(Added by Ord. No. 172,176, Eff. 10/1/98.)
A. General Discharge Prohibitions. No person shall discharge, cause, permit, or contribute to the discharge of any of the following to the storm drain system or receiving waters:
1. Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are flammable, reactive, explosive, corrosive, or radioactive, or by interaction with other materials could result in fire, explosion or injury.
2. Any solid or viscous materials which could cause obstruction to the flow or operation of the storm drain system.
3. Any pollutant that injures or constitutes a hazard to human, animal, plant, or fish life, or creates a public nuisance.
4. Any noxious or malodorous liquid, gas, or solid in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other materials, which creates a public nuisance, hazard to life, or inhibits authorized entry of any person into the storm drain system.
5. Any hazardous substance, including, but without limitation, medical waste, infectious waste and toxic materials. (Amended by Ord. No. 183,833, Eff. 10/3/15.)
B. Controlling the Discharge of Pollutants Associated with Industrial or Commercial Activities. Except as allowed under a general or separate NPDES permit, the following prohibitions apply to all persons operating or performing any industrial or commercial activities within the City of Los Angeles:
1. No person shall discharge, cause or permit the discharge of untreated wastewater from steam cleaning, mobile carpet cleaning, or from other such mobile commercial or industrial operations into the storm drain system.
2. No person shall discharge, cause or permit any discharge of untreated runoff containing grease, oil, antifreeze, other fluids from machinery, equipment, tools or motor vehicles, or hazardous substances into the storm drain system.
3. No person shall discharge, cause or permit the discharge of untreated runoff from the washing of toxic materials from paved or unpaved areas into the storm drain system.
4. No person shall discharge, cause or permit the discharge of wastewater from the washing out of concrete trucks into the storm drain system.
5. Violation of any of the following prohibitions within this subdivision shall be punishable as an infraction. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,366, Eff. 10/31/19.)
(a) No person shall discharge, cause or permit the discharge of untreated wash water from gas stations, auto repair garages, or from other types of automotive facilities into the storm drain system.
(b) No person shall discharge, cause or permit the discharge of untreated runoff from the washing of impervious surfaces into the storm drain system. This provision shall apply unless the washing is specifically required by State or local health and safety codes or unless the discharge is conditionally exempt as street or sidewalk washing as provided in Subdivision 2, Subsection A of Section 64.70.03 of this article.
(c) No person shall discharge, cause or permit the discharge of food wastes from the washing of any floor coverings such as duck boards, grates, mats or rugs from any commercial kitchen, or from any other commercial food preparation or processing activity, into the storm drain system.
(d) No person shall discharge, cause or permit the discharge of commercial/public swimming pool filter backwash into the storm drain system.
C. Controlling Spills, Dumping or Disposal of Materials to the Storm Drain System. This subsection applies to all persons within the City of Los Angeles and is in addition to any other anti-littering provisions provided in this Code, including, without limitation, Sections 56.08, 57.21.06, 62.54, 66.04 and 66.25. (Amended by Ord. No. 183,833, Eff. 10/3/15.)
1. The following prohibitions apply to all persons within the City of Los Angeles and any violation of this subdivision shall be punishable as a misdemeanor:
(a) No person shall throw, deposit, leave, cause or permit to be thrown, deposited, placed, or left, any refuse, rubbish, garbage, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, in or upon any street, gutter, alley, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin, conduit or other drainage structures, business place, or upon any public or private lot of land in the City so that such materials, when exposed to stormwater or any runoff, become a pollutant in the storm drain system.
(b) No person shall intentionally dispose or cause the disposal of leaves, dirt, or other landscape debris into the storm drain system.
(c) No person shall spill, dump or dispose any pesticide, fungicide, or herbicide, into the storm drain system.
(d) No person shall leave, dispose, cause or permit the disposal of a hazardous substance in a manner that results or potentially could result in a spill, leak or drainage of such onto any sidewalk, street or gutter that discharges into or flows with any other runoff into the storm drain system. (Amended by Ord. No. 183,833, Eff. 10/3/15.)
(e) No person shall store fuels, chemicals, fuel or chemical wastes, animal wastes, garbage, batteries and any toxic materials in a manner that causes or potentially could cause the runoff of pollutants from these materials or wastes into the storm drain system. (Amended by Ord. No. 183,833, Eff. 10/3/15.)
(f) No person shall dispose, discharge, or permit the discharge of any sanitary or septage wastes from any source into the storm drain system.
D. Requirement to Prevent, Control, and Reduce Stormwater Pollutants. Any owner or operator of a facility or business within the City of Los Angeles engaged in activities or operations as listed in the Critical Sources Categories, Section III of the Board’s Rules and Regulations shall be required to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) as promulgated in the Rules and Regulations. Any owner/developer of a property under construction within the City of Los Angeles or their designated representative shall be required to implement the stormwater pollution control requirements for construction activities as depicted in the project plans approved by the Department of Building and Safety. In the event a specified BMP proves to be ineffective or infeasible, the Director may require additional and/or alternative, site-specific BMPs or conditions deemed appropriate to achieve the objectives of this ordinance as defined in Subsection B of LAMC Section 64.70. Any violation or failure to implement a BMP in a timely manner shall be punishable as an infraction, unless the violation or failure is declared in this Code to be a misdemeanor. (Added by Ord. No. 175,026, Eff. 2/2/03.)
E. Controlling Pollutants From Parking Lots. Any owner or operator of industrial/commercial motor vehicle parking lots with more than twenty-five (25) parking spaces that are located in areas potentially exposed to storm water shall be required through regular sweeping or other effective measures to remove all debris during the period between October 1 and April 15. Violation of this subsection shall be punishable as an infraction. (Former Subsection D. re-designated Subsection E. by Ord. No. 175,026, Eff. 2/2/03.)