Ontario Municipal Code Art. 1 Authority, Purpose, Policy and Definitions

This chapter is enacted pursuant to authority conferred by an Areawide Urban Stormwater Run-Off Permit [NPDES Permit No. CAS618036, Order No. R8-2002-0012] issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board Santa Ana Region pursuant to § 402(p) of the Clean Water Act.

(§ 2, Ord. 2755, eff. April 4, 2002)

(a) The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City of Ontario by prescribing regulations to effectively prohibit non-stormwater discharges into the City's stormwater drainage system and to specifically achieve the following objectives:

(1) Control discharges from spills, dumping or disposal of materials other than stormwater;

(2) Reduce the discharge of pollutants in all stormwater discharges to the maximum extent practicable;

(3) Protect and enhance the water quality of local, State and Federal watercourses, water bodies, ground water and wetlands in a manner pursuant to and consistent with the Clean Water Act.

(§ 2, Ord. 2755, eff. April 4, 2002)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

(a) “Adjustment” means a determination that the volumetric amount of stormwater which enters the stormwater drainage system from a premise is deemed to be a defined mount substantially different from the average stormwater drainage.

(b) “Area-wide urban stormwater runoff permit” means the current, regional NPDES permit issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region, to the San Bernardino County Flood Control District, San Bernardino County and sixteen (16) incorporated cities discharging stormwater into the Upper Santa Ana River Basin for the regulation of stormwater discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems.

(c) “Average stormwater drainage” means the average amount of stormwater drainage which enters the stormwater drainage system from a premise, based on runoff factors established by the San Bernardino County Flood Control District.

(d) “Basic assessment unit (BAU)” means the proportionate runoff from the average single-family parcel. The average single-family residential parcel has an area of 0.1666 acres (7,200 square feet) and a runoff factor of 0.695. The level of runoff from this type of property is referred to as a Basic Assessment Unit and is used to establish user class equivalency.

(e) “BMP” means any Best Management Practice, Best Management Guideline, or Best Management Requirement as adopted by any Federal, State, regional or local agency to prevent or reduce the pollution of Waters of the United States. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control: plant site runoff, spillage or leaks; sludge or waste storage and disposal; or drainage from raw material or chemical storage.

(f) “City” or “the City” means to the City of Ontario, California.

(g) “City engineer” means the City Engineer for the City of Ontario, or the Engineer's designee.

(h) “Construction activity” means any activity used in the process of developing, redeveloping, enhancing, or maintaining land, including but not limited to: land disturbance, building construction, paving and surfacing, storage and disposal of construction related materials.

(i) “Contamination” means the same as defined in the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act; “contamination” is an impairment of the quality of 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. “Contamination” includes any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of waste whether or not waters of the state are affected.

(j) “Compliance schedule” means the time period allowed by the City for a discharger to achieve compliance with the City's stormwater regulations. The “compliance schedule”shall contain specific dates by which adequate treatment facilities, devices, or other related equipment and/or procedures must be installed or implemented.

(k) “Developed parcel” means any lot or parcel of land altered from its natural state by the construction, creation, and addition of impervious area, except public streets or highways.

(l) “Developer” means a person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association who proposes to develop, develops, or causes to be developed real property for himself or for others except that employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not developers.

(m) “Dewatering” means the removal and disposal of surface water or groundwater for purposes of preparing a site for construction.

(n) “Discharge” means any release, spill, leak, flow or escape of any liquid including sewage, wastewater or stormwater, semi-solid or solid substance onto the land or into the City's stormwater drainage system.

(o) “Discharger” means any person, property owner or occupant of a unit, building, premise or lot in the City who discharges or causes to be discharged any of the substances listed in division (n) of this section, directly or indirectly, into the City's stormwater drainage system.

(p) “EPA” means the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America.

(q) “General permit for stormwater discharges from construction activity” means astatewide General NPDES Permit that regulates all stormwater discharges associated with construction projects that disturb five (5) acres or more of land or which result in the disturbance of less than five (5) acres, but which are part of a larger common plan of development or sale.

(r) “General permit for stormwater discharges from industrial activities” means a statewide General NPDES Permit that regulates stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities that are listed in 40 CFR 122.26 (b) (14).

(s) “Hearing officer” means the City's Engineer or his or her designee, who presides, at the administrative hearings authorized by this chapter and issues final decisions on matters raised therein.

(t) “Illegal discharge” means any discharge (or seepage) into the City's stormwater drainage system that is not composed entirely of stormwater except for the authorized discharges listed in § 6-6.207 of this chapter. Illegal discharges include the improper disposal of wastes into the stormwater drainage system.

(u) “Illicit connection” means either of the following:

(1) Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the stormwater drainage system including but not limited to any conveyance which allows non-stormwater discharges including sewage, process wastewater and wash water to enter the stormwater drainage system and any connections to the stormwater drainage system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted or approved by a government agency; or

(2) Any drain or conveyance connected to the stormwater drainage system, that is not permitted pursuant to a valid NPDES Permit or which has not been documented in plans, maps or equivalent records approved by the City.

(v) “Maximum extent practicable (MEP)” means the maximum level of pollutant reductions or stormwater runoff reductions that must be achieved by treatment, infiltration or a combination of treatment, infiltration and Best Management Practices, taking into account equitable considerations of synergistic, additive, and competing factors, including but not limited to, gravity of the problem, fiscal and technical feasibility, public health risks, societal concern, and social benefits, to effectively limit the discharge of pollutants or stormwater runoff into the City's stormwater drainage system.

(w) “National pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES)” means the EPA's national program under the Clean Water Act to eliminate discharges of pollution into waters of the United States.

(x) “New development” means land disturbing activities; structural development, including construction or installation of a building or structure, creation of impervious surfaces; and land subdivision.

(y) “NPDES permit” means any permit issued pursuant to the Federal Clean Water Act.

(z) “Non-structural BMPs” means any schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, managerial practices or operational practices that aim to prevent stormwater pollution by reducing the potential for contamination at the source of pollution.

(aa) “Notice of intent (NOI)” means a form provided by the State Water Resources Control Board that is required to be completed and submitted in order to obtain coverage under one of the State's NPDES General Stormwater Permits prior to the start of certain business activities or construction activities.

(ab) “Non-stormwater” means any water discharging to the City's stormwater drainage system that does not originate from precipitation events.

(ac) “Nuisance” means any condition described by all of the following:

(1) Is injurious to health, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.

(2) Affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.

(3) Occurs during, or as a result of, the treatment or disposal of wastes.

(ad) “Permit” means any permit issued by the City.

(ae) “Permittee” means the San Bernardino County Flood Control District; San Bernardino County; and each of the sixteen (16) cities in San Bernardino County discharging stormwater drainage into the Upper Santa Ana River Basin and regulated by the Areawide Urban Stormwater Run-Off Permit.

(af) “Person” means any individual, partnership, committee, entity, association, corporation, public agency, and any other organization, or group of persons public or private; the masculine genders shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.

(ag) “pH” means the measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of water and the standard by which the acidity or alkalinity of a water sample is determined.

(ah) “Pollutant” means, but is not limited to, any liquid, solid or semi-solid substances or combination thereof, which causes a nuisance or contributes to a condition of contamination or pollution of the City's stormwater runoff, stormwater drainage system or the impairment or degradation of waters of the state, including but not limited to the following:

(1) Floatable materials (such as floatable plastics or wood products, and metal shavings, or materials forming films, foam or scum);

(2) Household waste (such as trash, cleaners, toxic or hazardous chemicals, yard wastes, animal fecal materials, used oil, coolant, gasoline and other vehicle fluids);

(3) Metals and non-metals, including compounds of metals and non-metals;

(4) Petroleum hydrocarbons (such as fuels, lubricants, surfactants, waste oils, solvents, coolants and grease);

(5) Domestic sewage from sewer line overflows, septic tanks, porta-potties, boats and recreational vehicles;

(6) Animal wastes (such as wastes from confinement facilities, kennels, pens, stables, and show facilities);

(7) Substances having a pH less than 6.5 or greater than 8.5, or unusual coloration, turbidity or odor;

(8) Materials causing an increase in biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand or total organic carbon;

(9) Materials containing base/neutral or acid extractable organic compounds;

(10) Waste materials and wastewater generated on construction sites from construction activities (such as painting and staining; use of sealants and glues; use of lime; use of wood preservatives and solvents; disturbance of asbestos fibers, paint flakes or stucco fragments; application of oils, lubricants, vehicle maintenance, construction equipment washing, concrete pouring and cleanup; use of concrete detergents; steam cleaning or sand blasting; use of chemical degreasing or diluting agents; and chlorinated water from potable line flushing;

(11) Those pollutants defined in § 1362 (6) of the Federal Clean Water Act; and

(12) Any other constituent or material, including but not limited to pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, eroded soils, sediment and particulate materials, in quantities that have been determined by the State or EPA to adversely affect the beneficial uses of waters of the State.

(ai) “Redevelopment” means the creation or addition of impervious surfaces or the making of improvements to an existing structure on an already developed site; replacement of impervious surfaces that are not part of a routine maintenance activity; and land disturbing activities related with structural or impervious surfaces.

(aj) “Sewage” means the wastewater of the community derived from residential, agricultural, commercial, or industrial sources, including domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater.

(ak) “SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)” means the statistical classification standard underlying all establishment-based Federal economic statistics classified by industry. The Standard is published in the SIC Manual, 1987, Office of Management and Budget.

(al) “Stormwater” means rain water, snowmelt runoff, and associated surface runoff and drainage.

(am) “Stormwater drainage system” means all of the property involved in the operation of the stormwater drainage collection and disposal system for the City, including, but not limited to, conduits, natural or artificial drains, channels and watercourses, together with appurtenances, pumping stations and equipment which is tributary to the regional stormwater runoff system.

(an) “Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP)” means the plan as described in the General Construction Activity Stormwater Permit as issued by the State Water Resources Control Board on August 19, 1999, and as may be amended, or the General Industrial Activities Stormwater Permit as issued on April 17, 1997, and as may be amended, which specifies BMPs that will prevent pollutants from contacting stormwater and all products of erosion from moving off site into receiving waters.

(ao) “Stormwater quality management plan (SWQMP)” means a plan required of new development/redevelopment projects, outlining appropriate non-structural and structural BMPs, including stormwater infiltration and treatment devices that will be implemented and installed to prevent pollutants from being discharged into the City's stormwater drainage system, during and after construction.

(ap) “Structural BMPs” means any structural facility designed and constructed to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff or prevent pollutants from contacting stormwater. Examples are canopies, structural enclosures, sediment basins, catch basin inlet filters, grassy swales, and sand and oil interceptors.

(aq) “Violation” means a breach of any provision of this chapter.

(ar) “Waters of the State” means any surface water or groundwater, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the State.

(§ 2, Ord. 2755, eff. April 4, 2002)