(A) The city shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation under this section as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this chapter. If a discharger has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives of the city.
(B) Facility operators shall allow 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 stormwater, and the performance of any additional duties as defined by state and federal law.
(C) The city 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 stormwater discharge.
(D) The city has the right to require the discharger to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment shall be installed and maintained by the discharger at its own expense. The discharger shall maintain the monitoring equipment at all times in a safe and proper operating condition. All devices used to measure stormwater flow and quality shall be calibrated to ensure their accuracy.
(E) 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 facility's 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's operator.
(F) Unreasonable delays in allowing the city access to a permitted facility is a violation of a stormwater discharge permit and of this section. 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 city reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting any activity authorized or required by this section.
(G) If the city has been refused access to any part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and the city is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this section, 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 section or any order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety, and welfare of the community, then the city may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
(Ord. 2004-39, passed 10-26-2004)