(A) Authority and title.
(1) This subchapter is adopted in accordance with statutory authority granted under state statutes, and further is required by Phase II of the national pollution discharge elimination system program (FR Doc. 99-29181) authorized by the 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Rule 13 (327 I.A.C. 15-13), and the State Department of Environmental Management’s Rule 5 (327 I.A.C. 15-5).
(2) Based on this authority and these requirements, this subchapter regulates:
(a) Discharges of prohibited non-stormwater flows into the storm drain system;
(b) Stormwater drainage improvements related to development of lands located within the town;
(c) Drainage control systems installed during new construction and grading of lots and other parcels of land;
(d) Erosion and sediment control systems installed during new construction and grading of lots and other parcels of land;
(e) The design, construction and maintenance of stormwater drainage facilities and systems; and
(f) The design, construction and maintenance of stormwater quality facilities and systems.
(3) This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “McCordsville Stormwater Management Ordinance”.
(B) Applicability and exemptions.
(1) This subchapter shall regulate all development and redevelopment occurring within the town. No building permit shall be issued and no land disturbance started for any construction in a development, as defined in §§ 52.21 and 52.22, until the plans required by this subchapter for the construction have been accepted in writing by the Town Drainage Board and/or the Town Engineer. With the exception of the requirements of §§ 52.24 and 52.28(D), single-family dwelling houses in accepted subdivisions, new buildings (or cumulative building additions) with less than 500 square feet
of area, and land-disturbing activities affecting less than 10,000 square feet of area shall be exempt from the requirements of this subchapter. Also exempt from this subchapter shall be the agricultural land-disturbing activities.
(2) Town projects shall be exempt from obtaining permit, but are expected to meet all applicable technical requirements of this subchapter and the McCordsville Stormwater Technical Standards Manual.
(3) Any construction project which has had its final drainage plan accepted by the County Drainage Board within a two-year period prior to the effective date of this subchapter shall be exempt from all requirements of this subchapter that are in excess of the requirements of ordinances in effect at the time of acceptance. Such an exemption is not applicable to the requirements detailed in § 52.24.
(4) The Town Drainage Board and/or the Town Engineer and/or the Town Public Works Commissioner have the authority to modify, grant exemptions and/or waive any and all the requirements of this subchapter and its associated technical standards document. A pre-submittal meeting with the Town Drainage Board and/or the Town Engineer and/or the Town Public Works Commissioner may be requested by the applicant to discuss the applicability of various provisions of this subchapter and the associated McCordsville Stormwater Technical Standards Manual with regards to unique or unusual circumstances relating to a project; however, any initial determination of the applicability shall not be binding on future determinations of the Town Drainage Board and/or the Town Engineer and/or the Town Public Works Commissioner that may be based on the review of more detailed information and plans.
(C) Background.
(1) On December 8, 1999, Phase II of the national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit program, was published in the federal register. The NPDES program, as authorized by the 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act, controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Phase II of NPDES requires permit coverage for stormwater discharges from regulated small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) and for small construction activity that results in the disturbance of equal to or greater than one acre. This federal regulation went into effect March 10, 2003. In response to Phase II of NPDES, the State Department of Environmental Management enacted Rule 13 (327 I.A.C. 15-13) and revised Rule 5 (327 I.A.C. 15-5).
(2) Under these new state and federal regulations, the town is required to establish a regulatory mechanism for regulating stormwater quality management. Therefore, the “Hancock County Sediment Control and Drainage Ordinance” was replaced with this document to include stormwater quality in addition to quantity.
(D) Findings. The Town Council finds that:
(1) Water bodies, roadways, structures and other property within, and downstream of the town are at times subjected to flooding;
(2) Flooding is a danger to the lives and property of the public and is also a danger to the natural resources of the region;
(3) Land development alters the hydrologic response of watersheds, resulting in increased stormwater runoff rates and volumes, increased flooding, increased stream channel erosion and increased sediment transport and deposition;
(4) Soil erosion resulting from land-disturbing activities causes a significant amount of sediment and other pollutants to be transported off-site and deposited in ditches, streams, wetlands, lakes and reservoirs;
(5) Increased stormwater runoff rates and volumes, and the sediments and pollutants associated with stormwater runoff from future development projects within the town will, absent reasonable regulation and control, adversely affect the town’s water bodies and water resources;
(6) Pollutant contributions from illicit discharges within the town will, absent reasonable regulation, monitoring and enforcement adversely affect the town’s water bodies and water resources;
(7) Stormwater runoff, soil erosion, non-point source pollution and illicit sources of pollution can be controlled and minimized by the regulation of stormwater management;
(8) Adopting the standards, criteria and procedures contained and referenced in this subchapter and implementing the same will address many of the deleterious effects of stormwater runoff and illicit discharges; and
(9) Adopting this subchapter is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety and welfare, for the conservation of our natural resources and for compliance with state and federal regulations.
(E) Purpose. The purpose of this subchapter is to provide for the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the town, through the regulation of stormwater and non-stormwater discharges to the storm drainage system, and to protect conserve and promote the orderly development of land and water resources within the town.
(1) This subchapter establishes methods for managing the quantity and quality of stormwater entering into the storm drain system in order to comply with state and federal requirements.
(2) The objectives of this subchapter are:
(a) To reduce the hazard to public health and safety caused by excessive stormwater runoff;
(b) To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the storm drain system from construction site runoff;
(c) To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the storm drain system from runoff from new development and re-development;
(d) To prohibit illicit discharges into the storm drain system; and
(e) To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, monitoring and enforcement procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this subchapter.
(F) Conflicting ordinances. The provisions of this subchapter shall be deemed as additional requirements to minimum standards required by other town ordinances, and as supplemental requirements to Indiana’s Rule 5 regarding Stormwater Discharge Associated with Construction Activity, (327 I.A.C. 15-5), and Indiana’s Rule 13 regarding Stormwater Runoff Associated with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Conveyances (327 I.A.C. 15-13). In case of conflicting requirements, the most restrictive shall apply.
(G) Interpretation. Words and phrases in this subchapter shall be construed according to their common and accepted meanings, except that words and phrases defined in §§ 52.21 and 52.22, shall be construed according to the respective definitions given in that section. Technical words and technical phrases that are not defined in this subchapter but which have acquired particular meanings in law or in technical usage shall be construed according to those meanings.
(H) Disclaimer of liability. The degree of protection required by this subchapter is considered reasonable for regulatory purposes and is based on historical records, engineering and scientific methods of study. Larger storms may occur or stormwater runoff amounts may be increased by human-made or natural causes. This subchapter does not imply that land uses permitted will be free from stormwater damage. This subchapter shall not create liability on the part of Town Drainage Board and/or the Town Engineer or any officer, representative or employee thereof, for any damage which may result from reliance on this subchapter or on any administrative decision lawfully made there under.
(Ord. 030805, passed - -2005)