Norwalk Aquifer Protection Agency requires stormwater plans for several auto-related sites, accepts other reregistrations

The Norwalk Aquifer Protection Agency on a unanimous voice/hand vote at its meeting accepted several reregistration applications for facilities in the aquifer protection overlay and required certified stormwater management plans for several auto-related sites that have catch basins adjacent to service bays.

Agency staff said the requirements aim to reduce the risk that hazardous materials used or stored inside service bays migrate to outdoor catch basins that receive stormwater. Alexis (agency staff) said, “the requirement for a plan is just that they retain a professional, either a licensed environmental professional or a civil engineer, a PE, to come up with a plan to reduce that potential connection.”

The action items: the agency required a certified stormwater management plan for RA25112 (Mags Auto Body) because a catch basin sits adjacent to the service bay; the agency also required stormwater plans for RA25108 (Lehi And T Auto Body Repair) and RA205109 (Crotches Transmission Specialist). Staff recommended, and the agency accepted as complete, RA25113 (300 Main Avenue, Valvoline) and RA251073 (Parkway Auto Body Shop). Staff also recommended acceptance as complete for RA205116 (an inactive dry-cleaner site on New Canaan Avenue) under a state statute that allows a vacant facility one 5-year reregistration cycle. Several other applications (including RA25110/25 Perry Avenue, RA25115283 Main Avenue, RA2511727 Broad Street Westco and multiple gas-station sites) remained incomplete; staff will return with further information about stormwater discharge locations or missing notices to state agencies and the local water company.

On the technical details of what a stormwater management plan could include, Alexis said options range from adding a lip at a garage bay to prevent flow out of the bay, to installing oil separators or oil inserts in parking lot drains, coupled with an operation and maintenance plan for monthly upkeep. The agency repeatedly framed the requirement as a condition for completeness: if a facility’s application lacks a plan or sufficient notice to regulators, staff recommended the application not be accepted as complete until the plan and notices are provided.

Staff reminded the agency of scheduling constraints: applications received must be acted on within 180 days of receipt or staff must provide a new deadline; several applications therefore are slated to return by the agency’s May 21 meeting in advance of the statutory August 18 deadline. Staff also explained that the five-year holdover for previously registered facilities stems from state statute and preserves the existing pool of registered sites (staff cited roughly 35 registered facilities identified when the regulations were adopted in February 2009).

Two non-application items were brief: staff said the city law department is still drafting language for a proposed citation-and-fine ordinance and has not delivered final language; the agency accepted January minutes by motion.

All formal motions recorded by staff were approved by show of hands or unanimous voice vote; where the transcript records no roll-call tally, the agency recorded the motions as approved.

The agency will revisit incomplete reregistration applications at its next scheduled meeting; staff said it will follow up on outstanding notices to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the state Department of Public Health, and the local water company (First District).