HomeMy WebLinkAboutHigh-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Municipal Tools.pdfReview your ComPrehensive Plan
Review Zoning Ordinance
z*rg r"grl.ti,rns spu.ity types of uses, building lot size, and lot coverage
in different zones of the village in order to be compatible with existing
uses, natural features, and community goals. lf a community does not
have a zoning ordinance it is lacking the most effective tool for addressing
potential ancillary impacts of gas drilling and potentially whether gas
drilling is allowed in . .ottunity tnd, if t
prirn-.rv ,,t"sr N"tural gas exploration and extraction, storage yards, gas
pr*etring facility, compressor station, pipelines, water storage facilities'
secondarv uses: Hotel/motels, RV parks, temporary housing, profe^ssional
offices, construction companies, trucking facilities, gravel and sand mining
A village's zoning provisions prevent uses that are injurious to the
adjacent parcels and the community as a whole. Natural gas extraction
and ancillary uses may not have been considered when zoning was
Review locations of existing residential, agricultural, and natural resources
that could be negatively impacted by potential new uses. Amend zoning
regulations by adding necessary definitions and specifying where these
uses are allowed or prohibited. ln zones where uses are allowed, site plan
review or special permit can be required. Consider adding floodplain and
stream buffer. protection; protections for unique natural areas, such as
conservation zones; protections against fragmenting agricultural lands
and intact forests; industrial land use definitions; differentiation between
heavy and light industry; districts where different types of industrial land
uses are allowed or prohibited; prohibited land uses, including those
prohibited in all districts; and buffers between industrial land uses and
other uses.
Prohibiting gas drilling: see examples from towns of Dryden, Ulysses and
Review Site Plan Regulations
A plan showing the layout or design of a proposed use. The site plan must
conform to standards specified by the village and is reviewed and approved
by the planning board. Site Plan regulations may be part of a municipality's
zoning ordinance or mav be in a stand-alone ordinance.
New land development should be designed to avoid negative impacts on
surrounding properties. Definitions of new types of uses may need to be
added to site plan
Review current site plan regulations to ensure that standards and elements
are appropriate and procedures are in place and understood. For ancillary
impacts of gas drilling, site plan elements should include site access,
screening, signs, landscaping, location and dimensions of buildings, lighting,
noise, and adjacent land uses.
Training presentation on Site Plan Review basics, procedure, and SEQR
compliance:
www.co.ontario.nv.us lannine rrqbat 'aininp 'te Plan Review%2O.pdf
James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series:
Apply Special Use Permits to Certain Uses
o conditions upon review and
approval by a village board or its designee (planning board or zoning
board of appeals). special use permit requirements are usually part of a
municipalitY's zoning ordinance'
Specialusepermit''tt-o*..o''*unitytoestablishstandardsand
conditions for a diversity of uses that could have adverse impacts on
adjacent land uses. whereas site Plan is generally a non-discretionary
l."ui.* if standards are met, special use permits usually allow for a'wider
range of discretion and judgment by the reviewing body regarding
whether a use is a riate at a given location.
@potential uses associated with energy
development to determine if they should require special use permits and'
if so, what sPecial use ermit criteria should be established for them'
Roads Protection
damage bY develoPing a road use
reguralion or road use agreement for high impact, high frequency truck
traffic. A village can review and approve driveway permits for new road
cuts on local roads'
ic associated with HVHF will
damage roads over time. The repair cost may impose a burden on
municipal budgets, and agreements provide a means for compensation
for damage.
Work with the Cor@ on efforts to coordinate draft
Road Use Regulation and/or Roa! Ule igresms$
PnOPOSf O SuPPlementarY Permit
Conditions For High-Volume Hyd rau lic Fractu ring:
The operator shall adhere to the Department-approved transportation
plan which shall be incorporated by reference into this permit' lh addition'
issuance of this permit does not provide relief from any local
requirementsauthorizedbyorenactedpursuanttotheNewYorkState
Vehicle and Traffic Law. Prior to site disturbance, the operator shall
submit to the Department, for informational purposes only, a copy of any
ment between the operator and municiroad use agreement between tne oPW
Designate Critical Environmental Areas (CEAI
Aquifer Protection Regulation
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Groundwater resources serve as private drinking water sources and as
base flow for streams. Primarv aquifers are designated by the NYS
Department of Health as "highly productive aquifers presently utilized as
sources of water supply by major municipal water supply systems."
Principal aquifers are "known to be highly productive or whose geology
suggests abundant potential water supply, but which are not intensively
used as sources of water supply by major municipal systems at the
present time."
Municipalities can adopt regulations to limit uses that might impact the
quantity or quality of waters in an aquifer.
While no High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing operations will be permitted
on primary aquifers, protection of principal aquifers is limited. DEC will
require a site-specific determination for HVHF activities within 500 feet of
a principal aquifer. ln Tompkins County, there are principal aquifers but
no primary aquifers.
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Determine aquifer locations and appropriate protection areas, and adopt
protection regulations. Tompkins County has a cooperative cost-sharing
agreement with the United States Geological Survey to study aquifers in
Tompkins County. A municipality should contact the County Planning
Department if interested in participating in this program.
gRtr-3-diiir&#See draft example from the Town of Danby
Revised Draft SGEIS 20L1, Section 3.2.5:
Site-Specific SEQRA determination of significance is required for any
proposed well pad within the boundary of a principal aquifer, or outside
but within 500 feet of the boundary of a principal aquifer.
Wellhead Protection Regulation
Noise, Lighting and Air Standards
Viewshed (or Scenic Resource) Overlay District
Tree Preservation
An overlay district (within a zoning ordinance)to protect scenic views by
imposing specific requirements that include landscaping and site design,
the preservation of native vegetation, and the design of buildings and
structures.
Scenic views are an important resource in Tompkins County and can be
ected bv lim certain uses along ridgelines and in viewsheds.
Determine where scenic views are located. Adopt an overlay district
lation that requires a visual assessment review.
See example from the Town of Blooming Grove.
Tompkins County Scenic Resources lnventory and Guide at
Visual Mitigation Measures addressed in Revised Draft SGEIS 2OIL,
Section 7.9.
A tree preservation ordinance prevents excessive clear cUtting of forest
stands. Forest areas are important for wildlife, local ecology, water
uality, and scenic views.
As a law of general applicability, a village can protect intact forest
resources from being cleared for new land uses. Limiting the amount of
land that is clear-cut protects land from fragmentation, reduces the
ad of invasive species. and protects water and air quality.
The village board can adopt an ordinance with thresholds for the amount
of land cleared and what uses are exempt, such as single family homes or
NYS DEC Tree Ordinance Guidance
www.dec. nv.sov/lands/5276. html
lJrban Tree Conservation: o White Paper on Local Ordinance Approaches
by Sandra Nichols
www. u rba nforestrvsouth.org/resou rces/libra rv/urban-tree-conservation-
a-white-paper-on-local-ord inance-approaches/file
Guidelines for Developing and EValuating Tree Ordinonces by Swiecki and
Bernhardt.
Adopt Pipeline Regulations
Manufactured Home Park (MHP) Regulations
e plan review or subdivision review' or with
zoning. Mobile Homes may NOT be purposely prohibited in a village;
With an increase in gts atinirry in our region, temporary or transient workers
will increase the pressure on the current housing stock' Landowners or
developers may consider adding manufactured homes (individually or in parks)
as a temporary housing measure for gas industry workers or current residents'
@ning:TheVillageBoardshouldconsiderappropriate
zoning districts for MHPs and the review and permitting process' MHPs may be
subject to special use permit, subdivision review, and site plan review'
Municipalities without Zoning: subdivision review and/or site plan review may
be used to review MHPs. A stand-alone MHP ordinance can also be adopted.
Review guidelines should address road signs, street lighting, sidewalks,
stormwater, street trees, Pa
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Municipal Regulation of Mobile Homes:
www.dos.ny.gov/Lc/publications/Municipal Regulation of Mobile Homes.pdf
Subdivision Regulations
@ivision of a parcel into a number of loti to be
developed or sold. Standards for subdivision review are to ensure the
proposal is in concert with the neighborhood character and to protect
adjacent properties from stormWater runoff, traffic congestion, unsightly
design, and noise pollution. The planning board reviews subdivisions
based on Village Board's standards and requirements, which include
public hearing and environmental review.
Land subdivision may be desirable for residential or other development'
Villages may want to specify lot size, setbacks and other requirements,
and review proposals based on set procedures
The Village Board has the authority to adopt regulations, standards, and
what types of land subdivision are subject to review and approval.
Floodplain Regulations
Extractive Mining Regulations
FEMA developed Flood lnsurance Rates Maps showing floodplains, which
are flood-prone areas adjacent to streams and other water bodies.
The Revised Draft SGEIS requires that operators review floodplain maps,
and HVHF activities will not be permitted in the L00-year floodplain.
However, other activities could be located in floodplain areas.
To participate in the National Flood lnsurance Program, municipalities
must adopt a local Flood Damage Prevention Law and issue permits for
floodplain development. Municipalities should review floodplain maps,
local law, and permitting procedures and may want to prohibit most uses
in the floodplain.
An extractive mining operation (such as gravel and sand) requires a permit
from DEC. Underthe Mined Land Reclamation Law, municipalities can
take the following actions related to extractive mines: exclude from the
entire village, limit to specific zoning districts, or issue Special Use Permits
with limited conditions. Municipalities may not regulate the operation of a
properly sited mine. Special Use Permit conditions are limited to local
road access, transportation routes, setbacks, and land reclamation, as
as the conditions are consistent with the DEC's permit.
Gravel is needed for road building and well pad areas.
Sand is used as a propping agent in the shale fracturing process.
Village Boards should decide if or where extractive mining is appropriate
within the municipal borders. lf allowed, ensure that the appropriate
special use permit procedures are in place -these procedures need to
aoolv to all other uses that are su
Municipol Control Over Mining in New York,by John Caffrey & lnga Fricke
landuse.law.pace.edu/land use/docu ments/PublishedArticle/
Res2/M u nConOverMiningNY.doc
Mined Land Reclamation Law, Environmental Conservation Law Article 23,
Title 27
Construction and Post-Construction Stormwater Runoff Control
iont to limit stormwater runoff associated with land disturbances'
wtril" DEc,rill r"qrire a "comprehensive stormwater Pollution
prevention Plan" for access roads and well pads, villages can adopt or
review existing regulations to address storm\^/ater runoff from other land
tVtS+s Review existing stormwater regulations and amend if necessary,
especially for linear disturbances such as pipelines'
Non-MS4s: Villages can adopt stormwater regulations in order to review
ntion plans for land ditlqllgggs.
NYS DEC Stormwater website:
lllicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Regulations
pollrtrntr that enter a municipality's storm sewer system during dry
er:iods are considered "illicit discharges."
An increase in construction or industrial activity in a village will increase
the risk for illicit
nOopt * i"view an existing local law that defines the range of illicit
discharges to be covered and specifies the enforcement mechanism'
tDDEt A Giidance Manualfor Progrom Development and Technical
Assessments, by the Center for Watershed Protection
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Wetlands
Fees
W"tl-.rd t*;i6 the landscape offer a range of benefits from reducing
flooding and erosion, protecting water quality, and providing habitat for
wildlife. Under the Freshwater Wetlands Act (Article 24 of Environmental
Conservation Law), NYS regulates wetland areas that are 12.4 acres or
certain smaller wetlands of unusual local importance. Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act provides the authority to the federal government to issue
rmits for wetland imPacts.
wetlands that are not under the jurisdiction of NYS or the federal
government are at risk from destruction from a variety of development
NYS Ettit"^t"ntal Conservation Law (24-0501) provides the authority for
a local government to adopt freshwater wetlands protection law,
however, wetland m is a necessary step to implementing the law'
fornpt ins County Water Resources Council Wetlands Committee, includes
a report of Wetland Protections for Tompkins County and a draft wetlands
local law:
www.tompkins-
a n n i n s/com m ittees/WRC/WRCWetla n dsCom m itte
Most regulations provide authority for the governing body to set
application and review fees for permits or other types of reviews.
ftris would be a good time to review the authorizing language and fee
levels to make sure they are adequate to allow your municipality to obtain
professional technical assiitance for these reviews at the applicant's
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