[Adopted 5-7-2007 (Ch. 97 of the 1990 Code)]
The purpose of this article is to provide for
the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Town
of Wethersfield, Connecticut through the regulation of nonstormwater
discharges to the storm drainage system to the maximum extent practicable
as required by federal and state law. 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) permit
process. The objectives of this article are:
A. To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the
municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) by illicit 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.
For the purposes of this article, the following
shall mean:
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general
good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational
practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices
to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly
to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems.
BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices
to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal,
or drainage from raw materials storage.
CLEAN WATER ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
Activities subject to NPDES construction permits. These include
construction projects resulting in land disturbance of one acre or
more. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and
grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination
thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical,
chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly
contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human
health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated,
stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
ILLEGAL DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in §
141-7 of this article.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
A.
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface
or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm
drain system including but not limited to any conveyances which allow
any nonstormwater discharge including sewage, processed or domestic
wastewater to enter the storm drain system and any connections to
the storm drain system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of
whether said drain or conveyance had been previously allowed, permitted,
or approved by an authorized enforcement agency; or
B.
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial
or industrial land use to the storm drain system which has not been
documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an
authorized enforcement agency.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
PERSON
Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm,
corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either
the owner or as the owner's agent.
POLLUTANT
Anything that causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants
may include, but are not limited to, paints, varnishes, and solvents;
oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes
and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded
or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, so that same may
cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides,
and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform
and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes
and residues that result from constructing a building or structure;
and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
PREMISES
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether
improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM
Publicly owned facilities by which stormwater is collected
and/or conveyed, including but not limited to any roads with drainage
systems, municipal streets, gutters, curbs, inlets, piped storm drains,
pumping facilities, retention and detention basins, natural and human-made
or altered drainage channels, reservoirs, and other drainage structures.
STORMWATER
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from
such precipitation.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN
A document which describes the best management practices
and activities to be implemented by a person or business to identify
sources of pollution or contamination at a site and the actions to
eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to stormwater, stormwater
conveyance systems, and/or receiving waters to the maximum extent
practicable.
WASTEWATER
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
This article shall apply to all water entering
the storm drain system generated on any developed and undeveloped
lands unless explicitly exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The Director of Public Works/Town Engineer shall
administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article.
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.
The provisions of this article are hereby declared
to be severable. If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph
of this article or the application thereof to any person, establishment,
or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not
affect the other provisions or application of this article.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated
pursuant to this article are minimum standards; therefore this article
does not intend nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure
that there will be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge
of pollutants.
Any person subject to an industrial, commercial
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 Director of Public
Works/Town Engineer prior to the allowing discharges to the MS4.
The Director of Public Works/Town Engineer will
adopt requirements identifying Best Management Practices for any activity,
operation, or facility that may cause or contribute to pollution or
contamination of stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of
the state. 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 BMPs. Further, any person responsible for a property
or premises, which is, or may be, the source of an illicit discharge,
may be required to implement, at said person's expense, additional
structural and nonstructural BMPs to prevent the further discharge
of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system. Compliance
with all terms and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing
the discharge of stormwater associated with industrial, commercial,
or construction activity, to the extent practicable, shall be deemed
compliance with the provisions of this section. These BMPs shall be
part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) or stormwater
management plan (SMP) as necessary for compliance with requirements
of the NPDES permit.
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,
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.
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 drain system, or waters of the State of Connecticut,
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 nonhazardous materials, said person shall
notify the authorized enforcement agency in person or by phone or
facsimile no later than the next business day. Notifications in person
or by phone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed and mailed
to the Director of Public Works/Town Engineer within three business
days of the phone notice. 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.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may
appeal the determination of the authorized enforcement agency. The
notice of appeal must be received by the Director of Public Works/Town
Engineer within 15 days from the date of the notice of violation.
Hearing on the appeal before the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses
Agency shall take place within 45 days from the date of receipt of
the notice of appeal. The decision of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses
Agency shall be final.
If the violation has not been corrected pursuant
to the requirements set forth in the notice of violation, or, in the
event of an appeal, within 15 days of the decision of the Inland Wetland
and Watercourses Commission upholding the decision of the authorized
enforcement agency, then representatives of the authorized enforcement
agency shall enter upon the subject private property and are authorized
to take any and all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or
restore the property. It shall be unlawful for any person, owner,
agent or person in possession of any premises to refuse to allow the
governmental agency or designated contractor to enter upon the premises
for the purposes set forth above.
Within 15 days after abatement of the violation,
the owner of the property will be notified of the cost of abatement,
including administrative costs. The property owner may file a written
protest objecting to the amount of the assessment within 15 days.
If the amount due is not paid within a timely manner as determined
by the decision of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission
or by the expiration of the time in which to file an appeal, the charges
shall become a special assessment against the property and shall constitute
a lien on the property for the amount of the assessment. Any person
violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable
to the Town of Wethersfield by reason of such violation. The liability
shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments. Interest at the
rate of 18% per annum shall be assessed on the balance beginning on
the first day following discovery of the violation.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate
any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this
article. If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions
of this article, the authorized enforcement agency may petition for
a preliminary or permanent injunction restraining the person from
activities which would create further violations or compelling the
person to perform abatement or remediation of the violation.
In lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties,
and remedies authorized by this article, the authorized enforcement
agency may impose upon a violator alternative compensatory actions,
such as storm drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops,
watercourse cleanup, etc.
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 article 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,
and/or a civil action to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation
of such nuisance may be taken.
Any person that has violated or continues to
violate this article shall be liable for fines and penalties to the
full extent of the law. The Town may recover all attorneys' fees,
court costs and other expenses associated with enforcement of this
article, including sampling and monitoring expenses.
The remedies listed in this article are not
exclusive of any other remedies available under any applicable federal,
state or local law and it is within the discretion of the authorized
enforcement agency to seek cumulative remedies.