Parma, OH Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Chapter 938 of the Codified Ordinances, adopted to comply with the city's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, prohibits discharging anything other than storm water into Parma's municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or any watercourse (938.07(a)). The prohibition covers illicit connections as well: any drain, pipe or line that conveys sewage, wash water or other non-storm water into the MS4 is unlawful, whether the connection was legal when installed or not (938.07(b)). A short exemption list covers routine sources such as water line flushing, individual residential vehicle washing, air conditioning condensation and firefighting flows, but the City Engineer or Ohio EPA can revoke any exemption found to be a significant pollutant contributor.

Industrial and construction sites operating under their own NPDES permits must give the City Engineer proof of compliance and allow inspection, sampling and monitoring equipment on the property (938.09, 938.10). In an emergency, the City Engineer may suspend a property's MS4 access without prior notice; for a non-emergency violation, an owner gets a written notice of violation before any suspension, with a right to petition for a hearing (938.08). A notice of violation can order cleanup, cessation of the discharge, and payment of a civil fine of $300 per day to cover administrative and remediation costs (938.14(e)).

The property owner has 14 days to appeal to the Director of Public Service or a designee, who must hold a hearing within 15 days and whose decision is final (938.15). If the city has to abate a violation itself, the owner is billed within 14 days and may pay in up to 12 installments before the debt becomes a special assessment lien on the property (938.17). Criminal violations of Chapter 938 are a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense (938.99).