Akron, OH Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 50.48(E)
- Permit required
- Ohio EPA NPDES storm water permit
- Enforcing agency
- Director of Public Service
- Civil penalty
- Up to $25,000 per day
- Criminal penalty
- 1st-degree misdemeanor, up to 6 months
- Program basis
- Water Quality Act of 1987, 40 CFR 402(p)
Summary
Akron's General Code bars any storm water discharger from releasing anything other than pure storm water into the city's municipal separate storm sewer system without state authorization. Under Sec. 50.48(E), a discharger who needs an NPDES permit under state or federal law must hold a current Ohio EPA storm water discharge permit before sending storm water into Akron's separate storm sewers, and discharges exceeding permit limits violate the code.
E.No storm water discharger shall discharge into the municipal separate storm sewer system any discharges that are not composed entirely of storm water without a permit or authorization from the State of Ohio or its authorized representative.1.No storm water discharger required to have a permit under state or federal law shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, into the municipal separate storm sewer system any storm water unless the discharger has been issued a storm water discharge permit by the State of Ohio or its authorized representative which allows the discharge of said storm water.2.No storm water discharger shall discharge storm water into the separate storm sewer system at any level above the storm water permit limitations, or in violation of any permit conditions, as defined by the State of Ohio or its authorized representative.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64).
Full Breakdown
Akron regulates storm water discharges through Chapter 50, Article 3 (Sewer Use, Industrial Pretreatment, Storm Water and Tributary Communities), which Sec. 44 says implements the city's Storm Water Quality Management Program required by the federal Water Quality Act of 1987, 40 CFR Part 402(p), and the city's NPDES permit issued by Ohio EPA. Sec. 48(E) sets the operative permit rule: no storm water discharger may put anything into the municipal separate storm sewer system that is not composed entirely of storm water without a permit or authorization from the State of Ohio, and any discharger who is required under state or federal law to hold a storm water discharge permit must obtain one from Ohio EPA before discharging, and may not exceed the permit's limitations or violate its conditions.
The rule reaches every point source emptying into a City-owned storm drain, ditch, or 'major outfall,' defined in Sec. 45 as a pipe of 36 inches or more (or 12 inches or more in industrially zoned drainage areas). The Service Director, the Director of Public Service, administers the program and can require accidental-discharge protection plans, notification of slug discharges within five calendar days, and inspection access to monitoring points. Violations feed into the same enforcement chapter that governs Akron's sanitary sewer pretreatment program: a discharger who fails to comply with an order or permit condition under Secs.
76 is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor, and Sec. 99(C)(1) authorizes a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per day for pretreatment or storm water discharge violations under Secs. 80, with each day treated as a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Failing to hold or comply with a required Ohio EPA storm water discharge permit under Sec. 50.48(E), or violating any order issued under Secs. 50.44 through 50.76, is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in jail under Sec. 50.99(B). Sec. 50.99(C)(1) additionally allows a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per day for storm water or pretreatment violations under Secs. 50.44 through 50.80, with each day of continued violation counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
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