(a) For the purpose of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply; words used in the singular shall include the plural, and the plural, the singular; words used in the present tense shall include the future tense. The word "shall" is mandatory and not discretionary. The word "may" is permissive. Words not defined herein shall be construed to have the meaning given by common and ordinary use as defined in the latest edition of Webster's Dictionary.
(1) Authorized Enforcement Agency means employees or designees of the Director of Public Service of the City of Kent designated to enforce this ordinance.
(2) Best Management Practices (BMPs) Also Storm Water Control Measures (SCMs): schedule of activities, prohibitions of practices, operation and maintenance procedures, treatment requirements and other management practices (both structural and non-structural) to prevent or reduce the pollution of water resources and to control storm water volume and rate. This includes practices, to control runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
(3) Billing Period means the period identified from the first day of the month to the last day of the month. All bills rendered during a month are for the period beginning on the first day of the same month and are valid for that entire month unless otherwise identified. When City water service is discontinued during a month, the drainage fee due for that account shall be the pro rata portion of the month for which water services were active. When a developed property that does not receive City water service changes ownership during a billing period, the account existing on the first day of the billing period shall be liable for the prorated portion of the drainage fee for that billing period from the first day of the billing period until the day the property transaction is recorded with the Portage County Recorder.
(4) Bonds mean revenue bonds, notes, loans or any other debt obligations issued or incurred to finance the costs of construction.
(5) Calendar Year means a twelve month period commencing on the first day of January of any year.
(6) Clean Water Act Pub. L. 92-500, as amended Pub. L. 95-217, Pub. L. 95-576, Pub. L. 96-483, Pub. L. 97-117 and Pub. L. 100-4, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et. seq. Referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, and any subsequent amendments thereto.
(7) Comprehensive Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) The written document and plans meeting the requirements of this regulation that sets forth the plans and practices to minimize storm water runoff from a development area, to safely convey or temporarily store and release post-development runoff at an allowable rate to minimize flooding and stream bank erosion, and to protect or improve storm water quality and stream channels,
(8) Construction Activity means activities subject to the most current NPDES Construction Permits. These include construction projects resulting in land disturbance of one acre or more. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
(9) Costs of Construction means costs reasonably incurred in connection with providing capital improvements to the system or any portion thereof, including, but not limited to, the costs of:
A. Acquisition of all property, real or personal, and all interests in connection therewith including all rights-of-way and easements therefor,
B. Physical construction, installation and testing, including the costs of labor, services, materials, supplies and construction services used in connection therewith,
C. Architectural, engineering, legal and other professional services,
D. Insurance premiums taken out and maintained during construction, to the extent not paid for by a contractor for construction and installation,
E. Any taxes or other charges which become due during construction,
F. Expenses incurred by the City or on its behalf with its approval in seeking to enforce any remedy against contractor or sub-contractor in respect of any default under a contract relating to construction,
G. Principal of interest of any bonds, and
H. Miscellaneous expenses incidental thereto.
(10) Debt Service means, with respect to any particular calendar year and any particular series of bonds, an amount equal to the sum of all interest payable on such bonds during such calendar year, plus any principal installments of such bonds during such calendar year.
(11) Deputy Service Director/Superintendent of Engineering means the Deputy Service Director/Superintendent of Engineering for the City of Kent, Ohio or his/her designee.
(12) Developed Property means that which has been altered from its natural state by the removal of vegetation and/or topsoil or by the addition of any improvements such as a building, structure, impervious surface, change of grade, or landscaping. For new construction, a property shall be considered developed pursuant to this ordinance:
A. Upon issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, or upon completion of construction of final inspection if no such certificate is issued; or
B. Where construction is at least 50 percent complete and construction is halted for a period of three months.
C. Where vegetation and/or topsoil have been removed leaving exposed soil surfaces for a period of three months.
(13) Director means the Director of Public Service for the City of Kent, Ohio, or his/her designee.
(14) Dwelling Unit means any residential space for habitation as classified by the City building Code.
(15) Equivalent Residential Unit or ERU means the statistical average horizontal impervious area of "residential units" (single family, mobile homes, multifamily, condominiums, etc., within the City of Kent). The horizontal impervious area includes, but is not limited to, all areas covered by structures, roof extensions patios, porches, driveways, and sidewalks.
(16) Equivalent Residential Unit Rate means a drainage fee charged on each ERU as established by City Council.
(17) Exempt Property means public rights of way, public streets, public alleys and public sidewalks.
(18) Extension and Replacement means costs of extensions, additions and capital improvements to, or the renewal and replacement of capital assets of, or purchasing and installing new equipment for, the system, or land acquisitions for the system and any related costs thereto, or paying extraordinary maintenance and repair, including the costs of construction, or any other expenses which are not costs of operation and maintenance or debt service.
(19) Hazardous Materials. Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
(20) Illegal Discharge. Any direct or indirect non-storm water discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in Section 921.11
.
(21) Illicit Connections. An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
A. Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface that allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system including but not limited to any conveyances that allow any non-storm water discharge including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter the storm drain system and any connections to the storm drain system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved by an authorized enforcement agency or,
B. Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land use to the storm drain system that has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement agency.
(22) Impervious Area and Impervious Surface means a horizontal surface that has been compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water. It includes, but is not limited to, semipervious surfaces such as compacted clay or gravel, unvegetated and under vegetated solid surfaces, as well as streets, roofs, sidewalks, patios, porches, parking lots, athletic courts and other similar surfaces.
(23) Industrial Activity means activities subject to most current NPDES Industrial Storm Water Permits as defined in 40 CFR, Section 122.26 (b)(14).
(24) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels or storm drains) that are:
(A) Owned or operated by the federal government, state, municipality, township, county, district, or other public body (created by or pursuant to state or federal law) including special district under state law such as a sewer district, flood control district or drainage districts or similar entity or a designated and approved management agency under Section 208 of the Clean Water Act that discharges into water resources; and
(B) Designed or used for collecting or conveying solely storm water,
(C) Which is not a combined sewer, and
(D) Which is not a part of a publicly owned treatment works.
(25) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). A regulatory program in the Federal Clean Water Act that prohibits the discharge of pollutants into surface waters of the United States without a permit.
(26) Non-Residential Developed Property means any lot or parcel not exclusively residential as defined herein, including transient rentals such as hotels and motels.
(27) Non-Storm Water Discharge means any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of storm water.
(28) Operating Budget means the annual operating budget adopted by the City Council for the succeeding calendar year.
(29) Operations and Maintenance means the current expenses, paid or accrued, of operation, maintenance and current repair of the system, as calculated in accordance with sound accounting practice, and includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, insurance premiums, administrative expenses, labor, executive compensation, and cost of materials and supplies used for current operations, and charges for the accumulation of appropriate reserves for current expenses not annually incurred, but which are such as may reasonably be expected to be incurred in accordance with sound accounting practice.
(30) Person means any individual, partnership, society, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, institution or any other legal entity; or their legal representatives, agents, or assigns. This definition includes all Federal, State, and local governmental entities.
(31) Pollutant means anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; non-hazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, ordinances, and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
(32) Premises means any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
(33) Residential Property means any lot or parcel developed exclusively for residential purposes including, but not limited to, single family homes, manufactured homes, multifamily, apartment buildings, and condominiums.
(34) Revenues mean all rates, fees, assessments, rental or other charges or other income received by the Storm Water Drainage Fund, in connection with the management and operation of the system, including amounts received from the investment or deposit of moneys in any fund or account and any amounts contributed by the City, all as calculated in accordance with sound accounting practice.
(35) Storm Drainage System means publicly-owned facilities by which storm water is collected and/or conveyed, including but not limited to any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, gutters, curbs, inlets, piped storm drains, pumping facilities, retention and detention basins, natural and human-made or altered drainage channels, reservoirs, and other drainage structures.
(36) Storm Water. Defined at 40 CFR 122.26(b)(13) and means storm water runoff, snow melt runoff and surface runoff and drainage
(37) Storm Water Control Measures (SCMs): Also Best Management Practice (BMP): Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, operation and maintenance procedures, treatment requirements and other management practices (both structural and non-structural) to prevent or reduce the pollution of water resources and to control storm water volume and rate. This includes practices to control runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
(38) Storm Water Management System or System means the existing storm water management of the City and all improvements thereto which by this Chapter are constituted as the property and responsibility of the City, to be operated as an enterprise fund to, among other things, conserve water, control discharges necessitated by rainfall events, incorporate methods to collect, convey, store, absorb, inhibit, treat, use or reuse water to prevent or reduce flooding, over-drainage, environmental degradation and water pollution or otherwise affect the quality and quantity of discharge from such system.
(39) Storm Water Fee means a fee authorized by Ordinance(s) established to pay operations and maintenance, extension and replacement and debt service.
(40) Storm Water Drainage Fund (Fund 208) means the enterprise fund created by City Council to operate, maintain and improve the system and for such other purposes as stated in this Chapter.
(41) Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP or SWP3) means a document which describes the Best Management Practices/Storm Water Control Measures and activities to be implemented by a person or business to identify sources of pollution or contamination at a site and the actions to eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to Storm water, Storm Water Conveyance Systems, and/or Receiving Waters to the Maximum Extent Practicable.
(42) Undisturbed Property means real property which has not been altered from its natural state by dredging, filling, removal of trees and vegetation or other activities which have disturbed or altered the topography or soils on the property.
(43) User Fee District means the area or property within the corporate limits of the City of Kent.
(44) Vacant Improved Property means vacant property which is, or could reasonably be, served by any subdivision improvements that allow egress.
(45) Wastewater. Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated storm water, discharged from a facility.
(Ord. 2017-17. Passed 3-15-17.)