Salinas Municipal Code § 29-3 Definitions

This ordinance shall be known as the "City of Salinas Stormwater Management and Discharge Control Ordinance" and may be so cited.

(Ord. No. 2473 (NCS), § 1.)

The purpose and intent of this chapter is to ensure the health, safety and general welfare of citizens, and protect the water quality of watercourses and water bodies in a manner pursuant to and consistent with the requirements of the NPDES permit issued to the city of Salinas by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.) by reducing pollutants in urban stormwater discharges to the maximum extent practicable and by effectively prohibiting nonstormwater discharges to the storm sewer drain system. The provisions of this chapter shall be implemented and enforced in such a manner as to prevent or reduce downstream erosion, to protect stream habitat and to implement controls for the post-development runoff and discharges. To that end, development within the jurisdictional authority of the city of Salinas shall be done in a manner consistent with low impact development guidance set forth in the stormwater development standards document established by the city of Salinas.

(Ord. No. 2473 (NCS), § 1.)

When used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

(a) "Approval Authority" means the state of California Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.

(b) "Authorized enforcement officer" means the city engineer and those individuals designated by the city engineer to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(c) Authorized Representative of Industrial Activity (Use). An authorized representative of an industrial user may include, but is not limited to the following persons:

(1) A principal executive officer of at least the level of vice-president, if the industrial user is a corporation;

(2) A general partner or proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership or proprietorship, respectively; or

(3) A duly authorized representative of the individual designated above if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates.

(d) "Best management practices (BMP)" means a program, schedule of activity, technology, process, siting criteria, operating method, measure, device, prohibition, practice (including, but not limited to, general housekeeping practices and pollution prevention practices), procedure or other management policy which effectively controls, prevents, removes or minimizes the discharge of pollutants, directly or indirectly to the municipal storm drain system and waters of the United States.

(e) "California general construction activities stormwater permit" means the general permit as adopted by the California State Water Resources Control Board for the permitting of stormwater discharges associated with construction activities.

(f) "California general industrial activities stormwater permit" means the general permit as adopted by the California State Resources Control Board for the permitting of stormwater discharges associated with given industrial activities.

(g) "Clean Water Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.) and any subsequent amendments thereto and regulations adopted thereunder.

(h) "CFR" means the Code of Federal Regulations.

(i) "City" means the city of Salinas.

(j) "City engineer" means the city engineer of the city of Salinas.

(k) "City storm sewer drainage system" or "storm drainage system" means and includes, but is not limited to, those facilities owned and operated by the city through which stormwater may be collected and/or conveyed to the waters of the United States, including flood control channels, any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels or storm drains which are not part of a publicly-owned treatment works (POTW) as defined at 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 122.2 and all conduits, pumping plants, collection facilities and other appurtenances owned and operated by the city of Salinas for carrying, collecting, pumping and/or disposing of stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff or other unpolluted water.

(k) "City's NPDES permit" means the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit issued to the city under Section 402(p) of the Clean Water Act.

(l) "Construction activity" means activities subject to the California general construction activities permit.

(m) "Development" means the construction, building or placement of any structure or portion thereof which would require a building permit.

(n) "Enforcement officer" means the city engineer or his designee.

(o) "Facility" means any nonresidential premises.

(p) "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.

(q) "Illicit discharge" or "illegal discharge" means any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in Section 29-10 of this chapter.

(r) "Illicit connections." An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:

(1) Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system including but not limited to any conveyances which allow any nonstormwater discharge including sewage, process wastewater and wash water to enter the storm drainage system and any connections to the storm 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 from a commercial or industrial land use to the storm drainage system, which has not been documented in plans, maps or equivalent records and approved by the city.

(s) "Industrial activity" means any activity that involves manufacturing, processing or raw materials storage areas. Further definition of activities covered is given in 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 122.26 (b).

(t) "Inspector" means an authorized enforcement officer as defined in this section.

(u) "Low impact development (LID)" means the stormwater management approach towards development planning and design that minimizes post-construction stormwater runoff pollutant loads and stormwater runoff quantity, by promoting infiltration and biofiltration, and minimizing the installation of impervious surfaces. The LID design orientation is to minimize the site stormwater runoff impact of development by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to its source.

(v) "Maximum extent practicable (MEP)" is a standard for the control of pollutants required by Section 402(p) [33 U.S.C. Section 1342(p)] of the Clean Water Act requiring the application of practical, technologically feasible, and economically achievable management practices, including but not limited to, pollution control techniques, and system, design, and engineering methods.

(w) "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit" means a permit issued by the approval authority pursuant to the Clean Water Act, which authorizes a discharge to the waters of the state.

(x) "Nonstormwater discharge" means any discharge to the storm drain system that is not entirely composed of stormwater.

(y) "Notice of intent (NOI)" means the formal notification to the State Regional Water Quality Control Board by the applicant that either a construction or industrial activity will occur in compliance with the conditions of the general permit and thereby commits the applicant to prepare and implement a stormwater pollution prevention plan.

(z) "Outfall" means the point at which the city's storm drainage system discharges to the waters of the state.

(aa) "Person" means any natural person, corporation, partnership, business trust, company, government agency, association or other entity.

(bb) "Point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock or vessel or other floating craft. (33 U.S.C. Section 1362(14); 40 CFR Section 122.2)

(cc) "Pollutant" includes dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water; paints, varnishes and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.

(dd) "Pollution" means man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological integrity of water or other media.

(ee) "Porter-Cologne Act" means the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (California Water Code Section 13000 et seq.) and any subsequent amendments thereto and regulations adopted thereunder.

(ff) "Premises" means any building, lot parcel, real estate or land or portion of land, whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parkway strips or other surface area which is capable of contributing runoff to the city's storm drainage system.

(gg) "Redevelopment" means any construction, alteration or improvement at an already developed site that will increase the total impervious surface area of that site. Redevelopment could include, but is not limited to, the expansion of building footprints, the addition or replacement of a structure, exterior construction or remodeling, replacement of existing impervious surfaces that is not part of a maintenance activity, and other activities that create additional impervious surfaces. "Significant redevelopment" is a level of redevelopment at or above a defined threshold set forth in the stormwater development standards.

(hh) "State" means the state of California.

(ii) "Stormwater" means stormwater runoff, snowmelt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.

(jj) "Stormwater control plan" means an engineered plan with calculations for stormwater drainage and treatment. The plan shall show how runoff from each drainage area on a development or redevelopment project will be handled to meet the requirements of the stormwater development standards.

(kk) "Stormwater management program" means a comprehensive planning process to reduce discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable using best management practices.

(ll) "Stormwater management facility" means any device designated to detain, retain, filter or infiltrate stormwater.

(mm) "Stormwater development standards" means the current city of Salinas stormwater development standards and any amendments and/or supplements thereto.

(nn) "Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP)" means the report required to be prepared by industrial or construction site stormwater dischargers, which sets forth the site map, identifies the activities that have the potential to pollute stormwater and describes the proposed BMPs to be implemented by the discharger.

(oo) "User" means any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of stormwater to the city's storm drainage system.

(pp) "Unpolluted water" means water to which no pollutant has been intentionally or accidentally introduced so as to render such water unacceptable to the city for disposal to storm or natural drainages or directly to surface waters.

(qq) "Waters of the state" means surface watercourses, and water bodies as defined at 40 CFR Section 122.2 and any subsequent amendment.

(rr) "Waters of the U.S." or "waters of the United States" shall have the meaning set forth in 40 CFR Section 122.2.

(Ord. No. 2473 (NCS), § 1.)