This chapter shall be known as the "Surface Water and Erosion
Control Law of the Town of Mamaroneck."
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority of municipalities
to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of their
citizenry under New York State Municipal Home Rule Law § 10,
New York Environmental Conservation Law Article 36, the Waterfront
Revitalization and Coastal Resources Act of the State of New York,
Article 42 of the Executive Law, and other applicable provisions of
state and federal law.
It is hereby determined that:
A.Â
Findings.
(1)Â
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;
(2)Â
This stormwater runoff contributes to increased quantities of water-borne
pollutants, including siltation of aquatic habitat for fish and other
desirable species;
(3)Â
Clearing and grading during construction tends to increase soil erosion
and add to the loss of native vegetation necessary for terrestrial
and aquatic habitat;
(4)Â
Improper design and construction of stormwater management practices
can increase the velocity of stormwater runoff, thereby increasing
stream bank erosion and sedimentation;
(5)Â
Impervious surfaces allow less water to percolate into the soil,
thereby decreasing groundwater recharge and stream base flow;
(6)Â
Substantial economic losses can result from these adverse impacts
on the waters of the municipality;
(7)Â
Stormwater runoff, soil erosion and nonpoint source pollution can
be controlled and minimized through the regulation of stormwater runoff
from land development activities;
(8)Â
The regulation of stormwater runoff discharges from land development
activities in order to control and minimize increases in stormwater
runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion, stream channel erosion, and
nonpoint source pollution associated with stormwater runoff is in
the public interest and will minimize threats to public health and
safety; and
(9)Â
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.
B.Â
Intent.
It is the intent of this chapter to control and regulate land-disturbing
activities to assure that best management practices are used which
minimize water pollution, retain valuable topsoil and vegetation and
prevent flooding, erosion and sedimentation.
The Town of Mamaroneck declares that the purpose of this chapter
is to safeguard persons, protect property, prevent damage to the environment
and promote the public welfare by guiding, regulating and controlling
the design, construction, use and maintenance of any development or
other activity which disturbs or breaks the topsoil or results in
the movement of earth on land situated in the Town of Mamaroneck.
This chapter seeks to meet those purposes by achieving the following
objectives:
A.Â
Meet
the requirements of minimum measures 4 and 5 of the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) State Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) general permit for stormwater
discharges from municipal separate stormwater sewer systems (MS4s),
Permit no. GP-0-10-002, or as amended or revised;
B.Â
Require
land development activities to conform to the substantive requirements
of the NYSDEC SPDES general permit for stormwater discharges from
construction activities, GP-0-10-001;
C.Â
Minimize increases in stormwater runoff from land development activities
in order to reduce flooding, siltation, increases in stream temperature,
and stream bank erosion and maintain the integrity of stream channels;
D.Â
Minimize increases in pollution caused by stormwater runoff from
land development activities which would otherwise degrade local water
quality;
E.Â
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.Â
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.
D.Â
The municipality shall designate a Stormwater Management Officer
who shall accept and review all stormwater pollution prevention plans
and forward such plans to the applicable municipal board. The Stormwater
Management Officer may:
(1)Â
Review the plans;
(2)Â
Upon approval by the Town Board of the Town of Mamaroneck, engage
the services of a registered professional engineer to review the plans,
specifications and related documents at a cost not to exceed a fee
schedule established by the Town Board of the Town of Mamaroneck;
or
(3)Â
Accept the certification of a licensed professional that the plans
conform to the requirements of this chapter.
The following activities are exempt from review under this chapter:
A.Â
Existing
nursery and agricultural operations conducted as a permitted use.
B.Â
Home
gardening, landscaping and routine lawn and landscaping maintenance
activities of existing cultivated areas.
C.Â
Repairs
to any stormwater management practice or facility deemed necessary
by the Stormwater Management Officer.
D.Â
Any
part of a subdivision if a plat for the subdivision has been approved
by the Planning Board of the Town of Mamaroneck on or before the effective
date of this chapter.
E.Â
Land
development activities for which a building permit, erosion and sediment
control permit or wetlands and watercourses permit has been approved
on or before the effective date of this chapter.
F.Â
Cemetery graves.
G.Â
Installation of fences, signs, pilings, telephone and electric poles
and other kinds of posts or poles.
H.Â
Emergency activity immediately necessary to protect life, property
or natural resources.
I.Â
Alteration of the interior of a building and alteration of the exterior
of a building, provided that such exterior alteration does not increase
coverage by the building or pavement or the alteration does not involve
the demolition of a part or all of the exterior of an existing building.
J.Â
Any deck without an impervious cover above, on or below the surface
of the deck.
K.Â
Any land development activity which is neither a major land development
activity nor a minor land development activity, provided that the
existing flow of surface water at the property lines is not altered.
A.Â
Use
of words. Words used in the present tense include the future; the
singular number includes the plural and the plural the singular; the
word "lot" includes the word "plot"; the word "building" includes
the word "structure."
B.Â
ADJOINING PROPERTY
APPLICANT
APPLICANT'S EXPERTS
BASE FLOOD
BUILDING
CLEARING
DEDICATION
DESIGN MANUALS
(1)Â
(2)Â
DEVELOPER
DEVELOPMENT
EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL DEVICES (ESCD)
GRADING
IMPERVIOUS COVER
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
MAJOR LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
MINOR LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
PERMIT
PERSON
PHASING
PLAN
POLLUTANT OF CONCERN
PROJECT
RECHARGE
SOIL STABILIZATION
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR DISCHARGES FROM CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
(GP-0-10-001 AS AMENDED OR REVISED)
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER DISCHARGES FROM MUNICIPAL
SEPARATE STORMWATER SEWER SYSTEMS (GP-0-10-002 AS AMENDED OR REVISED)
STEEP SLOPES
STOP-WORK ORDER
STORMWATER
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (SMPs)
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PERMIT
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP)
STORMWATER RUNOFF
SURFACE WATER AND EROSION CONTROL PERMIT
SURFACE WATER AND EROSION CONTROL PLAN
SURFACE WATERS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
WATERCOURSE
Definitions.
Certain words in this chapter are defined for the purpose thereof
as follows:
Any property facing a work site across any street or highway
shall be deemed adjoining property, as well as any property contiguous
on any side.
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed
an application for a land development activity.
A New York State licensed professional engineer or a New
York State licensed landscape architect engaged by the applicant to
prepare the surface water and erosion control plan or stormwater pollution
prevention plan.
The one-hundred-year-frequency storm.
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.
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for
general public use.
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.
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").
New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment
Control (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,
2005, most current version or its successor, hereafter referred to
as the "Erosion Control Manual").
A person who undertakes land development activities.
Any human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including but not limited to construction of buildings or other structures
and mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling
or blasting.
Measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined
to be the most effective, practical means of preventing erosion and
controlling sediment consistent with best management practices identified
in the design manuals, including but not limited to silt fencing,
hay bales, temporary seeding or mulching, check dams and inlet protection.
Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions
thereof.
Those surfaces, improvements and structures greater than
100 square feet in size, whether natural or man-made, that cannot
effectively infiltrate rainfall, snowmelt and water (including but
not limited to bedrock, stone, building rooftops, pavement, sidewalks,
driveways, patios and terraces).
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed
restriction and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater
management practices.
Any construction activity that 1) results in land disturbance
equal to or greater than one acre or 2) disturbs less than one acre
but is part of a larger common plan of development of one or more
parcels, even though multiple separate and distinct land development
activities may take place at different times on different schedules
if the total land disturbance is equal to or is greater than one acre.
For the purpose of this definition, "construction activity" includes
but is not limited to clearing, grading, excavating, soil disturbance
or placement of fill.
Any construction activity that 1) results in land disturbance
of more than 100 square feet but less than one acre or 2) creates
impervious cover of more than 100 square feet but less than one acre
or 3) may alter the flow of surface water at the property line even
if such disturbance or fill covers less than 100 square feet. For
the purpose of this definition, "construction activity" includes but
is not limited to clearing, grading, excavating, soil disturbance
or placement of fill.
Pollution from any source other than from any discernible,
confined, and discrete conveyances and shall include, but not be limited
to, pollutants from construction, subsurface disposal and urban runoff
sources.
Any permits, grants or licenses issued by the Town of Mamaroneck,
including but not limited to building, grading, demolition, clearing
and excavation permits and subdivision and site plan approvals.
Includes any individual or group of individuals, corporation,
partnership, association or any other entity, including state and
local governments and agencies, authorities or other political subdivisions
thereof.
Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with
the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the
next.
Surface water and erosion control plan, stormwater pollution
prevention plan or site plan.
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.
Land development activity.
The replenishment of underground water reserves.
Measures which protect soil from the erosive forces of raindrop
impact, flowing water and high wind. Applicable practices include
vegetative establishment, mulching, covering and the early application
of gravel base on areas to be paved.
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES) issued to developers of construction activities to
regulate disturbance of one or more acres of land.
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES) issued to municipalities to regulate discharges from
municipal separate storm sewers for compliance with EPA-established
water quality standards and/or to specify stormwater control standards.
Ground areas where the grade changes by one or more feet
of vertical rise for each four feet of horizontal distance.
An order issued which requires that all construction activity
on a site be stopped.
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt or drainage.
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.
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed,
stabilized and operating for a particular project.
The Building Inspector or the Director of Building Code Enforcement
and Land Use Administration or either's designated representative
[Amended 1-20-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
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, including but not limited
to drainage pipes, ditches, culverts, water-retention and detention
areas and structures, swales, slopes and other conduits and reservoirs.
A permit issued for a major land development activity.
A plan submitted as part of the application for a stormwater
pollution prevention permit that shows how stormwater runoff and pollutants
from a site during and after construction activities will be controlled.
Flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.
A permit issued for a minor land development activity.
A drawing prepared by a New York State licensed professional
engineer, a registered architect or a New York State licensed landscape
architect submitted as a part of the application for a surface water
and erosion control permit showing the methods, techniques and improvements,
both during and after construction, that will be employed to control
surface water runoff and to control erosion and sedimentation. Such
plan shall utilize the design manuals, contain all surface water control
calculations, reduce erosion potential, assure the adequacy of existing
and proposed culverts and bridges, increase water recharge into the
ground, decrease nonpoint source pollution and water quality degradation,
maintain stream channels for their biological functions as well as
for drainage through reduced stream bank erosion and maximize preservation
and protection of stream corridors, floodplains and wetlands.
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.
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
