The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of McAllen, through the regulation of non-stormwater discharges to the storm drainage system to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal and state law through the Clean Water Act. 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) Stormwater Discharge Permit process. The objectives of this chapter are:
(a) 
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user;
(b) 
To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system;
(c) 
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this article.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
This article shall apply to all water entering the storm drainage system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
The engineering department shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted or duties imposed upon the authorized enforcement agency may be delegated in writing by the Director of the authorized enforcement agency to persons or entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the agency.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the municipal storm drainage system or watercourses any materials, including but not limited to pollutants or waters containing any pollutants that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards, other than stormwater. Such discharges may include litter, yard waste, animal waste, construction debris, grease, oil, paints, hazardous materials, and discharges from mobile car washing and commercial and industrial parking facilities.
The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illegal discharge to the storm drainage system is prohibited except as described as follows:
(a) 
The following discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions established by this chapter: waterline flushing or other potable water sources, landscape irrigation or lawn watering, diverted stream flows, rising groundwater, groundwater infiltration to storm drains, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, uncontaminated pumped groundwater, foundation or footing drains (not including active groundwater dewatering systems), crawl space pumps, air conditioning condensation, springs, non-commercial washing of vehicles, natural riparian habitat or wet-land flows, fire-fighting activities, and any other water source not containing pollutants, such discharges shall not violate Texas Surface Water Quailty Standards.
(b) 
Discharges specified in writing by the authorized enforcement agency as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
(c) 
Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal notification to the authorized enforcement agency prior to the time of the test.
(d) 
The prohibition shall not apply to any non-stormwater discharge permitted under an NPDES or TPDES Stormwater Discharge Permit, waiver, or waste discharge order issued to the discharger and administered under the authority of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, provided that the discharger 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 drainage system.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
(a) 
The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit connections to the storm drainage system is prohibited.
(b) 
This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection.
(c) 
A person is considered to be in violation of this chapter if the person connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
(a) 
The engineering department 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 the United States. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the authorized enforcement agency may take such steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4 or Waters of the United States, or to minimize danger to persons.
(b) 
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this chapter may have their MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate or reduce an illicit discharge.
(c) 
A person commits an offense if the person discharges in violation or reinstates MS4 access to premises terminated pursuant to this section, without the prior approval of the City of McAllen.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity NPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required in a form acceptable to the city prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
This section applies to all facilities that have stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity, including construction activity.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
(a) 
The City of McAllen shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation under this chapter as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this chapter. If a discharger has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives of the city.
(b) 
Facility operators shall allow city 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 stormwater discharge permit to discharge stormwater, and the performance of any additional duties as defined by state and federal law.
(c) 
The City of McAllen shall have the right to set up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary in the opinion of the authorized enforcement agency to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's storm water discharge.
(d) 
The city 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.
(e) 
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 city and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the operator.
(f) 
Unreasonable delays in allowing the city access to a permitted facility is a violation of a storm water discharge permit and of this chapter. A person who is the operator of a facility with a NPDES stormwater discharge permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial activity commits an offense if the person denies the city reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting any activity authorized or required by this chapter.
(g) 
If the city has been refused access to any part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, it may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
City of McAllen Engineering Department will adopt requirements identifying best management practices for any activity, operation, or facility which may cause or contribute to pollution or contamination of stormwater, the storm drainage system, or waters of the U.S. 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 non-structural best management practices. Further, any person responsible for a property or premise, which is, or may be, the source of an illicit discharge, may be required to implement, at said person's expense, additional structural and non-structural best management practices to prevent the further discharge of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system. Compliance with all terms and conditions of a valid National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Stormwater Discharge 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 best management practices shall be part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPP) as necessary for compliance with requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Stormwater Discharge Permit.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person's lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse. In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical integrity of the watercourse.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as soon as any person responsible for a facility or operation, or responsible for emergency response for a facility or operation has information of any known or suspected release of materials which are resulting or may result in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the storm drainage system, or water of the U.S. said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release. In the event of such a release of hazardous materials said person shall immediately notify emergency response agencies of the occurrence via emergency dispatch services. In the event of a release of non-hazardous materials, said person shall notify the City of McAllen Public Works Department, in writing, within one business day. 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.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
Any person, partnership, or corporation convicted of any violation of this article shall be subject to a fine as provided in section 1-17 and shall be required to bear the expense of any such corrective action. In addition, notification of violation will be forwarded to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - Compliance and Enforcement Division for further compliance requirements.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
In lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties, and remedies authorized by this chapter, the authorized enforcement agency may impose upon a violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, ditch cleanup, etc.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
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 chapter is a threat to public health, safety, and welfare, and is declared and deemed a nuisance, and may be summarily abated or restored at the violator's expense.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)
The remedies listed in this chapter are not exclusive of any other remedies available under any applicable federal, state, or local law and it is within the discretion of the City of McAllen to seek cumulative remedies.
(Ordinance 2019-04, § I, adopted 1/28/2019)