Dublin, CA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- DMC Chapter 7.74
- General prohibition
- § 7.74.090, non-stormwater to MS4 banned
- Administering department
- Public Works Director
- Spill hotline (business hours)
- (925) 833-6630
- After-hours spill line
- Fire Dept. Dispatch, 925-447-4257
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor or infraction, per GC §§36900-36901
Summary
Dublin, California bans any discharge to its municipal storm drain system that is not entirely stormwater, with narrow NPDES-permit and MRP-listed exemptions, and makes property owners responsible for keeping their land from generating pollutants that reach a storm drain, creek, or the Bay.
A. General Prohibition. Any discharge to the MS4 not composed entirely of stormwater is prohibited, except as set forth in Section 7.74.100.
B. The city has the authority and duty to require any person intending to connect to the MS4 to adhere to this chapter, the MRP, and any amendment, revision, or reissuance thereof.
C. It is unlawful to throw, deposit, leave, abandon, maintain or keep materials or wastes on public or private lands in a manner and place where they may result in an illicit discharge.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2-26, passed March 3, 2026).
Full Breakdown
050. 100. Subsection (C) separately makes it unlawful to throw, deposit, leave, abandon, maintain or keep materials or wastes on public or private land in a manner and place where they may cause an illicit discharge. 100 exempts discharges under an active NPDES permit, plus exempt and conditionally exempt discharges identified in the Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit, or MRP, issued by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board; if the city or Regional Board later finds an exempt discharge is actually contributing to pollution, it can revoke the exemption on ten days' written notice.
120 bars illicit connections to the MS4 retroactively, regardless of when or under what authority they were made. 130(C) for parking lots and drainage facilities that keep discharging trash despite standard best management practices. The chapter derives from Ordinance 7-24 and Ordinance 9-92.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Chapter 7.74 is a misdemeanor under Section 7.74.210, chargeable in the city's discretion as an infraction instead, with fines and imprisonment capped at the limits in California Government Code Sections 36900 and 36901; a third infraction for the same provision within twelve months can be charged as a misdemeanor. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense under Section 7.74.230, and violations are also declared a public nuisance abatable under Chapter 5.64, with abatement costs becoming a lien on the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can't be discharged into Dublin, CA's storm drains?
Who is responsible if my Dublin property pollutes a storm drain?
What happens if I violate Dublin's stormwater ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dublin
California rules heatmap·Compare Dublin to another location·View the California environmental rules overview
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle stormwater management.