The standards set forth herein and promulgated by 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, or unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
A. 
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, that allows any non-stormwater discharge, including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter a regulated small MS4 or to enter the surface waters of this commonwealth is prohibited.
B. 
No person shall allow, or cause to allow, discharges into a regulated small MS4, or discharges into waters of this commonwealth which are not composed entirely of stormwater, except as provided in Subsection C below and discharges authorized under a state or federal permit.
C. 
Exceptions.
(1) 
The following discharges are authorized unless they are determined to be significant contributors to pollution of a regulated small MS4 or the waters of this commonwealth:
(a) 
Discharges from firefighting activities.
(b) 
Potable water sources, including water line flushing and fire hydrant flushing, if such discharges do not contain detectable concentrations of total residual chlorine (TRC).
(c) 
Noncontaminated irrigation water from lawn maintenance, landscape drainage, and flows from riparian habitats and wetlands.
(d) 
Diverted stream flows and springs.
(e) 
Noncontaminated pumped groundwater and water from foundation and footing drains and crawl space pumps.
(f) 
Noncontaminated HVAC condensation and water from geothermal systems.
(g) 
Residential (i.e., not commercial) vehicle wash water where cleaning agents are not utilized.
(h) 
Noncontaminated hydrostatic test water discharges if such discharges do not contain detectable concentrations of TRC.
(i) 
Discharges specified in writing by the municipality as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
(2) 
Dye testing is an allowable discharge but requires a verbal notification to the municipality 48 hours prior to the time of the test.
(3) 
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 DEP, provided that the discharge 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 and/or waters of this commonwealth.
D. 
In the event that the municipality or DEP determines that any of the discharges identified in Subsection C significantly contribute pollutants to a regulated small MS4 or to the waters of this commonwealth, the municipality or DEP will notify the responsible person(s) to cease the discharge.
Roof drains and sump pumps shall discharge to infiltration or vegetative BMPs wherever feasible.
No person shall modify, remove, fill, landscape, or alter any SWM BMPs, facilities, areas, or structures that were installed as a requirement of this chapter without the written approval of the municipality.
A. 
Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The municipality 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 this commonwealth. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the municipality may take such steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4 or waters of this commonwealth, or to minimize danger to persons, including, without limitation, entering onto property for the purpose of disconnecting and/or performing emergency maintenance or repairs to storm sewers. In the event the municipality must disconnect or perform emergency maintenance and/or repairs, the municipality may file and attach a municipal lien on the property which is causing the illicit discharge.
B. 
Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge or illicit connection. 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 or illicit connection. The municipality will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator may petition the municipality for a reconsideration and hearing.
C. 
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access to premises terminated pursuant to this article without the prior approval of the municipality.
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 shall be required in a form acceptable to the municipality prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
A. 
Applicability. This article applies to all facilities that have stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity, including construction activity.
B. 
Access to facilities.
(1) 
The municipality 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. If a discharger has security measures in force that require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives of the municipality.
(2) 
Facility operators shall allow the municipality 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 municipality shall have the right to set up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary for the opinion of the authorized enforcement agency to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge.
(4) 
The municipality 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 municipality and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the operator.
(6) 
Unreasonable delays in allowing the municipality 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 a NPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial activity commits an offense if the person denies the municipality reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting any activity authorized or required by this article.
(7) 
If the municipality 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 municipality may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
The municipality 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 this commonwealth. 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 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 article. These BMPs shall be part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPP) as necessary for compliance with requirements of the NPDES permit.
A. 
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.
B. 
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. 
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 illicit discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the storm drain system, or water of this commonwealth said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release.
B. 
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.
C. 
In the event of a release of nonhazardous materials, said person shall notify the municipality 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 municipality within three business days of the phone notice.
D. 
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 municipality finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this article, the municipality 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 illicit 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 any affected property.
(5) 
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs.
(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 governmental agency or a contractor, and the expense thereof shall be charged to the violator or assessed as a municipal lien on the property.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination of the municipality. The notice of appeal must be received within 30 days from the date of the notice of violation. Hearing on the appeal before a designated hearing representative of the municipality shall take place within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the municipality 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 15 days of the hearing representative's decision upholding the decision of the municipality, then representatives of the municipality 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 municipality 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 thereafter 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 municipal 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 municipality by reason of such violation. The liability shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments. Interest at the rate of 12% per annum 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 article. If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this article, the municipality may petition for a preliminary or permanent injunction restraining the person from activities that would create further violations or compelling the person to perform abatement or remediation of the violation.
In lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties, and remedies authorized by this article, the authorized enforcement agency may impose upon a violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, creek cleanup, etc.
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 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 public 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, and shall be subject to a criminal penalty of up to $1,000 per violation per day and/or imprisonment for a period of time not to exceed 90 days.
The municipality may recover all attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement of this article, either criminal or civil, including sampling and monitoring expenses or other costs of investigation.
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 municipality to seek cumulative remedies.