Turlock Municipal Code Art. 5 Administrative Requirements

(a) No person shall allow or permit a spill to discharge into the MS4 or any receiving water.

(b) All persons in charge of a facility or responsible for emergency response for a facility shall have personal responsibility to train facility personnel and maintain notification procedures to assure immediate notification is provided to the City of any suspected, confirmed, or unconfirmed release of material, pollutants or waste creating a risk of discharge into the City's MS4. Any person owning or occupying a premises, who has knowledge of any release of pollutants or non-storm water discharge from or across those premises that might enter the MS4, other than a release or discharge that is permitted by this chapter, shall immediately take all reasonable action to contain and abate the release of pollutants or non-storm water discharge. As soon as any person in charge of a facility or responsible for emergency response has knowledge of such risk, they shall notify the City by telephoning the public safety nonemergency number of unlawful discharge and confirming the notification by correspondence to the Enforcement Official within twenty-four (24) hours of the event.

(c) The Enforcement Official shall respond to any such notification of suspected, confirmed, or unconfirmed release of material, pollutants or waste creating a risk of discharge into the City's MS4. The Enforcement Official shall consult the Spill Response Plan in determining the best course of action.

(d) For the purpose of containment in the event of a spill, all vehicles within one hundred (100') feet of a storm water catch basin or other direct inlet to the MS4 shall be stored and parked on a paved surface capable of containing all reasonably expected discharges from vehicles to the satisfaction of the Enforcement Official.

(1199-CS, Added, 9/23/2014)

(a) Right of entry.

(1) Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions of this chapter, or whenever an authorized Enforcement Official has reasonable cause to believe that there exists upon any premises any condition constituting a violation of this chapter, the Enforcement Official may, with consent, enter such premises at all reasonable times to inspect the same or perform any duty imposed upon the Enforcement Official by this chapter and in accordance with TMC 4-16-102.

(2) Any request for entry shall state that the property owner or occupant has the right to refuse entry, and that in the event such entry is refused, inspection may be made upon issuance of a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(3) In the event the owner or occupant refuses entry after such request has been made, the Enforcement Official is empowered to seek assistance from any court of competent jurisdiction in obtaining such entry.

(b) Photographs. The Enforcement Official may, in the course of inspection, photograph the premises to memorialize the inspection as it relates to regulation by this chapter or any other local, State, or Federal law. Photographs may be taken of any facility, mechanism, apparatus, means or method thought to contribute to or facilitate a suspected violation.

(c) Sampling methods. Inspections shall be based upon such reasonable selection processes as may be deemed necessary to carry out the objectives of this chapter, including but not limited to, random sampling and/or sampling in areas with evidence of storm water contamination, illegal discharge, non-storm water discharge to the MS4, or similar factors.

(d) Sampling authority.

(1) During any inspection, the Enforcement Official may take samples as necessary in order to implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(2) This authority may include the installation of sampling and metering devices on private property, or requiring the person owning or occupying the premises to supply samples.

(e) Monitoring, analysis, and reporting authority.

(1) The Enforcement Official may require monitoring, analysis, and reporting of discharges from any premises to the MS4 in accordance with US EPA approved methods.

(2) Upon service of written notice by the Enforcement Official, the burden, including cost of these activities, analyses, and reports incurred in complying with the requirement shall, to the extent permitted by law, be borne by the property owner, operator or occupant of the facility or activity for which testing and monitoring has been requested.

(3) In the event the owner, occupant, or operator of a facility subject to a monitoring and/or analysis order fails to conduct required monitoring and/or analysis and furnish the required reports, the authorized enforcement officer shall cause a notice of violation to be processed under TMC 6-8-601(b)(1), which notice shall include the estimated costs that will be incurred by the City to complete such monitoring or analysis. In addition to any other remedies available to the City, further enforcement may be conducted pursuant to TMC 6-8-601(b) through (e), inclusive.

(f) Providing false information or tampering with monitoring equipment. Knowingly making any false statement or knowingly rendering any monitoring device or method inaccurate may result in punishment under the provisions of this chapter.

(1199-CS, Added, 9/23/2014)

It is unlawful to cause, permit, aid, abet, or conceal a violation of any provision of this chapter.

(1199-CS, Added, 9/23/2014)

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, any provision of any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, or who causes any discharges that causes pollution, or who violates any cease and desist order, prohibition, or provision of this chapter, may also be in violation of the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.) and/or Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Cal. Water Code Section 13000 et seq.), and may be subject to the sanctions of those acts, including civil and criminal penalties.

(1199-CS, Added, 9/23/2014)