(A) Inspection.
(1) Sanitary sewer.
(a) Every person owning improved real estate that discharges into the city’s sanitary sewer system shall allow a city employee, or a designated representative of the city, to inspect the building to confirm that there is no sump pump or other prohibited discharges into the sanitary system. In lieu of having the city inspect their property before the sale of a dwelling, the property owner may furnish a certificate from a licensed plumber, certifying that the property is in compliance with this section.
(b) Any person refusing to allow their property to be inspected, or refusing to furnish a plumber's certificate within 21 days of the date city employee(s), or their designated representatives, are denied admittance to the property, shall immediately become subject to the surcharge hereinafter provided for. Any property found to violate this article shall make the necessary changes to comply with the article, and furnish proof of the changes to the city.
(2) Storm drain system. The city 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.
(a) The owner or party responsible 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 storm water, and the performance of any additional duties as defined by state and federal law. Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the area to be inspected or sampled shall be promptly removed by the discharger at the request of the city, and shall not be replaced.
(b) If the city employee or representative of the city has been refused access to any part of the premises from which storm water is discharged, and he or 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 city employee or representative of the city may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) The city may require the discharger to install monitoring equipment or other such devices as are necessary, in the opinion of the city, to conduct monitoring or sampling of the premises storm water discharge. The monitoring equipment must be maintained by the discharger in a safe and proper operating condition at all times. All devices used to measure storm water flow and quality must be calibrated to ensure their accuracy.
(B) New construction. All new dwellings that are permitted to install a sump pump after June 1, 2004, shall have a pump that is piped to the outside of the dwelling before a certificate of occupancy is issued. New homes will be required to have their sump pump system inspected within 30 days of occupancy, and a certificate of compliance must be completed before the property owner may occupy the property.
(1) Incentives. Property owner reimbursement and fees related to the program will be set by resolution.
(2) Surcharge. A surcharge of $100 per month is hereby imposed on every utility bill accrued on or after January 1, 2005, to property owners who are not found to be in compliance with this section, or who have refused to allow the city to inspect the property. The surcharge will be added to the property owner’s utility billing until the property is found to be in compliance.
(C) Warning notice. When the city finds that any person has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, or any order issued hereunder, the city may serve upon that person a written warning notice, specifying the particular violation believed to have occurred, and requesting the discharger to immediately investigate the matter, and to seek a resolution whereby any offending discharge will cease. Investigation and/or resolution of the matter in response to the warning notice in no way relieves the alleged violator of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the warning notice. Nothing in this division shall limit the authority of the city to take any action, including emergency action or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a warning notice.
(D) Notice of violation.
(1) Whenever the city finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this chapter, the authorized enforcement agency may order compliance by written notice of violation to the responsible person.
(2) The notice of violation shall contain:
(a) The name and address of the alleged violator;
(b) The address when available, or a description of the building, structure or land upon which the violation is occurring, or has occurred;
(c) A statement specifying the nature of the violation;
(d) A description of the remedial measures necessary to restore compliance with this article and a time schedule for the completion of the remedial action;
(e) A statement of the penalty or penalties that shall or may be assessed against the person to whom the notice of violation is directed;
(f) A statement that the determination of violation may be appealed to the city by filing a written notice of appeal within three days of service of notice of violation; and
(g) A statement specifying that, should the violator fail to restore compliance within the established time schedule, the work will be done by a designated governmental agency or a contractor, and the expense thereof shall be charged to the violator.
(3) The notice may require without limitation:
(a) The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(b) The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(c) That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease and desist;
(d) The abatement or remediation of storm water pollution or contamination hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(e) Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs; and
(f) The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
(E) Suspension of MS4 access.
(1) When the city finds that any person has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, or any order issued hereunder, or that the person’s past violations are likely to recur, and that the person’s violation(s) has (have) caused or contributed to an actual or threatened discharge to the MS4 or waters of the United States, which reasonably appears to present an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons or to the environment, the city may issue an order to the violator, directing it immediately to cease and desist all such violations, and directing the violator to:
(a) Immediately comply with all article requirements; and
(b) Take such appropriate preventive action as may be needed to properly address a continuing or threatened violation, including immediately halting operations and/or terminating the discharge.
(2) Any person notified of an emergency order directed to it under this division shall immediately comply and stop or eliminate its endangering discharge. In the event of a discharger's failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the emergency order, the city may take such steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize harm to the MS4 or waters of the United States, and/or endangerment to persons or to the environment, including immediate termination of a facility’s water supply, sewer connection, or other municipal utility services.
(F) Penalties.
(1) Any person found to be violating any provision of this article shall be served by the city with written notice, stating the nature of the violation, and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in the notice, permanently cease all violations.
(2) In the event that the owner fails to correct the situation within the given time period, the city may correct it and collect all costs, together with reasonable attorneys’ fees, or in the alternative, by certifying the costs of correction as any other special assessment upon the land from which the correction of the violation was made.
(3) Any person that has violated or continues to violate this chapter shall be liable to criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law, and shall be subject to a criminal penalty of $1,000 per violation per day and/or imprisonment for a period of time not to exceed 90 days. The authorized enforcement agency may recover all attorneys’ fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement of this chapter, including sampling and monitoring expenses.
(G) Winter discharge.
(1) The Director of Public Works, and his or her designee, shall issue a permit to allow a property owner to discharge surface water into the sanitary sewer system. The permit shall authorize the discharge only from November 1 to March 30 of each year, and a property owner is required to meet at least one of the following criteria in order to obtain a permit:
(a) The freezing of the surface water discharge from sump pump or footing drain is causing a dangerous condition, such as ice buildup or flooding, on public or private property.
(b) The property owner has demonstrated that there is a danger that the sump pump or footing drain pipes will freeze up and result in either failure or damage to sump pump unit of the footing drain and cause basement flooding.
(c) The water being discharged from the sump pump or footing drain cannot be readily discharged into a storm drain or other acceptable drainage system.
(2) Following ten days’ written notice and an opportunity to be heard, the City Manager may require a property to discharge its sump pump into the sanitary sewer from November 1 to March 30, if surface water discharge is causing an icy condition on streets.
(H) Disclaimer. The city does not guarantee or imply that areas will be free from flooding or flood damages caused by inflow and infiltration. The city does not assume a specific duty as to individual property owners to enforce this article, but is enacting the article as a general regulation. This article shall not create liability on the part of the city or its offices or employees for any flood damage that may result from failure to comply with any portion of this article, or any administrative decisions made pursuant thereto, whatever the cause.
(Ord. 1472, passed 7-12-04; Am. Ord. 1538, passed 3-10-08; Am. Ord. 1618, passed 2-9-15; Am. Ord. 1674, passed 4-25-22)