The City of Manchester, New Hampshire has enacted a Storm Water Ordinance in order to protect, maintain, and enhance the environment of the City of Manchester and the public health, safety and the general welfare of the citizens of the city, by controlling discharges of pollutants to the city’s storm water system and to maintain and improve the quality of the receiving waters into which the storm water outfalls flow, including, without limitation, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, wetlands, and groundwater of the city. The City of Manchester is the permitting authority for all land disturbing activities and requires the land owner to maintain all on-site stormwater control facilities and all open space areas (e.g. parks or “green” areas) required by the approved stormwater control plan. The City of Manchester will only provide construction permits to projects that establish a plan to manage stormwater runoff occurring during the construction process. The City of Manchester, under the NPDES program, also has the authority to inspect properties for noncompliance and can issue a notice of violation (NOV) for any deficiency or infraction onsite. Property owners are responsible for the maintenance of any stormwater facilities or practices located on the property. The City of Manchester has the authority to inspect stormwater facilities and practices in order to ascertain that they properly maintained and functioning.
(A) The representative of the Department of Highways shall be permitted to enter and inspect properties and facilities at reasonable times as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this ordinance.
(C) The owner or operator shall allow the representative of the Department of Highways ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, photography, videotaping, examination and copying of any records that are required under the conditions of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit to discharge storm water.
(D) The Department of Highways shall have the right to set up on any property or facility such devices as are necessary in the opinion of the Department of Highways to conduct monitoring and/or sampling of flow discharges.
(E) The Department of Highways may require the owner or operator to install monitoring equipment and perform monitoring as necessary, and make the monitoring data available to the Department of Highways. This sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition by the owner or operator at his/her own expense. All devices used to measure flow and quality shall be calibrated to ensure their accuracy.
(F) Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the property or facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the owner or operator at the written or oral request of the Department of Highways and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the owner or operator.
Notwithstanding other requirements of law, as soon as any person responsible for a facility, activity or operation, or responsible for emergency response for a facility, activity or operation has information of any known or suspected release of pollutants or non-storm water discharges from that facility or operation which are resulting or may result in illicit discharges or pollutants discharging into storm water, the City of Manchester’s separate storm sewer system, State Waters, or Waters of the U.S., said person shall immediately notify the Department of Highways and take all necessary steps to ensure the discovery, containment, and cleanup of such release so as to minimize the effects of the discharge.
(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of the City’s Storm Water Ordinance or the Storm Water Regulations. Any person who has violated or continues to violate these provisions may be subject to the enforcement actions outlined in this section or may be restrained by injunction or otherwise abated in a manner provided by law.
In the event the violation constitutes an immediate danger to public health or public safety, the Department of Highways is authorized to enter upon the subject private property, without giving prior notice, to take any and all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or restore the property. The Department of Highways is authorized to seek costs of the abatement.
(B) Whenever the Department of Highways finds that a violation of this ordinance or the Regulations has occurred, the Public Works Director or designee may order compliance by written Notice of Violation.
(C) Such notice may require without limitation:
(D) Appeal of Notice of Violation - Any person receiving a Notice of Violation may appeal the determination of the Department of Highways. The appeal must be received within five (5) days from the date of the Notice of Violation. Filing of an appeal does not relieve the owner from full compliance with the remedial actions outlined in the Notice of Violation. Hearing on the appeal before the Department of Highways, Storm Water Appeals Committee shall take place within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the appeal. The decision of the Storm Water Appeals Committee shall be final.
(E) Enforcement Measures After Appeal - If the violation has not been corrected pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Notice of Violation, then representatives of the Department of Highways may enter upon the subject private property and are authorized to take any and all measures necessary to abate the violation and/or restore the property. It shall be unlawful for any person, owner, agent or person in possession of any premises to refuse to allow the government agency or designated contractor to enter upon the premises for the purposes set forth above.
(F) Costs of Abatement of the Violation - Within ten (10) days after abatement of the violation, the owner of the property will be notified of the cost of abatement, including administrative costs. The property owner may file a written protest objecting to the assessment or to the amount of the assessment within fifteen (15) days of such notice. If the amount due is not paid within thirty (30) days after receipt of the notice, or if an appeal is taken, within five (5) days after a decision on said appeal, the charges shall become a special assessment against the property and shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount of the assessment. Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable to the City of Manchester by reason of such violation.
(G) Civil Penalties - In the event the alleged violator fails to take the remedial measures set forth in the notice of violation or otherwise fails to cure the violations described therein within two (2) days, or such greater period as the Department of Highways shall deem appropriate, after the Director of Public Works or designee has taken one or more of the actions described above, the Public Works Director may impose a penalty not to exceed $1,000 (depending on the severity of the violation) for each day the violation remains unremedied after receipt of the notice of violation.
(H) Criminal Penalties - For violations of the Storm Water Ordinance or the Rules & Regulations, the Director of Public Works may issue a citation to the alleged violator requiring such person to appear in court to answer charges for such violation. Upon conviction, such person shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each day the violation has occurred, or imprisonment for up to sixty (60) days or both. Each act of violation and each day upon which any violation shall occur shall constitute a separate offense.
The City of Manchester may recover attorney’s fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement of this ordinance, including sampling and monitoring expenses.