NOTICE

The City of Lawrence Stormwater Pollution Prevention Ordinance No. 7373 has been in full effect since March 2003.  Although the ordinance allows for criminal penalties, enforcement for noncompliance during the last five years has been primarily educational.  Now that adequate time has passed for the community to become familiar with the regulation, beginning in March 2008, enforcement actions will be expanded to include criminal penalties as outlined in Section 9-904:

 (G) Criminal Penalties

The violation of any provision of this Article shall be deemed a municipal offense.  Any person violating this Article shall, upon an adjudication of guilt or a plea of no contest, be fined a minimum of $250.00 to a maximum of $1,500.00. Each separate day on which a violation is committed or continues shall constitute a separate offense. The municipal court judge shall have no authority to suspend all or a portion of the minimum fine.

The entire ordinance is available on the city website at http://www.lawrencepublicworks.org/pdf/stormwater-pollutionordinance.pdf. 

Section 9-903 of the ordinance applies exclusively to construction activities.  Any person found in violation of the ordinance will be issued a written Notice of Violation. If the violation is not corrected within the allotted time, further action by city staff may include denial of building permits and inspections, abatement and/or criminal prosecution. 

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If you have any questions, please contact the Stormwater Division at 785-832-3143.