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Home My WebLink AboutLL #1 2017 (SEQR)Town of Danby   Local Law No. 1 of 2017  A LOCAL LAW AMENDING LOCAL LAW NO. 2 of 1991 PROVIDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF ACTIONS IN THE TOWN OF DANBY  Adopted by Danby Town Board on December 12, 2016 Be it enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Danby as follows: Section 1. Legislative Intent A LOCAL LAW PROVIDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF ACTIONS IN THE TOWN OF DANBY is hereby amended as described in this local law. Section 2. Amend SECTION II. 1.- 8. [NO CHANGE.] ! 9. Wetland - Any area that meets the following criteria: i. Jurisdictional and Mapped Wetlands - Lands and waters that meet the deﬁnition provided in 24-0107.1 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, “Freshwater Wetlands Act.” The approximate boundaries of such lands and waters are as delineated upon or indi- cated by those Wetlands shown upon the official Wetlands map promulgated by the Com- missioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, including those Wetlands as are delineated and awaiting placement upon such maps. ii. Other Lands That Are Deemed Wetlands After Delineation - All areas containing or sup- porting Hydric Soils and/ or which are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and under normal conditions do support, a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation as deﬁned by the Federal Interagency Committee for Wetlands Delineation, 1989, in the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdic- tional Wetlands, Washington, DC, and adopted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, or as amended and updated. Hydric Soils referenced above shall include the soil types taken from the Tomp- kins County Soil Survey Series, 1965, or such revised, updated and adjusted soil surveys as may be completed. 10. Wetland Delineation - The process of determining Wetlands and their boundaries. The boundaries of a Wetland shall be determined by procedures outlined in US Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual, Technical Report Y-87-1 (Environmental Laboratory, 1987). Identiﬁcation of the general location of Wetlands shall be aided by reference to: The Freshwater Wetlands Map by the New York State Department of Environmental Conserva- tion, as amended and updated; the Soils Map of Tompkins County - Soil Survey Series 1965, as from time to time updated; and other maps such as the 1990 US Fish and Wildlife Service Map which assist in the location and delineation of Wetlands. Wetlands not depicted on any such maps are not thereby exempted from regula- tion under provisions of this law. 11. Applicant - Any person, ﬁrm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organi- zation of any kind who or which requests the Town or its Planning Board or Town Board to approve a planned district, site plan, special use permit, subdivision, variance, or rezoning. Amend SECTION III. Classification of Actions: If any action meets the deﬁnition of an Exempt action, Unlisted action, or an Excluded ac- tion, the SEQR review shall terminate in accordance with Part 617 regardless of whether such action would otherwise meet the deﬁnition of a Type I action. TownBoard_LL #5 of 2016(renumbered No 1 of 2017); A Local Law Amending LL #2 of 1991 Providing for Environmental Review. • Tues- day, December 20, 2016 Page ! of ! 1 7 ! Amend SECTION IV. Designated Person or Department by deleting: 4. Require that the applicant complete an EAF if (a) any question in Part II of the S/EAF has been answered "Yes", (b) the scope of proposal requires more detail or, (c) in the ﬁrst in- stance, if the S/EAF would not provide the lead agency with sufficient information on which to base its determination of signiﬁcance . 7. Assist agencies and applicants to identify other agencies including, federal and state agencies, that may be involved in the approving, funding or carrying out of Type I and Un- listed actions. The burden for determining other involved agencies shall nevertheless rest solely on the applicant. 8. Assist in the scoping of the D/EIS (when a Town agency is either a lead agency or an in- volved agency.) Amend SECTION V. Type I Actions by deleting: 1. (b) establishment of a commercial zone in the commercial target area as set forth in the Town of Danby Zoning Ordinance; and replacing with: (b) Any nonagricultural use occurring wholly or partially within a Tompkins County Agricultur- al District (certified pursuant to Agriculture and Markets Law, Article 25, § 303) which ex- ceeds ten percent (10%) of any threshold established in this section. Amend: 2. (a)Creation of a major subdivision, multi-family dwelling, mobile home park, or planned development zones; (b)! 4. The construction, alteration, or demolition of non-residential facilities which meet or ex- ceed any of the thresholds set forth in "a" through "d" below, or the expansion of an exist- ing nonresidential facility by more than ﬁfty per cent (50%) of any such thresholds, provided that the expansion and the existing facilities, when combined, meet or exceed any thresh- old contained in Section V and Part 617: a) an action which involves the physical alteration of ﬁve (5) acres; b) an action which would use ground or surface water in excess of 2,500 gallons per day; c) parking for 25 vehicles; or d) a facility with more than 15,000 square feet of gross ﬂoor area. ! 6. (a) A designated wetland. (e) The Town of Danby Aquifer High Vulnerability (AHV) Overlay Zone as designated pur- suant to the Groundwater Protection Law. 8. Any facility, development or project which would generate more than 2,000 (two hundred) vehicle trips per any twenty-four (24) hour period. ! Add: 9. Any facility, development, project, or action that would use ground- or surface-water in excess of 2,500 gallons per day. ! 11. Any unlisted action involving the demolition of a structure built in or before 1900. TownBoard_LL #5 of 2016(renumbered No 1 of 2017); A Local Law Amending LL #2 of 1991 Providing for Environmental Review. • Tues- day, December 20, 2016 Page ! of ! 2 7 ! 12. Any facility, development or project which will require for construction or after completion, a Road Use Permit under the Town of Danby Local Road Use And Preservation Law from the Town, oversized vehicle, hazardous materials NYSDOT. ! 13. Any facility, development, or project that would exceed New York State or federal ambi- ent air quality standards, whichever is more restrictive. ! 14. Any facility, development, or project that would exceed New York State or federal water quality standards, whichever is more restrictive. ! Amend Section VI. Type II Actions.: ! Delete: 1. The construction or alteration of a single or two-family residence and accessory struc- tures: a) not in conjunction with the construction or alteration of two or more such residences and, b) not in, or within 250 feet of, a designated Critical Environmental Area, designated fresh- water wetland, or designated area specially protected by legislation of any local, county , state or federal governmental body. ! Amend: 3. c) such store, office, or restaurant is not in, or within 250 feet of, an area specified in para- graph l(b) of this Section VI a designated Critical Environmental Area, designated freshwater wetland, or designated area specially protected by legislation of any local, county, state or federal governmental body. ! 4.- 6. [NO CHANGE.] ! Add: ! 7. The acquisition of fee or lesser interests in land for the purpose of open space preserva- tion, passive recreation, or farmland preservation through the NYS Department of Agricul- ture and Markets Farmland Protection Implementation Grant program. Amend Section VIII. Required Forms – Initial Review.: 1.a) an EAF if a Type I action or if an Unlisted Action where a S/EAF would not provide the lead agency with sufficient information on which to base its determination of signiﬁcance. 2. All application materials shall be submitted to the Town of Danby at least twenty (20) cal- endar days prior to the meeting of the lead agency at which the application is scheduled to be heard. Said time period may be modiﬁed by the designated person or department re- ferred to in § IX of this chapter. 3. GROUNDWATER SUPPLY APPLICATION. For any proposed use that will involve the withdrawal of groundwater in excess of 2,500 gallons per day from on-site wells and would eventually require the preparation and approval of a site plan under the provisions of the Town of Danby Zoning Ordinance, the applicant must complete a “Groundwater Supply TownBoard_LL #5 of 2016(renumbered No 1 of 2017); A Local Law Amending LL #2 of 1991 Providing for Environmental Review. • Tues- day, December 20, 2016 Page ! of ! 3 7 Application” and submit it to the Town Code Enforcement Officer or Planning Administrator. Such an application must contain the following information: a. Projected average daily water demand from existing and proposed on-site wells. Calculations for estimating the average daily water demand for the must be included and be based upon established design standards and upon the maximum projected use aver- aged in any consecutive thirty day period. Note that the Town of Danby has compiled es- timated daily water use for various permitted land uses. ii. A map with the location of all existing and proposed wells at the site, including their position with respect to property lines, existing or proposed water bodies, roads, buildings, and potential contaminant sources as listed in Table 1 of Section 5-B.4 of Appendix 5-B of 10 NYCRR Part 5. 4. GROUNDWATER RESOURCES ASSESSMENT. The Planning Board must require that a Groundwater Resources Assessment be conducted and submitted by an applicant if the submitted Groundwater Supply Application indicates that the proposed use involves a projected average daily water demand of 2,500 gallons per day or more. Work related to the Groundwater Resources Assessment shall be performed or di- rectly supervised by a professional geologist. Alternatively, work may be performed or direct- ly supervised by a licensed professional engineer who is experienced in performing ground- water studies. ! The Groundwater Resources Assessment shall include: i.For average withdrawals of between 2,500 gallons per day (gpd) and 20,000 gpd, a listing (inventory) of all water wells within 1,500 feet of the proposed site supply wells. For average withdrawals of greater than 20,000 gpd, a listing of all water wells within one-half mile (2,640 feet) of the proposed site supply wells. The well inven- tory should include where available, the location of wells on a map with their approximate depth, name of owner, type of aquifer inter- sected, yield and any other relevant data that can be reasonably obtained from sources such as government databases (NYSDEC and USGS), local well drillers, and/or property owners. ii.An inventory of known and potential contaminant sources within 1,500 feet of the pumping well(s) for uses that average withdrawals of less or equal than 20,000 gpd and within 2,640 feet of the pump- ing well(s) for uses that average withdrawals of greater than 20,000 gpd. The potential contamination source inventory shall include data from sources such as regulatory databases, real property tax assessment land classification codes, land use map- ping, visual survey(s), historical land records, anecdotal accounts, etc. iii.An inventory of surface waters and wetlands within 1,500 feet of the pumping well(s) for uses that average withdrawals of less than or equal to 20,000 gpd and within 2,640 feet of the pumping well(s) for uses that average withdrawals of greater than 20,000 gpd. iv. Pumping tests on each well that is to be utilized by the proposed use. For public wa- ter systems, all pumping tests shall be conducted in accordance with this section, Appendix 5-D of 10 NYCRR Part 5 (Special Requirements for Wells Serving Public Water Systems), as well other applicable portions of Subpart 5-1 of 10 NYCRR. All wells associated with water withdrawal systems with the combined capability to withdraw 100,000 gallons per day or more are subject to 6 NYCRR Part 601 and thus must follow speciﬁc pumping test procedures for NYSDEC water withdrawal applications. TownBoard_LL #5 of 2016(renumbered No 1 of 2017); A Local Law Amending LL #2 of 1991 Providing for Environmental Review. • Tues- day, December 20, 2016 Page ! of ! 4 7 For all other wells, pumping tests are to be performed in accordance with require- ments set forth in Section 5-B.4 of Appendix 5-B of 10 NYCRR Part 5 as well as the follow- ing standards: (a)No pumping or well development should be conducted on-site for at least 24 hours prior to the test. If on-site pumping cannot be curtailed due to system supply needs or other factors, this must be noted and discussed as it relates to the test accuracy. (b) Pumping tests should be done when off-site existing wells in the area are normally in operation and running. Pumping of such other wells in the test area should be monitored as further discussed below. (c) A test pump capable of providing the design ﬂow rate at the required head must be used to perform the test. Alternative pumping methods such as bailing or air lift test meth- ods may not be used. (d) The pumping test(s) shall be conducted at a pumping rate at least equal to the de- sign pumping rate. If multiple wells are to be pumped simultaneously to achieve the nec- essary yield, the test should incorporate such a pumping plan. (e) In addition to the minimum four-hour period of stabilized drawdown while pumping at a constant ﬂow rate that is speciﬁed in Section 5-B.4 of Appendix 5-B of 10 NYCRR Part 5, the pumping test must be performed for a minimum period of time according to the fol- lowing table: ! Note that wells associated with a community water system or a nontransient non- community water system require 24 or 72 hour pumping tests as deﬁned in Table 2 of 10 NYCRR Part 5, Subpart 5-1, Appendix 5D. ! Note that wells associated with water withdrawal systems with the combined capability to withdraw 100,000 gallons per day or more are subject to 6 NYCRR Part 601 and thus must be pump tested for a minimum of 72 hours at a constant rate. (f) In addition to the pumping well, water levels in all on-site wells must be monitored during the pumping test, as well as any off-site wells and surface bodies located within 1,500 feet of the pumping well for average withdrawals of less than or equal to 20,000 gal- lons per day. For average withdrawals of greater than 20,000 gpd, any off-site wells and surface bodies located within one-half mile (2,640 feet) of the proposed site supply wells are to be monitored. The applicant must document that adequate attempts were made to monitor water levels within off-site wells. If the landowners subsequently refuse access for monitoring, the Planning Board or Town Board would waive this requirement for the Applicant if satisfactory evidence is demonstrated. ii) Laboratory testing for water quality - samples should be collected at the conclusion of the pumping test. (a) At a minimum, the water quality samples are to be analyzed for: coliform bacteria, arsenic, lead, nitrate, nitrite, iron, manganese, sodium, pH, hardness, alkalinity, turbidity, and total dissolved solids. Estimated Average Daily Withdrawal for Use (gpd) Minimum Pumping Test Du- ration (hours) 2,000 to 9,999 12 10,000 to 20,000 24 >20,000 48 TownBoard_LL #5 of 2016(renumbered No 1 of 2017); A Local Law Amending LL #2 of 1991 Providing for Environmental Review. • Tues- day, December 20, 2016 Page ! of ! 5 7 (b) Additional tests for petroleum products, solvents, and/or other parameters will be necessary if the inventory of known and potential contaminant sources revealed the pres- ence of a past or present spill, petroleum storage facility, gasoline station, landﬁll, junkyard, an industry that stores and/or uses particular chemicals, or other land use(s) that pose a higher risk to water resources. (c) For public water systems, all test wells shall be tested for water quality in accor- dance with Subpart 5-1 of 10 NYCRR including Appendix 5-D of 10 NYCRR Part 5. iii) An assessment of the following: (a) The magnitude and extent of water level drawdown that will result from groundwater withdrawals at the use as well as an evaluation of potential impacts of drawdown on off- site wells, surface waters, and wetlands within a minimum of 1,500 feet to 2,640 feet from the pumping well(s) (depending upon the average daily withdrawal for the use as outlined above). (b)The likelihood of affecting the extent of known or potential groundwater contamination identified in the inventory detailed above. (c)The potential impact of the use’s withdrawal of water upon the quality of an existing well’s water quality. (d) The suitability of groundwater resources to support the proposed use, including a comparison of maximum safe pumping rates and total available source capacity to project- ed water demands. The adequacy of the use’s drinking water quality should be noted as well, including a discussion of possible water treatment and supplemental storage in situa- tions where well(s) are not capable of meeting peak water use demands. Delete Sections IX. Lead Agency; Delete Section X. Determination of Environ- mental Significance; Delete Section XI. Negative Declaration of Environmental Significance; Delete Section XII. Conditioned Negative Declaration of Envi- ronmental Significance; Delete Section XIII. Positive Declaration of Environ- mental Significance; Delete Section XIV. Time Limits; Delete Section XV. Public Hearings. Amend SECTION XVI. Fees. Delete: The fees for review or preparation of an EIS. (including a D/EIS and ﬁnal EIS) involving an application for approval or funding of an action shall be determined by the lead agency for each such application. The fees shall be based on the actual cost to the Town for reviewing or preparing the EIS, including the cost of hiring consultants, the salary time of Town employees and actual disbursements incurred as a result of the review or prepara- tion of the EIS, but in no event shall the fees be greater than that permitted in Part 617. The applicant shall pay such fees. At the option of the Town, the Town may request a deposit from the applicant in an amount equal to the reasonable estimate to accomplish such re- view and/or preparation which shall be paid by an applicant before the application shall be deemed complete and before the Town commences its review and/or preparation. And replace with: 1. Every application for determination under this chapter shall be accompanied by fees to defray the expenses incurred by the Town in completing the environmental review process necessary for rendering such determination, which fees and schedules thereto shall be es- TownBoard_LL #5 of 2016(renumbered No 1 of 2017); A Local Law Amending LL #2 of 1991 Providing for Environmental Review. • Tues- day, December 20, 2016 Page ! of ! 6 7 tablished by the Town Board via resolution. Said fees shall include, but not necessarily be limited to: ! (a) Each Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared for an action proposed by an ap- plicant that is issued a Positive Declaration pursuant to § 617.7 of Title 6 of NYCRR – In each such case, involving the preparation of an EIS, the applicant shall provide funds to the Town for deposit into a trust account (environmental review trust account), pursuant to the schedule and procedures established by the Town Board. The fees assessed against said trust account shall include the cost of outside consulting services to assist Town Staff with the preparation or review of the EIS as well as an administrative fee for the involvement of Town personnel. ! The environmental review trust account shall be established at the time of scoping, and shall be available for the Town's use for preparing a draft scoping document, reviewing a draft scoping document prepared by an applicant, amending or ﬁnalizing a scoping docu- ment based on comments received from involved agencies and interested parties, pre- paring for or participating in scoping meetings or hearings, and other activities as required to complete a ﬁnal scoping document, pursuant to § 617.8 and § 617.13 of Title 6 of NY- CRR. Said trust account shall continue to be available for the Town's use for preparing a draft EIS, ﬁnal EIS, or Findings Statement, or reviewing a draft EIS or ﬁnal EIS document submitted by the applicant, or undertaking any ﬁeld inspections, environmental testing, traffic studies, technical research, meetings and communications with other involved agen- cies or interested parties, and any other actions deemed necessary to substantiate, verify, or augment any information that may be submitted by or on behalf of an applicant, or to assist the Town Staff in completing any of the duties or responsibilities described elsewhere in this Chapter. ! 2. Pre-application - If a project sponsor voluntarily requests technical input from the Town regarding a potential development proposal prior to the submission of a formal application, and prior to the initiation of the formal SEQRA process, said project sponsor may be re- quired to submit funds to defray the expenses incurred by the Town in providing such input. In each such case, the applicant shall provide funds to the Town for deposit into a trust ac- count, pursuant to the schedule and procedures established by the Town Board. The fees assessed against said trust account shall include the cost of outside consulting services to assist the Town Staff with the preparation or review of the EIS as well as an administrative fee for the involvement of Town personnel. ! 3. The maximum cumulative total of charges to an applicant for review of the EIS for a giv- en application pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall conform to the limits set forth under §617.13 of Title 6 of NYCRR and other applicable laws and regulations. Delete Section XVII. Actions involving Federal Agencies. Section 3. Severability If any provision of this local law is found invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect any other provisions of this local law, which shall remain in full force and effect. Section 5: Effective Date This local law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Office of the Secretary of State of the State of New York. TownBoard_LL #5 of 2016(renumbered No 1 of 2017); A Local Law Amending LL #2 of 1991 Providing for Environmental Review. • Tues- day, December 20, 2016 Page ! of ! 7 7