South Pasadena Municipal Code Art. II Discharge Prohibitions and Requirements

(a) No person shall cause or allow an illicit discharge to enter the municipal storm water system.

(b) No person shall place, dump, dispose, litter, accumulate, maintain, discharge, or cause to enter into the MS4 any pollutant or any foreign object such as batteries, tires, waste receptacles, yard debris, refuse, rubbish, food waste, chemicals, annual waste or oil cans— which are also considered illicit discharges.

(c) Any person causing an illicit discharge to the MS4 may be required to pay for the cost of clean-up and remediation.

(d) Any owner of any private property from which a non-storm water discharge is observed may be required to pay for the cost of collecting and analyzing the discharge to determine if it is an illicit discharge.

(e) Discharges identified in Part III.A.2 of the 2012 NPDES MS4 permit are considered exempt or conditionally exempt discharges. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

(a) No person shall maintain or intentionally use a connection that operates to convey an illicit discharge to the municipal storm water system.

(b) Upon discovery of an illicit connection, the person owning or operating such connection shall either remove it or render it incapable of conveying an illicit discharge.

(c) If any person fails to eliminate an illicit connection after being called upon by the city to do so, the city manager or designee shall impose appropriate measures to remove or disable the illicit connection and may recover such costs from the owner of the illicit connection. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

No person shall cause or threaten to cause the discharge of pollutants to the MS4 by exposing such pollutants to storm water runoff. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

Subject commercial facilities shall implement BMPs prescribed by the regional board or its executive officer, through programs or actions made pursuant to the municipal NPDES permit, as more particularly described in the city’s watershed management program, or any revisions made thereto. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

(a) It shall be a violation of this chapter for any industry in the city that is subject to waste discharge requirements specified in the SWRCB’s industrial general permit (IGP), or any revision or a re-issuance thereof, to operate without an NPDES IGP.

(b) Industries that require an NPDES industrial general permit shall retain on-site the following documents: (1) a copy of the notice of intent for general permit to discharge storm water associated with industrial activity; (2) a waste discharge identification number issued by the SWRCB; and/or (3) a storm water pollution prevention plan and monitoring program plan.

(c) Any industry in the city requiring an NPDES industrial general permit shall upon reasonable request from a duly authorized officer of the city provide any of the documents described in subsection (b) of this section. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

Industrial facilities not subject to the NPDES industrial general permit but are subject to pollution control requirements under the municipal NPDES permit, shall implement BMPs prescribed by the regional board or its executive officer, through programs or actions made pursuant to the municipal NPDES permit. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

(a) No person shall be granted a grading permit or shall commence or continue any construction activity that is subject to a construction general NPDES permit without showing proof of having applied for such permit.

(b) Any person engaged in a construction activity requiring an NPDES construction general permit shall retain at the construction site the following documents: (1) a copy of the notice of intent to comply with terms of the general permit to discharge water associated with construction activity; (2) a waste discharge identification number issued by the SWRCB; (3) a storm water pollution prevention plan and monitoring program plan for the construction activity requiring the construction permit; and (4) records of all inspections, compliance and noncompliance reports, evidence of self-inspection and good housekeeping practices.

(c) Any person engaged in a construction activity in the city requiring an NPDES construction general permit shall upon reasonable request from a duly authorized officer of the city, provide any of the documents specified in subsection (b) of this section and shall retain said documents for at least three years after completion of construction. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

Any person engaged in a construction activity that is not subject to the construction general NPDES permit but is subject to the municipal NPDES permit, shall be required to comply with requirements contained therein as specified in the city’s watershed management program, including any revisions made thereto. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013.)

(a) Objective. The provisions of this section contain requirements for construction activities and facility operations of development and redevelopment projects to comply with the current “municipal NPDES permit,” lessen the water quality impacts of development by using smart growth practices, and integrate LID design principles to mimic predevelopment hydrology through infiltration, evapotranspiration and rainfall harvest and use. LID shall be inclusive of SUSMP requirements.

(b) Scope. This section contains requirements for stormwater pollution control measures in development and redevelopment projects and authorizes the city of South Pasadena to further define and adopt stormwater pollution control measures, develop LID principles and requirements, including, but not limited to, the objectives and specifications for integration of LID strategies, and collect funds for projects. Except as otherwise provided herein, the city of South Pasadena shall administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this section.

(c) Applicability. The following development and redevelopment projects, termed “stormwater mitigation required projects,” shall comply with the requirements of this section.

(1) All development projects equal to one acre or greater of disturbed area that adds more than ten thousand square feet of impervious surface area.

• (2) Industrial parks ten thousand square feet or more of surface area.

• (3) Commercial malls ten thousand square feet or more of surface area.

• (4) Retail gasoline outlets with five thousand square feet or more of surface area.

• (5) Restaurants (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) of 5812) with five thousand square feet or more of surface area.

• (6) Parking lots with five thousand square feet or more of impervious surface area, or with twenty-five or more parking spaces.

• (7) Streets and roads construction of ten thousand square feet or more of impervious surface area.

(8) Automotive service facilities (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) of 5013, 5014, 5511, 5541, 7532-7534 and 7536-7539) five thousand square feet or more of surface area.

(9) Projects located in or directly adjacent to, or discharging directly to an environmentally sensitive area (ESA), where the development will:

(A) Discharge stormwater runoff that is likely to impact a sensitive biological species or habitat; and

• (B) Create two thousand five hundred square feet or more of impervious surface area.

• (10) Single-family hillside homes.

(11) Development of any project of two thousand five hundred square feet or more in disturbed area where any portion of the disturbed area includes either or both an existing earth (native or otherwise) surface or a man-made surface (whether impervious or not) with an existing slope that is equal to or greater than twenty-five percent when calculated in accordance with the methods prescribed by the current Zoning Code.

• (12) Redevelopment projects involving any of the following:

(A) Land disturbing activities that result in the creation or addition or replacement of five thousand square feet or more of impervious surface area on an already developed site that is within the scope of paragraph (C) of Section III C.

(B) Alteration of more than fifty percent of the total impervious surface of a previously existing development, where the existing development was not subject to the post-construction stormwater quality control requirements of the current city building code.

(C) Where redevelopment results in an alteration of less than fifty percent of the impervious surfaces of a previously existing development, and the existing development was not subject to post-construction stormwater quality control requirements of the current city building code, then only the alteration must be mitigated, and not the entire development, except that such mitigation specifically includes all drainage flow paths that lead from the disturbed area to the permitted stormwater disposal location where such location is off-site of the specific project. The term off-site specifically includes the public right-of-way where stormwater is discharged to the right-of-way.

(D) Redevelopment does not include routine maintenance activities that are conducted to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, original purpose of facility or emergency redevelopment activity required to protect public health and safety. Impervious surface replacement, such as the reconstruction of parking lots and roadways which does not disturb additional area and maintains the original grade and alignment, is considered a routine maintenance activity. Redevelopment does not include the repaving of existing roads to maintain original line and grade.

(E) Existing single-family dwelling and accessory structures are exempt from the redevelopment requirements unless such projects create, add, or replace ten thousand square feet of impervious surface area, or involve two thousand five hundred square feet or more in disturbed area where any portion of the disturbed area includes either or both an existing earth (native or otherwise) surface or a man-made surface (whether impervious or not) with an existing slope that is equal to or greater than twenty-five percent when calculated in accordance with the methods prescribed by the current Zoning Code.

(d) Stormwater Pollution Control Requirements. The site for every stormwater mitigation required project shall be designed to control pollutants, pollutant loads, and runoff volume to the maximum extent feasible by minimizing impervious surface area and controlling runoff from impervious surfaces through infiltration, evapotranspiration, bioretention and/or rainfall harvest and use.

• (1) All stormwater mitigation required projects shall include mitigation measures to:

• (A) Conserve natural areas;

• (B) Protect slopes and channels;

• (C) Provide storm drain system stenciling and signage;

• (D) Divert roof runoff to vegetated areas before discharge unless the diversion would result in slope instability; and

• (E) Direct surface flow to vegetated areas before discharge, unless the diversion would result in slope instability.

(2) Street and road construction of ten thousand square feet or more of impervious surface meeting the criteria of the city’s Green Streets Policy shall follow USEPA guidance regarding Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure: Green Streets (December 2008 EPA-833-F-08-009) to the maximum extent practicable.

• (3) The remainder of stormwater mitigation required projects shall prepare a LID plan to comply with the following:

• (A) Retain stormwater runoff on-site for the stormwater quality design volume (SWQDv) defined as the runoff from:

i. The 85th percentile twenty-four-hour runoff event as determined from the Los Angeles County 85th percentile precipitation isohyetal map; or

ii. The volume of runoff produced from a three-fourths-inch, twenty-four-hour rain event, whichever is greater.

(B) Minimize hydromodification impacts to natural drainage systems as defined in the municipal NPDES permit.

(C) When, as determined by the planning and building department, one hundred percent on-site retention of the SWQDv is technically infeasible, the infeasibility shall be demonstrated in the submitted LID plan. The technical infeasibility may result from conditions that may include, but are not limited to:

i. The infiltration rate of saturated in-situ soils is less than three tenths of an inch per hour and it is not technically feasible to amend the in-situ soils to attain an infiltration rate necessary to achieve reliable performance of infiltration or bioretention BMPs in retaining the SWQDv on-site;

ii. Locations where seasonal high groundwater is within five to ten feet of surface grade;

iii. Locations within one hundred feet of a groundwater well used for drinking water;

iv. Brownfield development sites or other locations where pollutant mobilization is a documented concern;

v. Locations with potential geotechnical hazards;

vi. Smart growth and infill or redevelopment locations where the density and/or nature of the project would create significant difficulty for compliance with the on-site volume retention requirement.

(D) If partial or complete on-site retention is technically infeasible, the project site may biofiltrate one and one-half times the portion of the remaining SWQDv that is not reliably retained on-site. Biofiltration BMPs must adhere to the design specifications provided in the municipal NPDES permit.

i. Additional alternative compliance options such as off-site infiltration may be available to the project site. The project site should contact the planning and building department to determine eligibility.

(E) The remaining SWQDv that cannot be retained or biofiltered on-site must be treated on-site to reduce pollutant loading. BMPs must be selected and designed to meet pollutant-specific benchmarks as required per the municipal NPDES permit. Flow-through BMPs may be used to treat the remaining SWQDv and must be sized based on a rainfall intensity of:

• i. Two-tenths of an inch per hour; or

ii. The one-year, one-hour rainfall intensity as determined from the most recent Los Angeles County isohyetal map, whichever is greater.

(F) A multi-phased project may comply with the standards and requirements of this section for all of its phases by: (a) designing a system acceptable to the city of South Pasadena to satisfy these standards and requirements for the entire site during the first phase; and (b) implementing these standards and requirements for each phase of development or redevelopment of the site during the first phase or prior to commencement of construction of a later phase, to the extent necessary to treat the stormwater from such later phase. For purposes of this section, “multi-phased project” shall mean any stormwater mitigation required project implemented over more than one phase and the site of a multi-phased project shall include any land and water area designed and used to store, treat or manage stormwater runoff in connection with the development or redevelopment, including any tracts, lots, or parcels of real property, whether developed or not, associated with, functionally connected to, or under common ownership or control with such development or redevelopment.

(e) Other Agencies of the City of South Pasadena. All city of South Pasadena departments, offices, entities and agencies, shall establish administrative procedures necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter on their development and redevelopment projects and report their activities annually to the public works department.

(f) Validity. If any provision of this section is found to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect remaining provisions of this section are declared to be severable. (Ord. No. 2107, § 2; Ord. No. 2256, § 2, 2013; Ord. No. 2283, § 4, 2015.)