Ramapo, NY Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger
- Any land development activity
- Plan required
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)
- Reviewer
- Stormwater Management Officer
- Exempt
- Routine maintenance disturbing under 5 acres
- Review costs
- Paid via applicant escrow account
- CO hold
- No certificate of occupancy until certified compliant
Summary
No board in Ramapo can approve a land development project until the applicant files a stormwater pollution prevention plan meeting Chapter 237's standards. The Town's Stormwater Management Officer reviews every plan, larger or impaired-water-adjacent projects trigger added water-quality controls, and no certificate of occupancy issues until the work is certified compliant.
No application for approval of a land development activity shall be approved until the appropriate board has received a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) prepared in accordance with the specifications in this chapter.
Full Breakdown
Ramapo Code Section 237-7 requires that no land development activity receive board approval until the applicant has submitted a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) meeting Chapter 237's specifications. The Town's Stormwater Management Officer (SMO) accepts and reviews every SWPPP, and under Section 237-4B may review the plans directly, hire a registered professional engineer at the applicant's cost under a Town Board fee schedule, or accept a licensed professional's certification that the plan complies. Projects going through subdivision, site plan or special-permit review are checked against Chapter 237's standards by the Town Board, Planning Board or Zoning Board of Appeals; any land development activity that does not go through one of those boards must still file a SWPPP directly with the SMO (Section 237-4C, D).
Certain low-impact work is exempt, including agricultural activity, routine maintenance disturbing under five acres, emergency work, home gardening, and installing fences, signs or utility poles (Section 237-5). A SWPPP must add post-construction water quantity and quality controls when the project discharges to a NYSDEC-impaired waterway, disturbs five or more acres, or disturbs between one and five acres outside single-family and farm construction (Section 237-8B). Applicants pay the Town's SWPPP review, inspection and maintenance costs through an escrow account replenished as needed (Section 237-20), and no certificate of occupancy issues until the SMO certifies the work complies (Section 237-19E).
Violations & Fines
The Town issues a written notice of violation describing the problem and a compliance schedule when a project strays from its approved SWPPP, and the Stormwater Management Officer can halt all work with a stop-work order until the violation is fixed. Fines under Section 237-19D run from up to $1,000 for a first offense to $2,500-$5,000 or 15 days in jail for repeat offenses within five years, plus a civil penalty of up to $3,000 for each day of continued violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every construction project in Ramapo need a stormwater plan?
Who reviews stormwater plans for a Ramapo project?
Can I get a certificate of occupancy before my stormwater plan is finished?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ramapo
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