Village of Beverly Hills, MI

30.04 RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADMINISTRATION

The Village of Beverly Hills shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this Chapter.  Any powers granted or duties imposed by this Chapter upon the authorized agency may be delegated by the Village to persons or entities acting in the beneficial interest of or in the employ of the Village.

30.05 ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY

The standards set forth herein and promulgated to this Chapter are minimum standards; therefore, this Chapter does not intend nor imply that compliance by any person will ensure that there will be no contamination, pollution nor unauthorized discharges.

30.06 POST-CONSTRUCTION

The Village accepts the following Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner (OCWRC) Stormwater Engineering Design Standards to address Post-Construction Storm Water Runoff controls: 

(1) The OCWRC Stormwater Engineering Design Standards as amended from time to time for the required Water Quality, Channel Protection Rate Control and Channel Protection Rate Control, are hereby adopted by the Village of Beverly Hills in this article for the control and treatment of stormwater runoff. With the exception that all properties identified under Article 30.03 ‘Applicability’ shall be included in this requirement.

(2) All permanent and temporary stormwater management BMPs, constructed as part of the requirements of this article, are subject to this chapter.

(3) This article applies to any activities which may affect the quantity or quality of stormwater conveyance to a Village of Beverly Hills system. Any person(s) engaged in activities that may result in excessive quantities of pollutants entering any stormwater conveyance systems or waterways may be subject to the remedies for violation of this article. Examples of such pollutants may include, but is not limited to, debris, concrete washings, de-icing materials, fertilizers, heavy metals, automobile fluids, topsoil, yard wastes, and commercial or light industrial wastes.

(4) Natural swales and channels should be preserved, whenever possible. If channel modification must occur, the physical characteristics of the modified channel will meet the existing channel in length, cross-section, slope, sinuosity, and carrying capacity. Streams and channels will be expected to withstand all events up to the two-year design storm without increased erosion.

(5) The Village recognizes that, due to the specific requirements of any given development, inflexible application of the design standards may result in development with excessive paving, stormwater runoff, and a waste of space which could be left as an open space. The Village Engineer shall have the authority to grant waivers from specific control provisions of the stormwater management standards due to site-specific conditions, but only if the waiver(s) are as restrictive as the OCWRC Stormwater Engineering Design Standards. The waiver shall be appropriate under the following criteria: (1) Because of unusual topographical or field conditions, there are undue burdens in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this article. (2) The proposed variance will not adversely affect the purpose or objectives of this article or otherwise impair the public health, safety, comfort, and welfare. (3) Reasonable and appropriate conditions may be attached to a grant of a waiver to ensure that the stormwater system improvements will continue to meet the criteria in the future. To receive a waiver, the owner of the property must provide a written request, engineering drawings and/or plans, stated reason for the waiver, and any other information requested by the Village to help determine whether a waiver is appropriate.

30.07 DISCHARGE PROHIBITIONS

(1) Prohibition of Illicit Discharges.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the MS4 or waters of the state of any materials, including but not limited to pollutants or waters containing any pollutants that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards, other than storm water. The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illicit discharge to the MS4 is prohibited; however, the following discharges are exempt from prohibition as described:

1. Water line flushing and discharges from potable water sources.
2. Landscape irrigation runoff, lawn watering runoff, and irrigation waters.
3. Diverted stream flows and flows from riparian habitats and wetlands.
4. Rising groundwaters and springs.
5. Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration and seepage.
6. Uncontaminated pumped groundwater, except for groundwater cleanups specifically authorized by NPDES permits.
7. Foundation drains, water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, and basement sump pumps provided they are not directly connected, except if the direct connection is determined to be necessary to mitigate subsequent surface water drainage issues based on site specific conditions (determinations to be made by Village Engineer and approved by Village Administration). Direct connections to permitted conveyance systems that exist prior to the date of this ordinance are considered acceptable and may remain now and in the future.
8. Air conditioning condensation.
9. Waters from noncommercial car washing.
10. Street wash water.
11. Dechlorinated swimming pool water from single, two, or three family residences.
12. The discharges or flows from firefighting activities if they are identified as not being a significant source of pollutants to the waters of the state.

(2) Prohibition of Illicit Connections.

(a)   The construction, use maintenance or continued existence of illicit connections to the MS4 is prohibited.
(b)   This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection.
(c)   A person is considered to be in violation of this Chapter if the person connects a line conveying sanitary waste in the MS4 or allows such a connection to continue.
(d)   If, subsequent to eliminating a connection found to be in violation of this Article, the responsible person can demonstrate that an illegal discharge will no longer occur, said person may request Village approval to reconnect. The reconnection or reinstallation of the connection shall be at the responsible person's expense and shall be run through the appropriate permitting process.

30.08 WASTE DISPOSAL PROHIBITIONS

No person shall throw, deposit, leave, maintain, keep, or permit to be thrown, deposited, left, or maintained, in or upon any public or private property, driveway, parking area, street, alley, sidewalk, component of the storm drain system, or waters of the state, any refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, so that the same may cause or contribute to pollution. Wastes deposited in streets in proper waste receptacles for the purposes of collection are exempted from this prohibition.

30.09 WATERCOURSE PROTECTION

Every person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person's lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property reasonably free of trash, debris, excessive vegetation, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or significantly retard the flow of water through the watercourse. In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical integrity of the watercourse. The owner or lessee shall not remove healthy bank vegetation beyond that actually necessary for maintenance, nor remove said vegetation in such a manner as to increase the vulnerability of the watercourse to erosion. The property owner shall be responsible for maintaining and stabilizing that portion of the watercourse that is within their property lines in order to protect against erosion and degradation of the watercourse originating or contributed from their property.

30.10 DISCHARGES IN VIOLATION OF INDUSTRIAL OR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY NPDES STORM WATER DISCHARGE PERMIT

Any person subject to an industrial or construction activity NPDES storm water discharge permit shall comply with all provisions of such permit. Proof of compliance with said permit may be required in a form acceptable to the Public Works Director prior to or as a condition of a subdivision map, site plan, building permit, or development or improvement plan; upon inspection of the facility; during any enforcement proceeding or action; or for any other reasonable cause.

30.11 MONITORING OF DISCHARGES

Access to Facilities
The authorized agency shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation under this Chapter as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this Chapter. If a discharger has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the discharger shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to representatives of the authorized agency. During any inspection as provided herein, the authorized agency may take any samples and perform any testing deemed necessary to aid in the pursuit of the inquiry or to record site activities.

Notification of Spills
The permittee shall immediately report any release of any polluting material which occurs to the surface waters or groundwaters of the state, unless the permittee has determined that the release is not in excess of the threshold reporting quantities specified in the Part 5 Rules (R 324.2001 through R 324.2009 of the Michigan Administrative Code), by calling the Department at 586-753-3700 or, if the notice is provided after regular working hours, by calling the Department’s 24-hour Pollution Emergency Alerting System telephone number, 1-800-292-4706. 

Within 10 days of the release, the permittee shall submit to the Department via MiEnviro Portal (https://mienviro.michigan.gov/ncore/external/home) a full written explanation as to the cause of the release, the discovery of the release, response measures (clean-up and/or recovery) taken, and preventive measures taken or a schedule for completion of measures to be taken to prevent reoccurrence of similar releases.

30.12 MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS

A maintenance agreement shall be required between the Village and the Owner for all vegetative, structural, and stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to be constructed on site, as required by this ordinance, and as referenced in Article 22.09.080 of the Village Ordinances.  For projects in which the OCWRC Stormwater Engineering Design Standards for Post-Construction Storm Water Runoff apply, stormwater facilities shall be maintained by the Owner and shall be repaired and/or replaced by such person when such facilities are no longer functioning as designed. Records of installation, maintenance and repair shall be retained by the Owner and shall be made available to the Village upon request. The maintenance agreement shall be binding on all subsequent owners of land served by the stormwater management BMPs and facilities and shall be recorded in the office of the Oakland County register of deeds prior to the effectiveness of the approval of the Village of Beverly Hills Village Council. If the stormwater management BMPs and facilities have not been adequately maintained, the Village may notify the Owner(s) in writing and require the necessary maintenance or repairs within 90 days of the written notice. Should the Owner fail to comply with the provisions of this Article, the Village may, after giving reasonable notice and opportunity for compliance, have the necessary work done and the Owner shall be obligated to promptly reimburse the Village for all such costs incurred.

30.13 NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Whenever the Village finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this Article, the Village may order compliance by written notice of violation to the responsible person. Such notice may require without limitation:

1. The performance of monitoring, analyses, and reporting;
2. The elimination of illicit connections or discharges;
3. That violating discharges, practices, or operations shall cease and desist;
4. The abatement or remediation of storm water pollution or contamination hazards and the restoration of any affected property; and
5. Payment of a fine to cover administrative and remediation costs; and
6. Control measures or BMPs implemented or installed at violation source.

30.14 REQUIREMENT TO REMEDIATE

Whenever the Village finds that a discharge of pollutants or illicit connection is taking place or has occurred which will result in or has resulted in pollution of storm water, the storm drain system, or waters of the state, the Village may require by written notice to the owner of the property and/or the responsible person that the pollution be remediated and the affected property restored within 120 days of notification.

30.15 APPEAL

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 16 below, any person receiving a Notice of Violation under Article 13 above may appeal the determination to the Village Manager. The notice of appeal must be received by the Village Manager within 5 days from the date of the Notice of Violation. Hearing on the appeal before the Village Manager or his/her designee shall take place within 15 days from the date of Village’s receipt of the notice of appeal. The decision of the Village Manager or designee shall be final.

30.16 ENFORCEMENT, PENALTIES AND REMEDIES

a. Penalties. Any person(s) violating any provision of this Ordinance shall be responsible for a municipal civil infraction, as referenced in Article 1.06.01 of the Village Ordinances. This procedure is also enforced for the OCWRC Stormwater Engineering Design Standards for Post-Construction Storm Water Runoff, as well as long term operations and maintenance agreements, as referenced in 22.09.080 of the Village Ordinances.
{Entire Chapter Added Ord. 352; 10-11-14} {Ord. 385; 2-28-23}