Blue Lake Municipal Code Ch. 8.24 Blue Lake Water Quality Control

This chapter shall be known as "The Blue Lake Water Quality Control Ordinance."

"Beneficial uses"

of the waters of the State flowing through Blue Lake, that may be protected against contamination and/or quality degradation include, but are not necessarily limited to, domestic, municipal, agricultural and industrial supply; power generation; recreation; aesthetic enjoyment; navigation; and preservation and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and other aquatic resources or preserves.

"Contaminate"

means to impair the quality of the waters of the State by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease.

"Council"

means the City Council of the City of Blue Lake.

"Person"

means any individual, group, organization, corporation or agency, and includes any city, county, district, the State or any department agency thereof. "Person" also includes the United States, to the extent authorized by federal law.

"Quality of the waters"

or "water quality" refers to chemical, physical, biological, bacteriological, radiological and other properties and characteristics of water which affect its use.

"Waste"

includes sewage and any and all other waste substances, liquid, solid, gases, radioactive, or chemicals associated with human habitation, or from any producing, manufacturing, or processing operation of whatever nature, including such wastes placed within containers of whatever nature prior to, and for purposes of, disposal.

"Waters of the State"

means any water, surface or underground, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the State.

"Waters of the State flowing through the City of Blue Lake"

means any and all such waters that originate, enter or otherwise flow within or through the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Blue Lake, excluding the waters of the Mad River.

The ordinance codified in this chapter is enacted pursuant to California Water Code Section 13002(a), and is in no way meant to conflict with any other laws of this State or any regulations of the State Water Resources Control Board or any regional water quality control board.

The Council hereby finds and declares that for the health and welfare of the people of Blue Lake it is necessary to protect the quality of the waters of the State flowing through the City of Blue Lake, as well as the surrounding watershed, water supply areas and all beneficial uses to which said waters may be put, from contamination or degradation resulting from the discharge or application of any wastes in any amount into the waters.

Prior to the use, application, discharge, or disposal of any substance or any other activity producing waste which might contaminate or degrade the quality of said waters in an amount exceeding zero parts per billion, the person proposing the use, application, discharge, disposal, or other such activity shall first secure a permit from the Council. The permit application shall contain such information as may be required by the Council, and shall be accompanied by a filing fee according to a reasonable fee schedule established by the Council. Before issuing a permit, the Council, together with the Blue Lake Public Works Director, shall develop a plan to monitor the quality of waters that may be affected by the proposed permit application. The monitoring plan shall be supported by pertinent analytical data, including provisions for sampling and testing procedures, and may be developed in cooperation with other public agencies or private entities. The cost of developing and conducting the monitoring plan shall be borne by the permit applicant.

Any person, firm, corporation, agency or partnership, whether as principal, agent, employee or otherwise, who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and punishable as such. Any such person, firm, corporation, agency, or partnership shall be deemed to be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day a violation of this chapter is committed, continued, or permitted and shall be liable civilly for an amount up to $5,000.00 for each day in which such violation occurs.

It is hereby declared that any such use, application, discharge, disposal, or other activity which violates any provision of this chapter is a public nuisance, and the City may cause proceedings to be brought for the abatement thereof.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter or the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed the ordinance codified in this chapter or any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.