NPDES Stormwater Compliance
Responsibilities
The Public Works Department is responsible for maintaining and improving stormwater management throughout the City limits to include swales, storm drains, drainage (DRA), and water retention areas (WRA) not maintained by the County or State, and responding to flood emergencies to prevent future events, and responding to and addressing citizen complaints or requests. Please see Current Emergency Directives to find out about current flooding issues. The City is required by the 1987 'Clean Water Act' to apply for and obtain a "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System' (NPDES) Permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The NPDES Permit that was issued to the City by the FDEP is based on a 'Stormwater Management Program' (SWMP) that contains six program elements:
1. Public Education and Outreach
2. Public Involvement/Participation
3. Illicit Discharge Detection/Elimination (IDDE)
4. Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control
5. Post-Construction Stormwater Management for New Developments and Significant Redevelopments
6. Municipal Operations Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping
A brief summary of each of these six program elements is described below.
Public Education and Outreach
The City is required to distribute educational materials or conduct equivalent outreach activities about the adverse environmental impacts caused by polluted stormwater and the steps the public can take to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff.
Current & Ongoing Activities:
The City maintains a website to which this document is linked and to which additional links to stormwater related activities are provided, specifically for the City's:
- Stormwater Maintenance Program
- Street and Median Maintenance
- Special Sanitation/Recycling Service
The City makes numerous public-information brochures available to the public at several locations within the City namely City Hall, the Dunnellon Library, and the Dunnellon Chamber and Business Association. These stormwater-related brochures can be obtained by contacting City Hall at 352-465-8500.
Public Involvement/Participation
The City is required to implement a public participation/involvement program that fosters public involvement in the process of reducing pollutants in stormwater runoff.
Completed Activities:
Public Education Efforts and Rainbow River Cleanup.
Current and Ongoing Activities:
City board meetings are held on a regular basis throughout the year and are open to the public. The schedule and agenda of upcoming board meetings posted at Dunnellon City Hall and are contained on the City's webpage www.dunnellon.org. On an annual frequency, the City Council agenda contains an NPDES stormwater-related item.
The City is a financial sponsor and active participant in the public clean up efforts at Chaplin A. Dinkins, III Memorial Park commonly known as Dunnellon City Beach located on the Rainbow River, along with education initiatives (staff attendance at local festivals and events), and water quality sampling efforts. The Rainbow River Conservation sponsors a Rainbow River Cleanup event each year in which the City of Dunnellon supports and in which Dunnellon City Council members will volunteer to participate.
Illicit Discharge Detection/Elimination
The City is required to implement an 'Illicit Discharge Detection / Elimination' Program for the purpose of locating and eliminating illicit connections, illicit discharges, and illegal dumping into the City's stormwater system to the extent practical.
Completed Activities:
The City has developed a map of its storm sewer system that shows the location of all known storm sewer outfalls within the City along with the names and locations of all surface waters of the State that receive discharges from those City storm sewer outfalls.
The City's engineer has identified eight (8) outfalls within the City. Flow from three (3) ultimately empty in the Withlacoochee River and five (5) empty into the Rainbow River.
The City has four existing ordinances (Chapter 50 – Solid Waste, Chapter 70 – Utilities, Chapter 98 – Subdivision and Land Development Criteria, specifically Article IV Design Standards, Division 3 Illicit Discharge and Connection During Construction, and finally Appendix A Zoning - specifically Article XI Operational Performance Standards, Section 11.13 Hazardous Waste Management that all effectively prohibit the discharge of 'regulated substances' into its storm sewer system.
Current and Ongoing Activities:
The language of the four existing City ordinances will be reviewed and updated (if and to the extent determined to be necessary) to be in compliance with the applicable 'Illicit Discharge' provisions of the City's NPDES permit.
The City will develop and, following an opportunity for public comment, will implement an 'Illicit Discharge Detection/Elimination' Plan to detect and address non-storm water discharges, including illegal dumping, into the City's storm sewer system.
As part of this plan a public information component will be developed whose purpose will be to train designated City-employees and to inform the business community and the general public of the adverse environmental impact of illicit discharges and illegal disposal of wastes in the City's stormwater system.
The program will establish specific procedures for:
- Locating priority areas likely to have illicit discharges
- Tracing the source of illicit discharges
- Removing the sources of illicit discharges
- Evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of the program
Construction Site Storm water Runoff Control
The City is required to develop and implement a program to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff from all site development construction projects involving one or more acres of land. The program will incorporate the following:
- An ordinance or another regulatory mechanism to require that appropriate erosion and sediment control measures be installed on all projects along with appropriate sanctions to ensure compliance.
- A requirement that construction site operators utilize proper erosion and sediment control 'Best Management Practices' in the construction of their project.
- A requirement that construction site operators control waste (e.g. discarded building materials, concrete truck washout, chemicals, litter, debris, and sanitary waste) at the construction site that may potentially cause an adverse impact on the stormwater flowing through or near the construction site.
- A requirement that all development projects go through a City-regulated site plan review process for the purpose of ensuring that concerns over potential water quality impacts of the project are incorporated into the scope of the project.
- Procedures for the receipt and consideration of public comments.
- Procedures for site inspection and enforcement of erosion and sediment control measures.
Completed Activities: Under Chapters 98 – Subdivision and Land Development Criteria, specifically Article IV Design Standards, Division 3 Illicit Discharge and Connection During Construction, Appendix A Zoning, Article XI Operational Performance Standards, and 74 Vegetation, Article III Trees, all of the City's Code of Ordinances, the City has the authority to:
- Regulate all construction site activities including the authority to require the use of erosion and sediment control measures during construction.
- Conduct periodic site inspections for compliance with City Ordinances for erosion and sediment controls and other provisions of the Approved Site Plans.
- Order construction operators to control waste/debris on their construction sites.
- Issue 'Stop-Work' orders or impose other sanctions to ensure compliance.
Under 'Chapters 98 – Subdivision and Land Development Criteria and 74 Vegetation, the City has the authority to require that each proposed site development project go through a 'Site Plan Review Process' for the purposes described above and to receive formal City-approval before any construction activity can commence.
Current and Ongoing Activities:
Site Plan Review procedures to ensure site plan compliance with erosion and sediment control measures are now being enforced as part of the City's ongoing Site Plan Review and Approval Process.
Site Inspections for the enforcement of construction debris control measures are now being conducted on an ongoing basis.
Site Inspections for the enforcement of erosion and sediment control measures are now being conducted on an ongoing basis. All site inspections for erosion and sediment control compliance are documented and contain narrative for field observations, findings, conclusions and the follow-up actions required of the contractor.
Municipal Operations Pollution Prevention
The City is required to develop and implement a pollution prevention and good housekeeping program for municipal operations with the goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff from municipal operations.
Using available training materials from Federal, State, and other sources the City is required to undertake a training program for City employees to prevent or reduce stormwater pollution from municipal activities such as:
- Parks and open-space maintenance
- Street, municipal facility, drainage, and other construction projects
- Stormwater system maintenance
- Vehicle and equipment maintenance
Completed Activities:
Staff Training: The City has identified and provided training for Stormwater Management Training, EPA Stormwater Runoff, and Stormwater MS4 Guidance and testing.
Current and Ongoing Activities:
Stormwater Department: The City will identify and provide training for applicable staff in the Stormwater Operator Program, specifically for Classes A, B, and C.
Herbicide: The City will identify and provide training for Parks Department City-staff in the uses and proper applications of herbicide. The City will maintain an up-to-date list of all City employees with the above qualifications.
Fleet Facility: The City's Public Works Department has performed City fleet facility inspection to ensure the implementation of BMP's and good housekeeping. That program provides for the following: Waste Filters: All filters and absorbent materials that are no longer useful are properly stored, periodically tested and, upon satisfactory testing to determine that the materials are non-hazardous, are recycled in accordance with the City Fleet Management Guidelines.
Spent Oil: All oil from Fleet oil/water separators is periodically removed and, upon satisfactory testing to determine that it is non-hazardous, are recycled.
Oil Spills: Oil spills from City-vehicles at the Fleet Management facility are promptly addressed by implementing confinement and clean-up procedures.
Batteries: All batteries that are no longer useful are properly stored, periodically tested and, upon satisfactory testing to determine that they are non-hazardous, are recycled.
The Streets Division of the City's Public Works Department is responsible for all City streets and storm drainage systems within the City that provides for the following:
Storm Drainage System Cleaning: All significant components of the City's storm drainage system is inspected and cleaned on a regular, predetermined basis throughout the year. In addition, certain drainage structures are inspected and cleaned additional times throughout the year based on need following events such as significant rain. The number of structures cleaned, the length of pipe cleaned, the number 'Drainage Retention Areas' (DRA's) cleaned and the volume of material collected by the storm drain system cleaning operations is documented.
DOCUMENTS