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(a) Prohibition of Illicit Discharges. No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, an illicit discharge into the MS4. The commencement, conduct, or continuance of any illicit discharge to the MS4 is prohibited except as described below:
(1) Water line flushing: Landscape irrigation; diverted stream flows; rising ground waters; uncontaminated ground water infiltration; uncontaminated pumped ground water; discharges from potable water sources; foundation drains; air conditioning condensate; irrigation water; springs; water from crawl space pumps; footing drains; lawn watering; individual residential car washing; charity car washes; flows from riparian habitats and wetlands; dechlorinated swimming pool discharges; street wash water; and discharges or flows from fire fighting activities. These discharges are exempt until such time as they are determined by the City to be significant contributors of pollutants to the MS4.
(2) Discharges specified in writing by the City as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
(3) Discharges from off-lot discharging home sewage treatment systems permitted by the County General Health District for the purpose of discharging treated sewage effluent in accordance with Ohio Administrative Code 3701-29-02(6) until such time as the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issues an NPDES permitting mechanism for residential one-, two-, or three-family dwellings. These discharges are exempt unless such discharges are deemed to be creating a public health nuisance by the County General Health District.
(4) In compliance with the Stormwater Management Program, discharges from all off-lot discharging home sewage treatment systems must either be eliminated or have coverage under an appropriate NPDES permit issued and approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. When such permit coverage is available, discharges from off-lot discharging home sewage treatment systems will no longer be exempt from the requirements of this regulation.
(5) Dye testing. However, a verbal notification is required to be given to the City prior to the time of the test.
(6) The prohibition shall not apply to any non-stormwater 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 Ohio 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 chapters, and provided that written approval has been granted for any discharge to the storm drain system. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required in a form acceptable to the City prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
(7) The City will adopt requirements identifying best management practices (BMPs) for any activity, operation, or facility which may cause or contribute to pollution or contamination of stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the U.S. 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 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) for compliance with requirements of the NPDES permit.
(b) Prohibition of Illegal Connections. The construction, use, maintenance, or continued existence of illegal connections to the MS4 is prohibited.
(1) This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illegal connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection.
(2) A person is considered to be in violation of this regulation if the person connects a line conveying illicit discharges to the MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
(3) 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 U.S., said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment and clean-up 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 non-hazardous materials, said person shall notify the City 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 City 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.
(Ord. 77-15. Passed 7-13-15.)
(a) Establishment of an Illicit Discharge and Illegal Connection Monitoring Program. The City shall establish a program to detect and eliminate illicit discharges and illegal connections to the MS4. This program shall include the mapping of the MS4, including MS4 outfalls; the routine inspection of stormwater outfalls to the MS4, and the systematic investigation of potential residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities for the sources of any dry weather flows found as the result of these inspections.
(b) Inspection of Residential, Commercial, Industrial, or Institutional Facilities.
(1) The City shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to this regulation as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this regulation.
(2) The City shall have the right to set up at facilities subject to this regulation such devices as are necessary to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge, as determined by the City.
(3) The City shall have the right to require the facility owner/operator to install monitoring equipment as necessary. This sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in safe and proper operating condition by the facility owner/operator at the owner/operator's expense. All devices used to measure stormwater flow and quality shall be calibrated by the City to ensure their accuracy.
(4) Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and reasonable access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the facility's owner/operator at the written or oral request of the City and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the facility owner/operator.
(5) Unreasonable delays in allowing the City access to a facility subject to this regulation for the purposes of illicit discharge inspection is a violation of this regulation.
(6) If the City is refused access to any part of the facility from which stormwater is discharged, and the City demonstrates probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this regulation, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of an inspection and sampling program designed to verify compliance with this regulation or any order issued hereunder, or to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the City may seek issuance of a search warrant, civil remedies including but not limited to injunctive relief, and/or criminal remedies from any court of appropriate jurisdiction.
(7) Upon confirmation of an illicit discharge from a facility by the City, any costs associated with the review of proposed remediation plans, inspecting the facility to determine compliance with this regulation, and monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge, throughout the time period it takes to adequately resolve the illicit discharge, shall be assessed to the facility owner/operator.
(Ord. 77-15. Passed 7-13-15.)
(a) Notice of Violation. When the City finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this regulation, the City may order compliance by written Notice of Violation. Such notice must specify the violation and shall be hand delivered, and/or sent by registered mail, to the owner/operator of the facility. Such notice may require the following actions:
(1) The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(2) The elimination of illicit discharges or illegal connections;
(3) That violating discharges, practices, or operations cease and desist;
(4) The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution or contamination hazards and the restoration of any effected 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 of Violation shall set forth a deadline within which such remediation or restoration must be completed. Said Notice shall further advise that, should the facility owner/ operator fail to remediate or restore within the established deadline, a legal action for enforcement may be initiated.
(c) Any person receiving a Notice of Violation must meet compliance standards within the time established in the Notice of Violation.
(d) Injunctive Relief. It shall be unlawful for any owner/operator to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this regulation pursuant to Ohio R.C. 3709.211. If an owner/operator has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this regulation, the City may petition for a preliminary or permanent injunction restraining the owner/operator from activities that would create further violations or compelling the owner/operator to perform abatement or remediation of the violation.
(e) Suspension Due to Illicit Discharges in Emergency Situations. The City 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 City 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.
(f) Suspension Due to the Detection of Illicit Discharge. Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this chapter may have their MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The City Engineer will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator may petition the authorized enforcement agency for a hearing for reconsideration. 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.
(Ord. 77-15. Passed 7-13-15.)
(a) Any person, firm, entity or corporation; including but not limited to, the owner and or operator of the property, his agents and assigns, occupant, property manager, and any contractor or subcontractor who violates or fails to comply with any provision of this regulation is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall be fined no more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned for no more than 60 days, or both, for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or continues beyond the date established in the Notice of Violation set forth in Section 1053.09.
(b) All expenses incurred by the City to initiate an enforcement action, implement a mitigating event, remediation of damages caused or resolve a violation shall be the responsibility of the property owner and/or operator.
(Ord. 77-15. Passed 7-13-15.)