14.20.030 Definitions.
When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
A. “Basin plan” shall mean the “Water Quality Control Plan for the San Diego Basin” adopted by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region (September 1994), and approved by the State Water Resources Control Board, together with subsequent amendments.
B. “Best management practices (BMPs)” shall mean 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, to the maximum extent practicable, the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to waters of the United States. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
C. “Building permit” shall mean a permit issued by the Building Official pursuant to Chapter 15.06 CVMC.
D. “California Ocean Plan” shall mean the “California Ocean Plan: Water Quality Control Plan for Ocean Waters of California” adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board in October 2012, and any subsequent amendments.
E. “Clean Water Act” shall mean the federal Water Pollution Control Act enacted by Public Law 92-500, as amended by Public Laws 95-217, 95-576, 96-483, and 95-117 (33 USCA Section 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments.
F. “County Health Officer” shall mean the Health Officer of the County of San Diego Department of Public Health or designee.
G. “Development” shall mean:
1. The placement or erection of any solid material or structure on land, in water, or under water;
2. The discharge or disposal of any dredged material or of any gaseous, liquid, solid, or thermal waste;
3. The grading, removing, dredging, mining, or extraction of any materials;
4. A change in the density or intensity of the use of land, including, but not limited to, a subdivision pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act (Government Code Section 66410 et seq.) and any other division of land, except where the division of land is brought about in connection with the purchase of such land by a public agency for public recreational use;
5. A change in the intensity of the use of water, or of access thereto;
6. The construction, reconstruction, demolition, or alteration of the size of any structure, including any facility of any private, public, or municipal entity; and
7. The removal or harvesting of major vegetation other than for agricultural purposes.
As used in this definition, “structure” includes, but is not limited to, any building, road, pipe, flume, conduit, siphon, aqueduct, telephone line, and electrical power transmission and distribution line. (Source: Government Code Section 65927.)
H. “Employee training program” shall mean a documented employee training program for all persons responsible for implementing a storm water pollution prevention plan. The employee training program shall include, but is not limited to, the following topics:
1. Laws, regulations, and local ordinances associated with storm water pollution prevention, and an overview of the potential impacts of polluted storm water on the receiving waters of the San Diego region;
2. Proper handling of all materials and wastes to prevent spillage;
3. Mitigation of spills including spill response, containment and cleanup procedures;
4. Visual monitoring of all effluent streams to ensure that no illegal discharges enter the storm water conveyance system;
5. Discussion of the differences between the storm water conveyance system and the sanitary sewer system;
6. Identification of all on-site connections to the storm water conveyance system;
7. Preventive maintenance and good housekeeping procedures;
8. Material management practices employed by the facility to reduce or eliminate pollutant contact with storm water discharge.
I. “Enclosed Bays and Estuaries Plan” shall mean the “California Enclosed Bays and Estuaries Plan: Water Quality Control Plan for Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California,” adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board September 2008, and all subsequent amendments.
J. “Enforcement agency” shall mean the City of Chula Vista or its authorized agents charged with ensuring compliance with this chapter.
K. “Enforcement official” shall mean the Director of Public Works or his or her designee.
L. “Hazardous materials” shall mean any substance or mixture of substances which is toxic, corrosive, flammable, an irritant, a strong sensitizer, or generates pressure through decomposition, heat or other means, if such a substance or mixture of substances may cause substantial injury, serious illness or harm to humans, domestic livestock, or wildlife.
M. “Illegal connection” shall mean any physical connection to the storm water conveyance system which has not been permitted by the City of Chula Vista or the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, or which drains illegal discharges either directly or indirectly into the storm water conveyance system.
N. “Illegal discharge” shall mean any discharge to the storm water conveyance system that is not composed entirely of storm water, or is expressly prohibited by federal, state, or local regulations, laws, codes, or ordinances, NPDES Permit No. CAS 0109266, or degrades the quality of receiving waters in violation of any plan water quality objective. Discharges of irrigation runoff to the storm water conveyance system are considered illegal discharges.
O. “Land development permit” shall mean a permit issued by the Director of Public Works pursuant to Chapter 15.04 CVMC.
P. “Maximum extent practicable (MEP)” shall mean the technology-based standard established by Congress in Clean Water Act Section 402(p)(3)(B)(iii) that municipal dischargers of storm water discharges must meet. MEP generally emphasizes pollution prevention and source control BMPs primarily in combination with treatment methods serving as a backup.
Q. “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES permit)” shall mean a permit issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board or the State Water Resources Control Board, pursuant to Chapter 5.5, Division 7 of the California Water Code, to control discharges from point sources to waters of the United States, including, but not limited to:
1. California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region (NPDES No. CAS 0109266), NPDES municipal permit – Waste discharge requirements for discharges from the municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) draining the watersheds within the San Diego region;
2. NPDES general permit for storm water discharges associated with industrial activities;
3. NPDES general permit for storm water discharges associated with construction activity;
4. California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region, general permit for discharges of groundwater extraction waste to San Diego Bay tributaries thereto under tidal influence, and storm drains or other conveyance systems tributary thereto;
5. California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego region, general permit for discharges of groundwater extraction waste to water bodies except for San Diego Bay; and
6. NPDES general permit for discharges from utility vaults and underground structures to surface waters.
R. “Non-storm water discharge” shall mean any discharges to or from the storm water conveyance system that are not entirely composed of storm water, including illegal discharges and discharges allowed under an NPDES permit (also see definition of “storm water”).
S. “Parking lot” shall mean an open area, other than a street or other public way, used for the parking of motorized vehicles, whether for a fee or free, to accommodate clients or customers, or to accommodate residents of multifamily dwellings (i.e., apartments, condominiums, townhomes, mobilehomes, dormitories, group quarters, etc.).
T. “Person” shall mean any individual, organization, business trust, company, partnership, entity, firm, association, corporation, or public agency, including the state of California and the United States of America.
U. “Plan water quality objective” shall mean any or all applicable requirements of the basin plan, the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries Plan and the California ocean plan.
V. “Pollutant” shall mean any agent introduced to the storm water conveyance system that may cause or contribute to the degradation of water quality such that a condition of pollution or contamination is created or aggravated.
As used in this definition, “pollution” means, as defined in the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act:
the alteration of the quality of the waters of the State by waste, to a degree which unreasonably affects either of the following: 1) The waters for beneficial uses; or 2) Facilities that serve these beneficial uses.
Pollution may include contamination.
As used in this definition, “contamination” means, as defined in the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act:
an impairment of the quality of waters of the State by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease. “Contamination” includes any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of waste whether or not waters of the State are affected.
W. “Premises” shall mean any building, lot, parcel, real estate, land, or portion of land, whether improved or unimproved.
X. “Receiving waters” shall mean waters of the United States, as defined under the Clean Water Act. Receiving waters include surface bodies of water that serve as discharge points for the storm water conveyance system, such as creeks, rivers, reservoirs, lakes, lagoons, estuaries, harbors, bays, and the Pacific Ocean.
Y. “Significant quantities” shall mean the volume, concentrations, or mass of a pollutant in a discharge that can cause or threaten to cause pollution, contamination, or nuisance; or adversely impact human health or the environment; or cause or contribute to a violation of any water quality standards applicable to the receiving water.
Z. “Storm water” shall mean storm water runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage resulting from precipitation events. For the purposes of this chapter, storm water runoff and drainage from areas that are in a natural state, have not been significantly disturbed or altered, either directly or indirectly, as a result of human activity, and the character and type of pollutants naturally appearing in the runoff that have not been significantly altered, either directly or indirectly, as a result of human activity, shall be considered “unpolluted” and shall satisfy the definition of “storm water” in this chapter.
AA. “Storm water conveyance system” shall mean a “municipal separate storm sewer system” or “MS4,” which is a conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads or drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains): (1) owned or operated by the City; and (2) designated or used for collecting or conveying storm water.
BB. “Storm water pollution prevention plan” shall mean a document which describes the on-site program activities to utilize BMPs to eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to the storm water conveyance system to the maximum extent practicable.
A storm water pollution prevention plan prepared and implemented pursuant to any NPDES permit shall meet the definition of a “storm water pollution prevention plan” for the purposes of this chapter.
CC. “Watercourse” shall mean any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch, channel, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, arroyo or wash in which waters flow in a definite direction or course, either continuously or intermittently, and which has a definite channel and a bed or banks. A “channel” is not limited to land covered by minimal or ordinary flow but also includes land covered during times of high water. “Watercourse” does not include any surface drainage prior to its collection in a stream, river, creek, ditch, channel, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, arroyo or wash.
DD. “Watercourse permit” shall mean a permit issued by the Director of Public Works pursuant to Chapter 14.08 CVMC.
EE. “Wetlands” shall mean areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground waters at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. “Wetlands” generally includes swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. (Ord. 3348 § 1, 2015; Ord. 3245, 2012; Ord. 2854 § 3, 2002; Ord. 2790, 1999; Ord. 2597 § 11, 1994).