[Adopted 12-22-2016 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
The purpose of this article is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of New Paltz 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. This article establishes methods for controlling
the introduction of pollutants into the MS4 in order to comply with
requirements of the SPDES General Permit for Municipal Separate Storm
Sewer Systems. The objectives of this article are:
A. To meet the requirements of the current SPDES General Permit for
Stormwater Discharges from MS4s, as that General Permit may hereafter
be 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
article; 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.
Whenever used in this article, unless a different meaning is
stated in a definition applicable to only a portion of this article,
the following terms will have meanings set forth below:
303(d) LIST
A list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial
uses of the water (drinking, recreation, aquatic habitat, and industrial
use) are impaired by pollutants, prepared periodically by the Department
as required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. 303(d) listed
waters are estuaries, lakes and streams that fall short of state surface
water quality standards and are not expected to improve within the
next two years.
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 ACTIVITY
Activities requiring authorization under the SPDES Permit
for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity, GP-0-015-02,
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.
DESIGN PROFESSIONAL
New York State licensed professional engineer, licensed architect,
registered landscape architect or other NYSDEC recognized professionals
qualified by training or experience, such as certified professional
in erosion control (CPESC) and certified professional in stormwater
quality (CPSWQ). All components that involve the practice of engineering,
as defined in the New York State Education Law (see Article 145) shall
be prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, a professional
engineer licensed to practice in this State of New York.
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
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.
ILLICIT CONNECTION
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
which allows an illegal discharge to enter the MS4, including but
not limited to:
A.
Any conveyances which allow any 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
enforcement agency; or
B.
Any 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 direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the MS4, except as exempted in §
115-6 of this article.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM
A facility serving one or more parcels of land or residential
households, or a private, commercial or institutional facility, that
treats sewage or other liquid wastes for discharge into the groundwaters
of New York State, except where a permit for such a facility is required
under the applicable provisions of Article 17 of the Environmental
Conservation Law.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities requiring the current SPDES General Permit for
Stormwater Discharges from Industrial Activities Except Construction,
as that General Permit may be amended or revised.
MS4
Municipal separate storm sewer system.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains):
A.
Owned or operated by the Town of New Paltz;
B.
Designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
C.
Which is not a combined sewer; and
D.
Which is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW)
as defined at 40 CFR 122.2.
PERSON
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation, limited-liability company, or other entity recognized
by law and acting as either the owner of any interest in real property,
or as the owner's agent.
POLLUTANT
Dredged spoil, 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; which may cause
or might reasonably be expected to cause pollution of the waters of
the state in contravention of the New York State water quality standards
set forth in 6 NYCRR 703.
PREMISES
Any building lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including improvements on such land, and adjacent
sidewalks and parking strips under the control of the owner or operator
of such lot or land.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
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 that 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 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 EPA for
a water body or watershed into which the MS4 discharges.
D.
The condition in the municipality's MS4 permit that applies
if a TMDL is approved in the future by EPA for any water body 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 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, the municipal engineer or other public official(s)
designated by the Town of New Paltz to enforce this article. The SMO
may also be designated by the municipality to accept and review stormwater
pollution prevention plans, forward the plans to the applicable municipal
board and inspect stormwater management practices.
TMDL
Total maximum daily load.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD
The maximum amount of a pollutant to be allowed to be released
into a water body so as not to impair uses of the water, allocated
among the sources of that pollutant.
WASTEWATER
Water that is not stormwater, is contaminated with pollutants,
and is or will be discarded.
This article shall apply to all water entering the MS4 that
is generated on any developed or undeveloped lands, unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The Stormwater Management Officer(s) (SMO) shall administer,
implement, and enforce the provisions of this article. Such powers
granted or duties imposed upon the authorized enforcement official
may be delegated in writing by the SMO as may be authorized by the
municipality.
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.
No person shall operate a failing individual sewage treatment
system in areas tributary to the municipality's MS4. A failing
individual sewage treatment system is one which has been determined
by the SMO, or an agency with jurisdiction over such system, to meet
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 a separate stormwater sewer system.
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.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity
SPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions
of such permit. The municipality may require acceptable proof from
the permittee that discharges from the regulated industrial or construction
activities will be in compliance with said permit prior to allowing
discharges to the MS4.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this article. If
a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this
article, the Town Board may authorize the SMO to apply to a court
of competent jurisdiction for a temporary restraining order and/or
preliminary and/or permanent injunction restraining the person from
activities which would create further violations, compelling the person
to perform abatement or remediation of the violation, or for such
other relief as the Town Board deems appropriate.
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 article which is a threat to public health,
safety, and welfare may be summarily abated or restored by the Town,
at the violator's expense, and/or a civil action may be brought
by the Town Board, in the name of the Town, to abate, enjoin, or otherwise
compel the cessation of such nuisance.
The remedies provided by 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 Town, as the enforcement
agency, to seek cumulative remedies.
Any person, firm or corporation claiming to be adversely affected
or aggrieved by any ruling, decision, determination or order of the
SMO may appeal such ruling, decision, or determination to the New
York State Supreme Court within 30 days after said determination,
ruling, or decision is filed in the office of the Town Clerk. To the
extent that said time limit is at variance with the time limit set
forth in § 217 of the New York State Civil Practice Law
and Rules, it is the express intention of this article to supersede
same.