This Municipal Stormwater
Management Plan for the Borough of Princeton describes the policies and
measures that the Borough will implement to address stormwater-related impacts
of land development and redevelopment projects. This Plan has been developed in response to
the post-construction stormwater management requirements for new development
and redevelopment contained in the Borough’s Tier A Municipal Stormwater
General Permit (Permit No. NJ0141852) issued by the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and described in N.J.A.C. 7:14A - Municipal
Stormwater Regulations.
The Princeton Borough Municipal
Stormwater Management Plan has been prepared in accordance with the NJDEP Tier
A Stormwater Guidance Document dated April 2004 and contains all of the
required elements of a Municipal Stormwater Management Plan contained in
N.J.A.C. 7:8 Stormwater Management Rules.
The Plan addresses the groundwater recharge, stormwater quality, and
stormwater quantity impacts of land development and redevelopment projects by identifying
stormwater management design and performance standards for new major land developments,
defined as projects that disturb one or more acre of land. These standards are
intended to minimize the adverse impacts of stormwater runoff from such
projects on water quality and quantity and prevent a loss of groundwater
recharge. The Plan also describes operation and maintenance requirements for
the stormwater management facilities that are created to achieve these
standards in order to insure their long-term performance.
It is important to note that
this Plan contains those Municipal Stormwater Management Plan components that
must be completed within twelve months of the April 1, 2005 effective date of
the Borough’s Tier A Municipal Stormwater General Permit. As such, this Plan will require modification in
the future to incorporate the adopted municipal Stormwater Control Ordinance
and Mitigation Plan that must be completed within twelve months of the Plan’s
original adoption date.
1.1 Stormwater
Impacts of Land Development and Redevelopment
According to the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), stormwater runoff is a major
component of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, the largest remaining source of
pollutants in our nation’s waters. The
USEPA has also documented how the quality of our surface and ground waters is
directly related to the overall health of our environment. Similarly, the NJDEP estimates that up to 60
percent of existing water pollution problems are attributable to NPS pollution
and, in particular, the pollutants in stormwater runoff. However, since these pollutants originate
from numerous, diffuse sources and are conveyed by runoff from an entire
drainage area or watershed, they can be difficult to identify, regulate, and
treat.
In natural environments that
are undisturbed by land development, precipitation that reaches the ground
surface can follow a number of routes.
If the surface is covered with vegetation, the majority of the
precipitation is either intercepted by the surface vegetation or infiltrates
into the soil. Intercepted precipitation
can evaporate back into the atmosphere along with the precipitation that collects
in depressions on the ground surface. Infiltrated
precipitation can either be drawn up by the root systems of the surface
vegetation and transpired back into the atmosphere or can move downward to the
groundwater, thereby recharging this important resource. A smaller portion of the precipitation
typically runs off the ground surface to downstream creeks, streams, and
rivers. This process, known as the
hydrologic or water cycle and illustrated in the above figure, generally functions
in equilibrium, but is susceptible to changes in the cycle’s various processes,
most notably changes in the ground surface upon which the precipitation falls.
Since land development by its
very nature alters the ground surface, it can dramatically impact the natural
hydrologic cycle and cause severe stormwater impacts if it is not carefully planned,
designed, constructed, and maintained.
Land development typically replaces natural vegetation with lawns and
impervious surfaces, thereby reducing the site’s natural evaporation,
transpiration and infiltration rates.
Construction activities can compact the soil, further reducing its ability
to infiltrate. These reductions increase
the amount of stormwater runoff that flows across the ground surface and
decrease the amount that recharges into the groundwater. Land development also typically connects the
runoff from impervious surface directly to a constructed drainage system of
gutters, channels, and storm sewers.
These systems transport runoff more quickly than natural surfaces and
conveyance systems. This, in turn,
shortens the area’s rainfall-runoff response time, causing flow in downstream
waterways to peak faster and at greater rates than natural conditions. This combination of increased runoff volumes
and greater runoff rates can create new and aggravate existing downstream
flooding and erosion problems and increase the quantity of sediment both
transported by and deposited in the waterway’s channel. Filtration of runoff
and removal of pollutants by natural surface and channel vegetation is also
eliminated through the use of constructed drainage systems.
Coupled with increased
surface flows, reduced base flows due to decreases in groundwater recharge can produce
greater fluctuations between normal and storm flow rates in streams and rivers,
which can further increase channel erosion. Reduced base flows can also
negatively impact the hydrology of adjacent wetlands and the health of
biological communities that depend on this source of water. Finally, erosion
and sedimentation can destroy habitat from which some species cannot adapt.
In addition to surface runoff
increases and the loss of groundwater, land development often results in the
accumulation of pollutants on the land surface that can be mobilized by runoff
and transport to streams. New impervious surfaces and cleared areas created by
development can accumulate a variety of pollutants from numerous sources,
including the atmosphere, fertilizers, animal wastes, and leakage and wear from
vehicles. These pollutants can include
metals, suspended solids, hydrocarbons, pathogens, and nutrients which can
adversely impact water quality and a wide range of important stream biota.
Land development can also adversely
affect water quality and stream biota in more subtle ways. For example,
stormwater falling on impervious surfaces or stored in detention or retention
basins can become heated and raise the temperature of the downstream waterway,
adversely affecting cold water fish species such as trout. Development can
remove trees along stream banks that normally provide shading, stabilization,
and leaf litter that falls into streams and becomes food for the aquatic
community.
Finally, the pollution of
surface waters and the depletion of groundwater caused by land development can
impact both the quantity and quality of the drinking water supplies that are
necessary to sustain existing populations and industries as well the
recreational use of streams, rivers, and lakes.
1.2 NJDEP Municipal Stormwater Regulation
Program
In response to the adverse
impacts of nonpoint source pollution, including those caused by uncontrolled
land development, the United States Congress amended the 1972 Clean Water Act
in 1987 to require management and control of these pollutant sources. As a result of this amendment, the USEPA expanded
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to include
regulations for stormwater discharges. This
included the issuance of a series of regulations culminating in the Phase II Storm
Water Regulations in December 1999. Among
other requirements, these regulations directed municipalities with separate
storm sewer systems to develop programs to control the post-construction runoff
from land development and redevelopment projects.
In response to these Phase II
Regulations, the State of New Jersey, which administers the federal NPDES
program through the State’s own New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NJPDES), initiated the New Jersey Municipal Stormwater Regulation
Program (NJAC 7:14A) in March 2004. This
program, which is administered by the NJDEP, addresses pollutants entering the
State’s waters from stormwater systems operated by local, county, state,
interstate, and federal government agencies.
These systems are collectively referred to as Municipal Separate Storm
Sewer Systems (MS4s). Under the
Municipal Stormwater Regulation Program, stormwater discharges from MS4s are
regulated through one of four general NJPDES Permits. These are the Tier A and Tier B Municipal
Stormwater General Permits, the Public Complex Stormwater General Permit, and
the Highway Agency Stormwater General Permit.
Each General Permit includes a number of Statewide Basic Requirements
(SBRs) that must be met by those authorized through the Permit to discharge
stormwater from their MS4. Each SBR includes
minimum performance standards, measurable goals, and implementation schedules. All
Princeton Borough has been
designated by the NJDEP as a Tier A municipality. As such, the discharge of stormwater from the
Borough’s storm sewer systems has been authorized under NJPDES Stormwater Tier A
General Permit No. NJ0141852. A key component of the Post-Construction
Stormwater Management SBR is the requirement that Princeton Borough develop and
adopt both a Municipal Stormwater Management Plan and implementing Stormwater
Control Ordinance that addresses the impacts of major land developments on the
quality and quantity of those storm sewer system discharges. This Plain represents Princeton Borough’s
compliance with this General Permit SBR.
1.3 NJDEP Stormwater Management Rules
Concurrently with the initiation of the Municipal
Stormwater Regulation Program, the State of New Jersey also enacted major
revisions to the New Jersey Stormwater Management Rules (NJAC 7:8). These revisions were the first major update
to the State’s Stormwater Management Rules since their original promulgation in
1983 and represented a fundamental change in the management of stormwater
runoff in
The new Stormwater Management Rules provide both a framework
and incentives for managing runoff and resolving NPS impairment caused by land
development. The Rules also establish a
hierarchy for implementation of stormwater management measures at major land
development projects, with initial reliance on nonstructural stormwater
management measures (also known as low impact development techniques) to manage
stormwater runoff before using more traditional structural measures. The Rules also establish runoff control
performance standards for soil erosion and sediment control, groundwater
recharge, water quality, and water quantity; establish Special Area Protection
measures for pristine and exceptional value waters; provide regulatory
consistency between local and State regulatory agencies; and provide maintenance
and safety standards for stormwater management measures.
In Subchapter 4, the new Stormwater Management Rules
specify the required goals and contents of a Municipal Stormwater Management
Plan as well as the schedule for its adoption as part of a municipality’s
Master Plan. According to the Stormwater
Management Rules and the Borough’s Tier A Stormwater General Permit, a first
version of this Plan must be adopted within twelve months of the Borough’s
April 1, 2004 effective date of General Permit authorization. In addition, the Stormwater Management Rules
also contain the minimum technical and performance standards to be included in
the implementing Stormwater Control Ordinance that is also required by the Borough’s
Tier A Stormwater General Permit.
According to both the Rules and the Borough’s General Permit, both the
Stormwater Control Ordinance and the final version of the Plan must be adopted
within twelve months of the Plan’s original adoption date.
The goals of the Borough’s Municipal Stormwater
Management Plan are presented below.
2.0 Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater Management Plan Goals
As required by the New Jersey Stormwater Management
Rules at NJAC 7:8-4.2-c-1, the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater
Management Plan has been developed to achieve the following stormwater
management planning goals:
1. Reduce flood damage, including
damage to life and property.
2. Minimize, to the extent practical,
any increase in stormwater runoff from any new development.
3. Reduce soil erosion from any development
or construction project.
4. Assure the adequacy of existing and
proposed culverts and bridges, and other in-stream structures.
5. Maintain groundwater recharge.
6. Prevent, to the greatest extent
feasible, an increase in NPS pollution.
7. Maintain the integrity of stream
channels for their biological functions, as well as for drainage.
8. Minimize pollutants in stormwater
runoff from new and existing development in order to restore, enhance and
maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the
State, to protect public health, to safeguard fish and aquatic life and scenic
and ecological values, and to enhance the domestic, municipal, recreational, industrial
and other uses of water.
9. Protect public safety through the
proper design and operation of stormwater management basins.
In addition, the Princeton Borough Land Use Code
requires the following:
·
Proposed
development shall provide for proper surface water drainage so that the removal
of surface waters will not adversely affect the neighboring properties or the
public drainage system and will, so far as practicable, conserve the water
resources of the area and avoid flooding, erosion, and detrimental depositing
of silt, gravel, or stone.
Finally, the Princeton Regional Planning Board’s
stormwater control policy states:
1. Control both stormwater quality and
quantity in the Borough where feasible.
2. Detention basins should be designed
utilizing techniques that minimize disturbance and the size of the basin such
as diversion of flow, compensation, and alternative quality measures.
To achieve all of the above goals, the Princeton Borough
Municipal Stormwater Management Plan outlines specific stormwater design and performance
standards for major land development and redevelopment projects. Preventative and corrective maintenance
strategies are included in the plan to ensure long-term effectiveness of
stormwater management facilities. The
plan also outlines safety standards for stormwater infrastructure to protect
public safety.
3.0 Borough
Description
The Borough of Princeton
covers an area of 1.85 square miles in central
Princeton Borough is an
attractive college town that balances commercial and residential development
with open space preservation. The community is served by a lively downtown
which is the center of business, cultural, and educational activities. The Borough is home to
While there are no interstate
highways within the Borough, U.S. Highway Route 206 and State Highway Route 27 cross
the Borough. In addition to Routes 206 and 27, which are maintained by the New
Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), portions of Mercer County Routes 583,
604, and 629 are located within the Borough.
These highways and County roadways and their associated stormwater
conveyance systems are covered under NJPDES Highway Agency Stormwater General Permits
issued to the NJDOT and
As part of the New Jersey
State Planning Commission’s Cross Acceptance process of the proposed State
Development and Redevelopment Plan, Princeton Borough would be in Planning Area
2. In addition, the Borough is included
along with a portion of
Presently, the majority of Princeton
Borough is zoned for residential use. Minimum
residential lot sizes range from 3,000 square feet in the R4 Zone to 20,000
square feet in the R1 Zone. The remaining portions of the Borough include
Business, Educational, and Hospital Districts.
Copies of the Borough’s official Zoning Map are available from the Princeton
Regional Planning Board and the Princeton Borough Engineer’s Office.
It should be noted that
Princeton Borough presently regulates the quantity of stormwater runoff from
land developments through the Surface Water Drainage requirements in its Land
Use Code.
3.1 Environmental
and Water
Resources
3.1.1
Environmental
Resources
Open Space - Based on data obtained from the Princeton Regional
Planning Board, 188 acres or approximately 16% of Princeton Borough are
preserved as public or private open space. This includes golf courses, state,
county, and Borough-owned land, and private land that is restricted.
Contaminated Sites – According to the NJDEP, there are presently 14 sites with on-site sources of
contamination in Princeton Borough.
These sites were identified from the NJDEP’s Known Contaminated Sites
in New Jersey report last updated in 2001.
The Known Contaminated Sites in New Jersey
report is a municipal listing of sites where contamination of soil and/or
ground water is confirmed at levels greater than the applicable cleanup
criteria or standards. According to the
NJDEP, remedial activities at these sites are either required or underway. It is important that the precise
location, contaminants, case status, and required remedial activities at these
sites be determined before specific stormwater management measures are proposed
for any land development projects in their vicinity since they may impact
measure selection, design, and maintenance.
Wellhead Protection Areas
- There are
no existing Public Community Water Supply
(PCWS) wells located within Princeton Borough.
In addition, none of the Wellhead Protection Areas (WHPAs) for the nine
PCWS wells located within
A WHPA is divided into three
sequential tiers based on the Time of Travel (TOT) to a production well. TOT is the time it takes for a given particle
of groundwater to flow to a pumping well.
It is directly related to the distance the groundwater must travel to
arrive at the well once well pumping starts.
For a given TOT, the distance will vary from well to well depending on
the rate of pumping and aquifer characteristics. WHPA Tier 1 is derived from a 2-Year TOT and is
based on findings that bacteria have polluted wells and viruses have survived
in groundwater for up to 270 days. WHPA Tier
2, derived from a 5-year TOT, is based on the lag time of a pollution plume
caused by adsorption/desorption, the variable rate of pollutant travel, and the
acceleration of groundwater once it comes close to a pumping well. WHPA Tier 3 is derived from a 12-year TOT, and
is established to provide sufficient time so that monitoring and cleanup of a
potential pollution source or release can be completed before contamination
reaches a pumping well. All three WHPA Tiers
are defined using line boundaries and polygon areas generated with the ARC/INFO
Geographic Information System.
Groundwater Recharge - A map of the various annual
groundwater recharge rates in Princeton Borough are depicted in Figure C4. As
can be seen in the Figure, the majority of the Borough is not considered to achieve
any significant groundwater recharge within its borders. This is due primarily to the highly developed
character of the Borough and the disturbed soil profiles that are found in much
of the Borough. The annual recharge rates
shown in Figure C5 were obtained from the New Jersey Geological Survey (NJGS)
and are based on New Jersey Geological
Survey Report GSR-32 – A Method for Evaluating Ground-Water-Recharge Areas in
New Jersey. These rates are presented
as guidance for identifying both general groundwater recharge rates and areas
for potential recharge measures and are not intended for design purposes.
Geology - According to the Soil Survey
of Mercer County prepared by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, the soils in Princeton
Borough belong to the Quakertown-Chalfont-Doylestown association, which are
found in the
Steep Slopes - Based upon an analysis of topographic mapping of the
Borough, steep slopes exist at
scattered locations throughout Princeton Borough. Steep slopes are generally considered in two
categories. Slopes in excess of 25%
present serious limitations for development, often requiring extensive and
costly engineering and construction efforts.
Development on slopes in excess of 15% can degrade the environment if
not properly managed. The locations of
such slope areas are shown on Figure C5.
Typically, the effects of steep slopes must be carefully considered in
the selection of appropriate stormwater management measures for land
developments.
3.1.2
Water Resources
Wetlands - Based the NJDEP Wetlands Inventory for
Waterways – A
plan of the waterways in Princeton Borough as delineated by the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) is shown on Figure C7. In
addition, streams are delineated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) in the Soil Survey of Mercer County. None of the waterways within the Borough are
classified as Category One (C1) waters by the New Jersey Surface Water Quality
Standards.
Watersheds – According to the NJDEP and
USGS, portions of three major watersheds
are located within Princeton Borough.
The Hydrologic Unit Code 14 (HUC14) of each of these watersheds is shown
on Figure C7. These HUC14 watersheds are
listed in the Table below.
HUC14 Watersheds in
|
HUC14 |
Waterway |
Description |
|
02030105090060 |
Stony Brook |
From Route 206 to |
|
02030105090070 |
Stony Brook |
From |
|
02030105110020 |
|
From Heathcote Brook to |
In addition, the
Current Waterway Health – The NJDEP has established
the Ambient Biomonitoring Network (AMNET) to document the health of the state’s
waterways. There are over 800 AMNET sites throughout the state of
The
only major waterway in Princeton Borough is Harry’s Brook. Currently, no AMNET data is collected for
this watercourse. However, the Harry’s
Brook is tributary to
A
TMDL is the amount of a pollutant that can be assimilated by a waterbody
without causing its water quality standards to be exceeded or one or more of
its designated uses to be interfered with. The TMDL is allocated, along with a
margin of safety, to the various sources of the pollutant, including point
sources such as wastewater discharges and nonpoint sources, which include
runoff from agricultural, commercial, industrial, and residential areas.
Provisions may also be made for future sources in the form of reserve capacity.
An implementation plan is developed to identify how the various sources will be
reduced to the designated allocations. Implementation strategies may include
improved stormwater treatment plants, adoption of stormwater control
ordinances, reforestation of stream corridors, retrofitting of existing
stormwater systems, and other structural and nonstructural stormwater
management measures.
The
New Jersey Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report (305(b)
and 303(d)) (Integrated List) is a valuable source of water quality
information. The Integrated List must be prepared biennially by
NJDEP as required under the federal Clean Water Act. This combined report presents the extent to
which
3.2 Current
Waterway
Flooding and Erosion
Due to the small amount of
open waterways within Princeton Borough, current flooding and erosion problems
are limited. According to the Princeton
Borough Flood Insurance Study, flooding has occurred in the past along the
Harry’s Brook in the eastern portion of the Borough. In addition, storm sewer flooding and
drainage problems presently occur at scattered locations in the Borough, most
notably at the intersection of Witherspoon and Spring Streets.
4.0 Design and Performance Standards
In
accordance with the requirements of the New Jersey Stormwater Management Rules
(NJAC 7:8), major land developments within Princeton Borough will be required
to meet specific stormwater design and performance standards. These standards will be applied to these
developments through the forthcoming Stormwater Control Ordinance that will be
developed and adopted by the Borough following the adoption of this Municipal
Stormwater Management Plan. Summaries of
these design and performance standards are presented below.
It is important to note that any major residential land
development proposed subject to review and approval by Princeton Borough will also
be reviewed in accordance with the stormwater management requirements of the
New Jersey Residential Site Improvement Standards (NJAC 5:21). These standards may be supplemented where
permitted by additional stormwater design and performance standards developed
by the Borough.
4.1 General
Design and Performance Standards
In accordance with the requirements of Subchapter 5 of
the Stormwater Management Rules, stormwater management measures for major land
developments in Princeton Borough will be designed to meet the following design
and performance standards. Complete details
of each standard can be found in Subchapter 5 of the New Jersey Stormwater
Management Rules.
·
Soil Erosion and
Sediment Control – All major developments
shall meet the requirements of the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Standards
for New Jersey. The Mercer County Soil Conservation District
is responsible for conducting all design and construction reviews to insure
compliance with these standards within Princeton Borough.
·
Groundwater Recharge – Unless otherwise exempted by the Stormwater
Management Rules, all major developments must either maintain 100% of the development
site’s pre-developed annual groundwater recharge under post-developed site conditions
or infiltrate the runoff increase between pre- to post-developed site
conditions for a 2-Year, 24-hour III storm.
Compliance with this standard must consider certain designated
redevelopment areas and any WHPAs and known contaminated sites within the Borough.
·
Stormwater
Quality – All major developments must
reduce the total suspended solids (TSS) load in the development site’s
post-construction runoff by a minimum of 80%.
In addition, the post-construction nutrient load from the site must be
reduced by the maximum extent feasible.
Additional stormwater quality requirements are described below for land
developments that drain to a Category One watercourse or its mapped
tributaries.
·
Stormwater Quantity – All major developments must demonstrate compliance
with one of three alternative stormwater quantity requirements for the 2, 10,
and 100-Year storm events. These alternatives
are: 1) preservation of existing development site runoff volumes and rates, 2)
preservation of existing downstream peak runoff rates under full watershed
development, or 3) reduction in existing site peak runoff rates by 50%, 25%,
and 20%, respectively.
·
Nonstructural Stormwater Management - Compliance with the
groundwater recharge and stormwater quality and quantity standards described
above must be achieved through the use of nonstructural stormwater management
measures to the maximum extent feasible.
If the standards cannot be met through the exclusive use of
nonstructural measures, then structural stormwater management measure shall be
utilized to complete compliance.
·
Special Water
Resource Protection Areas – All major
developments must maintain a 300-foot buffer measured from the top of bank of
all Category One watercourses, as designated by the NJDEP, and their tributaries,
as mapped by the USGS and the Soil Survey of Mercer County. At the present time, there are no NJDEP
designated Category One watercourses within Princeton Borough. As such, this requirement will apply to any
waterway within the Borough designated as a Category One watercourse by the
NJDEP in the future.
·
Threatened and
Endangered Species Searches – All
major developments subject to review by NJDEP’s Land Use Regulation Program
must conduct a Threatened and Endangered Species search using the Natural
Heritage Database.
4.2
Exemption and Waiver
Criteria
In
addition to the design and performance standards described above, the New
Jersey Stormwater Management Rules contain both exemption and waiver criteria
for each standard. These criteria are
presented in Subchapter 5 of the Stormwater Management Rules. Princeton Borough will utilize these criteria
in the development of its Stormwater Control Ordinance. In addition, the Borough will develop a
Mitigation Plan in accordance with Subchapter 4 of the Stormwater Management
Rules in order to grant necessary waivers from the design and performance
standards on a case-by-case basis.
Development of this Mitigation Plan will be done concurrently with the
development of the Borough’s Stormwater Control Ordinance.
Finally,
in accordance with Section 2.5 of Subchapter 2 of the Stormwater Management
Rules, Princeton Borough has the ability to petition the NJDEP for an exemption
from any of the design and performance standards presented in Subchapter 5 of
the Rules provided that such exemption will not result in an increase in flood
damage, water pollution, threats to biological integrity, or constitute a
threat to public safety. The Borough may
utilize this petition process if necessary during the development of its
Stormwater Control Ordinance.
4.3
Maintenance
Requirements
In order to ensure the proper functioning and
operation of all structural and nonstructural stormwater management measures,
Princeton Borough will require that maintenance plans be developed for all such
measures incorporated into the design of major land developments. All maintenance plans shall meet the
requirements specified in Section 5.8 of Subchapter 5 of the Stormwater
Management Rules. The Borough will also
utilize the maintenance plan recommendations and references contained in the
NJDEP Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual. Final maintenance plan requirements will be
included in the Borough’s Stormwater Control Ordinance and also be applied to
any stormwater management measure included in a major development activity by
the Borough.
According to the maintenance plan requirements
contained in the Stormwater Management Rules, all stormwater management measure
maintenance plans must contain:
·
Specific
preventative and corrective maintenance tasks and schedules.
·
Cost estimates
including the estimated costs of sediment, debris, and trash removal.
·
The name,
address, and telephone number of those responsible for maintenance.
In addition, the maintenance plan must guarantee that
preventative and corrective maintenance will be performed to maintain the
function of the stormwater management measure, including (where appropriate)
structural repairs and replacements; sediment, debris, and trash removal;
restoration of eroded areas; snow and ice removal; fence repair and
replacement; restoration of vegetation; and repair and replacement of
non-vegetated linings.
4.4
Safety Standards
In
order to protect the safety of maintenance and inspection personnel and the
general public, Princeton Borough will develop safety standards for the proper
design and operation of new structural stormwater management measures utilized
at major land developments. These
standards will be included in the Borough’s Stormwater Control Ordinance and also
be applied to any structural stormwater management measure included in a major
development activity by the Borough. At
a minimum, these safety standards will be based upon the safety standards for
stormwater management basins contained in Subchapter 6 of the Stormwater Management
Rules. The Borough may adopt additional
and/or more stringent standards as necessary in order to provide an appropriate
level of safety at such stormwater management measures.
5.0 Stormwater
Management Measures
In order to meet the design
and performance standards for major land developments described in Subchapter 5
of the Stormwater Management Rules, Princeton Borough will allow the
utilization of a range of nonstructural and structural stormwater management
measures. In general, the design, construction,
and maintenance of these measures, which are also known as Best Management
Practices or BMPs, will be based upon the guidance provided by the current
version of the NJDEP Stormwater Best
Management Practices Manual. In
particular, the guidance provided Chapter Two of the Manual will be used for
nonstructural stormwater management measures and the guidance provided in
Chapter Nine of the Manual will be used for structural stormwater management
measures.
As a result, the NJDEP Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual
is incorporated by reference into the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater
Management Plan.
6.0 Mitigation Plan
As
noted above in 4.2 – Exemption and
Waiver Criteria, Princeton Borough will utilize the waiver criteria contained
in Subchapter 5 of the Stormwater Management Rules to develop a Mitigation Plan
in order to grant necessary waivers from the design and performance standards
at major land developments on a case-by-case basis. Development of this Mitigation Plan will be
done concurrently with the development of the Borough’s Stormwater Control
Ordinance and will be based upon the Mitigation Plan requirements contained in
Subchapter 4 of the Stormwater Management Rules.
7.0 Build-Out and Pollutant Load Analysis
In accordance with the Municipal
Stormwater Management Plan requirements in Subchapter 4 of the Stormwater
Management Rules, Princeton Borough is not required to a Build-Out and
Pollutant Load Analysis. This is because
an analysis of the Borough indicates that there is less than one square mile of
developable land remaining in the Borough.
8.0 Master Plan Evaluation
In accordance with the Municipal Stormwater Management
Plan requirements in Subchapter 4 of the Stormwater Management Rules, Princeton
Borough is not required to evaluate the extent to which it’s Master Plan,
official map, land use ordinances, and construction standards implement the
nonstructural stormwater management strategies described in Subchapter 5 of the
Rules. This is because an analysis
indicates that there is less than one square mile of developable land remaining
in the Borough. Nevertheless, the
Borough may wish to perform such an analysis in the future as part of a
required Master Plan review. If
performed, appropriate revisions to the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater
Management Plan will be made to incorporate its results and recommendations.
9.0 Recommended
Stormwater Control Ordinance
A copy of a recommended
Stormwater Control Ordinance has been provided at the end of this appendix. This recommended ordinance is based upon the
model ordinance contained in the NJDEP Stormwater Best Management Practices
Manual. This model ordinance will serve
as the basis for the final Stormwater Control Ordinance to be developed and
adopted by the Borough. Such adoption
will occur within twelve months of the original adoption of this Plan.
10.0 Achievement
of NJDEP Stormwater Management Planning Goals
In
accordance with the Municipal Stormwater Management Plan requirements in
Subchapter 4 of the Stormwater Management Rules, the Princeton Borough
Municipal Stormwater Management Plan must demonstrate achievement of the
general goals for stormwater management planning specified in Subchapter 2 of
the Rules. These goals were previously
discussed above in 2.0 - Princeton Borough Municipal
Stormwater Management Plan Goals. The following has been prepared to
demonstrate how the Plan achieves these goals.
·
GOAL: Reduce flood damage, including damage to life and property – By requiring all major land developments
to meet the stormwater quantity design and performance standards in Subchapter
5 of the Stormwater Management Rules, the Princeton Borough Municipal
Stormwater Management Plan will reduce flood damage. In addition, the Plan will require mitigation
measures for major developments that cannot strictly comply with the stormwater
quantity design and performance standards in the Borough’s Stormwater Control
Ordinance or the Residential Site Improvement Standards. Retrofits to existing stormwater collection
systems and stormwater quantity management measures mandated by the Mitigation
Plan will also reduce existing flood damage.
·
GOAL: Minimize, to the extent practical, any increase in stormwater
runoff from any new development – By requiring the use of nonstructural stormwater management measures,
the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater Management Plan will minimize the
increase in stormwater runoff from new major land developments. Additionally, requiring compliance with the
stormwater quantity standards described above will further decrease the
potential for stormwater runoff increases from new land developments.
·
GOAL: Reduce soil erosion from any development or construction project – The Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater
Management Plan requires that the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Standards
in New Jersey be followed for all major development projects. In addition, the Borough also presently
requires compliance with these standards for all projects that disturb at least
5,000 square feet of land.
·
GOAL: Assure the adequacy of existing and proposed culverts and bridges,
and other in-stream structures – By requiring all major land developments to meet the stormwater
quantity design and performance standards in Subchapter 5 of the Stormwater
Management Rules either directly or through appropriate mitigation measures,
the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater Management Plan will help assure the
adequacy of existing and proposed culverts, bridges, and other in-stream structures.
·
GOAL: Maintain groundwater recharge – By requiring all major land developments to meet the groundwater
recharge design and performance standards in Subchapter 5 of the Stormwater
Management Rules either directly or through appropriate mitigation measures analyses,
the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater Management Plan will help maintain
groundwater recharge in the Borough.
·
GOAL: Prevent, to the greatest extent feasible, an increase in NPS
pollution – By
requiring all major land developments to meet the stormwater quality design and
performance standards in Subchapter 5 of the Stormwater Management Rules either
directly or through appropriate mitigation measures analyses, the Princeton Borough
Municipal Stormwater Management Plan will help prevent an increase in NPS
pollution in the Borough. These results
will be enhanced through the maximum practical use of nonstructural stormwater
management measures at such developments.
·
GOAL: Maintain the integrity of stream channels for their biological functions,
as well as for drainage –
By requiring all major land developments to meet the groundwater recharge and
stormwater quality and quantity design and performance standards in Subchapter
5 of the Stormwater Management Rules either directly or through appropriate
mitigation measures analyses, the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater
Management Plan will help maintain the biological integrity of stream channels in
the Borough. These results will be
enhanced through the maximum practical use of nonstructural stormwater
management measures at such developments.
·
GOAL: Minimize pollutants in stormwater runoff from new and existing
development in order to restore, enhance and maintain the chemical, physical,
and biological integrity of the waters of the State, to protect public health,
to safeguard fish and aquatic life and scenic and ecological values, and to
enhance the domestic, municipal, recreational, industrial and other uses of
water - By requiring
all major land developments to meet the groundwater recharge and stormwater
quality and quantity design and performance standards in Subchapter 5 of the
Stormwater Management Rules either directly or through appropriate mitigation
measures analyses, the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater Management Plan will
help achieve these multiple goals in waterways in the Borough. These results will be enhanced through the
maximum practical use of nonstructural stormwater management measures at such
developments.
·
GOAL: Protect public safety through the proper design and operation of
stormwater management basins – By requiring the design of
structural stormwater management facilities at major land developments to
comply with the safety standards in Subchapter 6 of the Stormwater Management
Rules, the Princeton Borough Municipal Stormwater Management Plan will protect
the safety of inspection and maintenance personnel and members of the general
public.
| Please note that the maps below will open in a new window, Close it to return to this page when finished. The maps are large and will require both vertical and horizontal scrolling on most monitors. | ||
| C1 | USGS Quadrangle Map |  |
| C2 | Borough Roadways |  |
| C3 | Wellhead Protection Areas |  |
| C4 | Groundwater Recharge |  |
| C5 | Steep Slopes |  |
| C6 | Freshwater Wetlands |  |
| C7 | Waterways and Watersheds |  |
| C8 | DRCC Review Zones |  |