[Adopted 1-11-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
This chapter is enacted pursuant to §
10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law and the New York State Constitution to provide for the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of, and the general public within, the Town of Southampton 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.
The objectives of this chapter are as follows:
A. To meet the requirements of the New York SPDES General Permit for
Stormwater Discharges from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems
(MS4s), Permit No. GP-0-10-002, 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
chapter; 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.
The requirements under this chapter shall be applicable to all
water entering the Town MS4 generated on any developed and undeveloped
lands unless explicitly exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The terms used in this chapter shall have the meanings as set
forth in this section.
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 ACTIVITIES
Activities requiring authorization under the New York SPDES
General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity,
Permit No. GP-0-10-001, or 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.
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
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 CONNECTION
Any surface or subsurface drain or conveyance that allows
an illegal discharge to enter the MS4, including but not limited to:
A.
Conveyances that allow 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 agency;
or
B.
A 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 discharge that is not entirely composed of stormwater.
Illicit discharges shall include but are not limited to those sources
as identified by § 122.26(b)(2) of the Code of Federal Regulations,
sanitary wastewater, effluent from septic tanks, commercial car wash
wastewater, petroleum products, antifreeze and radiator flush liquid,
laundry wastewater, spills from roadway accidents, and household and
motor vehicle chemicals, but does not include liquids discharged from
fire-fighting activities.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES
Activities requiring authorization under the New York SPDES
Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with
Industrial Activity, Permit No. GP-0-06-002, or as amended or revised.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4)
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains) that is owned or operated
by the Town and designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
the MS4 is not a combined sewer or part of a publicly owned treatment
works (POTW) as defined at 40 CFR 122.2.
NYSDEC
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
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
A substance that may cause or might reasonably be expected
to cause pollution of the waters of the state in contravention of
the standards, including but not limited to dredged spoils, 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.
PREMISES
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Any of the following:
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 in the discharge 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 waterbody 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 waterbody 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 (6)
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 or officer designated by the Town to accept and
review stormwater pollution prevention plans, forward the plans to
the applicable municipal board and inspect stormwater management practices.
303(d) LIST OF IMPAIRED WATERS
The NYSDEC published list, and any amendments thereto, of
all surface waters in the state for which beneficial uses of the water
(i.e., drinking, recreation, aquatic habitat, and industrial) are
impaired by pollutants, as required by Section 303(d) of the Federal
Clean Water Act. 303(d)-listed waters include estuaries, lakes, and
streams that fall short of state surface water quality standards and
are not expected to improve within the next two years.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL)
The maximum amount of a pollutant allowed to be released
into a water body so as not to impair uses of the water, allocated
among the sources of the pollution.
TOWN
The Town of Southampton.
WASTEWATER
Water that is not stormwater, which is contaminated with
pollutants and is, or will be, discarded.
The Stormwater Management Officer (SMO) shall administer and
implement the provisions of this chapter.
No persons shall operate a failing individual sewage treatment
system in areas tributary to the Town 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 the Town MS4.
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.
Where the SMO has identified illicit discharges under this chapter,
or activities contaminating stormwater, the Town may require implementation
of best management practices (BMPs) to control those illicit discharges
and activities.
A. The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment
shall provide, at his or her own expense, reasonable protection from
accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes into
the Town MS4 through the use of structural and nonstructural BMPs.
B. Any person responsible for a property or premises which is, or may
be, the source of an illicit discharge or an activity contaminating
stormwater may be required to implement, at said person's expense,
additional structural and nonstructural BMPs to reduce or eliminate
the source of pollutant(s) to the Town MS4.
C. 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.
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 allowing discharges to the
Town MS4.
This section applies to all facilities that the Town must inspect
to enforce any provision of this chapter, or whenever the authorized
enforcement agency has cause to believe that there exists, or potentially
exists, in or upon any premises, any condition which constitutes a
violation of this chapter. The Town is authorized to make or cause
to be made inspections to determine compliance with the provisions
of this chapter and to determine the cause of an illicit discharge,
in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the residents
of the Town. The Town is authorized to enter, upon consent of the
owner or facility operator, any premises at any reasonable time or,
in the event of an emergency, at such other time as may be necessary,
without the consent of the owner or facility operator, for the purpose
of determining compliance with this chapter.
A. The Town shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject
to regulation under this chapter as often as may be necessary to determine
compliance with this chapter. If a discharger has security measures
in force, the owner or operator of the facility shall take all steps
necessary and make arrangement for the Town and any other person(s)
deemed necessary to have free and complete access to the facility
to make the required inspections.
B. The Town shall be allowed ready access to all parts of the premises
for the purposes of inspection, sampling, and examination of the facility,
as well as be provided access to and be permitted to copy any and
all documents deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this
chapter.
C. The Town shall have the right to set up, on any facility subject
to this chapter, such devices as are necessary to conduct monitoring
and/or sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge.
D. The Town has the right to require facilities subject to this chapter
to install monitoring equipment as is reasonably necessary to determine
compliance with this chapter. 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.
E. If the Town has been refused access to any part of the premises from
which stormwater is discharged, or there has been a refusal to allow
sampling as part of any routine inspection or sampling program, and
the Town has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this
chapter has occurred, then the Town may seek the issuance of a search
warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction. The refusal to allow
access to any part of the premises, or to allow for a sample to be
taken, shall be deemed presumptive evidence that a violation exists.
F. Unreasonable delays in allowing the Town access to a facility subject
to this chapter is a violation of this chapter and shall expose the
owner of the facility, as well as the operator or any other person
responsible for preventing access to the facility, to prosecution
under the provisions provided for in this chapter.
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 results or may result in illegal
discharges or pollutants discharging into the Town 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 the Town of the occurrence
via emergency dispatch services (911). In the event of a release of
nonhazardous materials, said person shall notify the Town, in person,
by telephone or by 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 nonwritten notification. 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 also be retained for at least three years.
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 that is a threat to public health,
safety, and welfare is declared and deemed to be a public nuisance;
a civil action to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation
of such nuisance may be taken with the permission of the Town Board.
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 Town to seek cumulative
remedies.