13.28.130 Administration, inspections and orders

13.28.130 Administration, inspections and orders.

1. Director. The Director shall administer this chapter and shall be referred to as the Director. The Director shall have the authority to develop and implement administrative procedures to administer, to gain access to private property to inspect stormwater facilities and implementation of source control BMPs, to take other such actions as may be required to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

2. Review and Approval. The Director may approve, conditionally approve, or deny an application for activities regulated by this chapter.

1. Purpose. Inspections of private stormwater facilities are necessary to protect the public health and safety by ensuring compliance with this chapter, the Federal Clean Water Act, and the City’s NPDES Phase II municipal stormwater permit.

2. Annual Stormwater Inspections Required. Owners of private stormwater facilities are responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of those facilities. To ensure proper functioning of the facilities, the City requires annual inspections. Such inspections may be conducted by the City; owners of such facilities may, at their own expense, use a qualified third party that certifies that the required inspection and proper maintenance has occurred. However, in the event the property owner does not elect to use a qualified third party, the City is hereby authorized to enter upon the property to complete the inspection as set forth herein.

a. Notice of Annual Inspection. The City shall provide written notice to the property owner when the annual inspection is due. Such notice shall be provided at least 90 days in advance of the deadline for inspection to be completed as established by the City. The notice shall contain a list of qualified third parties that may be used to complete the inspection and an inspection certification form to be completed by the contractor on behalf of the property owner certifying that the stormwater system meets the requirements of this chapter and that any required maintenance has been completed. The completed inspection certification form must be submitted to the City no later than the date set forth in the notice.

b. Inspection by City. If a property owner fails to submit an inspection certification form completed by a qualified third party by the deadline set forth in the notice of annual inspection, they shall be deemed to have elected not to use a qualified third party and to have the City complete the inspection on their behalf. The City shall provide at least 7 days’ written notice to the property owner of the date and approximate time that the inspection will be conducted.

3. Inspections of Source Control Inventory Sites. Inspections of sites on the source control business inventory established pursuant to IMC 13.28.117 to ensure compliance with this chapter and source control BMPs shall be conducted by City staff on a regular basis, the frequency of which may vary depending on the business’s individual risk of impacting the City’s stormwater system.

a. Notice of Source Control Inventory Site Inspection. The City shall provide written notice to the property owner or other person having charge or control of the premises or portion thereof when a source control inventory site inspection is due. Such notice shall provide instructions for how to schedule the inspection. Failure to respond to the notice within 7 days of the date received shall be considered a failure to provide access to stormwater facilities for purposes of subsection (B)(5) of this section.

4. Other Inspections. Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions of this chapter, monitor for proper function of drainage facilities or if the Director has reasonable cause to believe that violations of this chapter are present or operating on a subject property or portion thereof, the Director may enter such premises at all reasonable times to inspect the same or perform any duty imposed upon the Director by this chapter; provided, the Director shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person having charge or control of the premises or portion thereof and request entry. If, after reasonable effort, the inspector is unable to locate the owner or other person having charge or control of the premises or portion thereof, and has reason to believe the condition of the stormwater system creates an imminent hazard, the inspector may enter, after providing advance notice to the owner or other person having charge or control of the premises or portion thereof of the day and time of such inspection.

5. Property Owner’s Responsibility to Provide and Maintain Access to Stormwater Facilities. Proper ingress and egress to any drainage facility shall be provided to the Director to inspect, monitor or perform any duty imposed upon the Director by this chapter. The Director shall notify the responsible person in writing of failure to comply with this access requirement. Failing to obtain a response within 7 days from the receipt of notification of required access, the Director may order any necessary work completed. The obligation for the payment of all costs that may be incurred or expended by the City in completing such work shall thereby be imposed on the person holding title to the subject property. In addition, failure to maintain and provide proper ingress and egress to stormwater facilities or to allow inspection as authorized by this chapter shall result in enforcement action in accordance with IMC 13.28.135.

1. Authority. The Director is authorized to issue to any person or persons holding title to the subject property served by the facility an order to maintain or repair a drainage facility or source control BMP to bring it into compliance with this chapter.

2. Procedure. The order shall include:

a. A description of the specific maintenance or repair needed to bring the stormwater facility or source control BMP into compliance with this chapter;

b. A reasonable time to comply, depending on the circumstances;

c. Penalties that may be incurred by any person or persons holding title to the subject property served by the facility for failure to comply with this chapter; and

d. Any required structural repairs to a drainage facility are subject to approval by the Director. (Ord. 2989 § 1 (Exh. A1), 2022; Ord. 2783 § 2 (Exh. A2), 2016; Ord. 2560 § 2 (Exh. A1), 2009; Ord. 2288 § 2, 2000).