This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the “Rostraver Township Stormwater Management Ordinance.”
The governing body of the Rostraver Township
finds that:
A.
Stormwater runoff from lands modified by human activities
threatens public health and safety by causing increased runoff flows
and velocities, which overtaxes the carrying capacity of existing
streams and storm sewers, and greatly increases the cost of public
facilities to convey and manage stormwater.
B.
Inadequate planning and management of 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.
These impacts happen mainly through a decrease in
natural infiltration of stormwater.
D.
A comprehensive program of stormwater management,
including reasonable regulation of development and other activities
causing loss of natural infiltration, is fundamental to the public
health, safety, welfare, and the protection of the people of the municipality
and all the people of the commonwealth, their resources, and the environment.
E.
Public education on the control of pollution from
stormwater is an essential component in successfully addressing stormwater.
F.
Federal and state regulations require certain municipalities
to implement a program of stormwater controls. These municipalities
are required to obtain a federal permit for stormwater discharges
from their separate storm sewer systems under the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
G.
Nonstormwater discharges to municipal separate storm
sewer systems can contribute to pollution of waters of the commonwealth
by the municipality.
H.
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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
I.
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 predevelopment
hydrology.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
J.
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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
K.
Occupancy and modification of floodplains shall 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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
L.
The Westmoreland Conservation District (WCD) is a recognized regulatory
agency with authority in the county and this municipality 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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
The purpose of this chapter is to promote health, safety, and welfare within Rostraver Township and its watersheds by minimizing the damages described in § 164-1 of this chapter, through provisions designed to:
A.
Manage stormwater runoff impacts at their source by
regulating activities that cause these problems.
B.
Provide review procedures, performance standards and
design criteria for stormwater planning and management for both new
and redeveloped sites.
C.
Utilize and preserve the existing natural drainage
systems as much as possible.
D.
Manage stormwater impacts close to the runoff source,
which requires a minimum of structures and relies on natural processes.
E.
Focus on infiltration of stormwater to prevent degradation
of surface and ground water quality and to otherwise protect water
resources.
F.
Maintain existing flows and quality of streams and
watercourses in the municipality and commonwealth.
G.
Meet legal water quality requirements under state
law, including regulations at 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93.4a 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.
H.
Prevent stream bank and streambed scour and erosion.
I.
Provide for proper operations and maintenance of all
permanent stormwater management facilities that are constructed in
the municipality.
J.
Provide a mechanism to identify controls necessary
to meet the NPDES permit requirements.
K.
Implement an illegal discharge detection and elimination
program to address nonstormwater discharges into the municipality’s
separate storm sewer system.
L.
To provide Rostraver Township with a workable set
of performance standards that may be revised with new and improved
stormwater management practices.
M.
Maintain existing flows and quality of streams and watercourses.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
N.
Restore and preserve the natural and beneficial values served by
streamside and waterbody floodplains.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
O.
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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
P.
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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
Q.
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including
regulations at 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 93.4a, 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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
R.
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.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
S.
Assist in detecting and eliminating illicit stormwater discharges
into the Township's separate storm sewer system.
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord.
No. 733]
The municipality is empowered to regulate land
use activities that affect stormwater runoff by the authority of the
Act of July 31, 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247, the Municipalities Planning
Code,[1] as amended, and Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864, Act
167, the Storm Water Management Act,[2] and the appropriate municipal code.
A.
This chapter shall be applicable to all subdivision or site plan and land development applications, unless eligible for an exemption or granted a waiver by the Township of Rostraver under the specifications of Article IV, § 164-30 of this chapter. The chapter also applies to land development activities that are smaller than the minimum applicability criteria, even though multiple separate and distinct land development activities may take place at different times on different schedules. In addition, all plans must be reviewed by Westmoreland County Conservation District officials to ensure that established water quality standards will be maintained during and after development of the site and that postconstruction runoff levels are consistent with any local and regional watershed plans.
B.
To prevent the adverse impacts of stormwater runoff,
the Township of Rostraver has developed a set of performance standards
that must be met at new development sites. These standards apply to
any construction activity disturbing 5,000 or more square feet of
land. The following activities may be exempt from these stormwater
performance criteria:
(1)
Any logging and agricultural activity which is consistent
with an approved soil conservation plan or a timber management plan
prepared or approved by Westmoreland County Conservation District,
as applicable.
(2)
Additions or modifications to existing single-family
structures less than 1,000 square feet.
(3)
Developments that do not disturb more than 5,000 square
feet of land, and do not create more than 1,000 square feet of impervious
surface, provided that they are not part of a larger common development
plan.
(4)
Repairs to any stormwater treatment practice deemed
necessary by the Township of Rostraver.
C.
When a site development plan is submitted that qualifies as a redevelopment project as defined in Article II of this chapter, decisions on permitting and on-site stormwater requirements shall be governed by stormwater sizing criteria found in the current chapter. This criteria is dependent on the amount of impervious area created by the redevelopment and its impact on water quality. Final authorization of all redevelopment projects will be determined after a review by the Township of Rostraver.
Any ordinance or ordinance provision of the
municipality inconsistent with any of the provisions of this chapter
is hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency only.
In the event that any section or provision of
this chapter is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect the validity of any of the remaining
provisions of this chapter.
A.
Approvals issued and actions taken under this chapter
to 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 requirements for stormwater management, the specific requirements
contained in this chapter shall be followed.
B.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect
any of the municipality’s requirements regarding stormwater
matters which do not interfere with the provisions of this chapter,
such as local stormwater management design criteria (e.g., inlet spacing,
inlet type, collection system design and details, outlet structure
design, etc.).
[Added 12-2-2020 by Ord. No. 733]
Any permit or authorization issued or approved based on false,
misleading, or erroneous information provided by an applicant is void
without the necessity of any proceedings for revocation. 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 municipality purporting to validate such a violation.
