The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of Cromwell through the regulation
of nonstormwater discharges to the storm drainage system to the maximum
extent practicable as required by federal and state law. This chapter
establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants
into the Town's storm drainage system (MS4) in order to comply
with the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit process. The objectives of this chapter are
to:
A. Regulate the contribution of pollutants to the storm drainage system
through stormwater discharges by any user.
B. Prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the storm drainage
system.
C. Establish legal authority to carry out all inspections, surveillance,
enforcement and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this chapter.
For the purposes of this chapter, the terms below shall have
the following meaning:
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.
FACILITY
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
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.
HEARING OFFICER
The person designated from time to time by the Town Manager to hear appeals in accordance with §
200-15 herein.
ILLEGAL DISCHARGE
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the storm drain system unless exempt pursuant to §
200-7 of this chapter.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
An illicit connection includes 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, process wastewater, and wash water, 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 connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved
by an authorized enforcement agency; and/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 Section 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 of the environment.
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, ordinances, 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.
PZC
The Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of Cromwell,
Connecticut, including its Enforcement Officer, its agents and the
Town Engineer.
STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM
Publicly owned premises 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 premises, retention and detention basins, natural and human-made
or altered drainage channels, reservoirs, and other drainage structures
and includes the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4).
STORMWATER
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from
such precipitation.
STORMWATER DISCHARGE PERMIT
Means a permit issued by EPA [or by a state under authority
delegated pursuant to 33 USC § 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.
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.
TOWN MANAGER
The Cromwell Town Manager or his/her authorized designee.
WASTEWATER
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from premises.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
This includes but is not limited to lakes, ponds, rivers, streams
and any other surface water defined as a watercourse by the Town's
inland wetland regulations.
This chapter shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by the Town Manager.
The Town Manager shall, in consultation with the Town Engineer,
administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
The Town Manager may delegate his/her powers and duties under this
chapter to an authorized designee.
The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this chapter 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 chapter.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
chapter are minimum standards; therefore this chapter 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 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 Town Manager prior to the allowing of
discharges to the storm drainage system.
The Town Manager 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 United States. The owner or operator
of a commercial or industrial establishment shall provide, at its
own expense, reasonable protection from accidental discharge of prohibited
materials or other wastes into the storm drainage system or watercourses
through the use of these structural and nonstructural BMPs. Further,
any person responsible for a property or facility 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 storm drainage
system as directed by the Town Manager. Compliance with all terms
and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of
stormwater associated with industrial 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 (SWPP) 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, 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.
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 United States 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 Town Manager in person or by phone, electronic mail 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 Town Manager 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.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter. If
a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this
chapter, the Town Manager 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 chapter, the Town Manager may impose upon a violator
alternative compensatory actions, such as storm drain stenciling,
attendance at compliance workshops, watershed cleanup, or other related
activities.
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, 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 chapter
shall be liable to criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the
law.
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 Town Manager to seek cumulative
remedies. Moreover, the Town Manager may recover all attorneys'
fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement
of this chapter, including sampling and monitoring expenses.
This chapter shall be in full force and effect 15 days after
publication. All prior ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict
with this chapter are hereby repealed.