[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of
Weston 12-6-2018, effective 12-29-2018. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens of Weston through the regulation
of nonstormwater discharges to the storm drainage system to the maximum
extent practicable as required by federal and state law. This chapter
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 chapter are:
A.
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the storm drainage
system through stormwater discharges by any user;
B.
To prohibit and eliminate illicit connections and discharges to the
storm drainage system;
C.
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance
and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this
chapter; and
D.
To ensure compliance with the State of Connecticut Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection ("DEEP") General Permit for the
Discharge of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer
Systems on January 20, 2016, effective July 1, 2017.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
Schedules of activities, prohibition 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.
The Compliance Officer for the Town of Weston.
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 have been 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 building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
The First Selectman of the Town of Weston or his/her authorized
designee.
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 § 227-7 of this chapter.
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 the First Selectman; 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 the
First Selectman or other public official or body having jurisdiction
thereof.
Activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined
in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14).
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, 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.
An 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 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.
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 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.
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or manmade, which gathers or carries surface water.
This includes but is not limited to lakes, ponds, rivers, streams
and any other surface water defined as a watercourse by the Town's
inland wetland regulations.[1]
This chapter shall apply to all water entering the storm drain system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly exempted by the First Selectman or Code Enforcement Officer in accordance with § 227-7B of this chapter.
The First Selectman and the Code Enforcement Officer shall administer,
implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The First Selectman
may delegate his/her powers and duties under this chapter to an authorized
designee.
The provisions of this chapter are hereby declared to be severable.
If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this chapter 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 chapter.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this
chapter are minimum standards; therefore this chapter does not intend
nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will
be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
A.
Prohibition of illegal discharges. No person shall discharge or cause
to be discharged into the storm drainage system 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.
B.
Exceptions.
(1)
The following discharges, provided that they do not contribute to
a violation of water quality standards and are not significant contributors
of pollutants to the storm drainage system: uncontaminated ground
water discharges including, but not limited to, pumped groundwater,
foundation drains, water from crawl space pumps and footing drains;
irrigation water including, but not limited to, landscape irrigation
and lawn watering runoff; residual street wash water associated with
sweeping; discharges or flows from firefighting activities (except
training); and naturally occurring discharges such as rising ground
waters, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration [as defined at 40
CFR 35.2005(20)], springs, diverted stream flows and flows from riparian
habitats and wetlands.
(2)
Discharges specified in writing by the First Selectman as being necessary
to protect public health and safety.
(3)
Dye testing, provided that a written notification has been provided
to the Code Enforcement Officer prior to the time of the test. Said
written notification may be in the form of electronic mail, facsimile
transmission or hard copy letter format.
(4)
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.
C.
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 chapter if the
person connects a line conveying sewage to the storm drainage system,
or allows such a connection to continue.
A.
Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The
First Selectman may, without prior notice, suspend storm drainage
system 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 storm drainage system or waters of
the United States. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension
order issued in an emergency, the First Selectman may take such steps
as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the storm drainage
system 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 storm drainage system in violation
of this chapter may have their storm drainage system access terminated
if such termination would abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The
Code Enforcement Officer will notify a violator of the proposed termination
of its storm drainage system access. The violator may petition the
Code Enforcement Officer for reconsideration and hearing.
(2)
A person commits an offense if the person reinstates storm drainage
system access terminated pursuant to this subsection, without the
prior approval of the Code Enforcement Officer.
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 Code Enforcement Officer prior to the
allowing of discharges to the storm drainage system.
A.
Applicability. This section applies to all facilities that have stormwater
discharges.
B.
Access to facilities.
(1)
Upon the consent of facility owners, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation
under this chapter as often as may be necessary to determine compliance
with this chapter. 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 the Code Enforcement Officer.
(2)
Facility operators shall allow the Code Enforcement Officer ready
access to all parts of the facility for the purposes of inspection,
sampling, examination and copying of records that must be kept under
the conditions of a town, state or federal NPDES permit to discharge
stormwater, and the performance of any additional duties as defined
by state and federal law.
(3)
The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the right to set up on any
NPDES permitted facilities such devices as are necessary in the opinion
of the Code Enforcement Officer to conduct monitoring and/or sampling
of the facility's stormwater discharge.
(4)
The Code Enforcement Officer has the right to require the installation
of sampling and monitoring equipment on any NPDES permitted facility
by the discharger at its own expense. 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 Code Enforcement
Officer and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access
shall be borne by the operator.
(6)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the Code Enforcement Officer access
to a permitted facility is a violation of a stormwater discharge permit
and of this chapter. 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 Code Enforcement
Officer reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose
of conducting any activity authorized or required by this chapter.
(7)
If the Code Enforcement Officer has been refused access to any part
of the facility from which stormwater is discharged, and he/she is
able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a
violation of this chapter, 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 chapter or any order issued hereunder,
or to protect the overall public health, safety, and welfare of the
community, then the Code Enforcement Officer may seek issuance of
a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
The First Selectman 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 drainage system, or waters of the United States. 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 storm drainage system
or watercourses through the use of these structural and nonstructural
BMPs. Further, any person responsible for a property or facility,
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 storm drainage system as directed by the First Selectman. Compliance
with all terms and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing
the discharge of stormwater associated with industrial or construction
activity, to the extent practicable, shall be deemed compliant with
the provisions of this subsection. These BMPs shall be part of a stormwater
pollution prevention plan (SWPP) 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 drainage system, or water 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 Code Enforcement Officer in person or by phone, electronic mail
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 Code Enforcement Officer within three business days
of the 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.
(1)
Whenever the Code Enforcement Officer finds that a person has violated
a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this chapter, he
or she shall order compliance by written notice of violation to the
responsible person.
(2)
Said notice of violation may require, without limitation:
(a)
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(b)
The elimination of illicit discharges or connections;
(c)
That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease
and desist;
(d)
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution or contamination
hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(e)
Suspension of any discharge to the storm drainage system consistent with § 227-8 of this chapter;
(f)
The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs; and
(g)
Payment of a fine to recover administrative and remediation
costs.
(3)
If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of affected property
are required, the notice shall set forth a deadline within which such
remediation or restoration must be completed.
(4)
Where elimination of an illicit discharge or connection is not possible
within 60 days, a schedule for its elimination will be set for no
more than 180 days.
(5)
Said notice of violation shall include a statement informing the
violator that, should the violator fail to remediate or restore within
the established deadline, the Code Enforcement Officer may order the
work be done by a designated governmental agency or a contractor and
the expense thereof shall be charged to the violator.
(6)
Any notice of violation issued pursuant to this subsection shall
be served by hand delivery, certified mail return receipt requested,
leaving a true and attested copy of the citation at the usual place
of abode or residence of the person in violation, or in the case of
a corporate or business entity, delivery to the business address or
the address of the statutory agent of said entity.
B.
Issuance of citations. The Code Enforcement Officer may issue a citation and fine in the amount of $250 per day of continuing violation to any person who violates this chapter, in accordance with the procedures established in Chapter 39 of the Town of Weston Code of Ordinances.
C.
Payment of fines.
(1)
All fines imposed under this chapter which are uncontested shall
be made payable to the Town of Weston and shall be received by the
Code Enforcement Officer within 10 business days from receipt of the
citation. All fines collected by the Code Enforcement Officer shall
be deposited into the Town of Weston General Fund.
The hearing procedure for any citation issued pursuant to this chapter shall be in accordance with the procedures established in Chapter 39 of the Town of Weston Code of Ordinances.
Any person or entity aggrieved by a finding, determination, notice order or action taken under the provisions of this chapter may appeal and shall be advised of his right to appeal in accordance with the procedures established in Chapter 39 of the Town of Weston Code of Ordinances.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision
or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter. If
a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this
chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer may petition for a temporary
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 chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer may impose
upon a violator alternative compensatory actions, such as storm drain
stenciling, attendance at compliance workshops, watershed cleanup,
or other related activities.
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 chapter 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.
Any person that has violated or continues to violate this chapter
shall be liable to criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the
law. The Code Enforcement Officer may recover all attorneys'
fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement
of this chapter, including sampling and monitoring expenses.
The remedies listed in this chapter 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.
