This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Warwick Township Stormwater Management and Grading Ordinance.”
The Warwick Township Board of Supervisors enacts this chapter upon direction of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which has determined that:
A. 
Inadequate management of accelerated stormwater runoff resulting from development and redevelopment throughout a watershed increases flood 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 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.
C. 
A comprehensive program of stormwater management (SWM), including reasonable regulation of development and activities causing accelerated runoff, is fundamental to the public health, safety, and welfare and the protection of the people of the municipality and all the people of the commonwealth, their resources, and the environment.
D. 
Stormwater is an important water resource by providing groundwater recharge for water supplies and base flow of streams, which also protects and maintains surface water quality. Impacts from stormwater runoff can be minimized by using project designs that maintain the natural hydraulic regime and sustain high water quality, groundwater recharge, stream base flow and aquatic ecosystems. The cost-effective and environmentally advantageous way to manage stormwater runoff is through nonstructural project design that minimizes impervious surfaces and sprawl, avoids sensitive areas, i.e., stream buffers, floodplains, and steep slopes, and considers topography and soils to maintain the natural hydrologic regime.
E. 
Public education on the control of pollution from stormwater is an essential component in successfully addressing stormwater.
F. 
Federal and state regulations require Warwick Township to implement a program of stormwater controls. Warwick Township is required to obtain a permit for stormwater discharges from its separate storm sewer systems under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare within the Township by maintaining the natural hydrologic regime and by minimizing the harms and maximizing the benefits described in this chapter, through provisions designed to:
A. 
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including regulations at 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93, to protect, maintain, reclaim, and restore the existing and designated uses of the waters of this commonwealth.
B. 
Minimize increases in stormwater volume and control peak flows.
C. 
Minimize impervious surfaces.
D. 
Provide review procedures and performance standards for stormwater planning and management.
E. 
Preserve the natural drainage systems as much as possible.
F. 
Manage stormwater impacts close to the runoff source, requiring a minimum of structures and relying on natural processes.
G. 
Focus on infiltration of stormwater to maintain groundwater recharge, to prevent degradation of surface and groundwater quality, and to otherwise protect water resources.
H. 
Preserve and restore the flood-carrying capacity of streams.
I. 
Prevent scour and erosion of streambanks and streambeds.
J. 
Provide standards to meet National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements.
K. 
Address certain requirements of the Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4) NPDES Phase II Stormwater Regulations.
L. 
Provide for proper operation and maintenance of all stormwater management facilities and best management practices (BMPs) that are implemented in the municipality.
The Township is empowered to regulate land use activities that affect runoff, surface, and groundwater quality and quantity by the authority of:
A. 
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
B. 
The Second Class Township Code (Act 69 of 1933, P.L. 103; 53 P.S. § 65101, as amended).
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. Regulated activities include but are not limited to:
A. 
Land development.
B. 
Subdivisions.
C. 
Prohibited or polluted discharges.
D. 
Alteration of the natural hydrologic regime.
E. 
Construction or reconstruction of, or addition of, new impervious or semipervious surfaces (i.e., driveways, parking lots, roads, etc.), except for reconstruction of roads where there is no increase in impervious surface.
F. 
Construction of new buildings or additions to existing buildings.
G. 
Redevelopment.
H. 
Diversion piping or encroachments in any natural or man-made channel.
I. 
Nonstructural and structural stormwater management best management practices (BMPs) or appurtenances thereto.
[Amended 10-17-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-10]
A. 
With the exception of swimming pools, regulated activities that create impervious surfaces smaller than or equal to 1,000 square feet do not have to apply the volume control requirements, peak rate control requirements, or the SWM site plan preparation located in Article IV of this chapter. If the activity is found to be a significant contributor of pollution to a regulated small MS4 or to the waters of the commonwealth, the municipality may enforce any of the above requirements.
[Amended 9-18-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3; 10-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-05]
B. 
Regulated activities, except swimming pools, that create impervious surfaces between 1,001 square feet up to and including 5,000 square feet are exempt from the peak rate control requirements of this chapter. Refer to Appendix I[1] for detailed information regarding the small project SWM site plan for regulated activities creating impervious surface between 1,000 square feet up to and including 5,000 square feet.
[Amended 9-18-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-3]
Table 157-6
Impervious Surface Exemption Thresholds for Warwick Township
Chapter Article or Section
Type of Project
Proposed Impervious Surface
0 to 1,000 square feet
1,001 to 5,000 square feet
5,000+ square feet
Article IV, SWM site plan requirements
Development
Exempt, except for pools
Not exempt
Not exempt
§ 157-12, volume control requirements
Development
Not applicable, except for in-ground swimming pools of any size
Not exempt
Not exempt
§ 157-13, peak rate control requirements
Development
Exempt
Exempt, except for pools
Not exempt
Erosion and sediment pollution control requirements
Must comply with Title 25, Chapter 102, of the Pa. Code and any other applicable state, county, and municipal codes. PADEP requires an engineered post-construction SWM plan for projects proposing earth disturbance in excess of 1 acre.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix I is included as an attachment to this chapter.
C. 
Agricultural activity is exempt from the peak rate control requirements and SWM site plan preparation requirements of this chapter, provided that the activities are performed according to the requirements of 25 Pa. Code § 102.
D. 
Forest management and timber operations are exempt from the peak rate control requirements and SWM site plan preparation requirements of this chapter, provided that the activities are performed according to the requirements of 25 Pa. Code § 102.
E. 
Any aspect of BMP maintenance to an existing SWM system made in accordance with plans and specifications approved by Warwick Township is exempt.
F. 
The use of land for gardening for home consumption is exempt from the requirements of this chapter.
G. 
Exemptions from any provisions of this chapter shall not relieve the applicant from the requirements in § 157-10D through L.
H. 
Earth-disturbance activities which disturb less than 1,000 square feet of a lot or parcel are exempt from the requirement to prepare an SWM site plan; however, for development taking place in stages, the entire site must be used in determining conformance with this chapter. Activities disturbing in excess of 1,000 square feet must prepare an erosion control plan, which shall be reviewed and approved by the Township and the Bucks County Conservation District.
[Amended 10-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-05]
I. 
Additional exemption criteria:
(1) 
Exemption responsibilities. An exemption shall not relieve the applicant from implementing such measures as are necessary to protect public health, safety, and property.
(2) 
Drainage problems. Where drainage problems are documented or known to exist downstream of or are expected from the proposed activity, the municipality may deny exemptions.
(3) 
Exemptions are limited to specific portions of this chapter.
(4) 
HQ and EV streams. The municipality may deny exemptions in high quality (HQ) or exceptional value (EV) waters and source water protection areas (SWPAs).
Approvals issued pursuant to this chapter do not relieve the applicant of the responsibility to secure required permits or approvals for activities regulated by any other applicable code, rule, act, or ordinance. To the extent that this chapter imposes more-rigorous or more-stringent requirements for stormwater management, the specific requirements contained in this chapter shall be followed.
[Added 10-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-05]
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.
[Added 10-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-05]
A. 
If the municipality determines that any requirement under this chapter cannot be achieved for a particular regulated activity, the Township may, after an evaluation of alternatives, approve measures other than those in this chapter, subject to § 157-7.2B and C.
B. 
Waivers or modifications of the requirements of this chapter may be approved by the municipality if enforcement will exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in question, provided that the modifications will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose of the chapter is preserved. Cost or financial burden shall not be considered a hardship. Modification may be considered if an alternative standard or approach will provide equal or better achievement of the purpose of the chapter. A request for modifications shall be in writing and accompany the stormwater management site plan submission or the grading permit application. The request shall provide the facts on which the request is based, the provision(s) of the chapter involved and the proposed modification.
C. 
No waiver or modification of the requirements for an NPDES general permit for discharges of stormwater associated with construction activities may be granted by the municipality unless that action is approved in advance by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or the delegated county conservation district.