No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the municipal storm drain system or watercourses any pollutants or hazardous materials that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards. Further prohibitions and requirements for allowable discharges are provided herein.
Subd. 1. No person shall throw, deposit, place, leave, maintain, or keep any substance upon any street, alleyway, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin conduit or drainage structure, business place, or upon any public or private plot of land, so that the same might be or become a pollutant, except in containers, recycling bags, or other lawfully established waste disposal facility.
Subd. 2. No person shall intentionally dispose of grass, leaves, dirt or landscape material into a water resource, buffer, street, road, alley, catch basin, culvert, curb, gutter, inlet, ditch, natural watercourse, flood control channel, canal, storm drain or any natural conveyance.
Subd. 3. All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately and properly dispose of their pet’s solid waste deposited on any property, public or private, not owned or possessed by that person.
Subd. 4. Salt must be covered or stored indoor and located on an impervious surface, and practices to reduce exposure must be implemented during transfer of material.
Subd. 5. No person shall cause any illicit discharge to enter the storm sewer system or any surface water unless such discharge:
a. Consists of non-stormwater that is authorized by an NPDES permit obtained from the MPCA or a federal agency;
b. Is associated with firefighting activities or other activities necessary to protect public health and safety; or
c. Is one of the following exempt discharges: water line flushing or other potable water sources, landscaping 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 groundwater dewatering systems), crawl space pumps, air conditioning condensation, springs, non-commercial washing of vehicles, natural riparian habitat or wetland flows, dechlorinated swimming pools and any other water source not containing pollutants.
Subd. 6. Dye testing is an allowable discharge but requires a verbal notification to the City Administrator or their designee at least two business days prior to the time of the test.
Subd. 7. No person shall use any illicit connection to intentionally convey non-stormwater to the city's storm sewer system.
Subd. 8. The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit connections to the storm sewer system is prohibited. 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.
Subd. 9. A person is considered to be in violation of this section if the person connects a line conveying sewage to the storm sewer system, or allows such a connection to continue.
(Ord. 455, passed 12-8-2008; Am. Ord. 597, passed 12-12-2022) Penalty, see § 104.01