(A) Mandatory sewer connection.
(1) The owner(s) of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes, situated within the city and abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be located a public sanitary sewer of the city, is hereby required at the owner’s expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter within 60 days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within 250 feet of the property line.
(2) It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of wastewater where public sanitary sewer service is available, as defined in division (A)(1) above, except as provided for in § 50.017.
(3) At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private wastewater disposal system, a direct connection shall be made to the public system within 60 days in compliance with this chapter, and any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private wastewater disposal facilities shall be cleaned of sludge and filled with suitable material or salvaged and removed.
(B) Unlawful discharge to storm sewers or natural outlets.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited any pollutant in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the City of Ashland, Kentucky or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City of Ashland, Kentucky except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(2) It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet or storm sewer within the City of Ashland, Kentucky or in any area under the jurisdiction of said city, any sanitary wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment or management has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this chapter. No provision of this chapter shall be construed to relieve the owner of a discharge to any natural outlet of the responsibility for complying with applicable state and federal regulations governing such discharge.
(C) Compliance with local, state, and federal laws. The discharge of any wastewater into the public sewer system by any person is unlawful except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, and any more stringent state or federal standards promulgated pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, the Clean Water Act of 1977, and subsequent amendments, and 40 CFR 403.
(D) Discharge of unpolluted waters into sewer.
(1) (a) No person(s) shall discharge or cause to be discharged, through any leak, defect, or connection any unpolluted waters, such as storm water, groundwater, roof runoff, wall seepage or floor seepage, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, or subsurface drainage to any sanitary sewer, building sewer, building drain or building plumbing.
(b) Pipes, sumps, and pumps for such sources of ground and surface water shall be separate from wastewater facilities. No sanitary drain sump or sump pump discharge by manual switch-over of discharge connection shall have a dual use for removal of such water.
(c) Any such connections which already exist on the effective date of this ordinance shall be completely and permanently disconnected within 60 days of the effective date of this chapter.
(d) The Director of Engineering and Utilities or his or her representative shall have the right, at any time, to inspect the inside or outside of buildings or smoke test for connections, leaks, or defects to building sewers and require disconnection or repair of any pipes carrying such water to the building sewer.
(e) Removal of such sources of water without presence of such separate facilities shall be evidence of drainage to public sanitary sewers.
(f) The owners of any building sewers having such connections, leaks, or defects shall bear all costs incidental to removal of such sources.
(2) The construction of any new combined sewers or any source of inflow other than sanitary sewage or permitted industrial sewage is prohibited without the advice and consent of the Kentucky EPA.
(3) Any new construction tributary to the combined sewer system shall be designed to minimize and/or delay inflow contribution to the combined sewer system except when this is deemed impractical with the advice and consent of the Kentucky EPA.
(E) Prohibited discharges. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with performance of the POTW. These general prohibitions apply to all such users of a POTW whether or not the user is subject to national categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user shall not contribute the following substances to the POTW:
(1) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquids, solids, or gases, or any pollutants with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), or that could cause an excess of 20% of the lower explosive limit (LEL) at any point within the collection system, pump stations, or POTW or any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be sufficient whether alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the POTW or to the operation of the POTW.
(2) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than six or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the POTW.
(3) Any slug load of pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, and the like), released at a flow rate and/or concentration that will cause interference with the normal operation of the POTW.
(4) Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the wastewater facilities (i.e., wood, glass, ashes, sand, cinders, unshredded garbage, paper products such as cups, dishes, napkins and milk containers, and the like).
(5) Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater with a temperature at the introduction into the POTW that will result in a treatment plant influent temperature which exceeds 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
(6) Any pollutant(s) which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.
(7) Any substance which may cause the POTW’s effluent or any other product of the POTW such as residues, sludges, or scum, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process where the POTW is pursuing a reuse and reclamation program. In no case shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Act; any criteria, guidelines, or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.
(8) Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES/KPDES permit and/or sludge disposal system permit.
(9) Petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through at the POTW.
(10) Any trucked or hauled pollutants except at discharge points designated by the Director.
(11) Any waters or wastes containing any identifiable chlorinated hydrocarbons, in quantities or concentrations capable of interfering with or passing through the POTW.
(12) Any water or wastes containing acid metallic pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions.
(Ord. 62-12, passed 8-16-12; Am. Ord. 15, 2021, passed 2-25-21)