Lawrence, MA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Board of Health (authorized enforcement agency)
- First offense
- Written warning or $100 fine
- Second offense
- $200 fine
- Third and later offenses
- $300 fine, each day separate offense
- Criminal penalty
- Up to $300 per offense per day
- Hazardous spill notice
- Immediate; nonhazardous by next business day
Summary
Lawrence bans dumping any pollutant or non-stormwater discharge into its municipal storm sewer system, watercourses, or the waters of the commonwealth under City Code Chapter 20.01. The board of health, the chapter's enforcing authority, can fine violators up to $300 a day and order cleanup of illicit connections and spills.
The purposes of this chapter are to protect, maintain, and enhance the environment of the city and the public health, safety and the general welfare of the city's residents, by controlling discharges of pollutants to the city's stormwater system and maintaining and improving the quality of the receiving waters into which the stormwater outfalls flow, including, without limitation, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, wetlands, and groundwater. ... No person shall dump, discharge, cause or allow to be discharged any pollutant or non-stormwater discharge into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4), into a stormwater treatment facility on public or private property, into a watercourse, or into the waters of the commonwealth or the United States.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 8).
Full Breakdown
01 of the Lawrence Municipal Code (Doc. 240/2014, effective March 17, 2015) exists so the city can meet its EPA municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) NPDES permit, and it bars dumping any pollutant or non-stormwater discharge into the MS4, a stormwater treatment facility, a watercourse, or the waters of the commonwealth. 060 also forbids illicit connections regardless of when they were installed, forbids obstructing MS4 flow without written board of health approval, and limits how much sediment, silt, or earth from grading and construction can enter the system to what erosion and sediment controls fail to retain on site.
070 exempts routine flows such as waterline flushing, dechlorinated pool water that has stood a week, landscape irrigation, street sweeping, and discharges already covered by an NPDES or surface water discharge permit. 100; a nonhazardous release only needs next-business-day notice to the board, with written confirmation within three business days and records kept three years. 120. 040, can issue abatement orders, bill cleanup costs that become a lien on the property, and pursue civil or criminal remedies. Its decisions are final, with further relief available only in court.
Violations & Fines
Lawrence uses the noncriminal disposition process under M.G.L. c. 40, § 21D for most illicit-discharge violations: a written warning or $100 fine for a first offense, $200 for a second, and $300 for a third and each one after. Criminal prosecution instead carries up to $300 per offense. Every day a violation continues is a separate offense, and unpaid cleanup costs become a lien on the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an illegal discharge into Lawrence's storm drains?
What happens if I spill oil or hazardous material near a storm drain in Lawrence?
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Sources & Official References
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