Butte County Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Stormwater Ordinance" of Butte County.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

(a) The Federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq., provides for the regulation and reduction of pollutants discharged into the Waters of the United States by extending National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements to stormwater and urban runoff discharge into the County storm drain system.

(b) The State Board is authorized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to administer the NPDES program within the State. The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (California Water Code Section 13000 et seq.) provides authority for the State NPDES program, including provisions to issue NPDES permits and waste discharge requirements to regulate discharges of stormwater to Waters of the State.

(c) Due to amendments to the Clean Water Act, the USEPA developed a Phase I and a Phase II program requiring municipalities to develop and implement stormwater pollution management programs. Smaller municipalities and contiguous areas with small, but still urban, communities come under the Phase II regulations of the State Board's General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (hereafter called the "Small MS4 General Permit." Butte County falls under the Phase II regulations, which require coverage under the "Small MS4 General Permit."

(d) The Butte County Board of Supervisors finds in this regard that the provisions of this chapter are necessary to provide the County with the legal authority necessary to implement and otherwise comply with the requirements of the Small MS4 General Permit and to protect the Waters of the State for the benefit of its people and the environment.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

(Ord. No. 4263, § 7, 5-27-25)

(a) This chapter is adopted pursuant to Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution, which authorizes the County to exercise the police power of the State by adopting regulations promoting the public health, public safety, and the general welfare of its citizens. The purpose and intent of this chapter is to protect and enhance watercourses, fish and wildlife habitat within the unincorporated MS4 permitted area of the County in a manner consistent with the Clean Water Act, the Porter Cologne Water Quality Control Act, and Small MS4 General Permit.

(b) It is the intent of the Board in adopting this chapter to provide the County with the legal authority to ensure the future health, safety, and general welfare of County residents and to protect and enhance watercourses, fish and wildlife habitat within the MS4 permitted area by:

(1) Effectively prohibiting non-stormwater discharges into the County storm drain system or to watercourses within the County's jurisdiction;

(2) Responding to the discharge of spills, preventing and controlling the discharge of spills to storm drains or watercourses and prohibiting dumping or disposal of materials other than stormwater;

(3) Reducing pollutants in stormwater discharges to the maximum extent practicable;

(4) Requiring owners and operators of construction sites, development projects, and industrial and commercial facilities to install, implement, and maintain appropriate best management practices (BMPs);

(5) Requiring development projects to maintain or reduce the volume, velocity, peak flow rate and duration of runoff as compared to pre-development stormwater runoff and preventing stormwater pollution whenever possible, through stormwater management controls and ensuring that these management controls are properly maintained;

(6) Complying with the requirements of the Clean Water Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, and the Small MS4 General Permit as they apply to the discharge of pollutants into and from the County storm drain system;

(7) Providing for the recovery of regulatory costs incurred by the County in the implementation of this chapter, including, but not limited to, enforcement activities, compliance assistance, inspections, investigations, sampling and monitoring; and

(8) Establishing appropriate enforcement procedures and penalties for violations of the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

(Ord. No. 4263, § 8, 5-27-25)

Any term(s) defined in the Small MS4 General Permit, the Clean Water Act, as amended, and/or defined in the regulations for the stormwater discharge permitting program issued by the USEPA, as amended, and which are not specifically defined in this chapter shall, when used in this chapter, have the same meaning as set forth in said act or regulation.

Certain words and phrases defined in this chapter shall have the meanings set forth herein. Additional defined terms used in this chapter shall have the meanings set forth below unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(a) "Administrator" means the Director of Public Works and his or her designees.

(b) "Best Management Practices" (BMPs) means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to Waters of the United States. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste recycling or disposal, and/or drainage from raw material storage.

(c) "Board" means the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte.

(d) "Construction activity" means private and public construction projects resulting in land disturbance. Such activities include, but are not limited to, clearing and grubbing, paving, grading, disturbances to ground such as stockpiling, excavating and demolition. Construction projects disturbing more than one (1) acre of land are subject to compliance with the State Board-issued NPDES General Permit establishing waste discharge requirements ("WDRs") for discharges of stormwater runoff associated with construction activity, as amended from time to time.

(e) "County" means the County of Butte.

(f) "County Storm Drain System" shall mean those public manmade facilities within the unincorporated area of the County that are owned, operated, maintained or controlled by the County by which stormwater may be conveyed to natural surface waters, including, but not limited to, any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, curbs, gutters, catch basins, water quality basins, detention basins, constructed wetlands, artificial channels, aqueducts, ditches, altered drainage channels, reservoirs, sumps, pumping stations, storm drain inlets, and storm drains.

(g) "Development" means construction, rehabilitation, redevelopment, or reconstruction of any public or private residential project, industrial, commercial, retail, transportation, institutional, or other nonresidential project including public agency projects.

(h) "Discharge of a Pollutant" means the addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to Waters of the United States from any point source, or any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to the waters of the contiguous zone or the ocean from any point source other than a vessel or other floating craft which is being used as a means of transportation. The term includes additions of pollutants to Waters of the United States from: surface runoff which is collected or channeled by man; discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances owned by a State, municipality, or other person which do not lead to a treatment works; and discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances, leading into privately owned treatment works.

(i) "Discharger" means any person who discharges, or causes a discharge, either directly or indirectly.

(j) "Erosion and Sediment Control Plan" (ESCP) means a plan prepared to control erosion and prevent the discharge of sediment and construction materials from a construction site as described in Butte County Code Chapter 13.

(k) "Hazardous Materials" means 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.

(l) "Illicit connection" means any physical connection, including, but not limited to any drain or conveyance, to the County storm drain system or natural surface waters, which is not expressly authorized by the County.

(m) "Illicit discharge" means any direct or indirect nonpermitted or non-exempt discharge to the County storm drain system or to the natural surface waters that violates this chapter, or a discharge prohibited by federal, state, or local laws, which tends to degrade the quality of natural surface waters. The term illicit discharge includes all non-stormwater discharges not composed entirely of stormwater and discharges that are identified under the Discharge Prohibitions section of the Small MS4 General Permit. The term illicit discharge does not include discharges that are regulated by an NPDES permit (other than the NPDES permit for discharges from the MS4).

(n) "Incidental irrigation runoff" means unintended amounts of runoff, such as unintended, minimal over-spray from sprinklers that escapes the landscaped area of intended use. Water leaving an intended use area is not considered incidental if it is part of the facility design, if it is due to excessive application, if it is due to intentional overflow or application, or if it is due to negligence.

(o) "Industrial activity" means activities subject to NPDES industrial stormwater permits as defined in 40 CFR Section 122.26(b)(14) and consistent with the State Board-issued NPDES General Permit establishing waste discharge requirements ("WDRs") for discharges of stormwater runoff associated with industrial activities excluding construction activity, as amended from time to time.

(p) "Low Impact Development" (LID) means a sustainable practice that benefits water supply and contributes to water quality protection. LID uses site design and stormwater management to maintain the site's predevelopment runoff rates and volumes. The goal of LID is to mimic a site's predevelopment hydrology by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to the source of rainfall.

(q) "Maximum Extent Practicable" (MEP) means the minimum required performance standard for implementation of municipal stormwater management programs to reduce pollutants in stormwater. Clean Water Act § 402(p)(3)(B)(iii) requires that municipal permits "shall require controls to reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable, including management practices, control techniques and system, design and engineering methods, and such other provisions as the Administrator or the State determines appropriate for the control of such pollutants." MEP is the cumulative effect of implementing, evaluating, and making corresponding changes to a variety of technically appropriate and economically feasible BMPs, ensuring that the most appropriate controls are implemented in the most effective manner. This process of implementing, evaluating, revising, or adding new BMPs is commonly referred to as the iterative process.

(r) "MS4 jurisdictional area" means the area of the unincorporated County designated by the State Board as being subject to the Small MS4 General Permit. The MS4 permit area maps can be accessed online at the Butte County Department of Public Works Land Development Division's Stormwater Program website, (s) "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit" or "NPDES Permit" means a general, group, and individual permit issued pursuant to the Federal Clean Water Act by USEPA or the Regional Board or the State Board.

(t) "Natural Surface Waters" means creeks, natural ponds or lakes, wetlands, rivers, flood diversion channels and irrigation channels and shall include any Waters of the State and any Waters of the United States contained within the boundaries of the State. Natural Surface Waters shall not mean any wet or dry detention basin, constructed wetland, stormwater treatment facility, artificial lake or pond or other man-made body of water which does not combine or effect a junction with natural surface waters.

(u) "Non-Stormwater Discharge" means any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater.

(v) "Person" means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, State or Federal agency, or an agent or employee thereof.

(w) "Pollutant" means the same as defined in Section 502(6) of the Clean Water Act or as incorporated into the California Water Code, section 13373, as such code sections may be amended from time to time. Pollutants include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Materials (including, but not limited to, fuels, solvents, chemicals, detergents, plastic pellets, hazardous substances, radioactive wastes, fertilizers, pesticides, paints, soot, slag, ash, sludge);

2. Metals and non-metals both soluble and insoluble (including, but not limited to, cadmium, lead, zinc, copper, silver, nickel, chromium, chlorine, phosphorous, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and arsenic);

3. Petroleum hydrocarbons (including, but not limited to, fuels, oils, lubricants, surfactants, waste oils, solvents, coolants, and grease);

4. Eroded soils, sediment, saw cut slurry and wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure;

5. Animal wastes (including, but not limited to, discharge from confinement facilities, kennels, pens, recreational facilities, and stables);

6. Substances having acidic or corrosive characteristics, unusual coloration or turbidity;

7. Any domestic or industrial wastewater;

8. Any hazardous substances.

The term "pollutant" shall not include uncontaminated stormwater, potable water, groundwater or reclaimed water generated by a lawfully permitted water treatment facility.

(x) "Pollution" means the human-made or human-induced alteration of the quality of waters by pollutants to a degree that causes or contributes to an exceedance of water quality standards contained in the Statewide Water Quality Control Plan, the California Toxics Rule, or in the applicable Regional Water Quality Control Board Basin Plan.

(y) "Post Construction Measures " means the requirements of the Small MS4 General Permit that contain low impact development design standards and performance criteria to address the post-construction phase impacts of development projects on stormwater quality and quantity.

(z) "Premises" means any building, lot, parcel, real estate, or land or portion of land whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.

(aa) "Priority Land Uses" means high density residential (ten (10) developed dwelling units per acre), industrial, commercial, mixed urban, and public transportation stations.

(bb) "Regional Board" means the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region.

(cc) "State Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board which is the state water pollution control agency for all purposes of the Clean Water Act pursuant to Section 13160 of the California Water Code.

(dd) "Stormwater" means stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage that results from a precipitation event.

(ee) "Threatened Prohibited Discharge" shall mean any condition or activity that does not currently result in a prohibited discharge but is nevertheless determined by the Administrator to be a condition which results in a substantial likelihood of a future prohibited discharge.

(ff) "Watercourses" shall mean any channel or depression in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently, including above-ground portions of the storm drain system.

(gg) "Waters of the State, " as defined in Water Code section 13050, means any surface water or groundwater, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the state.

(hh) "Waters of the United States" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 122.2 or any successor provisions.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

(Ord. No. 4263, § 8, 5-27-25)

The provisions of this chapter shall be construed to assure consistency with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Act and any acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, applicable implementing regulations, and the Small MS4 General Permit and any amendment, revision or re-issuance thereof. In the event of a conflict between this chapter and any Federal or State law, regulation, order or permit, the requirement that establishes the most protective standard for public health and safety shall govern unless preempted by law.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to all dischargers and potential dischargers located within the unincorporated area of the County within the MS4 jurisdictional area that discharge either directly or indirectly into the County storm drain system.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

(Ord. No. 4263, § 10, 5-27-25)

The provisions of this chapter shall take precedence over and are controlling with respect to any conflicting or inconsistent provisions in this Code.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

Compliance by any person with the provisions of this chapter shall not preclude the need to comply with other local, state or federal statutory or regulatory requirements relating to the control of pollutant discharges or protection of stormwater quality, or both.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

Except as otherwise provided herein, the authority to implement this chapter is vested in the Administrator, who shall be responsible for the administration, implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. Unless otherwise specified herein, any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the Administrator may be delegated by the Administrator to other County employees or, upon the approval of the Board, to employees of other public agencies.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)

The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this chapter are minimum standards; therefore this chapter does not imply that compliance will ensure that there will be protection from liability including civil penalties or that there will be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants into natural surface waters or the waters of the United States. This chapter shall not create liability on the part of the County, or any officer or employee thereof for any damages that result from any discharger's reliance on this chapter or any other administrative decision lawfully made thereunder.

(Ord. No. 3981, § 1 (part), 3-11-08)