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Allowable nonstormwater discharges means discharges not comprised of stormwater are allowed under the MS4 general permit but are limited to the following, provided these are not significant contributors of pollutants to the MS4: discharges which result from the washdown of vehicles at retail dealers selling new and used automobiles where no detergents are used and individual residential car washing; external building washdown where no detergents are used; the use of water to control dust; fire fighting activities; fire hydrant flushings; natural springs; uncontaminated groundwater; dechiorinated pool discharges; air conditioning condensate; lawn watering; potable water sources including waterline flushings; irrigation drainage; pavement washwaters where spills or leaks of toxic or hazardous materials have not occurred (unless all spilled materials have been removed) and where detergents are not used; discharges from foundation or footing drains where flows are not contaminated with process materials such as solvents, oil and fuel, or contaminated by contact with soils where spills or leaks of toxic of hazardous materials have occurred; uncontaminated utility vault dewatering; dechiorinated water line testing water; hydrostatic test water that does not contain any treatment chemicals and is not contaminated with process chemicals.
Authorized enforcement agency means employees or designees of the municipal agency designated to enforce this chapter; recognized in the town as the building official.
Best management practices (BMPs) means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good house keeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
Clean water act (CWA) means the federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and any subsequent amendments thereto.
Construction activity means activities subject to RIPDES construction permits. As of March 2003, RIPDES Stormwater Phase II Permits are required for construction projects resulting in land disturbance of one acre or more. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
Discharger means any person who causes, allows, permits, or is otherwise responsible for a discharge, including, without limitation, any operator of a construction site or industrial facility.
DPW means department of public works.
EPA means environmental protection agency.
Hazardous material means 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.
Illicit connection means an illicit connection is defined as either of the following: 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 nonstormwater 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 an authorized enforcement agency or, 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 an authorized enforcement agency.
Illicit discharge means any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of stormwater except discharges pursuant to a RIPDES permit (other than the RIPDES permit for discharges from the municipal separate storm sewer) and discharges defined as "allowable nonstormwater discharges" by this chapter.
Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) means EPA's term for a separate storm drain system, being a conveyance or system of conveyances (including but not limited to roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains and other drainage structures): (1)
Owned or maintained by the town, designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
(2)
Which is not a combined sewer; and
(3)
Which is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) as defined in Rule 3 of the RIPDES regulations.
National pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) stormwater discharge permit means a permit issued by EPA Region 1 authorizing discharge to waters of the United States.
Nonstormwater discharge means any discharge that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
Operator means the party or parties that either individually or taken together have the day-to-day operational control over stormwater facility activities and the ability to make modifications to such activities.
Owner means the party or parties that either individually or taken together has legal title to any premises.
Person means any individual, association, organization, partnership, firm, corporation or other entity recognized by law and acting as either the owner or as the owner's agent.
Pollutants means anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter or other discarded or abandoned objects, ordinances, 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; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
RIPDES means Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program.
Stormwater means any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation.
Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) means EPA's term for the stormwater management plan required for all facilities and/or construction activities for which NPDES stormwater discharge permits are required. The plan describes the BMPs and activities to be implemented to prevent contamination of receiving waters from stormwater runoff.
Unauthorized discharge means a discharge of stormwater not authorized by a RIPDES per permit, or an allowable stormwater discharge found to be a significant contributor of pollutants to the MS4.
Watercourse means a natural or man-made surface drainage channel or body of water (including a lake or pond) through which a water flow occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
Waters of the state means surface and ground waters within the boundaries of the state and subject to its jurisdiction.
(Ord. of 03-07-2022 (1), § 2, 3-7-22)