SECTION 40.10.380 WRPA
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2007-04
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Section 40.10.380 of the Water Resource Protection Area (WRPA) ordinance designates specific areas, including the Cockeysville Formation, its drainage area, wellheads, and recharge zones, as essential for protecting New Castle County’s water resources. These zones, mapped by the Water Resources Agency, are safeguarded to prevent pollution, maintain water quality, and ensure adequate water supply for the future. Development in these areas is limited to a maximum of 20% impervious surface, unless an environmental impact assessment, certified by a registered geologist or engineer, confirms that exceeding this limit poses no public or environmental risk. These assessments must follow established procedures for review and approval.
For existing nonconforming sites in WRPA zones with more than 20% impervious cover, expansion is permitted only if impervious cover is reduced by at least 5% for sites up to 2 acres, 10% for sites between 2 and 5 acres, and 20% for sites over 5 acres. Alternatively, applicants can conserve equivalent land with similar infiltration rates elsewhere in WRPA zones through conservation easements or outright land acquisitions, ensuring that these preserved areas remain undisturbed permanently. This ordinance has been updated several times, with the most recent amendment in 2006.