Illicit Discharges Are Prohibited

A. No person may cause or allow others to cause an illicit discharge into the storm-drainage system or any drainageway within the County. The commencement, conduct, or continuance of any illicit discharge to the storm-drainage system is prohibited except as allowed by appendix K of title 11 , chapter 55, Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules, as amended, if they do not cause or contribute to any violation of water-quality standards. B. Examples of discharges that are not illicit discharges, include: 1. Water-line flushing. 2. Runoff from irrigation and lawn watering. 3. Diverted stream flows. 4. Rising groundwater; uncontaminated groundwater infiltration, as defined in title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, section 35.2005(b)(20); and uncontaminated pumped groundwater. 5. Discharges from potable water sources. 6. Air-conditioning condensate. 7. Springs. 8. Water from crawlspace pumps, footing drains, and foundation drains. 9. Water from individual residential car washing. 10. Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands. 11. Dechlorinated swimming-pool discharges. 12. Residual street-wash water. 13. Discharges or flows from firefighting activities. 14. Runoff from fire-hydrant flushing. 15. Charity carwashes with the following controls: a. Held on a frequency no greater than monthly by each organization. b. Located at least 200 feet from a sensitive waterbody. c. Runoff filtered through a landscaped area or linear BMPs, such as silt socks or fiber rolls. d. Use of environmentally-friendly soaps only. 16. Runoff from dust-control activities through the appropriate application of water, if the following controls are in place: a. Inlets that could receive the water are protected using appropriate inlet-protection BMPs, such as filter fabric, silt socks, silt fence, or gravel bags. b. Inlet-protection BMPs are regularly inspected to verify they are in good working condition and maintained or replaced as needed and removed when the project is completed. 17. Runoff from washing, including pressure washing, exterior building surfaces and sidewalks, if the following controls are in place: a. Soaps and cleaners are not used if water could reach the storm-drainage system. b. Inlets that could receive the water are protected using appropriate inlet-protection BMPs, such as filter fabric, silt socks, silt fence, or gravel bags. c. Inlet-protection BMPs are regularly inspected to verify they are in good working condition and maintained or replaced as needed and removed when the project is completed. 18. Discharges specified in writing by the director as being necessary to protect public health and safety with BMPs implemented to reduce water pollution to the maximum extent practicable. 19. Dye testing associated with environmental studies sanctioned by a court order or conducted in partnership with any federal, state, or county agency. 20. Discharges authorized under an NPDES permit, waiver, or waste-discharge order issued to the discharger and administered under the Environmental Protection Agency's authority or by the State under authority delegated in accordance with title 33, United States Code, section 1342(b). The discharger must be in full compliance with all requirements of the permit, waiver, or order and other applicable laws and regulations, and written approval must be granted to the NPDES permittee by the director for any discharge to the storm-drainage system. In addition, the following provisions apply: a. Where discharges are already occurring into the storm-drainage system, the discharger must obtain the director's written authorization within thirty days after this chapter's effective date to continue discharging to the storm-drainage system. b. Upon the director's request, the discharger must provide proof of compliance with the NPDES permit within fifteen days after the request date in a form specified by the director. c. The director may rescind the authorization if the NPDES permittee fails to provide proof of compliance within the thirty-day or fifteen-day deadlines specified in paragraphs a. and b. Any non-stormwater discharge by the permittee that occurs after an authorization is rescinded is an illicit discharge. ( Ord. No. 5749 , § 1, 2024)