The purpose of this article is to provide for
the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Village
of Northport through the regulation of nonstormwater discharges to
the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4) to the maximum extent
practicable as required by federal and state law. One of the methods
chosen by the Board is to control the introduction of pollutants into
the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4) in order to comply
with requirements of the SPDES General Permit for Municipal Separate
Storm Sewer Systems. The declared objectives of this article are as
follows:
A. To meet the requirements of the SPDES General Permit
for Stormwater Discharges from separate storm sewer system (MS4s),
Permit No. GP-02-02, as amended or revised;
B. To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the
Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4), since such systems are
not designed to accept, process or discharge nonstormwater wastes;
C. To prohibit illicit connections, activities and discharges
to the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4);
D. To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection,
surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this article and all applicable laws;
E. To promote public awareness of the hazards involved
in the improper discharge of trash, yard waste, lawn chemicals, pet
waste, wastewater, grease, oil, petroleum products, cleaning products,
paint products, hazardous waste, sediment and other pollutants into
the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4).
This article shall apply to all water entering
the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4) generated on developed
and undeveloped lands in any zoning district, unless explicitly exempted
by an authorized enforcement agency.
For the purpose of this article, certain terms
and words are hereby defined. Words used in the present tense include
the future, words in the singular include the plural, and words in
the plural include the singular; the word "shall" is mandatory. For
the purpose of this article, the following terms and phrases shall
have the meanings set forth below:
AUTHORIZED ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation and any department of the
Village of Northport or employees thereof designated to enforce this
article.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general
good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational
practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices
to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly
to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems.
Best management practices shall also include treatment practices,
operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage
or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials
storage.
CLEAN WATER ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.) and any subsequent amendment thereto.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Activities requiring authorization under the New York State
SPDES Permit No. GP-02-01, as amended or revised, for stormwater discharges
from construction work or activity, including construction work or
projects resulting in land disturbance of one or more acres, and are
not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating and demolition;
all areas less than one acre, in all zoning districts, requiring subdivision,
site plan, steep slope, building permit and other municipal approval.
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination
thereof, which, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical,
chemical or infectious characteristics, may cause, or significantly
contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human
health, safety, property or the environment when improperly treated,
stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
ILLICIT CONNECTION
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
which allows an illegal discharge to enter the Village's separate
storm sewer system (MS4), including but not limited to:
A.
Any conveyance which allows any nonstormwater
discharge, including treated or untreated sewage, process wastewater,
and wash water, to enter the Village's separate storm sewer system
(MS4), and any connections to the storm drain system from indoor drains
and sinks, regardless of whether said drain or connection had been
previously allowed, permitted, or approved by an authorized enforcement
agency; or
B.
Any drain or conveyance connected from commercially
or industrially utilized property to the Village's separate storm
sewer system (MS4) which has not been documented in plans, maps, or
equivalent records and has not been approved by an authorized enforcement
agency.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4), except as exempted in §
255-5A of this chapter or by an authorized enforcement agency.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM
A facility serving one or more parcels of land or residential
households, or a private, commercial or institutional facility, that
treats sewage or other liquid wastes for discharge into the groundwaters
of New York State, except where a permit for such a facility is required
under the applicable provisions of Article 17 of the Environmental
Conservation Law.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities requiring a New York State SPDES Permit No. GP-0-06-002,
as amended or revised, for discharges from industrial uses or activities,
including any activity pertaining to industry, manufacturing, commerce,
trade, business or institution, and is distinguished from construction.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4)
A conveyance or system of conveyances, including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets and highways, catch basins, curbs,
sluice-ways, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, storm drains and
related appurtenances, which meet all of the following criteria:
A.
Is owned or operated by the Village of Northport;
B.
Is designed or used for collecting or conveying
stormwater;
C.
Is not a combined sewer; and
D.
Is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW), as defined at 40 CFR 122.2 and Chapter
239 of the Northport Village Code.
NONSTORMWATER DISCHARGE
Any discharge to the Village's separate storm sewer system
(MS4) that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
PERSON
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either
the owner, the owner's agent or person in charge or in possession
of property.
POLLUTANT
Dredged spoil, filter backwash, solid waste, incinerator
residue, treated or untreated sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat,
wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, and industrial, municipal
or agricultural waste and ballast discharged into water which may
cause or might reasonably be expected to cause pollution of the waters
in contravention of the standards.
PREMISES
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land in
any zoning district, whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent
sidewalks, walkways, paths and parking strips.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
A.
Discharge compliance with water quality standards.
The condition that applies where the Village of Northport has been
notified that the discharge of stormwater authorized under its MS4
permit may have caused or has the reasonable potential to cause or
contribute to the violation of an applicable water quality standard.
Under this condition, the Village of Northport shall take all necessary
actions to ensure future discharges do not cause or contribute to
a violation of such standards.
B.
303(d) listed waters. The condition in the Village
of Northport's MS4 permit that applies in the event of a discharge
into a 303(d) listed water. Under this condition, the stormwater management
program must ensure to the fullest extent possible no increase of
the listed pollutant of concern to the 303(d) listed water.
C.
Total maximum daily load (TMDL) strategy. The
condition in the Village of Northport's MS4 permit where a TMDL, including
requirements for control of stormwater discharges, has been approved
by the EPA for a water body or watershed into which the MS4 discharges.
D.
The condition in the Village of Northport's
separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit that applies if a TMDL is
approved in the future by the EPA for any water body or watershed
into which a separate storm sewer system discharges. Under this condition,
the Village of Northport shall review the applicable TMDL to see if
it includes requirements for control of stormwater discharges. If
the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4) is not meeting the
TMDL stormwater allocations, the Village of Northport shall, within
six months of the TMDL's approval, modify its stormwater management
program to ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern specified
in the TMDL is achieved.
STORMWATER
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER (SMO)
The person or persons designated to administer, implement
and enforce the provisions of this article and inspect stormwater
management practices.
303(d) LIST
A list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial
uses of the water (drinking, recreation, aquatic habitat and industrial
use) are impaired by pollutants. Such list is prepared periodically
by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as
required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, or successor law.
303(d) listed waters include but are not limited to estuaries, lakes
and streams that fall short of state surface water quality standards
and are not expected to improve within the next two years.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL)
The maximum amount of a pollutant to be allowed to be released
into a water body so as not to impair uses of the water, allocated
among the sources of that pollutant.
WASTEWATER
Water that is not stormwater, is contaminated with pollutants
and is or will be discarded.
[Amended 10-5-2010 by L.L. No. 8-2010]
The Village Administrator, or such other person
as shall be designated by the Mayor as the Stormwater Management Officer
(SMO) for the purpose of this article, shall administer, implement,
and enforce the provisions of this article. Such powers granted or
duties imposed upon the authorized enforcement official may also be
assigned by the Mayor to other Village employees.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction
activity SPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions
of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required
in a form acceptable to the SMO prior to allowing of discharges to
the Village's separate storm sewer system (MS4).
When the SMO finds that a person has violated
any provision of this article, he may order compliance by written
notice of violation to the property owner, person in charge or in
possession of, or operator of the property. Such notice of violation
may require without limitation:
A. The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
B. That the discharge practice or operation violative
of this article cease and desist;
C. The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting
activities;
D. The implementation of source control or treatment
BMPs; and
E. The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution,
contamination, or hazards and the restoration of any affected property.
If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of affected property
is required, the notice shall set forth a deadline within which such
remediation or restoration must be completed. Said notice shall further
advise the violator and owner or person in charge or possession that
should he fail to remediate or restore within the established deadline,
the work will be done by the Village and the direct and indirect expenses
thereof shall be charged against the property. Restoration of land
to its undisturbed condition shall include adjoining properties, utilities
and both subsurface and surface waterways. In the event the person
fails, refuses and/or neglects to pay the monies due and owing to
the Village, the amount so charged shall forthwith become a lien against
such lands and shall be added to and become part of the taxes next
to be assessed and levied upon such lands, the same to bear interest
at the same rate as taxes, and shall be collected and enforced by
the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
In addition to the enforcement processes and
penalties provided, any condition caused or permitted to exist in
violation of any of the provisions of this article is a threat to
public health, safety, and welfare, and is declared and deemed a nuisance,
and may be summarily abated or restored at the violator's expense,
and/or a civil action to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation
of such nuisance may be taken.
In addition to the legislative intent as set forth in Article
I of this chapter, the Village Board intends to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Village of Northport, and makes the following findings of fact:
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 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 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 Village of Northport and the
State of New York;
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. 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.
In order to address the above-enumerated findings
of fact, the Village Board intends to achieve 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 (MS4s), Permit No. GP-02-02, 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, Permit No. GP-02-01, as
amended or revised;
C. Minimize increases in 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
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 maintained and eliminate threats to public safety.
The following activities may be exempt from
review under this article:
A. Any subdivision plat or site plan which has received
final approval by the Planning Board, and any development for which
an unexpired building permit has been issued by the Building Inspector
on or prior to January 1, 2008.
B. Those activities of an individual engaged in gardening
of flowers and/or vegetables for personal use on residentially utilized
lots developed by one- or two-family housing.
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. Amendments to any stormwater management practice,
or repairs or alterations to a system deemed necessary by the Stormwater
Management Officer.
E. Emergency activities undertaken to protect life, property
or natural resources from imminent harm or danger as determined by
the SMO or his designee.
F. Installation of fencing, signs, telephone and utility
poles or posts.
G. Landscaping and horticultural activities in connection
with an existing structure except such instances which require permits
pursuant to the Village Code.
H. Agricultural activity as defined in this article.
For the purpose of this article, certain terms
and words are hereby defined. Words used in the present tense include
the future, words in the singular include the plural, and words in
the plural include the singular; the word "shall" is mandatory. For
the purpose of this article, the following terms and phrases shall
have the meanings set forth below:
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
The use of land for the production of vegetative crops, such
as but not limited to grains, field crops, market-garden crops, fruits,
sod and fiber plants, and in which the maintenance or keeping of poultry
or farm animals is accessory and incidental to the use of the premises
for agricultural purposes. Farming shall not include the commercial
raising of dogs, cats, fur-bearing animals or dairy cattle. For the
purposes of this article, the operation of greenhouses shall not be
considered as farming.
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.
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."
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.
JURISDICTIONAL 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."
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 of land, 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.
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.
NYSDEC
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,
the agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of state
environmental laws and regulations.
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.
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.
STABILIZATION
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
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 OFFICER
The person or persons designated to administer, implement
and enforce the provisions of this article, who shall accept and review
stormwater pollution prevention plans, forward the plans to the applicable
department 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.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed,
stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater
runoff.
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.
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.
The Superintendent of the Department of Public
Works or such other person as shall be designated by the Mayor shall
be designated as the Stormwater Management Officer for the purpose
of this article. The Stormwater Management Officer or duly authorized
deputies, agents, or representatives shall inspect stormwater management
practices, review all stormwater pollution prevention plans for compliance
with this article and all applicable laws and rules. The SMO may review
the plans; forward the plans to another department for review; engage
the services of a professional engineer to review the plans, specifications
and related documents; or accept the certification of a professional
engineer or a certified professional in erosion and sediment control
(CPESC) that the plans conform to the requirements of this article.
All land development activities shall meet the
following performance and design criteria:
A. Technical standards. For the purpose of this article,
the following documents shall serve as the official guides and specifications
for stormwater management:
(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").
(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").
(3) Regulations that may be adopted or amended from time
to time by the Northport Village Planning Board or by the Building
Inspector that relate to erosion and sediment control.
(4) The Village of Northport, Northport Village Planning
Board Residential and Business Subdivision Regulations, Site Improvement
Specifications, and Construction on Steep Slopes, as amended.
B. 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 Northport
or the State of New York.
All applicants are required to submit as-built
plans for any stormwater management practices (SMPs) located on site
after final construction is completed. The plan must show the final
design specifications for all stormwater management systems and any
other detail required by the Village, and must be certified by a professional
engineer or certified professional in erosion and sediment control
(CPESC).
No subdivision or site plan shall be approved
by the Planning Board unless a stormwater pollution prevention plan
(SWPPP) consistent with the requirements of this article has been
submitted by the applicant and approved by the Planning Board. The
approved subdivision plat or site plan shall be consistent with the
provisions of this article.
Every building permit application for the development
of a one- or two-family residence shall include a stormwater pollution
prevention plan (SWPPP) that meets the requirements of this article.
No building permit shall be issued until the required plan is submitted
and approved by the Department of Engineering Services, and no certificate
of occupancy or certificate of permitted use shall be issued or released
until a SWPPP is in place.
Any person undertaking land development activities
regulated by this article shall pay reasonable costs at prevailing
rates for review of SWPPPs, inspections, or SMP maintenance performed
by the Village of Northport or performed by a third party for the
Village of Northport, as the case may be. Such fees and charges shall
be established by the Board of Trustees.
All property owners or persons in charge or
in possession of property subject to the provisions of this article
shall maintain full, true and complete records demonstrating compliance
with this article.
Nothing contained herein shall be construed
to supersede or nullify any other applicable provisions of the Village
Code. The remedies of these provisions shall be cumulative of any
other remedies contained in the Village Code or any other law. To
the extent there is any conflict between the provisions of this chapter
and any other law, including this Code, which cannot be harmonized,
then the stricter provisions of law shall apply.