[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Papillion 8-1-2006 by Ord. No. 1491; amended in its entirety 6-4-2024 by Ord. No. 2023. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The purpose of this chapter is to protect, maintain, and enhance the public health, safety, and general welfare by establishing minimum requirements and procedures to control the adverse impacts associated with increased and altered stormwater runoff. Proper management of stormwater runoff will minimize damage to public and private property, reduce the harmful effects of development on land, control stream channel erosion, reduce local flooding, and maintain after development, as nearly as possible, the predevelopment runoff characteristics.
B. 
The application of this chapter and provisions expressed herein shall be the minimum stormwater management requirements and shall not be deemed a limitation on such management practices. The City of Papillion shall be responsible for the coordination and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
C. 
The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to all property within the City's zoning jurisdiction.
The following words, phrases and terms as used in this chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP)
Pollution control practices designed and carried out to reduce the pollutants contained in discharges, including low-impact development techniques.
BUILDING DRAIN
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a wastewater drainage system that receives the discharge from soil and waste pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning two feet outside the inner face of the building wall.
CITY
City of Papillion.
CLEAN WATER ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act,[1] which was enacted in 1972 to prohibit the discharge of pollutants to receiving waters of the United States and later amended in 1987 to establish a framework for regulating municipal, industrial, and construction stormwater discharges under the NPDES Program.
COMBINED SEWER
A sewer receiving, by designation of the Director, both runoff water and sanitary sewage.
COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY
Any public or private activity not defined as an industrial activity in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14) as of the date of this chapter, involved in the storage, transportation, distribution, exchange or sale of goods and/or commodities or providing professional and/or nonprofessional services.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Any clearing, grading, or excavation that results in soil disturbance. Construction activity also includes, but is not limited to, construction, repairs, dewatering, remodeling, building, and emergency construction activities required to immediately protect public health and safety.
DIRECTOR
The Director of the Public Works Department for the City of Papillion or his/her authorized agent or representative.
DISCHARGE
Any release, spill, leak, pump, flow, escape, dumping, or disposal of any liquid, semi-solid, or solid substance to the municipal storm sewer system.
EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICATION (ETJ)
The extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, shall consist of the unincorporated area two miles beyond and adjacent to the corporate boundaries of the City of Papillion.
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE
Any substance designated under 40 CFR Part 116 pursuant to Section 311 of the Clean Water Act.[2]
ILLICIT CONNECTION
Any human-made conveyance that is directly or indirectly connected to the municipal separate storm sewer system and allows for an illicit discharge.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE
Any discharge to the municipal separate storm sewer system that is prohibited under local, state, or federal statutes, ordinances, codes, or regulations. Illicit discharges include all nonstormwater discharges except discharges pursuant to an NPDES permit or conditionally exempted by ordinance and include those prohibited in §§ 206-4 and 206-5 below.
ILLICIT DISPOSAL
Any disposal, either intentional or unintentional, of material(s), substance(s), or waste(s) that has the potential to pollute runoff unless otherwise allowed by law.
IMPACT POINT
A specified geographical location where stormwater runoff is being discharged.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Any public or private activity which is associated with any other of the 11 categories of activities defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14), as of the date of this section.
INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL FACILITY
Any public or private facility involved and/or used in the production, manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution, exchange or sale of goods and/or commodities, or any facility involved and/or used in providing professional services. This category of facility includes, but is not limited to, any facility defined by a Standard Industrial Code (SIC).
LOW-IMPACT DEVELOPMENT
Decentralized management of precipitation that would otherwise be stormwater runoff, utilizing design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, or temporarily detain stormwater.
MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE
A standard for implementation of stormwater management programs to reduce pollutants in stormwater. It is the maximum extent possible taking into account equitable consideration of competing factors, including, but not limited to, the seriousness of the problem, public health risk, environmental benefits, pollutant removal effectiveness, regulatory compliance, ability to implement, cost and technical feasibility.
MUNICIPAL STORM SEWER SYSTEM
Any inlet, pipe, ditch or gully, or system of pipes, ditches, or gullies, that is owned or operated by the City and used for collecting and conveying stormwater.
NDEE
The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, formerly known as Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality or NDEQ.
NEW DEVELOPMENT
Land-disturbing activities; structural development, including construction or installation of a building or structure, the creation of impervious surfaces; and land subdivision.
NONSTORMWATER RUNOFF
Any discharge to the municipal storm sewer system that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
NPDES
The NPDES is a permit program created by the Clean Water Act to help regulate pollutants in the waters of the United States. Unless an NPDES permit is first obtained, individuals and facilities are prohibited from discharging pollutants from point sources into receiving waters. The permit may be issued by either the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE).
NUISANCE
Public nuisance as provided in Chapter 100 and also as defined in this chapter.
PAPILLION CREEK WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP (PCWP)
A partnership between interested governmental parties, including the Cities of Bellevue, Gretna, LaVista, Omaha, Papillion, and Ralston, the Village of Boys Town, Sarpy County and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, whose primary purpose is to act in concert to increase the effectiveness and cost-sharing capabilities of the member agencies particularly in reference to a stormwater management plan related to the Papillion Creek watershed.
POLLUTANT
The same as defined in Section 502(6) of the Clean Water Act,[3] including, but not limited to, the following, but does not include uncontaminated stormwater, potable water, groundwater, or reclaimed water by a lawfully permitted water treatment facility:
A. 
Materials (including, but not limited to, fuels, solvents, chemicals, detergents, plastic, pellets, hazardous substances, radioactive wastes, fertilizers, pesticides, paints, soot, slag, ash, sludge);
B. 
Metals and nonmetals, both soluble and insoluble (including, but not limited to, cadmium, lead, zinc, copper, silver, nickel, chromium, chlorine, phosphorous, and arsenic);
C. 
Petroleum hydrocarbons (including, but not limited to, fuels, oils, lubricants, surfactants, waste oils, solvents, coolants, and grease);
D. 
Eroded soils, sediment, and particulate materials in amounts which may adversely affect the beneficial use of the receiving waters, flora, or fauna of the state;
E. 
Animal wastes (including, but not limited to, discharge from confinement facilities, kennels, pens, recreational facilities, and stables);
F. 
Substances having acidic or corrosive characteristics, unusual coloration, or turbidity;
G. 
Any domestic or industrial wastewater;
H. 
Any hazardous substance.
PRIVATE STORMWATER CONVEYANCE SYSTEM
A stormwater conveyance system that is not owned or maintained by the City, including any instrumentality that drains or conveys water from a building or from/through one or more properties to the environment or the City's stormwater system.
PUBLIC NUISANCE
Any discharge in violation of the provisions of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit, or an order or the City Council.
RECEIVING WATERS
All surface water bodies, including all streams, lakes, ponds, impounding reservoirs, marshes, wetlands, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation ditches, gullies or channels, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulation of water, natural or artificial, public or private, situated wholly or partly within or bordering upon the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Papillion.
RUNOFF
Any stormwater or nonstormwater discharges from a drainage area that enters the municipal storm sewer system. The term "runoff" is interchangeable with the term "urban runoff."
SANITARY SEWAGE
Liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions.
SEPARATE STORM SEWER
Pipe or conduit which, by designation of the Director, carries only stormwater runoff, discharges pursuant to an NPDES permit or discharges conditionally exempted by ordinance.
SIGNIFICANT REDEVELOPMENT
Land-disturbing activity that results in the creation, addition or replacement of at least 5,000 square feet of impervious surface area on an already developed site.
A. 
Redevelopment includes, but is not limited to, the following activities that meet the minimum standards set forth in this definition:
(1) 
The expansion of a building footprint;
(2) 
Addition or replacement of a structure;
(3) 
Replacement of impervious surface that is not part of a routine maintenance activity; and
(4) 
Land-disturbing activities related to structural or impervious surfaces.
B. 
Redevelopment does not include routine maintenance activities that are conducted to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, original purpose of facility or emergency redevelopment activity required to protect public health and safety.
SOUTHERN SARPY WATERSHEDS PARTNERSHIP (SSWP)
A partnership between interested governmental agencies, including the Cities of Bellevue, Gretna, Papillion, and Springfield, Sarpy County and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, whose primary purpose is to increase the effectiveness and cost-sharing capabilities of the member agencies particularly in reference to addressing federally imposed requirements and mandates which must be locally funded in relation to the Southern Sarpy watersheds draining into the Platte River.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC)
A classification pursuant to the current edition of the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Office of Management and Budget.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP)
A plan required by the State of Nebraska under either the General Permit for Stormwater Discharges or an individual NPDES permit, which includes requirements for stormwater discharges associated with either industrial or construction activities. The purpose of the plan is to help identify the sources of pollution that affect the quality of stormwater discharges from a site and to describe and ensure the implementation of practices to reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
That part of natural precipitation (rainfall or snowmelt, including that of any frozen precipitation), which travels via flow across any surface to the municipal storm sewer system.
STREET WASH WATER
The water and the associated debris resulting from the washing of streets and/or sidewalks.
U.S. EPA
The United States Environmental Protection Agency.
URBAN RUNOFF
Any stormwater and nonstormwater runoff from developed land in or adjacent to any municipality.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1321.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1362(b).
A. 
No person shall cause the discharge of nonstormwater runoff to enter the municipal separate storm sewer system unless the discharge is one of the following:
(1) 
Authorized by an NPDES permit issued by U.S. EPA or NDEE.
(2) 
Caused by or resulting from one of the following:
(a) 
Firefighting activities, where such discharges or flows contain no significant sources of pollutants.
(b) 
Landscape irrigation.
(c) 
Diverted stream flows.
(d) 
Rising groundwaters.
(e) 
Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration, as defined at 40 CFR 35.2005(20).
(f) 
Uncontaminated pumped groundwater.
(g) 
Discharges from potable water sources.
(h) 
Foundation drains.
(i) 
Air-conditioning condensation.
(j) 
Irrigation water.
(k) 
Springs.
(l) 
Water from crawl space pumps.
(m) 
Footing drains.
(n) 
Lawn watering.
(o) 
Individual residential car washing.
(p) 
Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands.
(q) 
Dechlorinated swimming pool discharges.
(r) 
Street wash water.
(3) 
Authorized by the City of Papillion.
B. 
All exempt discharges, as listed above, must be in conformance with all other provisions of this Code.
A. 
No person shall install, maintain, or use any connection to the municipal separate storm sewer system that may result in an illicit discharge to the municipal storm sewer system. All connections to the municipal storm sewer system that provide for an illicit discharge from inside a building are 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. For illicit connections made in the past, a plan to remedy the illicit connection shall be submitted to the Director.
If any person fails to disconnect an illicit connection upon thirty-day prior notification by the Director, the Director may cause the removal of such connection from the municipal storm sewer system. The City may pursue the recovery of costs by appropriate means, including a suit at law against the person or persons responsible for such disconnection.
A. 
The owner of a property where a private stormwater conveyance system is located shall be responsible for the maintenance and repair, and proper operation of the private stormwater conveyance system, regardless of whether the private stormwater conveyance system is completely located on the private property or partially within the public right-of-way. The City shall have no responsibility or obligation for the maintenance, repair, or proper operation of a private stormwater conveyance system.
B. 
If the Director determines that a private stormwater conveyance system is not operating properly and causes the improper discharge of stormwater to the street, sidewalk or municipal storm sewer system, the Director may declare this condition to constitute a public nuisance and proceed to abate that nuisance in accordance with Chapter 100 of this Code.
No person shall cause discharge of sanitary sewage to the municipal separate storm sewer system. In addition, if the Director determines that a building drain or building sewer is not operating properly and causes the discharge of sewage to the street, sidewalk, or municipal separate storm sewer system, the Director may declare this condition to constitute a public nuisance and proceed to abate that nuisance in accordance with Chapter 100 of this Code.
No person shall throw, deposit, place, leave, maintain, litter, keep, or permit to be thrown, deposited, left, maintained or kept any pollutant, refuse, rubbish, food waste, yard waste, garbage, or any other discarded or abandoned objects in or upon any public or private property, driveway, parking area, street, alley, sidewalk, or other location that may result in an illicit discharge to the municipal storm sewer system. Wastes placed in containers protected from urban runoff, such as bags, cans, or recycling bins, and City-approved wastes from construction on public right-of-way are exempted from this prohibition.
The following list of discharges from industrial/commercial activities shall be considered prohibited unless permitted under a separate NPDES permit or approved by the City Public Works Department. This list is based on § 206-4 (Illicit discharges prohibited), but is not an exhaustive list of prohibited discharges to the municipal storm sewer system:
A. 
Water from the cleaning of vehicle fueling stations, vehicle service garages, or other types of vehicle service facilities.
B. 
Water, cleansers, or solvents from the cleaning of vehicles, machinery or equipment, and other such commercial and industrial operations.
C. 
Water from the washing or rinsing of vehicles containing soap, detergents, solvents, or other cleaners.
D. 
Water from the cleaning or rinsing of vehicle engine, undercarriage, or auto parts cleaning.
E. 
Vehicle fluids.
F. 
Mat wash water from food service facilities.
G. 
Food and kitchen cleaning water from food service facilities.
H. 
Leakage from dumpsters or trash containers.
I. 
Water from the cleaning or rinsing of garbage dumpster areas and areas where garbage is stored or contained.
J. 
Water from pressure washing, steam cleaning, and hand scrubbing of sidewalks, gutters, plazas, alleyways, outdoor eating areas, steps, building exteriors, walls, driveways, and other outdoor surfaces.
K. 
Wastewater or cleaning fluids from carpet cleaning.
L. 
Swimming pool and spa water.
M. 
Wash out from concrete trucks.
N. 
Runoff from areas where hazardous substances, including diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil are stored.
O. 
Super-chlorinated, i.e., greater than four milligrams per liter chlorine, water normally associated with the disinfection of potable water systems.
A. 
In the event of discovery of a discharge to the municipal storm sewer system that is prohibited by this Code, the discharger or permittee shall immediately notify the Director of the incident by telephone, facsimile or email. The notification shall include the discharge location, type of materials discharged, estimated concentration and volume of the discharge, and corrective actions taken to contain or minimize the effects of the discharge.
B. 
In addition, a written report, facsimile or email, addressed to the Director, detailing the date, time and cause of the discharge, the quantity and characteristics of the discharge, corrective actions taken to contain or minimize the effects of the discharge, and corrective actions taken to prevent future discharges, shall be filed by the responsible person within five days of the occurrence of the noncomplying discharge.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in or cause any grading, clearing, or excavation activities that result in the disturbance of any land areas sufficiently large to require a general NPDES construction site stormwater permit, without the property owner, tenant, or easement holder, or their agent, first obtaining a grading permit from the City's Building and Inspections Department. This section shall not apply to grading performed solely for agricultural purposes.
A. 
Any property owner, tenant, or easement holder, or their agent, desiring a grading permit shall submit an application to the Building and Inspections Department on the form provided by the Department.
B. 
Any property owner, tenant, or easement holder, or their agent, desiring a grading permit shall also submit to the City's Building and Inspections Department a completed permit application on the form provided by the NDEE. This application form is available from the Building and Inspections Department, but is separate from and in addition to the Building and Inspections Department permit application described in Subsection A.
C. 
In addition to the permit applications described in Subsections A and B above, any property owner, tenant or easement holder, or their agent, desiring a grading permit shall submit to the City's Public Works Department, on a form or in the format specified by the Director, a notice of intent (NOI) and NDEE approval letter for coverage under the general NPDES construction site stormwater permit.
Before any grading permit application will be accepted by the Building and Inspections Department, the applicant shall pay to the City a fee in accordance to the Master Fee Schedule.
If, after examination of the application for a grading permit, the Public Works Department has determined that the proposed plan will meet the requirements of this chapter and if the NDEE approved the NPDES application for the project, or if the NDEE fails to review and approve or deny the application within seven days, then the Building and Inspections Department shall issue the grading permit.
Provisions for erosion and sediment control at construction and development sites are set forth in the Omaha Regional Stormwater Design Manual. The provisions thereof shall be controlling of all subjects contained therein within the corporate limits and within the jurisdictional area outside the City limits. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of the Omaha Regional Stormwater Design Manual or any other ordinance and the provisions of an NPDES permit issued by the State of Nebraska, the provision that imposes the higher or most stringent or most specific practice shall prevail.
Land development and significant redevelopment projects with the potential to add pollutants to stormwater or to affect the flow rate or velocity of stormwater runoff after construction is completed must include provisions for the management of the increased postconstruction runoff in a postconstruction stormwater management plan.
A. 
A postconstruction stormwater management plan shall be submitted to the Public Works Department, on a form or format specified by the Director, as part of any preliminary plat application or grading permit application; or building permit application that creates 5,000 square feet or more of impervious coverage. For any significant redevelopment, a postconstruction stormwater management plan shall be submitted with the building permit application.
B. 
For all development applications made after the adoption date of this section, the postconstruction stormwater management plan shall, at a minimum, include low-impact development (LID) BMPs to provide for water quality control of the first 1/2 inch of runoff from the site, a ten-year storm event conveyance within the municipal storm sewer system, and an overland conveyance of the 100-year storm event with no adverse impact. The Director may also require this minimum control level for significant redevelopment that increases the amount of impervious area in a previously platted parcel. For significant redevelopment projects that do not require a grading permit or that involve an increase of less than 5,000 square feet of impervious surface area, BMPs for water quality control of the first 1/2 inch of runoff from the site are encouraged, but not required. For significant redevelopment projects that are characterized as additions or expansions, the Director may determine that the required BMPs only be applied to the area of new development.
C. 
The PCSMP shall include the design, locations, schedules, and procedures for inspection and maintenance of the selected BMPs. Temporary erosion and sediment control BMPs to be used during the construction process are to be addressed in the grading permit application. Applicable BMPs can be found in the Omaha Regional Stormwater Design Manual.
(1) 
For significant redevelopments within the PCWP, the BMPs for the PCSMP shall address the reduction of stormwater peak discharges located at post-development impact points of the subject parcel, and compared to predevelopment conditions for two-year, ten-year and 100-year return frequency storm events.
(2) 
For new developments within the PCWP, the BMPs for the PCSMP shall address the reduction of stormwater peak discharges located at post-development impact points of the subject parcel and compared to predevelopment conditions for two-year return frequency storm events.
(3) 
For all developments within the SSWP, the PCSMP shall address the reduction of stormwater peak discharges located at post-development impact points of the subject parcel and compared to predevelopment conditions for two-year and ten-year return frequency storm events.
(4) 
For all developments within the SSWP, the PCSMP shall also include the design, locations, schedules and procedures for inspection and maintenance of grade control structures for all streams with a drainage area of at least 0.5 square mile identified in the Southern Sarpy Watershed Management Plan. Approved grade control structures shall be designed to prevent stream degradation of more than four feet according to the SSWP Guidance Document.
A. 
The owners and occupants of lands on which structural postconstruction BMPs have been installed to meet the requirements of this chapter shall ensure the maintenance of these BMPs and shall themselves maintain those BMPs if other persons or entities who are also obligated to maintain those BMPs (by contract or covenant, or pursuant to this chapter) fail to do so. Structural BMPs shall be inspected at least annually, and a written record of inspection results and any maintenance work shall be maintained and available for review by the City.
B. 
The responsibility to maintain a BMP may be transferred through a contract or other agreement. The person or entity accepting a maintenance obligation in such a contract or agreement will also be legally obliged to maintain that BMP pursuant to this chapter. However, no contract or other agreement imposing an obligation to maintain a BMP can relieve a person or entity of any obligation to maintain a BMP imposed by this chapter.
C. 
The maintenance agreement shall require the applicant or owner to execute an inspection and maintenance agreement, to be filed of record, binding on all subsequent owners of land served by a private stormwater management facility. Such agreement shall provide for access to the facility, at reasonable times, for inspections by the City or its authorized representative to ensure that the facility is maintained in proper working condition to meet design standards.
D. 
The applicant and/or owner shall record the maintenance agreement with the Register of Deeds.
E. 
The maintenance agreement shall also provide that if, after notice by the City to correct a violation requiring maintenance work, satisfactory corrections are not made by the owner(s) or occupant within a reasonable period of time (30 days maximum), the City may perform all necessary work to place the facility in proper working condition. The owner(s) or occupant of the facility shall be assessed the cost of the work and any lawful penalties.
Whenever it shall be necessary for the purposes of these rules and regulations, the Director, upon the presentation of credentials, may enter upon any property or premises at reasonable times for the purpose of: 1) copying any records required to be kept under the provisions of this chapter; 2) inspecting any BMPs; and 3) sampling any discharge to the municipal storm sewer system. The Director may enter upon the property at any hour under emergency circumstances. The authority to so inspect, sample and copy records shall be limited to only those things and only the extent that it has a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharges into the municipal storm sewer system.
If substances in violation of § 206-4 of this Code are discharged or proposed to be discharged into the municipal storm sewer system within the City, its ETJ, or any tributary thereto, the City may take action necessary to:
A. 
Prohibit the discharge of such effluent.
B. 
Require a discharger to demonstrate that modifications to such discharger's facilities will reduce or eliminate the discharge of such substances in conformity with this chapter.
C. 
Require pretreatment, including storage, detention or retention facilities necessary to reduce or eliminate the objectionable characteristics or substances so that the discharge will not violate these prohibitions and limitations.
D. 
Require the person making, causing, or allowing the discharge to pay an additional cost or expense incurred by the City for taking remedial actions as may be deemed to be desirable or necessary to achieve the purpose of this chapter.
E. 
Require any combination or all of the above.
Any person who is found to have violated an order provided for in this chapter or who willfully or negligently failed to comply with any provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations issued hereunder shall be deemed guilty of a Class III misdemeanor and shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 or imprisoned for up to three months, or both said fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the sentencing court. Each day any such violation or failure to perform such act shall continue shall constitute a separate offense, unless otherwise specifically provided. Except as prohibited by the state or federal constitutions, a prosecution under this chapter shall not be the exclusive penalty for such acts or omissions.
The Director may make rules and regulations which expand upon or add to the provisions of this chapter but are not inconsistent with them. Prior to taking effect, such rules and regulations, or any amendments thereto, shall be approved by resolution of the City Council. A copy of such rules and regulations, with any current amendments, shall be on file with the City Clerk.
Any person aggrieved by the issuance, denial, suspension, cancellation, modification, or revocation of any permit provided for in this chapter or by any other order of the Director may, within 10 days of the receipt of written notice of the entry of such order, appeal to the Board of Appeals by complying with the provisions of § 9-40.
If any portion of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of this chapter and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.