[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Angola 9-1-1976
by L.L. No. 4-1976 (Ch. 38 of the 1974 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Freshwater Wetlands
Protection Law of the Village of Angola."
The Village of Angola finds that freshwater wetlands are invaluable
resources for flood protection, wildlife habitats, open space, water resources,
and recreation and other benefits associated therewith which, if preserved
and maintained in an undisturbed, natural condition, constitute important
assets to existing and future residents of the Village. It is the intent of
Village officials to protect the citizens of the Village of Angola by preserving,
protecting and conserving freshwater wetlands and the benefits derived therefrom
and to prevent the despoliation and destruction of freshwater wetlands, consistent
with the general welfare and beneficial economic, social and agricultural
development of the Village.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
- BOUNDARIES OF FRESHWATER WETLANDS
- The outer limit of vegetation as specified in Subdivision 1(a) and (b) of § 24-0107 of the Environmental Conservation Law and of the waters specified in Subdivision 1(c) of said section.
- ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW
- The Environmental Conservation Law of the State of New York, being Chapter 614 of the Laws of the State of New York, as amended.
- FRESHWATER WETLANDS
- Lands and waters within the boundaries of the Village of Angola as shown on freshwater wetland maps.
- FRESHWATER WETLANDS MAP
- A map on which are indicated the boundaries of any freshwater wetland and which has been duly filed with the Village Clerk and the Planning Board by the State Department of Environmental Conservation.
- PERSON
- Any person, State, applicant, agency, firm, partnership, corporation, association, trust, estate, public authority or public benefit corporation, and any unit of government or an agency or subdivision thereof.
- POLLUTION
- Presence in the environment of human-induced conditions or contaminants in quantities which are or may be injurious to humans, plants, animals or property.
- REGULATED ACTIVITIES
- Activities delineated in § 113-5 of this chapter.
The Planning Board shall be the responsible Village agency for the implementation,
administration and enforcement of this chapter and shall also exercise those
powers, functions, duties and responsibilities developed upon the Town by
Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law, excepting therefrom those
functions, powers, duties and responsibilities limited to the Village Board
or other Village agency or official by law.
Within an officially designated wetland, any person proposing to conduct
or cause to be conducted any of the activities specified below (Subsections
A through E) shall be required to file an application for a permit with the
Village Clerk. These activities are subject to regulation, whether or not
they occur upon the wetland itself, if they impinge upon or otherwise affect
the wetland; provided, however, that no regulation shall apply to any area
situated more than 100 feet from the boundary of such wetland or any such
greater or lesser distance herefrom as determined by the Planning Board. Activities
requiring such permit are as follows:
A.
Erecting any structures or roads, the driving of pilings,
or the placing of any other obstructions, whether or not changing the ebb
and flow of the water.
B.
Any form of pollution, including but not limited to installing
a septic tank, running a sewer outfall, or discharging sewage treatment effluent
or other liquid wastes into or so as to drain into a freshwater wetland.
C.
Any form of draining, dredging, excavation, or removal
of soil, mud, sand, shells, gravel or other aggregate.
D.
Any form of dumping, filling or depositing of any soil,
sand, stones, gravel, mud, rubbish or fill of any kind, either directly or
indirectly.
E.
Any other activity which impairs any of the several functions
served by freshwater wetlands or the benefits derived therefrom, which are
set forth in § 24-0105 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
A.
No permit under this chapter shall be required for the
following activities:
(1)
The deposition or removal of the natural products of freshwater
wetlands and adjacent areas by recreational or commercial fishing, agriculture,
hunting or trapping, where otherwise legally permitted and regulated.
(2)
The activities of farmers and other landowners in grazing and
watering livestock, making reasonable use of water resources, harvesting natural
products of wetlands or adjacent areas, or engaging in the use of wetlands
for growing agricultural products.
(3)
Public health activities and those conducted pursuant to lawful
orders and regulations of a State or local public health department or agency.
B.
C.
Authorization pursuant to any other law, rule or regulation
to conduct activities which are not subject to regulation under this chapter
shall not exempt such activities from the requirements hereof.
A.
No person shall conduct a regulated activity upon a freshwater
wetland without first obtaining a valid permit pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter.
B.
Applications for permits will be filed with the Village
Clerk, who shall cause a copy of any such application to be filed with the
Planning Board and the Conservation Advisory Council. Such application shall
be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of $50.[1]
C.
No sooner than 30 days and not later than 60 days following
the receipt by the Village Clerk of such application, and after a notice of
such application has been published by the applicant in two newspapers having
a general circulation in the area, the Planning Board shall hold a public
hearing on such application, unless no notice of objection has been filed
with the Village Clerk or unless the Planning Board finds the activity to
be of such a minor nature as not substantially effect or endanger the balance
of systems within the wetlands. The Planning Board, in such case, may dispense
with such hearing. When the Planning Board finds that a hearing is not necessary,
it shall publish its decision, setting forth its reasons therefor, which shall
be a matter of public record.
D.
All owners of record of the adjacent land and known claimants
to water rights shall be notified by certified mail of any hearing to be held
pursuant hereto not less than 15 days prior to the date set for such hearing.
E.
The Planning Board shall cause notice of such hearing
to be published in two newspapers having a general circulation in the Village
not less than five days nor more than 10 days prior to the date set for any
such hearing.
G.
Involved agencies shall have the right to inspect the
location of the proposed activity and collect any further information and/or
data they may consider pertinent or necessary to properly review the application.
H.
The Conservation Advisory Council shall review each application
and shall submit a report containing the Council's evaluation of the proposed
project to the Planning Board within 21 days from the date upon which the
application is filed with the Council by the Village Clerk.
A.
In granting a permit, the Planning Board may limit it
or impose conditions or limitations designed to carry out the public policy
set forth in Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
B.
The Planning Board may require a bond, in an amount and with
surety and conditions satisfactory to the Planning Board, securing to the
Village compliance with the conditions and limitations set forth in the permit.
C.
The Planning Board may suspend or revoke a permit if it finds
that the permittee has not complied with a condition or limitation set forth
in the permit or has exceeded the scope of the permitted activity.
D.
Duly filed in writing that the State or any agency or
subdivision thereof is in the process of acquiring any freshwater wetlands
by purchase, gift, appropriation or condemnation shall be a sufficient basis
for the denial of an application for a permit affecting such freshwater wetlands.
The enforcement of this chapter shall be pursuant to the provisions
of Title 23 of Article 71 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
