This article shall be titled "Illicit Discharge and Connection
to Stormwater Drainage Systems."
Connecticut General Statutes § 7-148(c)(6)(B) specifically
authorizes towns to regulate sewers, drainage and public utilities.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
AUTHORIZED AGENT
The authorized agent of the authorized enforcement agency
is the Highway Department Supervisor. The First Selectmen or the Board
of Selectmen may, in writing, designate other employees and designees
as deputy authorized agents to act through the authorized agent. The
authorized agent could include but not be limited to the Town Sanitarian,
the contracted Town Engineer, the Town Planner, the Zoning and Wetlands
Enforcement Officer, and the Town Attorney as well as appropriate
boards or commissions.
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 subject to NPDES construction permits/general
permits. These include construction projects resulting in land disturbance
of one acre or more. Such activities include but are not limited to
clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
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 non-stormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in §
200-9 of this article.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
A.
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 non-stormwater
discharge including sewage, processed or domestic wastewater 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
conveyance 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 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).
PERSON
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either
the owner of a premises or as the owner's agent.
POLLUTANT
Anything that 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, ordinance, 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 POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN
A document which describes the best management practices
and activities to be implemented by a person or business to identify
sources of pollution or contamination at a site and the actions to
eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to stormwater, stormwater
conveyance systems, and/or receiving waters to the maximum extent
practicable.
WASTEWATER
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES
Surface watercourses and water bodies as defined in Title
40, Part 122.1, of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), as amended,
including all natural waterways and definite channels and depressions
in the earth that may carry water, even though such waterways may
only carry water during rains and storms and may not carry stormwater
at and during all times and seasons.
This article shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The authorized agent shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this article as the primary agent for the Board
of Selectmen, as the authorized enforcement agency. Any powers granted
or duties imposed upon the authorized agent may be delegated in writing
by the First Selectman or by action of the Board of Selectmen as the
authorized enforcement agency to persons or entities acting in the
beneficial interest of or in the employ of the Town of Griswold as
deputy authorized agents to act through and under the direction of
the authorized agent.
The provisions of this article are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this article 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 article.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
article are minimum standards; therefore, this article 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, commercial or construction
activity NPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions
of such 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, 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 is resulting or may result
in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the
storm drain system, or waters of the State of Connecticut, 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 authorized agent 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. The contact information for the authorized
agent is as follows:
Highway Department Supervisor
Town of Griswold
Public Works Department
1148 Voluntown Road
Griswold, CT 06351
Tel. (860) 376 7080
Cell (860) 213 1522
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Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination
of the authorized enforcement agency to the Town of Griswold Inland
Wetlands and Watercourses Conservation Commission. The notice of appeal
must be received by the authorized agent and the Board of Selectmen
within 15 days from the date of the notice of violation. Any hearing
on an appeal before the Town of Griswold Inland Wetlands and Watercourses
Conservation Commission shall take place within 15 days from the date
of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the Town of Griswold
Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Conservation Commission shall be
final where its jurisdiction has been established.
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 after the decision of the Town of Griswold Inland Wetlands
and Watercourses Conservation Commission 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 governmental 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 article. If
a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this
article, 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 article, the authorized enforcement agency may
impose upon a violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm
drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, watercourse
cleanup, etc.
Any person who has violated or continues to violate this article
shall be liable for fines in the amount of $250 per violation as authorized
by Connecticut General Statutes § 7-148. Any person who
has violated this article may also be subject to penalties otherwise
authorized by law.
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.
This article shall be in full force and effect 15 days after
its final passage and adoption in a Town Meeting. All prior ordinances
and parts of ordinances in conflict with this article are hereby repealed.