[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Wethersfield as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[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:
Employees or designees of the Director of Public Works/Town
Engineer.
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.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
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.
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.
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in § 141-7 of this article.
An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
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
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.
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
A permit issued by EPA [or by a state under authority delegated
pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b)] that authorizes the discharge
of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is
applicable to an individual, group, or general area-wide basis.
Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed
entirely of stormwater.
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.
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.
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether
improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
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.
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from
such precipitation.
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.
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.
A.
Prohibition of illegal discharges.
(1)
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged
into the municipal storm drain system, specifically dumping down catch
basins and manholes or watercourses, any materials, including but
not limited to pollutants or liquids containing any pollutants that
cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards,
other than stormwater.
(2)
The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illegal
discharge to the storm drain system is prohibited except as described
as follows as per Section 3(a)(2) of the General Permit for the Discharge
of Stormwater from MS4, as amended from time to time.
(3)
The following discharges are exempt from discharge
prohibitions established by this article providing they contain no
pollutants:
(a)
Landscape irrigation;
(b)
Uncontaminated groundwater discharges such as
pumped groundwater, foundation drains, water from crawl space pumps
and footing drains;
(c)
Irrigation water;
(d)
Lawn watering runoff;
(e)
Residual street wash water;
(f)
Discharges or flows from fire-fighting activities
(except training); and naturally occurring discharges such as rising
groundwaters, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration [as defined
at 40 CFR 35.2005(20)], springs, diverted stream flows and flows from
riparian habitats and wetlands;
(g)
Pool water discharge;
(h)
Water main flushing.
(4)
The prohibition shall not apply to any nonstormwater
discharge permitted under an NPDES permit, waiver, or waste discharge
order issued to the discharger and administered under the authority
of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency or the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection, 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 by the Director of Public Works/Town Engineer has
been granted for any discharge to the storm drain system.
B.
Prohibition of illicit connections.
(1)
The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence
of illicit connections to the storm drain system is prohibited.
(2)
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.
(3)
A person is considered to be in violation of this
article if the person connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4,
or allows such a connection to continue.
A.
Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency
situations.
(1)
The Director of Public Works/Town Engineer 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.
Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge.
(1)
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of
this article may have their MS4 access terminated if such termination
would abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The authorized enforcement
agency will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4
access. The violator may petition the authorized enforcement agency
for a reconsideration and hearing.
(2)
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates
MS4 access to premises terminated pursuant to this section, without
the prior approval of the authorized enforcement agency.
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.
A.
Applicability. This section applies to all facilities
that have stormwater discharges associated with industrial, commercial
or construction activity.
B.
Access to facilities.
(1)
The Director of Public Works/Town Engineer shall be
permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation under
this article as often as may be necessary to determine compliance
with this article. If a discharger has security measures in force
that require proper identification and clearance before entry into
its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements
to allow access to representatives of the authorized enforcement agency.
(2)
Facility operators shall allow the Director of Public
Works/Town Engineer ready access to all parts of the premises for
the purposes of inspection, sampling, and the examination and copying
of records that must be kept under the conditions of an NPDES permit
to discharge stormwater, and the performance of any additional duties
as defined by state and federal law.
(3)
The Director of Public Works/Town Engineer 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 stormwater discharge.
(4)
The Director of Public Works/Town Engineer 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.
(5)
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 Director of Public Works/Town Engineer and shall not be replaced.
The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the Director of Public
Works/Town Engineer access to a permitted facility is a violation
of a stormwater discharge permit and of this article. A person who
is the operator of a facility with a NPDES permit to discharge stormwater
associated with industrial, commercial or construction activity commits
an offense if the person denies the authorized enforcement agency
reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting
any activity authorized or required by this article.
(7)
If the Director of Public Works/Town Engineer has
been refused access to any part of the premises from which stormwater
is discharged, and he/she is able to demonstrate probable cause to
believe that there may be a violation of this article, or that there
is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection
and sampling program designed to verify compliance with this article
or any order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health,
safety, and welfare of the community, then the authorized enforcement
agency may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent
jurisdiction.
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.
A.
Notice of violation. Whenever the Director of Public
Works/Town Engineer finds that a person has violated a prohibition
or failed to meet a requirement of this article, the authorized enforcement
agency may order compliance by a written notice of violation to the
responsible person. Such notice may require without limitation:
(1)
The performance of monitoring, sampling, analyses,
and reporting;
(2)
The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(3)
That violating discharges, practices, or operations
shall cease and desist;
(4)
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution
or contamination hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(5)
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation
costs;
(6)
The implementation of source control or treatment
BMPs.
B.
If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of
affected property is required, the notice shall set forth a deadline
within which such remediation or restoration must be completed. Said
notice shall further advise that, should the violator fail to remediate
or restore within the established deadline, the work will be done
by a designated governmental agency or a contractor and the expense
thereof shall be charged to the violator.
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.