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Lewisboro Town Board
Dec 21, 2007
Board adopts new storm water ordinances
Pushed by the state to create this law or face heavy fines, the Town Board unanimously adopted two new ordinances on Tuesday night that regulate storm water runoff but with modifications to respect the needs of the town and the homeowners who live in it. The vote followed a public hearing that drew no comment.
Both ordinances are required by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to become law by the end of 2007, as part of the Year Five Town of Lewisboro Phase II storm water permit.
All municipalities in Westchester must meet the new DEC requirements, designed to preserve and protect water quality by implementing new measures for monitoring and controlling storm water runoff.
“This is a new and important step the town must take,” said Town Board member and supervisor-elect Edward Brancati. “It is mandated by the DEC and adoption tonight will put us in full compliance with the law.”
Two new laws
The first ordinance, “Stormwater: Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination,” Chapter 188, will meet federal and state regulations for prohibiting illegal discharges to the town’s municipal storm sewer system.
The second, “Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sediment Control,” Chapter 189, will meet federal and state regulations for addressing storm water management requirements and controls.
Both new chapters comply with mandatory federal and state storm water management requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Town Board members, the town’s Stormwater Committee, and town planners and their consultants have been working on drafting the two ordinances for several months. Mr. Brancati served as the Town Board liaison on the project, which involved revising and refining draft ordinances provided by the DEC.
Mr. Brancati told The Ledger the town had tailored the language to the specific needs of Lewisboro and taken care to insure that it would not be burdensome for the town or for homeowners.
“For example, the illicit discharge ordinances exempt a long list of discharges that are exempt unless either the DEC or the town determines them to be substantial polluters,” he said. “These include, among others, water line flushing, air conditioning condensation, residential irrigation water, water from car washing, natural wetland flows, and water from any other source that does not contain pollutants.”
Mr. Brancati said the storm water management ordinance keeps most homeowners in the clear.
“One acre is the key phrase here,” he said. “This chapter only applies to land development activity, which is defined as ‘construction activity including clearing, grubbing, grading, excavating, soil disturbance or placement of fill’ that is equal to or greater than that amount of land,” he said.
The ordinance applies to land development activities disturbing less than one acre only when that land is part of a larger common plan of development or sale.
The ordinance also has a list of exempt activities, including agriculture; land development with a permit that pre-dates the new law; emergency activity needed to protect life, property or natural resources; installation of fences and poles; and residential home gardening, landscaping and horticultural activities in connection with an existing structure.
If the land development activity is equal to or greater than one acre, a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan must be submitted to the town. If the disturbance area is equal to or greater than five acres and involves the review and approval of a subdivision, site development plan, special permit and/or freshwater wetland and watercourse, the matter will be handled by the town Planning Board.
Both chapters create escrow accounts and fee structures similar to those currently in existence in Lewisboro, reasonable inspections, noticing requirements to violators along with options to remedy the situations, various enforcement measures and fine structures.
The two new ordinances are posted on the town of Lewisboro Web site, lewisborogov.com. Additional guidelines and specifications are outlined in the New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual and the New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control, both of which may be obtained from the DEC.
Board comment
Speaking before the unanimous adoption of the two ordinances, Town Board member Peter DeLucia said he was pleased they contain so many practical exemptions to protect homeowners.
“This is really important,” he said. “This law was written for major work, not everyday repairs, maintenance and gardening. To make it user-friendly, we will have a code enforcement officer available to assess situations, answer questions and give advice.”
Town Board member Suzanne Whalen thanked Mr. Brancati and the committee for their months of work on drafting the two ordinances.
“We were really under the gun with this because of the deadline,” she said. “I give Ed and the committee a lot of credit because you didn’t just adopt the model ordinance, you made it specific to the town.”
Mr. Brancati responded.
“It was a great collective effort,” he said. “We are now ahead of the curve and have to make sure we stay there.”
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