§ 8-30. Definitions

(a) Authorized inspector shall mean the director of public services, director of development services, and persons designated by and under his/her instruction and supervision, who are assigned to investigate compliance with, detect violations of and/or take actions pursuant to this chapter.

(b) City shall mean the City of Costa Mesa, Orange County, California.

(c) Co-permittee shall mean the County of Orange, the Orange County Flood Control District, and/or any one (1) of the thirty-one (31) municipalities, including the City of Costa Mesa, which are responsible for compliance with the terms of the NPDES permit.

(d) DAMP shall mean the Orange County Drainage Area Management Plan, as the same may be amended from time to time.

(e) Development project guidance shall mean DAMP Chapter VII and the Appendix thereto, entitled Best Management Practices for New Development Including Non-Residential Construction Projects, as the same may be amended from time to time.

(f) Discharge shall mean any release, spill, leak, pump, flow, escape, leaching (including subsurface migration or deposition to groundwater), dumping or disposal of any liquid, semi-solid or solid substance.

(g) Discharge exception shall mean the group of activities not restricted or prohibited by this chapter, including only:

(1) Discharges composed entirely of stormwater; discharges subject to regulation under current EPA or Regional Water Quality Control Board issued NPDES permits, state general permits, or other waivers, permits or approvals granted by an appropriate government agency; discharges from property for which best management practices set forth in the Development Project Guidance are being implemented and followed; discharges to the stormwater drainage system from potable water line flushing, fire fighting activities, landscape irrigation systems, diverted stream flows, rising groundwater, and de minimis groundwater infiltration to the stormwater drainage system (from leaks in joints or connections or cracks in water drainage pipes or conveyance systems); discharges from potable water sources, passive foundation drains, air conditioning condensation and other building roof runoff; agricultural irrigation water runoff; water from crawl space pumps, passive footing drains, lawn watering, non-commercial vehicle washing; flows from riparian habitats and wetlands; dechlorinated swimming pool discharges; discharges of reclaimed water generated by a lawfully permitted water treatment facility; public street wash waters when related to cleaning and maintenance by, or on behalf of, the city discharges authorized pursuant to a permit issued under section 8-35 hereof; discharges allowable under the domestic sewage exception; discharges for which the discharger has reduced to the extent feasible the amount of pollutants in such discharge; and discharges authorized pursuant to federal or state laws or regulations.

(2) In any action taken to enforce this chapter, the burden shall be on the person who is the subject of such action to establish that a discharge was within the scope of this discharge exception.

(h) Domestic sewage exception shall mean discharges which are exceptions to this chapter and excluded from the definition of prohibited discharge, as defined herein, including only: discharges composed entirely of accidental spills of untreated sanitary wastes (commonly called domestic sewage) and other wastes, but limited solely to wastes that are controlled by and are within publicly owned wastewater treatment system collection facilities immediately prior to the accidental spill.

(i) Enforcing attorney shall mean the city attorney or district attorney acting as counsel to the City of Costa Mesa and his/her designee, which counsel is authorized to take enforcement action as described herein. For purposes of criminal prosecution, only the district attorney and/or city attorney, or his/her designee, shall act as the enforcing attorney.

(j) EPA shall mean the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States.

(k) Hearing officer shall mean the person designated by the city manager who shall preside at the administrative hearings authorized by this chapter and issue final decisions on the matters raised therein.

(l) Invoice for costs shall mean the actual costs and expenses of the city, including but not limited to administrative overhead, salaries and other expenses recoverable under state law, incurred during any inspection conducted pursuant to this chapter or where a notice of noncompliance, administrative compliance order or other enforcement option under this chapter is utilized to obtain compliance with this chapter.

(m) Illicit connection shall mean any manmade conveyance or drainage system, pipeline, conduit, inlet or outlet through which the discharge of any pollutant to the stormwater drainage system occurs or may occur. The term illicit connection shall not include legal nonconforming connections or connections to the stormwater drainage system that are hereinafter authorized by the agency with jurisdiction over the system at the location at which the connection is made.

(n) Legal nonconforming connection shall mean connections to the stormwater drainage system existing as of the adoption of this chapter that were in compliance with all federal, state and local rules, regulations, statutes and administrative requirements in effect at the time the connection was established, including but not limited to any discharge permitted pursuant to the terms and conditions of an individual discharge permit issued pursuant to the Industrial Waste Ordinance, County Ordinance No. 703.

(o) New development shall mean all public and private residential (whether single-family, multi-unit or planned unit development), industrial, commercial, retail, and other nonresidential construction projects, or grading for future construction, for which either a discretionary land use approval, grading permit, building permit or nonresidential plumbing permit is required.

(p) A nonresidential plumbing permit shall mean a plumbing permit authorizing the construction and/or installation of facilities for the conveyance of liquids other than stormwater, potable water, reclaimed water or domestic sewage.

(q) NPDES permit shall mean the currently applicable municipal discharge permit[s] issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region [and/or the Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region, as appropriate], which permit[s] establishes waste discharge requirements applicable to stormwater runoff in the city.

(r) Person shall mean any natural person as well as any corporation, partnership, government entity or subdivision, trust, estate, cooperative association, joint venture, business entity, or other similar entity, or the agent, employee or representative of any of the above.

(s) Pollutant shall mean any liquid, solid or semi-solid substances, or combination thereof, including and not limited to:

(1) Artificial materials (such as floatable plastics, wood products or metal shavings);

(2) Household waste (such as trash, paper, and plastics; cleaning chemicals; yard wastes; animal fecal materials; used oil and fluids from vehicles, lawn mowers and other common household equipment);

(3) Metals and non-metals, including compounds of metals and nonmetals, (such as cadmium, lead, zinc, copper, silver, nickel, chromium, cyanide, phosphorus and arsenic), with characteristics which cause an adverse effect on living organisms;

(4) Petroleum and related hydrocarbons (such as fuels, lubricants, surfactants, waste oils, solvents coolants and grease);

(5) Animal wastes (such as discharge from confinement facilities, kennels, pens and recreational facilities, including, stables, show facilities, or polo fields);

(6) Substances having a pH less than 6.5 or greater than 8.6, or unusual coloration, turbidity or odor;

(7) Waste materials and wastewater generated on construction sites and by construction activities (such as painting and staining; use of sealants and glues; use of lime; use of wood preservatives and solvents; disturbance of asbestos fibers, paint flakes or stucco fragments; application of oils, lubricants, hydraulic, radiator or battery fluids; construction equipment washing; concrete pouring and cleanup; use of concrete detergents; steam cleaning or sand blasting; use of chemical degreasing or diluting agents; and use of super chlorinated water for potable water line flushing);

(8) Materials causing an increase in biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand or total organic carbon;

(9) Materials which contain base/neutral or acid extractable organic compounds;

(10) Those pollutants defined in section 1362(6) of the Federal Clean Water Act; and

(11) Any other constituent or material, including but not limited to pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus or enterococcus, or eroded soils, sediment and particulate materials, in quantities that will interfere with or adversely affect the beneficial uses of the receiving waters, flora or fauna of the state.

(t) Prohibited discharge shall mean any discharge which contains any pollutant, from public or private property to (i) the stormwater drainage system; (ii) any upstream flow, which is tributary to the stormwater drainage system; (iii) any groundwater, river, stream, creek, wash or dry weather arroyo, wetlands area, marsh, coastal slough, or (iv) any coastal harbor, bay, or the Pacific Ocean. The term prohibited discharge shall not include discharges allowable under the discharge exception.

(u) Significant redevelopment shall mean the rehabilitation or reconstruction of public or private residential (whether single family, multiunit or planned unit development), industrial, commercial, retail, or other nonresidential structures, for which either a discretionary land use approval, grading permit, building permit or non-residential plumbing permit is required. Significant redevelopment shall not include building additions that do not exceed two thousand (2,000) square feet, or fifty (50) per cent of the existing building area, whichever is less.

(v) State general permit shall mean either the state general industrial stormwater permit or the state general construction permit and the terms and requirements of either or both. In the event the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revokes the in-lieu permitting authority of the State Water Resources Control Board, then the term state general permit shall also refer to any EPA administered stormwater control program for industrial and construction activities.

(w) Stormwater drainage system shall mean street gutter, channel, storm drain, constructed drain, lined diversion structure, wash area, inlet, outlet or other facility, which is a part of or tributary to the county-wide stormwater runoff system and owned, operated, maintained or controlled by County of Orange, the Orange County Flood Control District or any Co-Permittee City, and used for the purpose of collecting, storing, transporting, or disposing of stormwater.

(Ord. No. 97-20, § 2, 7-21-97)