(A) The Board of Commissioners adopted Ordinance No. 2001-33 in December 2001 which established “Storm Drainage, Erosion, and Sediment Control Ordinance of Hendricks County”, commonly known as the “Hendricks County Drainage Code”, in order to govern the control of runoff of stormwater and to protect, conserve and promote the orderly development of the land in the county and its water resources. This code was primarily targeted at stormwater discharge quantity, and erosion and sediment control.
(B) On December 8, 1999, Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, was published in the Federal Register. The NPDES program, as authorized by the 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act, controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Phase II of NPDES requires permit coverage for stormwater discharges from regulated small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) and for small construction activity that results in the disturbance of equal to or greater than one acre. This federal regulation went into effect on March 10, 2003. In response to Phase II of NPDES, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management enacted Rule 13 (327 I.A.C. 15-13) and revised Rule 5 (327 I.A.C. 15-5).
(C) Under these new state and federal regulations, the county was required to establish a regulatory mechanism for regulating stormwater quality management. Therefore, the “Hendricks County Drainage Code” was replaced in 2004 with a document that included new requirements for management of stormwater quality in addition to quantity. The stormwater management ordinance and its companion Stormwater Technical Standards Manual were further updated in 2016.
(D) In December 2021, IDEM finalized two new permits, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General Permit (MS4 GP) and Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSGP), which replaced the previous IDEM’s Rule 13 and Rule 5. These new permits require the county to update its stormwater management ordinance to incorporate new requirements contained in the 2021 permits. The 2023 stormwater management ordinance of the county and its companion document, the 2023 Hendricks County Stormwater Technical Standards Manual, incorporate the IDEM-required changes and other necessary periodic updates.
(Ord. 2023-45, passed 12-12-2023)