[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Schuylkill
River Watershed Stormwater Management Ordinance."
[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
1.
The Shillington Borough Council finds that:
A.
Inadequate management of accelerated stormwater runoff resulting
from development throughout a watershed increases flood flows and
velocities, contributes to erosion and sedimentation, overtaxes the
carrying capacity of existing streams and storm sewers, greatly increases
the cost of public facilities to convey and manage stormwater, undermines
floodplain management and flood-reduction efforts in upstream and
downstream communities, reduces groundwater recharge, and threatens
public health and safety.
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 streambanks, thereby elevating sedimentation), destroying
aquatic habitats, 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.
A comprehensive program of stormwater management (SWM), including
minimization of impacts of development, redevelopment and activities
causing accelerated erosion, is fundamental to the public health,
safety, welfare, and the protection of the people of the Borough of
Shillington and all the people of the commonwealth, their resources,
and the environment.
D.
Inadequate management of accelerated stormwater runoff resulting
from development throughout a watershed poses a threat to surface
water and groundwater quality.
E.
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.
F.
Impacts from stormwater runoff can be minimized by using project
designs that maintain the natural hydrologic regime and sustain high
water quality, groundwater recharge, stream baseflow and aquatic ecosystems.
The most cost-effective and environmentally advantageous way to manage
stormwater runoff is through nonstructural project design, minimizing
impervious surfaces and sprawl, avoiding sensitive areas (i.e., stream
buffers, floodplains, steep slopes), and designing to topography and
soils to maintain the natural hydrologic regime.
G.
Public education on the control of pollution from stormwater is an
essential component in successfully addressing stormwater.
H.
Federal and state regulations require certain municipalities to implement
a program of stormwater controls. These municipalities are required
to obtain a permit for stormwater discharges from their separate storm
sewer systems under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES).
I.
Nonstormwater discharges to municipal separate storm sewer systems
can contribute to pollution of waters of the commonwealth by the Borough
of Shillington.
[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
1.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare within the Schuylkill River watershed by maintaining the natural hydrologic regime by minimizing the impacts described in § 19-102 of this chapter through provisions designed to:
A.
Promote alternative project designs and layout that minimize impacts
to surface water and groundwater.
B.
Promote nonstructural best management practices (BMPs).
C.
Minimize increases in stormwater volume.
D.
Minimize impervious surfaces.
E.
Manage accelerated runoff and erosion and sedimentation problems
at their source by regulating activities that cause these problems.
F.
Provide review procedures and performance standards for stormwater
planning and management.
G.
Utilize and preserve the existing natural drainage systems.
H.
Manage stormwater impacts close to the runoff source, which requires
a minimum of structures and relies on natural processes.
I.
Focus on infiltration of stormwater, to maintain groundwater recharge,
to prevent degradation of surface water and groundwater quality and
to otherwise protect water resources.
J.
Maintain existing base flows and quality of streams and watercourses,
where possible.
K.
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.
L.
Address the quality and quantity of stormwater discharges from the
development site.
M.
Provide a mechanism to identify controls necessary to meet the NPDES
permit requirements.
N.
Implement an illegal-discharge detection and elimination program
to address nonstormwater discharges into the Borough of Shillington's
separate storm sewer system.
O.
Preserve and restore the flood-carrying capacity of streams.
P.
Prevent scour and erosion of streambanks and streambeds.
Q.
Provide performance standards and design criteria for watershed-wide
stormwater management and planning.
R.
Provide proper operation and maintenance of all permanent stormwater
management facilities and BMPs that are implemented in the Borough
of Shillington.
S.
Meet NPDES Requirements. Federal regulations approved October 1999
require operators of small municipal separate storm sewer systems
(MS4s) to obtain NPDES Phase II permits from DEP by March 2003. (NPDES
II is an acronym for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System Phase II Stormwater Permitting Regulations.) This program affects
all municipalities in "urbanized areas" of the state. This definition
applies to all Schuylkill River watershed municipalities identified
in Table III-1 of the Schuylkill River Stormwater Management Plan
Volume II as NPDES Phase II municipalities. Therefore, these identified
municipalities will be subject to the NPDES Phase II requirements
mandated by the Federal Clean Water Act as administered by DEP. For
more information on NPDES II requirements, contact the DEP regional
office.
[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
1.
Primary Authority. The Borough of Shillington is empowered to regulate
these activities by the authority of the Act of October 4, 1978, P.L.
864 (Act 167), 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq., as amended, the
"Storm Water Management Act," and the (appropriate municipal code).
[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
1.
All regulated activities and all activities that may affect stormwater
runoff, including land development and earth disturbance activity,
are subject to regulation by this chapter.
[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
Any ordinance or ordinance provision of the Borough of Shillington
inconsistent with any of the provisions of this chapter is hereby
repealed to the extent of the inconsistency only.
[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
Should any section or provision of this chapter be declared
invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall
not affect the validity of any of the remaining provisions of this
chapter.
[Ord. 1141, 10/11/2012]
Approvals issued and actions taken under this chapter do not
relieve the applicant of the responsibility to secure required permits
or approvals for activities by any other code, law, regulation or
ordinance.