(A) General requirements.
(1) All operators of construction sites shall use best management practices to control and reduce the discharge, to the MS4 and to waters of the United States, of sediment, silt, earth, soil and other material associated with the clearing, grading, excavation and other construction activities to the maximum extent practicable. Such best management practices may include, but not be limited to, the following measures:
(a) Ensuring that existing vegetation is preserved and that disturbed portions of the site are stabilized as soon as practicable in portions of the site where construction activities have temporarily or permanently ceased. Stabilization measures may include: temporary seeding, permanent seeding, mulching, geotextiles, sod stabilization, vegetative buffer strips, protection of trees, preservation of mature vegetation and other appropriate measures;
(b) Use of structural practices to divert flows from exposed soils, store flows or otherwise limit runoff and the discharge of pollutants from the site to the extent feasible;
(c) Minimization of the tracking of sediments off-site by vehicles, the generation of dust and the escape of other windblown waste from the site;
(d) Prevention of the discharge of building materials, including cement, lime, concrete and mortar, to the MS4 or waters of the United States;
(e) A single, on-site location, shall be erected with an appropriate BMP, in order to allow for concrete truck washout, to ensure 0% leaching into surrounding soil;
(f) Providing general good housekeeping measures to prevent and contain spills of paints, solvents, fuels, septic waste and other hazardous chemicals and pollutants associated with construction, and to assure proper cleanup and disposal of any such spills in compliance with state, federal and local requirements. All portable fueling tanks used to fuel on-site construction equipment shall have secondary containment;
(g) Implementation of proper waste disposal and waste management techniques, including covering waste materials and minimizing ground contact with hazardous chemicals and trash;
(h) Timely maintenance of vegetation, erosion and sediment control measures, and other best management practices in good and effective operating condition; and
(i) Installation of structural measures during the construction process to control pollutants in storm water discharges that will occur after construction operations have been completed. Structural measures should be placed on upland soils to the degree attainable. Such installed structural measures may include, but not be limited to, the following: storm water detention structures (including wet ponds); storm water retention structures; flow attenuation by use of open vegetative swales and natural depressions; other velocity dissipation devices; infiltration of runoff on site; and sequential systems which combine several practices. Operators of construction sites are only responsible for the installation and maintenance of storm water management measures prior to final stabilization of the site, and are not responsible for maintenance after storm water discharges associated with construction activity have terminated.
(2) Qualified personnel (provided by the operator of the construction site) shall inspect disturbed areas of any construction site that have not been finally stabilized, areas used for storage of materials that are exposed to precipitation, structural control measures, and locations where vehicles enter or exit the site, at least once every 14 calendar days and within 24 hours of the end of a storm that is one-half inch or greater. All erosion and sediment control measures and other identified best management practices shall be observed in order to ensure that they are operating correctly and are effective in preventing significant impacts to receiving waters and the MS4. Based on the results of the inspection, best management practices shall be revised as appropriate, and as soon as is practicable.
(3) The city may deny approval of any building permit, grading permit, certificate of occupancy, subdivision plat, site development plan or any other city approval necessary to commence or continue construction, or to assume occupancy, on the grounds that the management practices described in the plans or observed upon a site inspection by the City Engineer or Storm Water Manager are determined not to control and reduce the discharge of sediment, silt, earth, soil and other materials associated with clearing, grading, excavation and other construction activities to the maximum extent practicable.
(4) Any contractor or subcontractor on a site of construction activity, who is not an owner or operator, but who is responsible under his or her contract or subcontract for implementing a best management practices control measure, is jointly and severally responsible for any willful or negligent failure on his or her part to adequately implement that control measure.
(1998 Code, § 50-261)
(B) One-acre disturbances. All operators of sites of construction activity, including clearing, grading and excavation activities, that result in the disturbance of one or more acres of total land area, or that are part of a common plan of development or sale within which one or more acres of total land area are disturbed, or who are required to obtain an TPDES permit for storm water discharges associated with construction activity, shall comply with the following requirements.
(1) Any operator who intends to obtain coverage for storm water discharges from a construction site under the TPDES general permit for storm water discharges from construction sites (“the storm water quality permit”) shall submit a signed copy of its notice of intent (NOI) to the City Engineer at least seven days prior to the commencement of any construction activities.
(2) A storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) shall be prepared and implemented in accordance with the requirements of the TPDES construction general permit issued for storm water discharges from the construction site, and with any additional requirement imposed by or under this chapter and any other city ordinance.
(3) Upon the City Engineer’s review of the SWPPP and any site inspection that he or she may conduct, the city may deny approval of any building permit, grading permit, certificate of occupancy, subdivision plat, site development plan or any other city approval necessary to commence or continue construction, or to assume occupancy, on the grounds that the SWPPP does not comply with the requirements of the construction general permit, any individual or group TPDES permit issued for storm water discharge from the construction site, or any additional requirement imposed by or under this chapter. Also, if at any time the City Engineer determines that the SWPPP is not being fully implemented, the city may similarly deny approval of any building permit, grading permit, certificate of occupancy subdivision plat, site development plan or any other city approval necessary to commence or continue construction, or to assume occupancy, at the site.
(4) (a) All contractors and subcontractors identified in an SWPPP shall sign a copy of the following certification statement before conducting any professional service identified in the SWPPP:
“I certify under penalty of law that I understand the terms and conditions of the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit that authorizes the storm water discharges associated with activity from the construction site identified as part of this certification, with the Storm Water Ordinance of the City of Texas City, and with those provisions of the Storm water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) for the construction site for which I am responsible.”
(b) The certification must include the name and title of the person providing the signature; the name, address and telephone number of the contracting firm; the address of the site; and the date the certification is made.
(5) The operator shall make the SWPPP and any modification thereto available to the City Engineer or Storm Water Manager upon request.
(6) The City Engineer or Storm Water Manager may notify the operator at any time that the SWPPP does not meet the requirements of the construction general permit, any applicable individual or group TPDES permit issued for storm water discharges from the construction site, or any additional requirement imposed by or under this chapter. Such notification shall identify those provisions of the permit or ordinance, which are not being met by the SWPPP, and identify which provisions of the SWPPP require modifications in order to meet such requirements. Within seven days of such notification from the City Engineer or Storm Water Manager, the operator shall make the required changes to the SWPPP and shall submit to the City Engineer a written certification that the requested changes have been made.
(7) The operator shall amend the SWPPP whenever there is a change in design, construction, operation or maintenance, which has a significant effect on the potential for the discharge of pollutants to the MS4 or to the waters of the United States, and which has not otherwise been addressed in the SWPPP, or if the SWPPP proves to be ineffective in eliminating or significantly minimizing pollutants, or in otherwise achieving the general objective of controlling pollutants in storm water discharges associated with construction activity. In addition, the SWPPP shall be amended to identify any new contractor and/or subcontractor that will implement a measure in the SWPPP.
(8) Qualified personnel (provided by the operator of the construction site) shall inspect disturbed areas of the construction site that have not been finally stabilized, areas used for storage of materials that are exposed to precipitation, structural control measures, and locations where vehicles enter or exit the site, at least once every 14 calendar days and within 24 hours of the end of a storm event of one-half inch or greater. Disturbed areas and areas used for storage of materials that are exposed to precipitation shall be inspected for evidence of, or the potential for, pollutants entering the drainage system. Erosion and sediment control measures identified in the SWPPP shall be observed to ensure that they are operating correctly. Where discharge locations or points are accessible, they shall be inspected to ascertain whether erosion control measures are effective in preventing significant impacts to receiving waters or the MS4. Locations where vehicles enter or exit the site shall be inspected daily for evidence of off-site sediment tracking, remediation of tracking on city streets shall be sweep, picked up and disposed of properly.
(9) Based on the results of the inspections required by division (A)(2) above, the site description and/or the pollution prevention measures identified in the SWPPP shall be revised as appropriate, but in no case later than seven calendar days following the inspection. Such modifications shall provide for timely implementation of any changes to the SWPPP within seven calendar days following the inspection.
(10) A report summarizing the scope of any inspection required by division (A)(2) above, and the name(s) and qualifications of personnel making the inspection, the date(s) of the inspection, major observations relating to the implementation of the SWPPP and actions taken in accordance with above shall be made and retained as part of the SWPPP for at least three years from the date that the site is finally stabilized. Such report shall identify any incidence of non-compliance. Where a report does not identify any incidence of non-compliance, the report shall contain a certification that the facility is in compliance with the SWPPP, the facility’s TPDES permit and this chapter. The report shall be certified and signed by the person responsible for making it.
(11) The operator shall retain copies of any SWPPP and all reports required by this chapter or by the TPDES permit for the site, and records of all data used to complete the NOI, for a period of at least three years from the date that the site is finally stabilized.
(12) Where a site has been finally stabilized and all storm water discharges from construction activities that are authorized by this chapter and by the TPDES permit for those construction activities are eliminated, or where the operator of all storm water discharges at a facility changes, the operator of the construction site shall submit to the City Engineer a notice of termination (NOT) that includes the information required for notices of termination by Part II Section F of the construction general permit.
(13) Upon final stabilization of the construction site, the owner (or the duly authorized representative thereof) shall submit written certification to the City Engineer that the site has been finally stabilized. (See definition of “final stabilization” in this chapter.) The city may withhold a certificate of occupancy or use permit for any premises constructed on the site until such certification of final stabilization has been filed and the City Engineer has determined, following any appropriate inspection, that final stabilization has, in fact, occurred and that any required permanent structural controls have been completed.
(14) Weekly on site meetings shall be conducted to ensure compliance with TPDES permit and city ordinance guidelines.
(1998 Code, § 50-232)
(Ord. 10-05, passed 3-17-2010)