[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Baldwinsville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-1-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006 (Ch. 74 of the 1971
Code)]
A.Â
The purpose of this article is to provide for the health, safety
and general welfare of the citizens of the Village of Baldwinsville
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) and the New York State Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (SPDES) permit process. The objectives of this
article are:
(1)Â
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the MS4 by stormwater
discharges by any user.
(2)Â
To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the MS4.
(3)Â
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance,
monitoring and enforcement procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this article.
For the purposes of 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 or SPDES construction permits.
These include 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 § 282-7 of this article.
Either of the following:
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
that allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system,
including but not limited to any conveyances that 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 that has not been documented in
plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement
agency.
Activity subject to NPDES or SPDES industrial stormwater
permits.
The system of conveyances (including sidewalks, roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains) owned and operated by
the Village of Baldwinsville and designed or used for collecting or
conveying stormwater and that is not used for collecting or conveying
sewage.
A permit issued by the EPA [or by a state under authority
delegated pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b) — SPDES]
that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United
States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group,
or general areawide basis.
Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed
of surface water meeting the water quality standards identified within
Part 703, Surface Water and Groundwater Quality Standards and Groundwater
Effluent Limitations of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and
Regulations of the State of New York.
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 that 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 discarded
or abandoned objects, ordinances, 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 flow, runoff or drainage consisting of surface water
meeting the water quality standards identified within Part 703, Surface
Water and Groundwater Quality Standards and Groundwater Effluent Limitations
of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the
State of New York, from any form of natural precipitation and resulting
from such precipitation.
A document that 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.
The Code Enforcement Officer of the Village of Baldwinsville
shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article.
Any powers granted or duties imposed upon the Code Enforcement Officer
may be delegated, in writing, by the Mayor of the Village of Baldwinsville
to persons or entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in
the employ of the agency.
This article is not intended to modify or repeal any other ordinance,
rule, regulation, or other provision of law. The requirements of this
article are in addition to the requirements of any other ordinance,
rule, regulation, or other provision of law, and where any provision
of this article imposes restrictions different from those imposed
by any other ordinance, rule, regulation, or other provision of law,
whichever provision is more restrictive or imposes higher protective
standards for human health or the environment shall control.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
article are minimum standards; therefore, this article does not intend
or imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will
be no contamination, pollution, or unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
A.Â
Prohibition of illegal discharges; exceptions.
(1)Â
No person shall throw, drain or otherwise discharge or cause or allow
other under his or her control to throw, drain or otherwise discharge
into the MS4 any pollutants or waters containing any pollutants, other
than stormwater.
(2)Â
The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illegal discharge
to the storm drain system is prohibited, except as described as follows:
(a)Â
The following discharges are exempt from discharge prohibitions
established by this article: water line flushing, landscape irrigation,
diverted stream flows, rising groundwaters, uncontaminated groundwater
infiltration, uncontaminated pumped groundwater, discharges from potable
water sources, foundation drains, air-conditioning condensation, irrigation
water, springs, water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, lawn
watering, individual residential car washing, flows from riparian
habitats and wetlands, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges and
street wash water.
(b)Â
Discharges or flow from fire fighting and other discharges specified,
in writing, by the Code Enforcement Officer as being necessary to
protect public health and safety.
(c)Â
Discharges associated with dye testing; however, this activity
requires a verbal notification to the Code Enforcement Officer prior
to the time of the test.
(d)Â
The prohibition shall not apply to any nonstormwater discharge
permitted under an NPDES or SPDES permit, waiver or waste discharge
order issued to the discharger and administered under the authority
of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 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.Â
Prohibition of illicit connections.
(1)Â
The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit
connections to the storm drain system is prohibited.
(2)Â
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)Â
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.
(4)Â
Improper connections in violation of this article must be connected
and redirected, if necessary, to an approved on-site wastewater management
system or the sanitary sewer system upon approval of the Code Enforcement
Officer of the Village of Baldwinsville.
(5)Â
Any drain or conveyance which has not been documented in plans, maps
or the equivalent and which may be connected to the storm sewer system
shall be located by the owner or occupant of that property upon receipt
of a written notice of violation from the Code Enforcement Officer
of the Village of Baldwinsville requiring that such locating be completed.
Such notice will specify a reasonable time period within which the
location of the drain or conveyance is to be determined, that the
drain or conveyance be identified as storm sewer, sanitary sewer or
other and that the outfall location or point of connection to the
storm sewer system, sanitary sewer system or other discharge point
be identified. Results of these investigations are to be documented
and provided to the Code Enforcement Officer of the Village of Baldwinsville.
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.
A.Â
Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity NPDES
or SPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions
of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit shall be required
by the municipality in a form acceptable to the Code Enforcement Officer
prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.[1]
B.Â
The operator of a facility, including construction sites, required
to have an NPDES or SPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated
with industrial activity shall submit a copy of the notice of intent
(NOI) to the Code Enforcement Officer at the same time the operator
submits the original notice of intent to the EPA or state DEC as applicable.
C.Â
The copy of the notice of intent may be delivered to the Code Enforcement
Office either in person or by mailing it to:
|
Notice of Intent to Discharge Stormwater
Code Enforcement Officer
Village of Baldwinsville
16 West Genesee Street
Baldwinsville, New York 13027
|
D.Â
A person commits an offense if the person operates a facility that
is discharging stormwater associated with industrial activity without
having submitted a copy of the notice of intent to do so to the Code
Enforcement Officer.
A.Â
Right of entry: inspection and sampling. The Village Code Enforcement
Officer or his designee 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.
(1)Â
If a discharger has security measures in force that require proper
identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger
shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives
of the Village Code Enforcement Officer.
(2)Â
Facility operators shall allow the Village Code Enforcement Officer
or his designee 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 or SPDES permit
to discharge stormwater and the performance of any additional duties
as defined by state and federal law.
(3)Â
The Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee shall have the
right to set up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary
in the opinion of the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee
to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's stormwater
discharge.
(4)Â
The Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee 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)Â
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 Village Code
Enforcement Officer or his designee and shall not be replaced. The
costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the operator.
(6)Â
Unreasonable delays in allowing the Village Code Enforcement Officer
or his designee 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 an NPDES or SPDES permit to discharge
stormwater associated with industrial activity commits an offense
if the person denies the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee
reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting
any activity authorized or required by this article.
B.Â
Search warrants. If the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee
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 Village Code Enforcement
Officer may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent
jurisdiction.
The Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee will adopt
requirements identifying best management practices for any activity,
operation, or facility that 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 such activity, operation,
or facility shall provide, at his or her 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 that 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 MS4. Compliance with all terms
and conditions of a valid NPDES or SPDES 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 management plan (SWMP) as necessary
for compliance with requirements of the NPDES permit.
A.Â
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 is 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 Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee 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 Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee
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 10 years.
B.Â
Failure to provide notification of a release as provided above is
a violation of this article.
A.Â
Violations.
(1)Â
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail
to comply with any of the requirements of this article. Any person
who has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this article
may be subject to the enforcement actions outlined in this section
or may be restrained by injunction or otherwise abated in a manner
provided by law.
(2)Â
In the event the violation constitutes an immediate danger to public health or public safety, the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee is authorized to enter upon the subject private property, without giving prior notice, to abate the violation and/or restore the property. The Village Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to take any and all measures necessary to authorized to seek costs of the abatement as outlined in § 282-16.[1]
B.Â
Warning notice. When the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his
designee finds that any person has violated, or continues to violate,
any provision of this article, or any order issued hereunder, the
Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee may serve upon that
person a written warning notice specifying the particular violation
believed to have occurred and requesting the discharger to immediately
investigate the matter and to seek a resolution whereby any offending
discharge will cease. Investigation and/or resolution of the matter
in response to the warning notice in no way relieves the alleged violator
of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt
of the warning notice. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the
authority of the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee
to take any action, including emergency action or any other enforcement
action, without first issuing a warning notice.
C.Â
Notice of violation.
(1)Â
Whenever the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee finds
that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement
of this article, the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee
may order compliance by written notice of violation to the responsible
person. The notice of violation shall contain:
(a)Â
The name and address of the alleged violator;
(b)Â
The address, when available, or a description of the building,
structure or land upon which the violation is occurring or has occurred;
(c)Â
A statement specifying the nature of the violation;
(d)Â
A description of the remedial measures necessary to restore
compliance with this article and a time schedule for the completion
of such remedial action;
(e)Â
A statement of the penalty or penalties that shall or may be
assessed against the person to whom the notice of violation is directed;
(f)Â
A statement specifying that should the violator fail to restore
compliance within the established time schedule, the work will be
done by a designated governmental agency or a contractor and the expense
thereof shall be charged to the violator.
(2)Â
Such notice may require, without limitation:
(a)Â
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(b)Â
The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(c)Â
That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease
and desist;
(d)Â
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution or contamination
hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(e)Â
Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs;
and
(f)Â
The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs.
D.Â
Compensatory action. In lieu of enforcement proceedings, penalties,
and remedies authorized by this article, the Village Code Enforcement
Officer or his designee may impose upon a violator alternative compensatory
actions, such as storm drain stenciling, attendance at compliance
workshops, creek cleanup, etc.
E.Â
Suspension of MS4 access.
(1)Â
Emergency cease and desist orders.
(a)Â
When the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee finds
that any person has violated, or continues to violate, any provision
of this article, or any order issued hereunder, or that the person's
past violations are likely to recur, and that the person's violation(s)
has (have) caused or contributed to an actual or threatened discharge
to the MS4 or waters of the United States which reasonably appears
to present an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or
welfare of persons or to the environment, the Village Code Enforcement
Officer or his designee may issue an order to the violator directing
him or her immediately to cease and desist all such violations and
directing the violator to:
(b)Â
Any person notified of an emergency order directed to it under
this subsection shall immediately comply and stop or eliminate endangering
its discharge. In the event of a discharger's failure to immediately
comply voluntarily with the emergency order, the Village Code Enforcement
Officer or his designee may take such steps as deemed necessary to
prevent or minimize harm to the MS4 or waters of the United States
and/or endangerment to persons or to the environment, including immediate
termination of a facility's water supply, sewer connection, or
other municipal utility services. The Village Code Enforcement Officer
or his designee may allow the person to recommence its discharge when
it has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Village Code Enforcement
Officer that the period of endangerment has passed, unless further
termination proceedings are initiated against the discharger under
this article. A person that is responsible, in whole or in part, for
any discharge presenting imminent endangerment shall submit a detailed
written statement describing the causes of the harmful discharge and
the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the Village
Code Enforcement Officer or his designee with 10 days of receipt of
the emergency order. Issuance of an emergency cease and desist order
shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other
action against the violator.
(2)Â
Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The
Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee may, without prior
notice, suspend MS4 discharge access to a person when such suspension
is necessary to stop an actual or threatened discharge that 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 Village Code Enforcement Officer
or his designee 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.
(3)Â
Suspension due to detection of illicit discharge.
(a)Â
Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this article
may have its MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate
or reduce an illicit discharge. The Village Code Enforcement Officer
or his designee will notify a violator of the proposed termination
of its MS4 access.
(b)Â
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates MS4 access
to premises, terminated pursuant to this section, without the prior
approval of the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee.
F.Â
Civil penalties. In the event the alleged violator fails to take
the remedial measures set forth in the notice of violation or otherwise
fails to cure the violation described therein within 20 days or such
greater period as the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee
shall deem appropriate, after the Village Code Enforcement Officer
or his designee has taken one or more of the actions described above,
the Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee may impose a
penalty not to exceed $500 (depending on the severity of the violation)
for each day the violation remains unremedied after receipt of the
notice of violation.[2]
G.Â
Criminal prosecution. Any person that 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 $500 per violation per day and/or imprisonment for a period of
time not to exceed 60 days. Each act of violation and each day upon
which any violation shall occur shall constitute a separate offense.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination
of the Village Code Enforcement Office or his designee. The notice
of appeal must be received within 10 days from the date of the notice
of violation. A hearing on the appeal before the appropriate authority
or his/her designee shall take place within 60 days from the date
of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the municipal
authority or his or her 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 30 days of the decision of the municipal authority upholding
the decision of the Village Code Enforcement Office or his designee,
then representatives of the Code Enforcement Officer 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.
A.Â
Within 30 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.
B.Â
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall
become liable to the Village of Baldwinsville by reason of such violation.
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.Â
The remedies listed in 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 Code Enforcement Officer to
seek cumulative remedies.
B.Â
The Village Code Enforcement Officer or his designee may recover
all attorneys' fees, court costs and other expenses associated
with enforcement of this article, including sampling and monitoring
expenses.
