Farmington Hills, MI Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Adopted by Ordinance No. C-6-2019 on May 13, 2019, Article IX, Division 1 of Chapter 33 creates the city's illicit discharge elimination program to keep pollutants out of the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) and comply with the federal NPDES permit process. Sec. 33-306(a) prohibits discharging any pollutant other than stormwater to the storm drain system or watercourses, though it exempts firefighting flows, dye testing with prior notice to the director of public services, permitted NPDES discharges, uncontaminated groundwater and footing-drain water, noncommercial car washing, and dechlorinated pool water from single-, two-, or three-family homes; other pools need an NPDES permit before discharging.

Sec. 33-306(b) bars illicit connections, including any line carrying sewage into a storm drain, even connections made before this article existed. Owners and operators of commercial or industrial establishments must, at their own expense, install best management practices to prevent accidental discharges (Sec. 33-311), and anyone responsible for a property that is or may be a source of an illicit discharge can be ordered to add further BMPs. Sec. 33-307 gives the director of public services and code enforcement officers the right to enter properties to inspect, sample, and test suspected discharges; refusing reasonable access is itself a violation.

Sec. 33-309 requires industrial or construction dischargers under NPDES permits to prove compliance to the city engineer before connecting to the MS4, and Sec. 33-310 lets the director require non-residential dischargers to install and calibrate monitoring equipment. Anyone who discovers a spill of hazardous material must notify emergency dispatch immediately; non-hazardous spills must be reported to the authorized enforcement agency by the next business day, confirmed in writing within three business days, with on-site records kept at least three years.