[Ord. No. 2695, Added, 2-16-2016]
1. Prohibited
Discharges. It is unlawful for any responsible party to cause or allow
or permit a discharge, directly or indirectly, of any pollutant into
the surface water management system, private storm drainage system
connected to the surface water management system, or receiving water
within City limits. This includes discharges as a result of an unintentional
spill or deliberate dumping.
A discharge is prohibited, either singly or in combination with
other substances, when the discharge is:
b. Causing
or contributing to a violation of a waste load allocation contained
in a TMDL approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (a copy
of the TMDL is available upon request of the City Engineer or at the
City’s surface water website:
http://www.ci.oswego.or.us/publicworks/surface-water); or
c. Causing
or contributing to a violation of a city, state, or federal law or
regulation; or
d. Causing
or contributing to the endangerment of public health, safety or welfare,
the environment, or public or private property.
2. Conditionally
Exempt Discharges.
a. Unless
the non-stormwater discharges outlined as allowable discharges in
the City’s current NPDES-MS4 permit are identified by the City
as a significant source of pollutants to waters of the state, they
are not considered illicit discharges and are authorized by the City’s
NPDES-MS4 permit.
b. If
any of the discharges allowed in the City’s current NPDES-MS4
permit are determined to be a source of pollutants by the City Engineer,
the person causing, suffering, or permitting the discharge shall take
appropriate BMPs to make sure the discharge of pollutants associated
with the source does not cause a violation of water quality standards
(OAR 340, Division 41), an exceedance of the City’s TMDL wasteload
allocation, or visible alteration of surface waters.
c. Acceptance
of Emergency Discharges. During the period of an emergency operation,
such as firefighting or a water line break, discharges are not required
to comply with the regulations of this section. Any repairs made after
the period of emergency has ceased shall comply with this section.
3. Testing
Discharges. When the City Manager has reasonable cause to believe
that a discharge is a prohibited discharge, the City Manager may obtain
samples of the discharge and analyze the discharge. If the discharge
is prohibited, the applicant shall be liable to the City for its reasonable
costs of obtaining the samples and analyzing the discharge.
a. The City Manager may assess the reasonable costs of obtaining the samples and analyzing the discharge, which shall be a personal liability of the person discharging the pollutant or the prohibited discharge. In addition, the City Manager may file a lien in the Municipal Lien Docket on any real property owned by the person within the City of Lake Oswego for the sampling and analyzing costs. Upon recording a lien, the City Manager shall give notice to the person in the manner provided in LOC §
38.25.140(4)(a) of the assessment of costs and filing of the lien. The City Manager may thereafter undertake collection against the applicant, and may also undertake foreclosure of the lien in the manner provided by Oregon law for foreclosure of mortgages.
b. When
the prohibited discharge is on a recurring basis, the City may conduct,
or may require the responsible party to conduct, ongoing monitoring
at its expense.
[Ord. No. 2695, Added, 2-16-2016]
1. Inspection and/or Operation and Maintenance Access Easement. When a public storm drainage inspection easement and/or operation and maintenance access easement to the City is required by LOC §
38.25.140(3)(c) and
(d):
a. Easement
Width and Location. The easement width and location shall be as specified
in the Lake Oswego Stormwater Management Manual or Operations and
Maintenance Plan.
b. Scope
of Easement. The rights of the easement shall be described either
in the easement instrument itself or by separate recorded memorandum
of easement, i.e., when an easement is shown on a plat but a description
of the rights of the easement does not appear on the plat.
c. Approval
and Acceptance of Easement before Recording or Filing. The easement
or memorandum of easement shall be in a form as specified in Engineering
Division documents and approved and accepted by the City Engineer
before it is recorded or filed.
d. Dedication
of Easement on Subdivision or Partition Plat. For subdivisions and
partition applications, the easement shall be dedicated to the City
on the subdivision or partition plat. A separate memorandum of easement
describing the scope of easement shall be recorded with the county
recording officer for the county where the site is located.
e. Dedication
of Easement by Instrument. When the easement is required at a time
other than at the creation of a subdivision or partition, the owner
of the property shall dedicate the easement to the City by easement
instrument. The owner shall record it with the county recording officer
for the county where the site is located.
f. Evidence
of Recording; Priority. The City Engineer may require the applicant
or owner of the property to provide evidence that the easement was
validly recorded and is not inferior to any prior interest or encumbrance
on the property.
2. Dedication
of Stormwater Management Facilities. The applicant proposing a stormwater
facility required by this Code, or a responsible party, may offer
for dedication any such stormwater facility, together with such easements,
appurtenances, and other interests as may be reasonably necessary
for the operation and maintenance of the facility, as provided herein:
a. Preliminary
Determination by City. Upon receipt of an offer of dedication, the
City Engineer shall make a preliminary determination whether the dedication
of the facility is appropriate in order to protect the public health,
safety and general welfare, and furthers the goals of City’s
stormwater management program and/or associated watershed plans. Prior
to making its determination, the City Engineer shall inspect the facility
to determine whether it has been properly maintained and is in good
repair. The City Engineer shall forward the determination to City
Council.
b. Acceptance
by City Council. City Council may accept the offer of dedication by
adoption of a resolution. The document dedicating the stormwater facility
shall be recorded with the County recording official in the county
where the site is located.
c. Owner
to Provide Documentation. The applicant/responsible party, at proposer’s
sole expense, shall provide any document or information requested
by the City Engineer or the City Council, in order for a decision
to be reached on accepting the facility.
[Ord. No. 2695, Added, 2-16-2016]
1. Financial
Security Obligations for Public Stormwater Facilities.
a. Construction.
Public stormwater facilities are subject to the public improvement
construction financial security conditions in the Community Development
Code (LOC § 50.07.003.9.i).
The security deposit posted shall be released in full only upon
submission of "as built plans" and issuance of the City’s Certificate
of Acceptance. The City will make a final inspection of the facility
to ensure that it is in compliance with the approved plan and the
provisions of this Code before the Certificate of Acceptance will
be issued and security deposit released. Provisions for a partial
pro rata release of the construction security based on the completion
of various development stages and issuance of a partial Certificate
of Acceptance is at the discretion of the City.
b. Maintenance.
A maintenance security shall be posted by the applicant upon completion
of public facility construction, in order to ensure that the facility
is maintained in accordance with the Operations and Maintenance Plan,
pursuant to LOC § 50.07.003.9.ii. The City will make a one-year
public infrastructure inspection to ensure that it complies with the
Operations and Maintenance Plan before releasing the maintenance security.
2. Fees.
The City may require a fee for development plan review and inspection,
to be allocated to the Engineering Division. If required, each applicant
seeking approval of a Drainage Report shall pay a fee upon submittal
of the application, and shall pay a fee for each inspection (see the
City’s current Master Fees and Charges).
3. Fee-in-Lieu Payment. Pursuant to LOC §
38.25.120(3), and following adoption by resolution of a fee schedule by the City Council, an applicant may pay a fee-in-lieu as a manner of mitigating an approved exception. The fee shall be used for projects approved by the City Engineer that mitigate impacts of stormwater discharges.
[Ord. No. 2695, Added, 2-16-2016; Ord. No. 2890, Amended, 3-17-2022]
1. Violations.
Any act or failure to act that violates this article, the requirements
of an approved Drainage Report, the requirements of construction permit
for public stormwater management facility, or the requirements of
an Operations and Maintenance Plan, may be subject to enforcement.
Classification of major and minor violations often depends on
particular circumstances that shall be assessed using the best professional
judgment of the City Manager. In general the following definitions
and general violation/activity of concern lists should be used:
a. Minor
Violation. This category includes violations that have a de minimis
impact on the environment or are administrative in nature. Minor violations
include reporting, general site or facility maintenance, discharges
not listed in subsection (1)(b)(i) of this section, record keeping,
or other activities when there is ample time for correction without
negatively impacting the environment.
Minor violations shall not be deemed to be of a continuing nature under LOC §
13.02.020 during the period of issuance of a citation until the citation is adjudicated in Municipal Court. An additional citation may be issued following entry of judgment by the Municipal Court, regardless whether an appeal is taken by the defendant or not.
b. Major
Violation. Major violations are those violations that are not minor
violations, including removal of a stormwater facility without replacement,
submitting plans for review that are intentionally not true and accurate,
nonconformance with the approved plan submittal, Drainage Report,
Operations and Maintenance Plan or permit submittal, stormwater facility
maintenance during wet weather periods, large volume or harmful discharges,
or other activities causing harm to the surrounding environment.
Major violations also include activities violating the discharge prohibitions of LOC §
38.25.150, where the following circumstances are present:
i. Nature of Discharging Material. Any materials meeting the discharge prohibitions of LOC §
38.25.150 due to one or more of the following:
B. pH of less than 6.0 or greater than 9.0;
ii. Presence of Wet Weather Conditions. Discharge when storm runoff is
occurring at the site or in receiving waters, or within 24 hours of
the cessation of runoff.
iii. Presence of Steep Slopes. Discharge onto a steep slope (average slope
of 25% or more, when measured from the front lot line to the most
distant point of the building).
iv. Proximity to Designated Resource Areas. Within 50 feet of waters of the state, active springs and seeps, stormwater management facilities, wellhead protection areas, open space tracts (areas set aside for public or private open space), and properties with a Sensitive Lands overlay district or conservation easement. (See LOC §
38.25.120(1)(d)(i)(C) for example of method of measurement.)
v. Site disturbance over 10,000 square feet.
vi. Clear and Imminent Danger to Human Health or the Environment. Spills
of toxic or otherwise hazardous materials that present an immediate
threat to human health or the environment.
Major violations may be deemed to be a continuing violation under LOC § 13.02.020 following the issuance of the initial citation and continuing each day thereafter until the violation is remedied.
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2. Notice
of Violation. If the City Manager determines that an applicant, other
responsible party, or other person has failed to comply with this
article, the terms and conditions of a stormwater-related permit (e.g.,
development permit, NPDES-MS4, UIC, Erosion Control), an approved
Drainage Report, or an Operations and Maintenance Plan, the City Manager
shall issue a written notice of violation to such person. Where a
person is engaged in activity that requires a stormwater-related permit,
without having first secured a permit, the notice of violation shall
be served on the owner or the person in charge of the activity being
conducted on the site.
The notice of violation shall include:
a. The
name and address of the applicant or the responsible person;
b. The
address or other description of the site where the violation is occurring;
and
c. A
statement specifying the nature of the violation;
d. A
description of the remedial measures necessary to bring the act or
failure to act into compliance with this article, a permit, an approved
Drainage Report, an Operations and Maintenance Plan, and the correction
period date;
e. A
statement of the penalties that may be assessed; and
f. A
statement of other enforcement action that may occur.
3. Penalties.
Any one or more of the following actions or penalties may be taken
or assessed against the person to whom the notice of violation was
directed:
a. Stop
Work Order. The Building Official may issue a stop work order for
any discharge of a pollutant or unpermitted discharge that arises
from the work authorized under a building permit. The stop work order
shall be issued in the manner provided in the Building Code. The stop
work order shall remain in effect until the remedial measures set
forth in the Notice of Violation have been completed, or the violations
have been otherwise cured. The stop work order may be withdrawn or
modified by the Building Official to enable the necessary remedial
measures.
b. Withhold
Certificate of Occupancy. The Building Official may withhold issuance
of a certificate of occupancy for any building or other improvements
constructed on the site upon which a discharge of a pollutant or unpermitted
discharge arises from the work authorized under a building permit,
until the remedial measures set forth in the Notice of Violation have
been completed, or the violations have been otherwise cured.
c. Suspension,
Revocation, or Modification of Permit. The Planning Director may suspend
a permit authorizing a land development project. A suspended permit
may be reinstated after the remedial measures set forth in the Notice
of Violation have been completed, or the violations have been otherwise
cured.
d. Civil Penalties. Violation of the listed acts in this article shall be subject to a fine of the amount stated for violations pursuant to LOC §
13.02.020.
4. Failure to Complete Remedial Measures. In the event the applicant, responsible party, or other person fails to take the remedial measures set forth in the notice of violation, the City may issue a citation for each day the violation remains unremedied after receipt of the notice of violation, consistent with LOC §
13.02.020.
5. Evidence
of Violation. Proof of a violation of this article shall be deemed
prima facie evidence that such violation is that of the owner of the
property upon which the unlawful discharge originated. Prosecution,
or lack thereof, of the owner of the property, the occupant, or other
person in possession or control of property shall not be deemed to
relieve any other responsible person.
6. Violations;
Abatement; Injunction.
a. A violation of any provision of this article is a civil violation and shall be enforced pursuant to the provisions of LOC §§
34.04.101 to
34.04.145. Each day that the violation exists shall constitute a separate violation.
b. Any discharge of a pollutant that occurs contrary to the provisions of this Code or unpermitted discharge is hereby declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance, and may be abated pursuant to LOC §§
34.08.400 to 34.08.490.
c. Upon
request of the City Manager, the City Attorney may institute an appropriate
action in any court to enjoin the discharge which is in violation
of any provision of this article.
d. The
rights, remedies and penalties provided in this Code are cumulative,
are not mutually exclusive, and are in addition to any other rights,
remedies and penalties available to the City under any other provisions
of law.
[Ord. No. 2695, Added, 2-16-2016; Ord. No. 2890, Amended, 3-17-2022; amended 11-21-2023 by Ord. No.
2942]
APPLICANT
The party submitting a development application.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
The schedule of activities, controls, prohibition of practices,
maintenance procedures and other management practices designed to
prevent or reduce pollution. BMPs also include treatment requirements,
operating procedures and practices to control stormwater runoff.
CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE
Certificate stating that private construction of public stormwater
facility has been accepted for transfer of ownership to City. The
Certificate is issued following completion of construction in accordance
with code requirements, and with City-approved construction plans
and specifications.
CITY ENGINEER
The person holding the position of City Engineer of the City
of Lake Oswego or designee of the City Engineer.
CITY MANAGER
The person holding the position of City Manager or any officer
or employee of the City of Lake Oswego.
DESIGN CAPACITY
The flow volume or rate that a stormwater management facility
is designed to safely contain, receive, convey, reduce pollutants
from, or infiltrate to meet a specific performance standard.
DEVELOPMENT
Any manmade change to unimproved real property, including,
but not limited to, construction, installation or alteration of a
building or other structure, change of use, land division, establishment
or termination of a right of access, storage on the land, grading,
clearing, removal or placement of soil, paving, dredging, filling,
excavation, drilling or removal of trees.
DISCHARGE
When used without qualification, means the "discharge of
a pollutant." Discharge of a pollutant means addition of any "pollutant"
or combination of pollutants to the public stormwater management system
and other receiving waters from any point source, including but not
limited to the placement of wastes into public waters, on land, or
otherwise into the environment in a manner that affects or may tend
to affect the quality of public waters.
EQUIVALENT SERVICE UNIT (ESU)
The nominal allowance for effective impervious surface per
single family residence (see Master Fees and Charges Resolution).
GROUNDWATER
Subsurface water that occurs in soils and geological formations
that are fully saturated. Groundwater fluctuates seasonally and includes
perched groundwater.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE
Any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer system
that is not composed entirely of stormwater except discharges authorized
under Section A.4.a.xii of the City’s 2012-2017 National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System-Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
(NPDES-MS4) Permit.
LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT (LID)
An engineering design approach to managing stormwater runoff.
Low impact development emphasizes conservation and use of on-site
natural features to protect water quality. This approach implements
engineering small-scale hydrologic controls to replicate the predevelopment
hydrologic regime or condition of watersheds through infiltrating,
filtering, storing, evaporation and detaining runoff close to its
source.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4)
A conveyance or system of conveyances including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutter,
ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains that is owned or operated
by a state, city, county, district, association, or other public body;
is designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, and is
not a combined sewer or part of a Publicly Owned Treatment Works as
defined in 40 CFR Section 122.2.
POLLUTANT
Any substance, as certain chemicals or waste products, that
renders the air, soil, water, or other natural resource harmful or
unsuitable for a specific beneficial purpose.
POLLUTION
"Pollution" or "water pollution" means such alteration of
the physical, chemical or biological properties of any waters of the
state, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, silt
or odor of the waters, or such discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid,
radioactive or other substance into any waters of the state, which
will or tends to, either by itself or in connection with any other
substance, create a public nuisance or which will or tends to render
such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety
or welfare, or to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural,
recreational or other legitimate beneficial uses or to livestock,
wildlife, fish or other aquatic life or the habitat thereof.
PROHIBITED DISCHARGE
Prohibited discharges include discharge of pollutants or
other material that is not explicitly identified as authorized discharges
per the City’s NPDES-MS4 permit to the surface water management
system, including the public stormwater management system.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
Nuisance conditions include improper function resulting in
uncontrolled runoff and overflow; stagnant water with concomitant
algae growth, insect breeding, and odors; discarded debris; and safety
hazards created by the stormwater management facility’s operation.
PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE
A Latin expression ("prima facie") used in modern legal English
to signify that on first examination, a matter appears to be self-evident
from the facts. In common law jurisdictions, prima facie denotes evidence
that – unless rebutted – would be sufficient to prove
a particular proposition or fact.
RECEIVING WATER
A receiving water is the ultimate destination for stormwater
leaving a particular site. Virtually all receiving waters are waters
of the state, and include "lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs,
springs, wells, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets,
canals, the Pacific Ocean within the territorial limits of the state
of Oregon, and all other bodies of surface or underground waters,
natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, public or
private (except those private waters that do not combine or effect
a junction with natural surface or underground waters) that are located
wholly or partially within or bordering the state or within its jurisdiction."
(ORS 468B.005(10)).
REDEVELOPMENT
A project on a previously developed site that results in
the addition or replacement of impervious surface.
REMEDIAL MEASURES
Corrective measures employed to remedy, reverse or stop damage
or violation of the surface water utility code or to the surface water
management system.
REPLACE OR REPLACEMENT
The removal of an impervious surface that exposes soil followed
by the placement of an impervious surface.
RESPONSIBLE PARTY
The property owner(s) of the site upon which the stormwater
facility was designed to benefit. In the case of an entity, it shall
include the parties comprising the entity; i.e., homeowners association
– the members of the association, partnership – partners;
corporation – shareholders, LLC – members of the LLC.
The Operations and Maintenance Plan shall list the responsible party(s)
of the stormwater management facility. The obligations of a responsible
party shall transfer to the successors/purchasers of the site.
For violations of or failure to comply with LOC Article 38.25, "responsible party" includes:
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An owner of a building or property where a violation or failure
to comply has occurred, the person in charge of the building or property,
the violator or the person failing to comply with the Code; and
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Where a person commits a violation and the person works for
a contractor, either as an employee, subcontractor, or independent
contractor, the contractor and/or other employer; and
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Any manager, or person in charge of the person or property.
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SIC
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).
STORM DRAIN
A manmade pipe or inlet to the City’s surface water
management system that transports stormwater.
STORMWATER
Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation
events. The word "stormwater" may also be used to apply to water that
originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system. Stormwater
(one word) and storm water (two words) are considered identical in
use and definition by the City. The City prefers the spelling "stormwater."
STORMWATER FACILITY FAILURE
A state where the stormwater facility is not able to (a)
properly treat the designed volume of stormwater directed to it or
(b) provide adequate water quality as determined by water quality
analyses and the DEQ/EPA water quality standards.
STORMWATER FACILITY MAINTENANCE
Housekeeping or repairs of a minor structural or nonstructural
nature that are done annually for a properly functioning stormwater
facility.
STORMWATER FACILITY REMOVAL
The removal of an approved stormwater facility or the reduction
of a facility’s capacity such that it is essentially nonfunctioning.
STORMWATER FACILITY RENOVATION
(a) Structural repair or alteration of a failing or failed
stormwater facility that is not stormwater facility maintenance. (b)
Nonstructural repair or alteration of a failed stormwater facility
that is not stormwater facility maintenance.
STORMWATER FACILITY REPLACEMENT
Replacing or changing a stormwater facility with another
stormwater facility authorized by the current Lake Oswego Stormwater
Manual, whether the original facility is properly functioning, failing,
or failed.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITIES
A designed facility or technique intended to collect stormwater
runoff, and to reduce pollutants and hydrologic impacts by detaining,
treating, and/or infiltrating stormwater to the maximum extent practicable.
Stormwater facilities should be constructed in such a manner that
they are not waters of the State or waters of the U.S.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
Stormwater that does not soak into the ground becomes surface
runoff, which either flows directly into surface waterways or is channeled
into storm sewers, which eventually discharge to surface waters.
SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Includes all natural and manmade facilities utilized by the
surface water utility to regulate the quantity and quality of surface
water, including drainage easements, culverts, storm drains, roadside
ditches, catch basins, stream corridors, rivers, ponds, wetlands and
impoundments. The stormwater management system is an engineered or
built subset of the surface water management system designed to convey
or treat storm runoff.
SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY
The Surface Water Management Utility is the entity that plans,
designs, constructs, maintains, administers, and operates all City
surface water conveyances and facilities, and the regulations for
facility control. The Surface Water Management Utility also establishes
standards for design and construction.
TOTAL IMPERVIOUS AREA (TIA)
Any surface created by humans that cannot be penetrated by
water easily or effectively, thereby resulting in stormwater runoff.
Examples of TIA include pavement (interlocking pavers, asphalt, concrete,
etc.), buildings, driveways, parking lots and sidewalks.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL)
Total maximum daily loads are developed for "water quality
limited" or "impaired" water bodies by the Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality in accordance with Oregon Administrative Rule 340-042-0040,
which defines how much of an identified pollutant a specified waterbody
can receive and still meet water quality standards. A copy of the
TMDL documents are available upon request of the City Engineer or
at the City’s surface water website:
http://www.ci.oswego.or.us/publicworks/surface-water).
WATERCOURSE
A stream of water; a river or creek or brook or natural channel
for water; also, a canal for the conveyance of water, especially in
draining lands. Watercourses may include reaches ponded by natural
or manmade actions provided a watercourse either enters or exits from
such a pond.
WATERS OF THE STATE
Lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs, streams, creeks,
estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Pacific Ocean within the territorial
limits of the state of Oregon, and all other bodies of surface or
underground waters, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh
or salt, public or private (except those private waters that do not
combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground waters)
that are wholly or partially within or bordering the state or within
its jurisdiction [OAR 340-045-0010].