This chapter shall be known as the "Stormwater and Runoff Pollution
Control Ordinance of the City of Bellflower" and may be referred to
as such.
(Prior code § 10-4.1)
The provisions of the ordinance codified in this chapter are
adopted pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also
known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
(Prior code § 10-4.2)
A.
The
purpose of this chapter is to protect and improve water quality of
receiving waters by:
1.
Prohibiting
illicit discharges to the municipal stormwater system;
2.
Eliminating
illicit connections to the municipal stormwater system;
3.
Eliminating
spillage, dumping, and disposal of pollutant materials into the municipal
stormwater system;
4.
Reducing
pollutant loads in stormwater and urban runoff from land uses and
activities identified in the municipal NPDES permit.
B.
The
intent of this chapter is to enhance and protect the water quality
of the receiving waters of the United States in a manner that is consistent
with the Clean Water Act and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary
thereto, to applicable implementing regulations and the municipal
NPDES permit and any amendment, revision, or re-issuance thereof.
(Prior code § 10-4.3)
For the purpose of the provisions of this chapter concerning
water quality hereinafter set forth, the following words and phrases
shall be construed to have the meanings set forth, unless it is apparent
from the context that a different meaning is intended:
shall mean any program, technology, process, siting criteria,
operating method, measure, or device which controls, prevents, removes,
or reduces pollutants in stormwater and nonstormwater runoff.
shall mean the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended,
33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.
shall mean the Director of Community Development of the City
of Bellflower.
shall mean Executive Officer of the California Regional Water
Quality Control Board, Los Angeles.
shall mean a best management practice related to the transfer,
storage, use, or cleanup of materials performed in a regular manner
that minimizes the discharge of pollutants to the storm drain system
and/or receiving waters.
shall mean any device through or by which an illicit discharge
is conveyed into the municipal stormwater system without a permit,
including but not limited to floor drains, pipes or any fabricated
or natural conduits, excluding roof drains which convey only stormwater.
shall mean the entry of any material other than stormwater
into the MS4 unless such discharge is exempted by Regional Board or
under the MS4 NPDES permit or any other NPDES permit to which the
City may be subject.
shall mean any of the 10 classifications of industrial facilities
specified in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 122.26 (b)(14),
defined by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and which is required
to obtain a NPDES permit, not including construction activities that
cause the disturbance of one acre of soil by clearing, grading, excavation,
or a combination thereof.
shall mean with the context of BMP selection, choosing effective
BMPs, and rejecting applicable BMPs only 1) where effective BMPs will
serve the same purpose, 2) the BMPs would not be technically feasible,
or 3) the cost would be prohibitive.
shall mean any municipal NPDES permit adopted by the California
Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region, to which
the City is subject.
shall mean that permit issued by the most recent order of
the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region
California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region
Waste Discharge Requirements for Municipal Stormwater and Urban Runoff
Discharges within the County of Los Angeles.
shall mean those facilities within the City by which stormwater
discharge is conveyed to waters of the United States, including but
not limited to flood control channels, roads with drainage systems,
alleys, streets, catch basins, grates, inlets, curbs, gutters, ditches,
storm drains, canals, pipes, and fabricated and natural channels.
shall mean any fluid discharge to the storm drain system
and/or receiving waters that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
shall mean a permit issued by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, the State Water Resources Control Board or a California
Regional Water Quality Control Board pursuant to the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended,
33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq., that authorizes discharges to waters of the
United States.
as applied to a building or real property shall mean any
part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership,
joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole or part of such
building or real property.
shall mean within the context of this chapter, any natural
person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust,
corporation or company.
shall mean the same as it is defined in California Water
Code Section 13373 and includes but is not limited to garbage, debris,
lawn clippings, leaves, fecal waste, biological waste sediment, sludge,
manure, fertilizers, pesticides, oil, grease, gasoline, paints, solvents,
cleaners, and any fluid or solid containing toxic or nontoxic chemicals,
metals, including batteries.
shall mean rivers, lakes, oceans or other bodies of water
that receive runoff.
shall mean the appointed members of the California Regional
Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region.
shall mean the portion of rainfall or irrigation water or
other water activities also known as dry-weather flows that flow across
the ground surface and eventually to receiving waters. Runoff can
pick up pollutants from the air or the land and carry them to receiving
waters.
shall mean the State Water Resources Control Board of the
California Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter "SWRCB").
shall mean any surface water flow produced by rain or snow
melt.
shall mean surface water flow produced by nonstormwater resulting
from residential, commercial and industrial activities.
(Prior code § 10-4.4)
A.
No
person shall cause or allow an illicit discharge to enter the municipal
stormwater system.
B.
Any
person causing an illicit discharge to the MS4 may be required by
the Community Development Director to pay for the cost of cleanup
and remediation.
C.
Any
owner of any private property from which a nonstormwater discharge
is observed may be required by the Community Development Director
to pay for the cost of collecting and analyzing the discharge to determine
if it is an illicit discharge.
D.
The
following nonstormwater discharges are not considered illicit discharges:
1.
Exempt
discharges specified in the municipal NPDES permit, including flows
from riparian habitats, diverted stream flows, springs, rising ground
waters, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration; and discharges or
flows from emergency fire fighting activities;
2.
Conditionally
exempt nonstormwater discharges that have been determined by the Executive
Officer not to be significant sources of pollution. Such discharges
include, but are not limited to landscape irrigation, potable water,
foundation drains, footing drains, air conditioning condensate, irrigation
water, lawn watering, water from crawl space pumps, dechlorinated
swimming pool discharges, individual residential car washing, street
or sidewalk washing, or any other discharge that the Executive Officer
deems not to be a significant source of pollution, such nonstormwater
discharges shall be conducted in a manner not in violation of other
provisions of this chapter.
3.
Nonstormwater
discharges specifically allowed under a separate NPDES permit including
but not limited to a general industrial stormwater activity permit
or general construction stormwater activity permit.
(Prior code § 10-4.5)
No person shall intentionally place, litter, accumulate, maintain,
discharge or cause to enter into the MS4 any pollutant or any foreign
object such as batteries, tires, waste receptacles, yard debris, refuse,
rubbish, food waste, chemicals, animal waste or oil cans.
(Prior code § 10-4.6)
A.
No
person shall maintain or intentionally use a connection that operates
to convey an illicit discharge to the municipal stormwater system.
B.
Upon
discovery of an illicit connection, the person owning or operating
such connection shall either remove it or render it incapable of conveying
an illicit discharge.
C.
If
any person fails to eliminate an illicit connection after being called
upon by the City to do so, the Community Development Director shall
take appropriate measures to remove or disable the illicit connection
and may recover such costs from the owner of such illicit connection.
(Prior code § 10-4.7)
A.
No
person shall cause or threaten to cause the discharge of pollutants
to the MS4 by exposing such pollutants to stormwater runoff.
B.
The
owner of parking lot surfaces, public or private, with a capacity
of 25 spaces or more, shall cause the parking lot surface to be cleaned
as often as necessary to remove refuse, residual oil, grease or other
pollutants that might otherwise be discharged to the MS4 by runoff.
(Prior code § 10-4.8)
A.
Certain
categories of commercial facilities specified in the municipal NPDES
permit or identified by the City as being significant contributors
of pollution, shall implement BMPs prescribed by the Regional Board
or its Executive Officer, through programs or actions made pursuant
to the municipal NPDES permit, or by the City's Director of Public
Works, to minimize the discharge of pollutants to the MS4.
B.
Certain
categories of commercial facilities shall be inspected for pollution
issues and BMP compliance in accordance with a schedule called for
in the municipal NPDES permit or as often as necessary as determined
by the City.
(Prior code § 10-4.9)
A.
It
shall be a violation of this chapter for any industry in the City
that is subject to waste discharge requirements specified in the SWRCB
Water Quality Order No. 97-03-DWQ, Permit No. CAS00001, any revision
made thereto, or a re-issuance of such order, to operate without a
NPDES general industrial activities stormwater permit.
B.
Industries
that require a NPDES general industrial activities stormwater permit
shall retain on-site the following documents which evidence compliance
with permit requirements: 1) a copy of the notice of intent for general
permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial activity;
2) a waste discharge identification number issued by the SWRCB; 3)
a stormwater pollution prevention plan and monitoring program plan.
C.
Any industry in the City requiring a NPDES general industrial activities stormwater permit shall, upon reasonable request from a duly authorized officer of the City, provide any of the documents described in Subsection (B) of this section.
D.
Any
industry, whether or not subject to a NPDES general industrial activities
stormwater permit, may be inspected in accordance with a schedule
established by the municipal NPDES permit or as often as necessary
as determined by the City for the purpose of determining compliance
with BMP requirements or to abate pollution issues.
(Prior code § 10-4.10)
A.
No
person shall be granted a grading permit or shall commence or continue
any construction activity in the City that causes the disturbance
of one acre or more of soil by clearing, grading, and excavating without
demonstrating to the City that such person has obtained a NPDES general
construction activity stormwater permit from the SWRCB. NPDES construction
activity does not include: 1) routine maintenance to maintain original
line and grade; 2) hydraulic capacity; 3) the original purpose of
the facility; or 4) emergency construction activities required to
immediately protect the public health and safety.
B.
Any
person engaged in a construction activity in the City requiring a
NPDES construction permit shall retain at the construction site the
following documents: 1) a copy of the notice of intent to comply with
terms of the general permit to discharge water associated with construction
activity; 2) a waste discharge identification number issued by the
SWRCB; 3) a stormwater pollution prevention plan and monitoring program
plan for the construction activity requiring the construction permit;
and 4) records of all inspections, compliance and noncompliance reports,
evidence of self-inspection and good housekeeping practices.
C.
Any person engaged in a construction activity in the City requiring a general construction stormwater activity permit shall, upon reasonable request from a duly authorized officer of the City, provide any of the documents described in Subsection (B) of this section and shall retain said documents for at least three years after completion of construction.
(Prior code § 10-4.11)
A.
No
person shall be granted a grading permit for a construction project
that is expected to cause a disturbance of less than one acre of soil
by grading, clearing, and/or excavation without consenting to implement
BMPs prescribed by the City to reduce pollutant discharges to the
MS4 associated with construction activities.
B.
No
person shall be allowed to commence or continue any construction activity
in the City that causes the disturbance of less than one acre of soil
by grading, clearing, and/or excavating without implementing BMPs
prescribed by the City.
(Prior code § 10-4.12)
A.
Prior
to the construction of any project that is subject to development
planning requirements specified in the MS4 NPDES Permit, such project
shall be evaluated by the City for its potential to discharge pollutants
to the MS4. Such projects must also comply with the development requirements
specified in the Los Cerritos Channel Watershed Management Program,
the Lower San Gabriel River Watershed Management Program, or any other
Watershed Management Program to which the City is currently a participant.
The City's Watershed Management Programs are hereby incorporated by
reference and shall be made available for review by the public in
the Public Works Department Office.
B.
Once
a development planning-subject project has been evaluated for its
potential to discharge pollutants to the MS4, the City shall require
appropriate BMPs, both structural and nonstructural, to be implemented
on a post-construction basis, and shall require a maintenance agreement
to assure the proper performance of such BMPs.
(Prior code § 10-4.13; Ord. 1277 § 1, 6/23/14)
A.
Violation of any provision of this chapter, any stormwater pollution prevention plan or any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be a violation per Chapter 1.08.
B.
The
Director of Community Development, or the Director's designees, may
issue notices of violation and administrative orders to achieve compliance
with the provisions of this chapter. Failure to comply with the terms
and conditions of such a notice of violation or an administrative
order shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
C.
The
violation of any provision of this chapter is hereby declared to be
a nuisance, and may be abated by the City in accordance with its authority
to abate nuisances.
D.
The
remedies listed in this chapter are not exclusive of any other remedies
available to the City under any applicable Federal, State or local
law and it is within the discretion of the City to seek cumulative
remedies.
E.
Whenever
necessary to make an inspection to enforce any provisions of this
chapter, the enforcement officer for the City may enter any property
in the City regulated by this chapter in a manner authorized by State
law.
F.
The
Director of Community Development, or the Director's designees, may
issue notice of violation and administrative orders to any other person
who has failed to comply with either a notice of violation or other
administrative order an invoice for costs (invoice of cost) for reimbursement
of the City's actual costs incurred in issuing and enforcement of
any provision of this chapter.
G.
The
Director of Community Development, or the Director's designees, may
require that any person engaged in any activity and/or owning or operating
any facility which may cause or contribute to stormwater pollution
or contamination, illicit discharges and/or discharge of nonstormwater
to the stormwater system, undertake such monitoring activities and/or
analysis and furnish such reports as the officer may specify. The
burden, including costs, of these activities, analysis and reports
shall bear a reasonable relationship to the need for the monitoring,
analysis and the benefits to be obtained.
(Prior code § 10-4.14)
The City Council may establish fees to recover costs for complying
with the requirements of this chapter, including, but not limited
to, plan checking, cleanup and abatement fees, and industrial and
commercial inspection fees, which may be fixed and established from
time to time by the City Council by resolution.
(Prior code § 10-4.15)
Any person causing a discharge which exceeds a receiving water
limitation shall be required to halt the discharge.
(Prior code § 10-4.16)
