Santa Fe, NM Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- City public works department
- Spill notice deadline
- 5 p.m. next business day
- Written record retention
- At least 3 years
- Each day of violation
- Counted as separate offense
- Governing ordinance
- Ord. #2005-3
Summary
Santa Fe's Stormwater Illicit Discharge Control Ordinance bans dumping anything but rain or snowmelt into the city's storm drain system. Public works enforces it with notices of violation, municipal citations, civil suits and nuisance abatement, and a spill must be reported to the city by 5 p.m. the next business day.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge to the storm drain system that contains any pollutants that cause or contribute to a violation of local, state or federal water quality standards. [...] It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of the Illicit Discharge Control Ordinance. Each day the violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
6(A) SFCC 1987 prohibits any direct or indirect non-stormwater discharge into the storm drain system that contains pollutants causing or contributing to a violation of local, state or federal water quality standards. 4. 6(B)). 7, including connections made in the past under rules that once permitted them. 9 makes every property owner along a watercourse responsible for keeping their stretch free of trash, debris and excess vegetation and for maintaining structures so they don't obstruct flow or accelerate erosion. 10). 16).
Violations & Fines
Section 13-2.15 makes any violation unlawful, with each day of continued violation a separate offense. The city may issue a written notice of violation, file a citation in municipal court under Section 1-3 SFCC 1987, sue in district court for injunctive relief, or declare the condition a public nuisance and abate it, charging the cost of cleanup or restoration to the violator under Section 13-2.17.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can't I put down a storm drain in Santa Fe?
Who do I call if I spill something into a Santa Fe storm drain?
Can the city make me clean up a stormwater violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Fe
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