Sec. 31.5-6. Definitions.
The terms used in this Article shall have the following meanings:
a. Best Management Practices (“BMPs”).Activities, practices, and procedures to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly into the municipal storm drain system and waters of the state or U.S. Best management practices include but are not limited to: treatment facilities to remove pollutants from storm water; operating and maintenance procedures; facility management practices to control runoff, spillage or leaks of non-storm water, waste disposal, and drainage from materials storage; erosion and sediment control practices; and the prohibition of specific activities, practices, and procedures and such other provisions as the City determines appropriate for the control of pollutants. Please refer to the NPDES General Permit for specific regulatory requirements.
b. City.The City of Monterey.
c. Clean Water Act.The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.
d. Commercial Activity.Any public or private activity involved in the storage, transportation, distribution, exchange or sale of goods and/or commodities or providing professional and/or non-professional services.
e. Construction Sites.Sites where activities, including but are not limited to, clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, demolition, new construction, reconstruction, additions or remodeling of any structure or property are being performed.
f. Contamination.Contamination is as defined in California Water Code §13050(k).
g. Discharge.Any release, spill, leak, pump, flow, escape, dumping, or disposal of any liquid, semi-solid or solid substance.
h. Hazardous Materials.Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed (49 CFR §105).
i. Illegal Discharge.Any direct or indirect non-storm water discharge to the Storm Drain System, except as exempted in §31.5-12 of this chapter.
j. Illicit Connection.An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
1.Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the Storm Drain System including but not limited to any conveyances which allow any non-storm water discharge including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter the Storm Drain System and any connections to the Storm Drain System from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved by a government agency; or
2.Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land use to the Storm Drain System which has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by the City.
k. Industrial Activity.Activities subject to NPDES Industrial Permits as defined in 40 CFR, Section 122.26 (b)(14).
l. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Storm Water Discharge Permits.General, group, and individual storm water discharge permits which regulate facilities defined in federal NPDES regulations pursuant to the Clean Water Act. The State Water Resources Control Board and Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (hereinafter, Regional Board) have adopted general storm water discharge permits, including but not limited to Municipal General Permits, Construction General Permit and Industrial General Permit.
m. Non-Storm Water Discharge.Any discharge to the Storm Drain System that is not composed entirely of storm water.
n. Nuisance.Meaning ascribed to nuisance by California Water Code § 13050(m).
o. Pollutant.Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; non-hazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure (including but not limited to sediments, slurries, and concrete rinsates); and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
p. Pollution.Alteration of the quality of waters by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects, or has the potential to unreasonably affect, either the waters for beneficial uses or the facilities which serve these beneficial uses. Pollution also includes Contamination. (California Water Code §13050(l)(1)).
q. Porter-Cologne Act.The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and as amended (California Water Code §13000 et seq.).
r. Premises.Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
s. Remediation.The abatement or removal of pollution or contaminants from land or water (including sediments in waterways) for the general protection of human health and the environment.
t. Storm Drain System.Publicly-owned facilities operated by the City by which storm water is collected and/or conveyed, including but not limited to any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, gutters, curbs, inlets, piped storm drains, pumping facilities, retention and detention basins, natural and human-made or altered drainage channels, reservoirs, and other drainage structures which are within the City and are not part of a publicly owned treatment works as defined at 40 CFR §403.3(q).
u. Storm Water.Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from precipitation.
v. Waters of the State (“waters of the state”).Surface watercourses and water bodies as defined at California Water Code §13050. including all natural waterways and definite channels and depressions in the earth that may carry water, even though such waterways may only carry water during rains and storms and may not carry storm water at and during all times and seasons.
w. Waters of the United States (“Waters of the U.S.”).Per 40 Code of Federal Regulations 230.3(s) and as amended thereto, waters of the U.S. generally include:
1.All waters which are currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;
2.All interstate waters including interstate wetlands;
3.All other waters such as intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, or natural ponds, the use, degradation or destruction of which could affect interstate or foreign commerce including any such waters: which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes; or, from which fish or shellfish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce; or, which are used or could be used for industrial purposes by industries in interstate commerce;
4.All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this definition;
5.Tributaries of waters identified in subsections (w)(1) through (4) of this section;
6.The territorial sea; and
7.Wetlands adjacent to waters (other than waters that are themselves wetlands) identified in subsections (w)(1) through (6) of this section; waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of CWA (other than cooling ponds as defined in 40 CFR 423.11(m) which also meet the criteria of this definition) are not waters of the United States. (Ord. 3493 §§ 3, 4, 5, 2014)