[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Bronxville
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-9-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
A.
The purpose of this article is to provide for the health,
safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Village of Bronxville 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:
(1)
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal
separate storm sewer system (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user;
(2)
To prohibit illicit connections and illegal discharge
to the municipal separate storm sewer system; and
(3)
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection,
surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with
this article.
B.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Illegal
Discharge and Illicit Connections Law of the Village of Bronxville."
When used in this article, and unless otherwise expressly stated or
unless the context requires, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Employees or designees of the Superintendent of Buildings and Superintendent
of Public Works.
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.
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,
that 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 drainage system, except as exempted in § 256-7 of this article.
An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, that
allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drainage system, including
but not limited to any conveyances that allow any nonstormwater discharge,
including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter the storm drainage
system and any connections to the storm drainage 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; or
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land
use to the storm drainage system that 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 the EPA (or by New York 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
on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis.
Any discharge to the storm drainage 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, ordnance,
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 that 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.
Surface watercourses and water bodies, including all natural waterways
and definite channels and depressions in the earth that may carry water, even
though such waterways may only carry water during rains and storms and may
not carry stormwater at and during all times and seasons.
This article shall apply to all water generated on any developed and
undeveloped lands and entering the storm drainage system unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The authorized enforcement agency shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this article. The authorized enforcement agency may delegate
any powers granted or duties imposed herein.
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 discharge.
(1)
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into
the municipal storm drainage system or watercourses any materials, including
but not limited to pollutants or wastewaters 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 drainage system is prohibited, except as described
as follows:
(a)
The following discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions
established by this article: water line flushing or other potable water sources,
landscape irrigation or lawn watering, diverted stream flows, rising ground
water, ground water infiltration to storm drains, uncontaminated pumped ground
water, foundation or footing drains (not including active groundwater dewatering
systems), crawl space pumps, air conditioning condensation, springs, noncommercial
washing of vehicles, natural riparian habitat or wetland flows, swimming pools
(if dechlorinated; typically less than one PPM chlorine), fire-fighting activities,
and any other water source not containing pollutants.
(b)
Discharges specified in writing by the authorized enforcement
agency as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
(c)
Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a
verbal notification to the authorized enforcement agency prior to the time
of the test.
(d)
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, 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 has been granted
for any discharge to the storm drainage system.
B.
Prohibition of illicit connections.
(1)
The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence
of illicit connections to the storm drainage system is prohibited.
(2)
This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation,
illicit connections made in the past and now illicit under the provisions
of this article, 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 illegal discharge in emergency situations.
The authorized enforcement agency may, without prior notice, suspend MS4 discharge
access to a person when such suspension is necessary to stop an actual or
threatened discharge that 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 illegal discharge.
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this article may have his/her
MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate or reduce an illegal
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.
C.
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 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 authorized
enforcement agency prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
A.
Applicability. This section applies to all facilities
that have stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity, including
construction activity.
B.
Access to facilities.
(1)
The authorized enforcement agency 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 authorized enforcement
agency ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection,
sampling, 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 authorized enforcement agency 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 authorized enforcement agency 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 authorized enforcement
agency and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall
be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the authorized enforcement
agency 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 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 authorized enforcement agency 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 authorized enforcement agency will promulgate requirements identifying
best management practices for any activity, operation, or facility that 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 their own expense,
reasonable protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or
other wastes into the municipal storm drainage system or watercourses through
the use of these structural and nonstructural BMPs. Further, any person responsible
for a property or premises that is, or may be, the source of an illegal 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 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) 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
that is resulting or may result in illegal discharge 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 authorized enforcement agency in person
or by phone or facsimile no later than the next business day. Notifications
in person, by phone or electronic messaging shall be confirmed by written
notice addressed and mailed to the Village Building Inspector and Village
Administrator 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 and shall be made available
to the authorized enforcement agency upon request at any time.
A.
Notice of violation. Whenever the authorized enforcement
agency 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 written notice of violation to the responsible person. Such notice may
require, without limitation:
(1)
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(2)
The elimination of illicit connections or illegal discharge;
(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; and
(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
to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The notice of appeal must be received by the
Village Administrator within 10 days from the date of the notice of violation.
Hearing on the appeal before the Zoning Board of Appeals shall take place
within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision
of the Zoning Board of Appeals 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
10 days of the decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals 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 government agency or
designated contractor to enter upon the premises for the purposes set forth
above.
Within 10 days after abatement of the violation by or on behalf of the
authorized enforcement agency, 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
10 days of receipt of said notice. If the amount due is not paid within a
timely manner as determined by the decision of the Village of Bronxville 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 Village by reason
of such violation. The liability shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments.
Interest at the rate of 8% per annum shall be assessed on the balance beginning
on the 40th 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 that 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, creek 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.
A.
In addition to or as an alternative to any penalty provided
herein or by law, any person who violates the provisions of this article shall
be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine not exceeding $350 or imprisonment
for a period not to exceed six months, or both for conviction of a first offense;
for conviction of a second offense, both of which were committed within a
period of five years, punishable by a fine not less than $350 nor more than
$700 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both; and upon
conviction for a third or subsequent offense all of which were committed within
a period of five years, punishable by a fine not less than $700 nor more than
$1,000 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both. However,
for the purposes of conferring jurisdiction upon courts and judicial officers
generally, violations of this article shall be deemed misdemeanors and for
such purpose only, all provisions of law relating to misdemeanors shall apply
to such violations. Each week's continued violation shall constitute
a separate additional violation.
B.
The authorized enforcement agency 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.
