Stormwater Information

What is Stormwater?

Human activity is largely responsible for stormwater pollution. Everything that we put on the ground or into the storm drain can end up in our water. Each of us has a responsibility to make sure these contaminants stay out of our water. Whether we have clean water is up to you.

The official definition of stormwater under the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System(NJPDES) regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:14A is as follows:

'Stormwater' means water resulting from precipitation (including rain and snow) that runs off the land's surface, is transmitted to the subsurface, or is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewage or drainage facilities, or conveyed by snow removal equipment.

Branchville Borough Stormwater Management

Branchville Borough was redesignated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to a Tier A.

Our Stormwater Management was adopted by the Mayor and the Council on March 15, 2006 by Ordinance No. 3-2006; amended in its entirety on March 3, 2021 by Ordinance No. 02-2021. See Chapter 121 Stormwater Managment.

This page includes sections from the ordinance and additional information.

Stormwater Program Coordinator (SPC) Contact Information

If you have any questions about the Branchville Borough's stormwater program or would like additional information, please contact: Darren Haggerty, weekdays, 7 AM to 3:30 PM at 973-948-5515

Stormwater Ordinance Information

Illicit Connections

Prohibit illicit connections to the municipal separate storm sewer system(s) operated by the Borough of Branchville, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for the failure to comply.

1. Domestic sewage — waste and wastewater from humans or household operations.
2. Illicit connection — any physical or non-physical connection that discharges domestic sewage, non-contact cooling water, process wastewater, or other industrial waste (other than stormwater) to the municipal separate storm sewer system operated by the Borough of Branchville, unless that discharge is authorized under a NJPDES permit other than the Tier A Municipal Stormwater General Permit (NJPDES Permit Number NJ0141852). Non-physical connections may include, but are not limited to, leaks, flows, or overflows into the municipal separate storm sewer system.
3. Industrial waste — non-domestic waste, including, but not limited to, those pollutants regulated under Section 307(a), (b), or (c) of the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1317(a), (b), or (c)).
4. Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) — a conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) that is owned or operated by Borough of Branchville or other public body, and is designed and used for collecting and conveying stormwater.
5. NJPDES permit — a permit issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to implement the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) rules at N.J.A.C. 7:14A
6. Non-contact cooling water — water used to reduce temperature for the purpose of cooling. Such waters do not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product (other than heat) or finished product. Non-contact cooling water may however contain algaecides, or biocides to control fouling of equipment such as heat exchangers, and/or corrosion inhibitors.
7. Person — any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
8. Process wastewater — any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, byproduct, or waste product. Process wastewater includes, but is not limited to, leachate and cooling water other than non-contact cooling water.
9. Stormwater — water resulting from precipitation (including rain and snow) that runs off the land’s surface, is transmitted to the subsurface, is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewerage or drainage facilities, or is conveyed by snow removal equipment.

Prohibited Conduct:
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged through an illicit connection to the municipal separate storm sewer system operated by the Borough of Branchville any domestic sewage, non-contact cooling water, process wastewater, or other industrial waste (other than stormwater).

Enforcement:
This Ordinance shall be enforced by the Sussex County Health Department.

ViolationsandPenalties:
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

View Ordinance 13-2023 "Illicit Connection" (PDF)

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Improper Disposal of Waste

Prohibit the spilling, dumping, or disposal of materials other than stormwater to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) operated by the Borough of Branchville, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for the failure to comply.

1. Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) – a conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) that is owned or operated by Borough of Branchville or other public body, and is designed and used for collecting and conveying stormwater.
2. Person – any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
3. Stormwater – water resulting from precipitation (including rain and snow) that runs off the land’s surface, is transmitted to the subsurface, is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewerage or drainage facilities, or is conveyed by snow removal equipment.

Prohibited Conduct:
The spilling, dumping, or disposal of materials other than stormwater to the municipal separate storm sewer system operated by Borough of Branchville is prohibited. The spilling, dumping, or disposal of materials other than stormwater in such a manner as to cause the discharge of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system is also prohibited.

Exceptions to Prohibition:

1. Water line flushing and discharges from potable water sources
2. Uncontaminated ground water (e.g., infiltration, crawl space or basement sump pumps, foundation or footing drains, rising ground waters)
3. Air conditioning condensate (excluding contact and non-contact cooling water)
4. Irrigation water (including landscape and lawn watering runoff)
5. Flows from springs, riparian habitats and wetlands, water reservoir discharges and diverted stream flows
6. Residential car washing water, and residential swimming pool discharges
7. Sidewalk, driveway and street wash water
8. Flows from fire fighting activities
9. Flows from rinsing of the following equipment with clean water:
   • Beach maintenance equipment immediately following their use for their intended purposes; and
   • Equipment used in the application of salt and de-icing materials immediately following salt and de-icing material applications. Prior to rinsing with clean water, all residual salt and de-icing materials must be removed from equipment and vehicles to the maximum extent practicable using dry cleaning methods (e.g., shoveling and sweeping). Recovered materials are to be returned to storage for reuse or properly discarded.
   Rinsing of equipment, as noted in the above situation is limited to exterior, undercarriage, and exposed parts and does not apply to engines or other enclosed machinery.

Enforcement:
This Ordinance shall be enforced by the New Jersey State Police and the Sussex County Health Department.

Violations and Penalties:
Any person(s) who continues to be in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance, after being duly notified, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

View Ordinance 12-2023 "Improper Disposal of Waste" (PDF)

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Litter Control

Establish requirements to control littering in Borough of Branchville, so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for the failure to comply.

1. Litter - any used or unconsumed substance or waste material which has been discarded, whether made of aluminum, glass, plastic, rubber, paper, or other natural or synthetic material, or any combination thereof, including, but not limited to, any bottle, jar or can, or any top, cap or detachable tab of any bottle, jar or can, any unlighted cigarette, cigar, match or any flaming or glowing material or any garbage, trash, refuse, debris, rubbish, grass clippings or other lawn or garden waste, newspapers, magazines, glass, metal, plastic or paper containers or other packaging or construction material, but does not include the waste of the primary processes of mining or other extraction processes, logging, sawmilling, farming or manufacturing.
2. Litter Receptacle — a container suitable for the depositing of litter.
3. Person – any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.

Prohibited acts and regulated activities:

1. It shall be unlawful for any person to throw, drop, discard or otherwise place any litter of any nature upon public or private property other than in a litter receptacle, or having done so, to allow such litter to remain.
2. Whenever any litter is thrown or discarded or allowed to fall from a vehicle or boat in violation of this ordinance, the operator or owner, or both, of the motor vehicle or boat shall also be deemed to have violated this ordinance.

Enforcement:
This Ordinance shall be enforced by the New Jersey State Police and the Sussex County Health Department, and the Branchville Borough Zoning Officer.

Violations and Penalties:
Any person(s) shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

View Ordinance 14-2023 "Litter Control" (PDF)

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Containerized Yard Waste

Establish requirements for the proper handling of yard waste in Borough of Branchville, to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for the failure to comply.

1. Containerized — means the placement of yard waste in a trash can, bucket, bag or other vessel, such as to prevent the yard waste from spilling or blowing out into the street and coming into contact with stormwater.
2. Person — any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
3. Street — means any street, avenue, boulevard, road, parkway, viaduct, drive, or other way, which is an existing State, county, or municipal roadway, and includes the land between the street lines, whether improved or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, shoulders, gutters, curbs, sidewalks, parking areas, and other areas within the street lines.
4. Yard Waste — means leaves and grass clippings.

Yard Waste Collection:
Sweeping, raking, blowing or otherwise placing yard waste that is not containerized at the curb or along the street is only allowed during the seven (7) days prior to a scheduled and announced collection, and shall not be placed closer than ten (10) feet from any storm drain inlet. Placement of such yard waste at the curb or along the street at any other time or in any other manner is a violation of this Ordinance. If such placement of yard waste occurs, the party responsible for placement of the yard waste must remove the yard waste from the street or said party shall be deemed in violation of this Ordinance.

Enforcement:
This Ordinance shall be enforced by the New Jersey State Police and the Sussex County Health Department.

Violations and Penalties:
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

View Ordinance 10-2023 "Yard Waste Collection Program" (PDF)

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Pet Waste

Enforcement:
This Ordinance shall be enforced by the New Jersey State Police and the Sussex County Health Department.

Exemptions:
Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter while such animal is being used for that purpose.

Enforcement:
The provisions of this Chapter shall be enforced by Sussex County Health Department.

Violations and Penalties:
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

View Ordinance 09-2023 "Pet Waste " (PDF)

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Private Storm Drain Inlet Retrofitting

Require the retrofitting of existing storm drain inlets which are in direct contact with repaving, repairing, reconstruction, or resurfacing or alterations of facilities on private property, to prevent the discharge of solids and floatables (such as plastic bottles, cans, food wrappers and other litter) to the municipal separate storm sewer system(s) operated by the Borough of Branchville so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for the failure to comply.

1. Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) — a conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) that is owned or operated by Borough of Branchville or other public body, and is designed and used for collecting and conveying stormwater.
2. Person — any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
3. Storm drain inlet — an opening in a storm drain used to collect stormwater runoff and includes, but is not limited to, a grate inlet, curb-opening inlet, slotted inlet, and combination inlet.
4. Waters of the State — means the ocean and its estuaries, all springs, streams and bodies of surface or ground water, whether natural or artificial, within the boundaries of the State of New Jersey or subject to its jurisdiction.

No person in control of private property (except a residential lot with one single family house) shall authorize the repaving, repairing (excluding the repair of individual potholes), resurfacing (including top coating or chip sealing with asphalt emulsion or a thin base of hot bitumen), reconstructing or altering any surface that is in direct contact with an existing storm drain inlet on that property unless the storm drain inlet either:

1. Already meets the design standard below to control passage of solid and floatable materials; or
2. Is retrofitted or replaced to meet the standard in Section IV below prior to the completion of the project.

Design Standard:
Storm drain inlets shall comply with the following standard to control passage of solid and floatable materials through storm drain inlets. For purposes of this paragraph, “solid and floatable materials” means sediment, debris, trash, and other floating, suspended, or settleable solids.

1. Design engineers shall use either of the following grates whenever they use a grate in pavement or another ground surface to collect stormwater from that surface into a storm drain or surface water body under that grate:
   1. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) bicycle safe grate, which is described in Chapter 2.4 of the NJDOT Bicycle Compatible Roadways and Bikeways Planning and Design Guidelines (April 1996); or
   2. A different grate, if each individual clear space in that grate has an area of no more than seven (7.0) square inches, or is no greater than 0.5 inches across the smallest dimension.
   Examples of grates subject to this standard include grates in grate inlets, the grate portion (non-curb-opening portion) of combination inlets, grates on storm sewer manholes, ditch grates, trench grates, and grates of spacer bars in slotted drains. Examples of ground surfaces include surfaces of roads (including bridges), driveways, parking areas, bikeways, plazas, sidewalks, lawns, fields, open channels, and stormwater basin floors.
2. Whenever design engineers use a curb-opening inlet, the clear space in that curb opening (or each individual clear space, if the curb opening has two or more clear spaces) shall have an area of no more than seven (7.0) square inches, or be no greater than two (2.0) inches across the smallest dimension.
3. This standard does not apply:
   1. Where the municipal engineer agrees that this standard would cause inadequate hydraulic performance that could not practicably be overcome by using additional or larger storm drain inlets that meet these standards;
   2. Where flows are conveyed through any device (e.g., end of pipe netting facility, manufactured treatment device, or a catch basin hood) that is designed, at a minimum, to prevent delivery of all solid and floatable materials that could not pass through one of the following:
      1. A rectangular space four and five-eighths inches long and one and one-half inches wide (this option does not apply for outfall netting facilities); or
      2. A bar screen having a bar spacing of 0.5 inches.
   3. Where flows are conveyed through a trash rack that has parallel bars with one-inch (1") spacing between the bars; or
   4. Where the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection determines, pursuant to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places Rules at N.J.A.C. 7:4-7.2(c), that action to meet this standard is an undertaking that constitutes an encroachment or will damage or destroy the New Jersey Register listed historic property.

Enforcement:
This Ordinance shall be enforced by the Branchville Borough Consulting Engineer and the Branchville Director of Public Works.

Violations and Penalties:
Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for each storm drain inlet that is not retrofitted to meet the design standard.

View Ordinance 11-2023 "Private Storm Drain Inlet Retrofitting" (PDF)

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Wildlife Feeding

Prohibit the feeding of unconfined wildlife in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by Borough of Branchville so as to protect public health, safety and welfare, and to prescribe penalties for failure to comply.

1. Feed — to give, place, expose, deposit, distribute or scatter any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting or enticing wildlife. Feeding does not include baiting in the legal taking of fish and/or game.
2. Person — any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this State subject to municipal jurisdiction.
3. Wildlife — all animals that are neither human nor domesticated.

Prohibited Conduct:
No person shall feed, in any public park or on any other property owned or operated by Borough of Branchville any wildlife, excluding confined wildlife (for example, wildlife confined in zoos, parks or rehabilitation centers, or unconfined wildlife at environmental education centers, or feral cats as part of an approved Trap-Neuter-Release program).

Enforcement:

1. This Ordinance shall be enforced by the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Park Police. as well as the Branchville Borough Animal Control Officer.
2. Any person found to be in violation of this Ordinance shall be ordered to cease the feeding immediately.

Violations and Penalties:

Any person(s) who is found to be in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).

View Ordinance 08-2023 "Wildlife Feeding" (PDF)

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