Portland is a Regulated Small MS4 under the EPA/Maine DEP NPDES program. Chapter 32 of the City Code prohibits non-stormwater (illicit) discharges to the city storm drain system and requires every qualifying development to file, implement and annually inspect a Post-Construction Stormwater Management Plan with city-approved Best Management Practices.
Chapter 32, Article II (Sec. 32-16 through 32-22) makes it unlawful for any person to create, initiate or maintain a 'non-storm water discharge' to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4), with very limited exemptions for permitted industrial/construction general permits and authorized NPDES discharges. Article III (Sec. 32-36 through 32-40) applies to all development projects that require a stormwater management plan under Section V of the Portland Technical Manual: no project may receive approval without an approved Post-Construction Stormwater Management Plan and BMPs (Sec. 32-37). Owners must hire a Maine DEP-certified inspector or a Maine PE with at least two years' BMP experience to inspect catch basins, drainage swales, detention basins, ponds and related structures annually, file a signed certification with the Department of Public Works on or before June 30 each year, and report any deficiency and corrective action within 60 days (Sec. 32-38). The Department of Public Works is the Enforcement Authority and may enter premises during reasonable hours to inspect, sample and test discharges (Sec. 32-20). The City also draws authority from the federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) and Maine's Wastewater Discharge Law at 38 M.R.S. § 413.
Enforcement runs under 30-A M.R.S. § 4452 — each day a violation continues is a separate offense. The Enforcement Authority may issue a written Notice of Violation requiring disconnection from the MS4 within 60 days, immediate cessation of the discharge, abatement/remediation at the violator's expense and payment of fines, the City's remediation costs, administrative costs and attorney fees (Sec. 32-21(a)). The City may suspend MS4 access without prior notice in an emergency and physically block a discharge with dams or plugged pipes (Sec. 32-19). Civil penalties under 30-A M.R.S. § 4452 are up to $2,500/day for a first offense and $25,000/day for a repeat offense within two years, plus injunctive relief.
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