This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Churchill
Borough Stormwater Management Ordinance."
The governing body of the Municipality finds that:
A.Â
Inadequate management of accelerated runoff of stormwater resulting
from development throughout a watershed increases runoff volumes,
flows and velocities, contributes to erosion and sedimentation, overtaxes
the carrying capacity of streams and storm sewers, greatly increases
the cost of public facilities to carry and control stormwater, undermines
floodplain management and flood control efforts in downstream communities,
reduces groundwater recharge, threatens public health and safety,
and increases nonpoint source pollution of water resources.
B.Â
A comprehensive program of stormwater management (SWM), including
regulation of development and activities causing accelerated runoff,
is fundamental to the public health, safety, and welfare and the protection
of people of the commonwealth, their resources, and the environment.
C.Â
Stormwater is an important water resource that provides groundwater
recharge for water supplies and supports the base flow of streams.
D.Â
The use of green infrastructure (GI) and low-impact development (LID)
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 and LID contribute to the restoration or maintenance of
predevelopment hydrology.
E.Â
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) program.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote health, safety, and welfare within the Municipality and its watershed by minimizing the harms and maximizing the benefits described in § 260-2 of this chapter, through provisions designed to:
A.Â
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including
regulations at 25 Pa. Code 93 to protect, maintain, reclaim, and restore
the existing and designated uses of the waters of this commonwealth.
B.Â
Preserve natural drainage systems.
C.Â
Manage stormwater runoff close to the source, reduce runoff volumes
and mimic predevelopment hydrology.
D.Â
Provide procedures and performance standards for stormwater planning
and management.
E.Â
Maintain groundwater recharge to prevent degradation of surface and
groundwater quality and to otherwise protect water resources.
F.Â
Prevent scour and erosion of stream banks and streambeds.
G.Â
Provide proper operation and maintenance of all stormwater best management
practices (BMPs) that are implemented within the Municipality.
H.Â
Provide standards to meet NPDES permit requirements.
The Municipality is empowered to regulate land use activities
that affect runoff by the authority of the Act of July 31, 1968, P.L.
805, No. 247, The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended,
and/or the Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864 (Act 167), 32 P.S. Section
680.1, et seq., as amended, The Stormwater Management Act.
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.
Any other ordinance provision(s) or regulation 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 a court of competent jurisdiction declares
any section or provision of this chapter invalid, such decision shall
not affect the validity of any of the remaining provisions of this
chapter.
Approvals issued and actions taken under this chapter 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.
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.
A.Â
If the Municipality determines that any requirement under this chapter cannot be achieved for a particular regulated activity the Municipality may, after an evaluation of alternatives, approve measures other than those in this chapter, subject to Subsection B. The proposed area of disturbance shall be less than one acre. The request for a modification or waiver shall originate with the landowner, shall be in writing, and shall accompany the stormwater management site plan submitted to the Municipality. The request shall provide the facts on which the request is based, the provisions of the Ordinance involved, and the proposed modification. The designated plan reviewer shall review the request to determine if it meets the requirements of the Ordinance, including Subsection B below. If acceptable to the Municipality, the Municipality may grant the waiver or modification.
B.Â
Waivers or modifications of the requirements of this chapter may be approved by the Municipality if enforcement will exact undue hardship because of unique physical circumstances or conditions peculiar to the land in question, provided that the modifications will not be contrary or detrimental to the public interest and will achieve the intended outcome, and that the purpose of the Ordinance is preserved. Hardship must be due to such unique physical circumstances or conditions and not to circumstances or conditions generally created by the provisions of the Stormwater Management Ordinance. Cost or financial burden shall not be considered a hardship. Modifications shall not substantially or permanently impair the appropriate use or development of adjacent property. A request for modifications shall be in writing and accompany the stormwater management site plan submission, as directed in Subsection A above.
C.Â
No waiver or modification of any regulated stormwater activity involving
earth disturbance greater than or equal to one acre may be granted
by the Municipality.
Any reference to a statute, regulation or standard, shall be
interpreted to refer to the latest or most current version of that
document.
A.Â
For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms and words used herein
shall be interpreted as follows:
(1)Â
Words used in the present tense include the future tense; the singular
number includes the plural, and the plural number includes the singular;
words of masculine gender include feminine gender; and words of feminine
gender include masculine gender.
(2)Â
The word "includes" or "including" shall not limit the term to the
specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other
instances of like kind and character.
(3)Â
The words "shall" and "must" are mandatory; the words "may" and "should"
are permissive.
B.Â
ACT 167
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
APPLICANT
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
DEP
DESIGN STORM
DESIGNATED PLAN REVIEWER
DETENTION BASIN
DETENTION VOLUME
DEVELOPMENT SITE (SITE)
DISTURBED AREA
EARTH DISTURBANCE ACTIVITY
EROSION
EXISTING CONDITION
FEMA
FLOODPLAIN
FLOODWAY
FOREST MANAGEMENT/TIMBER OPERATIONS
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
GROUNDWATER
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE
HYDROLOGIC SOIL GROUP (HSG)
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE (IMPERVIOUS AREA)
INFILTRATION
INVASIVE SPECIES
LAND DEVELOPMENT (DEVELOPMENT)
LOW-IMPACT DEVELOPMENT (LID)
MUNICIPALITY
NATIVE VEGETATION
NRCS
PEAK DISCHARGE
PERVIOUS AREA
PROJECT SITE
QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
REGULATED ACTIVITIES
REGULATED EARTH DISTURBANCE ACTIVITY
RELEASE RATE
RELEASE RATE DISTRICT
RETENTION VOLUME/REMOVED RUNOFF
RETURN PERIOD
RIPARIAN BUFFER
RUNOFF
SEDIMENT
STATE WATER QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
STORMWATER
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SITE PLAN
STREAM
SUBDIVISION
USDA
WATERCOURSE
WATERS OF THIS COMMONWEALTH
WATERSHED
WETLAND
These definitions do not necessarily reflect the definitions contained
in pertinent regulations or statutes, and are intended for this chapter
only.
The Municipality is empowered to regulate land use activities
that affect runoff and surface and groundwater quality and quantity
by the authority of the Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864 (Act 167),
32 P.S. Section 680.1, et seq., as amended, the "Storm Water Management
Act."
Activities associated with agriculture such as agricultural
cultivation, agricultural operation, and animal heavy use areas. This
includes the work of producing crops including tillage, land clearing,
plowing, disking, harrowing, planting, harvesting crops or pasturing
and raising of livestock and installation of conservation measures.
Construction of new buildings or impervious area is not considered
an agricultural activity.
A landowner, developer, or other person who has filed an
application to the Municipality for approval to engage in any regulated
activity at a project site in the Municipality.
Activities, facilities, designs, measures, or procedures
used to manage stormwater impacts from regulated activities, to meet
state water quality requirements, to promote groundwater recharge,
and to otherwise meet the purposes of this chapter. Stormwater BMPs
are commonly grouped into one of two broad categories or measures:
"structural" or "nonstructural." In this chapter, nonstructural BMPs
or measures refer to operational and/or behavior-related practices
that attempt to minimize the contact of pollutants with stormwater
runoff, whereas structural BMPs or measures are those that consist
of a physical device or practice that is installed to capture and
treat stormwater runoff. Structural BMPs include, but are not limited
to, a wide variety of practices and devices, from large-scale retention
ponds and constructed wetlands, to small-scale underground treatment
systems, infiltration facilities, filter strips, low-impact design,
bioretention, wet ponds, permeable paving, grassed swales, riparian
or forested buffers, sand filters, detention basins, and manufactured
devices. Structural stormwater BMPs are permanent appurtenances to
the project site.
A conservation district, as defined in Section 3(c) of the
Conservation District Law (3 P.S. § 851(c)) that has the
authority under a delegation agreement executed with DEP to administer
and enforce all or a portion of the regulations promulgated under
25 Pa. Code 102.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The magnitude and temporal distribution of precipitation
from a storm event measured in probability of occurrence (e.g., a
five-year storm) and duration (e.g., 24 hours) used in the design
and evaluation of stormwater management systems. Also see Return Period.
A qualified professional as defined herein, or organization
such as the Allegheny County Conservation District, that has been
designated by the Municipality to be the reviewer of SWM site plans
for the Municipality, and shall be understood to be the reviewer where
indicated as the Municipality within this chapter.
An impoundment designed to collect, and retard stormwater
runoff by temporarily storing the runoff and releasing it at a predetermined
rate. Detention basins are designed to drain completely in a designed
period after a rainfall event, and to become dry until the next rainfall
event.
The volume of runoff that is captured and released into the
waters of the commonwealth at a controlled rate.
See Project Site.
An unstabilized land area where an earth disturbance activity
is occurring or has occurred.
A construction or other human activity which disturbs the
surface of the land, including, but not limited to: clearing and grubbing;
grading; excavations; embankments; road maintenance; building construction;
and the moving, depositing, stockpiling, or storing of soil, rock,
or earth materials.
The natural process by which the surface of the land is worn
away by water, wind, or chemical action.
The dominant land cover during the five-year period immediately
preceding a proposed regulated activity.
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Any land area susceptible to inundation by water from any
natural source or delineated by applicable FEMA maps and studies as
being a special flood hazard area. Also includes areas that comprise
Group 13 Soils, as listed in Appendix A of the Pennsylvania DEP Technical
Manual for Sewage Enforcement Officers (as amended or replaced from
time to time by DEP).
The channel of the watercourse and those portions of the
adjoining floodplains that are reasonably required to carry and discharge
the 100-year flood. Unless otherwise specified, the boundary of the
floodway is as indicated on maps and flood insurance studies provided
by FEMA. In an area where no FEMA maps or studies have defined the
boundary of the 100-year floodway, it is assumed, absent evidence
to the contrary, that the floodway extends from the stream to 50 feet
from the top of the bank of the stream.
Planning and activities necessary for the management of forestland.
These include conducting a timber inventory, preparation of forest
management plans, silvicultural treatment, cutting budgets, logging
road design and construction, timber harvesting, site preparation,
and reforestation.
Systems and practices that use or mimic natural processes
to infiltrate, evapotranspire, or reuse stormwater on the site where
it is generated.
Water beneath the earth's surface that supplies wells
and springs and is within the saturated zone of soil and rock.
The replenishment of existing natural underground water supplies
from precipitation or overland flow.
Infiltration rates of soils vary widely and are affected
by subsurface permeability as well as surface intake rates. Soils
are classified into four HSGs (A, B, C, and D) according to their
minimum infiltration rate, which is obtained for bare soil after prolonged
wetting. The NRCS defines the four groups and provides a list of most
of the soils in the United States and their group classification.
The soils in the area of the development site may be identified from
a soil survey report that can be obtained from local NRCS offices
or conservation district offices. Soils become less pervious as the
HSG varies from A to D (NRCS[1]).
A surface that prevents the infiltration of water into the
ground. Impervious surfaces (or areas) shall include, but not be limited
to: roofs; additional indoor living spaces, patios, garages, storage
sheds and similar structures; and any new streets or sidewalks. Decks,
parking areas, and driveway areas are counted as impervious areas
if they directly prevent infiltration.
Movement of surface water into the soil, where it is absorbed
by plant roots, evaporated into the atmosphere, or percolated downward
to recharge groundwater.
DCNR defines invasive plants as those species that are not
native to the state, grow aggressively, and spread and displace native
vegetation. (see http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_010314.pdf
for a list of invasive species.
Inclusive of any or all of the following meanings: (i) the
improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots, tracts, or
parcels of land for any purpose involving (a) a group of two or more
buildings or (b) the division or allocation of land or space between
or among two or more existing or prospective occupants by means of,
or for the purpose of streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums,
building groups, or other features; (ii) any subdivision of land;
(iii) development in accordance with Section 503(1.1) of the PA Municipalities
Planning Code.[2]
Site design approaches and small-scale stormwater management
practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration,
evapotranspiration, and reuse of rainwater. LID can be applied to
new development, urban retrofits, and revitalization projects. LID
utilizes design techniques that infiltrate, filter, evaporate, and
store runoff close to its source. Rather than rely on costly large-scale
conveyance and treatment systems, LID addresses stormwater through
a variety of small, cost-effective landscape features located on-site.
Churchill Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Plant species that have historically grown in Pennsylvania
and are not invasive species as defined herein.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (previously SCS).
The maximum rate of stormwater runoff from a specific storm
event.
Any area not defined as impervious.
The specific area of land where any regulated activities
in the Municipality are planned, conducted, or maintained.
Any person licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of State
or otherwise qualified under Pennsylvania law to perform the work
required by this chapter.
Any earth disturbance activities or any activities that involve
the alteration or development of land in a manner that may affect
stormwater runoff.
Activity involving earth disturbance subject to regulation
under 25 Pa. Code 92, 25 Pa. Code 102, or the Clean Streams Law.[3]
The percentage of existing conditions peak rate of runoff
from a site or subarea to which the proposed conditions peak rate
of runoff must be reduced to protect downstream areas.
A watershed or portion of a watershed for which a release
rate has been established by an adopted Act 167, Stormwater Management
Plan.[4]
The volume of runoff that is captured and not released directly
into the surface waters of this commonwealth during or after a storm
event.
The average interval, in years, within which a storm event
of a given magnitude can be expected to occur one time. For example,
the twenty-five-year return period rainfall would be expected to occur
on average once every 25 years; or stated in another way, the probability
of a twenty-five-year storm occurring in any one year is 0.04 (i.e.,
a 4% chance).
A permanent vegetated area of trees and shrubs located adjacent
to streams, lakes, ponds and wetlands.
Any part of precipitation that flows over the land.
Soils or other materials transported by surface water as
a product of erosion.
The regulatory requirements to protect, maintain, reclaim,
and restore water quality under Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code
and the Clean Streams Law.[5]
Drainage runoff from the surface of the land resulting from
precipitation or snow or ice melt.
Any structure, natural or man-made, that, due to its condition,
design, or construction, conveys, stores, or otherwise affects stormwater
runoff. Typical stormwater management facilities include, but are
not limited to: detention and retention basins; open channels; storm
sewers; pipes; and infiltration facilities.
The plan prepared by the developer or the developer's
representative indicating how stormwater runoff will be managed at
the development site in accordance with this chapter. Stormwater management
site plan will be designated as SWM site plan throughout this chapter.
A channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined
bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow.
As defined in The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[6] Act of July 31, 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247.
United States Department of Agriculture.
See Stream.
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments,
ditches, watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, dammed water, wetlands,
ponds, springs, and all other bodies or channels of conveyance of
surface and underground water, or parts thereof, whether natural or
artificial, within or on the boundaries of this commonwealth.
Region or land area drained by a river, watercourse, or other
surface water of this commonwealth to a downstream point.
Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically
adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes,
bogs, and similar areas.
