Clay County, FL Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Section 19-455 of the Clay County Code makes it unlawful to introduce, or cause to be introduced, any discharge into a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or a private stormwater management system that is not composed entirely of stormwater. The section lists narrow exceptions: discharges authorized under an NPDES permit, discharges specifically authorized by the department, firefighting flows, and a defined list of non-stormwater flows such as uncontaminated groundwater infiltration, air conditioning condensate, footing drains, de-chlorinated pool discharges and landscape irrigation, so long as they are not identified as a pollutant source.

The same section separately makes it unlawful to establish, use or maintain an illicit connection to the MS4 or a private stormwater system. This provision sits inside the county's broader Illicit Discharge and Connection article, which under Section 19-454 also bars dry-weather runoff such as pressure-washing wastewater, chlorinated pool backwash and vehicle fluids from reaching surface waters, and requires equipment leaking oil or fluids to be repaired or moved off areas exposed to stormwater runoff. Enforcement runs through Section 19-458: the department issues a written notice of violation that can order monitoring, elimination of the illicit connection, cessation of the discharge, remediation and payment of a fine, and the recipient has ten days to file a notice of appeal, with a hearing before the Clay County Board of County Commissioners or its designee set within twenty days.

If the violation is not corrected, county forces may enter the property to abate it and bill the owner for the cost under Section 19-457, and unpaid abatement costs become a lien on the property.