[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Wolcott
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-17-2018 by Ord. No. 97]
A.
The purpose of this article is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of Wolcott 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 article 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 article are:
(1)
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the MS4 by stormwater
discharges by any user.
(2)
To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the MS4.
(3)
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance,
monitoring, and enforcement procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this article.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Employees or designees of the director of the municipal agency
designated to enforce this article.
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 federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
Activities subject to NPDES construction permits. 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 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 § 311-8 of this article.
Either of the following:
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
that allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system,
including but not limited to any conveyances that 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 an authorized enforcement agency; 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 an authorized enforcement
agency.
Activities subject to NPDES industrial stormwater permits
as defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
The system of conveyances (including sidewalks, roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains) owned and operated by
the Town of Wolcott and designed or used for collecting or conveying
stormwater, and that is not used for collecting or conveying sewage.
A permit issued by the 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;
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.
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
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 waters to the maximum extent
practicable.
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
This article shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of Wolcott.
The Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of Wolcott, herein
referred to as "P&Z, Wolcott," shall administer, implement, and
enforce the provisions of this article. Any powers granted or duties
imposed upon the P&Z, Wolcott may be delegated in writing by the
Chairman, or his designee, of the P&Z, Wolcott to persons or entities
acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the agency.
This article is not intended to modify or repeal any other ordinance,
rule, regulation, or other provision of law. The requirements of this
article are in addition to the requirements of any other ordinance,
rule, regulation, or other provision of law, and where any provision
of this article 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.
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.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
article are minimum standards; therefore, this article does not intend
or imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will
be no contamination, pollution, or unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
A.
Prohibition of illegal discharges.
(1)
No person shall throw, drain, or otherwise discharge, cause, or allow
others under its control to throw, drain, or otherwise discharge into
the MS4 any pollutants or waters containing any pollutants, 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 article: water line flushing, landscape irrigation,
diverted stream flows, rising groundwaters, uncontaminated groundwater
infiltration, uncontaminated pumped groundwater, discharges from potable
water sources, foundation drains, air-conditioning condensation, irrigation
water, springs, water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, lawn
watering, individual residential car washing, flows from riparian
habitats and wetlands, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, and
street wash water.
(b)
Discharges or flow from firefighting, and other discharges specified
in writing by the P&Z, Wolcott as being necessary to protect public
health and safety.
(c)
Discharges associated with dye testing; however, this activity
requires a verbal notification to the P&Z, Wolcott 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
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 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.
(3)
The local government may evaluate and remove any of the above exemptions
if it is determined that they are causing an adverse impact.
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 article if the
person connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such
a connection to continue.
(4)
Improper connections in violation of this article must be disconnected
and redirected, if necessary, to an approved on-site wastewater management
system or the sanitary sewer system upon approval of the P&Z,
Wolcott.
(5)
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 P&Z, Wolcott, 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 determined, 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 P&Z, Wolcott.
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.
A.
Submission of notice of intent (NOI) to the Town of Wolcott.
(1)
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 P&Z, Wolcott prior to the allowing of discharges
to the MS4.
(2)
The operator of a facility, including construction sites, required
to have an NPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial
activity shall submit a copy of the NOI to the P&Z, Wolcott at
the same time the operator submits the original NOI to the EPA, as
applicable.
(3)
The copy of the notice of intent may be delivered to the P&Z,
Wolcott either in person or by mailing it to:
|
Notice of Intent to Discharge Stormwater
|
|
P&Z Commission
Town of Wolcott
10 Kenea Avenue
Wolcott, CT 06716
|
(4)
A person commits an offense if the person operates a facility that
is discharging stormwater associated with industrial activity without
having submitted a copy of the notice of intent to do so to the P&Z,
Wolcott.
A.
Right of entry for inspection and sampling. The P&Z, Wolcott
shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation
under this article as often as may be necessary to determine compliance
with this article.
(1)
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 P&Z, Wolcott.
(2)
Facility operators shall allow the P&Z, Wolcott 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 P&Z, Wolcott shall have the right to set up on any permitted
facility such devices as are necessary in the opinion of the P&Z,
Wolcott to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's
stormwater discharge.
(4)
The P&Z, Wolcott 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 P&Z, Wolcott
and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall
be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the P&Z, Wolcott access to a
permitted facility is a violation of a stormwater discharge permit
and of this article. A person who is the operator of a facility with
an NPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial
activity commits an offense if the person denies the P&Z, Wolcott
reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting
any activity authorized or required by this article.
B.
Search warrants. If the P&Z, Wolcott has been refused access
to any part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and
it is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may
be a violation of this article, 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 article or any order issued
hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety, and welfare
of the community, then the P&Z, Wolcott may seek issuance of a
search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
The P&Z, Wolcott 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 United States. The owner
or operator of such activity, operation, or facility 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 that
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 MS4. 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
management plan (SWMP) as necessary for compliance with requirements
of the NPDES permit.
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 waters 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 P&Z, Wolcott 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 P&Z, Wolcott
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.
Failure to provide notification of a release as provided above is
a violation of this article.
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 article. Any person
who has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this article
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 P&Z, Wolcott 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 P&Z, Wolcott is authorized to seek costs of the abatement as outlined in § 311-17.
B.
Warning notice. When the P&Z, Wolcott finds that any person has
violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article,
or any order issued hereunder, the P&Z, Wolcott may serve upon
that person a written warning notice specifying the particular violation
believed to have occurred and requesting the discharger to immediately
investigate the matter and to seek a resolution whereby any offending
discharge will cease. Investigation and/or resolution of the matter
in response to the warning notice in no way relieves the alleged violator
of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt
of the warning notice. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the
authority of the P&Z, Wolcott to take any action, including emergency
action or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a warning
notice.
C.
Notice of violation. Whenever the P&Z, Wolcott finds that a person
has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this
article, the P&Z, Wolcott may order compliance by written notice
of violation to the responsible person.
(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 article 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;
(f)
A statement that the determination of violation may be appealed
to the P&Z, Wolcott by filing a written notice of appeal within
10 days of service of the notice of violation; and
(g)
A statement specifying that should the violator fail to restore
compliance within the established time schedule, the work will be
done by a designated governmental agency or a contractor and the expense
thereof shall be charged to the violator.
(2)
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;
(e)
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs;
and
(f)
The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
D.
Compensatory action. In lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties,
and remedies authorized by this article, the P&Z, Wolcott may
impose upon a violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm
drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, creek cleanup,
etc.
E.
Suspension of MS4 access.
(1)
Emergency cease-and-desist orders.
(a)
When the P&Z, Wolcott finds that any person has violated,
or continues to violate, any provision of this article, or any order
issued hereunder, or that the person's past violations are likely
to recur, and that the person's violation(s) has (have) caused
or contributed to an actual or threatened discharge to the MS4 or
waters of the United States which reasonably appears to present an
imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons
or to the environment, the P&Z, Wolcott may issue an order to
the violator directing it immediately to cease and desist all such
violations and directing the violator to:
(b)
Any person notified of an emergency order directed to it under
this subsection shall immediately comply and stop or eliminate its
endangering discharge. In the event of a discharger's failure
to immediately comply voluntarily with the emergency order, the P&Z,
Wolcott may take such steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize
harm to the MS4 or waters of the United States, and/or endangerment
to persons or to the environment, including immediate termination
of a facility's water supply, sewer connection, or other municipal
utility services. The P&Z, Wolcott may allow the person to recommence
its discharge when it has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the
P&Z, Wolcott that the period of endangerment has passed, unless
further termination proceedings are initiated against the discharger
under this article. A person who is responsible, in whole or in part,
for any discharge presenting imminent endangerment shall submit a
detailed written statement, describing the causes of the harmful discharge
and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the P&Z,
Wolcott within 10 days of receipt of the emergency order. Issuance
of an emergency cease-and-desist order shall not be a bar against,
or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the violator.
(2)
Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The
P&Z, Wolcott 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
P&Z, Wolcott 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.
(3)
Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge.
(a)
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this article
may have their MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate
or reduce an illicit discharge. The P&Z, Wolcott will notify a
violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator
may petition the P&Z, Wolcott for a reconsideration and hearing.
(b)
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access
to premises terminated pursuant to this section, without the prior
approval of the P&Z, Wolcott.
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 P&Z, Wolcott shall deem appropriate,
after the P&Z, Wolcott has taken one or more of the actions described
above, the P&Z, Wolcott may impose a penalty not to exceed $100
(depending on the severity of the violation) for each day the violation
remains unremedied after receipt of the notice of violation.
G.
Criminal prosecution. For the intentional and flagrant violations
of this article, the P&Z may refer the violation to the United
States EPA for enforcement penalties under Sections 309 and 311 of
the Clean Water Act.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination
of the P&Z, Wolcott. The notice of appeal must be received within
10 days from the date of the notice of violation. Hearing on the appeal
before the appropriate authority or his/her designee shall take place
within no less than 15 days and no more than 30 days from the date
of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the municipal
authority or its designee shall be final.
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 30 days of the decision of the municipal authority upholding
the decision of the P&Z, Wolcott, then representatives of the
P&Z, Wolcott 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.
A.
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 on the property for the amount
of the assessment.
B.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall
become liable to the Town of Wolcott by reason of such violation.
The liability shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments. Interest
at the rate of 8% per annum shall be assessed on the balance beginning
on the 30th day following discovery of the violation.
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 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.
The remedies listed in 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 P&Z, Wolcott to seek cumulative
remedies.
B.
The P&Z, Wolcott may recover all attorney's fees, court
costs and other expenses associated with enforcement of this article,
including sampling and monitoring expenses.
This article shall be in full force and effect 21 days after
its final passage and adoption. All prior ordinances and parts of
ordinances in conflict with this article are hereby repealed.
