8.50.010 Title, purpose and general provisions.
A. Chapter. This chapter shall be known as the “Town of Atherton Storm Water Management and Discharge Control Ordinance” and may be so cited.
B. Purpose and Intent. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the future health, safety and general welfare of town citizens by:
1. Eliminating non-storm water discharges to the municipal separate storm sewer;
2. Controlling the discharge to municipal separate storm sewers from spills, dumping or disposal of materials other than storm water;
3. Reducing pollutants in storm water discharges to the maximum extent practicable.
The intent 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.
C. Definitions.
1. 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 definition of the following terms included in that statute or regulations are incorporated by reference, as now applicable or as may hereafter be amended: discharge, illicit discharge, pollutant and storm water. These terms presently are defined as follows:
a. “Discharge” means any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source; or (ii) 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.
b. “Illicit discharge” means any discharge to the town storm sewer system that is not composed entirely of storm water except discharges pursuant to a NPDES permit and discharges resulting from fire fighting and other emergency response activities.
c. “Pollutant” means dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, wrecked or destroyed equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharge into water.
d. “Storm water” means storm water runoff and surface runoff and drainage.
2. When used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
a. Authorized Enforcement Official. The city manager or his/her designee is authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
b. “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.
c. “City” means the town of Atherton.
d. “Non-storm water discharge” means any discharge that is not entirely composed of storm water except those noted within an NPDES permit and this chapter.
e. “Premises” means any building, lot, parcel, real estate, or land or portion of land, whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
f. “Storm sewer system” means and includes, but is not limited to, those facilities within the town 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.
g. “Watercourse” means a natural stream, creek or man-made uncovered channel through which water flows continuously or intermittently.
D. Responsibility for Administration. This chapter shall be administered for the town by the city manager and his/her designees.
E. Construction and Application. 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. CA0029921 and any amendment, revision or reissuance thereof.
F. Severability and Validity. If any portion of this chapter is declared invalid, the remaining portions of this chapter are to be considered valid.
G. Waiver Procedures.
1. It is the intent of this chapter to protect and enhance water quality while respecting the rights of private property owners to economically viable use of land. It is not the intent of this chapter to prohibit all economically viable use of any private lands, nor to result in a confiscatory impact. Accordingly, the purpose of this section is to provide for an administrative procedure for a waiver or modification of a particular provision of this chapter in the event the strict application of this chapter would result in the denial of all economically viable use of real property.
2. An applicant for a waiver of a provision of this chapter shall file a waiver application with the city manager or his/her designee on a form provided by the town identifying the provision sought to be waived or modified. The applicant shall file a complete form and shall provide all documentation and information required by the city manager or his/her designee to determine whether application of the provision in question will prohibit any economically viable use of the land in question or otherwise have an impermissible confiscatory result.
3. The city manager or his/her designee may approve, deny or conditionally approve a waiver application upon making all of the following written findings:
a. That the strict application of the provision for which a waiver or modification is sought would result in the denial of all economically viable use of the real property in question;
b. To the maximum extent feasible, conditions have been placed upon such a waiver or modification in order to achieve the goals of this chapter as closely as possible while still allowing economically viable use of the real property in question;
c. Approval of such a waiver will not result in a public nuisance which would constitute a significant and direct threat to public health or safety.
H. Effective Date. This chapter will take effect thirty days from the date of passage, and shall be published following passage as required by the Government Code. (Ord. 481 (part), 1994)