Chapter 13.76 - STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Footnotes:

--- (3) --- Editor's note— Ord. No. 2019-05, § I, adopted Apr. 3, 2019, repealed the former Ch. 13.76, §§ 13.76.010—13.76.14, and enacted a new Ch. 13.76 as set out herein. The former Ch. 13.76 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. 2013-18, adopted Dec. 5, 2013.

13.76.010 - Intent.#

By implementing this chapter as part of its stormwater management program, the city intends to reduce the amount of pollutants entering streams, lakes and rivers as a result of runoff from residential, commercial, public and industrial areas, and to enable the city to comply with Utah Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES/UPDES) No. UTS000001 for Jordan Valley Municipalities ("State MS4 Permit") and applicable regulations, 40 CFR § 122.26 et. seq., for stormwater discharges. The provisions of Division IV, Storm Sewer System, are required under the Federal Clean Water Act, the Utah Water Quality Act and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

(Ord. No. 2019-05, § I, 4-3-2019)

13.76.020 - Definitions.#

As used in Division IV of this code:

"80th percentile rainfall event" means an event in which precipitation total is greater than or equal to 80 percent of all storm events averaged over a given period of record.

"Analytical monitoring" refers to monitoring of waterbodies (streams, ponds, lakes, etc.) or of stormwater, according to state and federal regulations or to protocols established by state or federal agencies for biomonitoring or stream bioassessments.

"Authorized enforcement agent" means the city engineer and/or any individual that the city engineer, the provisions of this ordinance, or the underlying legal authorities designate as authorized to implement and enforce this ordinance, which individuals include, but are not limited to, city employees, employees of the Utah Division of Water Quality, and EPA personnel.

"Best management practices" or "BMPs" means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping 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. The City maintains a list of its preferred BMPs on its website: https://sslc.gov/477/Stormwater.

"Channel" means a natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and banks that conducts flowing water continuously or periodically.

"City" means the city of South Salt Lake, Utah, including the mayor and all other employees of the administrative branch of the city.

"City engineer" means the professional engineer for the city or a designee of the professional engineer.

"City permit" means a project approval from the city including, but is not limited to, a building permit, street cut permit, or excavation permit.

"Clean Water Act" means the federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.

"Clearing" means any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.

"Construction activity" means activities subject an NPDES Construction Permit. NPDES 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.

"Contaminant" means any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water.

"Control measure" refers to any BMP or other method used to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants to the stormwater system or waters protected by the state of Utah or the federal government.

"DEQ" refers to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

"Discharge" means to dispose, deposit, spill, pour, inject, seep, dump, leak or place by any other means including direct or indirect entry of a solid or liquid matter into the MS4.

"Division" means the Utah Division of Water Quality.

"Drainage way" means any channel that conveys surface runoff throughout a construction site.

"Erosion control" means a measure that prevents erosion.

"Grading" means excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions thereof.

"Grubbing" means to clear roots and stumps.

"Groundwater" means water in a saturated zone or stratum beneath the surface of land or below a surface water body.

"Hazardous materials" 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. See 40 C.F.R. part 262.

"Illegal discharge" means any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in Section 13.80.070.

"Illicit connections" means 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-stormwater 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

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 an authorized enforcement agency.

"Industrial activity" means activities subject to NPDES industrial Permits as defined in 40 CFR, Section 122.26 (b)(14).

"Intentionally" has the same meaning as in Section 76-2-103(1) of the Utah Criminal Code, as amended.

"Knowingly" has the same meaning as in Section 76-2-103(2) of the Utah Criminal Code, as amended.

"Maintenance" means any activity that is necessary to keep a stormwater facility in good working order so as to function as designed. maintenance shall include complete reconstruction of a stormwater facility if reconstruction is needed in order to restore the facility to its original operational design parameters. maintenance shall also include the correction of any problem on the site property that may directly impair the functions of the stormwater facility.

"Maintenance agreement" means a duly executed and legally recorded document that provides for long-term maintenance of post-construction stormwater management measures.

"Manual" refers to the SWMP guidance document published by Salt Lake County Engineering and Flood Control.

"MS4" is an acronym referring to the city municipal separate storm sewer system.

"MS4 permit" refers to the current General Permit for Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems, as amended.

"Maximum extent practicable" or "MEP" is the technology-based discharge standard for MS4s established by the Clean Water Act.

"Monitoring" means tracking or measuring activities, progress, results, etc.

"Municipal separate storm sewer system" means the conveyance system employed by the city to collect and convey stormwater into waters of the state, including the roads and streets and their drainage systems, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, and storm drains.

"National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater discharge permit" means a permit issued by EPA (or by the state of Utah under authority delegated pursuant to 33 USC § 1342) that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis.

"Negligence" means simple negligence, the failure to exercise that degree of care that an ordinary reasonable and prudent person exercises under like or similar circumstances.

"Non-stormwater discharge" means any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater.

"Perimeter control" means a barrier that prevents Sediment from leaving a Site by filtering sediment-laden runoff or diverting it to a sediment trap or basin.

"Permit" refers to authorization to discharge municipal stormwater under the UPDES, including but not limited to coverage under UPDES Construction General Permit No. UTRC000000 ("construction general permit") and UPDES General Multi-Sector Industrial stormwater Permit Industrial stormwater No. UTR000000 ("industrial general permit").

"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.

"Phasing" means clearing a parcel of land in distinct phases, with the Stabilization of each phase completed before the clearing of the next.

"Pollutant" 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; non-hazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, ordnances, 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.

"Post construction stormwater management measures" means the use of structural or non-structural measures at developed sites after construction that are designed to reduce stormwater runoff and pollutant loading to the MS4, as directed by the city's SWMP and approved by the city engineer.

"Premises" means any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.

"Private landscaping plan" has the same meaning as in Utah Code Ann. § 10-9a-604.5(1)(a), as amended: a proposal to install landscaping on a lot owned by a private individual or entity, submitted to the city by a private individual or entity, or on behalf of a private individual or entity, that owns the lot.

"Qualified person" has the same meaning as in Section 4.2.4.4.1 of the Small MS4 General Permit, UPDES Permit No. UTR090000.

"Recklessly" has the same meaning as in Section 76-2-103(3) of the Utah Criminal Code, as amended.

"Responsible person" means the person(s) determined by the city who is responsible for causing or maintaining a violation of this ordinance. The term shall include, but is not limited to, a property owner, agent, tenant, lessee, occupant, architect, builder, contractor, or other person who individually or together with another person is responsible for the violation of any provision of this chapter.

"Runoff" is water that travels across the land surface, or laterally through the ground near the land surface, and discharges to water bodies either directly or through a collection and conveyance system. Runoff includes stormwater and water from other sources that travels across the land surface.

"Sediment" means solid material, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water, gravity, or ice and has come to rest on the earth's surface either above or below sea level, and which can settle in stream beds and disrupt the natural flow of the stream.

"Sediment control" means measures that prevent sediment from leaving the Site.

"Site" means a parcel of land or a contiguous combination thereof, where Grading work is performed as a single unified operation.

"Stabilization" means providing adequate measures, vegetative and/or structural, that will prevent erosion from occurring.

"Standard operating procedure" or "SOP" means a set of written instructions that document a routine or repetitive activity. For purposes of this ordinance, SOPs refer to pollution control measures to protect water quality.

"Start of construction" means the first land-disturbing activity associated with a development, including land preparation such as clearing, grading, and filling; installation of streets and walkways; excavation for basements, footings, piers, or foundations; erection of temporary forms; and installation of accessory buildings such as garages.

"Storm drainage system" means publicly-owned facilities by which stormwater 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.

"Stormwater" means stormwater runoff, snowmelt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.

"Stormwater management plan" or "SWMP" means a written plan that outlines various control measures required under the MS4 Permit, including specifications to accomplish measurable goals, actions, and activities which are designed to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the MS4 to the quality and quantity of stormwater runoff to pre-development levels, and to protect water quality.

"Stormwater pollution prevention plan" or "SWPPP" means a document which describes the BMPs and activities to be implemented by a person or business to identify sources of pollution or contamination at a site and the actions to eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to stormwater, stormwater conveyance systems, and/or receiving waters to the MEP.

"Stormwater runoff" means flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.

"Uncontaminated" means water which is free from all physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substances or matter.

"Utah pollutant discharge elimination system" or "UPDES" has the same meaning as the current version of Utah Administrative Rule R317-8-1.5(63), and which is currently defined as the state-wide program for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, Monitoring and enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements under the Utah Water Quality Act.

"UPDES Permit" means a permit issued by the Utah Water Quality Board pursuant to Utah laws and regulations.

"Wastewater" means any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater, discharged from a facility.

"Watercourse" means a permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water, either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water within the city, regardless of its source.

"Waterway" means a channel that directs surface runoff to a watercourse or to the MS4.

"Waters of the state" means all streams, lakes, ponds, water-courses, Waterways, wells, springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or artificial, public or private which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the state of Utah. "Waters of the state" does not include bodies of water confined to and retained within the limits of private property which do not develop into or constitute a nuisance, a public health hazard, or a menace to fish or wildlife.

(Ord. No. 2019-05, § I, 4-3-2019; Ord. No. 2021-17, § 1(Exh. B), 10-27-2021; Ord. No. 2025-46, § 1(Exh. A), 9-10-2025)

13.76.030 - Creation and maintenance of SWMP—Policies and procedures.#

A.

The city engineer is responsible for the creation and maintenance of a stormwater management program for all Discharges into the stormwater system of the city.

B.

The city engineer shall have authority to implement policies and procedures consistent with the provisions of this chapter.

C.

The city engineer, in consultation with the city attorney, shall have the authority to bring administrative or civil actions to enforce the provisions of this chapter, or the policies and procedures duly created and published by the city engineer. The city attorney shall have the authority to bring criminal actions to enforce the provisions of this chapter, or the policies and procedures duly created and published by the city engineer.

(Ord. No. 2019-05, § I, 4-3-2019)

13.76.040 - Non-stormwater discharges exempt from SWMP.#

The following discharges are not prohibited, unless the city engineer determines that these discharges are a significant source of pollutants to the MS4 or the waters of the state: A.

Water line flushing;

B.

Landscape irrigation;

C.

Diverted stream flows;

D.

Rising groundwaters;

E.

Uncontaminated Ground Water infiltration;

F.

Uncontaminated pumped groundwater;

G.

Discharges from potable water sources;

H.

Foundation or footing drains;

I.

Air conditioning condensate;

J.

Irrigation water;

K.

Springs;

L.

Water from crawl space pumps;

M.

Individual residential car washing;

N.

Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands;

O.

De-chlorinated swimming pool (if dechlorinated typically less than one PPM chlorine) or water reservoir discharges;

P.

Residual street wash water;

Q.

Discharges or flows from emergency firefighting activity;

R.

Lawn watering runoff;

S.

Any other Discharge specifically exempted by a UPDES Permit.

(Ord. No. 2019-05, § I, 4-3-2019; Ord. No. 2021-17, § 1(Exh. B), 10-27-2021; Ord. No. 2025-46, § 1(Exh. A), 9-10-2025)

13.76.050 - Altering drainage channels.#

A.

Property owners shall not alter or restrict natural channels and waterways without proper federal, state, and city permits.

B.

Modification of sensitive areas may require approval from other governing agencies.

C.

Property owners proposing to redirect runoff, surface, and/or pipe flow to properties or facilities outside of city boundaries shall provide written approval from the state, county, or municipality onto which the water will be directed.

D.

Discharges or modifications to the canal require written approval from the canal owners and applicable government agencies.

(Ord. No. 2019-05, § I, 4-3-2019)