Act 167
- Stormwater Management
What is stormwater?
Stormwater is precipitation from the sky, either rain, hail
or snow,
that falls onto the land. Some of the water seeps into the
aquifer by penetrating the
ground. More often, storm water floods creeks and makes
it’s way to the lowest level, the
Delaware River Basin. For additional information, check the
following links:
www.dep.state.pa.us
– DEP Home page
www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/fieldops/se/stormwater.htm
- DEP stormwater page
www.epa.gov/nps/toolbox
–
EPA Nonpoint Source Toolbox
www.epa.gov/npdes
–
EPA NPDES site
www.delcocd.org
– Delaware County Conservation District
http://dsf.chesco.org/water
–
Chester County Water Resource Authority
http://dsf.chesco.org/conservation
–
Chester County Conservation District
www.stormwatercenter.net
– Center for Watershed protection – Stormwater
Manager’s Resource Center
Rain
has been around since the beginning of time, why all of a
sudden are we hearing about stormwater?
Since 1978, Pennsylvania has had laws in place to control
stormwater, as required by the Federal Government. (For
decades, the State has not intensely focused on issues,
until the devastation caused by the flooding from Hurricane
Floyd in September of 1999.) Property destruction, personal
losses, and litigation forced the state and federal
governments to step up efforts and work towards controlling
the effects of development as they may contribute to
downstream flooding conditions.
NPDES
PHASE II
The
acronym stands for National Pollution Discharge Elimination
Systems. This is a stormwater management program developed
by the state offices of the Department Of Environmental
Protection to address pollution and flooding. State laws
require municipalities to obtain state permits, and to
strictly regulate water quality and quantity from
construction sites, new development, illegal dumping to
storm sewer systems and to educate the public (residents
and business owners) on the importance of pollution
prevention.
What does NPDES PHASE II have to do with me or my
neighborhood?
If
you live in a neighborhood that has streets maintained by
the municipality, and there are storm sewers in those
streets and pipes that take the stormwater to a stream or
other body of water, you are responsible to keep your
basins clear of sediment and pollutants and to prevent
illegal dumping into storm sewers. If you are aware of a
neighbor who connects a hose from their washing machine or
sewage system directly into a storm sewer or drainage
basin, or stream, you should notify township officials
immediately. If you are aware of any malfunctioning septic
systems you should notify township officials
immediately.
For an informative brochure entitled
When It Rains, It drains,
click here.
I
own a house on two acres. Why do I care about
stormwater?
Stormwater effects everybody, we all live downhill from
somewhere. Everything we do on our little piece of the
earth will have some effect on somebody. If we don’t
control runoff from our own property, somewhere, somebody
down hill from us will feel it. Remember your parents
saying to you - “if everybody threw their trash out
the car window the whole road would be covered with
trash?” If we all neglect our responsibilities to
maintain our own property and control our own runoff, there
will continue to be devastating effects on those down hill
from us. You can be the solution to stormwater pollution!
* Use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly
* Repair all auto and motor equipment leaks
* Clean up after your pet
* Wash cars on your lawn, not on your driveway
* Recycle
* Dispose of household hazardous waste such as batteries,
used oil, paint and
certain cleaning solvents at designated collection
locations. For details regarding household hazardous waste
collections contact 610-892-9620 or
www.co.delaware.pa.us/recycle
This
doesn’t pertain to me. I don’t discharge any
stormwater from my property.
Do you live in a house with rain gutters? Do your rain
gutters take your roof water and dump it onto your driveway
or to a storm drain? Do you have a storm drain on or near
your driveway or property? Do you drain your swimming pool
every fall? Did you build a tennis court, expand your
driveway, enlarge your roof or add a garage? Unless you
have some sort of stormwater system on your property, you
are discharging water from your property into a stream
somewhere, making it somebody else’s problem. (For
details on how to properly drain your pool – see
Frequently Asked Questions FAQ’s) Here are a few
suggestions to make a difference:
Install a rain barrel (for information about rain barrels
contact Pennsylvania Resource Council in Edgmont Township
at 610-353-1555 or
www.prc.org)
and use the collected rainwater for watering flowers and
gardens.
Disconnect your rain gutters from discharging onto
driveways and redirect the water to grassy areas or
infiltration beds (dry wells).
Why is my township now getting involved with stormwater?
Why doesn’t the State
take care of this?
The state is a big place and there are a lot of watersheds
in
Pennsylvania. State agencies such as the Department of
Environmental Protection rely
heavily on local governments to do the lion’s share
of regulating when it comes to keeping
the streams clean, healthy and controlling flooding from
unmanaged stormwater.
I
run a business in Edgmont Township. How can I help keep the
streams clean?
If you operate a restaurant, keeping your dumpster from
leaking fluids into the ground is a
start. Sweeping your sidewalks rather than washing possible
pollutants into the ground will
help.
For an informative brochure created specifically for
food establishments,
click here*
If you operate an automotive repair or gas station in
Edgmont,
click here
for
an information brochure created specifically for
you*
My
neighborhood uses a professional lawn treatment company.
Should we worry about pollution?
When
you fertilize your lawn you’re not just fertilizing
the lawn. Rain washes the fertilizer along the curb, into
the storm drains and into the creeks and eventually into
the Rivers. This causes algae to grow which uses up oxygen
the fish need to survive.
Don’t fertilize before a rain storm and don’t
spray on sidewalks or driveways.
Use fertilizers sparingly.
Test your soil and consider organic/slow release products.
Leave grass clippings lay, they act as natural fertilizer
for your lawn.
Compost and introduce compost into the soil in trouble
spots.
Maintain a buffer strip of unmowed natural vegetation
bordering all waterways to trap fertilizers.
What is the County doing to help?
The Stormwater Management Act, Act 167 of 1978,
provides for the regulation of land and water use for flood
control and stormwater
management. This law, among other things, requires counties
to prepare and
adopt a watershed stormwater plan for each designated
watershed. Delaware County has
prepared a plan for the Chester Creek Watershed.
All
municipalities within the Chester Creek Watershed were
required to adopt an ordinance managing stormwater by
NOVEMBER 28, 2003.
The County is developing conservation plans for the Ridley
Creek Watershed and the Crum Creek Watershed.
I
have an in ground septic system. Should I worry about
pollution?
Modern
septic systems are designed to function well for a period
of approximately 15 years if they are used and maintained
correctly. Your system is designed to work with the soils
on your property. The components of the soil filter the
gray water and remove pollutants. You should have your
system pumped as recommended by your maintenance company,
or no less than every two years. When you have your septic
tank pumped you should have the system checked over to be
sure it is in proper working order.
No strong chemicals or old medicine should ever be flushed
through the house plumbing into the septic systems. They
will kill beneficial bacteria that are necessary to break
down the waste in your system.
Certain paint, paint thinners, excessive amounts of bleach,
oils of any kind should all NOT be put into your system as
they can cause immediate failure and are a danger to the
aquifer.
Avoid using a garbage disposal.
Do not connect foundation sump pumps to your septic system.
Keep trees and shrubs at least 35 feet away from your tile
field to prevent root damage to pipes.
Route surface drainage (including snow melt) away from your
tile field.
For more sewage related reference materials available
contact your DEP Regional offices at 484-250-5900 or check
out the DEP Home Page at
www.dep.state.pa.us
Reference
materials available from DEP include:
DEPARTMENT
REGULATIONS
PA Code Title 25, Chapter 71- Administration of Sewage
Facilities Planning Program
PA Code Title 25, Chapter 72 – Administration of
Sewage Facilities Permitting Program
PA Code Title 25, Chapter 73 – Standards for Sewage
Disposal Facilities
DEPARTMENT FACT SHEETS
Understanding
Septic Tanks
Sewage Planning Requirement (Exceptions)
Process for Resolving Complaints about Malfunctioning
Sewage Disposal Systems
Permitting & Planning Exemptions for Rural
Residences
OTHER HELPFUL DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS
Consumer’s
Guide to On-lot Sewage Disposal System Operation and
Maintenance
Sewage Disposal Needs Identification Guidance
Alternate and Experimental Systems Guidance
Individual Residential Spray Irrigation System
Standards