(A) Words and phrases in this subchapter shall be construed according to their common and accepted meanings, except that words and phrases defined in division (B) below, shall be construed according to the respective definitions given in that section. Technical words and technical phrases that are not defined in this subchapter, but which have acquired particular meanings in law or in technical usage shall be construed according to such meanings.
(B) For the purposes of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE. A discharge prohibited by this subchapter which occurs by chance and without planning or consideration prior to occurrence.
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.
BOARD. The City of Seymour, Board of Works and Public Safety.
CITY OF SEYMOUR or CITY. Employees or designees of the Mayor of the city or the Board of Works and Public Safety designated to enforce and administer this subchapter. This shall also include IDEM, Jackson County representatives, the USEPA, and any of their agents and or successors in interest.
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 NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSGP). CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES include construction projects resulting in land disturbance of one acre or more, and construction activities encompassing less than once acres but part of a larger common development equaling greater than one acre. Such activities include, but are not limited to, clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
CONVEYANCE. Any structural process for transferring stormwater between at least two points. The term includes piping, ditches, swales, curbs, gutters, catch basins, channels, storm drains, and roadways.
DRY WEATHER SCREENING. Field observations and field screening monitoring done to determine if there are sources of illicit discharges into the MS4. DRY WEATHER is defined as a period where there has not been precipitation for three days.
FLOATABLE. Any solid waste that, due to its physical characteristics, will float on the surface of water. For the purposes of this rule, the term does not include naturally occurring floatables, such as leaves or tree limbs.
GROUND WATER. Accumulations of underground water, natural or artificial, public and private, or parts thereof, which are wholly or partially within, flow through, or border upon this state. The term does not include manmade underground storage or conveyance structures.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, SUBSTANCES OR WASTES. 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.
IDEM. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
ILLEGAL DISCHARGE. Any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to the MS4, except as exempted in § 50.231.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS. Either of the following:
(a) Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the MS4 including but not limited to any conveyances which allow any non-stormwater discharge including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter the MS4 and any connections to the MS4 from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether the drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved by the city; or
(b) Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land use to the MS4 which has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by the city.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE. Any discharge to a MS4 that is not composed entirely of stormwater, except naturally introduced floatables, such as leaves or tree limbs. Sources of illicit discharges include but is not limited to sanitary wastewater, septic tank effluent, commercial car wash wastewater, oil spills or disposal, radiator flushing disposal, laundry wastewater, roadway accident spillage, pollutant run-off, and household hazardous wastes.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY. Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE. A performance standard or requirement within a permit to reduce the discharge of pollutants from a MS4 to protect water quality, and to satisfy the appropriate water quality requirements of the Clean Water Act, which is achieved through planning and implementation of specific measures that are identified in the Stormwater Quality Management Plan.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM or MS4. A conveyance or system of conveyances, including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains, which is:
(a) Owned or operated by a federal, state, city, town, county, district, association, or other public body (created by or pursuant to state law) having jurisdiction over stormwater, including special districts under state law such as a sewer district, flood control district, or drainage district, or similar entity, or a designated and approved management agency under Section 208 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1288) that discharges into waters of the state; or privately owned stormwater utility, hospital, university, or college having jurisdiction over stormwater that discharges into waters of the state;
(b) Designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
(c) Not a combined sewer; and
(d) Not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) as defined at 40 CFR 122.2.
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES). A permit issued by the USEPA or IDEM 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.
NON-STORMWATER DISCHARGE. Any discharge to the MS4 that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
OUTFALL. A point source discharge via a conveyance of stormwater run-off into a receiving stream or other body of water.
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.
POINT SOURCE. A discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including a pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, or discrete fissure.
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, 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.
PREMISES. Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
RECEIVING WATERS. A waterbody that receives a discharge from an outfall. The term does not include private drains, retention and detention basins, or constructed wetlands used as treatment.
STORMWATER. Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation and resulting from such precipitation.
USEPA. The United States Environmental Protection Agency.
WASTEWATER. Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater, discharged from a facility.
WATER QUALITY. A term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water, usually in respect to its suitability for a particular purpose.
WATERCOURSE. Any river, stream, creek, brook, branch, natural or manmade drainageway in or into which stormwater runoff or floodwaters flow either continuously or intermittently.
WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES or STATE. A term used in federal regulations that defines all water bodies regulated as waters of the United States as defined in 33 § U.S.C. 1251 (40 CFR 120).
(Ord. 34, 2004, passed 11-22-2004; Am. Ord. 20, 2023, passed 9-25-2023)