A. Purpose. In order to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Ottawa, this Article acts to regulate non-stormwater 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).
B. Objective. The objectives of this ordinance are:
1. To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer (MS4) by stormwater discharges by any user.
2. To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the MS4.
3. To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this ordinance.
(Code 2015)
A. General Prohibition
1. No person shall release or cause to be released into the MS4, or into any surface waters within the City, any discharge that is not composed entirely of stormwater that is free of pollutants, except as allowed elsewhere herein.
2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, any discharge shall be prohibited by this Article if the discharge in question has been determined by the City Manager or authorized enforcement agency to be a source of a pollutant to the MS4 or to surface waters.
B. Prohibition of Illicit Discharges. The specific prohibitions and requirements in this section are not inclusive of all the discharges prohibited by the general prohibition, but are provided to address specific discharges that are frequently found or are known to occur:
1. No person shall knowingly dump, spill, leak, pump, emit, empty, discharge, leach, dispose, or otherwise introduce or cause, allow, or permit to be introduced any of the following substances into the MS4:
a) Any new or used motor oil, anti-freeze, or any other petroleum product or waste;
b) Any industrial waste
c) Any hazardous substances or hazardous waste, including household hazardous waste;
d) Any domestic sewage or septic tank waste, grease trap or grease interceptor waste, holding tank waste, or grit trap waste;
e) Any garbage, rubbish, yard, or other waste;
f) Any new or used paints, including latex-based paints, oil-based paints, stains, varnish, and primers, as well as cleaning solvents and other associated products;
g) Any wastewater that contains soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent or surfactant based cleaner from a commercial motor vehicle wash facility; from any vehicle washing, cleaning, or maintenance at any new or used motor vehicle dealership, rental agency, body shop, repair shop, or maintenance facility; or from any washing, cleaning, or maintenance of any business of commercial or public service vehicle, including a truck, bus or heavy equipment;
h) Any wastewater from a commercial mobile power washer or from the washing or other cleaning of a building exterior that contains soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent, or any surfactant based cleaner;
i) Any wastewater from commercial floor, rug, or carpet cleaning;
j) Any wastewater from the (commercial) wash-down or other (commercial) cleaning of pavement where any spill, leak, or other release of oil, motor fuel, or other petroleum or hazardous substance has occurred, unless all such materials have been previously removed;
k) Any effluent from a cooling tower, condenser, compressor, emissions scrubber, emission filter, or the blow-down from a boiler;
l) Any ready-mixed concrete, mortar, ceramic, or asphalt base material or discharge resulting from the cleaning of vehicles or equipment containing or used in transporting or applying such material;
m) Any runoff, wash-down water or waste from any animal pen, kennel, fowl, or livestock containment area;
n) Any swimming pool, fountain, or spa water containing a harmful level of chlorine (>1 parts per million), muriatic acid, or other chemical used in the treatment or disinfection of the swimming pool water or in pool cleaning;
o) Any discharge from water line disinfection by super chlorination if it contains a harmful level of chlorine (> 1 parts per million) at the point of entry into the MS4 or waters of the United States;
p) Any water from a water curtain in a spray room used for painting vehicles or equipment;
q) Any contaminated runoff from a vehicle wrecking, salvage, storage, and recycling centers;
r) Any substance or material that will damage, block, or clog the MS4
s) Any release from a petroleum storage tank (PST), or any leachate or runoff form soil contaminated by leaking PST; or any discharge of pumped, confined, or treated wastewater from the remediation of any such PST release, unless the discharge has received an NPDES permit from the state;
t) Any other discharges that causes or contributes to causing the City to violate a state water quality standard, the City’s NPDES stormwater permit, or any state-issued discharge permit for discharges from its MS4;
2. No person shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the MS4 any harmful quantity of sediment, silt, earth, soil, or other material associated with clearing, grading, excavation, or other construction activities in excess of what could be retained on site or captured by employing sediment and erosion control measures.
3. No person shall connect a line conveying sanitary sewage, domestic or industrial, to the MS4. No property owner shall knowingly allow such a connection to continue in use on their property once known or identified.
4. No person shall use pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers except in accordance with manufacturer recommendations. Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers shall be stored, transported, and disposed of in a manner to prevent release to the MS4.
5. Exemptions. The commencement, conduct, or continuance of any illicit discharge to the storm drain system is prohibited except as described as follows:
a) General/All
i. car or vehicle washing – noncommercial
ii. contaminated groundwater if authorized by KDHE and approved by the municipality
iii. crawl space pumps
iv. diverted stream flow
v. dye testing; provided that verbal notification is given to the municipality prior to the time of the test
vi. firefighting activities
vii. footing/foundation drains
viii. lawn watering or landscape irrigation
ix. natural riparian habitat
x. potable water source dischargers
xi. rising groundwater
xii. roof drains not interconnected to the MS4
xiii. street wash waters (excluding street sweepings which have been removed from the street)
xiv. swimming pool discharges – dechlorinated and not containing harmful quantities of chlorine or other chemicals and does not cause flooding or property damage and excludes filter backwash
xv. uncontaminated groundwater infiltration as defined under 40 CFR 35.2005(20) to separate storm sewer
xvi. wastewater or other discharges that have been treated and meet the requirements of a NPDES permit
xvii. water line flushing
xviii.wet-land flows
xix. other discharges determined by the City Manager or his/her designee not to be a significant source of pollutants to waters of the state, a public health hazard, or a nuisance or necessary to protect public health and safety
b) Residential
i. driveway washing
ii. heat pump discharge waters
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection 14-202(B)(5) of this section, any discharge shall be prohibited by this section if the discharge in question has been determined by the City Manager or authorized enforcement agency to be a source of pollutants to the MS4 or surface waters, written notice of such determination has been provided to the property owner or person responsible for such discharges, and the discharge has occurred more than ten (10) working or business days beyond such a notice.
C. Prohibition of Illegal Connections/Actions
1. The construction, use, maintenance, or continued existence of illegal connections to the MS4 is prohibited.
2. This prohibition expressly includes, without limitations, illegal 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 ordinance if the person knowingly connects a line conveying sewage to the MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
4. Illegal connections in violation of this Article must be disconnected and redirected as ordered by the City.
5. Any drain or conveyance that has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent, and which may be connected to the MS4 must be located by the owner or occupant of that property upon receipt of written notice of violation from the City Manager or his/her designee requiring that such location be completed. Such notice will specify a reasonable time period within which the location of the drain or conveyance is to be completed, that the drain or conveyance be identified as a storm sewer, sanitary sewer, or other, and that the outfall location or point of connection to the storm sewer system, sanitary sewer, or other discharge point be identified. Results of these investigations are to be documented and provided to the City. Upon receipt of the investigation results, the City shall direct the owner or occupant of the property in writing to complete such measures as are necessary to ensure compliance with this Article. It shall be unlawful for any such owner or occupant to fail to comply with the reasonable directions issued by the City in a timely manner.
6. On or after the effective date of this ordinance, any person who connects a drain or conveyance to the MS4 shall obtain a Stormwater Drainage System Connection Permit from the City prior to establishing any such connection.
7. No person shall tamper with, destroy, vandalize, or render inoperable any BMPs that have been installed for the purpose of eliminating or minimizing pollutant discharges, nor shall any person fail to install or fail to properly maintain any BMPs that have been required by the City or by other local, state, or federal jurisdictions.
(Code 2015; Ord. 4025-19)
A. Industrial or Construction Activity. 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 City of Ottawa prior to the allowing of discharges to the MS4.
B. Watercourse Protection. Every person owning property, or such person’s lessee, through which a watercourse passes 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 though 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.
C. Private Drainage System Maintenance. The owner of any private drainage system shall maintain the system to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants. This maintenance shall include, but is not limited to, sediment removal, bank erosion repairs, maintenance of vegetative cover, and removal of debris from pipes and structures.
D. Materials Storage. In addition to other requirements of this Article, materials shall be stored in such a manner as to prevent the potential release of pollutants. The uncovered, outdoor storage of unsealed containers of hazardous substances is also prohibited.
E. Pet Waste. Pet and animal waste shall be disposed of as solid waste or sanitary sewage in a timely manner in order to prevent discharge to the storm drainage system.
(Code 2015)
A. General. The City shall adopt and impose requirements identifying Best Management Practices for any activity, operation, or facility, which may cause a discharge of pollutants to the MS4. Where specific BMPs are required, every person undertaking such activity or operation, or owning or operating such facility shall implement and maintain these BMPs at their own expense.
B. Compliance Required. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to comply with any required City BMPs.
C. Damage to BMPs Unlawful. It shall be unlawful for any person to damage, destroy, or interfere with any implemented BMPs.
(Code 2015)
A. Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situations. The City of Ottawa 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 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 minimized danger to persons.
B. Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge. Any person discharging to the MS4 in violation of this ordinance may have their MS4 access terminated if such termination would abate or reduce an illicit discharge. The City of Ottawa will notify a violator of the proposed termination of its MS4 access. The violator may petition the authorized enforcement agency for a reconsideration and hearing, per Article I, Section 14-105.
It shall be deemed an offense if a person reinstates suspended MS4 access to premises without the prior approval of the authorized enforcement agency.
(Code 2015; Ord. 4025-19)
A. Any person responsible for the release of any prohibited material that may flow, leach, enter, or otherwise be introduced into the MS4 or surface waters shall take all necessary steps to ensure the containment and cleanup of such release.
B. In the event of 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 non-hazardous materials, said person shall notify the City in person, by phone or facsimile no later than the next business day. Notifications in person or by phone shall be confirmed in a standard written form by the City to keep for its records.
(Code 2015)
A. Right of Entry. Refer to Article I, Section 14-101(F).
B. Records. Permitted stormwater dischargers shall make available upon request, any SWP3’s, modifications thereto, self-inspection reports, monitoring records, compliance evaluations, notices of intent, and any other records, reports, and other documents related to compliance with this Article and with any State or Federal discharge permit.
C. Sampling. The City or its authorized representatives shall have the right to set up on the discharger’s property any such devices that are necessary to conduct sampling of stormwater discharges to monitor compliancy with the provisions of this Article.
(Code 2015; Ord. 4025-19)
Enforcement, penalties, and administration for violations shall be managed by Article I, Section 14-104.
(Code 2015; Ord. 4025-19)