The discharge of non-stormwater discharges to the City storm sewer system is prohibited. All discharges of material other than stormwater must be in compliance with an NPDES permit issued for the discharge (other than NPDES Permit No. CA 0029831).
(a) 
Exceptions to Discharge Prohibition. The following discharges are exempt from the prohibition set forth in Section 16-13.201 above:
(1) 
The prohibition to discharges shall not apply to any discharge regulated under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the discharger and administered by the State of California under authority of the United States Environmental Protection Agency; provided, that the discharger is in full compliance with all requirements of the permit and other applicable laws or regulations.
(2) 
Discharges from the following activities will not be considered a source of pollutants to waters of the United States when properly managed in accordance with the requirements of the NPDES stormwater permit for the Alameda County Clean Water Program agencies: water line flushing and other discharges from potable water sources, diverted stream flows, rising groundwater, infiltration to separate storm drains, uncontaminated pumped groundwater, foundation and footing drains, water from crawl space pumps, air conditioning condensation, springs, individual residential car washing, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands, de- chlorinated swimming pool discharges, or flows from firefighting, and accordingly are not subject to the prohibition on discharges.
(Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 07-015, eff. Jan. 3, 2008; Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 92-01, eff. Feb. 20, 1992)
Any discharge that would result in or contribute to a violation of NPDES Permit No. CA 0029831, a copy of which is on file with the City Clerk, or any amendment, revision or reissuance thereof, either separately considered or when combined with other discharges, is prohibited. Liability for any such discharge shall be the responsibility of the person(s) causing or responsible for the discharge, and such person(s) shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the City in any administrative or judicial enforcement action relating to such discharge.
(Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 07-015, eff. Jan. 3, 2008; Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 92-01, eff. Feb. 20, 1992)
It is prohibited to establish, use, maintain, or continue illicit drainage connections to the City storm sewer system, and to commence or continue any illicit discharges to the City storm sewer system. This prohibition is expressly retroactive and applies to connections made in the past, regardless of whether made under a permit or other authorization or whether permissible under the law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of the connection.
(Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 07-015, eff. Jan. 3, 2008; Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 92-01, eff. Feb. 20, 1992)
Any person engaged in activities which will or may result in pollutants entering the City storm sewer system shall undertake all practicable measures to reduce such pollutants. Examples of such activities include ownership and use of facilities which may be a source of pollutants such as parking lots, gasoline stations, industrial facilities, commercial facilities, stores fronting city streets, etc. The following minimal requirements shall apply:
(a) 
Littering.
(1) 
No person shall throw, deposit, leave, maintain, keep, or permit to be thrown, deposited, placed, left or maintained, any refuse, rubbish, garbage, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin, conduit or other drainage structures, business place, or upon any public or private lot of land in the City, so that the same might be or become a pollutant, except in containers or in lawfully established dumping grounds.
(2) 
The occupant or tenant or, in the absence of the occupant or tenant, the owner, lessor, or proprietor of any real property in the City of Emeryville in front of which there is a paved sidewalk shall maintain said sidewalk free of dirt or litter to the maximum extent practicable.
Sweepings from said sidewalk shall not be swept or otherwise made or allowed to go into the gutter or roadway, but shall be disposed of in receptacles maintained on said real property as required for the disposal of garbage.
(3) 
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any fountain, pond, lake, stream or any other body of water in a park or elsewhere within the City.
(b) 
Standard for Parking Lots and Similar Structures. Persons owning or operating a parking lot, gas station pavement or similar structure shall clean those structures as frequently and thoroughly as practicable in a manner that does not result in discharge of pollutants to the City storm sewer system.
(c) 
Notification of Intent and Compliance with General Permits. Each industrial discharger, discharger associated with construction activity, or other discharger, described in any general stormwater permit addressing such discharges, as may be adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the State Water Resources Control Board, or the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region, shall provide notice of intent, comply with, and undertake all other activities required by any general stormwater permit applicable to such discharges. Each discharger identified in an individual NPDES permit relating to stormwater discharges shall comply with and undertake all activities required by such permit.
(d) 
Compliance with Best Management Practices. Where best management practices, guidelines or requirements have been adopted by any Federal, State of California, regional, and/or City agency, for any activity, operation, or facility which may cause or contribute to stormwater pollution or contamination, illicit discharges, and/or discharge of non-stormwater to the stormwater system, every person undertaking such activity or operation, or owning or operating such facility, shall comply with such guidelines or requirements as may be identified by the Director of Public Works.
(Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 07-015, eff. Jan. 3, 2008; Sec. 1, Ord. 04-009, eff. Aug. 19, 2004; Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 92-01, eff. Feb. 20, 1992)
Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person's lessee or tenant, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property reasonably free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles which would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse; 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; and shall not remove healthy bank vegetation beyond that actually necessary for said maintenance, nor remove said vegetation in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion. No person shall commit or cause to be committed any of the following acts, unless a written permit has first been obtained from the Director of Public Works:
(a) 
Discharge into or connect any pipe or channel to a watercourse;
(b) 
Modify the natural flow of water in a watercourse;
(c) 
Carry out development within thirty feet (30') of the centerline of any creek or twenty feet (20') of the top of a bank;
(d) 
Deposit in, plant in, or remove any material from a watercourse, including its banks, except as required for necessary maintenance;
(e) 
Construct, alter, enlarge, connect to, change, or remove any structure in a watercourse; or
(f) 
Place any loose or unconsolidated material along the side of or within a watercourse or so close to the side as to cause a diversion of the flow, or to cause a probability of such material being carried away by stormwaters passing through such watercourse.
(Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 07-015, eff. Jan. 3, 2008; Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 92-01, eff. Feb. 20, 1992)