Alteration or relocation of watercourse:
(1) No encroachment, alteration, or improvement of any kind shall be made to any watercourse until all adjacent municipalities which may be affected by such action have been notified by the municipality, and until all required permits or approvals have first been obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection's regional office.
(2) No encroachment, alteration, or improvement of any kind shall be made to any watercourse unless it can be shown that the activity will not reduce or impede the flood-carrying capacity of the watercourse in any way.
(3) In addition, FEMA and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development shall be notified prior to any alteration or relocation of any watercourse.
When West Goshen Township proposes to permit the following encroachments: any development that causes a rise in the base flood elevations within the floodway; or any development occurring in Zones A1-30 and Zone AE without a designated floodway, which will cause a rise of more than one foot in the base flood elevation; or alteration or relocation of a stream (including, but not limited to, installing culverts and bridges), the applicant shall (as per 44 CFR Part 65.12):
(1) Apply to FEMA for conditional approval of such action prior to permitting the encroachments to occur.
(2) Upon receipt of the FEMA Administrator's conditional approval of map change and prior to approving the proposed encroachments, a community shall provide evidence to FEMA of the adoption of floodplain management ordinances incorporating the increased base flood elevations and/or revised floodway reflecting the post-project condition.
(3) Upon completion of the proposed encroachments, the applicant shall provide as-built certifications. FEMA will initiate a final map revision upon receipt of such certifications in accordance with 44 CFR Part 67.
Special exception uses. The following uses may be permitted upon the issuance of a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board as provided in this article, provided that they are conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Clean Streams Law of Pennsylvania, Act 349 of 1937, as amended, the Rules and Regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, all other applicable provisions of this article and other local, state and federal regulations. In issuing any special exception, the Zoning Hearing Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in this article, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this article:
(1) Roads and permeable (nonpaved) parking areas to serve other permitted uses in the identified floodplain area, or where required by the regulations for any contiguous district.
(2) Utility transmission lines.
(3) Storm and sanitary sewers and sewage pumping stations.
(4) Sealed water supply wells and water pipelines.
(5) Dams, culverts, bridges and impoundment basins approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and any other governmental agency having regulatory or advisory jurisdiction over the watershed in question.
(6) Grading or fill, provided that the effect is not to substantially alter the effective cross-sectional profile of the stream basin at the point of the proposed use, provided that a detailed engineering study shall accompany any application for a special exception on this ground and must be approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and any other governmental agency having regulatory or advisory jurisdiction.
