A. Applicability. All grading, stripping, excavating, and filling which is subject to the storm water management plan approval requirements of this chapter, and any grading, stripping, excavating, and filling falling under division H. of 13.26.040, shall be subject to the applicable standards and requirements set forth in this section.
B. Responsibility. The applicant shall not be relieved of responsibility for damage to persons or property otherwise imposed by law, and the City or the Engineer or Engineer's Representative will not be made liable for such damage, by
1. Issuance of a storm water management plan approval under this chapter;
2. Compliance with the provisions of that storm water management plan approval or with conditions attached to it by the city;
3. Failure of the city officials to observe or recognize hazardous or unsightly conditions;
4. Failure of city officials to recommend denial of or to deny a storm water management plan approval, or
5. Exemptions from the storm water management plan approval requirements of this chapter.
C. Procedures and standards adopted by reference.
1. 327 IAC 15-5-7 for general requirements on stormwater quality control
2. 327 IAC 15-5-7.5 for general requirements of individual building lots within an approved project
3. The Indiana Storm Water Quality Manual.
D. Inspection.
1. The city engineer or city engineer's representative may inspect any project site involved in construction activities regulated by this chapter at any time. The city or its designated representatives may make recommendations to the project site owner or their representative to install appropriate measures beyond those specified in the storm water pollution prevention plan and schedule to achieve compliance.
2. All persons engaging in construction activities on a project site shall be responsible for complying with the storm water pollution prevention plan and the provisions of this chapter.
3. The city shall investigate potential violations of this chapter to determine which person may be responsible for the violation. The city shall, if appropriate, consider public records of ownership, building permits, and other relevant information, which may include site inspections, storm water pollution prevention plans, notices of intent, and other information related to the specific facts and circumstances of the potential violation.
4. If the person occupying or owning the property does not properly maintain remaining stormwater quality measures, the city may pursue enforcement against that person for correction of deficiencies.
5. Construction plans and supporting documentation associated with the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan must be made available to the City or its designated representative within forty-eight hours of such request.
6. Appeals to violations shall be as described in 13.26.040E.
E. Special precautions.
1. If at any stage of the grading of any development site the city determines by inspection that the nature of the site is such that further work authorized by an existing storm water management plan approval is likely to imperil any property, public way, watercourse or drainage structure, the city may require, as a condition of allowing the work to be done, that such reasonable special precautions to be taken as is considered advisable to avoid the likelihood of such peril. "Special precautions" may include, but shall not be limited to, a more level exposed slope, construction of additional drainage facilities, berms, terracing, compaction, or cribbing, installation of plant materials for erosion control, and recommendations of a registered soils engineer and/or engineering geologist which may be made requirements for further work.
2. Where it appears that storm damage may result because the grading on any development site is not complete, work may be stopped as described in 13.26.040A. and the applicant required to install temporary structures or take such other measures as may be required to protect adjoining property or, the public safety. On large developments or where unusual site conditions prevail, the city may specify the time of starting grading and time of completion or may require that the operations be conducted in specific stages so as to insure completion of protective measures or devices prior to the advent of seasonal rains.
F. Amendment of plans.
1. Amendments to the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan are required when:
a. The disturbed area increases.
b. The construction limits change to include areas outside of the original construction limits.
c. The applicant wishes to modify the storm water pollution prevention plan.
2. Major amendments shall be processed and approved or disapproved in the same manner as the original plans.
3. Minor amendments may be approved by written authorization to the applicant.
G. Project Termination
1. The project site applicant shall plan an orderly and timely termination of the construction activities, including the implementation of storm water quality measures that are to remain on the project site.
2. The project site applicant shall submit a notice of termination (NOT) letter to the Engineering Department in accordance with the following:
a. Except as provided in subdivision b, the project site owner shall submit an NOT letter when the following conditions have been met:
i. All land altering activities, including construction on all building lots, has been completed and the entire site has been stabilized.
ii. All temporary erosion and sediment control measures have been removed.
b. The project site applicant may submit an NOT letter to obtain early release from compliance with this chapter if the following conditions are met:
i. The remaining, unimproved acreage does not exceed five acres, with contiguous areas not to exceed one acre.
ii. A map of the project site, clearly identifying all remaining unimproved lots, is attached to the NOT letter. The map must be accompanied by a list of names and addresses of individual lot owners or individual lot operators of all unimproved lots.
iii. All public and common improvements, including infrastructure, have been completed and permanently stabilized and all public improvements have been transferred to the city.
iv. The remaining acreage does not pose a significant threat to the integrity of the infrastructure, adjacent properties, or water quality.
v. All permanent storm water quality measures have been implemented and are operational.
3. The NOT letter must contain a verified statement that each of the conditions in division G.2. have been met.
4. Following acceptance of the NOT letter and written approval from the city for early release under division 2., the project site owner shall notify all current individual lot owners and all subsequent individual lot owners of the requirements to:
a. Install and maintain appropriate measures to prevent sediment from leaving the individual building lot; and
b. Maintain all erosion and sediment control measures that are to remain on-site as pan of the construction plan.
5. The engineer or engineer's representative may inspect the project site to evaluate the adequacy of the remaining storm water quality measures and compliance with the NOT letter requirements. If the inspecting entity finds that the applicant has sufficiently filed a NOT letter, the inspecting entity shall forward notification to IDEM, and the applicant shall no longer be responsible for compliance with this chapter.
6. After a verified NOT letter has been submitted for a project site, maintenance of the remaining storm water quality measures shall be the responsibility of the individual lot owner or occupier of the property.
H. Expiration of storm water management plan approval. The expiration of a storm water management plan approval shall be consistent with and engender the spirit of IC 36-7-4-1109. This may be may be overridden by the city engineer or planning director if there is a declared emergency by either responsible party or an approved city official. Source is IC 36-7-4-1109 Section 2.
I. Review of individual lots within a permitted project.
For individual lots disturbing or impacting less than five acres, developed within a larger permitted project, a formal review and issuance of an individual site plan will be required before a building permit can be issued. All stormwater management measures necessary to comply with this chapter must be implemented in accordance with the approved stormwater management plan.
In addition to other requirements of the Columbus/Bartholomew County Department of Technical Code Enforcement, the following information must be submitted to this department, for review and acceptance, by the individual lot operator, whether owning the property or acting as the agent of the property owner, as part of a request for review and issuance of an individual site plan that must be obtained prior to the issuance of a building permit.
1. Erosion and sediment control plan that, at a minimum, includes the following measures:
a. Installation and maintenance of a stable construction site access.
b. Installation and maintenance of appropriate perimeter erosion and sediment control measures prior to land disturbance.
c. Minimization of sediment discharge and tracking from the lot.
d. Clean up of sediment that is either tracked or washed onto roads. Bulk clearing of sediment shall not include flushing the area with water. Cleared sediment must be redistributed or disposed of in a manner that is in compliance with all applicable statutes and rules.
e. Adjacent lots disturbed by an individual lot operator must be repaired and stabilized with temporary or permanent surface stabilization.
2. Certification of compliance stating that the individual lot plan is consistent with the stormwater management permit, as approved by the city engineer for the larger project.
3. Name, address. and telephone number, of the individual in charge of the storm water management measures for the project site.
The individual lot operator is responsible for installation and maintenance of all erosion and sediment control measures until the site is stabilized.
(Ord. 08-29, 2008)