2011-04 AMENDING CITY CODE - CHAPTER 38 - STORM WATER ORDINANCE

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PUBLIC WORKS MEMORANDUM NO. 2011-03 DATE: January 4, 2011 TO: Honorable Mayor McElroy and City Council Members FROM: Ryan P. McCrady, City Manager Richard G. Marley, P.E., Public Works Director SUBJECT: Stormwater Ordinance Amendments SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council approve the proposed amendments to City Code Chapter 38, Storm Water Ordinance. The amendments address some policy and administrative changes that were determined to be needed after review by representatives of the four Macon County Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s). PRIOR COUNCIL ACTION: • February 2, 2006—The Storm Water Ordinance was presented to the City's Planning Commission who gave the ordinance a favorable recommendation. • February 21, 2006- Council met in Study Session to discuss a Storm Water Ordinance, which would replace Chapter 38, Soil Erosion. • March 6, 2006-Council approved Ordinance No. 2006-13, amending City Code Chapter 38, Storm Water Ordinance. • January 18, 2011 —Council will be presented with a renewal for the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Macon County Soil &Water Conservation District. Amendments to the MOU and the Stormwater Ordinance are closely related. POLICY & ADMINISTRATIVE AMENDMENTS: The US-Environmental Protection Agency(US-EPA) regulates the discharge of stormwater into the waters of the United States based on the Clean Water Act (The Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972). Under this Act, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4's) must obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System(NPDES) Permit. In 1999, Phase II regulations of the NPDES Stormwater program were issued by the US-EPA. These regulations required Decatur and other MS4 communities with populations under 100,000 to obtain an NPDES permit. The first NPDES permit was issued to Decatur in 2003. Permits were also issued to Macon County, the Village of Forsyth and the Village of Mt. Zion. Recognizing that these four MS4's all had similar needs in fulfilling permit requirements and that there was a benefit in having consistent