Chapter 3-15 — STORM WATER MANAGEMENT AND DISCHARGE CONTROL

Note: Editor's Note: Chapter 3-15, consisting of Sections 3-15-100 through 3-15-530, as derived from Ordinance No. 92-011, 7/6/92 and Ordinance No. 93-04, 3/15/93, was repealed and replaced by Ordinance No. 2001-06, 3/19/01.

Article 1

Title, Purpose and General Provisions(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2001-06, 3/19/01 (Sections 3-15-100—3-15-125))

This Chapter shall be known as the "Storm Water Management and Discharge Control Ordinance" and may be so cited.

The purpose of this Chapter is to ensure the future health, safety and general welfare of City of San Leandro citizens by:

(a) Eliminating non-storm water discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer;

(b) Controlling the discharge to municipal separate storm sewers from spills, dumping or
disposal of materials other than storm water; and

(c) Reducing pollutants in storm water discharges to the maximum extent practicable.

The intention of this Chapter is to protect and enhance the water quality of our watercourses,
water bodies, and wetlands in a manner pursuant to and consistent with the Clean Water Act.

(a) Any terms defined in the Federal Clean Water Act and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, and/or defined in the regulations for the storm water discharge permitting program issued by the Environmental Protection Agency on November 16, 1990 (as may from time to time be amended) as used in this Chapter shall have the same meaning as in that statute or regulations. Specifically, the definitions of the following terms included in that statute or regulations are hereby incorporated by reference, as now applicable or as may hereafter be amended:

"Discharge" means (a) any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source, or (b) any addition of any pollutant to the waters of the contiguous zone or the ocean from any point source other than a vessel or other floating craft.

"ILlicit discharge" means any discharge to the City storm sewer system that is not

composed entirely of storm water, except discharges pursuant to a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, and discharges resulting from fire fighting activities.

"Pollutant" means dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharge into water.

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

(b) When used in this Chapter, the following words will have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

"Best management practices (BMPS)" means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to "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 disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.

"City" means the City of San Leandro.

"City manager" means the individual appointed by the City of San Leandro governing body (City Council) with responsibility and authority for all functions of local government and is the authorized enforcement official.

"City storm water system" includes but is not limited to those facilities within the City by which storm water may be conveyed to waters of the United States, including any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man- made channels, or storm drains, which is not part of a Publicly-Owned Treatment Works (POTW) as defined at 40 CFR § 122.2.

"Non-storm water discharge" means any discharge that is not entirely composed of storm water.

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

This Chapter shall be administered for the City by the City Manager, or designee. Where storm drain facilities and/or watercourses have been accepted for maintenance by the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (ACFCWCD) or other public agency legally responsible for certain watercourses, then the responsibility for enforcing the provisions of this Chapter may be assigned to such agency (through contract or agreement executed by the City and such agency) with respect to those watercourses for which they have accepted maintenance.

This Chapter shall be construed to assure consistency with the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, applicable implementing regulations, and NPDES Permit No. CA0029831 and any amendment, revision, or reissuance thereof.

If any portion of this Chapter is declared invalid, the remaining portions of this Chapter are to be considered valid.

Article 2

Discharge Regulations and Requirements(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2001-06, 3/19/ 01 (Sections 3-15-200—3-15-220))

The discharge of non-storm water discharges to the City storm sewer system is prohibited. All discharges of material other than storm water must be in compliance with a NPDES permit issued for the discharge (other than NPDES Permit No. CA0029831)

(a) Exceptions to Discharge Prohibition: The following discharges are exempt from the prohibition set forth in Section 3-15-200 above:

(1) Any discharge regulated under a NPDES permit issued to the discharger and administered by the State of California under authority of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, provided that the discharger is in full compliance with all requirements of the permit and other applicable laws or regulations.

(2) Discharges from the Following Activities When Properly Managed: water line flushing and other discharges from potable water sources, landscape irrigation and lawn watering, irrigation water, diverted stream flows, rising ground waters, infiltration to separate storm drains, uncontaminated pumped ground water, foundation and footing drains, water from crawl space pumps, air conditioning condensation, springs, individual residential car washings, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, or flows from fire fighting.

Any discharge that would result in or contribute to a violation of NPDES Permit No. CA0029831, and, of any amendment, revision, or reissuance thereof, 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 in any administrative or judicial enforcement action relating to such discharge.

It is prohibited to establish, use, maintain, or continue illicit drainage connections to the City storm sewer system and to commence or continue any illicit discharges to the City storm sewer system. This prohibition is expressly retroactive and applies to connections made in the past, regardless of whether made under a permit or other authorization or whether permissible under the law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of the connection.

Any person engaged in activities which will or may result in pollutants entering the City storm sewer system shall undertake all practicable measures to reduce such pollutants. The following minimal requirements shall apply.

(a) Littering: Except when deposited into containers or in lawfully established dumping
grounds, no person shall throw, deposit, leave, maintain, keep, or permit to be thrown, deposited, placed, left, or maintained, any refuse, rubbish, garbage, or other discarded or
abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, storm
drain, inlet, catch basin, conduit, or other drainage structures, business place, or upon any
public or private lot of land in the City, so that the same might be or become a pollutant.
The occupant or tenant, or in the absence of occupant or tenant, the owner, lessee, or
proprietor, of any real property in the City of San Leandro in front of which there is a
paved sidewalk shall maintain said sidewalk free of dirt or litter to the maximum extent
practicable. Sweepings from said sidewalk shall not be swept or otherwise made or allowed
to go into the gutter or roadway, but shall be disposed of in receptacles maintained on said
real property as required for the disposal of garbage.

No person shall throw or deposit litter in any fountain, pond, lake, stream, or any other
body of water within the City.

(b) Standard for Parking Lots and Similar Structures: Persons owning or operating a parking
lot, gas station pavement, or similar structure shall clean those structures as frequently and
thoroughly as practicable in a manner that does not result in discharge of pollutants to the
City storm sewer system.

(c) Best Management Practices for New Developments and Redevelopments: Any
construction contractor performing work in the City shall endeavor, whenever possible, to
provide filter materials at the catch basin to retain any debris and dirt flowing into the City's
storm sewer system. The City Engineer may establish controls on the volume and rate of
storm water runoff from new developments and redevelopments as may be appropriate to
minimize the discharge and transport of pollutants.

(d) Compliance with Best Management Practices: Where best management practices
guidelines or requirements have been adopted by any Federal, State of California, regional,
and/or City agency, for any activity, operation, or facility which may cause or contribute to
storm water pollution or contamination, illicit discharges, and/or discharge of non-storm
water to the storm water system, every person undertaking such activity or operation, or
owning or operating such facility, shall comply with such guidelines or requirements.

(a) Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person's lessee or tenant, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property reasonably free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles which would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse; shall maintain existing privately-owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical integrity of the watercourse; and shall not remove healthy bank vegetation beyond that actually necessary for said maintenance, nor remove said vegetation in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion.

No person shall commit or cause to be committed any of the following acts, unless a written authorization has first been obtained from the City Manager or designee:

(1) Discharge into or connect any pipe or channel to a watercourse;

(2) Modify the natural flow of water in a watercourse;

(3) Carry out development within thirty feet (30′) of the center line of any creek or twenty feet (20′) of the top of a bank;

(4) Deposit in, plant in, or remove any material from a watercourse including its banks, except as required for necessary maintenance;

(5) Construct, alert, enlarge, connect to, change, or remove any structure in a watercourse; or

(6) Place any loose or unconsolidated material along the side of or within a watercourse, or so close to the side as to cause a diversion of the flow, or to cause a probability of such material being carried away by storm waters passing through such watercourse.

Article 3

(Reserved)(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2001-06, 3/19/01)

Article 4

Coordination with Other Programs(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2001-06, 3/19/01 (Section 3-15-400))

RESPONSE PROGRAM.

The first revision of the business plan for any facility subject to the City's hazardous materials inventory and response program shall include a program for compliance with this Chapter, including the prohibitions on non-storm water discharges and illicit discharges, and the requirement to reduce storm water pollutants to the maximum extent practicable.

Article 5

Funding Provisions(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2001-06, 3/19/01 (Sections 3-15-500—3-15-530))

ENTERPRISE FUND.

The City of San Leandro Storm Water System Utility Enterprise Fund (hereinafter "Fund") is
hereby established to provide funding for the Storm Water Management and Discharge Control
Program. The Fund may be expended for the following:

(a) All activities and resultant expenses required under the Alameda Countywide Clean Water
Program;

(b) All activities and resultant expenses required by the NPDES permit which authorizes and
regulates discharge from the City of San Leandro storm water collection and conveyance
system;

(c) All activities and resultant expenses associated with the maintenance and operation of the
storm water collection and conveyance system;

(d) Capital expenses associated with the repair, replacement, and capital improvement of the
storm water collection and conveyance system;

(e) All expenses associated with the maintenance, operation, and capital requirements of any
storm water treatment system which may be prospectively required by State or Federal law;

(f) All expenses for any activities directly related to any of the foregoing.

(a) LAND USE CATEGORY means that category of land use assigned to a parcel of real property as shown on the most current official assessment roll of the Alameda County Assessor.

(b) PARCEL means a unit of real property in one ownership as shown on the most current official assessment roll of the Alameda County Assessor; "parcel size" means the area of such a unit, measured in acres, as determined from records maintained by Alameda County or the City of San Leandro.

(c) RUNOFF FACTOR means the indicator of storm water generation of a parcel and is based on the average ratio of impervious area to total parcel area for a category of land use.

The City of San Leandro Storm Water System Utility Enterprise Fund shall derive revenue from the following sources:

(a) Reimbursements and subventions made available through the Alameda Countywide Clean Water Program;

(b) Reimbursements and subventions made available by any other governmental entity for the purpose of supporting any of the activities of the City of San Leandro Storm Water

Management and Discharge Control Program;

(c) Any other funds the City Council directs to be allocated to the Storm Water System Utility Enterprise Fund for money available to it, including but not limited to, money in its General Fund; and

(d) Service charges assessed by the City of San Leandro in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

Every person or entity owning real property within the City of San Leandro, or owning property not within the incorporated City limits but discharging storm water to a collection and conveyance system owned and operated by the City of San Leandro, shall pay a service charge calculated in accordance with the provisions of this article as set forth from time to time by resolution of the City Council.

Service charges shall be calculated in a manner which distributes, as equitably as possible, storm water system costs to users of the system proportionate to the benefit received. In consideration of the fact that storm water runoff and consequent storm water system loading is directly related to the physical size and impervious surface area of any parcel of land, those factors shall be utilized in the calculation of service charges. For the purpose of this section, impervious surface area shall be represented by the runoff factor established for parcels on the basis of use and as otherwise determined by the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. In addition, other factors which disproportionately affect storm water system costs and which are attributable to any user or class of users may be utilized in the setting of rates for that user or class of users.

The City Manager is authorized to have the charges imposed by this Article collected by the County of Alameda in conjunction with the County's collection of property tax revenues for the City of San Leandro. In the event that the County of Alameda collects the charges imposed by this Article, the imposition of penalties, additional fees, and interest upon owners who fail to remit any delinquent remittance under this Article shall be subject to and governed by the rules, regulations, and procedures utilized by the County of Alameda in its collection of property taxes and charges for the City of San Leandro, and in its collection of this additional charge for the City of San Leandro.

Every penalty imposed and all interest accrued under the provisions of this Article shall become a part of the charges herein required to be paid.

(a) Delinquent charges are hereby made a lien upon the real property served by the storm water system;

(b) The amount of any charge, penalty, and interest imposed under the provisions of this Article shall be deemed a debt to the city.