The purpose of this article is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of the city 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 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 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.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section,
except when the context otherwise requires. Whenever any words and
phrases used herein are not defined herein but are defined in the
federal and state laws regulating illicit discharge, any such definition
therein shall be deemed to apply to such words and phrases used herein,
except when the context otherwise requires.
When the term “day” is used herein, unless specifically
defined otherwise, the term shall mean any day of the week, including
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, with no days being excepted.
Employees of any of the city’s departments, authorized
to act on the city’s behalf by the director.
The disturbance of soils associated with clearing, grading,
grubbing, demolition or excavating activities or other construction
activities.
Any of the following, by way of illustration and not limitation:
stream, channel, drainageway, drainage/dry well, ephemeral stream,
floodplain, karst feature, storm drainage system, drainage system
appurtenance, waterbody, watercourse or waterway.
The city manager, or the city employee(s) designated by the
city manager, responsible for enforcement of this article.
Any addition or introduction of any pollutant, stormwater,
or any other substance whatsoever into the municipal separate storm
sewer system (MS4) or conveyances.
Any person who causes, allows, permits, or is otherwise responsible
for a discharge, including, without limitation, any operator of a
construction site or industrial facility.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the regional
office thereof, any federal department, agency, or commission that
may succeed to the authority of EPA, and any duly authorized official
of EPA or such successor agency.
Any substance listed in the appendices to 40 CFR 355, emergency
planning and notification.
Any building, structure, installation, or activity from which
there is or may be a discharge of a pollutant.
The fire department serving the city and any other fire departments
with which the fire department serving the city has mutual assistance
or mutual aid agreements.
Any water, and any substances or materials contained therein,
used by any person other than the fire department to control or extinguish
a fire.
Putrescible animal and vegetable waste materials from the
handling, preparation, cooking, or consumption of food, including
waste materials from markets, storage facilities, and the handling
and sale of produce and other food products.
The amount of any substance due to volume or concentration
that will cause pollution.
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. This term shall include
household hazardous wastes as classified under 40 CFR 261, hazardous
substances as listed in table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302, and hazardous wastes
identified or listed by the EPA pursuant to 40 CFR 261.
Any connection to the MS4 or conveyances that allows for
an illicit discharge.
Any direct or indirect discharge of pollutant to the MS4
or conveyances, except as specifically exempted in this article.
Any activity at an industrial facility described by the TPDES
multi-sector general permit, TXR050000, or by any other TCEQ or TPDES
permit including any of the following, by way of illustration and
not of limitation: manufacturing, processing, materials storage, and
waste materials disposal.
Any waterborne liquid or solid substance that results from
any process of industry, manufacturing, mining, production, trade
or business.
Any vehicle crankcase oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid,
brake fluid, differential lubricant, gasoline, diesel fuel, gasoline/alcohol
blend, and any other fluid used in a motor vehicle.
The storm drainage system operated and maintained by the
city which is comprised of the following: the system of conveyances
(including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catchbasins,
curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) owned
and operated by the city and designed or used for collecting or conveying
stormwater, and which is not used for collecting or conveying sewage.
Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed
entirely of stormwater runoff.
The notice of intent that is required by either the industrial
general permit or the construction general permit.
Any kind of oil in any form, including but not limited to
petroleum, fuel oil, crude oil or any fraction thereof which is liquid
at standard conditions of temperature and pressure, sludge, oil refuse,
and oil mixed with waste. This term shall include used oil that has
become unsuitable for its original purpose because of impurities or
the loss of original properties but that may be suitable for further
use and is recyclable in compliance with state and federal law.
The person or persons who, either individually or taken together,
meet the following two criteria:
Has operational control over the facility specifications (including
the ability to make modifications in specifications); and
Has the day-to-day operational control over those activities
at the facility necessary to ensure compliance with pollution prevention
requirements and any permit conditions.
The person who owns a facility or part of a facility.
Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company,
corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental
entity, or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives,
agents, lessees, or assigns. This term shall also include all federal,
state, and local governmental entities.
Any one or a combination of aboveground or underground storage
tanks or connecting underground pipes that contain petroleum products
that are obtained from distilling and processing crude oil and that
are capable of being used as a fuel.
A substance, the entrance of which causes or contributes
to a violation of applicable water quality standards as defined by
the Clean Water Act. This term includes but is not limited to paints,
varnishes, solvents, oil and other automotive fluids, yard wastes,
trash, sediments, household chemicals, detergents, pesticides, herbicides,
fertilizers, hazardous materials, sewage, animal wastes, dredged spoil,
solid waste, incinerator residue, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical waste, biological materials, radioactive materials, wrecked
or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal,
and agricultural waste discharged into water, and other materials
exposed to stormwater as a result of construction activity.
The alteration of the physical, thermal, chemical, or biological
quality of, or the contamination of, any water in the state that renders
the water harmful, detrimental, or injurious to humans, animal life,
vegetation, or property, or to the public health, safety, or welfare,
or impairs the usefulness or the public enjoyment of the water for
any lawful or reasonable purpose.
Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying,
discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing
into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or conveyances.
The system of pipes, conduits, and other conveyances which
carry industrial waste and domestic sewage from residential dwellings,
commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and
institutions, whether treated or untreated, to the city sewage treatment
plant (and to which stormwater, surface water, and groundwater are
not intentionally admitted).
Any retail establishment engaged in the business of selling
fuel for motor vehicles that is dispensed from stationary storage
tanks.
The land or water area where any facility or activity is
physically located or conducted, including adjacent land used in connection
with the facility or activity.
Any garbage, trash, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment
plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility,
and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid,
or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, municipal,
commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community
and institutional activities.
Any surface flow, stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and
surface runoff and drainage consisting entirely of water from any
form of natural precipitation.
A plan required by either the construction general permit
or the industrial general permit and which describes and ensures the
implementation of practices that are to be used to reduce the pollutants
in stormwater discharges associated with construction or other industrial
activity at the facility.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or any duly
authorized official of said agency.
The program delegated to the State of Texas by EPA pursuant
to 33 USC 1342(b).
Nonputrescible solid waste, excluding ashes, that consists
of:
Combustible waste materials, including paper, rags, cartons,
wood, excelsior, furniture, rubber, plastics, yard trimmings, leaves,
and similar materials; and
Noncombustible waste materials, including glass, crockery, tin
cans, aluminum cans, metal objects, and similar materials that do
not burn at ordinary incinerator temperatures (1,600 to 1,800 degrees
Fahrenheit).
Not containing a harmful quantity of any substance.
Any water containing pollutants from the act of cleaning
parking lots, vehicles, or building exteriors.
Human excrement, gray water (from home clothes washing, bathing,
showering, dishwashing, and food preparation), other wastewater that
is free from industrial waste including from household drains, and
waterborne waste normally discharged from the sanitary conveniences
of dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels), office buildings,
factories, and institutions.
The designation of a body or segment of surface water in
the state for desirable uses and the narrative and numerical criteria
deemed by the state to be necessary to protect those uses, as specified
in 31 Tex. Admin. Code, chapter 307.
An area that is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically
adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally
include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
Leaves, grass clippings, yard and garden debris, and brush
that results from landscaping maintenance and land-clearing operations.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
This article shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by the city.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
The standards set forth in this article are minimum standards;
therefore, no inference is intended that compliance with this article
will ensure that there will be no contamination, pollution, or unauthorized
discharge of pollutants. Additionally, no inference is intended that
compliance with this article will serve to extend any deadline established
by a state or federal standard or requirement, nor is any inference
intended that compliance with this article will relieve a discharger
of liability for any violation or continuing violation.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity TPDES
stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of such
permit or any other state or federal regulations. Prior to the city
allowing discharges to the MS4 or conveyances, the city may require
proof of such compliance in a form acceptable to the city.
(b)
Every person owning property through which a conveyance passes, or
such person’s lessee, shall have the obligation to keep and
maintain that part of the conveyance within the property free of trash,
debris, excessive vegetation, other pollutants and other obstacles
that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow
of water through the conveyance. The owner or lessee shall maintain
existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a conveyance,
so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function,
or physical integrity of the conveyance.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
General prohibition.
No person within the city limits
and extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city shall introduce, cause
to be introduced, discharge, or cause to be discharged into the municipal
separate storm sewer system (MS4) or any conveyances any discharge
that is not composed entirely of stormwater. Such prohibition includes
commencement of any illicit discharge into the MS4 or any conveyances,
and continuation of any illicit discharge into the MS4 or any conveyances.
(b)
Affirmative defenses.
It is an affirmative defense to any enforcement action for violation of subsection (a) of this section that the discharge was composed entirely of one or more of the following categories of discharges:
(1)
A discharge specified in writing by the city as being necessary to
protect public health and safety.
(2)
A discharge associated with dye testing, however this activity requires
a verbal notification to the director prior to the time of the test.
(3)
A discharge authorized by a TPDES permit, waiver, or waste discharge
order issued to the discharger and administered under authority of
the TCEQ or USEPA, provided that the discharger is in full compliance
with all requirements of the permit, waiver, order, and other applicable
laws and regulations.
(4)
A discharge resulting from firefighting/fire suppression activities.
(5)
A discharge of fire protection water from standard municipal operations
and training that does not contain oil or hazardous substances or
materials that are required to be contained and treated prior to discharge,
in which case treatment adequate to remove harmful quantities of pollutants
must have occurred prior to discharge.
(6)
A discharge resulting from the standard municipal operations of street
sweeping and street washing activities, which discharge is not contaminated
with any soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent, emulsifier, dispersant,
or any other harmful cleaning substance.
(7)
A discharge from water line flushing, but not including a discharge
from water line disinfection by superchlorination or other means unless
the total residual chlorine (TRC) has been reduced to less than one
ppm (part per million) and it contains no harmful quantity of chlorine
or any other chemical used in line disinfection.
(8)
A discharge from a potable water source not containing any harmful
quantity of a substance or material from the cleaning or draining
of a storage tank or other container.
(9)
A discharge from lawn watering or landscape irrigation.
(10)
A discharge from individual residential carwashing.
(11)
A discharge from air-conditioning condensation that is unmixed with
water from a cooling tower, emissions scrubber, emissions filter,
or any other source of pollutant.
(12)
Swimming pool water that has been dechlorinated so that total residual
chlorine (TRC) is less than one ppm (part per million) and that contains
no harmful quantity of chlorine, muriatic acid or other chemical used
in the treatment or disinfection of the swimming pool water or in
pool cleaning.
(13)
Stormwater runoff from a roof that is not contaminated by any runoff
or discharge from an emissions scrubber or filter or any other source
of pollutant.
(14)
A discharge or flow from a diverted stream flow or natural spring.
(15)
A discharge or flow from uncontaminated pumped groundwater, rising
groundwater, or groundwater infiltration to storm drains.
(16)
Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration, as defined by 40 CFR 35.2005(20),
to the MS4.
(17)
Uncontaminated discharge from a foundation or footing drain (excluding
active groundwater dewatering systems), crawl space pump, or sump
pump.
(c)
No affirmative defense shall be available under this article if the
discharge in question has been previously determined by the city to
be a source of a pollutant to the MS4 or any conveyances, and written
notice of such determination has been provided to the discharger.
The city’s determination that a discharge is a source of a pollutant
may be reviewed in any administrative or judicial enforcement proceeding.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
The specific prohibitions and requirements in this section are not inclusive of all the discharges prohibited by the general prohibition in section 24.07.006(a).
(b)
No person shall introduce, cause to be introduced, discharge, or
cause to be discharged into the MS4 or conveyances any discharge that
causes or contributes to causing the city to violate a water quality
standard, the city’s TPDES permit, or any state-issued discharge
permit for discharges from its MS4.
(c)
No person shall dump, spill, leak, pump, pour, emit, empty, discharge,
leach, dispose, or otherwise introduce or cause, allow, or permit
to be introduced any of the following substances into the MS4 or conveyances:
(1)
Any motor oil, antifreeze, or any other motor vehicle fluid.
(2)
Any industrial waste.
(3)
Any hazardous material, including household hazardous waste, hazardous
substances, and hazardous waste.
(4)
Any wastewater or septic tank waste, grease trap waste, or grit trap
waste.
(5)
Any garbage, trash, or yard waste, specifically including but not
limited to pressure-treated wood, painted wood, painted wood pallets,
laminated wood, insulation, and particle board.
(6)
Any discharge from a carwash facility; from any vehicle washing,
cleaning, or maintenance at any new or used automobile or other vehicle
dealership, rental agency, body shop, repair shop, or maintenance
facility; or from any washing, cleaning, or maintenance of any vehicle,
including a truck, bus, or heavy equipment, by a business or public
entity that operates more than four such vehicles.
(7)
Any discharge from a mobile power washer or from the washing or other
cleaning of a building exterior that contains any soap, detergent,
degreaser, solvent, or any other harmful cleaning substance.
(8)
Any discharge from commercial floor, rug, or carpet cleaning.
(9)
Any discharge from the washdown or other cleaning of pavement that
contains any harmful quantity of soap, detergent, solvent, degreaser,
emulsifier, dispersant, or any other harmful cleaning substance; or
any discharge from the washdown or other cleaning of any pavement
where any spill, leak, or other release of oil, motor fuel, or other
petroleum or hazardous substance has occurred, unless all harmful
quantities of such released material have been previously removed.
(10)
Any effluent from a cooling tower, condenser, compressor, emissions
scrubber, emissions filter, or the blowdown from a boiler.
(11)
Any ready-mixed concrete, mortar, ceramic, or asphalt base material
or hydromulch material, or material from the cleaning of vehicles
or equipment containing, or used in transporting or applying, such
materials.
(12)
Any runoff or washdown water from concentrated animal feeding operations
as defined in 40 CFR 122.23 or discharges from concentrated aquatic
animal production facilities as defined in 40 CFR 122.24.
(13)
Any swimming pool, fountain, or spa water, including backwash water,
containing total residual chlorine (TRC) of one ppm (part per million)
or more or containing any harmful quantity of chlorine, muriatic acid
or other chemical used in the treatment or disinfection of the swimming
pool water or in pool cleaning.
(14)
Any discharge from water line disinfection by superchlorination or
other means if the total residual chlorine (TRC) is at one ppm (part
per million) or more or if it contains any harmful quantity of chlorine
or any other chemical used in line disinfection.
(15)
Any fire protection water containing oil or hazardous materials that
are required to be contained and treated prior to discharge, unless
treatment adequate to remove pollutants occurs prior to discharge.
This prohibition does not apply to discharges or flow from firefighting/fire
suppression activities.
(16)
Any contaminated runoff from a vehicle salvage yard or storage yard.
(17)
Any substance or material that will damage the MS4.
(18)
Any release from a petroleum storage tank (PST), or any leachate
or runoff from soil contaminated by a leaking PST, or any discharge
from the remediation of any such PST release, unless the discharge
satisfies all of the following criteria:
(19)
Any harmful quantity of sediment, silt, earth, soil, or other material
which is associated with clearing, grading, excavation or other such
construction activities, or which is associated with landfilling or
other placement or disposal of soil, rock, or other earth materials.
(20)
Any pavement washwater from a service station unless such washwater
has passed through a properly functioning and maintained grease, oil,
and sand separator before discharge into the MS4 or conveyances.
(21)
Any introduction of oil into the environment, specifically including
but not limited to oil applied to a road or land for dust suppression,
weed abatement, or other similar use; any introduction of oil commingled
or mixed with solid waste that is to be disposed of in a landfill;
any introduction of oil by direct disposal on land or in a landfill;
or any introduction of oil into the MS4 or conveyances, or into any
septic tank.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
The construction of, use of, maintenance of, or continued use
of a new or existing illicit connection to the MS4 or any conveyances
is prohibited. This prohibition expressly includes any illicit connection
made before passage of the ordinance codified in this article, regardless
of whether such connection was permissible under law or practices
applicable or prevailing at the time of connection. A person is deemed
to be in violation of this article if the person connects a line conveying
wastewater or industrial waste to the MS4 or any conveyances, or allows
such a connection to continue.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity TPDES
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 director prior to the allowing of discharges
to the MS4.
(b)
The operator of a facility, including construction sites, required
to have a TPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial
activity shall submit a copy of the notice of intent (NOI) to the
director at the same time the operator submits the original notice
of intent to the EPA and/or TCEQ as applicable.
(c)
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 director.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
The city 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 TPDES
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 TPDES permit.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
Right of entry; inspection and sampling.
City staff
shall have the right to enter any facility or site, including industrial
and construction facilities or sites, which are discharging to the
MS4 or any conveyances to determine if the discharger is complying
with all requirements of this article. Dischargers shall allow city
staff immediate access to all parts of the premises for the purposes
of inspection, sampling, records examination, and copying, and for
the performance of any additional inspections or duties. Dischargers
shall make available to city staff, upon request, any SWPPPs (stormwater
pollution prevention plans), modifications thereto, self-inspection
reports, monitoring records, compliance evaluations, notices of intent,
and any other records, reports, and other documents related to compliance
with this article and with any state or federal discharge permit.
(1)
Where a discharger has security measures in force which require proper
identification and clearance before entry onto its premises, the discharger
shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that,
upon presentation of suitable identification, city staff will be permitted
to enter without delay for the purposes of performing the city’s
responsibilities.
(2)
City staff shall have the right to set up on the discharger’s
property, or require installation on the discharger’s property,
of such devices as city staff deem necessary to conduct sampling and/or
metering of the discharger’s operations.
(3)
City staff may require any discharger to the MS4 or any conveyances
to conduct specified sampling, testing, analysis, and other monitoring
of its stormwater discharges at the discharger’s expense, and
may specify the frequency and parameters of any such required monitoring.
(4)
City staff may require the discharger to install monitoring equipment
as necessary at the discharger’s expense. 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 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 discharger at the written or verbal request of city staff and
shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be
borne by the discharger.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing city staff access to the discharger’s
premises shall be deemed a violation of this article.
(b)
Search warrant.
If city staff has been refused access
to any part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and
the city 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
of the city 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 city may seek issuance of a
search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
Discovery, containment and cleanup procedure.
Notwithstanding
other requirements of law, as soon as any discharger or operator of
a facility or operation, or person 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 an illicit
discharge, such person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the
discovery, containment and cleanup of such discharge.
(1)
Hazardous materials spill.
In the event of discharge
of hazardous materials, the discharger shall immediately notify emergency
response agencies. Once the immediate threat has been properly contained,
the discharger shall notify the city via the director.
(2)
Nonhazardous materials spill.
In the event of a release
of nonhazardous materials, the discharger shall notify the city, via
the director, in person or by telephone no later than the next business
day. Notifications in person or by telephone shall be confirmed by
written notice addressed and mailed to the director within three business
days of the telephone notice.
(b)
Record of discharge from commercial or industrial establishment.
If the discharge of prohibited materials emanates from a commercial
or industrial establishment, the owner or operator of such establishment
shall also retain on site a written record of the discharge and the
actions taken to prevent its recurrence. Such records shall be retained
for a minimum of three years.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
Warning notice.
When the city finds that any person
has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article,
or any order issued hereunder, the city may service 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
city to take any action, including emergency action or any other enforcement
action, without first issuing a warning notice.
(b)
Notice of violation.
When city staff believes that a
discharger has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of
this article, or any order issued hereunder, the director, or his
designee, may serve upon the alleged violator a written notice of
violation. Such notice shall contain the following:
(1)
The name and address of the alleged violator;
(2)
The address when available or a description of the building, structure
or land upon which the violation is occurring, or has occurred;
(3)
A statement specifying the nature of the violation;
(4)
A description of the remedial measures necessary to restore compliance
with this article and a time schedule for the completion of such remedial
action;
(5)
A statement of the penalty or penalties that shall or may be assessed
against the person to whom the notice of violation is directed;
(6)
A statement that the determination of violation may be appealed,
specifying the deadline and form of such appeal; and
(7)
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.
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Within ten days of mailing of such notice of violation, the
alleged violator shall submit to the director a written explanation
of the violation and a written plan for the satisfactory correction
and prevention of recurrence thereof, including specific required
actions. If the alleged violator denies that any violation occurred
and/or contends that no corrective action is necessary, a written
explanation of the basis of any such denial or contention shall be
submitted by the alleged violator to the director within seven days
of receipt of the notice of violation. Submission of an explanation
and/or plan shall in no way relieve the alleged violator of liability
for any violation occurring before or after receipt of the notice
of violation. Nothing herein shall limit the authority of the city
and the director to take any action, including emergency action or
any other enforcement action, in the absence of issuance of a notice
of violation.
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(c)
Voluntary consent order.
The city, via the director,
may enter into a voluntary consent order, an assurance of voluntary
compliance, or other similar agreement with any violator noncompliant
with any provision of this article, or any order issued hereunder.
Such document may include specific action to be taken by the violator
to correct noncompliance within a time period specified by the director.
Such agreement shall have the same force and effect as administrative
orders issued pursuant to this article, and same shall be judicially
enforceable.
(d)
Mandatory compliance order.
When city staff finds that
any discharger has violated, or continues to violate, any provision
of this article, or any order issued hereunder, the director may issue
a mandatory compliance order to the violator ordering any one or more
of the following:
(1)
Compliance within time limit.
Directing that the violator
come into compliance within a specified time limit. Such an order
also may contain other requirements to address noncompliance, including
additional self-monitoring and management practices designed to minimize
the amount of pollutants discharged to the MS4 or conveyances.
(2)
Remediation, abatement, and/or restoration.
Directing
that the violator (if the violation has adversely affected the MS4
or conveyances or any other aspect of the environment) undertake and
implement any appropriate action to remediate and/or abate any adverse
effects of the violation upon the MS4 or conveyances or any other
aspect of the environment, and/or to restore any part of the MS4 or
conveyances or any other aspect of the environment that has been harmed.
Such remedial, abatement, and restoration action may include but shall
not be limited to: monitoring, assessment, and evaluation of the adverse
effects and determination of the appropriate remedial, abatement,
and/or restoration action; confinement, removal, cleanup, treatment,
and disposal of any discharged or released pollutant or contamination;
prevention, minimization, and/or mitigation of any damage to the public
health, safety, welfare, or the environment that may result from the
violation; restoration or replacement of city property or natural
resources damaged by the violation. Such an order may direct that
the remediation, abatement, and/or restoration be accomplished on
a specified compliance schedule and/or be completed within a specified
period of time. Any expenses related to the remediation, abatement,
and/or restoration incurred by the city shall be fully reimbursed
by the person deemed responsible by the director. If the amount due
is not paid within a timely manner, as determined by decision of the
city, then the charges shall become a special assessment against the
property and shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount
of the assessment.
(3)
Emergency cease and desist.
Directing that the violator
immediately cease and desist from all violations (if the violations
have caused or contributed to an actual or threatened discharge to
the MS4 or any conveyances which reasonably appears to present an
imminent or substantial endangerment to the health, safety, or welfare
of persons or to the environment; or if past violations are likely
to recur). The emergency cease and desist order may also direct the
violator to:
(A)
Immediately comply with all chapter requirements; and
(B)
Take such appropriate preventive action as may be needed to properly
address a continuing or threatened violation, including immediately
halting operations and/or terminating the discharge.
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Any violator notified of an emergency cease and desist order
shall immediately comply and stop or eliminate the endangering discharge.
In the event of a violator’s failure to immediately comply voluntarily
with the emergency cease and desist order, the city and city staff
may take such steps as it/they deem necessary to prevent or minimize
harm to the MS4 or conveyances, and/or endangerment to persons or
to the environment. Any expenses related to the remediation, abatement,
and/or restoration incurred by the city shall be fully reimbursed
by the person deemed by the director to be responsible. If the amount
due is not paid within a timely manner, as determined by decision
of the city, then the charges shall become a special assessment against
the property and shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount
of the assessment.
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The city may allow the violator to recommence its discharge
when it has demonstrated to the satisfaction of city staff that the
period of endangerment has passed, unless further termination proceedings
are initiated against the violator under this article. A violator
that is responsible, in whole or in part, for any discharge presenting
imminent endangerment shall submit the following to the director within
five days of receipt of the emergency cease and desist order, a detailed
written statement, describing the causes of the harmful discharge
and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence. 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.
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(4)
Construction stop-work order regarding illicit discharge.
Whenever city staff finds that any operator of a construction site
has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article,
or any order issued hereunder, the director may order that a construction
stop-work order regarding illicit discharge be issued to the operator
or person responsible, posted at the construction site, and distributed
to all city departments and divisions whose decisions affect any activity
at such site. Unless express written exception is made by the city,
the construction stop-work order regarding illicit discharge shall
prohibit any further construction activity at the site and shall bar
any further inspection or approval by the city associated with a building
permit, grading permit, or any other city authorization necessary
to commence or continue construction or to assume occupancy at the
site. Issuance of a construction stop-work order regarding illicit
discharge shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking
any other action against the violator.
A mandatory compliance order may not extend the deadline for
compliance established by a state or federal standard or requirement,
nor shall a mandatory compliance order relieve the violator of liability
for any violation, including any continuing violation.
Issuance of a mandatory compliance order shall not be a bar
against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the
violator or any responsible party.
(e)
Disconnection from MS4.
(1)
Any discharger in violation of this article may have its/their MS4
connection terminated by city staff, if such disconnection would abate
or reduce an illicit discharge. The city has the right to require
the violator to disconnect from the MS4 at the violator’s expense,
or require the discharger to take corrective action to eliminate the
source of the illicit discharge. A discharger commits an offense if
it reinstates an MS4 connection previously terminated pursuant to
this article, without the prior written approval of the city.
(2)
Without any prior notice, city staff may terminate a discharger’s
MS4 connection when such action 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 any conveyances. If the discharger fails to comply
with any order issued in such an emergency, the city may take such
steps as it deems necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4
or any conveyances, and to minimize danger to persons.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
(a)
Any discharger subject to an order under section 24.07.013 may petition the director to reconsider the basis for the order within seven days of the affected person’s notice of issuance of such an order.
(b)
After the director has reviewed relevant documents and evidence,
he shall:
(1)
Grant the petition;
(2)
Deny the petition; or
(3)
Grant the petition in part and deny it in part.
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The director may modify the order as is appropriate based upon
all the documents and evidence. Further orders and directives as are
necessary and appropriate may be issued. The decision of the director
shall be final and shall be nonappealable.
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(c)
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 seven days of the decision of the municipal authority upholding
the decision of the director, then representatives of the city may
enter upon the subject’s 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.
(d)
Within seven 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 seven 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. Any person violating any of the provisions
of this article shall become liable to the city by reason of such
violation. Interest at the maximum rate permitted by law shall be
assessed on the balance beginning on the thirtieth (30th) day after
the assessment of the lien.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
of this article, or to fail to comply with any of the requirements
of this article. If a discharger has violated or continues to violate
the provisions of this article, the city may avail itself of any and
all civil remedies available to it, including petitioning the courts
for a preliminary or permanent injunction restraining the discharger
from activities which would create further violations or compelling
the discharger to perform abatement or remediation of the violation.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
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 therefore declared and deemed a public 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 by the city.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
A violation of this article is punishable by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) in accordance with section 1.01.009(b) of this code.
(Ordinance 110802-1 adopted 8/2/11)
