Imperial County Municipal Code Ch. 1 General Provisions and Definitions

The county board of supervisors finds and declares that:

A. The Federal Clean Water Act, the implementing regulations for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), and the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act provide for the regulation and reduction of pollutants discharged to waters of the state and United States by extending NPDES requirements to stormwater and urban runoff discharges to and from the stormwater conveyance system.

B. The county is required to enroll as a permittee under the state of California's Waste Discharge Requirements for Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (Order No. 2013-0001-DWQ) and the NPDES General Permit No. CAS000004 (General Permit).

C. Under the provisions of the general permit, the county is required to possess the necessary legal authority and implement appropriate procedures to regulate the entry of pollutants and non-stormwater discharges into the stormwater conveyance system.

D. This division shall be known as the "Stormwater Control Ordinance" and may be cited as such.

E. The purpose of this division is to ensure the health, safety and general welfare of citizens, and to 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. § 1251 et seq.) and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Water Code § 13000 et seq.) by reducing pollutants in stormwater discharges to the maximum extent practicable and by effectively prohibiting non-stormwater discharges to the stormwater conveyance system.

F. Agricultural activities have been exempted from the requirements of this division to the extent permitted by law.

(Ord. No. 1508, § 1, 8-25-15)

For the purposes of this division, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them by this chapter. Words and phrases not ascribed a meaning by this chapter shall have the meanings ascribed by the regulations implementing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, Clean Water Act Section 402, and Division 7 of the California Water Code, as they may be amended from time to time, if defined therein, and if not, to the definitions in any applicable permit issued by the regional board, as appropriate, as such permits may be amended from time to time.

A. Animal Waste - means waste generated by or produced from animals, including, but not limited, to animal fecal material.

B. Best Management Practices (BMPs) - means the structural controls and non-structural controls including schedule of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to the stormwater conveyance system and waters of the United States, and to prevent or reduce the pollution of waters of the United States. BMPs include, but are not limited to:

1. Treatment requirements;

2. Operating and maintenance practices to control runoff, sludge, waste disposal, spillage or leaks of non-stormwater, waste disposal, and drainage from materials storage:

3. Erosion and sediment control practices; and

4. The prohibition of specific activities, practices and procedures, and other such provisions as the county determines appropriate for the control of pollutants.

C. CASQA - means California Stormwater Quality Association.

D. Clean Water Act (Act) - means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act CB U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.

E. County - means in the county of Imperial, state of California.

F. Discharge - means the release or placement, either directly or indirectly, of any substance into or from the stormwater conveyance system, including, but not limited to:

1. Stormwater;

2. Wastewater;

3. Solid materials:

4. Liquids;

5. Hazardous materials;

6. Raw materials;

7. Debris; and

8. Litter.

G. Enforcement Agency - means the county of Imperial or its authorized agents charged with ensuring compliance with this division.

H. General Permit - means the Waste Discharge Requirements for Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (Order No. 2013-0001-DWQ) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit No. CAS000004, including any amendments thereto or successor permit issued by the state board under which the county must enroll as a permittee.

I. Hazardous Materials or Hazardous Substances - 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 or potential hazard to human health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. Hazardous materials include, but are not limited to, those specified in California Health and Safety Code, Section 25117 and in 40 C.F.R. part 116.

J. Illicit Connection - means any of the following:

1. Any conveyance system, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illicit discharge to enter the stormwater conveyance system.

2. Any connection to the stormwater conveyance system from indoor drains and sinks.

3. Any unpermitted connection of a stormwater conveyance system to the publicly owned treatment works.

4. Any pipes, drains, open channels or other conveyances that have a potential to allow an illicit discharge to enter the stormwater conveyance system.

K. Illicit Discharge - means any discharge to the stormwater conveyance system that is prohibited under local, state, or federal statutes, ordinances, codes, or regulations. The term illicit discharge includes all non-stormwater discharges and discharges that arc identified under the discharge prohibitions section of the general permit. Illicit discharge includes discharges from organized car washes, mobile cleaning, and pressure wash operations discharged to the MS4.

L. Incidental Runoff - means the unintended amounts (volume) of minimal runoff that escapes the area of intended use. Water leaving an intended use area is not considered incidental if:

1. It is part of the facility design;

2. It is due to excessive application;

3. It is due to intentional overflow or application; or

4. It is due to negligence.

M. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit - means a permit issued by either the regional board or the state board pursuant to the Clean Water Act and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act to control discharges from point sources to waters of the United States.

N. New Development - means:

1. Land disturbing activities;

2. Structural development, including construction or installation of a building or structure;

3. Creation of impervious surfaces; and

4. Land subdivision on an area that has not been previously developed.

O. Non-Stormwater Discharge - means any discharge to the stormwater conveyance system that is not composed entirely of stormwater.

P. Person - means any individual, as well as any corporation, partnership, public agency, trust, estate, cooperative association, joint venture, business entity, or other similar entity, or the agent, employee or representative of any of the above.

Q. Pollutant - means anything that causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to:

1. Paints, varnishes, and solvents;

2. Oil and other automotive fluids;

3. Non-hazardous liquid and solid wastes;

4. Yard wastes;

5. Refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, wrecked or discarded equipment, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution;

6. Floatables;

7. Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers;

8. Hazardous substances and wastes;

9. Sewage, sewage sludge, fecal coliform and pathogens;

10. Dissolved and particulate metals;

11. Animal wastes:

12. Agricultural wastes:

13. Wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure including, but not limited to, sediments, slurries, and concrete residuals;

14. Rock, sand, and cellar dirt;

15. Industrial waste;

16. Municipal waste;

17. Noxious or offensive matter or of any kind;

18. Dredged spoil;

19. Incinerator residue;

20. Filter backwash;

21. Munitions;

22. Chemical wastes;

23. Biological materials;

24. Radioactive materials (except those regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. as amended (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)); and

25. Heat.

R. Pollution - means an alteration of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree that unreasonably affects the beneficial uses of the water or facilities that serve those beneficial uses.

S. Premises - means any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion thereof, whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.

T. Prohibited Discharge - means any direct or indirect discharge to the stormwater conveyance system or to natural creeks and small streams, which is not otherwise specifically authorized by this chapter, the state or regional board, state or federal law, or an NPDES permit.

U. Receiving Waters - means surface water that receives regulated and unregulated discharges from activities on land.

V. Redevelopment - means land disturbing activity that results in the creation, addition, or replacement of exterior impervious surface area on a site on which some past development has occurred.

W. Regional Board - means the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Region.

X. Responsible Person - means:

1. Any person who owns, operates, leases, or has control over the day-to-day activities of a premises; and

2. Any person who facilitates, causes, or permits any discharge.

Y. Restaurant - means a facility that sells prepared foods and drinks for consumption, including stationary lunch counters and refreshment stands selling prepared foods and drinks for immediate consumption, in accordance with Standard Industrial Classification Code 5812, or its equivalent.

Z. State Board - means the State Water Resources Control Board.

AA. Source Control - means land use or site planning practices, or structural or nonstructural measures, that aim to prevent runoff pollution by reducing the potential for contact with rainfall runoff at the source of pollution. Source control BMPs minimize the contact between pollutants and urban runoff.

AB. Stormeater Conveyance System -

1. Means the infrastructure in a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) that collects and conveys stormwater runoff, whether publically or privately owned, and includes, but is not limited to:

a. Roads;

b. Sidewalks;

c. Gutters;

d. Curbs;

c. Inlets;

r. Piped storm drains;

g. Pumping facilities;

h. Retention and detention basins:

i. Natural and human-made or altered drainage channels and swales;

j. Reservoirs, creeks, waters of the United States; and

k. Other drainage structures that are within the county's jurisdiction, and arc not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) as defined in Title 40 Section 122.2. of the Code of Federal Regulations.

2. The county's stormwater conveyance system does not include the Imperial Irrigation District's Agricultural Drain System.

AC. Stormwater - means any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation. Stormwater runoff is generated when precipitation flows over land or impervious surfaces and docs not percolate into the ground.

AD. Threatened Prohibited Discharge - means any condition or activity that does not currently result in a prohibited discharge, but is nevertheless determined by the enforcement agency to be a condition which results in a substantial likelihood of a future prohibited discharge.

AE. Watercourse - means a natural or artificial channel, above or below ground, through which water may flow, excluding pipelines.

AF. Waters of the State - means any surface water or ground water, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the state of California.

AG. Waters of the United States - means the surface watercourses and water bodies as defined in 40 CFR 122.2, including all natural waterways, definite channels, and depressions in the earth that may carry water, even though such waterways may only carry water during rains and storms, and may not carry stormwater at and during all times and seasons.

(Ord. No. 1508, § 8-25-15)

A. The enforcement agency shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this division.

B. The enforcement agency, with the consent of county board of supervisors, is hereby authorized to establish any rules and regulations necessary for the enforcement of this division, and may delegate and appoint employees of the county to act on its behalf.

(Ord. No. 1508, § 1, 8-25-15)

This division shall be construed to assure consistency with the requirements of the Clean Water Act and Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, as they now exist or may hereafter be amended, any permit issued under these Acts, and any applicable regulations.

(Ord. No. 1508, § 1, 8-25-15)

A. The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this division are minimum standards.

B. This division does not intend or imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants into waters of the state or United States. This division shall not create liability on the part of the county of Imperial, or any agent or employee thereof, for any damages that result from any discharger's reliance on this division or any administrative decision lawfully made under this division.

C. This division shall not create liability on the part of the county of Imperial, or any agent or employee thereof, for any damages that result from any discharger's reliance on this division, or any administrative decision lawfully made under this division.

(Ord. No. 1508, § 1, 8-25-15)