FLOOD09481

• County: Statewide
• Community: State
• Stream Name: All
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Practices in Detention of Urban Stormwater Runoff
• Date: 1/1/1974
• Prepared For: American Public Works Association
• Prepared By: American Public Works Association
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

and make it available for beneficial
use by the public; and
3. to determine and implement the best
and most equitable methods of
providing storm water runoff control
facilities and programs so that those
who benefit will pay in accordance
with their potential benefits.
Legislative Experience: Legislation
directed to the subject of on-site detention of
runoff is not prevalent, as indicated by
surveys and searches. Use of such legislation is
usually confined to areas which have
recognized the value of on-site detention in
controlling problems of flooding, erosion,
siltation and water pollution. This legislation
develops in various forms, depending on the
local jurisdiction's approach to the problem
of storm water management. Laws and
regulations can be enacted by various levels of
government including: (1) a local
municipality (county, city, village, etc.), (2) a
drainage or flood control district, and (3) the
state.
Minnesota incorporates stormwater
drainage regulations in a state building code.
The State of Maryland requires that land
developers control soil erosion and siltation,
and the State empowers local jurisdictions to
accomplish this in a variety of ways including
requirements that land developers provide
storm water detention basins.
The Urban Drainage and Flood Control
District which has jurisdiction over five
counties in the Denver, Colorado area is an
example of a state-chartered regional
authority having powers to control excesS
stormwater runoff. The Metropolitan Sanitary
District of Greater Chicago is an example of a
countywide authority having broad powers
granted under a special charter from the State
of Illinois. The authority of local units of
government (counties, cities, villages, etc.) in
stormwater management and flood control
prevails in most urban and suburban areas of
the United States where special districts or
authorities have not assumed this function.
Types of Legislation: Provisions for
storm water management are often made in
the laws of local governments. Some of the
types of legislation used by local jurisdictions
to control stormwater runoff from new land

developments and urban renewal projects
include:
1. subdivision regulation ordinances,
2. zoning ordinances,
3. building code ordinances,
4. plumbing and sewer ordinances,
5. water pollution control ordinances,
6. flood control ordinances, and
7. drainage fee assessment ordinances,
some of which provide for reducing
the assessment if storm water
detention facilities are installed.
Application of Legislation: Although
many areas use only one type of regulation,
other areas, such as Will County, Illinois are
using (or proposing to use) a variety of these
methods at the same time. Use of a variety of
laws helps to' insure that adequate local
control is placed on the construction of
runoff control facilities. For example, if the
provision of storm water detention facilities
was required onlY by the subdivision
regulations of a community, a land
development plat that had been approved
months or years prior to adoption of the
requirement would not be subject thereto. In
such a case, the developer could proceed to
construct the planned development upon
obtaining a building permit and other permits
and approvals required by the local
jurisdictions involved. On the other hand, if
either thy Icoal building code or zoning
ordinance requires stormwater detention
facilities, ordinarily the developer would be
required to provide these facilities even
though the subdivision plat previously had
been approved.
Enforcement of local laws pertaining to
land development usually includes inspection,
approval of construction, and provision for
fines or other penalties. For example, under
the subdivision regulations of a community,
the initial plat may not be approved unless
stormwater detention facilities are provided
for in the plans submitted for approval. Under
the community's sewer permit regulations,
connections to the sewers would not be
permitted until adequate detention of runoff
is provided. If either law is violated, penalties
can usually be assessed. This, of course, is an
effective means of obtaining compliance.
Water pollution laws in Maryland

12