The purpose of this chapter is to provide for
the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Village
of Woodbury through the regulation of nonstormwater discharges to
the storm drainage system to the maximum extent practicable as required
by federal and state law. This chapter establishes methods for controlling
the introduction of pollutants into the Village of Woodbury's separate
storm sewer system some of which is a designated municipal separate
storm sewer system (MS4) in order to comply with requirements of the
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit process
and to meet Village objectives to protect the environment. The objectives
of this chapter are:
A. To regulate the contribution of pollutants to storm
sewers, including the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4),
by stormwater discharges by any user.
B. To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to
the storm sewer system, including MS4s.
C. To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection,
surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this chapter.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
shall mean:
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.
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 discharges to the storm drain system, except as exempted in §
185-7 of this chapter.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which
allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system, including
but not limited to any conveyances which allow any nonstormwater discharge,
including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter the
storm drain system 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 any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial
or industrial land use to the storm drain system which has not been
documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an
authorized enforcement agency.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities subject to NPDES Industrial Permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Construction activity, including clearing, grading, excavating,
soil disturbance or placement of fill that results in land disturbance
of equal to or greater than one acre, or activities disturbing less
than one acre of total land area that is part of a larger common plan
of development or sale, even though multiple separate and distinct
land development activities may take place at different times on different
schedules.
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
Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants
may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents;
oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes
and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded
or abandoned objects, ordnance, and accumulations, so that same may
cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides,
and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform
and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes
and residues that result from constructing a building or structure;
and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
PREMISES
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM
Publicly owned facilities by which stormwater is collected
and/or conveyed, including but not limited to any roads with drainage
systems, municipal streets, gutters, curbs, inlets, piped storm drains,
pumping facilities, retention and detention basins, natural and human-made
or altered drainage channels, reservoirs, and other drainage structures.
STORMWATER
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation and resulting from
such precipitation.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER
An employee or officer 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.
WASTEWATER
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
This chapter shall apply to all water entering
the storm drain system generated on any developed and undeveloped
lands unless explicitly exempted by the Stormwater Management Officer.
The municipality shall designate a Stormwater
Management Officer who may:
B. Engage the services of a registered professional engineer
to review plans, specifications and related documents with the cost
paid through an escrow; or
C. Accept the certification of a licensed professional
that plans/remediation conform to the requirements of this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared
to be severable. If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph
of this chapter or the application thereof to any person, establishment,
or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not
affect the other provisions or application of this chapter.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated
pursuant to this chapter are minimum standards; therefore, this chapter
does not intend nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure
that there will be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge
of pollutants.
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 Stormwater Management Officer prior to the
allowing of discharges to the storm system.
The Stormwater Management Officer will adopt
requirements identifying best management practices for any activity,
operation, or facility which may cause or contribute to pollution
or contamination of stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters
of the U.S. The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment
shall provide, at his/her own expense, reasonable protection from
accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes into
the municipal storm drain system or watercourses through the use of
these structural and nonstructural BMPs. Further, any person responsible
for a property or premises which is or may be the source of an illicit
discharge, may be required to implement, at said person's expense,
additional structural and nonstructural BMPs to prevent the further
discharge of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system.
Compliance with all terms and conditions of a valid SPDES permit authorizing
the discharge of stormwater associated with industrial activity, to
the extent practicable, shall be deemed compliance with the provisions
of this section. These BMPs shall be part of a stormwater pollution
prevention plan (SWPPP) as necessary for compliance with requirements
of the SPDES permit.
Every person owning property through which a
watercourse passes, or such person's lessee, shall keep and maintain
that part of the watercourse within the property free of trash, debris,
excessive vegetation, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate,
or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse.
In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately
owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse so that such
structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical
integrity of the watercourse.
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 are resulting
or may result in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into
stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the U.S., 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 authorized enforcement agency in person or by phone or facsimile
no later than the next business day. Notifications in person or by
phone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed and mailed to
the Stormwater Management Officer within three business days of the
phone 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 authorized enforcement agency. In
the case of an enforcement action by the municipal Stormwater Management
Officer, the appeal shall be submitted to the Justice Court. The notice
of appeal must be received within 15 days from the date of the notice
of violation. Hearing on the appeal before the appropriate authority
or his/her designee shall take place within 15 days from the date
of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the municipal
authority or their designee shall be final.
If the violation has not been corrected pursuant
to the requirements set forth in the notice of violation, or, in the
event of an appeal, within 15 days of the decision of the municipal
authority upholding the decision of the authorized enforcement agency,
then representatives of the authorized enforcement agency shall enter
upon the subject private property and are authorized to take any and
all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or restore the property.
It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent or person in possession
of any premises to refuse to allow the government agency or designated
contractor to enter upon the premises for the purposes set forth above.
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 authorized enforcement agency 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 lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties,
and remedies authorized by this chapter, the municipality may impose
upon a violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, creek
cleanup, etc.
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,
shall 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 shall be taken.
Any person that has violated or continues to
violate this chapter shall be liable to criminal prosecution to the
fullest extent of the law, and shall be subject to a criminal penalty
of $350 per violation per day and/or imprisonment for a period of
time not to exceed 180 days. The municipality may recover all attorneys'
fees, court costs and other expenses associated with enforcement of
this chapter, including sampling and monitoring expenses.
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 municipality
to seek cumulative remedies.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon
its filing with the Secretary of State in Albany. All prior ordinances
and parts of ordinances in conflict with this chapter are hereby repealed.