Martinsburg lies over carbonate (Limestone and Dolomite) bedrock that contains solution
channels. These solution channels are the primary way precipitation gets into the water table. Water percolating into and through the carbonate rock dissolves rock materials and enlarges minute fractures in the rock. This has produced a “Karst” geology formation containing caves, Sinkholes, springs, disappearing or “losing” streams, and underground streams.
(a) Statement of Purpose. The purpose of these standards is to reduce the frequency of structural damage in private Improvements by Sinkhole collapse or subsidence and to protect, preserve and enhance sensitive and valuable potable ground water resource areas of Karst geology, thus protecting the public health, safety and welfare and ensuring orderly Development within the City.
(b) No Person shall place or cause to be placed any substance or object (including, without limitation, trash, garbage, or refuse material), other than approved by the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee, in any Sinkhole. If an accidental spill of a toxic, petroleum, or hazardous material occurs, the responsible Person shall immediately dial 911 and ensure that the appropriate City, county, and state authorities having jurisdiction are notified.
(c) No Building permit, Zoning Permit, or Land Development Permit shall be issued, and no Subdivision and/or Land Development Application shall be approved, with respect to any property having a Sinkhole that has been used as a site for dumping trash, garbage, or refuse, or which has been otherwise improperly filled, until the Sinkhole has been lawfully remediated, cleaned out, and approved as such by the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee.
(d) No filing, grading, Excavation or Building construction will be permitted in a Sinkhole unless an Erosion Control Site Plan is first approved by the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee. If after review of the Erosion Control Site Plan, the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee determines that more detailed information is needed, a Sinkhole evaluation may be required. A Sinkhole evaluation which addresses geologic, engineering, and environmental factors for the proposed Development is to be performed by a professional with experience and expertise in Karst geology (which may include a consulting engineer and/or a consulting hydrogeologist to make recommendations based upon field studies and evaluations of the specific Sinkhole system, if required by the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee).
(1) The evaluation shall determine the proposed Development’s effect on ground water and the effect, relative to the Sinkhole and Karst geology, on surrounding property.
(2) After review of this evaluation and with the consultation of the West Virginia DEP, the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee will either approve or disapprove the Erosion Control Site Plan as submitted.
(3) If disapproved, the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee will indicate in writing the reasons for disapproval and what, if anything, would be required in order to obtain approval of the Erosion Control Site Plan.
(4) Nothing in this subsection (d) eliminates or modifies the requirements elsewhere in this Ordinance for a Stormwater Management Plan and/or Erosion and Sediment Control Plan, and such Plans shall be required as so specified elsewhere in this Ordinance.
(e) All Buildings, Structures, Impervious Surfaces and utilities shall be situated, designed and constructed so as to minimize the risk of new Sinkhole formation.
(f) Stormwater Drainage into Sinkholes. Sinkholes shall be protected from damaging modifications and adverse changes in Stormwater Runoff quantity and quality associated with Land Developments. In addition to the other requirements of this Ordinance, the following requirements shall be met for any Land Development from which Drainage flows into a Sinkhole:
(1) Sediment Control. The existing Sinkhole storage areas shall be protected during construction and shall not be filled, or sediment allowed to deposit therein;
(2) Alteration of Drainage Patterns. Site Drainage patterns shall not be altered to substantially decrease or increase the existing area tributary to a Sinkhole;
(3) Detention/Sedimentation. If a Detention/Sedimentation basin is required for Development of the site, it shall be designed to capture the critical storm event and hold it for a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours. This basin shall be maintained throughout the construction process;
(4) Vegetated Buffer Strip. A buffer strip of at least twenty-five (25) feet in width, preferably vegetated with native plant species, shall be maintained or restored around the periphery of a Sinkhole;
(5) Loessal Soils. Care should be taken to avoid open flow discharges of Stormwater over silt (loessal) soils due to high potential for erosion; and
(6) Sinkholes in Karsts Areas. Sinkholes in Karst areas should be considered as receiving Waterways and all pre-detention and erosion requirements shall apply. Whenever a new Sinkhole appears it shall be reported to the Eastern Panhandle Conservation District for the county in which the Sinkhole is located and the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee. The City Engineer/Planning Director or designee, and agents or officers and employees of the City designated by them, or any of them, shall have authority to enter upon privately owned land for the purpose of performing the assigned duties and responsibilities of the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee under this Chapter and may take or cause to be made such examinations, surveys or sampling as they deem necessary in cooperation with the Division of Environmental Protection.
(g) The City may require a bond with surety and conditions to secure compliance with this Section prior to issuing a Building permit, Zoning Permit, or Land Development Permit, or approving a Subdivision and/or Land Development Application, for property involving a Sinkhole. The particular amount and the conditions of the bond will be consistent with the purposes of this Section. In the event of a breach of any condition of such bond, the City may institute an action in a court of competent jurisdiction upon such bond and prosecute the same to judgment and execution. In lieu of a performance bond, the City may accept a letter of credit or cash escrow with conditions sufficient to secure compliance with the conditions set forth in this Ordinance.
(h) All enforcement powers generally provided for in this Ordinance are applicable to violations of this Section.
(i) If, thirty (30) days after the mailing of a stop, cease, and desist order to a violator, offending substances and/or objects have not been removed from a Sinkhole, and/or the entry of pollutants into surface water through the Sinkhole has not been eliminated, the City (by and through the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee) may utilize City employees, or engage a contractor or contractors, to remove the offending substances and/or objects, and/or take other corrective and protective action the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee deems necessary to minimize, and if possible eliminate, the entry of pollutants into subsurface water through the Sinkhole. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of an emergency where the contamination of ground water endangers the health and safety of the public, the City need give only such prior notice as the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee determines the circumstances allow (including no prior notice whatsoever), and the City may thereafter act to remedy the emergency immediately. The costs of remediation and any costs, including reasonable attorney fees and expenses incurred in the collection thereof, shall be recoverable by the City from the violator(s) and shall constitute a lien against the real estate upon which the violation occurred.
(j) When removal of vegetative cover, Excavation, or Fill has taken place in violation of this Section, the violator shall be required to restore the affected land to its original contours and to restore vegetation, as far as practicable.
(Ord. 2022-13. Passed 11-10-22.)