[Ord. No. 651,
§ 1, 7-10-1972]
This article shall be known and may be cited as "The Plymouth
Township Erosion Control and Sediment Control Ordinance."
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 1, 7-10-1972]
The purpose of this article is to provide minimum standards
to safeguard persons, to protect property and to promote the public
welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction, quality
of materials, use, location and maintenance of grading, excavation
and fill.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 2, 7-10-1972]
Wherever used in this article the following words shall have
the meaning indicated:
BUILDING PERMIT
A permit issued by the building inspector pursuant to the
provisions of the Township building code for the construction, erection
or alteration of a structure or building.
CUT
An excavation, the difference between a point on the original
ground and a designated point of lower elevation on the final grade.
Also, the material removed in excavation.
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar
material is cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced,
relocated or bulldozed and shall include the conditions resulting
therefrom.
FILL
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is deposited, placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved
to a new location and shall include the conditions resulting therefrom.
GRADE
The elevation of the existing ground surface at the location
of any proposed excavation or fill.
RUNOFF
The surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given
watershed after a fall of rain or snow that does not enter the soil
but runs off the surface of the land.
RUNOFF FROM A FULLY DEVELOPED AREA UPSTREAM
The surface water runoff that can be reasonably anticipated
upon maximum development of that area of the watershed located upstream
from the subject tract, as permitted by prevailing zoning or the township
comprehensive plan.
SEDIMENTATION
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by moving wind, water or gravity. Once this matter is
deposited (or remains suspended in water), it is usually referred
to as "sediment."
SITE
A lot, tract or parcel of land, or a series of lots, tracts
or parcels of land, joined together where grading work is continuous
and performed at the same time.
SLOPE
The face of an embankment or cut section; any ground whose
surface makes an angle with the plane of the horizon. Slopes are usually
expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to verticals or in a percentage
based upon vertical difference in feet per one hundred (100) feet
of horizontal distance.
SOIL STABILIZATION
Chemical or structural treatment designed to increase or
maintain the stability of a mass of soil or otherwise to improve its
engineering properties.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 3, 7-10-1972]
New grading, excavations and fills, or changes, additions, repairs
or alterations made to existing excavations and fills, including the
construction of berms, shall conform to the provisions of this article,
except that this article shall not apply to:
(1) Work in an existing street or alley.
(2) Extraction and related activities under the provisions of a use and
occupancy permit for such use as landfill operations.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 9, 7-10-1972]
(a) The township council, in its consideration of all preliminary plans
of subdivision and development of land shall condition its approval
upon the execution of a formal agreement to provide erosion and sediment
control measures as required by this article.
(b) Final plans for minimizing erosion and sedimentation as approved
shall be incorporated into the agreement and bond requirements, as
required under the township subdivision regulations.
(c) At the time that a building permit is applied for, a review shall
be conducted by the township engineer to insure conformance with the
plan as approved. During the construction further consultative technical
assistance shall be furnished, as required, by the township engineer
and the county soil and water conservation district. During this development
phase, the township engineer shall inspect the development site and
enforce compliance with the approved plans.
(d) The approval of plans and specifications for the control of erosion
and sedimentation shall be concurrent with the approval of the final
plats of subdivision or development of land and become a part thereof.
(e) No subdivision or development of land plan shall be approved unless
there has been a plan approved that provides for minimizing erosion
and sedimentation consistent with this section, and an improvement
bond or other acceptable security is deposited with the township in
the form of an escrow guarantee which will ensure installation and
completion of the required improvements.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 11, 7-10-1972]
(a) Whenever sedimentation is caused by stripping vegetation and/or grading,
it shall be the responsibility of the person causing such sedimentation
to remove it from all lower properties, drainage systems and watercourses
and to repair any damage at his expense as quickly as possible at
the direction of the township engineer.
(b) Maintenance of all drainage facilities and watercourses within any
subdivision or land development shall be the responsibility of the
developer until they are accepted by the township or some other official
agency, after which they become the responsibility of the accepting
agency.
(c) It shall be the responsibility of any person doing any act on or
across a stream, watercourse or swale or upon the flood plain or right-of-way
thereof to maintain as nearly as possible in its present state the
stream, watercourse, swale, flood plain or right-of-way during the
pendency of the activity and to return it to its original or equal
condition after such activity is completed.
(d) Maintenance of drainage facilities or watercourses originating and
completely on private property shall be the responsibility of the
owner to their point of open discharge at the property line or at
a communal watercourse within the property.
(e) No person shall block, impede the flow of, alter, construct any structure
or deposit any material or thing, or commit any act which will affect
normal or flood flow in any communal stream or watercourse without
having obtained prior approval from the township and/or department
of forests and waters, whichever is applicable.
(f) Adequate right-of-way and/or easements shall be provided for all
drainage facilities and watercourses which are proposed for acceptance
by the township or other official agency.
(g) Each person who makes any surface changes shall be required to:
(1) Collect on-site surface runoff and dispose of it to the point of
discharge into the common natural watercourse of the drainage area.
(2) Handle existing off-site runoff through his development by designing
to provide adequately for storm runoff from a fully developed area
upstream.
(3) Pay such share of the total cost of labor and material needed to
widen and improve the common natural watercourse either upstream or
downstream from the development, based on a fully developed drainage
area as shall be made necessary to accommodate the additional surface
waters resulting from the development of such ground.
(4) Provide and install at his expense, in accordance with township requirements,
all drainage and erosion control improvements (temporary and permanent)
as required by the township engineer.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 12, 7-10-1972]
(a) The township engineer shall, when requested, make the inspections
hereinafter required and shall either approve that portion of the
work which has been completed or notify the permit holder wherein
the same fails to comply with the provisions of this article. Where
it is found by inspection that the soil or other conditions are not
as stated or shown in the application, the township engineer may refuse
to approve further work until approval is obtained for a revised grading
plan conforming to existing conditions.
(b) Plans for grading work, bearing the stamp of approval of the township
engineer, shall be maintained at the site during the progress of the
grading work and until the work has been approved.
(c) The permit holder shall notify the township engineer in order to
obtain inspections in accordance with the following schedule and at
least twenty-four (24) hours before the inspection is to be made:
(1) Initial inspection. When work on the excavation or fill is about
to be commenced.
(2) Rough grading. When all rough grading has been completed.
(3) Drainage facilities. When drainage facilities are to be installed
and before such facilities are backfilled.
(4) Special structures. When excavations are complete for retaining and
crib walls and when reinforcing steel is in place and before concrete
is poured.
(5) Final inspection. When all work, including the installation of all
drainage and other structures has been completed.
(d) If at any stage of the work, the township engineer shall determine
by inspection that the nature of the formation is such that further
work, as authorized by any existing permit, is likely to endanger
property, or streets, or alleys, or create hazardous conditions, the
township engineer may require as a condition to allowing the work
to be done that such reasonable safety precautions be taken as the
township engineer considers advisable to avoid such likelihood of
danger. Safety precautions may include, but shall not be limited to,
specifying a flatter exposed slope, construction of additional drainage
facilities, berms, terracing, compaction or cribbing.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 13, 7-10-1972]
The owner of any property on which an excavation or fill has
been made shall maintain in good condition and repair all retaining
walls, cribbing, drainage structures, fences and other protective
devices.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 14, 7-10-1972]
(a) If upon final inspection of an excavation or fill, it is found that
the work authorized by the grading permit has been satisfactorily
completed in accordance with the requirements of this article, and
any other requirements imposed, a grading certificate covering such
work, and stating that the work is approved, shall be issued to the
permit holder by the township engineer.
(b) The township engineer shall have the power to revoke any grading
certificate whenever he finds that the work covered by the certificate
has been materially extended or altered, without a permit to do so,
or that any retaining walls, cribbing, drainage structures, fence
or other protective device shown on the approved plans and specifications
submitted with the application for a permit have not been maintained
in good order and repair. Before such revocation, the township engineer
shall first give written notice to the permit holder and to the owner
of the property involved, specifying the defective condition and stating
that unless such defective condition is remedied satisfactorily, within
a specified time, the grading certificate may be revoked. If the defective
condition is remedied, the certificate shall not be revoked.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 8, 7-10-1972]
The township council shall promptly consider appeals from the
provisions of this article or from the determinations of the township
engineer and the board shall make determinations of alternative methods,
standards or materials when, in its opinion, strict compliance with
the provisions of this article is not necessary.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 15, 7-10-1972]
(a) No person shall construct, enlarge, alter, repair or maintain any
grading, excavation or fill, or cause the same to be done, contrary
to or in violation of any provision of this article.
(b) When written notice of a violation of any of the provisions of this
article has been served by the township engineer on any person, such
violation shall be discontinued immediately.
(c) Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be liable on conviction thereof to a penalty as provided in section
1-9 of this Code for each and every offense, and whenever such person shall have been notified by a Township official by service of summons in a prosecution or other written notice that he is committing such violation of this article, each day that he shall continue such violation after such notification shall constitute a separate offense.
[Ord. No. 651,
§ 16, 7-10-1972]
In case any work is performed by any person in violation of
any of the provisions of this article, the proper officer of this
Township, in addition to other remedies, may institute in the name
of the Township any appropriate action or proceeding, whether by legal
process or otherwise, to prevent such unlawful work and to restrain
or abate such violation.