A. Purpose. These regulations establish minimum stormwater management requirements for the management of pollutants that are or may be discharged to the municipal storm sewer system. The purpose is to improve the quality of stormwater discharges and to enable the Town to comply with all applicable state and federal laws.
B. Definitions. Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the meanings set forth in this paragraph. Where noted, the definitions shall correspond with the applicable section of the Arizona revised statutes as amended.
1. ADEQ: Arizona department of environmental quality, regulatory entity of the state of Arizona responsible for administering various federal and state environmental laws and programs, including most water quality programs, air quality, and waste programs.
2. AZPDES permit: Arizona pollutant discharge elimination system - any permit issued by the Arizona department of environmental quality delegated pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b) that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis in compliance with the clean water act (CWA).
3. BMPs, best management practices: Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
4. CGP: Construction general permit
5. Common plan of development: A contiguous area where multiple separate and distinct construction activities may be taking place at different times on different schedules under one common plan; broadly defined as any announcement or piece of documentation (including a sign, public notice or hearing, sales pitch, advertisement, drawing, permit application, zoning request, computer design, etc.) or physical demarcation (including boundary signs, lot stakes, surveyor marking, etc.) indicating construction activities may occur on a specific plot.
6. Contractor: Synonymous with the term “builder” and means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other organization, or a combination of any of them, who, for compensation, undertakes to or offers to undertake to, purports to have the capacity to undertake to, submits a bid or responds to a request for qualification or a request for proposals for construction services to, does himself or by or through others, or directly or indirectly supervises others to:
a. Construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or any other structure or work in connection with the construction.
b. Connect such structure or improvements to utility service lines and metering devices and the sewer line.
c. Provide mechanical or structural service for any such structure or improvements. A.R.S. § 32-1101 (3).
7. CWA, clean water act: The federal water pollution control act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et. seq.
8. Developer: Any person, group or entity proposing or constructing a development as defined by the land development code.
9. Discharge: Any pollutant that leaves the site.
10. EPA: The United States environmental protection agency charged with primary enforcement of the clean water act (CWA).
11. Final stabilization: means that either:
a. All soil disturbing activities at the site have been completed and either of the two following criteria are met:
i. A uniform (e.g., evenly distributed, without large bare areas) perennial vegetative cover with a density of 70% of the native background vegetative cover for the area has been established on all unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures, or
ii. Equivalent permanent stabilization measures (such as riprap, gabions, or geotextiles) have been employed.
b. When background native vegetation will cover less than 100% of the ground (e.g., arid areas, beaches), the 70% coverage criteria is adjusted as follows: if the native vegetation covers 50% of the ground, 70% of 50% (.70 x .50 = .35) would require 35% total cover for final stabilization. On a beach with no natural vegetation, no stabilization is required.
c. For individual lots in residential construction final stabilization means that either:
i. The homebuilder has completed final stabilization as specified above, or
ii. The homebuilder has established temporary stabilization including perimeter controls for an individual lot prior to occupation of the home by the homeowner and informing the homeowner of the need for, and benefits of, final stabilization, or
iii. For construction projects on land used for agricultural purposes (e.g., pipelines across crop or range land), final stabilization may be accomplished by returning the disturbed land to its preconstruction agricultural use. Areas disturbed that were not previously used for agricultural activities, such as buffer strips immediately adjacent to “water of the United States,” and areas which are not being returned to their preconstruction agricultural use must meet the final stabilization criteria above.
12. Illicit discharge: Any discharge to a storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater except discharges pursuant to a AZPDES permit, discharges resulting from emergency firefighting activities, and discharges further exempted in subsection 17-16-2 B of this chapter.
13. Monitoring: Periodic or continuous surveillance or testing to determine the level of compliance with statutory requirements and/or pollutant levels in various media or in humans, plants, and animals.
14. MS4, municipal separate storm sewer system: Includes, but is not limited to, those facilities located within the town and owned or operated by a public entity by which stormwater may be collected and conveyed to waters of the United States, including any roads with drainage systems, public streets, inlets, curbs, gutters, piped storm drains and retention or detention basins.
15. NOI: Notice of intent
16. NOT: Notice of termination
17. Owner or operator: The owner or operator of any facility or activity subject to regulation under this code.
18. Person: Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, or any other legal entity; or their legal representatives, agents, or assigns.
19. Point source: Any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged to an MS4. Point source does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture.
20. Pollute: To alter the physical, thermal, chemical, or biological quality of, or the contamination of, any water of the state or water of the United States.
21. Pollution: Contaminants introduced into the natural environment that cause adverse change, including but not limited to, mechanical fluids, toxic wastes, toxic pollutants, dredged spoil, solid waste, household chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions and munitions casings, petroleum products, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, yard waste, rock, sand, cellar dirt and mining, industrial, municipal and agricultural wastes or any other liquid, solid, gaseous, or hazardous substances.
22. Release: Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, placing, leaching, dumping, or disposing into or on any land in a manner that can cause pollution.
23. Stormwater: Stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.
24. SWPPP, stormwater pollution prevention plan: A plan that shows and describes the best management practices that will be used to control the discharge of pollutants from a site.
25. Waters of the United States: Means the same as defined in 33 CFR Part 328, as may be amended.
C. Applicability. This chapter shall apply to all activities which may potentially affect the municipal separate storm sewer system, any private storm sewer system or any water of the United States within the town. Additionally, permanent and temporary stormwater management controls, practices and facilities, constructed as part of any activities listed in this section, which are located within the town limits, are also subject to this chapter.
D. Delegation of authority for administration and enforcement. The town engineer of the town is delegated the authority to exercise the powers and perform the duties set forth in this chapter and to administer and enforce provisions of this chapter. The town engineer may designate other employees to exercise such powers and perform such duties, as he or she deems appropriate.
E. Regulatory consistency. This chapter shall be construed to assure consistency with the requirements of the federal clean water act (CWA) and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, applicable state or federal implementing regulations, and the municipal AZPDES permit and any amendments, revisions, or reissuance thereof. No permit or approval issued pursuant to this chapter shall relieve a person of the responsibility to secure permits and approvals required for activities regulated by any other applicable rule, code, act, permit, or ordinance. The town shall not certify or defend that the applicant has met the requirements of the federal CWA.
F. Severability. If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this chapter or the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstance shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or application of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
Ordinance 2021-010 amended paragraphs A., B., C., E. and deleted F., redesignating G. as F.
Ordinance 2022.006 amended Section 17-16-1 B.