Redding, CA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- RMC Chapter 14.19, adopted 2015
- Enforcing official
- City Public Works Director
- Illicit connection cure period
- 30 days after notice
- Spill record retention
- 3 years for commercial/industrial spills
- Misdemeanor penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
Summary
Redding bans discharging any pollutant into the city's stormwater conveyance system or receiving waters when it violates a receiving water limitation or the municipal NPDES permit. The public works director administers Chapter 14.19, and illicit connections must be disconnected within thirty days of notice or the connection itself becomes a separate violation.
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge, or cause to be discharged, any non-stormwater, stormwater or pollutant to the city stormwater conveyance system or to receiving waters which results in, or contributes to a violation of a receiving water limitation or a violation of the municipal general permit. ... No person shall throw, deposit, leave, maintain, keep, or permit to be thrown, deposited, left, or maintained, in or upon any public or private property, driveway, parking area, street, alley, sidewalk, city stormwater conveyance system facility, or receiving waters, any refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, cigarette butts, objects, construction materials, gravel, soil, and other accumulations, so that the same may cause or contribute to pollution in stormwater discharges.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 48).
Full Breakdown
19, adopted by Ordinance No. 2527 in 2015, implements the federal Clean Water Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, and NPDES General Permit No. CAS000004 for small municipal storm sewer systems. 090 makes it unlawful to discharge stormwater, non-stormwater, or any pollutant into the city's storm drains, catch basins, ditches, or receiving waters where it causes or contributes to a water-quality violation. 140 separately bars leaving refuse, garbage, litter, cigarette butts, construction materials, gravel, or soil on streets, alleys, sidewalks, or storm-drain facilities where it can pollute stormwater.
100 exempts specific low-risk flows, including water-line flushing, individual residential car washing, footing and foundation drains, air-conditioning condensation, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, and firefighting flows, provided they do not violate receiving water limitations. 130; anyone maintaining one has thirty days from the ordinance's effective date, or a period set by the public works director, to disconnect. the next business day for non-hazardous releases, keeping written records of the incident for three years.
Violations & Fines
The public works director can issue a written notice of noncompliance and a cease-and-desist order under Sections 14.19.300 and 14.19.310, and may require the discharger to eliminate the source of the discharge at their own expense. Because the city's general penalty applies, a code violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, six months in county jail, or both, unless the city attorney reduces the charge to an infraction, which carries escalating fines of $100, $200, and $500 for repeat convictions within a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an illegal stormwater discharge in Redding?
Are car washing and pool draining exempt from Redding's stormwater ban?
What must I do if my property has an illicit storm-drain connection?
What is the penalty for violating Redding's stormwater ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Redding
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