Article I — Purpose And General Provisions

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the health, safety and general welfare of citizens, protect and enhance the water quality of watercourses and water bodies in a manner pursuant to and consistent with the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 125 et seq.) by:

• A. Controlling and reducing pollutants in storm water discharges to the MS4 to the maximum extent practicable;

• B. Prohibiting non-storm-water discharges to the MS4;

• C. Prohibiting illicit connections and illicit discharges to the MS4;

• D. Controlling the discharge to a MS4 of spills, dumping or disposal of materials other than storm water;

• E. Controlling the contribution of pollutants to the MS4 by storm water discharges associated with industrial and construction activity and the quality of storm water discharged from the sites of industrial and construction activity;

• F. Controlling the contribution of pollutants from one portion of the MS4 to another portion of the MS4;

• G. Requiring that treatment control best management practices (BMPs) be properly operated and maintained;

• H. Requiring the implementation of the Low Impact Development Manual;

• I. Adopting best management practices (BMPs) in landscaping for new projects as well as providing a mechanism to require updating and upgrading of existing landscaping in existing developments when improvements are proposed; and

• J. Using progressive and consistent inspection and enforcement measures to ensure compliance with this chapter and applicable law.

• (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings as defined herein. Words and phrases used in this chapter and not otherwise defined shall be interpreted as defined in the regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement the provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act and as defined by the State Water Resources Control Board to implement the Porter-Cologne Act in the State Water Code.

• A. "Authorized city employee(s)" means those individuals designated by the city engineer,

1. Prior legislation: Ord. 697-2014.

director of public works or chief building official to act as his or her designees.

• B. "Best management practices" or "BMPs" means schedules of activities, prohibitions or practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent, eliminate, or reduce the discharge of pollutants, including non-storm-water discharges, directly or indirectly to watercourses, water bodies, and wetlands. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, design specifications, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.

• C. "Channel" means any defined watercourse, either natural or manmade, which conveys surface water to the surface waters of the United States.

• D. "Chief building official" means the Cloverdale chief building official or his or her designee.

• E. "City's storm water system" means those publicly owned or maintained MS4s that are situated within the city.

• F. "Commercial facility" means any nonresidential premises or any premises used as a site of commercial activity.

• G. "Construction activity" means any construction or demolition activity, clearing, grading, grubbing, or excavation or any other activity that results in a land disturbance of one or more acres, and required to obtain an NPDES storm water permit. Construction activity does not include emergency construction activities required to immediately protect public health and safety or routine maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or original purpose of the facility.

• H. "Culvert" means any open pipe, drain, tunnel or aqueduct which conveys water from a channel, stream, creek or drainage.

• I. "Director of public works" means the Cloverdale director of public works or his or her designee.

• J. "Discharge" means the addition of a pollutant, combination of pollutants or non-stormwater to the MS4 from any "point source" as defined in Clean Water Act Section 502(14) (33 U.S.C. Section 1362(14)).

• K. "Discharger" means any individual or private or public facility that releases, spills, leaks, pumps, flows, dumps, or disposes of any pollutant into the city's storm water system.

• L. "Drainage system" means any watercourse, culvert, channel, conduit, ditch, drain, gutter, tunnel, aqueduct, stream, creek or collection thereof which conveys water to the surface waters of the United States or publicly owned wastewater treatment system.

• M. "Illicit connection" means any drain or engineered conveyance that is connected to the city's storm water system without a permit or city authorization, including but not limited to those conveyances that allow an illicit discharge to enter the city's storm water system.

• N. "Illicit discharge" means any direct or indirect discharge to the city's storm water system that is not composed entirely of storm water, except as exempted at Section 16.10.080.

• O. "Industrial activity" means any activity or facility that is associated with any of the categories of activities defined in 40 C.F.R. Section 122.26(b)(14) and required to obtain an NPDES storm water permit.

• P. "Low impact development (LID)" means a development site design strategy with a goal of maintaining or reproducing the predevelopment hydrologic system through the use of design techniques to create a functionally equivalent hydrologic setting. Hydrologic functions of storage, infiltration, and ground water recharge, as well as the volume and frequency of discharges, are maintained through the use of integrated and distributed smallscale storm water retention and detention areas, reduction of impervious surfaces, and the lengthening of flow paths and runoff time. LID techniques also utilize natural processes to reduce or eliminate pollutants contained in storm water runoff. Other strategies include the preservation and protection of environmentally sensitive site features such as riparian buffers, wetlands, steep slopes, valuable trees, floodplains, woodlands, native vegetation and permeable soils.

• Q. "Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)" means a conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains), as defined in 40 C.F.R. Section 122.26(b)(8):

  1. Owned or operated by a state, city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body (created by or pursuant to state law) including special districts under state law such as a sewer district, flood control district or drainage district, or similar entity, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a designated and approved management agency under Section 208 of the Clean Water Act that discharges into waters of the United States.
  • Designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water.

• Which is not a combined sewer.

4. Which is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW), as defined in 40 C.F.R. Section 122.2.

• R. "MS4 Phase I Permit" means the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region (Regional Board) adopted Order No. R1-2015-0030, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit No. CA0025054 and Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges from the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems, and any amendments or reissuances thereto.

• S. "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) storm water permit" means a permit issued by either the State Water Resources Control Board or a Regional Water Quality Control Board pursuant to Clean Water Act Section 402 (33 U.S.C. Section 1342) and California Water Code Section 13377 that regulates storm water discharges, including but not limited to the city's MS4 Phase I Permit, the general permit for construction activity (State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 2009-0009-DWQ, as amended) and the general permit for industrial activity (State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 2014-0057-DWQ, as amended).

• T. "Non-storm-water discharge(s)" means any discharge that is not entirely composed of storm water.

• U. "Pollutant" means those pollutants defined in Clean Water Act Section 502(6) (33 U.S.C.

Section 1362(6)) and incorporated by reference into California Water Code Section 13373.

• V. "Pollutant loading" means the aggregate quantity of all pollutants.

• W. "Polluted discharges" means those discharges whose pollutant load is such as to detract from or place limits on any actual or potential beneficial use of the receiving waters.

• X. "Post-construction BMPs" means structural and nonstructural controls which detain, retain, or filter the release of pollutants to receiving waters which continue to operate and are maintained after construction activities have been completed.

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

• Z. "Private drainage systems" means any watercourse, culvert, channel, conduit, ditch, drain, gutter, tunnel, aqueduct, stream, creek or collection thereof located on a private premises within the Cloverdale city limits and which conveys water to the surface waters of the United States.

• AA. "Significant noncompliance" means noncompliance with any provision of this chapter that either:

  1. Poses or threatens to pose a significant danger to the environment or public health;

  2. Has not been abated in a reasonable period of time; or

  3. Has recurred.

• BB. "Storm water" means storm water runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface water runoff and drainage.

• CC. "Threatened illicit discharge" means any condition or activity which does not currently result in an illicit discharge but is nevertheless determined by the city engineer, director of public works or chief building official to be a condition which results in a substantial likelihood of a future illicit discharge.

• DD. "Unpolluted discharges" means those discharges whose pollutant load does not detract from, or place limits on, any actual or potential beneficial use of the receiving water.

• (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this chapter shall be administered by the city engineer, director of public works or chief building official. (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

• A. This chapter shall be construed in a manner which is consistent with the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act and acts amendatory thereof, any applicable implementing regulations thereto and any NPDES permit for storm water discharges from the Cloverdale area issued by the State Water Resources Control Board or the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and any amendment, revision or reissuance of the permit.

• B. This chapter shall apply to all discharges of storm water and non-storm-water discharges entering the city's storm drain system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands lying within the city of Cloverdale.

• (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

Article II Prohibitions

Except as provided in Section 16.10.080, illicit discharges to the city storm water system, including non-storm-water discharges, are prohibited. (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

The following discharges are exempt from the prohibition set forth in Section 16.10.070:

• A. Any discharge in compliance with a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the city of Cloverdale and administered by the state of California under the authority of the United States Environmental Protection Agency;

• B. Discharges from the following activities will not be considered an illicit discharge to the city's storm water system when properly managed:

  1. Flushing of potable water from potable water lines and other discharges from potable water sources;

  2. Landscape irrigation and lawn watering, irrigation water, diverted stream flows, rising ground waters;

  3. Unpolluted ground water infiltration to storm drains;

  4. Unpolluted discharges of pumped ground water;

  5. Foundation and footing drains;

  6. Unpolluted discharges of water from crawl space pumps;

  7. Unpolluted discharges of air conditioning condensation water;

  8. Springs;

  9. Runoff from individual residential (noncommercial) car washing;

  10. Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands;

  11. Dechlorinated swimming pool discharges;

  12. Flows from fire fighting activities;

  13. Other flows necessary for implementing BMPs directed or approved by the city's designated representative.

• (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

• A. It is unlawful to establish, use, maintain or continue unauthorized illicit connections to the city's storm water system or to a watercourse.

• B. It is unlawful to establish, use, maintain or continue illicit connections to the city's storm water system or to a watercourse which are or may be a source of illicit discharges.

• C. It is unlawful to commence or continue any unauthorized and/or illicit discharges to the city's storm water system.

• (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain, or cause to be maintained, a threatened illicit discharge after having received notice of the city engineer, director of public works or chief building official determination as to the existence of a threatened illicit discharge. (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

Any discharge that would result in, or contribute to, a violation of any NPDES permit for storm water discharges from the Cloverdale area and any amendment, revision, or reissuance of such permit, either separately considered or when combined with other discharges, is prohibited. Liability for any such discharge shall be the responsibility of the person(s) causing or responsible for the discharge, and such persons shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the city, its officers, agents and employees in any administrative or judicial enforcement action relating to such discharge.

(Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)

No person shall commit, or cause or permit to be committed, any of the following acts:

• A. Spill, dump, or dispose of materials other than storm water into the city storm water system, unless the discharge is exempt under Section 16.10.080;

• B. Impair, impede or obstruct the natural flow of storm waters or other water running in a defined channel, natural or manmade, or in a culvert, or other component of any storm water drainage system;

• C. Deposit any material which would impair, impede or obstruct the natural flow of storm waters or other water running in a defined channel, culvert or drainage system;

• D. Alter the surface of the land so as to reduce the capacity or alter the flow characteristics of any defined channel, culvert or drainage system;

• E. Perform any other act in violation with a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the city of Cloverdale and administered by the state of California under the authority of the United States Environmental Protection Agency;

• F. Commit any act that impairs or impedes lawful access to, or maintenance of, any portion of any publicly owned or operated drainage system;

• G. Install new landscaping or substantially alter existing landscaping that impairs, impedes or obstructs the natural flow of storm waters or impedes lawful access to, or maintenance of, any portion of any publicly owned or operated drainage system.

• (Ord. 713-2017 § 2 (part), 2017)