§ 43-0112 — Stormwater management and stream corridor management

§ 43-0112. Stormwater management and stream corridor management.\n 1. Stormwater management plans for lands where development is\noccurring or may occur in the future. The commission shall adopt, after\npublic hearing according to the provisions of the state administrative\nprocedure act, rules and regulations for the preparation of local\nstormwater management plans and stormwater regulatory programs. Such\nrules and regulations shall be developed in consultation with the\ndepartment, the Adirondack park agency and each municipality located in\nwhole or in part within the park, and shall be subject to approval by\nthe department and Adirondack park agency.\n a. Within eighteen months of the effective date of such rules and\nregulations of the commission, each municipality located in whole or in\npart within the Lake George park shall prepare a stormwater management\nplan and a stormwater regulatory control program which implements such\nplan consistent with such rules and regulations and subject to the\napproval of the commission.\n b. Stormwater management plans and their implementing stormwater\ncontrol regulatory programs shall be designed:\n (1) to prevent any increase in stormwater runoff from any development\nin order to reduce flooding, siltation and streambank erosion; and\n (2) to prevent any increase in pollution caused by stormwater runoff\nfrom development, which would otherwise degrade the quality of water in\nLake George and its tributaries and render it unfit for human\nconsumption, interfere with water-based recreation or adversely affect\naquatic life.\n c. In addition to pollution standards, the stormwater control\nregulatory program shall incorporate a standard which requires that the\ntotal annual volume of surface water runoff which flows from any\nspecific site during and following development shall not exceed that\nwhich prevailed prior to development. The methods used to determine the\nannual volumes of surface water runoff shall be developed by the\ncommission and incorporated in the rules and regulations for the\npreparation of the local stormwater management plans and regulatory\ncontrol programs.\n d. Any municipality located in whole or in part within the park may\nenter into an agreement with the commission for the commission to\ndevelop the municipality's stormwater management plan. Such an agreement\nmust be entered into within ninety days of the effective date of the\ncommission's rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision\nand, if such agreement is not made in such time period and the\nmunicipality fails to meet the requirement of paragraph a of this\nsubdivision, the commission shall be deemed to have the authority to\ndevelop such plan.\n 2. Stormwater management study for sites and areas where development\nhas occurred prior to the effective date of this section. The\ncommission, in consultation with the department, the Adirondack park\nagency and each municipality located in whole or in part within the\npark, and subject to the approval by the department and Adirondack park\nagency, shall prepare a study of the feasibility of reducing the impacts\nof stormwater runoff in areas of the park where development has already\noccurred. This study shall assess the impact of stormwater runoff on\nwater quality from existing development, identify cost effective\nmeasures to control stormwater runoff, and propose funding mechanisms\nfor implementation of such measures. The commission shall complete the\nstudy within two years of the effective date of this section. Upon\ncompletion of the study of the commission, the study's recommendations\nshall be incorporated by the commission into the stormwater management\nplan and by each municipality into its stormwater regulatory control\nprogram, subject to the approval of the commission.\n 3. Implementation. In addition to existing powers and authorities\ntherefor, each municipality located in whole or in part within the park\nis hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and implement a stormwater\nregulatory control program consistent with the provisions of this\nsection. If the commission finds that any such municipality has failed\nto adopt such program, to incorporate recommendations pursuant to\nsubdivision two of this section or to implement such program, the\ncommission is hereby authorized and empowered to assume the authority of\nthe municipality that has failed to act, adopt and implement a\nstormwater regulatory program consistent with the provisions of this\nsection for the municipality subject to the commission's finding.\n 4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the\ndepartment's authority to regulate discharges or stormwater.\n 5. The commission shall, after consultation with the department, the\ndepartment of health, the Adirondack park agency and each municipality\nlocated in whole or in part within the park, further promulgate\nregulations relative to stream corridor management which shall include\nstandards for the location of roads, stream channelization, the\nfrequency of stream crossings, and timber harvesting and vegetative\ncutting restrictions within designated stream corridors. The regulations\nadopted pursuant to this section may be stricter than regulations\npromulgated by the department.\n 6. In cooperation with local lake associations and educational\ninstitutions, the commission shall continue existing water quality\nmonitoring programs to monitor water quality in Lake George to determine\nthe effectiveness of control measures, and to identify sources of ground\nand surface water contamination for investigation and enforcement\npurposes.\n