(A) General purpose.
(1) The Borough Council finds that the minimization of erosion and control of sedimentation in connection with land development and subdivision are in the public interest, affecting public health, safety, and welfare, and therefore those regulations governing erosion control and sedimentation control are necessary for the borough.
(2) No changes shall be made in the contour of the land, no grading, excavating, removal, or destruction to the top soil, trees, or other vegetative cover of the land shall be commenced until such time that a plan for minimizing erosion and sedimentation has been processed with and reviewed by the Borough Engineer and/or County Soil and Water Conservation District, or there has been a determination by the above entities that such plans are not necessary.
(3) No subdivision or land development plan shall be approved unless:
(a) There has been an erosion and sedimentation control plan approved by the Borough Council that provides for minimizing erosion and sedimentation consistent with this section and an improvement bond or other acceptable securities are deposited with the borough in the form of an escrow guarantee which will ensure installation and completion of the required improvements; or
(b) There has been a determination by the Borough Council that a plan for minimizing erosion and sedimentation is not necessary.
(4) Where not specified in this chapter, measures used to control erosion and reduce sedimentation shall as a minimum meet the standards and specifications of the County Soil and Water Conservation District. The Borough Engineer, or other officials as designated, shall ensure compliance with the appropriate specifications, copies of which are available from the Soil and Water Conservation District.
(B) Performance principles. The following measures are effective in minimizing erosion and sedimentation and shall be included where applicable in the control plan.
(1) Stripping of vegetation, regrading, or other development shall be done in such a way that will prevent all but minor erosion.
(2) Development plans shall preserve salient natural features, keep cut-fill operations to a minimum, and ensure conformity with topography so as to create the least erosion potential and adequately handle the volume and velocity of surface water runoff.
(3) Whenever feasible, natural vegetation shall be retained, protected, and supplemented.
(4) The disturbed area and the duration of exposure shall be kept to a practical minimum.
(5) Disturbed soils shall be stabilized as quickly as practicable.
(6) Temporary vegetation and/or mulching shall be used to protect exposed critical areas during development.
(7) The permanent final vegetation and structural erosion control and drainage measures shall be installed as soon as practical in the development.
(8) Provisions shall be made to effectively accommodate the increased runoff caused by changed soil and surface conditions during and after development. Where necessary, the rate of surface water runoff will be structurally retarded.
(9) Sediment in the runoff water shall be trapped until the disturbed area is stabilized by the use of debris basins, sediment basins, silt traps, or similar measures.
(C) Grading for erosion and other environmental controls. In order to provide suitable sites for building and other uses, improve surface drainage, and control erosion, the following requirements shall be met.
(1) Streets shall be improved to a mud-free or otherwise permanently passable condition as one of the first items of work done on a subdivision or development. The wearing surface shall be installed in accordance with § 153.053(G) and as approved in the final plan.
(2) Provisions shall be made to prevent surface water from damaging the cut face of excavations or the sloping surfaces of fills, by installation of temporary or permanent drainage across or above these areas.
(3) Fill shall be placed and compacted so as to minimize sliding or erosion of the soil.
(4) Fills placed adjacent to watercourses shall have suitable protection against erosion during periods of flooding.
(5) During grading operations, necessary measures for dust control will be exercised.
(6) Grading equipment will not be allowed to enter into flowing streams. Provisions will be made for the installation of temporary or permanent culverts or bridges.
(D) Responsibility.
(1) Whenever sedimentation damage is caused by stripping vegetation, grading, or other development, it shall be the collective responsibility of the land developer and subdivider, and of the contractor, person, corporation, and other entity causing such sedimentation, to remove it from all adjoining surfaces, drainage systems, and watercourses and to repair any damage at his or her expense as quickly as possible.
(2) Maintenance of all erosion and sedimentation control facilities during the construction and development period is the responsibility of the land developer or subdivider.
(3) It is the responsibility of any developer or subdivider and any person, corporation, or other entity doing any act on or across a communal stream, watercourse, or swale, or upon the floodplain or right-of-way, to maintain as nearly as possible in its present state the stream, watercourse, swale, floodplain, or right-of-way during the pendency of the activity and to return it to its original or equal condition after such activity is completed.
(4) The subdivider or land developer shall provide and install, at his or her expense, in accordance with borough requirements, all drainage and erosion control improvements (temporary and permanent) shown on the erosion and sediment control plan.
(E) Compliance with regulations and procedures.
(1) The Borough Council, in its consideration of all preliminary plans of subdivision and land development, shall condition its approval upon the execution of erosion and sediment control measures as contained in divisions (B) and (C) above.
(2) The installation and design of the required erosion and sediment control measures shall be in accordance with standards and specifications of the County Soil and Conservation District.
(F) Stream channel construction. Stream channel construction on watersheds with drainage areas in excess of one-half square mile, or in those cases where downstream hazards exist, will conform to criteria established by the state’s Department of Environment Protection.
(Prior Code, Ch. 22, Pt. 5, § 511) (Ord. 2-2001, passed 7-2-2001)