[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Crystal
Lake 1-5-2016 by Ord. No. 7191. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The purpose
of this chapter is to provide for the health, safety, and general
welfare of the residents of Crystal Lake 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 chapter
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.
B.
The objectives
of this chapter are:
(1)
To
regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate
storm sewer system (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user.
(2)
To
prohibit illicit connections and illegal discharges to the municipal
separate storm sewer system.
(3)
To
establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance
and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this
chapter.
For the purposes of this chapter, 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.
The City of Crystal Lake or the Mayor and City Council of
the City of Crystal Lake.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A series of samples which are taken from a waste stream without
regard to the flow in the waste stream, and over a period of time
not to exceed 15 minutes.
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 direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in § 593-7 of this chapter.
Either of the following:
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 storm drain system 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 a Superintendent or his/her designee; or
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial
land use to the storm drain system that has not been documented in
plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by a Public Works
Superintendent or designee.
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
The municipal separate storm sewer system.
A permit issued by the EPA [or by a state under authority
delegated pursuant to 33 USC § 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 area-wide
basis.
Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact
with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished
product.
Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed
entirely of stormwater.
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation, or other entity recognized by law and acting either as
the owner or as the owner's agent.
A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed
in standard units.
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, ordnance, 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 (e.g., pH, temperature,
TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
A treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33
U.S.C. § 1292), which is owned by the City of Crystal Lake.
This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection,
storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial
wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances that convey wastewater
to a treatment plant.
Any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets,
campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dish-washing
operations, etc.).
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.
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from
such precipitation.
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 water the maximum extent practicable.
The person designated by the Director of Public Works to
supervise the operation of the Department's Stormwater Division, and
who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter,
or a duly authorized representative.
The total suspended matter that floats on the surface or
is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and which is
removable by laboratory filtering.
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility; the liquids and water-carried industrial
wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings,
industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether
treated or untreated, that are discharged into the POTW.
A natural or artificial channel through which water flows.
This chapter shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by the Superintendent.
The Superintendent shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted or duties imposed
upon the Superintendent may be delegated in writing by the Superintendent
to persons or entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in
the employ of the agency.
The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this chapter 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 chapter.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
chapter are minimum standards; therefore, this chapter does not intend
nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will
be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
A.
Prohibition
of illegal discharges; exceptions.
(1)
No
person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the municipal
storm drain 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.
(2)
The
commencement, conduct or continuance of any illegal discharge to the
storm drain system is prohibited except as described as follows:
(a)
The following discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions established
by this chapter: 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), crawl space pumps, air conditioning
condensation, springs, noncommercial washing of vehicles, natural
riparian habitat or wetland flows, swimming pools (must be dechlorinated
to 0.05 mg/L or less), fire-fighting activities, and any other water
source not containing pollutants.
(b)
Discharges specified in writing by the Superintendent or his/her
designee as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
(c)
Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal notification
to the Superintendent or his/her their designee prior to the time
of the test.
(d)
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 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 storm drain system.
B.
Prohibition
of illicit connections.
(1)
The
construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit connections
to the storm drain system is prohibited.
(2)
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.
(3)
A person
is considered to be in violation of this chapter if the person connects
a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such a connection to
continue.
A.
Suspension
due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The Superintendent
or his/her designee 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 the violator
fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the
Superintendent or his/her designee 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.
B.
Suspension
due to the detection of illicit discharge.
(1)
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this chapter may have his/her MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The Superintendent will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator may petition the Superintendent for a reconsideration and hearing (see § 593-15).
(2)
A person
commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access to premises
terminated pursuant to this section, without the prior approval of
the Superintendent or his/her designee.
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 Superintendent prior to the allowing of
discharges to the MS4.
A.
Applicability.
This section applies to all facilities that have stormwater discharges
associated with industrial activity, including construction activity,
as well as commercial and residential properties.
B.
Access
to facilities.
(1)
The
Superintendent or his/her designee 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 that require proper identification
and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger shall
make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives
of the Superintendent or his/her designee.
(2)
Facility
operators shall allow the Superintendent or his/her designee 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
Superintendent 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 Superintendent or his/her designee to conduct monitoring and/or
sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge.
(4)
The
Superintendent or his/her designee 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 Superintendent
or his/her designee and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing
such access shall be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable
delays in allowing the Superintendent or his/her designee access to
a permitted facility is a violation of a stormwater discharge permit
and of this chapter. 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 Superintendent
or his/her designee reasonable access to the permitted facility for
the purpose of conducting any activity authorized or required by this
chapter.
(7)
If
the Superintendent or his/her designee has been refused access to
any part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and
he/she is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there
may be a violation of this chapter, 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 chapter or any order issued
hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety, and welfare
of the community, then the Superintendent or his/her designee may
seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
The Superintendent or his/her designee 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 U.S. The owner
or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment shall provide,
at his/her own expense, reasonable protection from accidental discharge
of prohibited materials or other wastes into the municipal storm drain
system or watercourses through the use of these structural and nonstructural
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
nonstructural BMPs to prevent the further discharge of pollutants
to the municipal separate storm sewer 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 (SWPPP)
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 is resulting or may result
in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the
storm drain system, or water of the U.S., 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 Superintendent
or his/her designee 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 Superintendent
or his/her designee 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.
(1)
Whenever
the Superintendent or his/her designee finds that a person has violated
a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this chapter, the
Superintendent or his/her designee may order compliance by written
notice of violation to the responsible person. Such notice may require,
without limitation:
(a)
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(b)
The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(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; and
(e)
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs;
and
(f)
The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
(2)
If
abatement of a violation and/or restoration of affected property is
required, the notice shall set forth a deadline within which such
remediation or restoration must be completed. Said notice shall further
advise that, should the violator fail to remediate or restore within
the established deadline, the work will be done by a designated governmental
agency or a contractor and the expense thereof shall be charged to
the violator.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination
of the Superintendent or his/her designee. The notice of appeal must
be received within 10 days from the date of the notice of violation.
Hearing on the appeal before adjudication court shall take place within
one month from the date of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision
of the adjudication judge shall be final.
A.
When the Superintendent, or his/her designee, finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provisions of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other storm sewer standard or requirement, the user may be subject to a fine as set forth in Chapter 248, Fines. Such fines shall be assessed on a per-violation, per-day basis. In the case of monthly or other long-term average limits, fines shall be assessed for each day during the period of violation.
B.
Issuance
of any administrative fine shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite
for, taking any other action against the user.
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 municipal authority upholding
the decision of the Superintendent or his/her designee, then representatives
of the Superintendent or his/her designee 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 government agency or designated contractor
to enter upon the premises for the purposes set forth above.
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 amount of the assessment within 15 days. If the amount
due is not paid within a timely manner as determined by the decision
of the City of Crystal Lake or by the expiration of the time in which
to file an 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.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter. If
a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this
chapter, the Superintendent or his/her designee 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 chapter, the Superintendent or his/her designee
may impose upon a 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 chapter is a threat to public health, safety,
and welfare, and is declared and deemed a nuisance, and may be summarily
abated or restored at the violator's expense, and/or a civil action
to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation of such nuisance
may be taken.
A.
Any person
who has violated or continues to violate this chapter or any provisions
of any requirement issued pursuant to this chapter may also be in
violation of the Clean Water Act and may be subject to the sanctions
of the Act, including civil and criminal penalties. Any enforcement
actions authorized under this chapter shall also include written notice
to the violator of such potential liability.
B.
The Superintendent
or his/her designee may recover all attorneys' fees court costs and
other expenses associated with enforcement of this chapter, including
sampling and monitoring expenses.
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 Superintendent or his/her
designee to seek cumulative remedies.
