This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "City of
Monessen Stormwater Management Ordinance."
The City Council of the City of Monessen finds that:
A. Stormwater runoff from lands modified by human activities threatens
public health and safety by causing decreased infiltration of rainwater
and increased runoff flows and velocities, which overtax the carrying
capacity of existing streams and storm sewers, causes property damage
and risk to public safety, and greatly increases the cost to the public
to manage stormwater.
B. Inadequate planning and management of accelerated 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 stream beds 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. The City of Monessen is located in the Monongahela River Watershed
and as such will endeavor to cooperate with other municipalities located
in the watershed(s) to address issues of stormwater management, water
quality, pollution and flooding.
D. Nonstormwater discharges to municipal separate storm sewer systems
can contribute to pollution of waters of the commonwealth in the City
of Monessen.
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. Public education on the control of pollution of stormwater is an
essential component in successfully managing stormwater.
G. A comprehensive program of stormwater management, including reasonable
regulation of land development and redevelopment causing loss of natural
infiltration, is fundamental to the public health, safety, welfare,
and the protection of the people of the City of Monessen and all the
people of the commonwealth, their resources, and the environment.
H. 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 pre-development
hydrology.
I. 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 non-restricted
flow of stormwater to avoid impoundment of water.
J. 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.
K. 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 municipal
separate storm sewer systems (MS4) under the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES). The City of Monessen is subject to MS4
requirements within its designated MS4 District. Refer to Appendix
A.
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.
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.
The purpose of this chapter is to promote health, safety, and
welfare within the City of Monessen and its watersheds by minimizing
the harms and maximizing the benefits described in this section of
this chapter, through provisions designed to:
A. Manage stormwater runoff impacts at their source by regulating activities
that cause problems, reduce runoff volumes and mimic natural hydrology.
B. Maintain existing flows and quality of streams and watercourses.
C. Prevent scour and erosion of streambanks and streambeds.
D. Utilize and preserve the existing natural drainage systems as much
as possible.
E. Restore and preserve the natural and beneficial values served by
streamside and waterbody floodplains.
F. Focus on infiltration of stormwater, to maintain groundwater recharge,
to prevent degradation of surface and groundwater quality and to otherwise
protect water resources.
G. Promote stormwater runoff prevention and emphasize infiltration and
evapotranspiration through the protection and conservation of natural
resource systems and the use of non- structural BMPs and other creative
methods of improving water quality and managing stormwater runoff.
H. 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.
I. Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including
regulations at 25 Pa. Code § 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.
J. Provide review procedures and performance standards for stormwater
planning and management.
K. Provide for proper operations and maintenance of all permanent stormwater
management BMPs that are implemented in the City of Monessen.
L. 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.
M. Assist in detecting and eliminating illicit stormwater discharges
into the City of Monessen's separate storm sewer system.
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.
If any word, phrase, section, sentence, clause or part of this
chapter is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal or
invalid, such unconstitutionality, invalidity or illegality by a court
of competent jurisdiction, shall not affect or impair any of the remaining
words, phrases, sections, sentences, clauses or parts of this chapter.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of the City Council of the
City of Monessen that this chapter would have been adopted had such
unconstitutional, illegal or invalid word, phrase, section, sentence,
clause or part thereof not been included herein.
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 City of Monessen purporting to validate such a violation.
Shall be consistent with PAG-13 NPDES General Permit for stormwater
discharges from MS4 communities and as listed here.
A. Prohibited discharges.
(1) No person in the City of Monessen shall introduce, or cause to introduce,
permit or allow stormwater discharges in the MS4 District into the
municipality separate storm sewer system which are not composed entirely
of stormwater, except as permitted by this chapter, or:
(a)
As provided in Subsection
A(2) below; or
(b)
Discharges as authorized under a state or federal permit.
(2) Permissible discharges, based on a finding by the municipality that
the discharge(s) do not significantly contribute to pollution to surface
waters of the commonwealth, are recommended to be discharged safely
to a vegetated area or infiltration BMP, but can also be discharged
to a storm sewer system, include but are not limited to:
(a)
Discharges from firefighting activities.
(b)
Potable water sources including dechlorinated water line and
fire hydrant flushings.
(c)
Noncontaminated irrigation drainage from agricultural practices.
(d)
Routine external building washdown (which does not use detergents
or other compounds).
(e)
Noncontaminated air conditioning condensate.
(f)
Water from individual residential car, boat or other residential
vehicle washing that does not use detergents or other compounds.
(h)
Noncontaminated water from basement or crawl space sump pumps.
(i)
Noncontaminated water from foundation or from footing drains.
(j)
Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands.
(l)
Pavement wash-waters where spills or leaks of toxic or hazardous
materials have not occurred (unless all spill material has been removed)
and where detergents are not used.
(m)
Splash pad (recreational spray patio with no standing water)
discharges.
(n)
Noncontaminated groundwater.
(3) If the municipality determines that any of the discharges identified in Subsection
A(2) above significantly contributes to pollution of waters of the commonwealth, or is so notified by DEP, the municipality will notify the landowner and/or the responsible person to cease the discharge.
(4) Upon notice provided by the municipality under Subsection
A(3) above, the discharger will have a reasonable period not to exceed 30 days, as determined by the municipality, to cease the discharge consistent with the degree of pollution caused by the discharge.
(5) Nothing in this section shall affect, limit or alleviate a discharger's
responsibilities under state or federal law.
B. Prohibited connections. The following sources, activities or connections are prohibited, except as provided in Subsection
A(1) and
(2) above:
(1) Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which
allows any nonstormwater discharge including, but not limited to,
sewage, process wastewater and wash water, to enter the separate storm
sewer system, and any connections to the storm drain system from indoor
drains and sinks.
(2) Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial, industrial or
other nonresidential land use to the separate storm sewer system which
has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records, and
approved by the City of Monessen.
(3) Drains carrying noncontaminated stormwater or groundwater shall not
be connected to or discharge to any public or private separate sanitary
sewer system or facility.
C. Prohibited activities.
(1) A landowner may not alter the natural flow of surface water on his
property by concentrating it in an artificial channel and discharging
it upon lower land of his neighbor even though no more water is thereby
collected than would naturally have flowed upon the neighbor's
land in a diffused (shallow broad path or sheet flow) condition.
(2) A landowner may not alter nor neglect maintenance of any BMPs, facilities
or structures that were installed under this chapter without written
approval of the municipality.
D. Roof drains and sump pumps.
(1) Roof drains and sump pumps shall discharge to infiltration or vegetative
BMPs wherever feasible.
(2) Roof drains and sump pumps shall not discharge into a combination
sewer wherever feasible.
(3) Roof drains and sump pumps shall not discharge into a separate sanitary
sewer.