ORDINANCE
06-19
AN AMENDMENT TO THE
Stormwater Management
Ordinance
BE
IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE OF THE
Section 1: Scope and
Purpose
1.1 Policy Statement
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
mandated that all states enact regulations to address the negative impacts of
stormwater runoff on the Nation’s streams and water resources. The State of
Stormwater management is
the process of minimizing stormwater runoff and directing stormwater runoff to appropriate
nonstructural and structural stormwater management measures so as to control
flooding, recharge ground water and reduce pollution of water- resources. Transport of stormwater-related pollutants
into local surface and ground waters can result in: the destruction of fish, wildlife,
and habitats; threats to public health due to contaminated food and drinking
water supplies; and losses of recreational and aesthetic values. Stormwater management shall occur with the
understanding and acceptance of stormwater as a resource; low impact and
non-structural measures shall be tailored to a site and applied wherever and to
the extent feasible.
1.2
Purpose
The purpose of this ordinance is to establish minimum
stormwater management requirements and controls for major development and to
reduce the amount of non-point source pollution entering surface and ground
waters. This ordinance guides new
development in a manner that is proactive and minimizes harmful impacts to
natural resources. Specifically, this
ordinance shall:
1.2.1
Reduce flood damage to protect public health, life and property
1.2.2
Minimize increased stormwater runoff rates and volumes
1.2.3
Minimize the deterioration of existing structures that would result
from increased rates of stormwater
runoff
1.2.4
Induce water recharge into the ground wherever suitable infiltration,
soil permeability, and favorable geological conditions exist.
1.2.5
Prevent an increase in non-point source pollution
1.2.6
Maintain the integrity and stability of stream channels and buffers for
their ecological functions, as well as for drainage, the conveyance of
floodwater, and other purposes
1.2.7
Control and minimize soil erosion and the transport of
sediment
1.2.8
Minimize public safety hazards at any stormwater
detention facility constructed pursuant to subdivision or site plan approval
1.2.9
Maintain adequate base-flow and natural flow regimes
in all streams and other surface
water bodies to protect the aquatic ecosystem
1.2.10
Protect all surface water resources from degradation
1.2.11
Protect ground water resources from degradation and diminution; and
1.2.12
Ensure
that any additional ¼ acre of impervious surface, complies with this ordinance,
as required by
1.3
Applicability
1.3.1
This ordinance shall be applicable to Site plans and subdivisions,
considered individually and/or cumulatively, as of the date of adoption of this
ordinance, for the following major developments:
a)
Non-residential major developments.
b)
Aspects of residential major developments that are not pre-empted by the
Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS) at N.J.A.C. 5:21.
c) Any agricultural or horticultural
development that meets the definition of “major development” under NJAC 7:8.
1.3.2 This ordinance shall also be
applicable to all Major Developments undertaken by
1.4 Compatibility
with Other Permit and Ordinance Requirements
Development approvals issued for subdivisions and site plans
pursuant to this ordinance are to be considered an integral part of development
approvals under the subdivision and site plan review process and do not relieve
the applicant of the responsibility to secure required permits or approvals for
activities regulated by any other applicable statute, code, rule, act, or
ordinance. In their interpretation and
application, the provisions of this ordinance shall be held to be the minimum
requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety and general
welfare. This ordinance shall be construed to assure consistency with the
requirements of
Section
2: Definitions
Unless specifically defined below, words or phrases
used in this ordinance shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they
have in common usage and to give this ordinance its most reasonable application
with the objective of managing stormwater. The definitions below are the same
as or based on the corresponding definitions in the Stormwater Management Rules
at N.J.A.C. 7:8-1.2 and other State sources.
“Agricultural or horticultural development”
means construction and/or land uses normally associated with the production of
food, fiber and livestock for sale. Such uses do not include the development of
land for the processing or sale of food and the manufacturing of agriculturally
related products.
“Best Management Practices” “BMP” means “New
Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual,” adopted by the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (“Department”) originally in February
2004, as updated and revised. Consult www.njstormwater.org for this Manual
and other pertinent information.
“Category One Waters” or “C-1
Waters” means those waters designated in the tables in NJAC 7:9B-1.15(c)
through (h), for purposes of implementing the anti-degradation policies set
forth in NJAC 7:9B-1.5(d), for protection from measurable changes in water
quality characteristics because of their clarity, color, scenic setting, other
characteristics of aesthetic value, exceptional ecological significance,
exceptional recreational significance, exceptional water supply significance,
or exceptional fisheries resource(s). As
per NJAC 7:8-5.5 a three hundred (300) foot special water resource protection
area (“buffer”) is required on each side of all waters designated as C-1,
measured perpendicular to the waterway from the top of bank outwards or from
the centerline of the waterway, where the bank is not defined, consisting of
existing vegetation or vegetation allowed to follow natural succession.
“Compaction” means the increase in soil bulk density.
“Core” means a pedestrian-oriented
area of commercial and civic uses serving the surrounding municipality,
generally including housing and access to public transportation.
“County review agency” means an
agency designated by the
1) A county planning agency; or
2) A county water resource association created
under N.J.S.A 58:16A-55.5, if the ordinance or resolution delegates authority
to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove municipal stormwater
management plans and implementing ordinances.
“Department” means the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
“Designated Center” means a State
Development and
“Design engineer” means a person
professionally qualified and duly licensed in
“Development” means the division of
a parcel of land into two or more parcels; the construction, reconstruction,
conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any building or
structure; any mining excavation or landfill; and any use or change in the use
of any building or other structure, or land or extension of use of land, by any
person, for which permission is required under the Municipal Land Use Law,
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. In the case of
development of agricultural lands, development means: any activity that
requires a State permit; any activity reviewed by the County Agricultural
Development Board (CADB) and the State Agriculture Development Committee
(SADC), and municipal review of any activity not exempted by the Right to Farm
Act, N.J.S.A 4:1C-1 et seq.
“Disturbance” means any activity including the
clearing, excavating, storing, grading, filling or transportation of soil or
any other activity that causes soil to be exposed to the danger of erosion.
“Drainage area” means a geographic
area within which stormwater, sediments, or dissolved materials drain to a
particular receiving water body or to a particular point along a receiving
water body.
“Environmentally critical areas”
means an area or feature which is of significant environmental value, including
but not limited to: stream corridors; natural heritage priority sites; habitats
of endangered or threatened species; large areas of contiguous open space or
upland forest; steep slopes; and well head protection and groundwater recharge
areas. Habitats of endangered or
threatened species are identified using the Department’s Landscape Project as
approved by the Department’s Endangered and Non-game Species Program.
“Erosion” means the detachment and
movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice or gravity.
“Ground water” means a body of water
below the surface of the land, in a
zone of saturation where the spaces between the soil or geological materials
are fully saturated with water.
“HUC-14” means a watershed as defined
by the United States Geological Survey with a 14-digit identifier; a
subwatershed.
Impervious surface” means a surface
that has been compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is
highly resistant to infiltration by water. Impervious surfaces include roofs; and roads, parking lots,
drives, sidewalks and patios
that are constructed of asphalt, concrete, gravel and/or stone.
“Infiltration” is the process by
which water seeps into the soil from precipitation.
“Major development” means any “development” that
provides for ultimately disturbing one or more acres of land or that increases
impervious surface by one-quarter acre or more. (Note: “major development” for purposes of
this ordinance is not identical to the definitions in the Municipal Land Use
Law or local zoning ordinances; see also Section 92-4 of the Code of East
Amwell Township).
“Maximum Extent Feasible” means compliance
with the specific objective to the greatest extent possible taking into account
equitable considerations and competing factors, including but not limited to,
environmental benefits, pollutant removal effectiveness, regulatory compliance,
ability to implement given site-specific environmental conditions, cost and
technical or engineering feasibility.
“Municipality” means any city, borough, town,
township, or village.
“Node” means an area designated by
the State Planning Commission concentrating facilities and activities that are
not organized in a compact form.
“Nonstructural Stormwater Management
Techniques” means techniques that control or reduce stormwater runoff in the
absence of stormwater structures (e.g., basins and piped conveyances), such as
minimizing site disturbance, preserving important site features including, but
not limited to, natural vegetation, reducing and disconnecting impervious
surface, minimizing slopes, utilizing native vegetation, minimizing turf grass
lawns, increasing time of concentration and maintaining and enhancing natural
drainage features and characteristics
“Nutrient” means a chemical
substance and/or compound, such as nitrate or phosphate, organic materials,
etc., which is essential to and promotes the development of organisms.
“Person” means any individual(s),
corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, East Amwell Township,
County, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal
jurisdiction pursuant to the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.
“Pollutant” means any dredged spoil,
solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, refuse,
oil, grease, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials,
medical wastes, radioactive substances (except those regulated under the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), thermal waste, wrecked
or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, industrial, municipal,
agricultural, residential, and construction waste or runoff, or other residue
discharged directly or indirectly to the land, ground waters or surface waters
of the State, or to a domestic treatment works. “Pollutant” includes both
hazardous and non-hazardous pollutants.
“Recharge” means the amount of water
from precipitation that infiltrates into the ground and is not
evapo-transpired, i.e. evaporated or transpired.
“Sediment” means solid material,
mineral or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been
moved from its site of origin by air, water or gravity as a product of erosion.
“Site” means the lot or lots upon
which a major development is to occur or has occurred.
“Soil” means all unconsolidated
mineral and organic material of any origin.
“Solid and floatable materials”
means sediment, debris, trash, and other floating or suspended solids.
“Special Resource Waters” means
water bodies receiving special protections due to their drinking water status
or role as high-quality habitat for Threatened and Endangered species or
species of commercial or recreational importance. This includes waterways so designated through
the NJ Stormwater Management Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:8) because of exceptional
ecological significance, exceptional water supply significance, exceptional
recreational significance, exceptional shellfish resource, or exceptional
fisheries resource. Waters so designated
are protected by a 300-foot buffer extending on either side of the waterway
measured perpendicular from top-of-bank or center of channel for waterways
lacking a defined top-of-bank; See Definition of “Category One”, “C-1 waters.”
“State Plan Policy Map” is defined
as the geographic application of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan’s
goals and statewide policies, and the official map of these goals and policies.
“Stormwater” means water resulting from
precipitation (including rain and snow) that runs off the land’s surface, is
transmitted to the subsurface, or is captured by separate storm sewers or other
sewage or drainage facilities, or conveyed by snow removal equipment.
“Stormwater Coordinator” means the person(s)
designated by the governing body to review all development applications for
compliance with federal, state and local Stormwater Control and Stormwater
Management requirements. Usually, the
Municipal Engineer will be designated as the Stormwater Coordinator.
“Stormwater runoff” means stormwater
flow on the surface or in storm sewers, resulting from precipitation.
“Stormwater management basin” means
an excavation or embankment and related areas designed to retain stormwater
runoff. A stormwater management basin
may either be normally dry (that is, a detention basin or infiltration basin),
retain water in a permanent pool (a retention basin), or be planted mainly with
wetland vegetation (most constructed stormwater wetlands).
“Stormwater management measure”
means any structural or nonstructural strategy, practice, technology, process,
program, or other method intended to control or reduce stormwater runoff and
associated pollutants, or to induce or control the infiltration or groundwater
recharge of stormwater or to eliminate illicit or illegal non-stormwater
discharges into stormwater conveyances.
“Structural Stormwater Techniques”
means a stormwater management measure that involves control of concentrated
stormwater runoff or infiltration such as stormwater basins, piped conveyance
systems and manufactured stormwater devices, and can include various types of
basins, filters, surfaces, and devices located on individual lots in a
residential development or throughout a commercial, industrial, or
institutional development site in areas not typically suited for larger,
centralized structural facilities.
“Suspended Solids” or “SS” are all
material carried by water that is not dissolved in it or gross matter floating
on it, and “Total Suspended Solids” or “TSS” are the measure of all such
suspended solids.
“Threatened
and/or Endangered Species” means those species whose
prospects for survival in New Jersey are in immediate danger because of a loss
or change in habitat, over-exploitation, predation, competition, disease,
disturbance or contamination. Assistance
is needed to prevent extinction in
“Total
Suspended Solids” or “TSS” : See definition of “Suspended Solids”
“Vegetation” and/or “vegetated
buffer” as used in this ordinance, means plant life and plant cover in
soil. However, lawns are not permitted
as vegetated cover for buffers because of excess run-off and potential for pollution
from fertilizer and other lawn “care” products.
A suggested list of native and non-invasive species appropriate for use
for purposes of this ordinance, is attached as “Appendix A”. This list is not exclusive.
“Waters of the State” means the
ocean and its estuaries, all springs, streams, wetlands, and bodies of surface
or ground water, whether natural or artificial, within the boundaries of the
State of New Jersey or subject to its jurisdiction.
“Wetlands” or “wetland” means an
area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a
frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal
circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for
life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as hydrophytic vegetation.
Section 3: General Standards
3.1
Design and Performance Standards for Stormwater Management Measures
3.1.1
Stormwater management
measures for all major developments that ultimately disturb one or more acres
of land shall be developed to meet the:
a) erosion control standards,
b) groundwater recharge standards,
c) stormwater runoff quantity
standards, and
d) stormwater runoff quality standards
in Section 4.
Major
residential developments that increase impervious surface by one quarter acre
or more but do not ultimately disturb one or more acres of land must develop
stormwater management measures to meet the stormwater runoff quantity standards
in Section 4.
To the maximum extent feasible,
these standards shall be met by incorporating nonstructural stormwater
management strategies into the design.
If these strategies alone are not sufficient to meet these standards,
structural stormwater management measures necessary to meet these standards
shall be incorporated into the design, along with the feasible non-structural
strategies
3.1.2
These standards apply only to new major development after
February 2, 2004 and are intended to minimize the impact of stormwater runoff
on quality and quantity of water in receiving water bodies and to maintain
groundwater recharge.
3.1.3
These standards do not apply to new major
development to the extent that alternative design and performance standards are
applicable under a regional stormwater management plan or Water Quality
Management Plan adopted in accordance with Department rules.
Section 4: Stormwater Management Requirements
4.1
The development shall incorporate a
maintenance plan for
the stormwater management measures incorporated into the design of a major
development in accordance with Section 10.
4.2
Stormwater management measures shall avoid
adverse impacts of
concentrated flow on habitat for threatened and endangered species as
documented in the Department’s Landscape Project or Natural Heritage Database
established under N.J.S.A. 13:1B-15.147 through 15.150, particularly Helonias bullata (swamp pink) and/or Clemmys muhlnebergi (bog turtle).
4.3
The following linear development projects are
exempt from the
groundwater recharge, stormwater runoff quantity, and the stormwater runoff
quality requirements of Sections 4.6 and
4.7.4.
4.3.1 The construction of an underground utility
line provided that the disturbed areas are revegetated upon completion, in
accordance with the suggested list, attached as Appendix A
4.3.2 The construction of an aboveground utility
line provided that the existing conditions are maintained to the maximum extent
feasible; and
4.3.3
The
construction of a public pedestrian access, such as a sidewalk or trail with a
maximum width of eight (8) feet provided that the access is made of permeable
material.
4.4
A waiver by the Planning Board, upon recommendation by the
Stormwater Coordinator, from strict compliance from the
applicable groundwater
recharge, stormwater runoff quantity, and stormwater runoff quality
requirements of Sections 4.6 and 4.7 may be obtained for the enlargement of an
existing public roadway or railroad; or the construction or enlargement of a
public pedestrian access, provided that the following conditions are met:
4.4.1
The
applicant demonstrates that there is a public need for the project that cannot
be accomplished by any other means, and
4.4.2
The
applicant demonstrates through an alternatives analysis, that through the use
of nonstructural and structural stormwater management strategies and measures,
the option selected complies with the requirements of Sections 4.6 and 4.7 to
the maximum extent feasible, and
4.4.3
The
applicant demonstrates that, in order to meet the requirements of Sections 4.6
and 4.G, existing structures currently in use, such as homes and buildings,
would need to be condemned, and
4.4.4
The
applicant demonstrates that it does not own or have other rights to areas,
including the potential to obtain through purchase or condemnation lands not
falling under D.3 above within the upstream drainage area of the receiving
stream, that would provide additional opportunities to mitigate the requirements
of Sections 4.6 and 4.7 that were not achievable on-site.
4.5 Nonstructural
Stormwater Management Strategies