[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Sleepy Hollow as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-22-2005 by L.L. No. 3-2005]
A.
The purpose
of this article is to provide for the health, safety, and general
welfare of the citizens of the Village of Sleepy Hollow through the
regulation of nonstormwater discharges to the storm drainage system
to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal and state
law. This article 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.
B.
The objectives
of this article are to:
(1)
Regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate
storm sewer system (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user.
(2)
Prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the municipal separate
storm sewer system.
(3)
Establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance
and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this
article.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Employees or designees of the director of the municipal agency
designated to enforce this article.
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.
The federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
Activities subject to NPDES construction permits. Currently
these include construction projects resulting in land disturbance
of five acres or more. Beginning in March 2003, NPDES Stormwater Phase
II permits will be required for construction projects resulting in
land disturbance of one acre or more. Such activities include but
are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and
demolition.
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.
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in § 353-9 of this article.
An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
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 allow any nonstormwater
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 approved by an authorized enforcement
agency.
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
A permit issued by the EPA [or by a state under authority
delegated pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b)] 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.
Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed
entirely of stormwater.
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.
Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants
may include, but are not limited to, paints, varnishes, and solvents;
oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes
and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discharged
or abandoned objects, ordnance, 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.
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
Publicly owned facilities by which stormwater 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.
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely
of water from any form of natural precipitation and resulting from
such precipitation.
A document 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.
Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater,
discharged from a facility.
This article shall apply to all water entering the storm drain
system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The Building Department shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this article. Any powers granted or duties imposed
upon the authorized enforcement agency may be delegated in writing
by the Director of the authorized enforcement agency to persons or
entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of
the agency.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
article are minimum standards; therefore, this article does not intend
nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will
be no contamination, pollution, or unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
A.
Prohibition of illegal discharges.
(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 stormwater.
(2)
The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illegal discharge
to the storm drain system is prohibited except as described as follows:
(a)
The following discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions
established by this article. Water line flushing or other potable
water sources, landscape irrigation or lawn watering, diverted stream
flows, rising groundwater, groundwater infiltration to storm drains,
uncontaminated pumped groundwater, foundation or footing drains (not
including active groundwater dewatering systems), crawl space pumps,
air-conditioning condensation, springs, noncommercial washing of vehicles,
natural riparian habitat or wetland flows, swimming pools (if dechlorinated,
typically less than one PPM chlorine), fire-fighting activities, and
any other water source not containing pollutants.
(b)
Discharges specified in writing by the authorized enforcement
agency as being necessary to protect public health and safety.
(c)
Dye testing is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal
notification to the authorized enforcement agency prior to the time
of the test.
(d)
The prohibition shall not apply to any nonstormwater 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.
B.
Prohibition of illicit connections.
(1)
The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit
connections to the storm drain system is prohibited.
(2)
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.
(3)
A person is considered to be in violation of this article if the
person connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such
a connection to continue.
A.
Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The
Building Inspector or General Foreman 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, or to minimize danger to persons.
B.
Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge.
(1)
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this article may
have his/her or its MS4 access terminated if such termination would
abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The authorized enforcement agency
will notify a violator of the proposed termination of the MS4 access.
The violator may petition the authorized enforcement agency for a
reconsideration and hearing.
(2)
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access to
premises terminated pursuant to this section without the prior approval
of the authorized enforcement agency.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity
NPDES stormwater 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 Building Inspector prior to the allowing
of discharges to the MS4.
A.
Applicability. This section applies to all facilities that have stormwater
discharges associated with industrial activity, including construction
activity.
B.
Access to facilities.
(1)
The Building Inspector shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities
subject to regulation under this article as often as may be necessary
to determine compliance with this article. 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 Building Inspector 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 stormwater, and the performance of
any additional duties as defined by state and federal law.
(3)
The Building Inspector 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
stormwater discharge.
(4)
The Building Inspector 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 the Building Inspector
and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall
be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the Building Inspector access to
a permitted facility is a violation of a stormwater discharge permit
and of this article. A person who is the operator of a facility with
a NPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial
activity commits an offense if the person denies the authorized enforcement
agency reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose
of conducting any activity authorized or required by this article.
(7)
If the Building Inspector 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 article, 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 article 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.
The Village Board and Planning Commission will adopt requirements
identifying best management practices for any activity, operation,
or facility which may cause or contribute to pollution or contamination
of stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the United States.
The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment
shall provide, at its 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 nonstructural BMPs. Further, any person responsible for a property
or premises, which is or may be the source of an illicit discharge,
may be required to implement, at said person's expense, additional
structural and nonstructural BMPs to prevent the further discharge
of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system. Compliance
with all terms and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing
the discharge of stormwater 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.
Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes,
or such person's lessee, 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. 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.
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, has information of any known
or suspected release of materials which are resulting or may result
in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the
storm drain system, or waters of the United States, said person shall
take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment and
cleanup of such release. 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. In the
event of a release of nonhazardous 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 Building Inspector within three business days of the phone notice.
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.
A.
Notice of violation. Whenever the Building Inspector finds that a
person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement
of this article, the authorized enforcement agency 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 illicit connections or discharges;
(3)
That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease and
desist;
(4)
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution or contamination
hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(5)
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs;
and
(6)
The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
B.
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.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination
of the authorized enforcement agency. The notice of appeal must be
received within 10 days from the date of the notice of violation.
Hearing on the appeal before the appropriate authority or his/her
designee shall take place within 15 days from the date of receipt
of the notice of appeal. The decision of the municipal authority or
its designee shall be final.
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 10 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.
Within 10 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 10 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 Village by reason of such violation.
The liability shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments. Interest
at the rate of 9% per annum shall be assessed on the balance beginning
on the first day following discovery of the violation.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this article. If
a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this
article, 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.
In lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties, and remedies
authorized by this article, the authorized enforcement agency may
impose upon a violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm
drain stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, creek cleanup,
etc.
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 article 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.
A.
Any person
who has violated or continues to violate this article shall be liable
to criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law and shall
be subject to a criminal penalty of $250 per violation per day and/or
imprisonment for a period of time not to exceed 15 days.
B.
The authorized
enforcement agency may recover all attorney's fees, court costs
and other expenses associated with enforcement of this article, including
sampling and monitoring expenses.
The remedies listed in the this article 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.
This article shall be in full force and effect 30 days after
its final passage and adoption. All prior laws and parts of laws in
conflict with this article are hereby repealed.