N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 10 § 136.3

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 136.3 - Village of cooperstown

(a) Application. The rules and regulations set forth in this section, duly made and adopted in accordance with the provisions of sections 1100-1107 of the Public Health Law, shall apply to Otsego Lake and all watercourses tributary thereto or which may be developed in the future to serve as sources of the water supply of the Village of Cooperstown in the Towns of Otsego, Middlefield and Springfield. The aforesaid described watershed shall exclude any areas not within Otsego County and, in addition, shall also exclude Allen Lake and its tributary watercourses.

(b) Definitions.

(1) Agricultural-associated animal waste shall mean manure obtained from agricultural industries.

(2) Agricultural-associated animal waste area shall mean land used for the deposition of agricultural-associated animal waste on the surface of the ground for fertilization purposes.

(3) Agricultural-associated animal waste storage area shall mean land used for the temporary or permanent deposition of agricultural-associated animal waste where said deposition is not directly for the purpose of fertilization.

(4) Chloride salt shall mean the solid compounds or solutions of potassium chloride (commonly used as fertilizer), calcium chloride (commonly used for winter road maintenance) or sodium chloride (commonly used for water softener regeneration).

(5) Herbicide shall mean any substance used to destroy or inhibit plant growth.

(6) Human excreta shall mean human feces and urine.

(7) Junkyard shall mean an area where two or more unregistered old or secondhand motor vehicles are being accumulated for purposes of disposal, resale of used parts, or reclaiming certain materials such as metal, glass, fabric and/or the like.

(8) Lake shall mean Otsego Lake.

(9) Linear distance shall mean the shortest horizontal distance from the nearest point of a structure or object to the optimum high-water mark of Otsego Lake, defined as 1,194 feet, 11 inches above sea level; or to the edge, margin or steep bank forming the ordinary high-water line of a watercourse.

(10) Manure shall mean animal feces and urine.

(11) Nonagricultural-associated animal waste shall mean manure obtained from nonagricultural industries.

(12) Pesticide shall mean any substance used to destroy or inhibit pests such as rodents and insects.

(13) Radiation shall mean ionizing radiation, that is, any alpha particle, beta particle, gamma ray, X-ray, neutron, high-speed proton and any other atomic particle producing ionization, but shall not mean any sound or radio wave or visible, infrared or ultraviolet light.

(14) Radioactive material shall mean any material in any form that emits radiation spontaneously.

(15) Receptacle shall mean a septic tank, privy, pit, cesspool, leaching cesspool, filter bed, or other container used for the storage or processing of sewage or waste matter.

(16) Refuse shall mean all putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes, including garbage, manure, rubbish, ashes, glass and metal containers, incinerator residue, street cleanings, dead animals, offal and solid commercial and industrial wastes.

(17) Refuse disposal area shall mean land used for the depositing of refuse, except that it shall not include the land used for the depositing of refuse from a single family, a member of which is the owner, occupant or lessee of said land, or any part of a farm on which only agricultural-associated animal wastes resulting from the operation of such farm are deposited.

(18) Sewage shall mean any liquid or solid waste matter from a domestic, commercial, private or industrial establishment, which is normally carried off in sewers or waste pipes.

(19) Sewage disposal system shall mean any system used for disposing of sewage, and includes treatment works.

(20) Toxic substance shall mean any toxic substance as so defined by subdivision 2 of section 4801 of the Public Health Law.

(21) Treatment works shall mean any treatment plant, sewer, disposal field, lagoon, pumping station, septic system, constructed drainage ditch or surface water intercepting ditch, incinerator, area devoted to sanitary landfills, or other works not specifically mentioned in this paragraph, installed for the purpose of treating, neutralizing, stabilizing or disposing of sewage.

(22) Watercourse shall mean every spring, stream, marsh or channel of water of any kind which flows or may flow into the Village of Cooperstown water supply.

(23) Watershed shall mean the entire drainage area contributing water to the Village of Cooperstown water supply located within the County of Otsego and the Towns of Otsego, Middlefield and Springfield, but excluding Allen Lake and its tributary watercourses.

(24) Water supply shall mean the public water supply of the Village of Cooperstown.

(c) General prohibitions. No person, including State agencies or political subdivisions having jurisdiction, shall perform any act or grant any permit or approval which may result in the contravention of the standards for raw water quality as contained in Part 170 of this Title.

(d) Specific prohibitions.

(1) Agricultural-associated animal waste storage areas. No agricultural-associated animal waste storage area shall be located within a 250-foot linear distance of the lake or its tributary watercourses. Beyond that distance such area shall be maintained in such manner that surface runoff, to the best of the agriculturist's ability, will not carry animal waste directly into the lake or its watercourses.

(2) Bathing and swimming. Use of soap or detergents while bathing or swimming is prohibited in the lake or any watercourse on the watershed.

(3) Cemeteries. No interment of a human body shall be made within a 50-foot linear distance of the lake or its watercourses. Any interment made beyond 50 feet but within a 250-foot linear distance of Otsego Lake or its watercourses shall be in a hermetically sealed vault.

(4) Chloride salt. No chloride salt shall be stored within a 500-foot linear distance of the lake or its watercourses, except in weatherproof buildings or watertight vessels.

(5) Herbicides and pesticides. No herbicides or pesticides shall be stored, discharged, applied or allowed to enter into the lake or its watercourses, unless a permit to do so has been obtained from the appropriate State agency having jurisdiction.

(6) Human excreta and sewage.

(i) No human excreta or sewage shall be deposited or allowed to escape into Otsego Lake or any of its watercourses on the watershed.

(ii) No human excreta or sewage shall be deposited or spread upon the surface of the ground at any point, unless a permit to do so has been obtained from the appropriate State agency having jurisdiction.

(iii) No human excreta or sewage shall be buried in soil on the watershed, unless deposited in trenches or pits at a linear distance of not less than 250 feet from the lake or its watercourses, with minimal vertical distance of five feet from the bottom of any trench or pit to groundwater, and covered with not less than one foot of soil in such a manner as to effectually prevent its being washed into the lake or its watercourses by rain or melting snow.

(iv) No untreated sewage, nor any industrial waste, shall be discharged or allowed to flow into the lake or any watercourse, nor deposited on or beneath the surface of the ground within 100 feet of the lake or any watercourse, except into watertight receptacles.

(v) No privy receptacle or facilities of any kind for the deposit, movement, treatment or storage of human excreta or sewage shall be constructed or placed within a 100-foot linear distance of the lake or any tributary watercourse, except:

(a) watertight receptacles;

(b) water-flushed toilets connected by a watertight pipe to a sewage disposal system that has been approved by the appropriate State agency having jurisdiction over such facilities; and

(c) a properly designed, constructed and operated treatment works that has been approved by the appropriate State agency having jurisdiction over such facility;

unless written permission has first been granted by the authorized representative of the officers or boards having the management and control of the watershed. Prerequisites for such permission shall be rough plans and specifications for the structure or installation and a soil percolation test taken on the site of the installation or leaching area. The provisions and restrictions of this rule shall not apply to any property or installation subject to more stringent or restrictive laws or regulations of the State Department of Health or other State agency.

(vi) No portion of the seepage unit (tile field, seepage pit or equivalent) of a subsurface sewage disposal system on a newly developed property shall be constructed, placed or rebuilt within a 100-foot linear distance of the lake or its watercourses.

(vii) Every watertight receptacle used for containing human excreta or sewage shall be emptied when the receptacle is filled to within six inches of the top.

(viii) In emptying a watertight receptacle or in transferring its contents to a transportable receptacle, all necessary care shall be exercised to prevent contamination of the lake or watercourse. All such transportable receptacles shall be provided with drip-proof connections and tight-fitting covers which are securely fastened when transporting wastes to the place of ultimate disposal. The contents of the watertight receptacles shall be disposed of in accordance with subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, or at a properly designed, constructed and operated sewage disposal system that has been approved by the appropriate State agency having jurisdiction over such facility.

(ix) Before any existing sewage disposal system is altered or any new sewage disposal system is constructed on the watershed, the plans in relation thereto shall have been first approved by the Board of Water Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown. Standards for waste treatment works as published from time to time by the New York State Department of Health shall comprise the criteria to approve any proposed sewage disposal system. For existing systems that cannot meet these standards due to lot restrictions, the guidelines shall be as outlined by the Board of Water Commissioners.

(x) Whenever, in the opinion of the Board of Water Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown or its agent, excremental matter from a privy, receptacle, trench or place of disposal may be washed over the surface of the ground or through the soil in an imperfectly purified condition into the lake or any tributary watercourse, the said privy, receptacle, trench or place of disposal shall be removed, after due notice to the owner thereof, or reconstructed in accordance with subparagraph (ix) of this paragraph.

(7) Radioactive material. No radioactive material shall be disposed of by burial in soil within a 500-foot linear distance of the lake or any watercourse, and not within a 1,000-foot linear distance of the lake or any watercourse unless authorization has been obtained from the appropriate State agency and such burial is in accordance with the provisions of Part 16 of this Title.

(8) Solid waste.

(i) Junkyards. No junkyards shall be permitted within a 250-foot linear distance of the lake or tributary watercourse.

(ii) Refuse. No refuse shall be deposited in the lake or any watercourse, nor on or beneath the surface of the ground within 250 feet of the lake or any watercourse, nor in such manner that it can be washed by rain or melting snow or otherwise over the surface or through the ground into the lake or the watercourse.

(iii) Refuse disposal area. No new refuse disposal areas shall be located within a 500-foot linear distance of the lake or tributary watercourse. All refuse disposal areas on the watershed shall comply with the regulations governing their operation as outlined by 6 NYCRR Part 360.

(iv) Refuse from boats. No excreta, garbage, slops, nor decomposable matter of any kind, nor any bottles or metal cans of any kind, shall be thrown, discharged or allowed to escape or pass into the lake from any power boat, steamer, launch, yacht, sailboat, houseboat, rowboat, canoe or raft. Any boat of any type or description having water closets, permanent or temporary toilet accommodations, or galley facilities, shall be provided with removable watertight receptacles, which shall be regularly emptied under the same restrictions as set forth in subparagraphs (6)(iii) and (viii) of this subdivision.

(9) Structures. No shanty, hut, tent, shelter or building of any kind, except a waterworks structure, shall be permitted on the water or ice of the lake or any watercourse in the watershed, except with the name, address and telephone number of the owner posted. Such buildings shall be removed by the date fixed by the Board of Water Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown. No structure will be permitted within 200 feet, horizontally, of the Village of Cooperstown water intake.

(10) Toxic substances. No container used for the storage of toxic substances shall be buried beneath the surface of the ground within a 500-foot linear distance of the lake or watercourse.

(e) Exclusions. These rules and regulations shall not apply to any disposal facility whose operation is governed by a permit issued by the Department of Environmental Conservation or the State Department of Health.

(f) Inspections.

(1) The Board of Water Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown, or any person or persons charged with the maintenance or supervision of the public water supply system, shall by its officers or their duly appointed representative, make regular and thorough inspections of Otsego Lake watercourses and watershed to ascertain whether these rules and regulations are being complied with.

(2) It shall be the duty of the aforesaid Board of Water Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown to cause copies of any rules and regulations violated to be served upon the persons violating the same, together with notices of such violations. If such persons served do not comply within a reasonable time with the rules and regulations, it shall be the further duty of the aforesaid Board of Water Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown to promptly notify the State Commissioner of Health of such violations.

(3) The aforesaid Board of Water Commissioners of the Village of Cooperstown shall report to the State Commissioner of Health in writing annually, prior to the 30th of January, the results of the regular inspections made during the preceding year. The report shall state the number of inspections which were made, the number of violations found, the number of notices served, the number of violations abated, and the general condition of the watershed at the time of the last inspection.

(g) Penalties for violations. Penalties for violations of these rules and regulations shall be those specified by section 1103 of the Public Health Law.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 10 § 136.3