[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
1.
All regulated activities and erosion and sediment control BMPs within
the Borough shall be designed, implemented, operated and maintained
to meet the purposes of this Chapter, through these two elements:
A.
Erosion and sediment control during earth disturbance activities
(e.g., during construction); and
B.
Water quality protection measures after completion of earth disturbance
activities (e.g., after construction), including operations and maintenance.
These measures are also referred to in this Chapter as "stormwater
management plan."
2.
No regulated activities within the Borough shall commence until the
requirements of this Chapter are met and the Borough issues a written
approval of the stormwater management plan demonstrating compliance
with the requirements of this Chapter. Stormwater management plans
shall be on site throughout the duration of the regulated activity.
3.
Stormwater flows onto adjacent property shall not be created, increased,
decreased, relocated or otherwise altered without prior written notification
by the owner or developer to the adjacent property owner(s). Such
stormwater flows shall be subject to the requirements of this Chapter.
4.
Erosion and sediment control during regulated activities shall be addressed as required by § 19-402.
6.
All best management practices (BMPs) used to meet the requirements
of this Chapter shall conform to the Commonwealth's water quality
requirements and any more stringent requirements as determined by
Borough Council upon recommendation of the Borough Engineer.
7.
Techniques described in Appendix B (Low-Impact Development Practices)
of this Chapter are encouraged because they reduce the costs of complying
with the requirements of this Chapter and the Commonwealth's water
quality requirements.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix B is included as an attachment to
this Chapter.
8.
The following requirements shall be followed and incorporated into
the development review and construction process:
A.
Design. The choice and design of stormwater management systems used to meet the requirements of this Chapter shall be based on the system types and specifications set forth in the Pennsylvania Handbook of Best Management Practices for Developing Areas, published by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as amended and updated, and shall satisfy the requirements of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Chapter 22), as amended from time to time. The use of other control methods that satisfy the criteria required by this Chapter may be permitted if approved by Borough Council upon recommendation of the Borough Engineer. Various combinations of methods shall be utilized that are tailored to suit the particular requirements of the type of development and local site conditions.
[Amended by Ord. 2014-505, 2/12/2014]
B.
The choice and design of stormwater management systems shall be developed
through a procedure that locates and selects best management practices,
viewing components in the following order of priority:
C.
Qualified Professional. The selection of a competent and creative
design engineer by the applicant is critical to the success of using
best management practices. In order to achieve the required standards
and benefit from construction and maintenance cost reductions intended
by this Chapter, additional time and money are required during the
preliminary engineering and design process. The stormwater management
plan must be reviewed and approved by the Borough Engineer to assure
compliance with the technical requirements of this Chapter.
D.
Public Safety. The applicant or applicant's agent shall design, construct
and/or install drainage facilities to prevent soil erosion, damage
and siltation and to manage stormwater in order to prevent the impairment
of public safety or physical damage due to concentration of the stormwater
runoff onto adjacent properties in accordance with this Chapter and
applicable rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Montgomery County Conservation
District (MCCD).
E.
Reduce Flooding. No stormwater runoff or drainage area shall be so
diverted as to overload existing drainage systems or existing stormwater
facilities or to create flooding. All land areas shall be graded to
secure proper drainage away from buildings and on-site sewage disposal
systems and to prevent the uncontrolled collection of stormwater in
pools. The system shall be designed to collect and recharge water
to the greatest extent possible.
F.
Manage Volume Runoff. The rate of stormwater runoff from any proposed
subdivision or land development shall not exceed the rate of runoff
prior to development. Requirements are outlined in this Chapter for
the design of stormwater management systems that incorporate groundwater
recharge as an essential element in order to control quantity of discharge.
The distribution of drainage discharge from the developed properties
shall replicate that of before development conditions to the maximum
extent possible. The methodology and facilities used shall be based
on the anticipated flows and conditions of each particular site.
G.
Manage Peak Flows. The stormwater management plan for each subdivision
or land development proposal shall take into account and provide for
the peak rate and volume flows of other areas in the watershed to
ensure that cumulative problems are not increased as a result of flows
from the proposed project. This analysis shall also explore possibilities
to share stormwater management facilities with other areas in the
watershed, in which case consultation with the Borough shall be required
prior to design.
H.
Stormwater Conveyance. Recharge facilities, detention facilities,
storm sewers, culverts, bridges and related drainage installation
shall be designed and constructed to meet the following purposes:
(1)
To permit unimpeded flow of natural watercourses. Such flow
may be redirected as required, subject to the approval of the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection;
(2)
To insure adequate drainage of all low points as may be related
to streets;
(3)
To intercept stormwater runoff along streets at intervals reasonably
related to the extent and grade of the area drained to prevent flow
of stormwater across intersections during the design storm;
(4)
To insure adequate and unimpeded flow of stormwater under driveways
in, near, or across natural watercourses or drainage swales. Properly
sized pipes or other conduits shall be provided as necessary;
(5)
To prevent excessive flow on or across streets, sidewalks, drives,
parking areas and any other paved surface or accessway;
(6)
To lead stormwater away from springs; and
(7)
To insure storm outfalls have capacity to receive stormwater
without deterioration of the structure and/or facility and without
adversely affecting property in the Borough.
I.
Road Drainage. The storm drainage system serving the street shall
be designed to collect water at any point where three cubic feet per
second to five cubic feet per second is accumulated, and the bottom
of all vertical grades, and immediately upgrade all street intersections.
The system shall discharge any collected water which is not recharged
into the nearest practical natural drainage channel or stormwater
system.
J.
Preservation of Waterways. All natural streams, channels, swales,
drainage systems, and/or areas of concentration of surface water shall
be maintained in their existing condition, unless alteration is approved
by the Borough. In any event, all encroachment activities shall comply
with Chapter 105 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department
of Environmental Protection Dam Safety and Waterway Management Rules
and Regulations.[2]
(1)
Man-made structures shall be kept to a minimum, and bridges,
culverts, or riprap shall be constructed to maintain natural characteristics
of the stream and shall require the approval of the Borough upon recommendation
of the Borough Engineer.
(2)
For the purpose of this Section, streams and intermittent streams
are defined as those watercourses depicted on the Borough Zoning Map,
the USGS Quadrangle maps of the area, and/or determined as such pursuant
to an on-site survey by the Borough or its duly authorized representatives.
(3)
The Borough may require a developer to grant to Red Hill Borough
a permanent drainage easement in form and substance acceptable to
the Borough Solicitor along any watercourse location within or along
the boundary of any property being subdivided or developed. The purpose
of any such easement shall be for the inspection and/or maintenance
of the channel of any watercourse. The required width of any such
easement shall be determined by the Borough upon recommendation of
the Borough Engineer.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 25 Pa. Code Chapter 105.
K.
Detention
Areas. Retention/detention basins shall be designed to utilize the
natural contours of the land. When such design is impracticable, the
construction of the basin design shall utilize slopes as shallow as
possible to blend the structures into the existing terrain. The use
of multiple retention/detention facilities, which are smaller and
less intrusive on the site, is encouraged to meet the requirements
of this Part.
L.
Water Bodies. All areas containing lakes, ponds, wetlands and watercourses
shall be considered to be reserved for permanent open space. Any alteration,
development, filling, piping, or diverting of such water resources
shall be in strict compliance with the provisions of the Zoning Code,[3] especially those pertaining to the Flood Hazard District,
and all prevailing rules and regulations of federal and state agencies.
The Borough recognizes the use of wetlands as potential components
of stormwater management facilities and encourages such innovative
use if assurances are met that conservation measures are adequate
and that all federal and state requirements are satisfied.
M.
Corrective Measures for Existing Drainage Issues. The Borough may
require that a landowner or developer provide reasonable corrective
measures to alleviate any existing off-site drainage problem which
may be affected by the proposed subdivision and/or land development.
It shall be the responsibility of the landowner or developer to obtain
all drainage easements on, over, or through other properties, and
the Borough, its agents, workmen, and employees shall be indemnified
and held harmless from any liability.
N.
Discharge of Storage Water. Any water originating from a collection
source, such as swimming pools, air conditioning units, sump pumps,
or other similar flow, shall be properly discharged into a recharge
facility, surface or subsurface stormwater conveyance system, natural
water course on the property or discharged to a BMP for treatment,
as may be approved by the Borough.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2021-576, 10/13/2021]
(1)
Polluting matter and chemically treated water from such sources
may not be deposited into natural watercourses or storm drains.
(2)
Water treated with chlorine from swimming pools or other similar
uses shall be pretreated to remove the chemical to acceptable limits
prior to discharge.
(3)
Any water originating from a collection source, as referenced
above, shall not be discharged onto any street or other public right-of-way
used for pedestrian or vehicular access.
O.
Roof Drains. Roof runoff shall be properly discharged into storm
drainage areas on the property. A direct connection of roof drains
to the Borough's storm sewer system is prohibited unless approved
by the Borough upon recommendation of the Borough Engineer. Discharge
from roof drains over a sidewalk, into a driveway, over a parking
area or into curb gutters is not permitted.
(1)
Groundwater recharge requirements encourage roof runoff to be
discharged above ground into a vegetated surface.
P.
Underdrain Systems. All building foundations, grade slabs, and cellar
floors located in soils that have a community development limitation
degree of moderate to severe seasonable high water table (as defined
in the Montgomery County Soil Survey) shall be provided with an underdrain
system. This system shall provide for drainage of the enclosed volume
above the slab and relief of subsurface water to a depth of not less
than 18 inches below the slab or foundation field of the herringbone
or gridiron configuration in coarse, gravel-filled trenches that are
in direct contact with the slab or foundation subbase. The excavation
shall provide a minimum of 0.05 foot/foot slopes to the gravel-filled
trenches.
Q.
Pretreatment of Storm Runoff. To mitigate the potential polluting
of surface waters and groundwaters by pollutants such as salt, petroleum
products, and antifreeze flowing from paved parking lots, pretreatment
of the runoff shall be required. The extent of the treatment shall
be set by the Borough Engineer and will be determined by such factors
as the area of the parking lot and the course of the runoff as it
is recharged or flows into natural waterways.
R.
Stormwater Maintenance. A permanent blanket access easement in form
and substance acceptable to the Borough Solicitor shall be provided
for inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement of and to the
stormwater management facilities. Accessways to stormwater management
facilities and structures on the property shall be free from obstructions
and suitable for maintenance equipment and personnel.
(1)
Maintenance of the easement area and stormwater management facilities
shall be the responsibility of the property owner.
(2)
A homeowners' association or other entity approved by Borough
Council may assume responsibility for maintenance of the access easement
area and stormwater management facilities, upon prior approval of
the Red Hill Borough Council. The maintenance agreement shall be approved
by Borough Council, upon advice of the Borough Solicitor, and shall
be recorded at the property owner's expense in the Office of the Montgomery
County Recorder of Deeds.
[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
The following permit requirements shall be satisfied prior to
the commencement or modification of earth disturbance activities,
as applicable:
A.
All regulated earth disturbance activities subject to permit requirements
by DEP under regulations at 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102.
B.
Work within natural drainageways subject to permit by DEP under 25
Pa. Code Chapter 105.
C.
Any stormwater management facility that would be located in or adjacent
to surface waters of the Commonwealth, including wetlands, subject
to permit by DEP under 25 Pa. Code Chapter 105.
D.
Any stormwater management facility that would be located on a state
highway right-of-way, or require access from a state highway, shall
be subject to approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
(PennDOT).
E.
Culverts, bridges, storm sewers and any other facilities which must
pass or convey flows from the tributary area or any facility which
may constitute a dam subject to permit by DEP under 25 Pa. Code Chapter
105.
[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
1.
The applicant shall be exempt from submitting a full stormwater management
plan, in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter, for the
activities identified below but shall instead be required to submit
a stormwater management plan in accordance with the provisions of
Subsection B below. Project exemption shall not replace or modify
the intent of this Chapter, which is for the applicant to provide
adequate stormwater management, as approved by the Borough upon advice
of the Borough Engineer.
A.
Land disturbance associated with an existing one- or two-story dwelling
shall be exempt.
B.
Land disturbance associated with a proposed one- or two-story dwelling
that is not to be located in a subdivision shall be exempt.
C.
Any land disturbance and/or grading activities resulting in additional
impervious cover of less than 10,000 square feet shall be exempt.
2.
An applicant with an exempt activity, as listed in Subsection A above,
shall provide the following plan information:
A.
Identify stormwater management techniques to be utilized and related
maintenance tasks.
B.
Prepare a plan showing the location, dimensions and general features
of the proposed stormwater measures. The plan shall be prepared at
the applicant's expense by a licensed professional engineer knowledgeable
in stormwater management and erosion and sedimentation controls.
C.
The stormwater management plan shall be approved by the Borough,
upon advice of the Borough Engineer, prior to the issuance of any
building or zoning permit.
3.
No exemption from the stormwater management plan requirements shall
be provided for any regulated activities.
[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
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 or 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 Borough purporting to validate such a violation.
