[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Babylon 12-9-1969.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Beaches — See Ch. 81.
A.
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.
B.
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.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:
Upland which abuts a waterway or watercourse and which is
owned by a private person, association, partnership or corporation.
The Town of Babylon.
Land owned by the Town, whether upland or in the bed of a
waterway or watercourse.
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.
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.
A.
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.
B.
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.
C.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A.
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.
B.
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.
C.
The Town shall require the applicant to obtain an
opinion from the State Conservation Department as to the content of
this section.
A.
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.
B.
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.
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.
A.
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.
B.
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.
C.
The officers herein shall at all times have access
to the working area and shall make such inspections as they deem necessary.
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.
[Amended 4-27-2022 by L.L. No. 10-2022; 12-20-2023 by L.L. No. 25-2023]
Any person or entity violating this chapter
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine
of not less than $500 nor more than $2,500 or by imprisonment for
a period not exceeding six months for each such offense, or by both
such fine and imprisonment. Any person or entity found by the Bureau
of Administrative Adjudication to have violated this chapter shall
likewise be subject to a monetary penalty of not less than $500 nor
more than $2,500.
