§ 5-9. Illicit discharge or connection to stormwater system.

(a)

Purpose. The purpose of this section is to promote, preserve and enhance the natural resources within the city and protect them from adverse effects occasioned by non-stormwater discharges into the stormwater system of the city by regulating discharges that would have an adverse and potentially irreversible impact on water quality and environmentally sensitive land.

(b)

Findings. The city council hereby finds that non-stormwater discharges to the city's municipal separated storm sewer system are subject to higher levels of pollutants that enter into receiving water bodies adversely affecting the public health, safety and general welfare by impacting water quality, creating nuisances, and impairing other beneficial uses of environmental resources.

(c)

Definitions. The following words and terms are specific to this section and shall apply only as they relate to section 5-9 of this Code:

(1)

Best management practice (BMP) means erosion and sediment control and water quality management practices that are the most effective and practicable means of controlling, preventing, and minimizing the degradation of surface water, including construction-phasing, minimizing the length of time soil areas are exposed, prohibitions, and other management practices published by state or designated area-wide planning agencies.

(2)

Buffer means a band of vegetation immediately adjacent to a water resource that is designed, intended, or set aside as a transition zone to physically protect and separate the water resource from future disturbance or encroachment.

(3)

Discharge means adding, introducing, releasing, leaking, spilling, casting, throwing, or emitting any pollutant, or placing any pollutant in a location where it is likely to pollute waters of the state.

(4)

Erosion means the group of natural processes, including weathering, dissolution, abrasion, corrosion, and transportation, by which material is worn away from the earth's surface or the erosive process of washing away soil by water.

(5)

Groundwater means water contained below the surface of the earth in the saturated zone including, without limitation, all waters whether under confined, unconfined, or perched conditions, in near surface unconsolidated sediment or regolith, or in rock formations deeper underground.

(6)

Illicit connection means either of the following:

a.

Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system (including any non-stormwater discharge) including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water 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

b.

Any drain or conveyance connected from a residential, 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.

(7)

Illicit discharge means any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to the storm sewer system, except as exempted in this chapter.

(8)

MPCA means the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

(9)

Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) means the system of conveyances (including sidewalks, roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) owned and operated by the city and designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, and which is not used for collecting or conveying sewage.

(10)

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) means the national program for issuing, modifying, revoking, and reissuing, terminating, monitoring, and enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements under sections 307, 318, 402, and 405 of the Clean Water Act, United States Code, title 33, sections 1317, 1328, 1342, and 1345.

(11)

Person means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, franchise, association or governmental entity.

(12)

Pollutant means any substance which, when discharged has potential to or does any of the following:

a.

Interferes with state designated water uses;

b.

Obstructs or causes damage to waters of the state;

c.

Changes water color, odor, or usability as a drinking water source through causes not attributable to natural stream processes affecting surface water or subsurface processes affecting groundwater;

d.

Adds an unnatural surface film on the water;

e.

Adversely changes other chemical, biological, thermal, or physical condition, in any surface water or stream channel;

f.

Degrades the quality of groundwater; or

g.

Harms human life, aquatic life, or terrestrial plant and wildlife. Pollutant includes but is not limited to dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, garbage, wastewater sludge, chemical waste, biological materials, radioactive materials, rock, sand, dust, industrial waste, sediment, nutrients, toxic substance, pesticide, herbicide, trace metal, automotive fluid, petroleum-based substance, and oxygen-demanding material.

(13)

Pollute means to discharge pollutants into waters of the state.

(14)

Pollution means the direct or indirect distribution of pollutants into waters of the state.

(15)

State designated water uses means uses specified in state water quality standards.

(16)

Storm sewer system means a conveyance or system of conveyances that is owned and operated by the city or other entity and designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater.

(17)

Stormwater means precipitation runoff, stormwater runoff, snow melt off, and any other surface runoff and drainage.

(18)

Surface waters means all waters of the state other than groundwaters, which include ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, tidal and nontidal wetlands, public ditches, tax ditches, and public drainage systems except those designed and used to collect, convey, or dispose of sanitary sewage.

(19)

Waters of the state has the meaning given it in Minn. Stat. § 115.01, subd. 22.

(20)

Water resource means sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans. Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. Examples of water resources include wetlands, lakes, streams, ponds, or other natural water bodies.

(d)

Illegal disposal and dumping.

(1)

No person shall throw, deposit, place, leave, maintain, or keep any substance upon any street, alley, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin conduit or drainage structure, business place, or upon any public or private land, so that the same might be or become a pollutant, unless the substance is in containers, recycling bags, or any other lawfully established waste disposal device.

(2)

No person shall intentionally dispose of grass, leaves, dirt, or landscape material into a water resource, buffer, street, road, alley, catch basin, culvert, curb, gutter, inlet, ditch, natural watercourse, flood control channel, canal, storm drain or any fabricated natural conveyance.

(e)

Illicit discharges and connections.

(1)

No person shall cause any illicit discharge to enter the storm sewer system or any surface water unless such discharge:

a.

Consists of non-stormwater that is authorized by an NPDES point source permit obtained from the MPCA;

b.

Is associated with firefighting activities or other activities necessary to protect public health and safety;

c.

Is one of the following exempt discharges: 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, non-commercial washing of vehicles, natural riparian habitat or wetland flows, dechlorinated swimming pools and any other water source not containing pollutant;

d.

Consists of dye testing as long as the city provided a verbal notification prior to the time of the test.

(2)

No person shall use any illicit connection to intentionally convey non-stormwater to the city's storm sewer system.

(3)

The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit connections to the storm sewer system is prohibited. 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.

(4)

A person is considered to be in violation of this section if the person connects a line conveying sewage to the storm sewer system, or allows such a connection to continue.

(f)

General provisions. All owners or occupants of property shall comply with the following general requirements:

(1)

No person shall leave, deposit, discharge, dump, or otherwise expose any chemical or septic waste in an area where discharge to streets or storm sewer system may occur. This section shall apply to both actual and potential discharges.

a.

Recreational vehicle sewage shall be disposed to a proper sanitary waste facility. Waste shall not be discharged in an area where drainage to streets or storm sewer systems may occur.

b.

For pools, water must be allowed to sit seven days without the addition of chlorine to allow for chlorine to evaporate before discharging in an area where drainage to streets or storm sewer systems may occur.

(2)

Runoff of water into the storm sewer system shall be minimized to the maximum extent practicable. Runoff of water into the storm sewer system from the washing down of paved areas is prohibited unless necessary for health or safety purposes.

(3)

Mobile washing companies (carpet cleaning, mobile vehicle washing, etc.) shall dispose of wastewater to the sanitary sewer. Wastewater must not be discharged where drainage to streets or storm sewer system may occur.

(4)

Storage of materials, machinery and equipment must comply with the following requirements:

a.

Objects, such as motor vehicle parts containing grease, oil or other hazardous substances, and unsealed receptacles containing hazardous materials shall not be stored in areas susceptible to runoff.

b.

Any machinery or equipment that is to be repaired or maintained in areas susceptible to runoff shall be placed in a confined area to contain leaks, spills, or discharges.

(5)

Debris and residue shall be removed as follows:

a.

All motor vehicle parking lots and private streets shall be swept at least once a year in the spring to remove debris. Such debris shall be collected and properly disposed.

b.

Fuel and chemical residue or other types of potentially harmful material, such as animal waste, garbage or batteries shall be removed as soon as possible and disposed of properly. Household hazardous waste may be disposed of through the county collection program or at any other appropriate disposal site and shall not be placed in a trash container.

(g)

Industrial activity discharges. Any person subject to an industrial 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 prior to the allowing of discharges to the storm sewer system. All facilities that have stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity that are the source of an illicit discharge, will be required to implement, at the property owner's expense, additional structural and non-structural BMPs to prevent the further discharge of pollutants to the storm sewer system. These BMPs shall be part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) as necessary for compliance with requirements of the NPDES permit.

(h)

Notification of spills. 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 storm sewer system, or water of the state, 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 non-hazardous materials, said person shall notify the city no later than the next business day.

(i)

Suspension of storm sewer system access.

(1)

Suspension due to illicit discharges in emergency situation. The city 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, to the heath or welfare of persons, to the storm sewer or waters of the state. If the violator fails to comply with a suspension order issued in an emergency, the city may take such steps as deemed necessary to prevent or minimize damage to the storm sewer system or the waters of the state, or to minimize danger to persons.

(2)

Suspension due to the detection of illicit discharge. All persons discharging to the MS4 in violation of this section may have their access terminated if such termination serves to abate or reduce an illicit discharge. It is a violation of this section to reinstate access to premises that have been terminated pursuant to this section without the prior approval of the city.

(j)

Enforcement.

(1)

Notice of violation. A violation of section 5-9 of this Code is a public nuisance. When the city finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this section, the person is deemed to have created a public nuisance subject to abatement and assessment. In addition to any order issued, the city may require the following:

a.

The performance of monitoring, analysis, and reporting;

b.

The implementation of source control or treatment BMPs; and

c.

Any other requirement deemed necessary.

(2)

A violation of this section is also a misdemeanor offense and punishable as such.

(Ord. No. 09-10, § 1, 7-27-2009; Ord. No. 09-12, §§ 1, 2, 8-10-2009; Ord. No. 15-13, § 1, 12-14-2015)