All storm water systems of the city are declared to be a public utility. The utility shall be funded in a manner to be determined by the Board of Public Utilities. Revenue from storm water utility fees are to be solely utilized for storm water planning, design, regulation, education, coordination, construction, operation, maintenance, inspection, enforcement activities and implementation of the City of Bowling Green Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP), which shall comply with all applicable regulations.
(A) Purpose and Objective. The City of Bowling Green is required by its municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to develop, implement, and enforce a SWMP designed to reduce to the maximum extent practicable the discharge of pollutants from the storm sewer system, to protect water quality, and to satisfy the water quality requirements of R.C. Ch. 6111 and the Clean Water Act.
(1) The MS4 NPDES permit requires inclusion of the following six minimum controls in the SWMP:
(a) Public Education and Outreach on Storm Water Impacts;
(b) Public Involvement/Participation
(c) Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination;
(d) Construction Site Storm Water Control;
(e) Post-Construction Storm Water Management in New Development and Redevelopment;
(f) Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations.
(2) The storm water utility shall promote the public health, safety and welfare and provide for the safe and efficient capture of storm water runoff.
(B) Storm Water Management. The City Engineer or his or her designee shall advise the Director of Utilities on recommendations to provide adequate storm drainage and expertise in complying with the six minimum controls.
(C) Powers of the Director of Utilities. Storm water utility service charges levied pursuant to this section shall be collected by the Utilities Division. The Director of Utilities shall enforce such rules and regulations approved by the Board of Public Utilities for the safe, economical, and efficient management and protection of the city's storm sewer system and for the construction and use of storm sewers, connections to the system, and for the regulation, collection, rebating and refunding of storm water revenue. The Director of Utilities shall report to the Board of Public Utilities and City Council a minimum of once per year as to the status of the storm water funds. The report shall include receipts, expenditures, projects completed, projects planned and the MS4 NPDES permit year-end report.
(D) Storm Water Service Charge. The Board of Public Utilities shall establish storm water charges for each parcel of land in the city that contributes directly or indirectly to the separate storm sewer system or the combined sewer system of the city. This charge is not related to water and/or sanitary sewer service and shall apply whether the property is occupied or unoccupied.
(E) Administration. The Utilities Division of the City of Bowling Green and the city's authorized representatives are authorized to administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this section and § 50.99.
(F) Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction Activity, and Industrial Activity.
(1) Applicability. This section applies to all facilities and sites located within the city that have storm water discharges associated with construction activity, and/or industrial activity.
(a) Construction site runoff control is required for construction activity disturbing greater than one acre. No person shall initiate construction or create a disturbed area without first submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) and the City of Bowling Green with appropriate fees established by the Board of Public Utilities and also obtaining an Ohio EPA NPDES statewide general storm water permit for construction activities.
(b) Facilities which discharge storm water associated with industrial activity directly or indirectly into a city storm water conveyance, shall in addition to filing copies of the NOI with the Ohio EPA shall also submit signed copies of the NOI to the City of Bowling Green Director of Utilities office with appropriate fees established by the Board of Public Utilities. Discharges covered by this permit shall be composed entirely of storm water unless specifically exempted by the Ohio EPA NPDES General storm water permit associated with industrial activity.
(2) Access to Facilities/Sites.
(a) City of Bowling Green representatives are authorized by this section to enter and inspect facilities/sites subject to regulation under this section upon presentation of credentials.
(b) Facility operators shall allow representatives of the city 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 storm water, and the performance of any additional duties as defined by state and federal law.
(c) The Utilities Division shall have the right to set up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary in the opinion of the city to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's storm water discharge.
(d) 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 verbal request of the Utilities Division and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the operator.
(e) Unreasonable delays in allowing the Utilities Division access to a permitted facility are a violation of a storm water discharge permit and of this section. A person, who is the operator of a facility with a NPDES permit to discharge storm water associated with construction activity or industrial activity, commits an offense if the person denies the Utilities Division reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting any activity authorized or required by this section.
(3) Unpermitted Discharges Prohibited. A person who is the operator of a facility commits a violation if the person discharges, or causes to be discharged, storm water associated with construction activity or industrial activity without first having obtained an Ohio EPA NPDES permit to do so.
(4) Compliance with Permit.
(a) A facility shall be operated in strict compliance with the requirements of its NPDES permit to discharge storm water associated with industrial or construction activity.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person operates a facility in violation of a requirement of the facility's NPDES permit to discharge storm water associated with industrial or construction activity.
(G) Modification of Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans.
(1) The Utilities Division may require any operator of a facility to modify the facility's Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) if in the best professional judgment of the city the SWPPP does not comply with the requirements of the facility's or site's NPDES permit to discharge storm water associated with industrial or construction activity.
(2) The deficiencies in a facility's or site's SWPPP will be made in writing, and the city will give the facility operator a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed 30 days, to make necessary changes in the SWPPP.
(H) Construction Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans.
(1) The City of Bowling Green requires that erosion, sediment and storm water practices used to comply with this section and Ohio EPA NPDES Statewide General Storm Water Permit for Construction Activity shall utilize the current edition of Ohio's "Rainwater and Land Development" manual or other standards acceptable to Ohio EPA. A NOI application shall be submitted to the city with a SWPPP for review and approval by the City Engineer.
(a) Non-Structural Preservation Methods. The SWPPP must make use of practices which preserve the existing natural condition as much as feasible. Such practices may include: preserving riparian areas adjacent to surface waters of the state, preserving existing vegetation and vegetative buffer strips, phasing of construction operations in order to minimize the amount of disturbed land at any one time and designation of tree preservation areas or other protective clearing or grubbing practices. The recommended buffer that a person should leave undisturbed along a surface water of the state is 25 feet as measured from the ordinary high water mark of the surface water. Erosion, stabilization, runoff control, sediment control, post-construction storm water management requirements, surface water protection, other controls, maintenance and inspection practices shall comply with the Ohio EPA Storm Water NPDES permit for water discharges associated with construction activity.
(b) Storm water discharges shall be designed for the ultimate use of the land. Areas developed for a subdivision shall provide a storm water management system for the ultimate development of all the subdivided lots.
(c) Storm water management facilities shall be designed and constructed so that they will continually function with minimal maintenance. Storm water management facilities shall be designed and constructed as a multiuse facility wherever practical.
(d) Storm water management facilities shall be designed and constructed with specific regard to safety.
(e) The design criteria shall be applied to each watershed within the development area.
(f) The runoff rate from the development area shall not be greater after development than it was before developed. Redeveloped areas shall rrunimize runoff to the maximum extent possible and in no case shall the runoff be greater than runoff prior to development.
(g) The SWPPP shall be designed by a licensed professional engineer.
(h) Inspection and review fees shall be established by the Board of Public Utilities to be paid by the applicant.
(i) Methods for controlling increases in the rate and volume of storm water runoff may include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Retarding flow velocities by increasing friction.
2. Grading and construction of terraces or diversions to slow runoff by diffusion, or use of grade control structures.
3. Induced infiltration of increased storm water runoff into the soil where practical.
4. Provisions for detention of storm water.
5. Specific methods for controlling storm water runoff are contained in the latest edition of "Rainwater and Land Development", by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
(I) Post-Construction Storm Water Management Requirements.
(1) Post-construction storm water management requirements are necessary to protect the receiving stream's physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and to ensure stream functions are maintained. Post construction storm water practices shall provide perpetual management of runoff quality and quantity. A SWPPP shall contain the description of the post construction Best Management Practices (BMPs) that will be installed during the construction of the site and the rationale for their selection. The rationale must address the anticipated impacts on the channel and flood plain morphology, hydrology, and water quality. The SWPPP with the proposed BMPs must be submitted to the City Engineer for review and approval. Post construction BMPs cannot be installed within a surface water of the state unless authorized by a Clean Water Act 401 water quality certification, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit or Ohio EPA non-jurisdictional wetland/stream program approval.
(2) Detailed drawings and maintenance plans must be provided for all post-construction BMPs. Maintenance plans shall be provided by the permittee to the post construction operator of the site (including homeowner associations) upon completion of construction activities (prior to termination of general NPDES permit coverage). For sites located within the City of Bowling Green MS4, the permittee, land owner, or other entity with legal control of the property will be required to develop and implement a maintenance plan to comply with the requirements of the city. Maintenance plans must ensure that pollutants collected within structural post-construction practices are disposed of in accordance with local, state and federal regulations. To ensure that storm water management systems function as they were designed and constructed to do, the post construction operation and maintenance plan must be a stand-alone document, which contains:
(a) A designated entity for storm water inspection and maintenance responsibilities;
(b) The routine and non routine maintenance to be undertaken;
(c) A schedule for inspection and maintenance;
(d) Any necessary legally binding maintenance easements and agreements; and
(e) A map showing all access and maintenance easements.
(3) Post-construction storm water BMPs that discharge pollutants from point sources once construction is completed, may require authorization under a separate NPDES Permit (for example storm water discharges from regulated industrial sites). Post construction shall comply with Ohio EPA authorization for storm water discharges associated with construction activity under the NPDES Permit.
(J) Storm Water Facility Maintenance.
(1) The responsible party shall maintain all storm water management facilities as required by the City of Bowling Green, Ohio EPA, NPDES statewide general storm water permit for construction activity and the Ohio EPA NPDES statewide permit for industrial activity. All storm water management facilities shall be maintained to meet the design standards and the provisions of these regulations and permits. Failure to maintain or comply with the Ohio EPA statewide general storm water permits for construction, industrial activity and this § 50.02 will result in action against the owner and/or developer, according to § 50.99.
(2) An inspection and maintenance agreement binding on all subsequent owners of land draining into the storm water facilities shall be developed as part of the design criteria. Such agreements shall provide access to the facilities for regular inspection by the City of Bowling Green to ensure that the facility is maintained to meet design standards and the provisions of these regulations. Such agreements or restrictions shall be recorded on the deed for the property, and reference thereon be made to the entity or individual (s) to be responsible for maintenance. The location and dimensions of storm water facilities and easements shall be recorded on the deed, or when in an approved subdivision, on the final plat, and reference thereon be made to the entity or individuals) responsible for maintenance. The City Engineer will verify and approve inspection and maintenance agreements, design standards, restrictions, easements and the entity or individual that is responsible for maintenance, prior to approval of construction of storm water facilities.
(K) Easements and Rights of Way. Permanent access and access easements required to perform inspection and maintenance of storm water control structures, storm water conveyance systems, permanent vegetative plantings and other conservation practices shall be provided as follows:
(1) Access to flood control storm drainage ditches, channels, and storage facilities, shall be by means of easements. Such easements shall not be less than 25 feet in width, exclusive of the width of the ditch, channel, or other facility it is to serve, and an easement of this type shall be provided at least on one side of the flood control or storm drainage ditch, channel, or similar type facility. The easement shall be granted to the entity responsible for the maintenance.
(2) Access along storm sewers shall be provided by means of easements. Such easements shall not be less than 15 feet in width, with a minimum width of seven feet on each side of the sewer's center line.
(3) Access around storm water storage facilities shall be provided by a means of a 25-foot easement in the case of dry bottom detention basins, and a 25-foot easement with a 25-foot level beach in the case of wet bottom detention basins, measured from the top of bank and shall include the storage facility itself. The storm water storage facilities for residential subdivisions shall be constructed on common lots. These storage facilities shall not be constructed to span multiple private property lots.
(4) Easements for the emergency flow ways shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width or larger if required.
(5) Those lots crossed by an easement shall be restricted against the planting within said easement of trees, shrubbery or other plantings with woody growth characteristics, and also against the construction therein of buildings, fences, walls, mounds or any other obstructions to the free flow of storm water and the passage of inspectors and maintenance equipment, and, also restricted against the changing of final grade from that described by the approved grading plan. Any obstructions placed in an easement are subject to removal. The cost of the removal may be charged to the property owner and will not be replaced by the city.
(L) Illicit Discharge to MS4 Prohibited.
(1) A person commits an offense if the person introduces or causes to be introduced into the MS4 any discharge that is not composed entirely of storm water.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to any enforcement action for a violation of § 50.02, that the discharge was composed entirely of one or more of the following categories of discharges:
(a) A discharge authorized by, and in full compliance with, an NPDES permit (other than the NPDES permit for discharges from the MS4);
(b) A discharge or flow resulting from fire fighting by the Fire Department;
(c) A discharge or flow of fire protection water that does not contain oil or hazardous substances or materials that the State of Ohio Fire Code requires to be contained and treated prior to discharge, in which case treatment adequate to remove harmful quantities of pollutants must have occurred prior to discharge;
(d) Agricultural storm water runoff;
(e) A discharge or flow from water line flushing or disinfection that contains no harmful quantity of total residual chlorine or any other chemical used in line disinfection;
(f) A discharge or flow from lawn watering, or landscape irrigation;
(g) A discharge or flow from a diverted stream flow or natural spring;
(h) A discharge or flow from uncontaminated pumped groundwater or rising groundwater;
(i) Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration (as defined at 40 C.F.R. § 35.2005(20)) to the MS4;
(j) Uncontaminated discharge or flow from a foundation drain, basement footer drain, or crawl space pump;
(k) A discharge or flow from a potable water source not containing any harmful substance or material from the cleaning or draining of a storage tank or other container;
(l) A discharge or flow from air conditioning condensation that is unmixed with water from a cooling tower, emissions scrubber, emissions filter, or any other source of pollutant;
(m) A discharge or flow from individual residential car washing;
(n) A discharge or flow from a riparian habitat or wetland;
(o) A discharge or flow of cold water (or hot water with prior permission of the city) used in street washing or cosmetic cleaning that is not contaminated with any soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent, emulsifier, dispersant, or any other harmful cleaning substance; or
(p) Drainage from a private residential swimming pool containing no harmful quantities of chlorine or other chemicals. Drainage from swimming pool filter backwash is prohibited;
(q) A discharge or flow of uncontaminated storm water pumped from an excavation.
(3) No affirmative defense shall be available under division (2) above if:
(a) The discharge, illicit connection or flow in question has been determined by the city to be a source of a pollutant or pollutants to the waters of the United States, waters of the state or to the MS4;
(b) Written notice of such determination has been provided to the discharger;
(c) The illicit discharge has continued after the expiration of the time given in the notice to cease the discharge.
(4) A person commits an offense if the person introduces or causes to be introduced into the MS4 any harmful quantity of any substance.
(5) The city shall have the authority to enter any facility, private property or construction site to conduct testing, monitoring, or inspection necessary to identify illicit connections.
(6) Illicit discharges shall be corrected expeditiously as possible as directed by the City of Bowling Green.
(M) Connection of Sanitary Sewer to MS4 Prohibited. A person commits an offense if the person connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
(N) Enforcement. An actual or threatened illicit discharge to the MS4 that violates or would violate this section is hereby declared to be a violation and is subject to enforcement action per § 50.99.
(Ord. 7901, passed 7-20-2009)