The terms used in this chapter or in documents
prepared or reviewed under this chapter shall have the meanings as
set forth in this section.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
The activity of an active farm (including sod farm) including
grazing and watering livestock, irrigating crops, harvesting crops,
using land for growing agricultural products, and cutting timber for
sale, but shall not include the operation of a dude ranch or similar
operation, or the construction of new structures associated with agricultural
activities.
APPLICANT
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed
an application for a land development activity.
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.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
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.
ENGINEER
Professional engineer licensed by the State of New York.
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, 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.
LANDOWNER
The legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding
the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding
proprietary rights in the land.
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed
restriction, and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater
management practices.
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.
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 FACILITY
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed,
stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater
runoff.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER
Clarence Town Engineer or his/her designee responsible to
accept and review stormwater pollution prevention plans, forward the
plans to the applicable municipal board 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.
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.
A stormwater pollution prevention plan requirement.
No application for approval of a land development activity shall be
reviewed until the appropriate board has received a stormwater pollution
prevention plan (SWPPP) prepared in accordance with the specifications
in this chapter. The SWPPP and associated technical reports shall
bear the seal and signature of an engineer.
A. Contents of stormwater pollution prevention plans.
(1) All SWPPPs shall provide the following background
information and erosion and sediment controls:
(a)
Background information about the scope of the
project, including location, type and size of project;
(b)
Site map/construction drawing(s) for the project,
including a general location map. At a minimum, the site map should
show the total site area; all improvements; areas of disturbance;
areas that will not be disturbed; existing vegetation; on-site and
adjacent off-site surface water(s); wetlands and drainage patterns
that could be affected by the construction activity; existing and
final slopes; locations of off-site material, waste, borrow or equipment
storage areas; and location(s) of the stormwater discharges;
(c)
Description of the soil(s) present at the site;
including a soil bore log at a location and to a depth as determined
by the Stormwater Management Officer;
(d)
Construction phasing plan describing the intended
sequence of construction activities, including clearing and grubbing,
excavation and grading, utility and infrastructure installation and
any other activity at the site that results in soil disturbance. Consistent
with the New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment
Control (Erosion Control Manual), not more than five acres shall be
disturbed at any one time unless pursuant to an approved SWPPP;
(e)
Description of the pollution prevention measures
that will be used to control litter, construction chemicals and construction
debris from becoming a pollutant source in stormwater runoff;
(f)
Description of construction and waste materials
expected to be stored on site, with updates as appropriate, and a
description of controls to reduce pollutants from these materials
including storage practices to minimize exposure of the materials
to stormwater and spill prevention and response;
(g)
Temporary and permanent structural and vegetative
measures to be used for soil stabilization, runoff control and sediment
control for each stage of the project from initial land clearing and
grubbing to project close-out;
(h)
A site map/construction drawing(s) specifying
the location(s), size(s) and length(s) of each erosion and sediment
control practice;
(i)
Dimensions, material specifications and installation
details for all erosion and sediment control practices, including
the siting and sizing of any temporary sediment basins;
(j)
Temporary practices that will be converted to
permanent control measures;
(k)
Implementation schedule for staging temporary
erosion and sediment control practices, including the timing of initial
placement and duration that each practice should remain in place;
(l)
Maintenance schedule to ensure continuous and
effective operation of the erosion and sediment control practice;
(m)
Name(s) of the receiving water(s);
(n)
Delineation of SWPPP implementation responsibilities
for each part of the site;
(o)
Description of structural practices designed
to divert flows from exposed soils, store flows, or otherwise limit
runoff and the discharge of pollutants from exposed areas of the site
to the degree attainable; and
(p)
Any existing data that describes the stormwater
runoff at the site.
(2) Land development activities as defined in §
188A-7 of this article and meeting Condition A, B or C below shall also include water quantity and water quality controls (postconstruction stormwater runoff controls) as set forth in Subsection
B(3) below as applicable:
(a)
Condition A: stormwater runoff from land development
activities discharging a pollutant of concern to either an impaired
water identified on the Department's 303(d) list of impaired waters
or a total maximum daily load (TMDL) designated watershed for which
pollutants in stormwater have been identified as a source of the impairment.
(b)
Condition B: stormwater runoff from land development
activities disturbing five or more acres.
(c)
Condition C: stormwater runoff from land development
activity disturbing between one and five acres of land during the
course of the project, exclusive of the construction of single-family
residences and construction associated with agricultural activities.
(3) SWPPP requirements for Conditions A, B and C:
(b)
Description of each postconstruction stormwater
management practice.
(c)
Site map/construction drawing(s) showing the
specific location(s) and size(s) of each postconstruction stormwater
management practice.
(d)
Hydrologic and hydraulic analysis for all structural
components of the stormwater management system for the applicable
design storms.
(e)
Comparison of postdevelopment stormwater runoff
conditions with pre-development conditions.
(f)
Dimensions, material specifications and installation
details for each postconstruction stormwater management practice.
(g)
Maintenance schedule to ensure continuous and
effective operation of each postconstruction stormwater management
practice.
(h)
Maintenance easements to ensure access to all
stormwater management practices at the site for the purpose of inspection
and repair. Easements shall be recorded on the plan and shall remain
in effect with transfer of title to the property.
(i)
Inspection and maintenance agreement binding on all subsequent landowners served by the on-site stormwater management measures in accordance with Article
II, §
188A-10 of this chapter. Said maintenance agreement shall be recorded in the Office of the County Clerk, County of Erie, together with the deed for the property and/or any offering plan and/or prospectus approved pursuant to said maintenance agreement.
(j)
For Condition A, the SWPPP shall be prepared
by a landscape architect, certified professional or professional engineer
and must be signed by the professional preparing the plan, who shall
certify that the design of all stormwater management practices meet
the requirements in this chapter.
B. Contractor certification.
(1) Each contractor and subcontractor identified in the
SWPPP who will be involved in soil disturbance and/or stormwater management
practice installation shall sign and date a copy of the following
certification statement before undertaking any land development activity:
"I certify under penalty of law that I understand and agree to comply
with the terms and conditions of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Plan. I also understand that it is unlawful for any person to cause
or contribute to a violation of water quality standards."
(2) The certification must include the name and title
of the person providing the signature; address and telephone number
of the contracting firm; the address (or other identifying description)
of the site; and the date the certification is made.
(3) The certification statement(s) shall become part of
the SWPPP for the land development activity.
C. A copy of the SWPPP shall be retained at the site
of the land development activity during construction from the date
of initiation of construction activities to the date of final stabilization.
All land development activities shall be subject
to the following performance and design criteria:
A. Technical standards. 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").
(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").
B. Equivalence to technical standards. Where stormwater management practices are not in accordance with technical standards, the applicant or developer must demonstrate equivalence to the technical standards set forth in Article
II, §
188A-9A, and the SWPPP shall be prepared by an engineer.
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.