Oceanside Municipal Code § 40.1 Title, Purpose, Definitions, and General Provisions

This chapter shall be known as the "City of Oceanside Urban Runoff Management, and Discharge Control Ordinance."

(Ord. No. 02-OR103-1, § 2, 2-6-02)

The purposes of this chapter are to protect the health, safety and general welfare of Oceanside residents; to protect water resources and to improve water quality; to cause the use of management practices by the city and its citizens that will reduce the adverse effects of polluted runoff discharges on waters of the state; to secure benefits from the use of storm water as a resource; and to ensure the city is compliant with applicable state and federal law. The chapter seeks to promote these purposes by:

• Prohibiting polluted or non-storm water discharges from entering the storm water conveyance system;

• Establishing minimum requirements for urban runoff management, including source control requirements, to prevent and reduce pollution;

• Establishing requirements for development project site design, to reduce urban runoff pollution and erosion;

• Establishing requirements for the management of flows from development projects, both to prevent erosion and to protect and enhance existing water-dependent habitats;

• Establishing standards for the use of off-site facilities for urban runoff management to supplement on-site practices at new development sites; and

• Establishing notice procedures and standards for adjusting urban runoff management requirements where necessary.

(Ord. No. 02-OR103-1, § 2, 2-6-02)

The following definitions shall be applicable when the following words or phrases are used hereafter in this chapter, whether or not these words or phrases are capitalized:

Accelerated erosion means erosion caused by development activities that exceeds the natural processes by which the surface of the land is worn away. Erosion includes the movement or loss of soil by the action of water, wind, or chemical action.

Authorized enforcement staff means any city employee supervised by an authorized enforcement official, assigned to duties involving permits and other city approvals, inspections, and enforcement related to this chapter.

Authorized enforcement official means the director of the water utilities department, director of public works; the director of the development services; the director of the housing and neighborhood services department; the chief of police, and the chief of the fire department.

Best management practices (BMPs) means schedules of activities, pollution treatment practices or devices, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices or devices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants, directly or indirectly, to receiving waters, or the MS4. Best management practices also include, but are not limited to, treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage. Best management practices may include any type of pollution prevention and pollution control measure that can help to achieve compliance with this chapter.

Channel means a natural or improved watercourse with a definite bed and banks that conducts continuously or intermittently flowing water.

City means the City of Oceanside.

Developer means a person who seeks or receives permits for or who undertakes land development activities.

Discharge, when used as a verb, means to allow pollutants to directly or indirectly enter urban runoff, or to allow storm water or non-storm water to directly or indirectly enter the MS4 or receiving waters, from an activity, operations or property, which one owns or operates. When used as a noun, "discharge" means the pollutants, storm water and/or non-storm water that are discharged.

Discharger means any person engaged in activities or operations or owning facilities or property, which will or may result in pollutants entering urban runoff, the MS4, or receiving waters; and the owners of real property on which such activities, operations or facilities are located.

Erosion control plan means an urban runoff management plan that is designed to minimize the accelerated erosion and sediment runoff at a site during construction activities.

Groundwater means subsurface water that occurs beneath the water table in soils and geologic formations that are fully saturated.

Illegal connection means any manmade physical connection to the MS4 that conveys an illicit discharge.

Illicit discharge means any discharge of any material to the MS4, or to receiving waters, that is not composed entirely of storm water, except discharges allowed under an NPDES permit and discharges conditionally allowed under the MS4 Permit, as set forth in Oceanside Municipal Code section 40.2.2. Illicit discharges include irrigation runoff discharged to the MS4.

Impaired water body means a water body that is listed by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) as impaired by a particular pollutant or pollutants, pursuant to section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act. "303(d) listed water body" has the same meaning.

Impervious cover or impervious surface means constructed or modified surfaces that cannot effectively infiltrate rainfall. The term, includes, but is not limited to, building rooftops, pavement, sidewalks, and driveways.

Impervious surface area means the ground area covered or sheltered by an impervious surface, measured in plan view (i.e., as if from directly above). For example, the "impervious surface area" for a pitched roof is equal to the ground area it shelters, rather than the surface area of the roof itself.

Infiltration means the process of percolating storm water or non-storm water into the subsoil.

Infiltration BMPs or infiltration facility means any structural treatment BMP designed primarily to percolate water into the subsurface, such as an infiltration trench or infiltration basin. An infiltration facility may include filtering prior to or during infiltration. BMPs that infiltrate some water but which are designed primarily to retain water or to treat water, such as retention basins, constructed wetlands, or filtering swales are not infiltration facilities.

Land development activity means any activity or proposed activity that requires any of the permits or approvals listed in section 40.1.4(d) of this chapter.

Land disturbance activity means any activity that moves soils or substantially alters the pre-existing vegetated or manmade cover of any land. This includes, but is not limited to, grading, digging, cutting, scraping, stockpiling or excavating of soil, placement of fill materials, paving, pavement removal, exterior construction, substantial removal of vegetation where soils are disturbed including, but not limited to, removal by clearing or grubbing or any activity which bares soil or rock or involves streambed alterations or the diversion or piping of any watercourse. Land disturbance activity does not include routine maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or the original purpose of the facility, nor does it include emergency construction activities (i.e., land disturbances) required to protect public health and safety.

Land owner means the holder of legal title to the land, and other persons or entities that exercise control over a land development project pursuant to rights granted in a purchase agreement, joint venture agreement, development agreement, or long term lease.

Legally responsible person (LRP) will typically be the land disturbance project proponent. For any land disturbance project where multiple persons or entities are eligible to serve as the LRP, those persons or entities shall select a single LRP. In exceptional circumstances, a person or entity that qualifies as the LRP may provide written authorization to another person or entity to serve as the LRP. In such a circumstance, the person or entity that provides the authorization retains all responsibility for compliance with the state NPDES general construction storm water permit. Except as provided in category 2(d), a contractor who does not satisfy the requirements of any of the categories below is not qualified to be an LRP. The following persons or entities may serve as an LRP:

(1) A person, company, agency, or other entity that possesses a real property interest (including, but not limited to, fee simple ownership, easement, leasehold, or other rights-of-way) in the land upon which the construction or land disturbance activities will occur for the regulated site.

(2) In addition to the above, the following persons or entities may also serve as an LRP:

a. For linear underground/overhead projects (LUP), the utility company, municipality, or other public or private company or agency that owns or operates the LUP;

b. For land controlled by an estate or similar entity, the person who has day to-day control over the land (including, but not limited to, a bankruptcy trustee, receiver, or conservator);

c. For pollution investigation and remediation projects, any potentially responsible party that has received permission to conduct the project from the holder of a real property interest in the land; or

d. For U.S. Army Corp of Engineers projects, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may provide written authorization to its bonded contractor to serve as the LRP, provided, however, that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also responsible for compliance with the general permit, as authorized by the Clean Water Act or the Federal Facilities Compliance Act.

Maintenance [of a BMP] means periodic action taken to maintain the as-designed performance of a BMP, and includes, but is not limited to, repairs to the BMP as necessary, and replacement of the BMP by an equally effective or more effective BMP at the end of its useful life.

Maximum extent practicable (MEP) has the same meaning as defined in Regional Water Quality Control Board Order No. R-9-2013-0001 (NPDES No. CAS0109266), Attachment C, or subsequent order.

Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) means any drainage facilities, other than sanitary sewers, within the city by which urban runoff may be conveyed to receiving waters (including, but not limited to, roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) and which is: (1) owned or operated by the city; (2) designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water; (3) which is not a combined sewer; and (4) which is not part of the publicly owned treatment works as defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations section 122.26.

Municipal separate storm sewer system permit (MS4 permit) means Regional Water Quality Control Board Order No. R-9-2013-0001, NPDES No. CAS0109266, as may be amended or subsequent order.

Nonemergency firefighter discharges means waters associated with fire hydrant and sprinkler line flushing, controlled or practice blazes, firefighting training, and maintenance activities not associated with building suppression systems.

Non-storm water discharge means any discharge to or from the MS4 that is not entirely composed of storm water, including, but not limited to, illicit discharges, discharges allowed under an NPDES permit.

NPDES permit means a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the SWRCB, or the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).

Performance standard means a requirement under this chapter that specifies a result that must be achieved (e.g., "minimize impervious surface area" or "do not impair receiving water quality") without specifying the means that must be used to achieve that result. (This chapter applies performance standards only to certain land development and redevelopment projects that require discretionary city permits; those permits will typically include enforceable project-specific requirements intended to achieve the result required by the performance standard.)

Person means any individual, organization, business, trust, company, partnership, entity, firm, association, or other business form.

Pollutant means any agent introduced to the MS4 that may cause or contribute to the degradation of water quality such that public health, the environment, or beneficial uses of receiving waters may be affected. The term may include but is not limited to dredged spoil, rock, sand, or silt (excluding sediment, silt, or substances in quantities which would enter storm water from a natural undeveloped watershed); solid waste, sewage, garbage, or medical waste; wrecked or discarded equipment; radioactive materials; industrial waste; fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus, and enterococcus bacteria and pathogens that pose a threat to human health; volatile organic compounds, toxic organics, surfactants, oil and grease, petroleum hydrocarbons, total organic carbon, lead, copper, chromium, cadmium, silver, nickel, zinc, cyanides, phenols, and biocides; and any contaminant which can significantly degrade the quality of receiving waters by altering pH, total suspended or settleable solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nutrients, or temperature.

Pollution prevention plan means a document (other than a management plan), which meets the requirements for a storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) set out in the state general construction storm water permit or state general industrial storm water permit. A SWPPP submitted to or reviewed by the city must describe the BMPs to be implemented and other steps to be taken by the discharger to meet the requirements of this chapter.

Post construction BMPs are structural and nonstructural controls which detain, retain, or filter the release of pollutants to receiving waters after final stabilization is attained.

Priority project means all new development and redevelopment projects falling under the categories or locations listed below:

(1) New development projects that create ten thousand (10,000) square feet or more of impervious surfaces (collectively over the entire project site). This includes commercial, industrial, residential, mixed-use, and public development projects on public or private land.

(2) Redevelopment projects that create and/or replace five thousand (5,000) square feet or more or impervious surface (collectively over the entire project site on an existing site of ten thousand (10,000) square feet or more of impervious surfaces).

(3) New and redevelopment projects that create five thousand (5,000) square feet or more of impervious surface (collectively over the entire project site), and support one or more of the following uses:

a. Restaurants. This category is defined as a facility that sells prepared foods and drinks for consumption, including stationary lunch counters and refreshment stands selling prepared foods and drinks for immediate consumption (SIC Code section 5812), where the land area for development is greater than five thousand (5,000) square feet.

b. All hillside development projects. This category includes development on any natural slope that is twenty-five (25) percent or greater.

c. Parking lots, defined as a land area or facility for the temporary parking or storage of motor vehicles used personally, for business or for commerce.

d. Street, roads, highways, freeways, and driveways. This category includes any paved surface which is five thousand (5,000) square feet or greater used for the transportation of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles.

(4) Environmentally sensitive areas. All new development or redevelopment projects located within or directly adjacent to or discharging directly to an environmentally sensitive area (where discharges from the development or redevelopment will enter receiving waters within the environmentally sensitive area), which either creates two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet of impervious surface on a proposed project environmentally sensitive areas include but are not limited to all Clean Water Action section 303(d) impaired water bodies; areas designated as areas of special biological significance by the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Quality control Plan for the San Diego Basin (1994) and amendments); water bodies designated with the RARE beneficial use by the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin (1994) and amendments); areas designated as preserves or their equivalent under the Multi Species Conservation Program with the cities and County of San Diego; and any other equivalent environmentally sensitive areas which have been identified by the co-permittees. "Directly adjacent" means situated within two hundred (200) feet of the environmentally sensitive area. "Discharging directly to" means outflow from a drainage system that is composed entirely of flows from the subject development or redevelopment site, and not commingled with flows from adjacent lands.

(5) New development or redevelopment projects that support one or more of the following uses:

a. Automotive repair shops. This category is defined as a facility that is categorized in any one of the following Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes sections: 5013, 5014, 5541, 7532—7534 or 7536—7539.

b. Retail gasoline outlets (RGOs). This category includes RGOs that meet the following criteria (a) five thousand (5,000) square feet or more or (b) a projected average daily traffic (ADT) of one hundred (100) or more vehicles per day.

(6) New development or redevelopment projects that result in the disturbance of one or more acres of land and are expected to generate pollutants post construction.

Rainy season means, from October 1 through April 30.

Receiving waters means waters of the United States as defined under the Clean Water Act. Generally, receiving waters include surface bodies of water which serve as discharge points for the MS4, including creeks, rivers, reservoirs, lakes, lagoons, estuaries, harbors, bays and the Pacific Ocean.

Redevelopment means the creation and/or replacement of impervious surface on an already developed site. Examples include the expansion of a building footprint, road widening, the addition to or replacement of a structure, and creation or addition of impervious surfaces. Replacement of impervious surfaces includes any activity that is not part of a routine maintenance activity where impervious material(s) are removed, exposing underlying soil during construction. Redevelopment does not include trenching and resurfacing associated with utility work; resurfacing existing roadways; new sidewalk construction, pedestrian ramps, or bike lane on existing roads; and routine replacement of damaged pavement, such as pothole repair.

RWQCB means the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Diego Region.

Standard urban runoff management plan [Reserved].

State general construction storm water permit means Order No. 2009-0009-DWQ, NPDES Permit No. CAS000002, waste discharge requirements for discharges of storm water associated with construction activities, and any amendments thereto or subsequent order.

State general industrial storm water permit means Order No. 97-03-DWQ, NPDES Permit No. CAS000001, waste discharge requirements for discharges of pollutants associated with industrial activities, and any amendments thereto or subsequent order.

Stop work order means an order issued which requires that specifically identified activity or all activity on a site be stopped.

Storm water runoff means water flow generated when precipitation from rain and snowmelt events flows over land or impervious surfaces and does not percolate into the ground.

Structural BMP means a BMP that relies on either a physical condition (other than an entirely natural and undisturbed condition), or on a constructed or installed device to reduce or prevent pollutants in storm water discharges and authorized non-storm water discharges. Constructed or enhanced BMPs that depend on natural materials and processes (e.g., constructed drainage swales or buffers, or constructed wetlands), and that require periodic maintenance to function as designed, are structural BMPs.

Structural post-construction BMP means a structural BMP (other than a temporary construction-related BMP) put in place in connection with a land development or redevelopment project to prevent or reduce contamination in storm water or receiving waters, or to prevent or reduce erosion downstream from the project.

Structural treatment BMPs [Reserved].

SWPPP means pollution prevention plan.

SWRCB means the state water resources control board.

Urban runoff means all surface flows within the city including storm water and non-storm water discharges.

Urban runoff management plan means a plan, submitted on a city form or in a city-specific format in connection with an application for a city permit or other city approval, identifying the measures that will be used for storm water and non-storm water management during the permitted activity.

Water main means a potable or recycled water delivery line greater than or equal to four (4) inches in diameter.

Watercourse means a permanent, ephemeral or intermittent stream or other body of water, either natural or improved, which gathers or carries surface water.

Water quality standards are defined as the water quality objectives adopted by the state or the United States Environmental Protection Agency to protect beneficial uses of water (e.g., swimming, fishing, municipal drinking water supply, etc.).

Waters of the United States means water subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the United States under the Federal Clean Water Act and applicable case law. (In general, this includes "navigable" waters, waters tributary to "navigable" waters, and adjacent wetlands.)

(Ord. No. 02-OR103-1, § 2, 2-6-02; Ord. No. 02-OR760-1, §§ 1, 2, 12-4-02; Ord. No. 03-OR179-1, § 1, 4-2-03; Ord. No. 14-OR0762-1, § 1, 12-17-2014)

(a) Responsibility for administration. This chapter shall be administered for the city by its authorized enforcement officials.

(b) Construction and application. Interpretation of the meanings of parts of this chapter shall assure consistency with the purpose and intent of this chapter. This includes, but is not limited to, consistency with the requirements of NPDES Permit No. CAS0109266. This chapter is not intended to interfere with, abrogate or annul any other ordinance, rule or regulation, statute, or other provision of law. The requirements of this chapter should be considered minimum requirements, and where any provision of this chapter imposes restrictions different from those imposed by any other ordinance, rule or regulation, or other provision of law, whichever provisions are more restrictive or impose higher protective standards for human health or the environment shall take precedence.

(c) Severability and validity. If any section of this chapter is declared invalid by a court of law, the remaining sections shall remain valid.

(d) City permits and approvals.

(1) An application for any of the following discretionary permits, approvals, or exemptions shall be accompanied by plans or information demonstrating how the requirements of this chapter will be met, and the permits, approvals, or exemptions shall not be approved unless the decision maker determines that the application complies with the requirements of this chapter:

a. Administrative permit for clearing or grubbing;

b. Agricultural exemption;

c. Lot line adjustment;

d. Final map modification;

e. Grading plans or permit (including modification or renewal);

f. Improvement plans (including modification);

g. Landscape plans;

h. Major use permit (including modification, minor deviation, or extension);

i. Minor use permit (including modification, minor deviation, or extension);

j. Parcel map modification;

k. Reclamation plan;

l. Site plan (including amendment);

m. Solid waste facility permit;

n. Tentative map (including resolution amendment or time extension);

o. Tentative parcel map;

p. Variance;

q. Local coastal permit.

(2) An application for any of the following ministerial permits or approvals shall be accompanied by plans or information demonstrating how the requirements of this chapter will be met, and the permit or approval shall not be approved unless the decision maker determines that the application complies with those requirements.

a. Building permit;

b. Construction right-of-way permit;

c. Encroachment permit;

d. Excavation permit;

e. On-site waste water system permit;

f. Underground tank permit;

g. Well permit;

h. Business license.

(3) The issuance of a permit, approval of exemption not in conformance with chapter shall be deemed null and void, and shall not prevent the enforcement of this chapter.

(e) Collection and use of storm water. An authorized enforcement official may modify any requirement imposed by this chapter to allow the on-site collection and use of, or the collection of storm water for delivery to and use at city-designated sites, provided the modified requirements are enforceable and provide equivalent environmental protection.

(Ord. No. 02-OR103-1, § 2, 2-6-02; Ord. No. 14-OR0762-1, § 2, 12-17-2014)