[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of West
Hartford 6-12-2018. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Sewers — See Ch. 147.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of West Hartford through
the regulation of nonstormwater 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. The objectives of this
chapter are:
A.
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate
storm sewer system (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user;
B.
To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the municipal separate
storm sewer system; and
C.
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance,
and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this
chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Employees or designees of the director of the municipal agency
designated to enforce this chapter.
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 system.
BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures and practices
to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal,
or drainage from raw material storage.
The federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.) and any subsequent amendments thereto.
Activities subject to NPDES construction permits. Currently
these include construction projects resulting in land disturbance
of one acre or more. Such activities include but are not limited to
clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating and demolition.
Any materials including any substance, waste or combination
thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration of 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 nonstormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in § 148-8 of this chapter.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
An illicit connection is defined as 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 nonstormwater discharge
including sewage, process wastewater and wash water to enter 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 any drain or conveyance connected
from a commercial or industrial land use to the storm drain system
which has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records
and approved by an authorized enforcement.
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR, § 122.26(b)(14).
A permit issued by EPA (or by a state 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 area-wide basis.
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 as either
the owner or as the owner's agent.
Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants
may include, but are not limited to paints, varnishes and solvents;
oils and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes
and yard waste, 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;
hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens;
dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; waste and residues
that result from constructing activities; and noxious or offensive
matter of any kind.
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether
improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
A publically owned facility 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 waters to the maximum extent
practicable.
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
This chapter shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The Director of the Town of West Hartford's Department
of Community Development (hereinafter "Community Development Department")
shall administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Any powers granted or duties imposed upon him or her by this chapter
may be delegated in writing by the Director to persons or entities
acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the Town,
including the Director of the West Hartford/Bloomfield Health District.
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 applications of this chapter.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this
chapter are hereby repealed.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
chapter are minimum standards; therefore this chapter does not intend
or 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.
(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. The commencement, conduct or continuance of
any illegal discharge to the storm drain system is prohibited except
as described as follows:
(2)
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 flow, swimming pools (if dechlorinated,
typically less than one PPM chlorine), firefighting activities, and
any other water source not containing pollutants;
(3)
Discharges specified in writing by the authorized enforcement agency
as being necessary to protect public health and safety;
(4)
Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal notification
to the authorized enforcement agency prior to the time of the test;
or
(5)
The prohibition shall not apply to any nonstormwater 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 provide 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 limitations, 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
Community Development Department 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 authorized enforcement agency 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. Any person
discharging to the MS4 in violation of this chapter may have their
MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate or reduce an
illicit discharge. The authorized enforcement agency will notify a
violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator
may petition the authorized enforcement agency for a reconsideration
and hearing.
C.
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access to
premises terminated pursuant to this section without the prior approval
of the authorized enforcement agency.
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 Community Development Department prior
to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
A.
Applicability. This section applies to all facilities that have stormwater
discharges associated with industrial, commercial, and construction
activities.
B.
Access to facilities.
(1)
The Community Development Department 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 which require proper
identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger
shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives
of the authorized enforcement agency.
(2)
Facility operators shall allow the Community Development Department
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 Community Development Department shall have the right to set
up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary in the
opinion of the authorized enforcement agency to conduct monitoring
and/or sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge.
(4)
The Community Development Department 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 obstructions 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 Community Development
Department and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access
shall be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the Community Development Department
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 authorized enforcement
agency reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose
of conduction any activity authorized or required by this chapter.
(7)
If the Community Development Department 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, 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 authorized enforcement agency may seek issuance of a search
warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
The Community Development Department will adopt requirements
identifying best management practices (BMP) 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 United States.
The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment,
including those under construction, shall provide, at their 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. The BMPs shall be
part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPP) 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 watersource, 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 are resulting or may result
in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the
storm drain system, or water of the United States, 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 authorized enforcement agency 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 address to the Community
Development Department 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. Whenever the Community Development Department
finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a
requirement of this chapter, the authorized enforcement agency may
order compliance by written notice of violation to the responsible
person. Such notice may require without limitation:
(1)
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(2)
The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(3)
That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease and
desist;
(4)
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution or contamination
hazards and the restoration of affected property;
(5)
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs;
and/or
(6)
The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
B.
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 government
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 authorized enforcement agency. The notice of appeal must be
received within 30 days from the notice of violation. Hearing on the
appeal before the appropriate authority or his/her designee shall
take place within 15 days from the receipt of the notice of appeal.
The decision of the municipal authority or their designee shall be
final.
If the violation has not been corrected pursuant to the requirements
set forth in the violation or in the event of an appeal within 30
days of the decision of the municipal authority upholding the decision
of the authorized enforcement agency, then representatives of the
authorized enforcement agency 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 30 days. If the amount
due is not paid within a timely manner as determined by the decision
of the municipal authority 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 of the property for the amount
of the assessment. Any person violating any of the provisions of this
article shall become liable to the Town by reason of such violation.
The liability shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments. Interest
shall be assessed on the balance beginning on the first day following
discovery of the violation.
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 the
ordinance, the authorized enforcement agency 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. The authorized enforcement
agency may recover all attorney's fees, court costs and other
expenses associated with enforcement of this chapter, including sampling
and monitoring expenses.
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 be taken.
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 authorized enforcement
agency to seek cumulative remedies.
