Section
53.01 Statutory authorization; purpose and intent
53.02 Definitions
53.03 Applicability
53.04 Responsibility for administration
53.05 Ultimate responsibility
53.06 Prohibitions
53.07 Suspension of MS4 Access
53.08 Industrial or construction activity discharges
53.09 Monitoring of discharges
53.10 Requirement to prevent, control, and reduce stormwater pollutants by the use of best management practices
53.11 Watercourse protection
53.12 Notification of spills
53.13 Enforcement
53.14 Appeal of notice of violation
53.15 Enforcement measures after appeal
53.16 Cost of abatement of the violation
53.17 Injunctive relief
53.18 Compensatory action
53.19 Violations deemed a public nuisance
53.20 Criminal prosecution
53.21 Remedies not exclusive
(A) The purpose of this chapter is provide for the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the city through the regulation of non-stormwater discharges to the storm drainage system to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal and state law. This chapter establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) in order to comply with requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit process.
(B) The objectives of this chapter are:
(1) To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user;
(2) To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system; and
(3) To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance, enforcement, and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this chapter.
(C) This section is adopted pursuant to the authorization and policies contained in M.S. Ch. 103B and M.S. Ch. 462, as they may be amended from time to time; Minn. Rules parts 6120.2500 to 6120.3900; Minn. Rules Ch. 8410, 8420, and 70510.0210.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-1) (Ord. 606, passed 12-8-2014)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE. A discharge prohibited by this chapter and without planning or thought prior to occurrence.
AUTHORIZED ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. Employees or designees of the city designated to enforce this chapter.
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. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY. Activities subject to the NDPES construction permits. Currently, 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.
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 CONNECTIONS. An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
(1) Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter the storm drain system, including any connections to the storm drain system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether the drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved by an authorized enforcement agency; or
(2) 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 agency.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE. Any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in § 53.07.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY. Activities subject to NDPES industrial permits as defined in 40 C.F.R. § 122.26(b)(14).
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4). A stormwater conveyance or unified stormwater conveyance system, including, without limitation, roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, stormwater detention facilities, curbs, gutters, ditches, natural or human-made channels, or storm drains that:
(1) Is located within the corporate limits of the city;
(2) Is owned or operated by the state, county, the city, or other public body; and
(3) Discharges to waters of the state and/or United States, excluding publicly owned treatment works, and lawful connections thereto, which in turn discharge into the waters of the state and/or United States.
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT. Any permit or requirement enforced pursuant to the clean water act as amended for the purposes of regulating stormwater discharge.
NON-STORMWATER DISCHARGE. Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
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.
POLLUTANT. 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, and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables, pesticides, herbicides; 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.
POLLUTION. Human-made or human-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, thermal, and/or radiological integrity of water.
PREMISES. Any buildings, lot, parcel of land, or portion or land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM. Publicly-owned facilities by which stormwater 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.
STORMWATER. Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from the precipitation.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP). A document which describes the best management practices 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 and/or receiving waters to the maximum extent practicable.
WASTEWATER. Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater, discharged from a facility.
WATERS OF THE STATE AND/OR UNITED STATES. All water bodies regulated by the state and/or United States including streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, marshes, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations or water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the state or any portion thereof, or which may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-2)
The city shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted or duties imposed upon the authorized enforcement agency may be delegated in writing by the Director of the authorized enforcement agency to persons or entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the agency.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-4)
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this chapter are minimum standards, therefore this chapter does not intend nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-6)
(A) Prohibition of illicit discharges.
(1) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the municipal storm drain system or watercourses any materials, including, but not limited to, pollutants or waters containing any pollutants that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards, other than stormwater.
(2) The commencement or continuance of any illicit discharge to the storm drain system is prohibited except as described as follows.
(B) Exempt discharges. The following discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions established by this chapter: water line flushing or other potable water sources; landscape irrigation or lawn watering; diverted stream flows; rising ground water; ground water infiltration to storm drains; uncontaminated pumped ground water; foundation or footing drains (not including active ground water dewatering systems); crawl space pumps; air conditioning condensation; springs; non-commercial washing of vehicles; natural riparian habitat or wet-land flows; dechlorinated swimming pools; fire fighting activities; and any other water source not containing pollutants:
(1) Discharges specified in writing by the authorized enforcement agency as being necessary to protect public health and safety;
(2) Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal notification to the authorized enforcement agency prior to the time of the test; and
(3) The prohibition shall not apply to any non-stormwater discharge permitted under an NPDES permit, waiver, or waste discharge order issued to the discharger and administered under the authority of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, provided that the discharger is in full compliance with all requirements of the permit, waiver, or order and other applicable laws and regulations, and provided that written approval has been granted for any discharge to the storm drain system.
(C) Prohibition of illicit connections.
(1) The construction, use, maintenance, or continued existence of illicit connections to the storm drain system is prohibited.
(2) This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection.
(3) A person is considered to be in violation of this chapter if the person connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows a connection to continue.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-7) Penalty, see § 10.99
(A) Emergency cease and desist orders. When the city finds that any person has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, or any order issued hereunder, or that the person’s past violations are likely to recur, and that the person’s violation(s) has (have) caused or contributed to an actual or threatened discharge to the MS4 or waters of the United States which reasonably appears to present an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons or to the environment, the city may issue an order to the violator directing it immediately to cease and desist all violations and directing the violator to:
(1) Immediately comply with all ordinance requirements; and
(2) Take appropriate preventive action as may be needed to properly address a continuing or threatened violation, including immediately halting operations and/or terminating the discharge. Any person notified of an emergency order directed to it under this division (A) shall immediately comply and stop or eliminate its endangering discharge. In the event of a discharger’s failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the emergency order, the city may take the steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize harm to the MS4 or waters of the United States, and/or endangerment to persons or to the environment, including immediate termination of a facility’s water supply, sewer connection, or other municipal utility services. The city may allow the person to recommence its discharge when it has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the authorized enforcement agency that the period of endangerment has passed, unless further termination proceedings are initiated against the discharger under this chapter. A person that is responsible, in whole or in part, for any discharge presenting imminent endangerment shall submit a detailed written statement, describing the causes of the harmful discharge and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the authorized enforcement agency within seven days of receipt of the emergency order. Issuance of an emergency cease and desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the violator.
(B) Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The city may, without prior notice, suspend MS4 discharge access to a person when a suspension is necessary to stop an actual or threatened discharge which presents or may present imminent and substantial danger to the environment, or to the health or welfare of persons, or to the MS4 or waters of the state and/or United States. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the authorized enforcement agency may take the steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4 or waters of the state and/or United States, or to minimize danger to persons.
(C) Suspension due to detection of illicit discharges.
(1) Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this chapter may have their MS4 access terminated if the termination would abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The authorized enforcement agency will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator may petition the authorized enforcement agency for a reconsideration and hearing.
(2) A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access to a premises terminated pursuant to this section without the prior approval of the authorized enforcement agency.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-8) (Ord. 606, passed 12-8-2014) Penalty, see § 10.99
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity NPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of the permit. Proof of compliance with the permit may be required in a form acceptable to the city prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
(Prior Code, § 7-10-9)
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