within the Township and its watersheds by minimizing the harms
and maximizing the benefits described in this section of this chapter,
through provisions designed to:
A.
Manage stormwater runoff impacts at their source by regulating activities
that cause the problems, reduce runoff volumes and mimic natural hydrology.
B.
Maintain existing flows and quality of streams and watercourses.
C.
Prevent scour and erosion of stream banks and streambeds.
D.
Utilize and preserve the existing natural drainage systems as much
as possible.
E.
Restore and preserve the natural and beneficial values served by
streamside and water body floodplains.
F.
Focus on infiltration of stormwater to maintain groundwater recharge,
to prevent degradation of surface water and groundwater quality and
to otherwise protect water resources.
G.
Promote stormwater runoff prevention and emphasize infiltration and
evapotranspiration through the protection and conservation of natural
resource systems and the use of nonstructural BMPs and other creative
methods of improving water quality and managing stormwater runoff.
H.
Promote the use of green infrastructure in development and redevelopment
where it can also improve stormwater management within the broader
watershed in which the project is located.
I.
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including
regulations at 25 Pa. Code § 93.4(a), to protect and maintain
"existing uses" and maintain the level of water quality to support
those uses in all streams, and to protect and maintain water quality
in "special protection" streams.
J.
Provide review procedures and performance standards for stormwater
planning and management.
K.
Provide for proper operations and maintenance of all permanent stormwater
management BMPs that are implemented in the Township.
L.
Provide a mechanism to identify controls necessary to meet the NPDES
and MS4 permit requirements and to encourage infrastructure improvements
that lead to separation of storm sewer systems from sanitary sewer
systems.
M.
Assist in detecting and eliminating illicit stormwater discharges
originating within the jurisdiction of the Township and flowing into
the Township's separate storm sewer system.
A.
The Unity Township Board of Supervisors is empowered to regulate
land use activities that affect stormwater runoff by the authority
of the Storm Water Management Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864 (Act
167), 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq., as amended.
B.
The Unity Township Board of Supervisors is also empowered to regulate
land use activities that affect stormwater runoff by the authority
of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq., as amended.
A.
All
regulated activities as defined by this chapter are subject to regulation
by this chapter.
B.
This
chapter applies to any land development or regulated earth disturbance
activities within the Township and all stormwater runoff entering
into the Township's separate or combined storm sewer system servicing
the Township from lands within the boundaries of the Township.
C.
Earth disturbance activities and associated stormwater management
controls are also regulated under existing state law and implementing
regulations. This chapter shall operate in coordination with those
parallel requirements; the requirements of this chapter shall be no
less restrictive in meeting the purposes of this chapter than state
law.
Any other ordinance provision(s) or regulation of the Township
inconsistent with any of the provisions of this chapter is hereby
repealed to the extent of the inconsistency only. This chapter specifically
repeals and replaces Chapter 120 of the Code of Unity Township.
If any word, phrase, section, sentence, clause or part of this
chapter is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal or
invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality,
invalidity or illegality shall not affect or impair any of the remaining
words, phrases, sections, sentences, clauses or parts of this chapter.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Unity Township Board
of Supervisors that this chapter would have been adopted had such
unconstitutional, illegal or invalid word, phrase, section, sentence,
clause or part thereof not been included herein.
A.
Approvals
issued and actions taken under this chapter do not relieve the applicant
of the responsibility to secure required permits or approvals for
activities regulated by any other code, law, regulation or ordinance.
To the extent that this chapter imposes more rigorous or stringent
requirements for stormwater management, the specific requirements
contained in this chapter shall be followed.
B.
Conflicting
provisions in other municipal ordinances or regulations shall be construed
to retain and apply the requirements of this chapter relating to commonwealth
water quality requirements.
Any permit or authorization issued or approved based on false,
misleading or erroneous information provided by an applicant is voidable
and/or revocable by the Township without the necessity of any additional
proceedings. Any work undertaken, or use established, pursuant to
such permit or other authorization is unlawful. No action may be taken
by a board, agency or employee of the Township purporting to validate
such a violation.
All prohibited discharges shall be consistent with PAG-13 NPDES
General Permit for stormwater discharges from MS4 communities and
as listed here.
A.
Prohibited discharges.
(1)
No person in the Township shall introduce, permit or allow, or cause
to introduce, permit or allow, stormwater discharges into the Township
separate storm sewer system which are not composed entirely of stormwater,
except:
B.
Permissible discharges. In the event the Township finds that a certain
discharge does not significantly contribute to the pollution of surface
waters of the commonwealth, such discharge may, at the discretion
of the Township, be discharged safely to a vegetated area or infiltration
BMP or into a storm sewer system. Permissible discharges include,
but are not limited to:
(1)
Discharges from firefighting activities.
(2)
Potable water sources, including dechlorinated water line and fire
hydrant flushings.
(3)
Noncontaminated irrigation drainage from agricultural practices.
(4)
Routine external building wash-down (which does not use detergents
or other compounds).
(5)
Noncontaminated air-conditioning condensate.
(6)
Water from individual residential car, boat or other residential
vehicle washing that does not use detergents or other compounds.
(7)
Springs.
(8)
Noncontaminated water from basement or crawl space sump pumps.
(9)
Noncontaminated water from foundation or from footing drains.
(10)
Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands.
(11)
Lawn watering.
(12)
Pavement wash waters where spills or leaks of toxic or hazardous
materials have not occurred (unless all spill material has been removed)
and where detergents are not used.
(13)
Splash pad (recreational spray patio with no standing water)
discharges.
(14)
Noncontaminated groundwater.
(15)
Rising groundwaters.
(16)
Noncontaminated hydrostatic test water discharges with no detectable
concentrations of total residual chlorine (TRC).
C.
Prohibited connections. The following sources, activities or connections are prohibited, except as provided in Subsections A and B, above:
(1)
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which
allows any nonstormwater discharge, including, but not limited to,
sewage, process wastewater and wash water, to enter the separate storm
sewer system, and any connections to the storm drain system from indoor
drains and sinks.
(2)
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial, industrial or
other nonresidential land use to the separate storm sewer system which
has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and
approved by the Township.
(3)
Any drain carrying stormwater or groundwater into any public or private
sanitary sewer system or facility.
D.
Roof drains and sump pumps. Roof drains and sump pumps shall discharge
to infiltration or vegetative BMPs wherever feasible.
E.
Prohibited activities.
(1)
A landowner may not alter the natural flow of surface water on their
property by concentrating it, either by volume or intensity, in an
artificial channel or other means, and discharging it upon land of
his neighbor even though no more water is collected than would naturally
have flowed upon the neighbor's land in a diffused (shallow broad
path or sheet flow) condition.
(2)
A landowner may not alter any BMPs, facilities or structures that
were installed under the ordinance without written approval of the
Township.
(3)
In the event that the Township determines that any of the discharges identified in Subsection B herein significantly contributes to pollution of waters of the commonwealth, or is so notified by DEP, the Township will notify the landowner and/or the responsible person to cease the discharge and set a reasonable period of time, based on the circumstances of the discharge, to cease the discharge consistent with the degree of pollution caused by the discharge.
(4)
Nothing in this section shall affect, limit or alleviate any additional
responsibilities to remediate a discharge under state or federal law.
A.
Neither the granting of any approval under the stormwater management
provisions of this chapter, nor the compliance with the provisions
of this chapter, or with any condition imposed by any public body
of the Township or by a Township official, employee or consultant
hereunder, shall relieve any person from any responsibility for damage
to persons or property resulting therefrom, or as otherwise imposed
by law, nor impose any liability upon the Township for damages to
persons or property.
B.
The granting of a permit which includes any stormwater management
does not constitute a representation, guarantee or warranty of any
kind by the Township or WCD, or by an official or employee thereof,
of the practicability or safety of any structure, use or other plan
proposed and shall create no liability upon, or cause of action against,
the Township or WCD, or any official or employee thereof, for any
damage that may result pursuant thereto.
