[Adopted 10-21-2013 STM]
A.
It is hereby determined that:
(1)
Discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system that are
not composed entirely of stormwater runoff contribute to increased
non-point-source pollution and degradation of receiving waters.
(2)
These nonstormwater discharges occur due to spills, dumping and improper
connections to the municipal separate storm sewer system from residential,
industrial, commercial or institutional establishments.
(3)
These nonstormwater discharges not only impact waterways individually,
but geographically dispersed, small-volume, nonstormwater discharges
can have cumulative impacts on receiving waters.
(4)
The impacts of these discharges adversely affect public health and
safety, drinking water supplies, recreation, fish and other aquatic
life, property values and other uses of lands and waters.
(5)
These impacts can be minimized through the regulation of spills,
dumping and discharges into the municipal separate storm sewer system.
(6)
Localities in the State of Connecticut are required to comply with
a number of state and federal laws, regulations and permits which
require a locality to address the impacts of stormwater runoff quality
and non-point-source pollution due to improper nonstormwater discharges
to the municipal separate storm sewer system.
B.
Therefore, the Town of Putnam adopts this Part 5 to prohibit such
nonstormwater discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system.
It is determined that the regulation of spills, improper dumping and
discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system is in the
public interest and will prevent threats to public health and safety
and the environment.
A.
Purpose and intent. The purpose of this Part 5 is to protect the
public health, safety, environment and general welfare through the
regulation of nonstormwater discharges to the municipal separate storm
sewer system to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal
law. This Part establishes methods for controlling the introduction
of pollutants into the municipal separate storm sewer system in order
to comply with requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit process. The objectives of this Part are:
(1)
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate
storm sewer system by any person;
(2)
To prohibit illicit discharges and illegal connections to the municipal
separate storm sewer system;
(3)
To prevent nonstormwater discharges, generated as a result of spills,
inappropriate dumping or disposal, to the municipal separate storm
sewer system; and
(4)
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance,
monitoring and enforcement procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this Part.
B.
Applicability. The provisions of this Part 5 shall apply throughout
the Town of Putnam.
C.
Compatibility with other regulations. This Part 5 is not intended
to modify or repeal any other ordinance, rule, regulation, or other
provision of law. The requirements of this Part are in addition to
the requirements of any other ordinance, rule, regulation, or other
provision of law; and where any provision of this Part imposes restrictions
different from those imposed by any other ordinance, rule, regulation,
or other provision of law, whichever provision is more restrictive
or imposes higher protective standards for human health or the environment
shall control.
D.
Severability. If the provisions of any section, subsection, paragraph, subdivision or clause of this Part 5 shall be adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or invalidate the remainder of any section, subsection, paragraph, subdivision or clause of this Part.
E.
Responsibility for administration. The Putnam Board of Selectmen
shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this Part
5. Day-to-day enforcement will be the responsibility of the designated
authorized agent.
As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A discharge prohibited by this Part which occurs by chance
and without planning or thought prior to occurrence.
The Public Works Director. The Mayor or 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 Northeast District Department
of Health, the Regional Engineer, the Town Planner, the Zoning Enforcement
Officer, the Wetlands Enforcement Officer, as well as appropriate
boards or commissions.
The Town of Putnam Board of Selectmen.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
Activities subject to the Connecticut Erosion and Sedimentation
Control Act or general permit for the discharge of stormwater and
dewatering wastewaters from construction activities. These include
construction projects resulting in land disturbance. Such activities
include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating,
and demolition.
Either of the following:
Any pipe, open channel, drain or conveyance, whether on the
surface or subsurface, which allows an illicit 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, regardless
of whether such pipe, open channel, drain or conveyance has been previously
allowed, permitted, or approved by an authorized enforcement agency;
or
Any pipe, open channel, drain or conveyance connected to the
municipal separate storm sewer system which has not been documented
in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized
enforcement agency.
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the municipal separate storm sewer system, except as exempted in § 312-81 of this Part.
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26 (b)(14) or C.G.S. § 22a-430b.
Any facility designed or used for collecting and/or conveying
stormwater, including but not limited to any roads with drainage systems,
highways, municipal 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:
A permit issued by the Connecticut DEEP under authority delegated
pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b) that authorizes the discharge
of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is
applicable on an individual, group, or general areawide basis.
Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed
entirely of stormwater.
Except to the extent exempted from this Part 5, any individual,
partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation,
trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility,
cooperative, city, county or other political subdivision of the state,
any interstate body or any other legal entity.
Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants
may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents;
petroleum hydrocarbons; automotive fluids; cooking grease; detergents
(biodegradable or otherwise); degreasers; cleaning chemicals; nonhazardous
liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage,
litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects and accumulations,
so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides,
herbicides, and fertilizers; liquid and solid wastes; sewage, fecal
coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes;
wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure;
concrete and cement; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
The contamination or other alteration of any water's physical,
chemical or biological properties by the addition of any constituent,
and includes, but is not limited to, a change in temperature, taste,
color, turbidity, or odor of such waters, or the discharge of any
liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substance into any such
waters as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters
harmful, detrimental or injurious to the public health, safety, welfare,
or environment, or to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural,
recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock,
wild animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life.
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
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 Connecticut, which are not
entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single
person.
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation and resulting from
such precipitation.
A structural stormwater management facility or device that
controls stormwater runoff and changes the characteristics of that
runoff, including, but not limited to, the quantity and quality, the
period of release or the velocity of flow.
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
A.
Prohibition of illicit discharges.
(1)
No person shall throw, drain, or otherwise discharge, cause, or allow
others under his/her control to throw, drain, or otherwise discharge
into the municipal separate storm sewer system any pollutants or waters
containing any pollutants, other than stormwater.
(2)
The following discharges are exempt from the prohibition provision
above, provided they contain no pollutants:
(a)
Water line flushing performed by a government agency, 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), crawl space pumps, air-conditioning condensation, springs,
natural riparian habitat or wetland flows, and any other water source
not containing pollutants.
(b)
Discharges or flows from firefighting, and other discharges
specified in writing by the Board of Selectmen as being necessary
to protect public health and safety.
(c)
The prohibition provision above shall not apply to any nonstormwater
discharge permitted under an NPDES permit or order issued to the discharger
and administered under the authority of the state and the Federal
Environmental Protection Agency, provided that the discharger 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 separate
storm sewer system.
B.
Prohibition of illegal connections. The construction, connection,
use, maintenance or continued existence of any illegal connection
to the municipal separate storm sewer system is prohibited.
(1)
This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illegal
connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection
was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at
the time of connection.
(2)
A person violates this Part 5 if the person connects a line conveying
sewage to the municipal separate storm sewer system or allows such
a connection to continue.
(3)
Improper connections in violation of this Part must be disconnected
and redirected, if necessary, to an approved on-site wastewater management
system or the sanitary sewer system upon approval of the Putnam Water
Pollution Control Authority.
(4)
Any drain or conveyance that has not been documented in plans, maps
or equivalent, and which may be connected to the storm sewer system,
shall be located by the owner or occupant of that property upon receipt
of written notice of violation from the authorized agent requiring
that such locating be completed. Such notice will specify a reasonable
time period within which the location of the drain or conveyance is
to be completed, that the drain or conveyance be identified as storm
sewer, sanitary sewer or other, and that the outfall location or point
of connection to the storm sewer system, sanitary sewer system or
other discharge point be identified. Results of these investigations
are to be documented and provided to the Board of Selectmen and Water
Pollution Control Authority.
Any person subject to an industrial, commercial 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 authorized agent prior to allowing discharges
to the municipal separate storm sewer system.
The authorized agent shall be permitted to enter and inspect
properties and facilities at reasonable times as often as may be necessary
to determine compliance with this Part 5.
A.
If a property or facility has security measures in force which require
proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises,
the owner or operator shall make the necessary arrangements to allow
access to representatives of the Board of Selectmen.
B.
The owner or operator shall allow the authorized agent ready access
to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling,
photography, videotaping, examination and copying of any records that
are required under the conditions of an NPDES permit to discharge
stormwater.
C.
The authorized agent shall have the right to set up on any property
or facility such devices as are necessary, in the opinion of the authorized
agent, to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of flow discharges.
D.
The authorized agent may require the owner or operator to install
monitoring equipment and perform monitoring as necessary and make
the monitoring data available to the authorized agent. This sampling
and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe
and proper operating condition by the owner or operator at his/her
own expense. All devices used to measure flow and quality shall be
calibrated to ensure their accuracy.
E.
Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to
the property or facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly
removed by the owner or operator at the written or oral request of
the authorized agent and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing
such access shall be borne by the owner or operator.
F.
Unreasonable delays in allowing the authorized agent access to a
facility is a violation of this Part.
G.
If the authorized agent has been refused access to any part of the
premises from which stormwater is discharged, and the authorized agent
is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be
a violation of this Part, 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 Part or any order issued hereunder,
or to protect the overall public health, safety, environment and welfare
of the community, then the Board of Selectmen may seek issuance of
a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
A.
Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as soon as any person
responsible for a facility, activity or operation, or responsible
for emergency response for a facility, activity or operation, has
information of any known or suspected release of pollutants or nonstormwater
discharges from that facility or operation which are resulting or
may result in illicit discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater,
the municipal separate storm sewer system, state waters, or waters
of the United States, said person shall take all necessary steps to
ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release so
as to minimize the effects of the discharge.
B.
Said person shall notify the authorized enforcement agency in person
or by phone or facsimile within no later than 24 hours of the nature,
quantity and time of occurrence of the discharge. 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 or in-person 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. Said person
shall also take immediate steps to ensure no recurrence of the discharge
or spill.
C.
In the event of such a release of hazardous materials, emergency
response agencies and/or other appropriate agencies shall be immediately
notified.
D.
Failure to provide notification of a release as provided above is
a violation of this Part.
A.
Violations.
(1)
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Part 5. Any person who has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this Part may be subject to the enforcement actions outlined in this section or may be restrained by injunction or otherwise abated in a manner provided by law.
(2)
In the event the violation constitutes an immediate danger to public health or public safety, the authorized agent is authorized to enter upon the subject private property, without giving prior notice, to take any and all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or restore the property. The authorized agent is authorized to seek costs of the abatement as outlined in § 312-85E.
B.
Notice of violation. Whenever the authorized agent finds that a violation
of this Part has occurred, the authorized agent may order compliance
by written notice of violation.
(1)
The notice of violation shall contain:
(a)
The name and address of the alleged violator;
(b)
The address, when available, or a description of the building,
structure or land upon which the violation is occurring or has occurred;
(c)
A statement specifying the nature of the violation;
(d)
A description of the remedial measures necessary to restore
compliance with this Part and a time schedule for the completion of
such remedial action;
(e)
A statement of the penalty or penalties that shall or may be
assessed against the person to whom the notice of violation is directed;
and
(f)
A statement that the determination of violation may be appealed
to the Board of Selectmen by filing a written notice of appeal within
30 days of service of the notice of violation.
(2)
Such notice may require, without limitation:
(a)
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(b)
The elimination of illicit discharges and illegal connections;
(c)
That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease
and desist;
(d)
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution or contamination
hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(e)
Payment of costs to cover administrative and abatement costs;
and
(f)
The implementation of pollution prevention practices.
C.
Appeal of notice of violation. Any person receiving a notice of violation
may appeal the determination of the authorized agent. The notice of
appeal must be received within 30 days from the date of the notice
of violation. Hearing on the appeal before the Board of Selectmen
or its designee shall take place within 15 days from the date of receipt
of the notice of appeal. The decision of the Board of Selectmen or
its designee shall be final.
D.
Enforcement measures after appeal. 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 10 days of the decision
of the appropriate authority upholding the decision of the authorized
agent, then representatives of the Board of Selectmen may 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.
E.
Costs of abatement of the violation. Within 30 days after abatement
of the violation, the owner of the property will be notified of the
cost of abatement, including administrative costs. The property owner
may file a written protest objecting to the assessment or to the amount
of the assessment within 30 days of such notice. If the amount due
is not paid within 30 days after receipt of the notice or, if an appeal
is taken, within 30 days after a decision on said appeal, the charges
shall become a special assessment against the property and shall constitute
a lien on the property for the amount of the assessment. Any person
violating any of the provisions of this Part 5 shall become liable
to the Town of Putnam by reason of such violation.
F.
Civil penalties. In the event the alleged violator fails to take
the remedial measures set forth in the notice of violation or otherwise
fails to cure the violations described therein within 10 days, or
such greater period as the Board of Selectmen shall deem appropriate,
after the Board of Selectmen has taken one or more of the actions
described above, the Board of Selectmen may impose a penalty not to
exceed $25 (depending on the severity of the violation) for each day
the violation remains unremedied after receipt of the notice of violation.
G.
Violations deemed a public nuisance. 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 Part is a threat
to public health, safety, welfare, and environment and is declared
and deemed a nuisance and may be abated by injunctive or other equitable
relief as provided by law.
H.
Remedies not exclusive. The remedies listed in this Part are not
exclusive of any other remedies available under any applicable federal,
state or local law, and the Board of Selectmen may seek cumulative
remedies.
