Town of Babylon, NY Dredging

It shall be the public policy of the Town to preserve the purity and integrity of its coastal wetlands. The health, welfare and protection of its persons and property require that the Town reasonably restrict the uses of its wetlands along the waterfront of the Great South Bay. It is therefore in the exercise of this power that the Town enacts these dredging regulations, regulating and controlling the removal of land from Town owned property by any form of dredging.

It shall further be the policy of the Town to solicit an opinion from the New York State Conservation Department regarding the merits of each dredging application.

§ 108-2 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

PRIVATE UPLAND: Upland which abuts a waterway or watercourse and which is owned by a private person, association, partnership or corporation.

TOWN: The Town of Babylon.

TOWN LAND: Land owned by the Town, whether upland or in the bed of a waterway or watercourse.

§ 108-3 Permit required.

Notwithstanding the prior granting of permission so to do, no person shall remove any material from the bed of any waterway or watercourse or from any private upland or any upland owned by the Town without obtaining from the Town Clerk a written permit therefor, issued on the order of the Town Board as hereinafter provided.

§ 108-4 Authority to obtain state opinion for permit.

Before the granting of any application for a permit hereunder, the Town, in its discretion, shall obtain an opinion from the State Conservation Department regarding the merits of each such application.

§ 108-5 Application for permit.

A permit hereunder shall be issued only on the verified written application of the person proposing to remove or cause the removal of such material. Said permit shall state the amount thereof proposed to be removed, shall describe the area from which such removal is proposed by the latitude and longitude coordinates as determined from the then current United States Coast and Geodetic Survey of the area, if the area involved is in the bed of a waterway or watercourse and by courses and distances, if upland, and shall state the depth to which such removal is proposed throughout such area.

Such application shall be accompanied by a survey showing the sounding of the area from which such removal is proposed. If the area is in the bed of any waterway or watercourse and if Town land is involved, said survey shall be by sections showing the manner in which such removal is to be made and shall include a topographical map, with contours at one-foot intervals, of the area in which the material removed is to be deposited; all of which shall be certified by a professional engineer or surveyor, licensed by the State of New York.

The application shall also state the principals in the applicant's firm as well as information pertaining to prior dredging operations in Nassau County or Suffolk County.

§ 108-6 Deposit to accompany application.

Each application for a permit hereunder shall be filed with the Town Clerk and shall be accompanied by an application fee of $25; and if the application involves the removal of material from upland belonging to the Town, by an amount estimated by the Town Clerk as necessary to defray all expenses which will be incurred by reason of the fact that the resolution required by § 108-7 hereof will be subject to a permissive referendum.

§ 108-7 Resolutions to issue permits.

The Town Board may adopt a resolution directing the issuance of a permit hereunder for the removal of material from Town land if it shall find that the material proposed to be removed is not required for any Town purpose, that the proposed removal will not violate the provisions of § 108-18 hereof and that the public interest will not be otherwise prejudiced thereby. If the application involves the removal of material from upland belonging to the Town, such resolution shall be subject to a permissive referendum, as provided by Article 7, §§ 90 through 94, of the Town Law.

§ 108-8 Option to waive or modify permit requirements.

[Amended 2-15-1972]

If the Town Board shall find that a proposed removal of Town land will benefit the Town substantially as a necessary improvement of any waterway or waterways affected thereby, the resolution directing the issuance of a permit may waive all or any part of the payments provided in § 108-14 hereof. The Town Board is hereby authorized to modify the requirements contained in § 108-12 hereof, in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as to adequately protect the Town, the applicant and the residents of the Town, without placing an undue financial burden upon the applicant or his subcontractors.

§ 108-9 Removal of material from private upland.

The Town Board may adopt a resolution directing the issuance of a permit hereunder for the removal of material from private upland if it shall find that such proposed removal will not violate the provisions of § 108-18 hereof and that the public interest will not be otherwise prejudiced thereby.

§ 108-10 Placing restrictions upon removal procedures.

The Town Board may, on the adoption of a resolution directing the issuance of any permit hereunder, impose conditions on the manner and extent of the proposed removal designed to eliminate or prevent any of the contingencies outlined in § 108-18 hereof and fix the time on which the removal operations must be commenced and within which they must be completed and require a deposit in such amount as it may deem necessary to be applied on account of the payments provided in § 108-14 hereof. The Town Board may also fix the times that the dredging operation may be conducted and shall prohibit, if necessary, any operation on holidays or weekends.

§ 108-11 Issuance of permit.

The Town Clerk, after a resolution pursuant to this chapter directing the issuance of a permit hereunder has become effective and after the receipt of a permit fee of $75 and of a performance bond and public liability insurance policy and of the deposit required by such resolution, shall issue such permit conditioned on compliance with such resolution and this chapter.

§ 108-12 Performance bond; insurance.

The applicant for a permit hereunder shall, before the issuance thereof by the Town Clerk, file with the Town Clerk a bond in an amount and with sureties and in the form approved by the Town Board, conditioned on compliance with the provisions of this chapter and with the conditions, if any, imposed in the resolution directing the issuance of such permit; and a policy of public liability insurance with independent contractors and assumed liability coverage insuring the Town as the named insured at the expense of the applicant against any liability which may arise from the removal or deposit of material under such permit, whether or not the act or omission complained of is by the applicant or any individual employed by the applicant or by the Town, and covering any and all damage which may occur within two years after completion of the operations under such permit in an amount not less than $200,000 for bodily injuries, including death, to any one person and, subject to the same limit for one person, in an amount not less than $500,000 on account of each accident; and for property damage in an amount not less than $100,000 for one accident and in an amount not less than $500,000 on account of all accidents.

§ 108-13 Transferability of permits.

Permits issued under this chapter shall be transferable only on the written consent of the Town Board and on such conditions as it may impose.

§ 108-14 Payment for dredged material.

The applicant for a permit hereunder shall pay to the Town such sum as may be fixed by the Town Board for all soil, sand or other material removed from Town land as a result of his operations under such permit, as shown by and accompanying the biweekly certifications required by § 108-15 hereof. The final payment shall be made within 30 days after the date specified by the Town Board resolution authorizing issuance of the permit or within 30 days after the completion of the work, whichever shall sooner occur. The Town shall consult with the State Conservation Department or any other authority at any time to determine the value of the dredged material.

§ 108-15 Biweekly certifications of material removed.

Commencing on the second Friday after the issuance of a permit hereunder, whether or not removal operations have commenced, the person to whom such permit is issued shall furnish biweekly certifications of a competent professional engineer, duly licensed by the State of New York, of the quantities of material removed or, if none has been removed, a certification to that fact. There shall be attached to such certification a sketch showing the progress of the removal operations and any deviation from the terms of such permit.

§ 108-16 Certificate of material removed with final payment.

The final payment under § 108-14 hereof shall be accompanied by a certificate by a licensed professional engineer of the amount of material removed and of compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 108-17 Use of certifications in computing amount removed.

In computing the amount of material removed under a permit issued hereunder, the Town Board, in its discretion, may accept a certification of the amount of material deposited or stored as a result of such removal, as the equivalent of the amount removed.

§ 108-18 Preservation and safety of related lands and people.

All operations under any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be performed in such manner that the removal of material and the redepositing and storage thereof, will neither undermine, weaken nor deprive of support other lands in the vicinity, nor otherwise adversely affect the waterways of the Town and the lands abutting thereon, nor unless the permit issued pursuant hereto shall expressly provide otherwise, substantially change the course of any channel or the natural movement or flow of any waters or cause or accelerate the drift of underwater soil, sand, gravel, bog or mud.

The applicant shall, by the acceptance of a permit hereunder, take and assume all responsibility for any and all operations thereunder and take all precautions for the prevention of injuries to persons and property by reason of such operations and assume the defense of and indemnify and save harmless the Town and its officers and employees from any and all claims arising out of or in connection with operations under such permit and any and all acts, omissions or negligence on the part of the applicant and his agents and employees.

The Town shall require the applicant to obtain an opinion from the State Conservation Department as to the content of this section.

§ 108-19 Duties upon completion of removal operations.

Upon completion of a removal operation hereunder, the person to whom the permit therefor has been issued shall submit to the State Director of Conservation a certificate from a competent professional engineer, licensed by the state, that the work has been completed in accordance with this chapter and the resolution of the Town Board directing the issuance of such permit, together with a survey showing that the removal operation has been completed, indicating the depth of the area from which material shall have been removed and the slopes from which material shall have been removed connecting with the adjoining lands.

In addition, the permittee, upon the completion of his operations hereunder, shall trim and dress the land under water and shall leave specifically required side slopes on the boundaries of any dredging areas adjacent to the shoreline.

§ 108-20 Conditions of suspension or revocation of permit.

If any person to whom a permit shall have been issued hereunder shall fail at any time to comply with the provisions of this chapter or with the conditions imposed by the resolution of the Town Board directing the issuance of such permit, he shall, upon the direction of the State Conservation Department or the Town Board, immediately suspend all operations under such permit for such period as may be prescribed by the Town and shall have a period of 30 days to remedy any condition which the Town shall require of the permittee. He shall cease all operations and remove all equipment used in connection therewith and, upon such direction by the Town Board, his permit to dredge shall be deemed null and void. However, the suspension or revocation of such permit, as directed by the Town, shall in no way relieve the permittee of any of his obligations hereunder.

§ 108-21 Enforcement.

The Town Engineer, Building Inspector or any duly authorized agent of the Town shall enforce the provisions of this chapter, and it shall be the duty of said officers of the Town to see that the conditions providing for any permit issued hereunder will be fully carried out by the permittee.

The said officers shall make necessary inspections to see that the provisions of this chapter are carried out and that the dredging operation is safe. In addition, the officers shall have the power to order and compel the suspension of any work and prohibit the use of any material or equipment which shall violate the provisions of this chapter and which may be construed as unsafe as they deem necessary. The officers hereinbefore mentioned shall have the right to secure the necessary safeguards during the dredging operations and to require adequate safety facilities on the job location.

The officers herein shall at all times have access to the working area and shall make such inspections as they deem necessary.

§ 108-22 Liability for unlawful removal of materials.

Any person who shall remove any material from Town land and any person who shall cause such material to be so removed, without having a valid and effective permit pursuant to this chapter, shall be liable for the payment to the Town of $1,000 for each day or part thereof during which such removal shall take place for the material removed such day, in addition to any penalties prescribed by law and any other damages for which he may be liable.

§ 108-23 Penalties for offenses.

Any person violating this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months for each such violation, or by both such fine and imprisonment.