18.30.050 Illicit discharges.
A. Illicit Discharges Prohibited.
1. No person may throw, drain, or otherwise discharge, or cause or allow others under its control to throw, drain, or otherwise discharge into the stormwater system any materials other than stormwater.
2. Illicit discharges include, but are not limited to solid waste; yard waste; dirt; sand; gravel, cement; paint products; human and animal waste; soap; detergent; antifreeze, oil, gasoline, grease, and all other automotive and petroleum products; pesticides; herbicides; fertilizers; flammable or explosive materials, metals in excess of naturally occurring amounts, whether in liquid or solid form; chemicals not normally found in uncontaminated water; solvents and degreasers; drain cleaners; commercial and household cleaning materials; acids; alkalis; ink; steam-cleaning waste; laundry waste; ammonia; chlorine; chlorinated swimming pool or hot tub water; domestic or sanitary sewage; animal carcasses; food and food waste; plaster and dry-wall compound.
B. Allowable Discharges. The following types of discharges are not illicit discharges for the purpose of this chapter unless the Director determines that the type of discharge, whether singly or in combination with others, is causing or is likely to cause pollution of surface water or groundwater:
1. Diverted stream flows.
2. Rising groundwater.
3. Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration as defined in 40 CFR 35.2005(20).
4. Uncontaminated pumped groundwater.
5. Foundation drains.
6. Air conditioning condensation.
7. Irrigation water from agricultural sources that is commingled with urban stormwater.
8. Springs.
9. Water from crawl space pumps.
10. Footing drains.
11. Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands.
12. Discharges from emergency firefighting activities.
C. Conditionally Allowed Discharges. The following types of discharges are not illicit discharges for the purposes of this chapter if they meet the stated conditions, unless the Director determines that the type of discharge, whether singly or in combination with others, is causing or is likely to cause pollution of surface water or groundwater:
1. Potable water, including water from water line flushing, fire hydrant system flushing, and pipeline hydrostatic test water. Planned discharges must be dechlorinated to a concentration of 0.1 ppm or less, pH-adjusted, if necessary, and in volumes and velocities controlled to prevent resuspension of sediments in the stormwater system.
2. Lawn watering and other irrigation runoff are permitted but must be minimized.
3. Dechlorinated swimming pool discharges. These discharges must be dechlorinated to a concentration of 0.1 ppm or less, pH-adjusted, if necessary, and in volumes and velocities controlled to prevent resuspension of sediments in the stormwater system. Discharges must be thermally controlled to prevent an increase in temperature of the receiving water.
4. Street and sidewalk wash water, water to control dust, and routine external building wash down that does not use detergents are permitted if the amount of street wash and dust control water is minimized. At active construction sites, street sweeping must be performed prior to washing the street.
5. Other non-stormwater discharges that are in compliance with the requirements of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) reviewed and approved by the city which addresses control of such discharges by applying AKART to prevent pollutants from entering surface or groundwater.
D. Exemptions.
1. The following discharges are exempt from the provisions of this section:
a. The regulated effluent from any commercial or municipal facility holding a valid state or federal wastewater discharge permit or NPDES stormwater permit;
b. Acts of God or nature not compounded by human negligence;
c. Properly operating on-site domestic sewage systems.
2. A person does not commit an illicit discharge if:
a. That person has properly designed, constructed, implemented and is maintaining BMPs and is carrying out AKART, even if pollutants continue to enter surface and stormwater or groundwater; or
b. That person can demonstrate that there are no additional pollutants being discharged from the site above the background conditions of the water entering the site.
E. Best Management Practices (BMPs).
1. Compliance with this chapter must be achieved through the use of best management practices described in the stormwater management manual or as described below.
2. BMPs must be applied to any business or residential activity that might result in illicit discharges. Any person storing or using materials containing contaminants in any manner that may result in a prohibited discharge must implement the source control BMPs described in the stormwater management manual. Any person operating a facility or performing an activity described in the stormwater management manual or the city’s NPDES permit must implement the source control BMPs described therein for the facility or activity. Full implementation of the source control BMPs described in the stormwater management manual constitutes the minimum required actions an owner, occupant or operator of real property must take toward preventing prohibited discharges from the real property. Full implementation of the BMPs required by this section does not exempt a person from also complying with any other requirement of this chapter. In applying the stormwater management manual, the Director must first require the implementation of source control BMPs. If these are not sufficient to prevent pollutants from entering stormwater, the Director may require implementation of treatment BMPs as set forth in AKART. Full implementation of all stormwater BMPs required by an NPDES industrial stormwater permit or state waste discharge permit constitutes compliance with this section. (Ord. 4023 § 1 (Att. A), 2022; Ord. 2991 § 1 (Att. A), 2016. Formerly 18.30.030)