The Town of Brookhaven has enacted ordinances in order to comply with the Federal Clean Water Act and to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety, and welfare of the residents of and the general public within the Town of Brookhaven. The Federal Clean Water Act was adopted in 1972 to improve the quality of our Nation’s waters. The Act sought to accomplish this by minimizing and eliminating what are commonly referred to as “point sources” of pollution, sources of pollution that originate from a pipe or other specific points of discharge. Though there were significant improvements in water quality since the inception of this Act, water pollution remained a problem in the Town’s local waterways. The Clean Water Act was subsequently amended to address non-point sources of pollution, and beginning in 1990, any municipality with a population greater than 100,000 was required to implement programs and practices targeted at reducing non-point sources of pollution. This was referred to as Phase I. In 2003 Phase II was implemented which required all municipalities, including the Town of Brookhaven, to implement programs and practices which combat non-point source pollution.
The goal of the Phase II program is to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff thereby improving water quality, enhancing recreational enjoyment of waterways, preventing beach closures, and ensuring that seafood is safe for human consumption. In New York, the Phase II program requires all regulated municipalities to maintain a permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for the discharge of stormwater runoff into their surface waters. This permit is commonly referred to as the SPDES (State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) General Permit. As a condition of this permit, regulated municipalities must develop and implement a comprehensive stormwater management program that includes mandated programs and practices in the following six categories:
In 2008, the Town of Brookhaven Town Board Adopted Chapter 86 of the Town Code: Stormwater Management and Erosion Control and Chapter 86A: Prohibition of Illicit Discharges and Connections to the Town of Brookhaven Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. The Town has also completed and continues to explore the development of new Watershed Management Plans for every watershed region in the Town of Brookhaven.
Maintenance access agreement.
The property owner and the applicant or developer must execute a maintenance access agreement that shall provide for access to the facility at reasonable times for periodic inspection by the Town of Brookhaven to ensure that the stormwater management facility, as required pursuant to an approved SWPPP, is maintained in proper working condition to meet the design standards and any other provisions established by this chapter. The maintenance access agreement shall be in a form as approved by the Town Attorney, and recorded by the grantor in the Office of the Suffolk County Clerk, and said maintenance access agreement shall be binding on all subsequent landowners served by the stormwater management facility.
Maintenance after construction.
The stormwater management facility owner or operator shall ensure the facility is operated and maintained in accordance with this chapter. Proper operation and maintenance shall also include, at a minimum, the following:
Maintenance agreements.
Prior to any land development activity receiving final approval, the property owner shall be required to execute a Declaration of Covenant for maintenance of the stormwater control facility, in such form as shall be approved by the Town Attorney, which shall be binding on all subsequent landowners, and shall cause said declaration to be filed and recorded in the Office of the Suffolk County Clerk. The maintenance agreement shall be consistent with the terms and conditions of this chapter.
Maintenance guarantee.
Stormwater management and erosion and sediment control facilities operated and maintained by any person that owns or manages a commercial or industrial facility, prior to construction may be required to provide the Town of Brookhaven with an irrevocable letter of credit from an approved financial institution or surety, or other approved security, to ensure proper operation and maintenance of all stormwater management and erosion control facilities both during and after construction, and until the facilities are removed from operation. If any person fails to properly operate and maintain stormwater management and erosion and sediment control facilities, the Town of Brookhaven may default the security in order to cover the costs of proper operation and maintenance, including engineering and inspection costs.
Recordkeeping.
Any person operating or maintaining a stormwater management facility shall maintain records demonstrating compliance with this chapter.
Notice of violation.
In the event that a land development activity or stormwater management facility is not in compliance with the requirements of this chapter, the Stormwater Management Officer may issue a written notice of violation, to be served personally or by certified mail, to the property owner as shown on the last preceding assessment roll of the Town of Brookhaven and the owner of record as shown in the records in the Office of the Suffolk County Clerk. The notice of violation shall contain the following:
Appeal of notice of violation.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination of the SMO in writing within 15 days of its issuance. The appeal notice shall be directed to the SMO. A hearing officer, as designated by the Director of Environmental Protection and the Town Attorney, shall hear the appeal within 30 days after the filing of the appeal and, within five business days of making his/her decision, issue a decision by certified mail or personal service to the violator and property owner. If the original notice of violation is sustained, the SMO shall issue an order, to be served by certified mail or personal service, which shall state the corrective measures to be taken and required date of completion of the corrective measures. The filing of the appeal shall not stay or prevent the Town from taking all necessary emergency corrective measures.
Upon determination that a violation has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur if immediate action is not taken, the Town of Brookhaven may seek a court order permitting the Town of Brookhaven to take any and all corrective measures reasonably necessary to abate the violation and/or prevent the violation from occurring and/or restore the premises, and the cost thereof shall be assessed against the property and lands to be collected in the same manner as real property taxes.