For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ALLOWABLE NON-STORMWATER DISCHARGES. Discharges not comprised of stormwater are allowed under the MS4 General Permit but are limited to the following, provided these are not significant contributors of pollutants to the MS4: discharges which result from the washdown of vehicles at retail dealers selling new and used automobiles where no detergents are used and individual residential car washing; external building washdown where no detergents are used; the use of water to control dust; fire fighting activities; fire hydrant flushings; natural springs; uncontaminated groundwater; dechlorinated pool discharges; air conditioning condensate; lawn watering; potable water sources including waterline flushings; irrigation drainage; pavement washwaters where spills or leaks of toxic or hazardous materials have not occurred (unless all spilled materials have been removed) and where detergents are not used; discharges from foundation or footing drains where flows are not contaminated with process materials such as solvents, or contaminated by contact with soils where spills or leaks of toxic or hazardous materials have occurred; uncontaminated utility vault dewatering; dechlorinated water line testing water; hydrostatic test water that does not contain any treatment chemicals and is not contaminated with process chemicals.
AUTHORIZED ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. Director of Public Works.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs). Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
CLEAN WATER ACT (CWA). The federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY. Activities subject to RIPDES Construction Permits. As of March 2003, RIPDES Stormwater Phase II permits are required for construction projects resulting in land disturbance of 1 acre or more. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
DISCHARGER. Any person who causes, allows, permits, or is otherwise responsible for a discharge, including, without limitation, any operator of a construction site or industrial facility.
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.
ILLICIT CONNECTION. Either of the following: Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system including
but not limited to any conveyances which allow any non-stormwater 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 officer or, any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land use to the storm drain system which has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement officer.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE. Any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of stormwater except discharges pursuant to a RIPDES permit (other than the RIPDES permit for discharges from the municipal separate storm sewer) and discharges resulting from fire fighting activities.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4). A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains):
(1) Owned or operated by a city or town or the state district association, or other public body (created by or pursuant to state law) having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, stormwater, or other wastes, including special districts under state law such as a sewer district, flood control district or drainage district, or similar entity, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a designated and approved management agency under Section 208 of the CWA that discharges to waters of the state;
(2) Designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
(3) Which is not a combined sewer; and
(4) Which is not part of a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) as defined in Rule 3 of the RIPDES Regulations.
NON-STORMWATER DISCHARGE. Any discharge that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
OPERATOR. The party or parties that either individually or taken together have the day-to-day operational control over the facility's activities and the ability to make modifications to such activities.
OWNER. The party or parties that either individually or taken together has legal title to any premises.
PERSON. Any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm, corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either the owner or as the owner's agent.
POLLUTANTS. Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. POLLUTANTS may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous 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.
STORMWATER. Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation.
UNAUTHORIZED DISCHARGE. A discharge of stormwater not authorized by a RIPDES permit, or an allowable stormwater discharge found to be a significant contributor of pollutants to the MS4.
WATERCOURSE. A natural or manmade surface drainage channel or body of water (including a lake or pond) through which a water flow occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
WATERS OF THE STATE. Surface and ground waters within the boundaries of the State of Rhode Island and subject to its jurisdiction.
(Ord. passed 2-21-06)