[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of West
Springfield as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 4-19-2005 by Ord. No. 121 (Ch. 7, § 7-1600, of the
Codified Ordinances)]
A.
The purpose and intent of this article is to ensure the health, safety
and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of West Springfield
and to protect and enhance the water quality of watercourses and water
bodies within the Town of West Springfield, in a manner consistent
with the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq),
by reducing pollutants in stormwater discharges to the maximum extent
practicable and by prohibiting non-stormwater discharges to the storm
drain system.
B.
Increased and contaminated stormwater runoff is a major cause of
impairment of water quality and flow in lakes, ponds, streams, rivers,
wetlands and groundwater; contamination of drinking water supplies,
alteration or destruction of aquatic and wildlife habitat; and flooding.
C.
Regulation of illicit connections and discharges to the municipal
storm drain system is necessary for the protection of the Town's water
bodies and groundwater, and to safeguard the public health, safety,
welfare and the environment.
D.
The objectives of this article are:
(1)
To prevent pollutants from entering the Town's municipal separate
storm sewer system (MS4);
(2)
To prohibit illicit connections and unauthorized discharges to the
MS4;
(3)
To require the removal of all such illicit connections;
(4)
To comply with state and federal statutes and regulations relating
to stormwater discharges; and
(5)
To establish the legal authority to ensure compliance with the provisions
of this article through inspection, monitoring, and enforcement.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Department of Public Works of the Town of West Springfield
(hereinafter the "Department"), its employees or agents designated
to enforce this article.
Structural, nonstructural, and managerial techniques that
are recognized to be the most effective and practical means to prevent
or minimize increases in stormwater volumes and flows, reduce point
source and nonpoint source pollution, and promote stormwater quality
and protection of the environment.
[Added 6-21-2021]
The Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et
seq.) as hereinafter amended.
The addition from any source of any pollutant or combination
of pollutants into the municipal storm drain system or into the waters
of the United States or commonwealth from any source.
All costs and expenses, including all penalties imposed by
this article, incurred or imposed by the Town, in enforcing this article,
or for violations thereof, including but not limited to attorney fees,
consultant and expert witness fees.
Water beneath the surface of the ground.
A surface or subsurface drain or conveyance which allows
an illicit discharge into the municipal storm drain system, including
without limitation sewage, process wastewater, or wash water and any
connections from indoor drains, sinks, or toilets, regardless of whether
said connection was previously allowed, permitted, or approved before
the effective date of this article.
A direct or indirect discharge to the municipal storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater, except as exempted in § 204-8. The term does not include a discharge in compliance with an NPDES stormwater discharge permit or a surface water discharge permit, or resulting from fire-fighting activities exempted pursuant to § 204-8 of this article.
Any material or structure on or above the ground that prevents
water infiltrating the underlying soil. Impervious surface includes
without limitation roads, paved parking lots, and rooftops.
The system of conveyances designed or used for collecting
or conveying stormwater, including any road with a drainage system,
street, gutter, curb, inlet, piped storm drain, pumping facility,
retention or detention basin, natural or man-made or altered drainage
channel, reservoir, and other drainage structure that together comprise
the storm drainage system owned or operated by the Town of West Springfield.
A permit issued by United States Environmental Protection
Agency or jointly with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that authorizes
the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States.
Any building, structure, facility or installation from which
there is proposed (or may be) a discharge of stormwater, the construction
of which commenced on or after July 1, 2021, resulting in a total
earth disturbance equal to or greater than one acre (or a combination
of activities that are part of a larger common plan of development
disturbing greater than one acre) or on an area that has not previously
been developed to include impervious cover, subject to the following
conditions:
[Added 6-21-2021]
Construction on a site at which an existing source is located
results in redevelopment rather than a new source if the construction
does not create a new building, structure, facility, impervious surface
or installation.
Construction of a new source as defined under this subsection
has commenced if the owner or operator has:
Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction
program, any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or
equipment, or significant site preparation work, including clearing,
excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities
which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of
new source facilities or equipment; or
Entered into a building contractual obligation for the purchase
of facilities or equipment, which are intended to be used in its operation
within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts, which
can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts
for feasibility, engineering, and design studies, do not constitute
a contractual obligation under this subsection.
Discharge to the municipal storm drain system not composed
entirely of stormwater.
The responsible party that owns, operates, maintains, or
has a financial and/or operational responsibility for a facility that
discharges, either directly or through a stormwater system, stormwater
runoff into the Town's MS4.
[Added 6-21-2021]
An individual, partnership, association, firm, company, trust,
corporation, agency, authority, department or political subdivision
of the commonwealth or the federal government, to the extent permitted
by law, and any officer, employee, or agent of such person.
Any element or property of sewage, agricultural, industrial
or commercial waste, runoff, leachate, effluent, or other matter,
whether originating at a point or nonpoint source, that is or may
reasonably be expected to be introduced into the MS4 or waters of
the commonwealth. Pollutants shall include without limitation:
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;
Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers;
Hazardous materials and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens;
Dissolved and particulate metals;
Animal wastes;
Rock, sand, salt, soils;
Construction wastes and residues; and
Noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
Water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into
direct contact with or results from the production or use of any material,
intermediate product, finished product, or waste product.
The process by which groundwater is replenished by precipitation
through the percolation of runoff and surface water through the soil.
Any construction, land alteration, or improvement of impervious
surface resulting in a total earth disturbance equal to or greater
than one acre (or a combination of activities that are part of a larger
common plan of development disturbing greater than one acre) that
does not meet the definition of a new development.
[Added 6-21-2021]
The area extent of construction activities, including but
not limited to the creation of new impervious cover and improvement
of existing impervious cover (e.g., repaving, demolition or reconstruction
of large facilities).
[Added 6-21-2021]
Stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface water runoff
and drainage.
A permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) pursuant to 314 CMR 3.00 that authorizes the discharge of pollutants
to waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is
suspended in, water, wastewater, stormwater runoff, or other liquid
and which is removable by laboratory filtering. The total organic
and inorganic solids in a given sample of liquid is the total suspended
solids (hereinafter "TSS").
[Added 6-21-2021]
Any material which, because of its quantity, concentration,
chemical, corrosive, flammable, reactive, toxic, infectious or radioactive
characteristics, either separately or in combination with any substance
or substances, constitutes a present or potential threat to human
health, safety, welfare, or to the environment. Toxic or hazardous
materials include any synthetic organic chemical, petroleum product,
heavy metal, radioactive or infectious waste, acid and alkali, and
any substance defined as toxic or hazardous under MGL c. 21C and c.
21E, and the regulations at 310 CMR 30.000 and 310 CMR 40.0000.
A person, as defined above, who is in violation of this article.
Any sanitary waste, sludge, or septic tank or cesspool overflow,
and water that, during manufacturing, cleaning or processing, comes
into direct contact with or results from the production or use of
any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product
or waste product.
A natural or man-made channel through which water flows,
or a stream of water including, but not limited to, a river, brook,
or underground stream.
All waters within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth, including,
without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments,
estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, and groundwater.
This article shall apply to flows entering the MS4.
This article is adopted under the authority granted by the Home
Rule Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution and the Home Rule
Procedures Act, and pursuant to the regulations of the Federal Clean
Water Act found at 40 CFR 122.34 in effect at the time of the adoption
of this article, a copy of which is on file in the West Springfield
Town Council office.
The Department shall administer, implement and enforce this
article. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the Department
may be delegated in writing by the Department to its employees or
agents.
The Department may promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate
the purposes of this article and establish the procedures for inspecting
and monitoring property in Town for compliance. Failure by the Department
to promulgate such rules and regulations shall not have the effect
of suspending or invalidating this article.
[Added 6-21-2021[1]]
A.
All stormwater systems shall be designed and constructed in conformance
with the applicable specifications of the most current edition of
the DEP's Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook, Stormwater Management
Standards.
B.
All private stormwater systems that discharge to the MS4 shall also
meet the following requirements:
(1)
New development stormwater systems shall be designed to meet an annual
pollutant removal of 90% of the average annual load of the TSS related
to the total post-construction impervious surface on the site and
60% of the average annual load of total phosphorous related to the
total post-construction impervious surface area on the site.
(2)
Redevelopment stormwater systems shall be designed to meet an average
annual pollutant load removal equivalent to 80% of the average annual
post-construction load of TSS related to the total post-construction
impervious area of the site and 50% of the average annual load of
total phosphorous related to the total post-construction impervious
surface area on the site.
C.
Redevelopment activities that are exclusively limited to maintenance and improvement of existing roadways (including widening less than a single lane, adding shoulders, correcting substandard intersections, improving existing drainage systems, and repaving projects) shall be exempt from the conditions of § 204-7B(2). Roadway widening or improvements that increase the amount of impervious area on the redevelopment site greater than a single lane shall be governed by the requirements of § 204-7B(2).
[Added 6-21-2021[1]]
A.
The requirements of this section shall apply to properties where:
(1)
The site is considered a new development or a redevelopment and results
in the total earth disturbance equal to or greater than one acre or
the site is less than one acre but part of a larger common plan of
development or redevelopment which disturbs more than one acre; and
(2)
The site discharges into the Town's MS4.
B.
Owners/operators of sites subject to this section will be required
to submit as-built plans to the Department within 360 days after the
completion of site development and redevelopment. The as-built plans
must demonstrate that all required provisions set forth in project
approval by any Town organization, the Department, or by Town Council
have been complied with during construction. The as-built plans required
by this section must:
(1)
Be professionally drawn and stamped; and
(2)
Be accompanied by a post-construction report recording the BMPs utilized
during construction; and
(3)
Demonstrate that the stormwater management system on the site was
built in conformance with the applicable specifications of the most
current edition of the DEP's Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook, Stormwater
Management Standards; and
C.
Within 30 days of submission of the as-built plans, the owner/operator
of the site is required to schedule a post-construction walk-through
with the Department or one of its representatives to verify the site
conditions match those as recorded on the as-built plans. Discrepancies
that become apparent during this inspection shall be remediated within
60 days of the inspection and a second walk-through shall be scheduled
with the Department.
D.
The owner/operator of the property on which work has been done pursuant
to this section shall maintain in good condition and promptly repair
and restore all grade surfaces, walls, drains, dams and structures,
vegetation, erosion and sedimentation controls, and other protective
devices. Such repairs or restoration shall be in accordance with an
approved operation and maintenance plan.
A.
Illicit discharges. No person shall dump, discharge, cause or allow
to be discharged any pollutant or non-stormwater discharge into the
MS4, into a watercourse, or into the waters of the commonwealth.
B.
Illicit connections. No person shall construct, use, allow, maintain
or continue any illicit connection to the MS4, regardless of whether
the connection was permissible under applicable law, regulation or
custom at the time of connection; provided that any person who has
an illicit connection validly permitted prior to the effective date
of this article shall have 60 days to remove said connection or obtain
a permit for said connection.
C.
Obstruction of MS4. No person shall obstruct or interfere with the
normal flow of stormwater into or out of the MS4 without prior written
approval from the Department.
A.
Discharge or flow resulting from fire-fighting activities.
B.
The following non-stormwater discharges or flows are exempt from
the prohibition of non-stormwater, provided that the source is not
a significant contributor of a pollutant to the MS4:
(1)
Water line flushing;
(2)
Flow from potable water sources;
(3)
Springs;
(4)
Natural flow from riparian habitats and wetlands;
(5)
Diverted stream flow;
(6)
Rising groundwater;
(7)
Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration as defined in 40 CFR 35.2005(20),
or uncontaminated pumped groundwater;
(8)
Water from exterior foundation drains, footing drains (not including
active groundwater dewatering systems), crawl space pumps, or air
conditioning condensation;
(9)
Discharge from landscape irrigation or lawn watering;
(10)
Water from individual residential car washing or water from
car washing conducted by a nonprofit or charitable organization as
part of a fund-raising activity on behalf of said organization;
(11)
Discharge from dechlorinated swimming pool water (less than
one ppm chlorine), provided the water is allowed to stand for one
week prior to draining and the pool is drained in such a way as not
to cause a nuisance;
(12)
Discharge from street sweeping;
(13)
Dye testing, provided verbal notification is given to the Department
prior to the time of the test;
(14)
Non-stormwater discharge permitted under an NPDES permit or
a surface water discharge permit, waiver, or waste discharge order
administered under the authority of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency or the Department of Environmental Protection, provided
that the discharge is in full compliance with the requirements of
the permit, waiver, or order and applicable laws and regulations;
and
(15)
A discharge for which advanced written approval is received
from the Department.
A.
The Department may suspend or terminate MS4 access to any person
or property without prior written notice when such action is determined
to be reasonably necessary to stop an actual or threatened illegal
discharge that presents, or may present, imminent risk of harm to
the public health, safety, welfare or to the environment. The person
or property owner who has had MS4 access suspended or terminated may,
within 30 days of notice of the action to suspend or terminate, request
a hearing before the Director of the Department of Public Works appealing
the action. Written notice of the suspension or termination shall
be served on the person or the property owner as soon as practical,
but no later than seven days after the suspension or termination.
In the event any person fails to comply with an emergency suspension
or termination order, the authorized enforcement agency may take all
reasonable steps to prevent or minimize harm to the public health,
safety, welfare or to the environment.
B.
Any person discharging to the MS4 system in violation of this article
may have his/her access to the MS4 suspended or terminated, after
a hearing, if such suspension or termination would abate or reduce
a violation of this article. The Department shall notify the alleged
violator of the hearing regarding the proposed termination or suspension
of MS4 access by written notice, mailed to the violator not less than
10 calendar days prior to the scheduled hearing date. Said notice
shall contain a summary of the reason(s) for the proposed suspension
or termination and the effective date of said suspension or termination.
Notwithstanding other requirements of local, state or federal
law, as soon as a person responsible for a facility or operation,
or responsible for emergency response for a facility or operation,
has information of or suspects a release of materials at that facility
or operation resulting in or which may result in discharge of pollutants
to the MS4 or waters of the commonwealth, the person shall take all
necessary steps to ensure containment and cleanup of the release.
In the event of a release of oil or hazardous materials, the person
shall immediately notify the municipal Fire and Police Departments
and the Department. In the event of a release of nonhazardous material,
the reporting person shall notify the authorized enforcement agency
no later than the next business day. The reporting person shall provide
to the authorized enforcement agency written confirmation of all telephone,
facsimile or in-person notifications within three business days thereafter.
If the discharge of prohibited materials is from a commercial or industrial
facility, the facility owner or operator shall retain on-site a written
record of the discharge and the actions taken to prevent its recurrence.
Such records shall be retained for at least three years. Any unpaid
EEC, after 30 days, shall be lien on all property in Town owned by
the violator and shall be subject to the municipal charges lien provisions
of the general ordinances.[1]
A.
The Department, or an authorized agent of the Department, shall enforce
this article, as well as regulations, orders, violation notices, and
enforcement orders, and may pursue all civil and criminal remedies
for such violations.
B.
Civil relief. If a person violates the provisions of this article,
or any regulation, permit, notice, or order issued thereunder, the
Department may seek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction
restraining the person from activities which would create further
violations or compelling the person to perform abatement or remediation
of the violation. Any unpaid EEC, after 30 days, shall be a lien on
all property in Town owned by the violator, and shall be subject to
collection pursuant to the municipal charges lien provisions of the
general ordinances.[1]
C.
Orders. The Department, or an authorized agent, may issue a written
order to enforce the provisions of this article, or the regulations
thereunder, which may include:
D.
If the enforcing person determines that abatement or remediation
of contamination is required, the order shall set forth a deadline
by which such abatement or remediation must be completed. Said order
shall further advise that, should the violator fail to abate or perform
remediation within the specified deadline, the Town may, at its option,
undertake such work, and EEC shall be charged to the violator,
E.
Within 30 clays after completing all measures necessary to abate
the violation or to perform remediation, the violator and the property
owner will be notified of the EEC incurred by the Town, including
administrative costs. The violator may file a written protest, objecting
to the amount or basis of costs with the Department within 30 days
of receipt of the notification of the costs incurred. If the amount
due is not received by the expiration of the time in which to file
a protest or within 30 days following a decision of the Department
affirming or reducing the costs, the EEC shall become a special assessment
against the property owner and shall constitute a lien on the owner's
property for the amount of said costs. Interest shall begin to accrue
on any unpaid costs at the statutory rate provided in MGL c. 59, § 57
after the 31st day at which the costs first become due.
F.
Criminal penalty. Any person who violates any provision of this article,
regulation, order or permit issued thereunder shall be punished by
a fine of not more than $1,000. Each day or part hereof that such
violation occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offense.
G.
Noncriminal disposition. As an alternative to criminal prosecution, the Town may elect, in addition to civil relief, to utilize the noncriminal disposition procedure set forth in MGL c. 40, § 21D and as outlined in Chapter 1 Article II, of the General Ordinances of the Town of West Springfield to enforce this article, and any EEC shall be a lien under the municipal charges lien provisions of the general ordinances.[2] The use of the noncriminal procedure shall not limit the
ability or authority to seek criminal penalties in addition to any
other enforcement method authorized in this article.
H.
Entry to perform duties under this article. To the extent permitted
by state law and by this article, or if authorized by the owner or
other party in control of the property, the Department or its agents,
officers, and employees may enter upon privately owned property for
the purpose of performing their duties under this article and regulations
and may make or cause to be made such examinations, surveys or sampling
as the Department deems reasonably necessary.
I.
Appeals. The decisions or orders of the Department shall be final.
J.
Remedies not exclusive. The remedies listed in this article are not
exclusive of any other remedies available under any applicable federal,
state or local law.
The provisions of this article are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, paragraph, sentence, or clause 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.
Property owners shall have 60 days from the effective date of
this article to comply with its provisions, provided good cause is
shown for the failure to comply with the article during that period.
