Orange County Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

Pursuant to Article XI, Section 7 of the State Constitution, which authorizes the County to exercise the police power of the State by adopting regulations promoting the public health, public safety and general prosperity, and in compliance with the conditions of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit ("NPDES Permit"), there is hereby adopted a Water Quality Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 3987, § 1, 7-22-97; Ord. No. 11-009, § 1, 3-22-11)

The purpose of the Water Quality Ordinance is to prescribe regulations as mandated by the Clean Water Act [33 U.S.C. §. 1251 et seq., as amended] to effectively prohibit non-stormwater discharges into the storm sewers and to reduce the discharge of pollutants. Human activities, such as agriculture, construction and the operation and maintenance of an urban infrastructure may result in undesirable discharges of pollutants and certain sediments, which may accumulate in local drainage channels and waterways and eventually may be deposited in the waters of the United States. This division will improve water quality by controlling the pollutants which enter the network of storm drains throughout Orange County.

(Ord. No. 3987, § 1, 7-22-97; Ord. No. 11-009, § 1, 3-22-11)

(a) Authorized Inspector shall mean the person designated by the Director of OC Public Works, or Building Official, or Director, John Wayne Airport and persons designated by the Authorized Inspector(s) as investigators and under his/her instruction and supervision, who are assigned to investigate compliance and detect violations of this division.

(b) County shall mean the County of Orange, California.

(c) Co-permittee shall mean the County of Orange, the Orange County Flood Control District, and all the municipalities within Orange County which are responsible for compliance with the terms of the NPDES Permit.

(d) DAMP shall mean the Orange County Drainage Area Management Plan, as the same may be amended from time to time.

(e) Development project guidance shall mean DAMP Section 7 and the Local Implementation Plan Section A-7 and the exhibits attached thereto (including the Model Water Quality Management Plan), and all subsequent amendments thereto.

(f) Discharge shall mean any release, spill, leak, pump, flow, escape, leaching (including subsurface migration or deposition to groundwater), dumping or disposal of any liquid, semi-solid or solid substance.

(g) Discharge exception shall mean the group of activities not restricted or prohibited by this division, including only:

(1) Discharges composed entirely of stormwater;

(2) Discharges authorized by current EPA or Regional Water Quality Control Board issued NPDES permits, State general permits, or other waivers, permits or approvals granted by a government agency with jurisdiction over such discharges;

(3) Stormwater discharges from property for which best management practices set forth in the development project guidance and LIPs are being implemented and followed;

(4) Discharges to the stormwater drainage system from:

a. Diverted stream flows;

b. Rising ground waters;

c. Infiltration to MS4s of groundwater uncontaminated by sewage;

d. Uncontaminated pumped groundwater;

e. Foundation drains;

f. Springs;

g. Water from crawl space pumps;

h. Footing drains;

i. Air conditioning condensation;

j. Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands;

k. Water line flushing, except for fire suppression sprinkler system maintenance and testing discharges. If any discharges that fall within this exception are subject to State or regional water quality control board permits, they are exempt only if the discharger is in compliance with said permits.

l. Potable water sources, except to the extent such discharges are subject to but not in compliance with State general permits or other general permits issued by the regional water quality control board;

m. Non-commercial car washing;

n. Dechlorinated swimming pools;

o. Emergency fire fighting activities;

p. Runoff from landscape, lawn and agricultural irrigation allowed by the NPDES permit applicable to that portion of the stormwater drainage system in which the discharge occurs.

(5) Discharges authorized pursuant to a permit issued under Article 6 of this division;

(6) Stormwater discharges for which the discharger has reduced to the maximum extent practicable the amount of pollutants in such discharge; and

(7) Discharges authorized pursuant to federal or state laws or regulations. In any action taken to enforce this division, the burden shall be on the person who is the subject of such action to establish that a discharge was within the scope of this discharge exception.

(h) Enforcing Attorney shall mean the District Attorney acting as counsel to the county or his/her designee, which person is authorized to take enforcement or other actions as described herein. For purposes of criminal prosecution, only the District Attorney or his/her designee shall act as the Enforcing Attorney.

(i) EPA shall mean the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America.

(j) Hearing officer shall mean the person designated by the Director, OC Public Works, or Building Official, or Director, John Wayne Airport who shall preside at the administrative hearings authorized by this division and issue final decisions on matters raised therein.

(k) Illicit connection shall mean any man-made conveyance or drainage system, pipeline, conduit, inlet or outlet, through which the discharge of any pollutant to the stormwater drainage system occurs or may occur. The term "illicit connection" shall not include legal nonconforming connections or connections to the stormwater drainage system that are hereinafter authorized by the agency with jurisdiction over the system at the location at which the connection is made.

(l) Invoice for costs shall mean the actual costs and expenses of the County, including but not limited to administrative overhead, salaries and other expenses recoverable under State law, incurred during any inspection conducted pursuant to Article 2 of this division, or where a notice of noncompliance, administrative compliance order or other enforcement option under Article 5 of this division is utilized to obtain compliance with this division.

(m) Legal nonconforming connection shall mean connections to the stormwater drainage system existing as of the adoption of this division that were in compliance with all federal, state and local rules, regulations, statutes and administrative requirements in effect at the time the connection was established, including but not limited to any discharge permitted pursuant to the terms and conditions of an individual discharge permit issued pursuant to the Industrial Waste Ordinance, County Ordinance No. 703.

(n) Local implementation plan or"LIP" shall mean the County adopted plan for implementation of the NDPES permit, as may be amended from time to time.

(o) New development shall mean all public and private residential (whether single family, multi-unit or planned unit development), industrial, commercial, retail, and other nonresidential construction projects, or grading for future construction, for which either a discretionary land use approval, grading permit, building permit or nonresidential plumbing permit is required.

(p) Nonresidential plumbing permit shall mean a plumbing permit authorizing the construction and/or installation of facilities for the conveyance of liquids other than stormwater, potable water, reclaimed water or domestic sewage.

(q) NPDES permit shall mean the currently applicable municipal discharge permit(s) issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana and San Diego Regions, which establish waste discharge requirements applicable to storm runoff within the County. John Wayne Airport premises are entirely within the jurisdiction of the Santa Ana Region.

(r) Person shall mean any natural person as well as any corporation, partnership, government entity or subdivision, trust, estate, cooperative association, joint venture, business entity, or other similar entity, or the agent, employee or representative of any of the above.

(s) Pollutant shall mean any liquid, solid or semi-solid substances, or combination thereof, including and not limited to:

(1) Artificial materials (such as floatable plastics, wood products or metal shavings).

(2) Household waste (such as trash, paper, and plastics; cleaning chemicals, yard wastes, animal fecal materials, used oil and fluids from vehicles, lawn mowers and other common household equipment).

(3) Metals and nonmetals, including compounds of metals and nonmetals (such as cadmium, lead, zinc, copper, silver, nickel, chromium, cyanide, phosphorus and arsenic) with characteristics which cause an adverse effect on living organisms.

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

(5) Animal wastes (such as discharge from confinement facilities, kennels, pens, and recreational facilities, including, stables, show facilities, and polo fields).

(6) Substances having a pH less than 6.5 or greater than 8.6, or unusual coloration, turbidity or odor.

(7) Waste materials and wastewater generated on construction sites and by 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, hydraulic, radiator or battery fluids; construction equipment washing, concrete pouring and cleanup; use of concrete detergents; steam cleaning or sand blasting; use of chemical degreasing or diluting agents; and use of super chlorinated water for potable water line flushing).

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

(9) Materials which contain base/neutral or acid extractable organic compounds.

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

(11) Any other constituent or material, including but not limited to pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus or enterococcus, or eroded soils, sediment and particulate materials, in quantities that will interfere with or adversely affect the beneficial uses of the receiving waters, flora or fauna of the State.

(t) Prohibited discharge shall mean any discharge, which contains any pollutant, from public or private property to:

(1) The stormwater drainage system;

(2) Any upstream flow, which is tributary to the stormwater drainage system;

(3) Any groundwater, river, stream, creek, wash or dry weather arroyo, wetlands area, marsh, coastal slough, or

(4) Any coastal harbor, bay, or the Pacific Ocean.

The term "prohibited discharge" shall not include discharges allowable under the discharge exception.

(u) Significant redevelopment shall mean the rehabilitation or reconstruction of public or private residential (whether single family, multi-unit or planned unit development), industrial, commercial, retail, or other nonresidential structures, for which either a discretionary land use approval, grading permit, building permit or nonresidential plumbing permit is required.

(v) State general permit shall mean either the waste discharge requirements for discharges of stormwater associated with industrial activities excluding construction activities permit (State industrial general permit) or the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for stormwater discharges associated with construction and land disturbance activities (State construction general permit) or any other State general permit that has been or will be adopted and the terms and requirements of any such permit. In the event the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revokes the in-lieu permitting authority of the State Water Resources Control Board, then the term State general permit shall also refer to any EPA administered stormwater control program for industrial and construction activities.

(w) Stormwater drainage system shall mean street gutter, channel, storm drain, constructed drain, lined diversion structure, wash area, inlet, outlet or other facility, which is a part of a tributary to the county-wide stormwater runoff system and owned, operated, maintained or controlled by the County of Orange, the Orange County Flood Control District or any co-permittee city, and used for the purpose of collecting, storing, transporting, or disposing of stormwater.

(Ord. No. 3987, § 1, 7-22-97; Ord. No. 03-012, § 1, 3-11-03; Ord. No. 04-016, § 52, 9-9-04; Ord. No. 11-009, § 1, 3-22-11)