The purpose of this article is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of Mansfield through the regulation
of nonstormwater 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 storm drainage system in order to comply with requirements
of the National Pollutants Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit
process. The objectives of this article are to:
A. Regulate the contribution of pollutants to the storm drainage system
through stormwater discharges by any user.
B. Prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the storm drainage
system.
C. Establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance
and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this
article.
For the purposes of this article, the following shall mean:
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPS)
Schedules of activities, prohibition 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 subject to NPDES construction permits. NPDES stormwater
phase II permits are currently required for 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.
FACILITY
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
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.
HEARING OFFICER
The person designated from time to time by the Town Manager to hear appeals in accordance with §
159-59 herein.
ILLEGAL DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in §
159-51 of this article.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
Either of the following:
A.
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 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 the Town;
B.
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 the Town Manager.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14), as it may be amended from time to time.
PERSON
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.
POLLUTANT
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, ordinances, 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 construction activities; and noxious
or offensive matter of any kind.
STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM
The municipally 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.
STORMWATER
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from
such precipitation.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN
A document that 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.
TOWN MANAGER
The Mansfield Town Manager or his/her authorized designee.
WASTEWATER
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
This includes but is not limited to lakes, ponds, rivers, streams
and any other surface water defined as a watercourse by the Town's
inland wetland regulations.
This article shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by the Town Manager.
The Town Manager shall administer, implement, and enforce the
provisions of this article. The Town Manager may delegate his/her
powers and duties under this article to an authorized designee.
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
nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will
be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
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 Town Manager prior to the allowing of
discharges to the storm drainage system.
The Town Manager 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
drainage system, or waters of the United States. The owner or operator
of a commercial or industrial establishment shall provide, at their
own expense, reasonable protection from accidental discharge of prohibited
materials or other wastes into the storm drainage system or watercourses
through the use of these structural and nonstructural BMPs. Further,
any person responsible for a property or facility 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 storm drainage
system as directed by the Town Manager. Compliance with all terms
and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of
stormwater associated with industrial or construction 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 (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 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 are resulting or may result
in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the
storm drainage 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 Town Manager in person or by phone, electronic mail 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 Town Manager 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.
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 Manager 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 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.
Any person that has violated or continues to violate this article
shall be liable to criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the
law.
The Town Manager may recover all attorneys fees, court costs,
and other expenses associated with enforcement of this article, including
sampling and monitoring expenses.
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 Town Manager to seek cumulative
remedies.
This article shall be in full force and effect 21 days after
publication. All prior ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict
with this article are hereby repealed.