This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Illegal Discharges and Illicit Connections to Separate Storm
Sewer System Local Law of the Town of New Castle."
Whenever used in this chapter, unless a different
meaning is stated in a definition applicable to only a portion of
this chapter, 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 equal to or greater than 5,000 square
feet or the creation of greater than 1,000 square feet of new impervious
area. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and
grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
DEC
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.
ILLEGAL DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the MS4, except as exempted in §
108B-6 of this chapter.
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 but not limited to 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.
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 New Castle;
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 or lessee.
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.
POLLUTANT OF CONCERN
Sediment or a water quality measurement that addresses sediment
(such as total suspended solids, turbidity or siltation) and any other
pollutant that has been identified as a cause of impairment of any
water body that will receive a discharge from the construction activity.
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 the Town has been notified by the
DEC that the discharge of stormwater authorized under their 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 Town 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 Town'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 Town's MS4 permit where a TMDL including requirements
for control of stormwater discharges has been approved by 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 Town 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 Town's MS4 permit
that applies if a TMDL is approved in the future by EPA for any water
body or watershed into which an MS4 discharges. Under this condition
the Town 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 Town 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)
The Town Engineer or his representative as designated by
the Town Board. The Westchester County Department of Health and the
New York City Department of Environmental Protection within the New
York City Watershed presently are and shall continue to be the enforcement
authorities for the design, repair, replacement and operation of individual
sewage treatment systems within the MS4.
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 DEC
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.
TOWN
The Town of New Castle, New York.
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 chapter 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 law.
Such powers granted or duties imposed upon the SMO(s) may be delegated
by the SMO(s) as may be authorized by the Town.
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 Town prior to the allowing of discharges
to the MS4.
Notwithstanding other requirements of this chapter,
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 are
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 Town 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 Town 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 Board within 15 days
of its issuance. The Town Board shall hear the appeal within 30 days
after its filing. Within five days of making its decision, the Town
Board shall file same in the office of the Town Clerk and mail a copy
by certified mail to the charged party.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate
any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this
chapter. If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions
of this chapter, 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 chapter 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 chapter 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.