[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Hewlett Neck 4-9-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
It is the intent of this chapter to prohibit illicit
discharges, activities, and connections to the Village separate storm
sewer system (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System or MS4) that will
satisfy the relevant part of the Phase II stormwater management requirements
of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations,
administered by New York State through the State Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (SPDES) regulations and to provide for the health,
safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Village through
the regulation of nonstormwater discharges to the MS4 to the maximum
extent practicable as required by federal and state law. This chapter
establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants
into the MS4 in order to comply with requirements of the SPDES General
Permit for MS4s.
B.
The objectives of this chapter are:
(1)
To meet the requirements of the SPDES General Permit
for Stormwater Discharges from MS4s, Permit No. GP-02-02, as amended
or revised;
(2)
To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the
MS4 since such systems are not designed to accept, process, or discharge
nonstormwater wastes;
(3)
To prohibit illicit connections, activities, and discharges
to the MS4;
(4)
To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection,
surveillance, and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance
with this chapter; and
(5)
To promote public awareness of the hazards involved
in the improper discharge of trash, yard waste, lawn chemicals, pet
waste, wastewater, grease, oil, petroleum products, cleaning products,
paint products, hazardous waste, sediment, and other pollutants into
the MS4.
A.
For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms and
words are hereby defined. Words used in the present tense include
the future, words in the singular include the plural, and words in
the plural include the singular; the word "shall" is mandatory.
B.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
CLEAN WATER ACT
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY
DEC
EPA
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
(1)
(2)
ILLICIT DISCHARGE
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4)
MUNICIPALITY
NONSTORMWATER DISCHARGE
PERSON
POLLUTANT
PREMISES
SPDES
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES GP-02-01
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER DISCHARGES FROM MUNICIPAL
SEPARATE STORMWATER SEWER SYSTEMS GP-02-02
SPDES STORMWATER DISCHARGE PERMIT
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
STATE
STORMWATER
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER (SMO)
303(D) LIST
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL)
WASTEWATER
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
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.
An activity requiring authorization under the SPDES General
Permit for Construction Activities, Permit No. GP-02-01, as amended
or revised. These activities 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.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
United States Environmental Protection Agency.
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 drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface,
which allows an illegal discharge to enter the MS4, including but
not limited to:
Any conveyances which allow any nonstormwater
discharge, including treated or untreated sewage, process wastewater,
and wash water, to enter the MS4 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 MS4 which has not been documented in
plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement
agency.
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the MS4,
except as exempted in this chapter.
An activity requiring a SPDES permit for discharges from
industrial activities except construction, GP-98-03, as amended or
revised.
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains):
The Incorporated Village of Hewlett Neck.
Any discharge to the MS4 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.
Dredged spoil, filter backwash, solid waste, incinerator
residue, treated or untreated sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat,
wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, industrial, municipal,
or agricultural waste or ballast discharged into water, which may
cause or might reasonably be expected to cause pollution of the waters
of the state in contravention of pertinent standards promulgated by
the federal government, the state, the Village, or any other municipality
or department thereof having legal jurisdiction to impose such standards.
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether
improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
A DEC SPDES permit issued to developers of construction activities
to regulate disturbance of one or more acres of land.
A DEC SPDES permit issued to municipalities to regulate discharges
from municipal separate storm sewers for compliance with EPA-established
water quality standards and/or to specify stormwater control standards.
A permit issued by the DEC that authorizes the discharge
of pollutants to waters of the state.
Discharge compliance with water quality standards.
A condition that applies when the Village has been notified that the
discharge of stormwater authorized under its MS4 permit may have caused
or has the reasonable potential to cause or contribute to the violation
of an applicable water quality standard. Under this condition, the
Village must take all necessary actions to ensure future discharges
do not cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards.
303(d) listed waters. A condition in the Village's
MS4 permit that applies when the MS4 discharges to a 303(d) listed
water. Under this condition, the stormwater management program must
ensure no increase of the listed pollutant of concern to the 303(d)
listed water.
Total maximum daily load strategy. A condition
in the Village's MS4 permit where a total maximum daily load ("TMDL"),
including requirements for control of stormwater discharges, has been
approved by the EPA for a water body or watershed into which the MS4
discharges. If the discharge from the MS4 did not meet the TMDL stormwater
allocations prior to September 10, 2003, the Village was required
to modify its stormwater management program to ensure that reduction
of the pollutant of concern specified in the TMDL is achieved.
A condition in the Village's MS4 permit that
applies if a TMDL is approved in the future by the EPA for any water
body or watershed into which an MS4 discharges. Under such condition,
the Village must review the applicable TMDL to see if it includes
requirements for control of stormwater discharges. If an MS4 is not
meeting the TMDL stormwater allocations, the Village must, within
six months of the TMDL's approval, modify its stormwater management
program to ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern specified
in the TMDL is achieved.
The State of New York.
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
The Building Inspector, or his designee, as the designated
officer of the Village to enforce this chapter.
A list of all surface waters in the state for which beneficial
uses of the water (drinking, recreation, aquatic habitat, and industrial
use) are impaired by pollutants; it is prepared periodically by the
DEC as required by Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. 303(d) listed
waters are estuaries, lakes, and streams that fall short of state
surface water quality standards and are not expected to improve within
two years.
The maximum amount of a pollutant allowed to be released
into a water body, so as not to impair uses of the water, allocated
among the sources of that pollutant.
Water that is not stormwater, is contaminated with pollutants,
and is or will be discarded.
This chapter shall apply to all water entering
the MS4 generated on any developed or undeveloped lands, unless explicitly
exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
The SMO shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Prohibition of illicit discharges. No person shall
discharge or cause to be discharged into the MS4 any materials other
than stormwater. The commencement, conduct, or continuance of any
illegal discharge to the MS4 is prohibited, except as follows:
(1)
The following discharges are exempt from discharge
prohibitions established by this chapter, unless the DEC or the Village
has determined them to be substantial contributors of pollutants:
water line flushing or other potable water sources, landscape irrigation,
lawn watering, existing diverted stream flows, rising ground water,
uncontaminated ground water infiltration to storm drains, uncontaminated
pumped ground water, foundation or footing drains, crawl space or
basement sump pumps, air conditioning condensate, irrigation water,
springs, water from individual residential car washing, natural riparian
habitat or wetland flows, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges,
residential street wash water, water from fire-fighting activities,
and any other water source not containing pollutants. Such exempt
discharges shall be made in accordance with an appropriate plan for
reducing pollutants.
(2)
Discharges approved in writing by the SMO to protect
life or property from imminent harm or damage, provided that such
approval shall not be construed to constitute compliance with other
applicable laws and requirements, and further provided that such discharges
may be permitted for a specified time period and under such conditions
as the SMO may deem appropriate to protect such life and property
while reasonably maintaining the purpose and intent of this chapter.
(3)
Dye testing in compliance with applicable state and
Village laws is an allowable discharge, but requires a verbal notification
to the SMO prior to the time of the test.
(4)
The prohibition shall not apply to any discharge permitted
under a SPDES permit, waiver, or waste discharge order issued to the
discharger and administered under the authority of the DEC, 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 DEC approval has been granted for any discharge
to the MS4.
B.
Prohibition of illicit connections.
(1)
The construction, use, maintenance, or continued existence
of illicit connections to the MS4 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 Village's
MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
The following activities are prohibited:
C.
Upon notification to a person that such person is
engaged in activities that cause or contribute to violations of the
Village's MS4 SPDES permit authorization, such person shall immediately
commence and continue thereafter with all due diligence all reasonable
actions to correct such activities such that such person no longer
causes or contributes to violations of the Village's MS4 SPDES permit
authorization.
A.
Best management practices. Where the SMO has identified
illicit discharges or activities contaminating stormwater, the Village
may require implementation of BMPs to control those illicit discharges
and activities.
(1)
The owner or operator of a residential, commercial
or industrial establishment shall provide, at its own expense, reasonable
protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other
wastes into the MS4 through the use of structural and nonstructural
BMPs.
(2)
Any person responsible for a property or premises
which is, or may be, the source of an illicit discharge or an activity
contaminating stormwater, may be required to implement, at said person's
expense, additional structural and nonstructural BMPs to reduce or
eliminate the source of pollutant(s) to the MS4.
(3)
Compliance with all terms and conditions of a valid
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.
A.
Suspension of access to MS4. The SMO 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,
to the health or welfare of persons, or to the MS4. The SMO shall
notify the person of such suspension and of the reasons for the suspension
in writing within a reasonable time thereafter. If the violator fails
to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the SMO
may take such steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage
to the MS4 or to minimize danger to persons.
B.
Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge.
Any person discharging to the Village's MS4 in violation of this chapter
may have its MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate
or reduce an illicit discharge. The SMO will notify a violator in
writing of the proposed termination of its MS4 access and the reasons
therefor. The violator may petition the SMO for reconsideration and
a hearing. Access may be granted by the SMO if the SMO finds that
the illicit discharge has ceased and the discharger has taken steps
to prevent its recurrence. Access may be denied by the SMO if the
SMO determines in writing that the illicit discharge has not ceased
or is likely to recur. A person commits an offense if the person reinstates
MS4 access to a premises terminated pursuant to this subsection without
the prior approval of the SMO.
Any person subject to an industrial or construction
activity SPDES 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 SMO prior to the allowance of discharges
to the MS4.
A.
Applicability. This section applies to all facilities
that the SMO must inspect to enforce any provision of this chapter
and wherever the authorized enforcement agency has cause to believe
that there exists, or potentially exists, in or upon any premises
any condition which constitutes a violation of this chapter.
B.
Access to facilities.
(1)
The SMO 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
prior to entry into its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary
arrangements to allow access to the SMO.
(2)
Facility operators shall allow the SMO ready access
to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling,
examination, and copying of records as may be required by the SMO
to implement this chapter.
(3)
The Village shall have the right to install, at any
facility subject to this chapter, such devices as are necessary in
the opinion of the SMO to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the
facility's stormwater discharge.
(4)
The Village has the right to require the facilities
subject to this chapter to install monitoring equipment as is reasonably
necessary to determine compliance with this chapter.
(5)
At all times, the facility's sampling and monitoring
equipment shall be maintained by the discharger in a safe and proper
operating condition at the discharger's own expense. All devices used
to measure stormwater flow and quality shall be calibrated to ensure
their accuracy.
(6)
Unreasonable delay in allowing the Village access
to a facility subject to this chapter is a violation of this chapter.
A person who is the operator of a facility subject to this chapter
commits an offense if the person denies the Village reasonable access
to the facility for the purpose of conducting any activity authorized
or required by this chapter.
(7)
If the SMO has been refused access to any part of
the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and the SMO 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, then the
SMO may seek issuance of a search warrant from the Village Court,
or, at the SMO's option, any other court of competent jurisdiction.
A.
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
the MS4, said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the
discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release.
B.
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.
C.
In the event of a release of nonhazardious materials,
said person shall notify the Village in person or by telephone or
facsimile no later than the next business day.
D.
Notifications in person or by telephone shall be confirmed
by written notice addressed and mailed to the Village within three
business days of the in-person or telephone notice.
E.
If the discharge of prohibited materials emanates
from a commercial or industrial establishment, in addition to compliance
with the provisions above, 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 and shall be made available to the SMO.
A.
Notice of violation. When the SMO, his designee, or
other designee of the Board of Trustees determines that a person has
violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this chapter,
the SMO or such designee may order compliance by written notice of
violation to the responsible person. Such notice may require, without
limitation:
(1)
The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
(2)
That violating discharges, practices, or operations
shall cease and desist;
(3)
The abatement or remediation of stormwater pollution
or contamination hazards and the restoration of any affected property;
(4)
The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
(5)
Payment of a fine;
(6)
The implementation of source control or treatment
BMPs; and
(7)
If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of
affected property is/are 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 Village may perform
the remediation or restoration and the cost thereof shall become a
lien upon the land until paid, and if not paid prior thereto, may
be added to the next year's real estate taxes, collected in the same
manner and with the annual Village real estate taxes.
B.
Violations. Any activity that is commenced or is conducted
contrary to this chapter may be restrained by injunction or otherwise
abated in a manner provided by law.
C.
Penalties. In addition to or as an alternative to
any penalty provided herein or by law, any person who violates the
provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation punishable
by a fine not exceeding $350 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed
six months, or both for conviction of a first offense; for conviction
of a second offense, both of which were committed within a period
of five years, punishable by a fine not less than $350 nor more than
$700 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both;
and upon conviction for a third or subsequent offense, all of which
were committed within a period of five years, punishable by a fine
not less than $700 nor more than $1,000 or imprisonment for a period
not to exceed six months, or both. Violations of this chapter shall
be deemed misdemeanors. Each week's continued violation shall constitute
a separate additional violation, provided a separate accusatory instrument
is served.
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 SMO 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 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.
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 authorized
enforcement agency to seek cumulative remedies.