8.36.090 Reduction of pollutants in urban runoff

8.36.090 Reduction of pollutants in urban runoff.

Any person engaged in activities which will or may result in pollutants entering the City storm drains shall undertake all practicable measures to cease such activities, and/or eliminate or reduce such pollutants. Such activities shall include, but not be limited to ownership and use of parking lots, gasoline stations, industrial facilities, commercial facilities, ground disturbing activities, and stores fronting City streets.

A. Littering. Except for pollutants lawfully disposed of by way of containers or at a licensed dumping ground, 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 or other premises in the City, so that the same might be or become a pollutant discharged to water.

The occupant or tenant, or in the absence of occupant or tenant, the owner, lessee or proprietor of any premises in the City 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.

B. Standard for Parking Lots and Similar Structures. Persons owning or operating a parking lot, gas station area of 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 drain system or watercourse.

1. Any person performing construction activities in the City shall implement appropriate BMPs to prevent the discharge of construction wastes or contaminants from construction materials, tools, and equipment from entering the storm drain system or watercourse.

2. The City has the authority to review designs and proposals for construction activities to determine whether adequate BMPs will be installed, implemented, and maintained during construction and after final stabilization.

3. Construction-phase BMPs include erosion and sediment controls and pollution prevention practices. Erosion control BMPs may include, but are not limited to, scheduling and timing of grading activities, timely revegetation of graded areas, the use of hydroseed and hydraulic mulches, and installation of erosion control blankets. Sediment control may include properly sized detention basins, dams, or filters to reduce entry of suspended sediment into the storm drain system and watercourses, and installation of construction entrances to prevent tracking of sediment onto adjacent streets. Pollution prevention practices may include designated washout areas or facilities, control of trash and recycled materials, tarping of materials stored on-site, and proper location of and maintenance of temporary sanitary facilities. The combination of BMPs used, and their execution in the field, must be customized to the site using up-to-date standards and practices. The agency will provide references to current guidance manuals and BMP information on request.

a. When required by the Phase II Stormwater Permit or by the agency, a project shall have an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP) which addresses erosion and sediment control and pollution prevention during the construction phase as well as final stabilization control measures. The ESCP and the specific control measures to be utilized shall be subject to the review and approval of the agency. The ESCP shall be implemented year round and shall be revised to reflect changing conditions on the project site. The agency shall require modifications of an approved ESCP if during the course of construction at a site unanticipated conditions occur or the plans prove inadequate for the intended purpose. Revisions of the approved ESCP shall be submitted to the agency for review and approval. An Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP) shall be required for any project:

i. Subject to a grading permit under Chapter 16.5 Grading and Erosion Control;

ii. Subject to a building permit or other permit that has the potential for significant erosion and/or significant non-stormwater discharges of sediment and/or construction site waste;

iii. As required by the City considering factors such as whether the project involves hillside soil disturbance, rainy season construction, construction near a creek or an intermittent or ephemeral drainageway, or any other condition or construction site activity that could lead to a non-stormwater discharge to a storm drain if not managed by effective implementation of an ESCP.

b. The ESCP shall be submitted for review and approval by the City. The project applicant shall follow the most recent version of the MCSTOPPP Construction Erosion and Sediment Control Plan Applicant Package. At a minimum, the ESCP shall include:

i. Description of the proposed project and soil disturbing activity;

ii. Site specific construction-phase Best Management Practices (BMPs);

iii. Rationale for selecting the BMPs;

iv. List of applicable outside agency permits associated with the soil disturbing activity, such as: Construction General Permit (CGP); Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit; Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification; Streambed/Lake Alteration Agreement (1600 Agreements).

5. If the project requires coverage under the CGP issued by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), Permit Registration Documents must be filed with the SWRCB for said coverage and a copy of the Waste Discharge Identification Number shall be submitted to the City prior to issuance of a permit for construction. The applicant may submit the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) required by the General Construction Activity Stormwater Permit in lieu of the ESCP provided it meets the requirements of the ESCP.

6. Financial security may be required to ensure that temporary measures to control stormwater pollution are implemented and maintained during construction and after construction for a period determined by the agency. Financial security shall consist of an irrevocable letter of credit, cash deposit, or performance bond as determined by the agency.

7. When any work is being done contrary to the provisions of this article, the authorized enforcement official may order the work stopped by notice in writing served on any persons engaged in doing or causing the work to be done. Such work shall stop until the authorized enforcement official authorizes the work to proceed. This remedy is in addition to and does not supersede or limit any and all other remedies, both civil and criminal provided in the City of Belvedere Municipal Code.

8. Implementation of an approved ESCP shall be a condition of the issuance of a building permit, a grading permit, or other permit issued by the City for a project subject to this section. The ESCP shall be implemented year round and must be updated to reflect changing conditions on the project site. Any modifications to the ESCP shall be submitted to the City for review and approval.

1. The City may require, as a condition of project approval, permanent structural controls designed for the removal of sediment and other pollutants and for control on the volume and rate of stormwater runoff from the project’s added or replaced impervious surfaces. These controls may include limits on impervious area. The selection and design of such controls shall be in general accordance with criteria established or recommended by federal, state, and local agencies, and where required by the City, the BASMAA Post Construction Manual. Where physical and safety conditions allow, the preferred control measure is to retain drainage ways above ground and in as natural a state as possible or other biological methods such as bioretention areas. Where required by the Phase II Stormwater Permit Provision E.12, or where required by the nature and extent of a proposed project and where deemed appropriate by the agency, every applicant shall develop, submit and implement a Stormwater Control Plan (SCP) as described below:

a. The SCP shall follow the appropriate SCP template, based on project type, in the most recent version of the BASMAA Post Construction Manual.

b. The specific practices proposed in the SCP shall be subject to the review and approval of the City and shall be in general accordance with the BASMAA Post Construction Manual, and the Phase II Stormwater Permit.

c. The SCP is separate and distinct from the ESCP requirements described in Section 8.36.090(D).

d. All stormwater management facilities shall be designed in a manner to minimize the need for maintenance and reduce the chances of failure. Design guidelines are outlined in the BASMAA Post Construction Manual.

e. Where required by the City, as a condition precedent to the issuance of a building permit, the applicant shall submit a preliminary Stormwater Facilities Operation and Maintenance Plan (O&M Plan). The approval of the O&M Plan by the City is required prior to final inspection and approval of building permit closure.

f. All stormwater management facilities shall be maintained according to the approved O&M Plan. The person(s) or organization(s) responsible for maintenance shall be designated in the plan. The plan shall require that stormwater management facilities be inspected by those responsible for maintenance at least annually. The O&M Plan shall also describe how the maintenance will be funded. Upon the failure of a responsible person to maintain the stormwater management facilities in accordance with the O&M Plan, the City may perform the maintenance and recover its costs from the responsible person as provided in Section 8.36.140

g. Where deemed appropriate by the City, the City shall have access to stormwater management facilities for inspections, as provided in Section 8.36.110, and through such means as may be appropriate, including, but not limited to, legal agreements, recorded covenants or easements, shall be provided by the property owner.

h. All project proponents and their successors, or successors in fee title, in control of project that is located within the City and that is defined as a Regulated Project in Provision E.12.c of the Phase II Stormwater Permit, or where required by the City, shall submit one of the following as a condition prior to final inspection and approval of building permit closure:

1. The project proponent’s signed statement accepting responsibility for the operations and maintenance of stormwater management facilities until such responsibility is legally transferred to another entity;

2. Written conditions in the sales or lease agreements or deed for the project that requires the buyer or lessee to assume responsibility for the operations and maintenance of the stormwater management facilities until such responsibility is legally transferred to another entity;

3. Written text in project deeds, or conditions, covenants and restrictions for multi-unit residential projects that require the homeowners association or, if there is no association, each individual owner to assume responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the stormwater management facilities until such responsibility is legally transferred to another entity; or

4. Any other legally enforceable agreement or mechanism, such as recordation in the property deed, that assigns the operation and maintenance of the stormwater management facilities to the project owner(s) or the City.

Financial security may be required to ensure that stormwater management facilities operate and are maintained following construction for a period which may be determined by the agency. Financial security shall consist of an irrevocable letter of credit, cash deposit, or performance bond as determined by the agency.

E. Notification of Intent and Compliance with General Permits. Each industrial discharger, discharger associated with construction activity, or other discharger, described in any general stormwater permit addressing such discharges, as may be adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the State Water Resources Control Board, or the Regional Water Quality Control Board, shall provide Permit Registration Documents, comply with, and undertake all other activities required by any general stormwater permit applicable to such discharges.

Each discharger identified in an individual NPDES permit relating to stormwater discharges shall comply with and undertake all activities required by such permit.

F. Compliance with Best Management Practices. Where BMP guidelines or requirements have been adopted by any federal, State of California, regional, and/or local agency, for any activity, operation or facility that may cause or contribute to stormwater pollution or contamination, illicit discharges, and/or discharge of non-stormwater to the storm-drain system, every person undertaking such activity or operation, or owning or operating such facility shall comply with such guidelines or requirements as may be identified by the City. (Ord. 2015-2 § 2, 2015.)