East Baton Rouge Parish, LA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Title 2, Ch. 8, Secs. 2:360-2:372
- pH limit
- 6.0 to 9.0
- Oil and grease limit
- 15.0 mg/l, 30-day average
- Civil penalty
- Up to $1,000/day per violation
- Criminal penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine and/or 6 months jail
- Enforcing agency
- Director, Dept. of Public Works
Summary
Baton Rouge City-Parish Code Sec. 2:362 bars anyone from dumping pollutants into the municipal storm sewer system (MS4), covering both the city and the unincorporated parish. The Department of Public Works enforces limits on pH, oil and grease, silt and toxic substances entering storm drains that empty untreated into local waterways.
No point source or non-point source shall discharge or cause to be discharged directly or indirectly any pollutant, contaminant or other waters which will or has the potential of causing damage to the stormwater transport system or the surface waters of the state ... In no case shall extractable oil and grease exceed DEQ limits within any discharge into a storm sewer system nor shall oil or greases from any source be disposed of within the storm sewer system.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 8 of Title 2 regulates every discharge into the City-Parish's municipal separate storm sewer system, called the MS4. Sec. 0, solids that could clog a storm sewer, or toxic pollutants that would harm receiving waters. Subsection (a)(3) specifically bars oil and grease from any source in excess of Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) limits, and forbids disposing of oil or grease in the storm system at all. Subsection (a)(9) makes clear that erosion-control and floodplain ordinances are never exempted from this chapter, and failure to comply with those local ordinances is enforced through the remedies in Chapter 8 itself.
Liquid waste haulers are separately barred from dumping septic, grease-trap or carpet-cleaning waste into the storm system under subsection (b). Industrial and treatment-facility discharges require a Louisiana DEQ water discharge permit and an NPDES permit filed with the Director of Public Works before any discharge begins (subsection (c)), and state institutions including LSU, Southern University and the Louisiana DOTD are covered as co-permittees under the City-Parish's own MS4 permit (subsection (i)). The Director, under Sec. 0. Dischargers must supply a stormwater management plan on request showing they use the best available control technology to keep pollutants out of the storm sewer.
Violations & Fines
Under Sec. 2:369(c), a civil penalty of up to $1,000.00 per day, per violation applies to anyone who discharges in violation of the chapter or a permit condition, plus the City-Parish's attorney's fees and court costs. Willful or knowing violations, including falsifying monitoring records or discharging without a required DEQ/EPA permit, are criminal misdemeanors under Sec. 2:369(d) punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.00, up to six months imprisonment, or both. The Director of Public Works may also seek injunctive relief in court to stop an ongoing discharge under Sec. 2:369(b).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hose oil or grease from my driveway into a storm drain in East Baton Rouge Parish?
Does a DEQ or NPDES permit satisfy the parish's stormwater rules?
What happens if I falsify a stormwater monitoring report?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in East Baton Rouge Parish
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