[Adopted 12-19-2007 by L.L. No. 9-2007]
The purpose of this article is to provide for
the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Town
of Putnam Valley through the regulation of nonstormwater discharges
to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) to the maximum
extent practicable as required by federal and state law. This article
establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants
into the MS4 in order to comply with requirements of the SPDES General
Permit for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. The objectives
of this article are:
A. To meet the requirements of the SPDES General Permit
for Stormwater Discharges from MS4s, Permit No. GP-02-02 or as amended
or revised;
B. To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the
MS4 since such systems are not designed to accept, process or discharge
nonstormwater wastes;
C. To prohibit illicit connections, activities and discharges
to the MS4;
D. To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection,
surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this article; and
E. To promote public awareness of the hazards involved
in the improper discharge of trash, yard waste, lawn chemicals, pet
waste, wastewater, grease, oil, petroleum products, cleaning products,
paint products, hazardous waste, sediment and other pollutants into
the MS4.
Whenever used in this article, unless a different
meaning is stated in a definition applicable to only a portion of
this article, the following terms will have meanings set forth below:
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general
good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational
practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices
to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly
to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems.
BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices
to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal,
or drainage from raw materials storage.
CLEAN WATER ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Activities requiring authorization under the SPDES permit
for stormwater discharges from construction activity, GP-02-01, as
amended or revised. These activities include construction projects
resulting in land disturbance of one or more acres. Such activities
include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating,
and demolition.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination
thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical,
chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly
contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human
health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated,
stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
which allows an illegal discharge to enter the MS4, including, but
not limited to:
A.
Any conveyances which allow any nonstormwater
discharge including treated or untreated sewage, process wastewater,
and wash water to enter the MS4 and any connections to the storm drain
system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain
or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved
by an authorized enforcement agency; or
B.
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial
or industrial land use to the MS4 which has not been documented in
plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement
agency.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the MS4, except as exempted in §
101-6 of this article.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM
A facility serving one or more parcels of land or residential
households, or a private, commercial or institutional facility, that
treats sewage or other liquid wastes for discharge into the groundwaters
of New York State, except where a permit for such a facility is required
under the applicable provisions of Article 17 of the Environmental
Conservation Law.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities requiring the SPDES permit for discharges from
industrial activities except construction, GP-98-03, as amended or
revised.
MS4
Municipal separate storm sewer system.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains):
A.
Owned or operated by the Town of Putnam Valley;
B.
Designed or used for collecting or conveying
stormwater;
C.
Which is not a combined sewer; and
D.
Which is not part of a publicly owned treatment
works (POTW) as defined at 40 CFR 122.2.
PERSON
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either
the owner or as the owner's agent.
POLLUTANT
Dredged spoil, filter backwash, solid waste, incinerator
residue, treated or untreated sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat,
wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand and industrial, municipal,
agricultural waste and ballast discharged into water; which may cause
or might reasonably be expected to cause pollution of the waters of
the state in contravention of the standards.
PREMISES
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
A.
Discharge compliance with water quality standards:
the condition that applies where a municipality has been notified
that the discharge of stormwater authorized under its MS4 permit may
have caused or has the reasonable potential to cause or contribute
to the violation of an applicable water quality standard. Under this
condition, the municipality must take all necessary actions to ensure
future discharges do not cause or contribute to a violation of water
quality standards.
B.
303(d) listed waters: the condition in the municipality's
MS4 permit that applies where the MS4 discharges to a 303(d) listed
water. Under this condition, the stormwater management program must
ensure no increase of the listed pollutant of concern to the 303(d)
listed water.
C.
Total maximum daily load (TMDL) strategy: the
condition in the municipality's MS4 permit where a TMDL including
requirements for control of stormwater discharges has been approved
by the EPA for a water body or watershed into which the MS4 discharges.
If the discharge from the MS4 did not meet the TMDL stormwater allocations
prior to September 10, 2003, the municipality was required to modify
its stormwater management program to ensure that reduction of the
pollutant of concern specified in the TMDL is achieved.
D.
The condition in the municipality's MS4 permit
that applies if a TMDL is approved in the future by the EPA for any
water body or watershed into which an MS4 discharges. Under this condition,
the municipality must review the applicable TMDL to see if it includes
requirements for control of stormwater discharges. If an MS4 is not
meeting the TMDL stormwater allocations, the municipality must, within
six months of the TMDL's approval, modify its stormwater management
program to ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern specified
in the TMDL is achieved.
STORMWATER
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER (SMO)
An employee, the municipal engineer or other public official(s)
designated by the Town of Putnam Valley to enforce this article. The
SMO may also be designated by the municipality to accept and review
stormwater pollution prevention plans, forward the plans to the applicable
municipal board and inspect stormwater management practices.
303(d) LIST
A list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial
uses of the water (drinking, recreation, aquatic habitat, and industrial
use) are impaired by pollutants, prepared periodically by the Department
as required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. 303(d) listed
waters are estuaries, lakes and streams that fall short of state surface
water quality standards and are not expected to improve within the
next two years.
TMDL
Total maximum daily load.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD
The maximum amount of a pollutant to be allowed to be released
into a water body so as not to impair uses of the water, allocated
among the sources of that pollutant.
WASTEWATER
Water that is not stormwater, is contaminated with pollutants
and is or will be discarded.
This article shall apply to all water entering
the MS4 generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The Stormwater Management Officer(s) [SMO(s)]
shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article.
Such powers granted or duties imposed upon the authorized enforcement
official may be delegated in writing by the SMO as may be authorized
by the municipality.
No persons shall operate a failing individual
sewage treatment system in areas tributary to the municipality's MS4.
A failing individual sewage treatment system is one which has one
or more of the following conditions:
A. The backup of sewage into a structure.
B. Discharges of treated or untreated sewage onto the
ground surface.
C. A connection or connections to a separate stormwater
sewer system.
D. Liquid level in the septic tank above the outlet invert.
E. Structural failure of any component of the individual
sewage treatment system that could lead to any of the other failure
conditions as noted in this section.
F. Contamination of off-site groundwater.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction
activity SPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions
of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required
in a form acceptable to the municipality prior to the allowing of
discharges to the MS4.
Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as
soon as any person responsible for a facility or operation, or responsible
for emergency response for a facility or operation, has information
of any known or suspected release of materials which is resulting
or may result in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into
the MS4, said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the
discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release. In the event
of such a release of hazardous materials, said person shall immediately
notify emergency response agencies of the occurrence via emergency
dispatch services. In the event of a release of nonhazardous materials,
said person shall notify the municipality in person or by telephone
or facsimile no later than the next business day. Notifications in
person or by telephone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed
and mailed to the municipality within three business days of the telephone
notice. If the discharge of prohibited materials emanates from a commercial
or industrial establishment, the owner or operator of such establishment
shall also retain an on-site written record of the discharge and the
actions taken to prevent its recurrence. Such records shall be retained
for at least three years.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may
appeal the determination of the SMO to the Town of Board within 15
days of its issuance, which shall hear the appeal within 30 days after
the filing of the appeal, and, within five days of making its decision,
file its decision in the office of the municipal clerk and mail a
copy of its decision by certified mail to the discharger.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate
any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this
article. If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions
of this article, the SMO may petition for a preliminary or permanent
injunction restraining the person from activities which would create
further violations or compelling the person to perform abatement or
remediation of the violation.
In addition to the enforcement processes and
penalties provided, any condition caused or permitted to exist in
violation of any of the provisions of this article is a threat to
public health, safety, and welfare, and is declared and deemed a nuisance,
and may be summarily abated or restored at the violator's expense,
and/or a civil action to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation
of such nuisance may be taken.
The remedies listed in this article are not
exclusive of any other remedies available under any applicable federal,
state or local law, and it is within the discretion of the authorized
enforcement agency to seek cumulative remedies.
[Adopted 4-29-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall
apply:
INSPECTION
The visual examination of an SSTS and the evacuation and
removal of septage therefrom and subsequent reporting of said examination
and removal through the completion of an approved inspection form
by a septage collector that is licensed by the Putnam County Health
Department.
SEPARATE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM/ON-SITE SANITARY SYSTEM ("SSTS")
A system or facility or means for the treatment or modification
or ultimate disposal of waterborne sewage or domestic wastes or trade
wastes or offensive material, each being designed for the treatment
of less than 1,000 gallons per day, regardless of location with respect
to any building or structure or premises thereby served. Such system
shall include, but shall not be limited to, septic tanks, cesspools,
absorption fields and other facilities for the treatment or modification
or required control of sewage.
SEPTAGE COLLECTOR
An individual or entity licensed by the Putnam County Health
Department who engages in the performance of any one or more of the
following services, or who offers to provide any one or more of the
following services for a fee, in Putnam County, with respect to separate
sewage disposal systems: evacuation, removal, collection or transportation
of septage.
SEPTAGE
The contents of any container, including but not limited
to, a septic tank, which is designed and intended to hold sewage.
SEWAGE
The combination of human and household waste with water which
is discharged to the home plumbing system, including the waste from
a flushed toilet, bath, sink, lavatory, dishwashing or laundry machine,
or the water-carried waste from any other fixture, equipment or machine.
The appeals authority shall not grant a waiver or exemption
from any of the requirements of this article; provided, however, that
the appeals authority may vary the time requirements referenced within
this article, upon the submission and consideration of evidence which
may necessitate an extension of time to comply with all aspects of
this article. Such extension shall not exceed 180 days.
An owner of a parcel which is located in that portion of the
Town within the New York City Reservoir Watershed and is served by
a separate sewage disposal system/on-site sanitary system that fails
to comply with the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a
violation and shall be subject to a penalty as follows:
A. The Code Enforcement Officer shall first issue a written notice of
violation to the owner informing the owner of the anticipated imposition
of penalties if the violation is not corrected within 30 days.
B. Any person or corporation, whether as owner, lessee, principal, agent,
employee or otherwise, which violates any of the provisions of this
article or permits any such violation or fails to comply with any
of the requirements thereof shall be guilty of a violation, punishable
by a fine not exceeding $250 for conviction of a first offense; for
conviction of a second offense, both of which were committed within
a period of five years, punishable by a fine of not less than $350
nor more than $700 and, upon conviction for a third or subsequent
offense, all of which were committed within a period of five years,
punishable by a fine of not less than $700 nor more than $1,000. For
the purposes of conferring jurisdiction upon courts and judicial officers
generally, violations of this article or any part thereof or any condition
or requirement of subdivision approval shall be deemed misdemeanors.
Each fourteen-day period of continued violation shall constitute a
separate additional violation.
Compliance with this article shall not be deemed compliance
or approval of the Town under any other rules, regulations, codes
or laws.