[Added 10-25-2005 ATM, Art. 10]
The purpose of this bylaw is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of Northbridge through
the regulation of non-stormwater discharges to the storm drainage
system to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal and
state law. This bylaw establishes methods for controlling the introduction
of pollutants into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)
in order to comply with requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit process. The objectives of this
bylaw are:
A.
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate
storm sewer system (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user.
B.
To prohibit illicit connections and illegal discharges to the municipal
separate storm sewer system.
C.
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance
and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this
bylaw.
For the purposes of this bylaw, the following shall mean:
Means the Department of Public Works and its employees or
agents designated by the Director of Public Works to enforce this
bylaw.
Means 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.
Means the federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
§ 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
Means activities subject to NPDES Construction 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.
Means the addition from any source of any pollutants or combination
of pollutants into the municipal storm drainage system or into waters
of the United States from any source.
Means water beneath the surface of the ground.
Means 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.
Means any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to
the municipal storm drainage system, except as exempted in § 10-407
of this bylaw.
An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
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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, process wastewater, and wash water to
enter the municipal storm drainage system and any connections to the
municipal storm drainage system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless
of whether said drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted,
or approved before the effective date of this bylaw, or
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Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial
or industrial land use to the municipal storm drainage system, which
has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and
approved by an authorized enforcement agency.
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Means activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR, Section 122.26 (b)(14).
Means the Northbridge Board of Selectmen.
Means any 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.
Means a permit issued by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) or jointly with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United
States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group,
or general area-wide basis.
Means any discharge to the storm drain system that is not
composed entirely of stormwater.
Means any individual, association, organization, partnership,
firm, corporation, or other entity recognized by law and any officer,
employee or agent of such person.
Means anything, which causes or contributes to pollution.
Pollutants may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes,
and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; non-hazardous liquid
and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter,
or other discarded or abandoned objects and accumulations, so that
the 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.
Means any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land
whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking
strips.
Means any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from
such precipitation.
Means 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.
Means a permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection pursuant to 314 CMR 3.00 that authorizes
the discharge of pollutants to waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Means any sanitary waste, sludge, or septic tank or cesspool
overflow, and water that during manufacturing, cleaning, or processing
comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use
of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, byproduct,
or waste product.
Means a natural or man-made channel through which water flows
or a stream of water, including a river, brook, or underground stream.
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Other terms used in this bylaw and not specifically defined
herein shall have the meaning set forth in the Clean Water Act.
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This bylaw shall apply to all water entering the municipal storm
drainage system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless
explicitly exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The Town of Northbridge Department of Public Works shall administer,
implement, and enforce the provisions of this bylaw. Any powers granted
or duties imposed upon the authorized enforcement agency may be delegated
in writing by the Director of Public Works to persons or entities
acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the Department.
The provisions of this bylaw are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this bylaw 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 bylaw.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
bylaw are minimum standards; therefore, this bylaw does not intend
nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will
be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
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Prohibition of illegal discharges.
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No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the
municipal storm drainage system or watercourses any materials, including
but not limited to pollutants or waters containing any pollutants
that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality
standards, other than stormwater.
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The commencement, conduct, or continuance of any illegal discharge
to the municipal storm drainage system is prohibited except as described
as follows:
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A.
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The following discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions
established by this bylaw: water line flushing; flow from potable
water sources; landscape irrigation or lawn watering; diverted stream
flows; rising groundwater; uncontaminated groundwater infiltration
to storm drains or uncontaminated pumped groundwater, water from foundation
or footing drains (not including active groundwater dewatering systems),
crawl space pumps, or air conditioning condensation; springs; non-commercial
washing of vehicles; natural riparian habitat or wetland flows, swimming
pools (if dechlorinated: typically less than one PPM chlorine), fire-fighting
activities, and any other water source not containing pollutants.
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B.
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Discharges specified in writing by the authorized enforcement
agency as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
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C.
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Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal
notification to the authorized enforcement agency prior to the time
of the test.
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D.
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The prohibition shall not apply to any non-stormwater discharge
permitted under an NPDES permit, waiver, or waste discharge order
issued to the discharger and administered under the authority of the
United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of
Environmental Protection, provided that the discharge is in full compliance
with all requirements of the permit, waiver, or order and other applicable
laws and regulations, and provided that written approval has been
granted for any discharge to the municipal storm drainage system.
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Prohibition of illicit connections.
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A.
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The construction, use, maintenance, or continued existence of
illicit connections to the municipal storm drainage system is prohibited.
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B.
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This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit
connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection
was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at
the time of connection.
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C.
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A person is considered to be in violation of this bylaw if the
person connects a line conveying sewage to the municipal storm drainage
system, or allows such a connection to continue.
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Suspension due to illegal discharges in emergency situations.
The Department of Public Works may, without prior notice, suspend
MS4 discharge access to a person when such suspension is necessary
to stop an actual or threatened discharge, which presents or may present
imminent and substantial danger to the environment, or to the health
or welfare of persons, or to the MS4 or waters of the United States.
If a person fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency,
the authorized enforcement agency may take such steps as deemed necessary
to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4 or waters of the United States,
or to minimize danger to persons.
Suspension due to the detection of illegal discharge.
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this bylaw
may have his MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate
or reduce an illegal discharge. The authorized enforcement agency
will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access.
The violator may petition the authorized enforcement agency for a
reconsideration and hearing.
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access
to premises terminated pursuant to this section, without the prior
approval of the authorized enforcement agency.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity
NPDES 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 Department of Public Works prior to the
allowing of discharges to the MS4.
A.
Applicability. This subsection applies to all facilities that have
stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity, including
construction activity.
B.
Access to facilities.
(1)
To the extent permitted by law, the Department of Public Works shall
be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation
under this bylaw as often as may be necessary to determine compliance
with this bylaw. If a discharger has security measures in force, which
require proper identification and clearance before entry into its
premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements to
allow access to representatives of the authorized enforcement agency.
(2)
Facility operators shall allow the Department of Public Works ready
access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection,
sampling, examination and copying of records that must be kept under
the conditions of an NPDES permit to discharge stormwater, and the
performance of any additional duties as defined by state and federal
law.
(3)
The Department of Public Works shall have the right to set up on
any permitted facility such devices as are necessary in the opinion
of the authorized enforcement agency to conduct monitoring and/or
sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge.
(4)
The Department of Public Works has the right to require the discharger
to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's
sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times
in a safe and proper operating condition by the discharger at its
own expense. All devices used to measure stormwater flow and quality
shall be calibrated to ensure their accuracy.
(5)
Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to
the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed
by the operator at the written or oral request of the Department of
Public Works and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such
access shall be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the Department of Public Works access
to a permitted facility shall be a violation of a surface water discharge
permit and of this bylaw. A person who is the operator of a facility
with a NPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial
activity commits an offense if the person denies the authorized enforcement
agency reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose
of conducting any activity authorized or required by this bylaw.
(7)
If the Department of Public Works has been refused access to any
part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and is able
to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation
of this bylaw, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as
part of a routine inspection and sampling program designed to verify
compliance with this bylaw or any order issued hereunder, or to protect
the overall public health, safety, and welfare of the community, then
the authorized enforcement agency may seek issuance of a search warrant
from any court of competent jurisdiction.
The Department of Public Works 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 United States. The owner
or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment shall provide,
at their own expense, reasonable protection from accidental discharge
of prohibited materials or other wastes into the municipal storm drainage
system or watercourses through the use of these structural and non-structural
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 non-structural BMPs to prevent the further discharge of pollutants
to the municipal storm drainage system. Compliance with all terms
and conditions of a valid NPDES 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 (SWPP)
as necessary for compliance with requirements of the NPDES 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
municipal storm drainage system, or waters of the United States 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 (including the Northbridge Police and Fire Departments) of
the occurrence via emergency dispatch services. In the event of a
release of non-hazardous 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 Department
of Public Works 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.
A.
Notice of violation.
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It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this bylaw. The
Department of Public Works and its employees and agents designated
by the Director of Public Works shall enforce this bylaw. Whenever
the Department of Public Works finds that a person has violated a
prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this bylaw, the authorized
enforcement agency may order compliance by written notice of violation
to the responsible person. Such notice may require without limitation:
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(1)
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(2)
The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(3)
That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease and
desist;
(4)
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution or contamination
hazards and the restoration of any affected property; and
(5)
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs;
and
(6)
The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
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If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of affected property
is required, the notice shall set forth a deadline within which such
abatement or restoration must be completed. Said notice shall further
advise that, should the violator fail to abate or restore within the
established deadline, the Town of Northbridge may, at its option,
undertake the work and the expense thereof shall be charged to the
violator.
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Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination
of the authorized enforcement agency to the Northbridge Board of Selectmen.
The notice of appeal must be received within 10 calendar days from
the date of the notice of violation. A hearing on the appeal before
the Board of Selectmen shall take place within 15 days from the date
of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the Northbridge
Board of Selectmen 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 30 calendar days of the decision of the Northbridge Board of
Selectmen upholding the decision of the authorized enforcement agency,
then representatives of the authorized enforcement agency may, to
the extent permitted by law, enter upon the subject 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.
Within 15 calendar days after abatement of the violation, the
owner of the property will be notified of the cost of abatement, including
administrative costs, which cost shall be assessed to the owner. The
property owner may file with the Board of Selectmen, a written protest
objecting to the amount of the assessment within 10 calendar days.
If the amount due is not paid by the expiration of the time in which
to file a protest or, if a protest is filed, within 10 calendar days
after the decision of the Board of Selectmen upholding, in whole or
in part, the amount of the cost, the cost shall become a special assessment
against the property and shall constitute a lien on the property for
the amount of the assessment. The cost shall be paid in not more than
12 equal payments. Interest at the statutory rate provided in MGL
c. 59, § 57 shall be assessed on the balance beginning on
the 31st day after the cost first becomes due.
If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions
of this bylaw, 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 bylaw, the authorized enforcement agency may impose
upon 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 bylaw is deemed to be a threat to public health,
safety, and welfare, and is declared and deemed a nuisance, and a
civil action to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation of,
such nuisance may be taken by the authorized enforcement agency.
Any person that has violated or continues to violate this bylaw
shall be liable to criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the
law, and shall be subject to a penalty of $500 per violation per day.
The authorized enforcement agency may recover all attorney's
fees, court costs and other expenses associated with enforcement of
this bylaw, including sampling and monitoring expenses. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Town may choose to employ the "noncriminal" remedies
detailed on § 1-109 of this Code of Bylaws.
The remedies listed in this bylaw 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.
