The Town of Rocky Hill has enacted a Stormwater Ordinance in order to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety, and welfare of the public residing in watersheds within this jurisdiction. The Town of Rocky Hill is the permitting authority for all land disturbing activities and requires the land owner to maintain all on-site stormwater control facilities and all open space areas (e.g. parks or “green” areas) required by the approved stormwater control plan. The Town of Rocky Hill will only provide construction permits to projects that establish a plan to manage stormwater runoff occurring during the construction process. The Town of Rocky Hill, under the NPDES program, also has the authority to inspect properties for noncompliance and can issue a notice of violation (NOV) for any deficiency or infraction onsite. Property owners are responsible for the maintenance of any stormwater facilities or practices located on the property. The Town of Rocky Hill has the authority to inspect stormwater facilities and practices in order to ascertain that they are properly maintained and functioning.
Article I. Illicit Discharge and Connection to Stormwater Drainage Systems
§ 209-1. Purpose and intent.
A.) The purpose of this article is to provide for the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the Town of Rocky Hill, Connecticut through the regulation of nonstormwater discharges to the storm drainage system to the maximum extent practicable as required by federal and state law. This article establishes methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) in order to comply with requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit process.
B.) The objectives of this article are:
1.To regulate the contribution of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) by illicit stormwater discharges by any user.
2.To prohibit illicit connections and discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer system.
3.To establish legal authority to carry out all inspection, surveillance and monitoring procedures necessary to ensure compliance with this article.
§ 209-3. Applicability.
This article shall apply to all water entering the storm drain system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands unless explicitly exempted by an authorized enforcement agency.
§ 209-4. Responsibility for administration.
The Director of Engineering and Highways shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article. Any powers granted or duties imposed upon the authorized enforcement agency may be delegated in writing by the Director of the authorized enforcement agency to persons or entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the agency.
§ 209-5. Severability.
The provisions of this article are hereby declared to be severable. If any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this article or the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or application of this article.
§ 209-6. Ultimate responsibility.
The standards set forth herein and promulgated pursuant to this article are minimum standards; therefore, this article does not intend nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will be no contamination, pollution, nor unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
§ 209-9. Industrial, commercial or construction activity discharges.
Any person subject to an industrial, commercial or construction activity NPDES stormwater discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required in a form acceptable to the Director of Engineering and Highways prior to the allowing discharges to the MS4.
§ 209-10. Monitoring of discharges.
A. Applicability. This section applies to all facilities that have stormwater discharges associated with industrial, commercial or construction activity.
B. Access to facilities.
(1) The Director of Engineering and Highways shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation under this article as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this article. If a discharger has security measures in force that require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives of the authorized enforcement agency.
(2) Facility operators shall allow the Director of Engineering and Highways ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, and the examination and copying of records that must be kept under the conditions of an NPDES permit to discharge stormwater, and the performance of any additional duties as defined by state and federal law.
(3) The Director of Engineering and Highways shall have the right to set up on any permitted facility such devices as are necessary in the opinion of the authorized enforcement agency to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of the facility's stormwater discharge.
(4) The Director of Engineering and Highways has the right to require the discharger to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition by the discharger at its own expense. All devices used to measure stormwater flow and quality shall be calibrated to ensure their accuracy.
(5) Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the operator at the written or oral request of the Director of Engineering and Highways and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the operator.
(6) Unreasonable delays in allowing the Director of Engineering and Highways access to a permitted facility is a violation of a stormwater discharge permit and of this article. A person who is the operator of a facility with a NPDES permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial, commercial or construction activity commits an offense if the person denies the authorized enforcement agency reasonable access to the permitted facility for the purpose of conducting any activity authorized or required by this article.
(7) If the Director of Engineering and Highways has been refused access to any part of the premises from which stormwater is discharged, and he/she is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this article, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program designed to verify compliance with this article or any order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety, and welfare of the community, then the authorized enforcement agency may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction.
§ 209-11. Use of BMPs to prevent, control, and reduce stormwater pollutants.
The Director of Engineering and Highways will adopt requirements identifying best management practices for any activity, operation, or facility that may cause or contribute to pollution or contamination of stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the state. The owner or operator of a commercial or industrial establishment shall provide, at its own expense, reasonable protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes into the municipal storm drain system or watercourses through the use of these structural and nonstructural BMPs. Further, any person responsible for a property or premises, which is, or may be, the source of an illicit discharge, may be required to implement, at said person's expense, additional structural and nonstructural BMPs to prevent the further discharge of pollutants to the municipal separate storm sewer system. Compliance with all terms and conditions of a valid NPDES permit authorizing the discharge of stormwater associated with industrial, commercial, or construction activity, to the extent practicable, shall be deemed compliance with the provisions of this section. These BMPs shall be part of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) or stormwater management plan (SMP) as necessary for compliance with requirements of the NPDES permit.
§ 209-12. Watercourse protection.
Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person's lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property free of trash, debris, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse. In addition, the owner or lessee 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.
§ 209-13. Notification of spills.
Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as soon as any person responsible for a facility or operation or responsible for emergency response for a facility or operation, has information of any known or suspected release of materials which are resulting or may result in illegal discharges or pollutants discharging into stormwater, the storm drain system, or waters of the State of Connecticut, said person shall take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release. In the event of such a release of hazardous materials said person shall immediately notify emergency response agencies of the occurrence via emergency dispatch services. In the event of a release of nonhazardous materials, said person shall notify the authorized enforcement agency in person or by phone or facsimile no later than the next business day. Notifications in person or by phone shall be confirmed by written notice addressed and mailed to the Director of Engineering and Highways within three business days of the phone notice. If the discharge of prohibited materials emanates from a commercial or industrial establishment, the owner or operator of such establishment shall also retain an on-site written record of the discharge and the actions taken to prevent its recurrence. Such records shall be retained for at least three years.
§ 209-14. Enforcement.
A. Notice of violation.
(1) Whenever the Director of Engineering and Highways finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this article, the authorized enforcement agency may order compliance by a written notice of violation to the responsible person. Such notice may require, without limitation:
(2) If abatement of a violation and/or restoration of affected property is required, the notice shall set forth a deadline within which such remediation or restoration must be completed. Said notice shall further advise that, should the violator fail to remediate or restore within the established deadline, the work will be done by a designated governmental agency or a contractor and the expense thereof shall be charged to the violator.
§ 209-15. Appeal of notice of violation.
Any person receiving a notice of violation may appeal the determination of the authorized enforcement agency. The notice of appeal must be received by the Director of Engineering and Highways within 15 days from the date of the notice of violation. Hearing on the appeal before the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency shall take place within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency shall be final.
§ 209-16. Enforcement measures after appeal.
If the violation has not been corrected pursuant to the requirements set forth in the notice of violation, or, in the event of an appeal, within 15 days of the decision of the Inland Wetland and Watercourses Agency upholding the decision of the authorized enforcement agency, then representatives of the authorized enforcement agency shall enter upon the subject private property and are authorized to take any and all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or restore the property. It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent or person in possession of any premises to refuse to allow the governmental agency or designated contractor to enter upon the premises for the purposes set forth above.
§ 209-17. Cost of abatement of violations.
A. Within 15 days after abatement of the violation, the owner of the property will be notified of the cost of abatement, including administrative costs. The property owner may file a written protest objecting to the amount of the assessment within 15 days. If the amount due is not paid within a timely manner as determined by the decision of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency or by the expiration of the time in which to file an appeal, the charges shall become a special assessment against the property and shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount of the assessment.
B. Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable to the Town of Rocky Hill by reason of such violation. The liability shall be paid in not more than 12 equal payments. Interest at the rate of 18% per annum shall be assessed on the balance beginning on the first day following discovery of the violation.
§ 209-18. Injunctive relief.
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this article. If a person has violated or continues to violate the provisions of this article, the authorized enforcement agency may petition for a preliminary or permanent injunction restraining the person from activities which would create further violations or compelling the person to perform abatement or remediation of the violation.
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Introduction
This Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) was developed by the Town of Rocky Hill to protect water quality and reduce the discharge of pollutants from the municipality’s storm sewer system to the Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP). This SWMP addresses the requirements established by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) General Permit for the Discharge of Stormwater from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4 General Permit). This permit is the local enforcement mechanism of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Phase II Rule.