CHAPTER 16-5: 2007 CITY OF PRESCOTT ILLEGAL DISCHARGE AND ILLEGAL CONNECTION STORMWATER CODE
16-5-1 ADOPTION OF THE 2007 CITY OF PRESCOTT ILLEGAL DISCHARGE AND ILLEGAL CONNECTION STORMWATER CODE
That certain document entitled the 2007 City of Prescott Illegal Discharge and Illegal Connection Stormwater Code, together with all referenced standards therein and together with appendices, which document was made a public record by Resolution No. 3872-0840 is hereby adopted by this reference. (This document is shown below as a courtesy to users.)
Section 1 – Purpose and Intent
1.1 The purpose of this code is to provide for the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Prescott through the regulation of non-storm water discharges to the storm drainage system to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal and state law.
1.2 This Code 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. The objectives of this Code 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 Illegal Connections and Discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system.
3. To affirm the City’s legal authority and processes to carry out all inspection, surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this Code.
Section 2 – Definitions
Authorized Enforcement Agency – Public Works Director or his/her employees or designees of the City of Prescott designated to enforce this Code.
Best Management Practices (BMPs) – Schedules of activities, prohibitions of 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 NPDES Construction Permits. NPDES Storm Water Phase II permits will be 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. Refer to the ADOT Erosion and Pollution Control Manual for additional information.
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.
Illegal Discharge – Any direct or indirect non-storm water discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in Section X of this Code.
Illegal Connections – 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 may allow any non-storm water 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 agency 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 which has not been permitted and/or approved by an authorized enforcement agency.
Industrial Activity – Activities subject to NPDES Industrial Permits as defined in 40 CFR, Section 122.26 (b) (14).
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Storm Water Discharge Permit – A permit issued by EPA (or by a State under authority delegated pursuant to 33 USC § 1342(b)) that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, (as locally defined within the jurisdiction of the City of Prescott) whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis.
Non-Storm Water Discharge – Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of storm 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.
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, articles, 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, and other substances defined as pollutants by State or federal law or regulation.
Premises – Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
Storm Drainage System – Publicly-owned facilities by which storm water 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 such precipitation.
Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan – A document submitted to and approved by the City by a permittee 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 to Stormwater, Stormwater Conveyance Systems, and/or Receiving Waters to the Maximum Extent Practicable.
Unreasonable Delay – Delay in excess of 36 hours from receipt of notification of request by the City to inspect stormwater facilities.
Wastewater – Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated storm water, discharged from a facility.
Section 3 – Applicability
This Code shall apply to all water entering the City of Prescott’s storm drain system which is generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless such discharge is explicitly exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
Section 4 – Responsibility for Administration
The Public Works Department shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this Code. Any powers granted or duties imposed upon the Public Works Department may be delegated in writing by the Director of the Public Works Department to persons or entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the agency, or to whom such powers or duties have been delegated pursuant to contract.
Section 5 – Severability
The provisions of this Code are hereby declared to be severable. If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this Code or the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or application of this Code.
Section 6 – Ultimate Responsibility
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this Code are minimum standards; therefore this Code does not intend nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants. It is the ultimate responsibility of all permitted persons and entities to ensure that best management practices for NPDES compliance per the Clean Water Act are followed to the maximum extent practicable.
Section 7 – Discharge Prohibitions
7.1 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 storm water.
7.2 The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illegal discharge to the storm drain system is prohibited except as described as follows:
1. Water line flushing or other potable water sources, including landscape irrigation or lawn watering on single family home lots (or those lots determined by the Public Works Director to be of equal or similar size and scope as an SFD)
2. Diverted stream flows
3. Foundation or footing drains (not including active groundwater dewatering systems)
4. Air conditioning condensation
5. Springs
6. Non-commercial washing of vehicles
7. Natural riparian habitat or wet-land flows
8. Swimming pools (if dechlorinated – typically less than one PPM chlorine)
9. Fire fighting activities, and
10. Discharges specified in writing by the City of Prescott Public Works Director.
7.3 The prohibition shall not apply to any non-storm water 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.
7.4 Prohibition of Illegal Connections.
1. The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illegal connections to the storm drain system is prohibited.
2. This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illegal 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 Code if the person connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
Section 8 – Suspension of MS4 Access
8.1 The Public Works Department may, without prior notice, suspend MS4 discharge access to a person when such 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 United States. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the authorized enforcement agency may take such steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the MS4 or Waters of the United States, (as locally defined within the jurisdiction of the City of Prescott) or to minimize danger to persons.
8.2 Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this Code may have their MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate or reduce an illegal 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.
8.3 A person commits an offense if the person who has been suspended under this section reinstates MS4 access to premises terminated pursuant to this Section, without the prior approval of the authorized enforcement agency.
Section 9 – Industrial or Construction Activity Discharges
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity NPDES storm water discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required in a form acceptable to the Public Works Department prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
Section 10 – Monitoring of Discharges
10.1 Applicability – This section applies to all facilities that have storm water discharges associated with industrial activity, including construction activity.
10.2 Access to Facilities.
1. The Public Works Department shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation under this Code as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this Code. If a discharger has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives of the authorized enforcement agency.
2. Facility operators shall allow the Public Works Department ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, examination and copying of records that must be kept under the conditions of an NPDES permit to discharge storm water, and the performance of any additional duties as defined by state and federal law.
3. The Public Works Department shall have the right to set up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary in the opinion of the authorized enforcement agency to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility’s storm water discharge.
4. The Public Works Department has the right to require the discharger to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility’s sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition by the discharger at its own expense. All devices used to measure stormwater flow and quality shall be calibrated to ensure their accuracy.
5. Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the operator at the written or oral request of Public Works Department and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the operator.
6. Unreasonable delays in allowing the Public Works Department access to a permitted facility is a violation of a storm water discharge permit and of this Code. A person who is the operator of a facility with a NPDES permit to discharge storm water associated with industrial activity commits an offense if the person denies the authorized enforcement agency access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting any activity authorized or required by this Code.
7. If the Public Works Department has been refused access to any part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and he/she is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this Code, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program designed to verify compliance with this Code or any order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety, and welfare of the community, then the authorized enforcement agency may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 11 – Requirements to Prevent, Control, and Reduce Storm Water Pollutants by the Use of Best Management Practices
11.1 Public Works Department will adopt regulations identifying Best Management Practices for any activity, operation, or facility which may cause or contribute to pollution or contamination of storm water, the storm drain system, or waters of the U.S.
11.2 The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment shall provide, at their own expense, reasonable protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes into the municipal storm drain system or watercourses through the use of these structural and non-structural BMPs. Further, any person responsible for a property or premise, which is, or may be, the source of an illegal discharge, may be required to implement, at said person’s or entities expense, additional structural and non-structural BMPs to prevent the further discharge of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system.
11.3 Compliance with all terms and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of storm water associated with industrial activity, to the extent practicable, shall be deemed compliance with the provisions of this section. These BMPs shall be part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) as necessary for compliance with requirements of the NPDES permit.
Section 12 – Watercourse Protection
12.1 Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person’s lessee (persons or entities leasing property, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse.
12.2 In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical integrity of the watercourse.
Section 13 – Notification of Spills
13.1 Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as soon as any person responsible for a facility or operation, or responsible for emergency response for a facility or operation who has information of any known or suspected release of materials which are resulting or may result in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into storm water, the storm drain system, or water of the U.S. or local waterway depicted in said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release.
13.2 In the event of such a release of hazardous materials said person shall immediately notify emergency response agencies of the occurrence via emergency dispatch services. For purposes of this section, emergency dispatch services shall mean City of Prescott Regional Community Center, (928)
13.3 In the event of a release of non-hazardous materials, said person shall notify the authorized enforcement agency in person or by phone or facsimile no later than the next business day. Notifications in person or by phone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed and mailed to the Public Works Department within three business days of the phone notice.
13.4 If the discharge of prohibited materials emanates from a commercial or industrial establishment, the owner or operator of such establishment shall also retain an on-site written record of the discharge and the actions taken to prevent its recurrence. Such records shall be retained for at least three years.
Section 14 – Enforcement
14.1 Notice of Violation (Civil). Whenever the Public Works Department finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this Code, Public Works shall forward its report to any authorized enforcement agency which may order compliance by written notice of violation to the responsible person. Such notice may require without limitation:
1. The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
2. The elimination of illegal connections or discharges;
3. That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease and desist;
4. The abatement or remediation of storm water pollution or contamination hazards and the restoration of any affected property; and
5. Payment of an assessment to cover administrative and remediation costs; and
6. The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
14.2 If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of affected property is required, the notice shall set forth a deadline within which such remediation or restoration must be completed. Said notice shall further advise that, should the violator fail to remediate or restore within the established deadline, the work will be done by a designated governmental agency or a contractor and the expense thereof shall be charged to the violator and may be filed as a lien upon the property in accordance with appropriate legal procedures.
Section 15 – Appeal of Notice of Violation
Any person receiving a Notice of Violation may appeal the determination of the authorized enforcement agency. The notice of appeal must be received within 2 days from the date of the Notice of Violation. Hearing on the appeal before the designee of the Public Works Director shall take place within 10 days from the date of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the municipal authority or their designee shall be final.
Section 16 – Enforcement Measures after Appeal
If the violation has not been corrected pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Notice of Violation, or, in the event of an appeal, within 5 days of the decision of the municipal authority upholding the decision of the authorized enforcement agency, then representatives of the authorized enforcement agency shall enter upon the subject private property and are authorized to take any and all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or restore the property. It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent or person in possession of any premises to refuse to allow the government agency or designated contractor to enter upon the premises for the purposes set forth above.
Section 17 – Cost of Abatement of the Violation
Within 7 days after abatement of the violation, the owner of the property will be notified of the cost of abatement, including administrative costs. The property owner may file a written protest objecting to the amount of the assessment within 3 days. If the amount due is not paid within a timely manner as determined by the decision of the municipal authority or by the expiration of the time in which to file an appeal, the charges shall become a special assessment against the property and shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount of the assessment. Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable to the city by reason of such violation. The liability shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments. Interest at the rate of percent per annum shall be assessed on the balance beginning on the 30th day following discovery of the violation.
Section 18 – Injunctive Relief
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Code. If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this Code, the authorized enforcement agency may petition for a preliminary or permanent injunction restraining the person from activities which would create further violations or compelling the person to perform abatement or remediation of the violation.
Section 19 – Appeal of Notice of Violation
In lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties, and remedies authorized by this Code, the authorized enforcement agency may impose upon violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, creek cleanup, etc.
Section 20 – Violations Deemed A Public Nuisance
In addition to the enforcement processes and penalties provided, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this Code is a threat to public health, safety, and welfare, and is declared and deemed a nuisance, and may be summarily abated or restored at the violator’s expense, and/or a civil action to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation of such nuisance may be taken.
Section 21 – Criminal Prosecution
21.1 Any person that has violated or continues to violate this Code shall be liable to criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law and any violations of this code may be punished as a class 1 misdemeanor, and shall be subject to a criminal penalty of not more than $2,500 dollars per violation per day and may be punishable by incarceration or jail for a period of up to six months. Each day a violation continues may constitute a separate violation, punishable as state law.
21.2 The authorized enforcement agency may recover all attorneys’ fees court costs and other expenses associated with enforcement of this Code, including sampling and monitoring expenses.
Section 22 – Remedies Not Exclusive
The remedies listed in this Code are not exclusive of any other remedies available under any applicable federal, state or local law and it is within the discretion of the authorized enforcement agency to seek cumulative remedies.
(Ord. 4983-1521, 6-7-2016)
16-5-2 PENALTY – CRIMINAL:
Any person who violates any provisions of this chapter or any provision of the codes adopted by reference pursuant to this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided in Section 1-3-1, by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the City Judge. Each and every day any such violation continues shall be deemed and considered a separate offense. (Ord. 4983-1521, 6-7-2016)
16-5-3 PENALTY – CIVIL:
Any person who violates any provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a civil violation and shall be subject to the provisions of Section 1-3-2 for each day that the violation continues. (Ord. 4636-0838, 12-11-07; eff. 01-10-08; Ord. 4983-1521, 6-7-2016)