(A) Prohibited discharges.
(1) No person shall discharge to a water body, directly or indirectly, any substance other than storm water or an exempted discharge. Any person discharging storm water shall effectively prevent pollutants from being discharged with the storm water, except in accordance with BMPs.
(2) The city is authorized to require dischargers to implement pollution prevention measures, utilizing BMPs as necessary, to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants into the city's storm water drainage system.
(3) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the city storm drain system or watercourse any materials, including, but not limited to, pollutants, or water containing any pollutants that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards other than storm water. The commencement, conduct, or continuance of any illicit discharge to the storm drain system is prohibited except for discharges authorized by the city as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
(4) Prohibition of illicit connections.
(a) The construction, use, maintenance, or continued existence of illicit connections to the MS4 is prohibited.
(b) This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection.
(c) Without limitation, a person is considered to be in violation of this chapter if the person connects a line conveying wastewater to the MS4 or allows such a connection to continue.
(5) The prohibitions of this section shall not apply to any non-storm water discharge permitted under a 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 discharge 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 MS4.
(B) Exempted discharges.
(1) The following non-storm water discharges shall be exempted from the requirement of this section, provided that they do not result in a violation of State of Michigan water quality standards:
(a) Water supply line flushing;
(b) Landscape irrigation;
(c) Diverted stream flows;
(d) Rising ground water;
(e) Uncontaminated ground water infiltration to storm drains;
(f) Uncontaminated pumped ground water;
(g) Discharges from potable water sources;
(h) Foundation drains;
(i) Air conditioning condensate;
(j) Individual residential car washing;
(k) Dechlorinated swimming pool water;
(l) Street wash water;
(m) Discharges or flows from emergency firefighting activities; and
(n) Discharges for which a specific federal or state permit has been issued.
(2) None of the above exemptions eliminate the need to provide appropriate pollution control or pollution prevention measures required under this chapter or under any other Federal or State law, rule or regulation.
(C) Interference with natural or artificial drains.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to stop, fill, dam, confine, pave, alter the course of, or otherwise interfere with any natural or constructed drain, ditch, swale, culvert, water body, floodplain, or flood prone area without first submitting a drainage plan to the city and receiving approval of that plan. Any deviation from the approved plan is a violation of this chapter. This section shall not prohibit, however, necessary emergency action so as to prevent or mitigate drainage that would be injurious to the environment, the public health, safety, or welfare.
(2) No filling, blocking, fencing or above-surface vegetation planting shall take place within a floodway.
(3) No shrubs or trees shall be planted below the top of the bank of a water body.
(4) For an overland flow-way:
(a) Silt screen fences shall not be permitted below the top of the bank of a water body.
(b) Chain link fences shall be permitted if the city determines that the fence will not obstruct or diver the flow of water.
(c) If a fence is removed by the city for drain access or drain maintenance, the fence shell be replaced by the owner of the fence at the owner's expense.
(5) Shrubs, trees or other above-ground vegetation shall not be planted over the top of an underground storm sewer or over the top of the easement within which the storm sewer has been installed.
(D) Storage of materials in drainageway. It shall be unlawful for any person to store, stockpile or dispose of any hazardous, toxic, or non-toxic material including, but not limited to, chemicals, explosives, buoyant materials, yard wastes, log and brush piles, unsecured landscaping materials, play or work sheds, animal wastes, fertilizers, flammable liquids and pollutants within an overland flow-way, drainage system or a floodplain unless adequate protection and or containment has been provided to prevent such materials from entering, diverting or blocking the city drainage system, except as specifically permitted by State and Federal law.
(Prior Code, § 2.183) (Ord. effective 1-18-2002; Ord. effective 4-29-2022)