[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Smithfield
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-4-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-01]
The purpose of this article is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of Smithfield through
the regulation of nonstormwater discharges into the municipal storm
drainage system and state waters as authorized by federal and state
law. This article establishes methods for controlling the introduction
of pollutants into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)
and state waters. The objectives of this article are to:
A.Â
Prevent illicit discharges into the municipal separate storm sewer
system.
B.Â
Prohibit illicit connections to the municipal separate storm sewer
system.
C.Â
Require the cessation and removal of any and all such illicit connections
and discharges.
D.Â
Establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, monitoring
and enforcement activities necessary to ensure compliance with this
article.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
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.
Land clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
A permit issued by the EPA (or by a state under authority
delegated pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342) 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.
Natural water that occurs below the surface of the earth,
where it occupies spaces in soils or geologic strata and flows within
aquifers below the water table. Groundwater is replenished from surface
water which gradually percolates into the earth and eventually flows
to the surface or streams naturally.
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.
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
which allows an illicit discharge to enter the storm drainage system,
including but not limited to any conveyance which allows any nonstormwater
discharge, including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to
enter the storm drain system, and any connections to the storm drainage
system from indoor drains and sinks not authorized by the appropriate
permitting authority.
Any facility designed or used for collecting and/or conveying
stormwater, including but not limited to any roads with drainage systems,
highways, Town of Smithfield streets, curbs, gutters, inlets, catch
basins, piped storm drains, pumping facilities, structural stormwater
controls, ditches, swales, natural and man-made or altered drainage
channels, reservoirs, and other drainage structures, and which is:
Any discharge to the storm drainage system that is not composed
entirely of stormwater.
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,
sediment from land disturbances, floatables, pesticides, herbicides,
and fertilizers and nutrients, hazardous substances and wastes, sewage,
pet waste, fecal coli form 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
that may cause or contribute to pollution.
The Town of Smithfield department primarily responsible for
administering, implementing, and enforcing the provisions of this
article.
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, branches, lakes, reservoirs,
ponds, drainage systems, springs, wells, and other bodies of surface
and subsurface water, natural or artificial, lying within or forming
a part of the boundaries of the State of Rhode Island, which are not
entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single
person.
See "municipal separate storm sewer system" definition above.
Any surface flow, runoff, and/or drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from
such precipitation.
Town of Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
This article shall apply to all nonstormwater entering a storm
drainage system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless
explicitly authorized or exempted by the terms of this article or
a discharge permit.
The Town of Smithfield Engineering Department shall administer,
implement, and enforce the provisions of this article. Other duly
authorized officers of the Town of Smithfield may also enforce the
provisions of this article.
A connection or discharge to the MS4 may be made only after
the issuance of a permit from the Smithfield Engineering Department
and the payment of a permit fee of $50.
A.Â
Prohibition of illicit discharges.
(1)Â
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into a storm
drainage system, directly or indirectly, any materials, including
but not limited to pollutants, other than stormwater, except as authorized
by this article or a discharge permit.
(2)Â
The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illegal discharge
to the storm drainage system is prohibited except as follows:
(a)Â
Water line flushing or other potable water sources, landscape
irrigation or lawn watering, diverted stream flows, rising groundwater,
groundwater infiltration to storm drains, uncontaminated pumped groundwater,
foundation or footing drains (not including active groundwater dewatering
systems), air-conditioning condensation, springs, noncommercial washing
of vehicles, natural riparian habitat or wetland flows, swimming pool
discharge (if dechlorinated - typically less than one part per million
chlorine), emergency fire-fighting activities, and any other water
source not containing pollutants.
(b)Â
Discharges specified, in writing, by the Rhode Island Department
of Environmental Management (RIDEM) or the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as being necessary to protect public health
and safety, and discharges authorized by a discharge permit.
(c)Â
Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal
notification to the Smithfield Engineering Department prior to the
event.
B.Â
Prohibition of illicit connections.
(1)Â
The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit
connections to the storm drainage system is prohibited.
(2)Â
This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit
connections made prior to the enactment of this article.
(3)Â
Existing connections made prior to the adoption of this article will
require review and issuance of a permit in accordance with the provisions
of this article.
(4)Â
A person is in violation of this article if the person connects a
line conveying sewage or other nonstormwater-related flows to the
MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
A.Â
Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The
Town may, without prior notice, suspend MS4 discharge access to a
person when such suspension is necessary to stop an actual or threatened
discharge that presents or may present imminent and substantial danger
to the environment, or to the health or welfare of persons, or to
the MS4 or state waters. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension
order issued in an emergency, the Town may take such steps as it deems
necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4 or state waters,
or to minimize danger to persons or property.
B.Â
Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge. Any person
discharging to the MS4 in violation of this article may have his or
her MS4 access terminated by the Town if such termination would abate
or reduce an illicit discharge.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make any connection to
the Town's MS4 without written authorization from the Town, or
to reconnect access when it has been suspended or terminated due to
an illicit discharge without the prior approval of the Town.
A.Â
It shall be the duty of the property owner to keep leaves from his
or her property that have been piled for leaf collection or from lawn
maintenance out of any gutter, inlet, catch basin, or ditch.
B.Â
It shall be unlawful to place yard waste and/or pet waste into any
storm drain, stream, or conveyance where concentrated stormwater flows
will wash such wastes into the storm drainage system.
A.Â
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity RIPDES
stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of such
permit, as issued by RIDEM. Proof of compliance with said permit may
be required in a form acceptable to the Town Engineer prior to the
allowance of discharges to the MS4.
B.Â
Projects subject to the Town's Land Development and Subdivision
Regulations[1] and/or which require a building permit, including single-family residential building permits, must develop and adhere to a sediment and erosion control plan in accordance with the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance, Chapter 299. Failure to properly implement the approved plan constitutes a violation of this article.
C.Â
The Town will require best management practices implementation for
any land-disturbing activity, including construction activity, land
or individual lot clearing, grubbing, landscaping, etc., that may
cause or contribute to pollution or contamination of stormwater, the
MS4, or state waters.
A.Â
To the extent permitted by state law, or if authorized by the owner
or other party in control of the property, the Town Engineer and/or
his/her designated representative may enter upon privately owned property
for the purpose of performing his/her duties under this article and
may make or cause to be made such examinations, surveys or sampling
as the Town deems reasonably necessary.
B.Â
The Town Engineer or his/her designee shall have the right to set
up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary in the
opinion of the Town to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's
stormwater discharge.
C.Â
The Town Engineer or his/her designee has the right to require the
discharger to install monitoring equipment as deemed necessary by
the Town Engineer. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment
shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition
by the discharger at the facility owner's expense. All devices
used to measure stormwater flow and quality shall be calibrated to
ensure their accuracy.
A.Â
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
MS4, or state waters, said person shall take all necessary steps to
ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release. In
the event of such a release, and in addition to other notification
requirements, the person responsible for a facility shall notify the
Town Engineer in person or by phone no later than the next business
day after the discharge.
B.Â
Notifications in person or by phone shall be confirmed by written
notice of the notifying person addressed and mailed to the Town Engineer
and the RIDEM Office of Compliance and Inspection within five business
days of the original 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.
C.Â
For facilities that operate under existing RIPDES permits for stormwater
discharge, spill reporting shall be made to the permitting authority
in accordance with the permit. The Town Engineer shall be provided
with copies of any written notification required by the RIPDES permit.
D.Â
Nothing in this section shall authorize any owner/lessee to fail
to comply with relevant provisions of the Rhode Island Clean Water
Act, G.L. 46-12 et seq., or other applicable laws or regulations.
A.Â
Any individual or other party is prohibited from discharging waste,
including construction waste, building material, truck washout, chemicals,
litter, pet wastes, sanitary wastes, sewerage, or other waste into
the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4). If such a violation
occurs, the individual or other party must comply with the directive
issued by the Smithfield Engineering Department.
B.Â
If an illicit discharge enters directly or indirectly into the municipal separate storm sewer system or an illicit connection is detected, the property owner shall cease the discharge or connection. If the discharge or connection does not cease within the time frame given in the notice of violation, the owner may be fined in accordance with the provisions of § 1-9, General Provisions, Article II, Violation and Penalties, of the Smithfield Code of Ordinances.
C.Â
If the illicit discharge is not stopped, the Town shall have the
right to take all available appropriate remedies it deems necessary
to correct the violations and to place a lien on the subject property
in an amount equal to the cost of the remedial actions.
D.Â
The lien shall be enforced in the manner provided or authorized by
law for the enforcement of liens on real property. The lien shall
be recorded in the Land Evidence Records of the Town of Smithfield,
and the amount thereof shall accrue legal interest from the date of
the recording.
E.Â
The imposition of any penalty shall not exempt the offender from
compliance with the provisions of this article, and shall not preclude
the Town from revoking a performance bond or assessing a lien on the
property.
A.Â
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination
of the Town Engineer or his/her designee to the Town Council. The
notice of appeal must be filed with the office of the Town Manager
within 10 business days from the date of the notice of violation.
B.Â
During the pendency of the appeal, and until a final decision thereon
is rendered by the Town Council, the required actions described in
the notice of violation shall remain in effect.
C.Â
The decision of the Town Council shall be final unless appealed in
accordance with state 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.
A.Â
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are, to
the extent of such conflict, hereby repealed.
B.Â
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.
