HomeMy WebLinkAbout069 - 06/04/2019 - AMENDING SECTION 26-491 OF THE CITY CODE TO ADD AND REVISE DEFINITIONS RELATED TO THE CITY'S STORMWAORDINANCE NO. 069, 2019
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING SECTION 26-491 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS TO ADD AND REVISE DEFINITIONS RELATED
TO THE CITY'S STORMWATER SYSTEM
WHEREAS,the City owns and operates a municipal separate storm sewer system("MS4")
that is used, among other purposes, to convey stormwater to the Cache la Poudre River and its
tributaries; and
WHEREAS, said conveyance of stormwater by the City's MS4 may constitute a discharge
of pollutants to state waters and the waters of the United States under two statutes: the Colorado
Water Quality Control Act, C.R.S. §§25-8-101 et seq. and the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.
1251 et seq.; and
WHEREAS, under said statutes, the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment has issued CDPS General Permit COR090000 Stormwater Discharges Associated
with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (M54s) Authorization to Discharge Under the
Colorado Permit System ("MS4 Permit"); and
WHEREAS, there are certain inconsistencies between the MS4 Permit and Article VII of
Chapter 26 of the City Code,which concerns the City's Stormwater Utility and MS4,namely with
respect to certain definitions in City Code Section 26-491; and
WHEREAS,while the MS4 Permit generally requires the City to effectively prohibit illicit
discharges of pollutants into the City's MS4 (as those terms are used and defined in the MS4
Permit), under Part I(E)(2)(a)(v) of the MS4 Permit, the MS4 Permit does not require the City to
effectively prohibit discharges from certain activities, including: non-residential lawn watering
and dye testing in accordance with manufacturers recommendations (together; "Subject
Activities"); and
WHEREAS, under the current definition of"contaminated water" and "pollutant" in City
Code Section 26-491, City Code Section 26-498 prohibits discharges of water to the City's MS4
from the Subject Activities; and
WHEREAS,changing the definition of"contaminated water"and"pollutant"in City Code
Section 26-491 to state that these terms do not include water generated from the Subject Activities
will be beneficial to the City by, among other things, better aligning City Code with the MS4
Permit, providing greater clarity regarding the City's regulation of the Subject Activities, and
prioritizing MS4 and stormwater-related education and enforcement activities on more significant
sources of pollutants.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
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Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That Section 26-491 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
See. 26-491. - Definitibns.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Article, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in this Section:
Contaminated water shall mean that water which contains pollutants or constituents at
concentrations which could cause, directly or indirectly, impairment of human health or the
environment and which would not present in such concentrations in a natural state. This includes
any water contaminated from industrial processes, land use activities, development or other man-
induced practices. These constituents include, but are not limited to, toxic pollutants as defined in
26-206 of this Code, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, substances which promote an
excessive biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)or chemical oxygen demand (COD)as those terms
are defined in § 26-20.6, substances which cause the pH of such water to deviate from acceptable
standards,biological agents which may be the cause of disease in either humans or other desirable
organisms, and physical contaminants such as excess sediments and/or temperature. U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's current publication of"Quality Criteria for Water,"and/or the
State of Colorado's "Basic Standards and Methodologies for Surface Water" and/or any other
federal or state regulation or guideline may be used to interpret the impact of a particular
constituent upon a water body. This definition does not include the following sources of water,
unless water from such a source is determined to violate other applicable water quality restrictions
or requirements:
1) Flows incidental to emergency fire fighting activities;
2) Landscape irrigation and lawn watering;
3) Irrigation return flows;
4) Springs, diverted stream flows and flows from riparian habitats and wetlands,
5) Flows incidental to street, sidewalk or median sweeping and not associated with
construction;
6) Flows from condensation formed from the operation of air conditioning equipment
installed:and maintained in accordance with manufacturer's specifications,
7) Uncontaminated pumped, infiltrated or rising ground water;
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8) Flows from properly installed, operated and maintained and City-approved footing,
foundation or crawl space drain or pump:; and
9) Dye testing in accordance with manufacturers recommendations.
Pollutant shall mean contaminated water, dredged spoil, dirt, slurry, solid waste, incinerator
residue, sewage, sewage sludge, garbage, trash, chemical waste, biological nutrient, biological
material,disease causing agents,radioactive material,heat,wrecked or discarded equipment,rock,
sand, automotive fluids, paint, cooking grease, process waste water; swimming pool discharges,
discharges from cleaning of heat transfer equipment, or any industrial, commercial, construction,
household, municipal; or agricultural waste.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading; and ordered published this 21 st day of
May, A.D. 2019, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of June, A.D. 2019..
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Chief Deputy City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of June, A.D. 2019.
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Mayor Pro Tem
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