ORDINANCE NO. 2006-#04           AN ORDINANCE TO SUPPLEMENT THE REVISED ORDINANCES OF THE BOROUGH OF RINGWOOD TO ADD A CHAPTER 27 A ENTITLED “STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS”

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Municipal Council of the Borough of Ringwood, County of Passaic and State of New Jersey, as follows:

 

SECTION 1. The Revised Ordinances of the Borough of Ringwood are hereby supplemented by the addition of the following Chapter 27A entitled “Stormwater Management Regulations”

 

CHAPTER 27A  STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS

 

27A-1.             Article 1.         General Provisions.

 

27A-1.1           Short Title.  The provisions of this Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Stormwater Management Ordinance of the Borough of Ringwood” or the “Stormwater Management Ordinance.”

 

27A-1.2           Purpose.

 

It is the purpose of Chapter to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls for major development (as hereinafter defined) in the Borough of Ringwood.  This Chapter is enacted to implement the Borough’s responsibility to the Department (as hereinafter defined) pursuant to regulations and permits issued in accordance with State and Federal law.

 

27A-1.3           Applicability.

 

The requirements of this Chapter shall apply to all major developments (as hereinafter defined) requiring subdivision approval pursuant to Chapter 23 of the Revised Ordinances of the Borough or site plan approval (including, but not limited to, residential site plan approval) pursuant to Chapter 24 of the said Revised Ordinances.

           

27A-1.4           Policy Statement.

 

In construing and implementing this Chapter, flood control, groundwater recharge, and pollutant reduction through nonstructural or low impact techniques shall be explored and, if feasible required, in preference to structural BMPs (as hereinafter defined). Structural BMPs, when necessary, shall be integrated with nonstructural stormwater management measures and proper maintenance plans. Nonstructural techniques include both environmentally sensitive site design and source controls that prevent pollutants from being placed on the site. Source control plans should be developed based upon physical site conditions and the origin, nature, and the anticipated loading of potential pollutants. Multiple stormwater management BMPs may be necessary to achieve the performance standards for water quality, quantity, and groundwater recharge established by this Chapter.

 

 

27A-1.5           Compatibility with Other Permit and Ordinance Requirements

 

The requirements of this Chapter are an integral part of development approvals under the subdivision and site plan review Chapters and 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.  The provisions of this Chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare. This Chapter; is not intended to interfere with, abrogate, or annul any other Chapters of the said Code or any rule, regulation, statute, or other provision of law except that, when any provision of this Chapter imposes restrictions different from those imposed by any other such Chapter, rule, regulation, or other provision of law, the more restrictive provisions or higher standards shall control.

 

27A-2.             Article 2.         Definitions.

 

27A-2.1           General Provision.

 

Unless specifically defined in this Article, words or phrases used in this Chapter shall be interpreted so as to give them the meaning they have in common usage and to give this ordinance its most reasonable application.

 

27A-2.2           Definitions.  For purposes of this Chapter the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings”

 

“Adverse hydraulic impact” means (but is not limited to) exacerbating a naturally or seasonally high water table so as to cause surficial ponding, flooding of basements, or interference with the proper operation of subsurface sewage disposal systems and other subsurface structures in the vicinity or downgradient of a groundwater recharge area.

 

“Agricultural Development” means 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.

 

“BMP” means a Best Management Practice as defined in the New Jersey Stormwater Best Practices Manual.  The plural of BMP is BMPs.

 

“Category One waters” means waters designated by the Department as Category One waters in N.J.A.C. 7:9B, as it may hereinafter be amended which is incorporated in this Chapter by reference.  Category One waters shall also include Highlands open waters as defined in N.J.A.C. 7:38, as it may hereafter be amended, which is incorporated in this Chapter by reference. 

 

“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 the Passaic County Planning Board or other agency designated by the County Board of Chosen Freeholders to review municipal stormwater management plans and implementing ordinances.

 

“Department” means the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

 

“Designated Center” means a State Development and Redevelopment Plan Center as designated by the State Planning Commission such as urban, regional, town, village, or hamlet.

 

“Design engineer” means a person professionally qualified and duly licensed in New Jersey to perform engineering services that may include, but not necessarily be limited to, development of project requirements, creation and development of project design and preparation of drawings and specifications.

 

“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 for which permission may be required pursuant to 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 Board (CAB) and the State Agricultural 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 the placement of impervious surface or exposure and/or movement of soil or bedrock or clearing, cutting, or removing of vegetation.

 

“Drainage area” means a geographic area within which stormwater, sediments, or dissolved materials drain to a particular receiving waterbody or to a particular point along a receiving waterbody.

 

“Environmentally constrained area” means the following areas where the physical alteration of the land is in some way restricted, either through regulation, easement, deed restriction or ownership such as:  wetlands, floodplains, threatened and endangered species sites or designated habitats, and parks and preserves.

 

“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; habitat of endangered or threatened species; large areas of contiguous open space or upland forest; steep slopes; and well head protection and groundwater recharge areas.

 

“EPA” means the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or any successor agency or department responsible under Federal law for ground water pollution control.

 

“Erosion” means the detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice or gravity.

 

“Impervious surface” means a surface that has been covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water.

 

“Habitats of endangered or threatened species” means those habitats identified using the Department’s Landscape Project as approved by the Department’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program. 

 

“Infiltration” is the process by which water that seeps into the soil from precipitation.

 

“Major development” means any “development” that provides for ultimately disturbing one or more acres of land or increasing impervious surface by one-quarter acre or more. [Projects undertaken by any government agency which otherwise meet the definition of “major development” but which do not require approval under the MLUL are also considered “major development.”]*

 

“MLUL” means the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-51 et seq.

 

“Municipality” means the Borough of Ringwood.

 

“New Jersey Stormwater Best Practices Manual” means the document bearing that title promulgated by the Department, as it may be hereafter amended, which is incorporated by reference.

 

“Node” means an area designated by the State Planning Commission concentrating facilities and activities which are not organized in a compact form.

 

“Nutrient” means a chemical element or compound, such as nitrogen or phosphorus, which is essential to and promotes the development of organisms.

 

“Person” means any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State and any state, interstate or federal agency.

 

“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 substance (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, 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 nonhazardous pollutants.

 

“Recharge” means the amount of water from precipitation that infiltrates into the ground and is not evapotranspired.

 

“Reviewing Agency” means the Planning Board or the Board of Adjustment of the Borough of Ringwood when acting pursuant to their respective jurisdictions under MLUL or, in the case of a residential site plan pursuant to Article 24-1, the Borough Engineer. 

 

“RSIS” means the Residential Site Improvement Standards at N.J.A.C. 5:21, as they may hereinafter be amended. 

 

“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.

 

“Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act” means N.J.S.A. 4:24-39 et seq. and any implementing rules.

 

“Soil Erosion Standards” means the “Standards for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in New Jersey, established under the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act and incorporated into N.J.A.C. 2:9.

 

“Source material” means any materials or machinery, located at an industrial facility, that is directly or indirectly related to process, manufacturing or other industrial activities, which could be a source of pollutants in any industrial stormwater discharge to groundwater. Source materials include, but are not limited to, raw materials; intermediate products; final products; waste materials; by-products; industrial machinery and fuels, and lubricants, solvents, and detergents that are related to process, manufacturing, or other industrial activities that are exposed to stormwater.

 

“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.

 

“Steep Slope” means land area with a grade greater than 10%.

 

“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.

 

“Stormwater runoff” means water flow on the surface of the ground 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 (“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.

 

“Time of concentration” means the time it takes for runoff to travel from the hydraulically most distant point of the watershed to the point of interest within a watershed.

 

“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.

 

27A-3.             Article 3.         General Standards.

 

27A-3.1           General Provisions.

 

Stormwater management measures for major development shall be developed to meet the erosion control, groundwater recharge, stormwater runoff quantity, and stormwater runoff quality standards in this Chapter. 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.

 

27A-3.2           Applicability.

 

The standards in this Chapter apply only to new major development and are intended to minimize the impact of stormwater runoff on water quality and water quantity in receiving water bodies and maintain groundwater recharge. The 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 rules of the Department.  Such alternative standards shall provide at least as much protection from stormwater-related loss of groundwater recharge, stormwater quantity and water quality impacts of major development projects as would be provided under the standards in this Chapter.

 

27A-3.3           RSIS.

 

For site improvements regulated under the RSIS, the RSIS shall apply in addition to this Chapter except to the extent the RSIS are superseded by this Chapter or alternative standards applicable under a regional stormwater management plan or Water Quality Management Plan adopted in accordance with the rules of the Department.

 

27A-4.             Article 4.         Stormwater Management Requirements for Major Development.

 

27A-4.1           Maintenance Plan.

 

Each major development subject to review under this Chapter shall incorporate a maintenance plan for the stormwater management measures incorporated into the design of such development.

 

27A-4.2           Threatened or Endangered Species.

 

Stormwater management measures shall avoid adverse impacts of concentrated flow on habitat for threatened and endangered species. 

 

27A-4.3           Exemptions for Certain Linear Developments.

 

The following linear developments are exempt from the groundwater recharge, stormwater runoff quantity, and stormwater runoff quality requirements at Sections 27A-4.6 and 4.7. 

 

27A-4.3.1  The construction of an underground utility line provided that the disturbed areas are revegetated upon completion;

 

27A-4.3.2  The construction of an aboveground utility line provided that the existing conditions are maintained to the maximum extent practicable; and

 

27A-4.3.3  The construction of a public pedestrian access, such as a sidewalk or trail with a maximum width of 14 feet, provided that the access is made of permeable material.

 

27A-4.4   A waiver from strict compliance from the groundwater recharge, stormwater runoff quantity, and stormwater runoff quality requirements at Sections 27A-4.6 and 4.727A-4.3. 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:

 

27A-4.4.1  The applicant demonstrates that there is a public need for the project that cannot be accomplished by any other means;

 

27A-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 27A-4.6 and 4.7 to the maximum extent practicable;

 

27A-4.4.3  The applicant demonstrates that, in order to meet the requirements at Sections 27A-4.6 and 4.7, existing structures currently in use, such as homes and buildings would need to be condemned; and

 

27A-4.4.4  The applicant demonstrates that it does not own or have other rights to areas, including the potential to obtain through condemnation lands not falling under 27A-4.4.3. above within the upstream drainage area of the receiving stream, that would provide additional opportunities to mitigate for requirements of Sections 27A-4.6 and 4.7 that were not achievable on-site.

 

27A-4.5.          Nonstructural Stormwater Management Strategies.

 

27A-4.5.1  To the maximum extent practicable, the standards in Sections 27A-4.6 and 4.7 shall be met by incorporating nonstructural stormwater management strategies described in this Section 27A-4.5 into the design. The applicant shall identify the nonstructural measures incorporated into the design of the project. If the applicant contends that it is not feasible for engineering, environmental, or safety reasons to incorporate any nonstructural stormwater management measures identified in Paragraph 27A-4.5.2 into the design of a particular project, the applicant shall identify the strategy considered and provide a basis for the contention.

 

27A-4.5.2   Nonstructural stormwater management measures incorporated into site design shall: 

 

a. Protect areas that provide water quality benefits or areas particularly susceptible to erosion and sediment loss;

 

b. Minimize impervious surfaces and break up or disconnect the flow of runoff over impervious surfaces;

 

c. Maximize the protection of natural drainage features and vegetation;

 

d. Minimize the decrease in the "time of concentration” from pre-construction to post construction;

 

e. Minimize land disturbance including clearing and grading;

 

f. Minimize soil compaction;

 

g. Provide low-maintenance landscaping that encourages retention and planting of native vegetation and minimizes the use of lawns, fertilizers and pesticides;

 

h. Provide vegetated open-channel conveyance systems discharging into and through stable vegetated areas;

 

i. Provide other source controls to prevent or minimize the use or exposure of pollutants at the site in order to prevent or minimize the release of those pollutants into stormwater runoff. These source controls include, but are not limited to:

 

(1) Site design features that help to prevent accumulation of trash and debris in drainage systems;

 

(2) Site design features that help to prevent discharge of trash and debris from drainage systems;

 

(3) Site design features that help to prevent and/or contain spills or other harmful accumulations of pollutants at industrial or commercial developments; and

 

(4) When establishing vegetation after land disturbance, applying fertilizer in accordance with the requirements established under the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act.

 

27A-4.5.3  Any land area used as a nonstructural stormwater management measure to meet the performance standards in Sections 27A-4.6 and 4.7 shall either be dedicated to a government agency, be subjected to a conservation restriction filed with the Passaic County Clerk’s office, or be subjected to an approved equivalent restriction that ensures that the stormwater management measure approved by the reviewing agency shall be maintained in perpetuity.

 

27A-4.5.4  Guidance for nonstructural stormwater management measures is available in the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual.

 

27A-4.6.          Erosion Control, Groundwater Recharge and Runoff Quantity Standards.

 

27A-4.6.1  This Chapter contains minimum design and performance standards to control erosion, to encourage and control infiltration and groundwater recharge, and to control stormwater runoff quantity impacts of major development.

 

a. The minimum design and performance standards for erosion control are those established under the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act.

 

b. The minimum design and performance standards for groundwater recharge are as follows:

 

(1) The design engineer, using the assumptions and factors for stormwater runoff and groundwater recharge calculations at Article 27A-5, shall either: 

 

(a) Demonstrate through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis that the site and its stormwater management measures maintain 100% of the average annual pre-construction groundwater recharge volume for the site; or

 

(b) Demonstrate through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis that the increase of stormwater runoff volume from pre-construction to post-construction for the 2-year storm will be infiltrated.

 

(2) This groundwater recharge requirement does not apply to projects  subject to Subparagraph 27A-4.6.1(b)(3) below.

 

(3) The following types of stormwater shall not be recharged:

 

(a) Stormwater from areas of high pollutant loading. High pollutant loading areas are areas in industrial and commercial developments in which solvents and/or petroleum products are loaded/unloaded, stored, or applied; areas in which pesticides are loaded/unloaded or stored; areas in which hazardous materials are expected to be present in greater than ‘reportable quantities’ as defined by the EPA at 40 CFR 302.4; areas in which recharge would be inconsistent with a Department approved remedial action work plan or landfill closure plan; and areas in which high risks for spills of toxic materials, (such as but not limited to gas stations and vehicle maintenance facilities); and

 

(b) Industrial stormwater exposed to source material.

 

(4) The design engineer shall assess the hydraulic impact on the groundwater table and design the site so as to avoid adverse hydraulic impacts.

 

c. In order to control stormwater runoff quantity impacts, the design engineer, using the assumptions and factors for stormwater runoff calculations in Article 27A-5, shall complete one of the following:

 

(1) Demonstrate through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis that, for stormwater leaving the site, post-construction runoff, hydrographs for the 2, 10, and 100 year storm events do not exceed, at any point in time, the pre-construction runoff hydrographs for the same storm events; or

 

(2) Demonstrate through hydrologic and hydraulic analysis that there is no increase, as compared to the pre-construction condition, in the peak runoff rates of stormwater leaving the site for the 2, 10, and 100 year storm events and that the increased volume or change in timing of stormwater runoff will not increase flood damage at or downstream of the site. This analysis shall include the analysis of impacts of existing land uses and projected land uses assuming full development under existing zoning and land use ordinances in the drainage area; or

 

(3) Design stormwater management measures so that the post-construction peak runoff rates for the 2, 10 and 100 year storm events are 50, 75 and 80 percent, respectively, of the preconstruction peak runoff rates. The percentages apply only to the post-construction stormwater runoff that is attributable to the portion of the site on which the proposed development or project is to be constructed.

 

27A-4.6.2  Any application for a new agricultural development that meets the definition of major development shall be submitted to the appropriate Soil Conservation District for review and approval in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter and any applicable Soil Conservation District guidelines for stormwater runoff quantity and erosion control.

 

27A-4.7.          Stormwater Runoff Quality Standards.

 

27A-4.7.1  Stormwater management measures shall be designed to reduce the post-construction load of total suspended solids (TSS) in stormwater runoff by 80 percent of the anticipated load from the developed site, expressed as an annual average. Stormwater management measures shall be required for water quality control only if the major development invoices increasing Impervious Surface by one quarter acre or more. The requirement to reduce TSS does not apply to any stormwater runoff in a discharge regulated under a numeric effluent limitation for TSS imposed under the New Jersey Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) rules, N.J.A.C. 7:14A, or in a discharge specifically exempt under a NJPDES permit from this requirement. The water quality design storm is 1.25 inches of rainfall in two hours. Water quality calculations shall take into account the distribution of rain from the water quality design storm, as reflected in Table 1. The calculation of the volume of runoff may take into account the implementation of non-structural and structural stormwater management measures. 

 

 

Table 1: Water Quality Design Storm Distribution

 

 

Time

(Minutes)

 

Cumulative

Rainfall

(Inches)

 

 

Time

(Minutes)

 

Cumulative

Rainfall

(Inches)

 

0

0.0000

65

0.8917

5

0.0083

70

0.9917

10

0.0166

75

1.0500

15

0.0250

80

1.0840

20

0.0500

85

1.1170

25

0.0750

90

1.1500

30

0.1000

95

1.1750

35

0.1330

100

1.2000

40

0.1660

105

1.2250

45

0.2000

110

1.2334

50

0.2583

115

1.2417

55

0.3583

120

1.2500

60

0.6250

 

 

 

 

27A-4.7.2  For purposes of TSS reduction calculations, Table 2 below presents the presumed removal rates for certain BMPs designed in accordance with the New Jersey Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual. TSS reduction shall be calculated based on the removal rates for the BMPs in Table 2 below. Alternative removal rates and methods of calculating removal rates may be used if the design engineer provides documentation demonstrating the capability of these alternative rates and methods to the review agency. A copy of any approved alternative rate or method of calculating the removal rate shall be provided to the Department at the following address: Division of Watershed Management, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 41 8 Trenton, New Jersey, 08625-0418.

 

27A-4.7.3   If more than one BMP in series is necessary to achieve the required 80% TSS reduction for a site, the applicant shall utilize the following formula to calculate TSS reduction:

 

R = A + B – (AXB)/100  

 

Where

 

R = total TSS percent load removal from application of both BMPs, and

A = the TSS percent removal rate applicable to the first BMP

B = the TSS percent removal rate applicable to the second BMP

 

 

 

Table 2: TSS Removal Rates for BMPs

 

Best Management Practice

TSS % Removal Rate

Bioretention Systems

90

Constructed Stormwater Wetland

90