Orange County, NY Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Local Law No. 1 of 2014, "A Local Law to Prohibit Illicit Discharges, Activities and Connections to the County of Orange Designated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System," implements the county's SPDES General Permit for MS4 stormwater discharges from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 1: potable water line flushing, lawn irrigation, existing diverted stream flows, rising or uncontaminated ground water, foundation and sump-pump drains, air conditioning condensate, residential car-washing, dechlorinated pool water, firefighting water, and similar non-polluting sources. Dye testing is allowed only with prior verbal notice to the SMO.

2 prohibits any connection to the MS4 made after the law's adoption without a Connection Permit issued by the SMO, and expressly reaches connections made in the past even if they were legal when installed; interior floor drain connections are flatly prohibited. Section 7 separately bans operating a failing individual sewage treatment system in areas tributary to the MS4, defining failure to include sewage backing up into a structure, discharge onto the ground surface, a connection to a storm sewer, liquid above the septic tank's outlet invert, structural failure, or off-site groundwater contamination.

Section 8 reaches any activity causing or contributing to a violation of the county's MS4 SPDES permit, giving the responsible party 30 days (or less if the SMO directs) to correct it. Section 9 lets the SMO suspend MS4 access without prior notice in an emergency posing imminent danger, and terminate access after notice and a chance to petition for reconsideration where a violation persists. Administration is assigned to the SMO under Section 4, with delegation authorized to staff in Environmental Facilities and Services, Parks Recreation and Conservation, Public Works, and Environmental Health.