NY Env Conserv L § 43-0112 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ENV - Environmental Conservation Article 43 - Lake George Park Commission 43-0112 - Stormwater Management and Stream Corridor Management.

§ 43-0112. Stormwater management and stream corridor management.   1.   Stormwater  management  plans  for  lands  where  development  is occurring or may occur in the future. The commission shall adopt,  after public  hearing  according to the provisions of the state administrative procedure act, rules  and  regulations  for  the  preparation  of  local stormwater  management  plans  and  stormwater regulatory programs. Such rules and regulations  shall  be  developed  in  consultation  with  the department,  the Adirondack park agency and each municipality located in whole or in part within the park, and shall be subject  to  approval  by the department and Adirondack park agency.   a.  Within  eighteen  months  of  the effective date of such rules and regulations of the commission, each municipality located in whole or  in part  within  the Lake George park shall prepare a stormwater management plan and a stormwater regulatory control program which  implements  such plan  consistent  with  such  rules  and  regulations and subject to the approval of the commission.   b. Stormwater  management  plans  and  their  implementing  stormwater control regulatory programs shall be designed:  (1)  to prevent any increase in stormwater runoff from any development in order to reduce flooding, siltation and streambank erosion; and  (2) to prevent any increase in pollution caused by  stormwater  runoff from  development, which would otherwise degrade the quality of water in Lake  George  and  its  tributaries  and  render  it  unfit  for   human consumption,  interfere  with water-based recreation or adversely affect aquatic life.   c.  In  addition  to  pollution  standards,  the  stormwater   control regulatory  program shall incorporate a standard which requires that the total annual volume  of  surface  water  runoff  which  flows  from  any specific  site  during  and  following development shall not exceed that which prevailed prior to development. The methods used to determine  the annual  volumes  of  surface  water  runoff  shall  be  developed by the commission and  incorporated  in  the  rules  and  regulations  for  the preparation  of  the  local  stormwater  management plans and regulatory control programs.   d. Any municipality located in whole or in part within  the  park  may enter  into  an  agreement  with  the  commission  for the commission to develop the municipality's stormwater management plan. Such an agreement must be entered into within ninety days of the  effective  date  of  the commission's  rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision and, if such  agreement  is  not  made  in  such  time  period  and  the municipality  fails  to  meet  the  requirement  of  paragraph a of this subdivision, the commission shall be deemed to  have  the  authority  to develop such plan.   2.  Stormwater  management study for sites and areas where development has  occurred  prior  to  the  effective  date  of  this  section.   The commission,  in  consultation  with  the department, the Adirondack park agency and each municipality located in whole  or  in  part  within  the park,  and subject to the approval by the department and Adirondack park agency, shall prepare a study of the feasibility of reducing the impacts of stormwater runoff in areas of the park where development has  already occurred.  This  study  shall  assess the impact of stormwater runoff on water  quality  from  existing  development,  identify  cost   effective measures  to  control  stormwater runoff, and propose funding mechanisms for implementation of such measures. The commission shall  complete  the study  within  two  years  of  the  effective date of this section. Upon completion of the study of the commission, the  study's  recommendations shall  be  incorporated by the commission into the stormwater management  plan and by each municipality into  its  stormwater  regulatory  control program, subject to the approval of the commission.   3.  Implementation.  In  addition  to  existing powers and authorities therefor, each municipality located in whole or in part within the  park is  hereby  authorized and empowered to adopt and implement a stormwater regulatory control  program  consistent  with  the  provisions  of  this section.  If  the commission finds that any such municipality has failed to adopt  such  program,  to  incorporate  recommendations  pursuant  to subdivision  two  of  this  section  or  to  implement such program, the commission is hereby authorized and empowered to assume the authority of the  municipality  that  has  failed  to  act,  adopt  and  implement  a stormwater  regulatory  program  consistent  with the provisions of this section for the municipality subject to the commission's finding.   4.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  to   limit   the department's authority to regulate discharges or stormwater.   5.  The  commission shall, after consultation with the department, the department of health, the Adirondack park agency and  each  municipality located  in  whole  or  in  part  within  the  park,  further promulgate regulations relative to stream corridor management which  shall  include standards   for  the  location  of  roads,  stream  channelization,  the frequency of stream crossings,  and  timber  harvesting  and  vegetative cutting restrictions within designated stream corridors. The regulations adopted  pursuant  to  this  section  may  be  stricter than regulations promulgated by the department.   6.  In  cooperation  with  local  lake  associations  and  educational institutions,  the  commission  shall  continue  existing  water quality monitoring programs to monitor water quality in Lake George to determine the effectiveness of control measures, and to identify sources of ground and  surface  water  contamination  for  investigation  and  enforcement purposes.