(a) Wastewater Discharge Permits.
(1) It shall be unlawful to discharge industrial wastes or other wastes without a permit issued by the Superintendent into any sewer within the jurisdiction of the City, and/or into the system without a wastewater discharge permit issued by the Superintendent and without first having complied with the terms of this Ordinance. Wastewater discharge permits shall be conditioned upon the holder's compliance with any additional pretreatment, additional operation and maintenance requirements, and schedules of compliance approved by the Superintendent. Permits issued under this section are in addition to permits required by Section 933.07.
(2) Wastewater pretreatment discharge permits shall be expressly subject to all provisions of this chapter, and all other applicable regulations, user charges and fees established by the City. Permits shall, to the extent applicable, contain the following:
A. The unit charge or schedule of user charges and fees for the wastewater to be discharged to a community sewer;
B. Limits on the wastewater constituents and characteristics including Best Management Practices (BMPs), based on applicable Pretreatment Standards
C. Limits on average and maximum wastewater discharge or requirements for flow regulations and equalization;
D. Requirements for installation and maintenance of inspection and sampling facilities;
E. Compliance schedules, if applicable;
F. Specifications for monitoring programs which may include sampling locations, frequency of sampling, number, types, and standards for tests and reporting schedule;
G. Requirements for submission of technical reports or discharge reports;
H. Requirements for maintaining and retaining plant records relating to wastewater discharge as specified by the City, and affording City access thereto;
I. Requirements for notification of slug discharges;
J. A statement that indicates the wastewater discharge permit issuance date, expiration date and effective date;
K. Requirements for the installation of pretreatment technology, pollution control or construction of appropriate containment devices, designed to reduce, eliminate or prevent the introduction of pollutants into the treatment works;
L. Requirements for the development, implementation and review of spill control plans, slug discharge control plans or other special conditions including management practices necessary to adequately prevent accidental, unanticipated or non-routine slug discharges. SIU's will evaluate the need for a plan, device or structure to control a potential slug discharge at least once during each permit cycle or within one year of being identified as a SIU. All SIUs shall immediately notify the Superintendent of any changes at its facility affecting the potential for a slug discharge;
M. Development and implementation of waste minimization plans to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW;
N. Other conditions as deemed appropriate by the Superintendent to ensure compliance with this Code.
O. All dischargers shall, at the discretion of the Superintendent, complete and return the industrial wastewater questionnaire, or any modifications thereof.
(3) Wastewater discharge permits are issued to a specific person for a specific operation. A wastewater discharge permit shall not be reassigned or transferred or sold to a new owner, new person, different premises, or a new or changed operation without the approval of the Superintendent.
(4) Permits shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed five years. A permit may be issued for a period less than a year or may be stated to expire on a specific date. The industrial user shall apply for a permit reissuance a minimum of 180 days prior to the expiration of the industrial user's existing permit. The terms and conditions of the permit may be subject to modification by the City during the term of the permit as limitations or requirements are modified or other just cause exists. The industrial user shall be informed of any proposed changes in his permit at least thirty days prior to the effective date of change. Any changes or new conditions in the permit shall include a reasonable time schedule for compliance.
(b) Baseline Report. All industrial users shall complete and file with the Superintendent a baseline report in the forms provided therefore, upon request of the Superintendent. Industries regulated under the Categorical Pretreatment Standards shall submit this baseline report to the Superintendent within 180 days after the promulgation of their respective categorical standards as required by 40 CFR Part 403. At least ninety days prior to commencement of discharge, new sources and industrial users subject to the promulgation of an applicable Categorical Standard, shall submit to the Superintendent a report which contains the information listed in this section. In addition, any discharger operating on the basis of a previous 180 days after the promulgation of an applicable Categorical Pretreatment Standard, the additional information required by subsection (c)(8) and (9) hereof. Any changes or new conditions in this Code shall include a reasonable time schedule for compliance.
(c) The baseline report to be made by the discharger shall be made on written forms and shall cover:
(1) Disclosure of name, address and location of discharger;
(2) Disclosure of Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) number;
(3) Disclosure of wastewater constituents and characteristics including but not limited to those mentioned in this Ordinance, as determined by bona fide chemical and biological analyses. Sampling and analysis shall be performed as described in subsection (f) hereof;
(4) Disclosure of time and duration of discharges;
(5) Disclosure of average daily wastewater flow rates in gallons per day, including daily, monthly and seasonal variations, if any;
(6) Disclosure of site plans, floor plans, mechanical and plumbing plans and details to show all sewers, sewer connections, inspection manholes, sampling chambers and appurtenances by size, location and elevation;
(7) Description of activities, facilities, and plant processes on the premises including all materials which are or may be discharged to the system. New sources shall provide information on the method of pretreatment the source intends to use to meet applicable pretreatment standards;
(8) Disclosure of the nature and concentration of any pollutants or materials prohibited by this Ordinance in the discharge, together with a statement regarding whether or not compliance is being achieved with this Ordinance on a consistent basis and if not, whether additional operation and maintenance activities and/or additional pretreatment is required for the discharger to comply with this Ordinance;
(9) Where additional pretreatment and/or operation and maintenance activities shall be required to comply with this Ordinance, the discharger shall provide a declaration of the shortest compliance schedule by which the discharger shall provide such additional pretreatment and/or implementation of additional operational and maintenance activities. The compliance schedule shall be as required in subsection (m) hereof;
(10) Disclosure of each product by type, amount, process or processes and rate of production; and
(11) Disclosure of the type and amount of all materials utilized (average and maximum per day).
The Superintendent shall evaluate the complete baseline report and data furnished by the discharger and may require additional information. Within a reasonable time after full evaluation and acceptance of the data furnished, the Superintendent shall notify the discharger of his acceptance thereof. Any violation of this schedule shall be a violation of this Ordinance and subject to enforcement contained in Section 933.12.
(d) Compliance Date Report. Within ninety days following the date for final compliance by the discharger with applicable pretreatment standards set forth in this Ordinance or ninety days following commencement of the introduction of wastewater into the system by a new discharger, any discharger subject to this Ordinance shall submit to the Superintendent a report indicating the nature and concentration of all prohibited or regulated substances contained in its discharge, and the average and maximum daily flow in gallons. The report shall state whether the applicable pretreatment standards or requirements are being met on a consistent basis and, if not, what additional operation and maintenance and/or pretreatment is necessary to bring the discharger into compliance with the applicable pretreatment standards or requirements.
(e) Periodic Compliance Reports. Any industrial user subject to a pretreatment standard shall submit to the City during the months of June and December, unless required more frequently by the Superintendent, a report indicating the nature and concentration of prohibited or regulated substances in the effluent which is required by the wastewater discharge permit. In addition, this report shall include a record of all measured or estimated average and maximum daily flows during the reporting period. Flows shall be reported on the basis of actual measurement provided, however, where cost of feasibility conditions justify, the Superintendent may accept reports of average and maximum flows estimated by verifiable techniques. The Superintendent, for good cause shown considering such factors as local high or low flow rates, holidays, budget cycles or the extenuating factors may authorize the submission of such reports on months other than those specified above. Where required by the wastewater discharge permit, the report shall include production and operating data. In cases where the Pretreatment Standard requires compliance with a Best Management Practice (BMP) or pollution prevention alternative, the User must submit documentation required by the Superintendent or the Pretreatment Standard necessary to determine the compliance status of the User. The report shall state whether the applicable pretreatment standards or requirements are being met on a consistent basis and, if not, what additional operation and maintenance and/or pretreatment is necessary to being the discharger into compliance with the applicable pretreatment standards or requirements.
(f) Monitoring and Analysis. Any sampling or analysis done as part of the reports required in this section shall be performed as follows:
(1) The sampling and analysis done as part of the reports in subsection (b) hereof, shall consist of a minimum of four grab samples, with the test result averaged, shall be used for pH, cyanide, total phenols, oil and grease, sulfide and volatile organics. For all other pollutants twenty-four hour composite samples shall be obtained through flow proportional composite sampling techniques where feasible with the exception of Hexavalent Chromium, which shall be analyzed as a grab sample. Using protocols (including appropriate preservation) specified in 40 C.F.R. 136 and appropriate USEPA guidance, multiple grab samples collected during a twenty-four hour period may be composited prior to the analysis as follows: for Hexavalent Chromium, Cyanide, Total Phenols and sulfides the samples may be composited in the laboratory or the field; for Volatile Organics and Oil and Grease the samples may be composited in the laboratory OAC 3745-3-06-(H)(7). The Superintendent may waive flow proportional composite sampling for any industrial user that demonstrates that flow proportional sampling is infeasible. In such cases, samplings may be obtained through time-proportional composite sampling techniques or through a minimum of four grab samples where the user demonstrates to the Superintendent's satisfaction that this shall provide a representative sample of the effluent being discharged.
(2) Any sampling or analysis done as part of the reports required by subsection (d) or (e) hereof shall consist of a minimum of one representative sample to compile that data necessary to comply with the requirements of this section. The Superintendent may require additional samples.
(3) If sampling performed by the industrial user indicates a violation, the user shall notify the Superintendent within twenty-four hours of becoming aware of the violation. The user shall also repeat the sampling and analysis and submit the results of the repeat analysis to the Superintendent within thirty days after becoming aware of the violation. If a violation occurs where the Control Authority has performed the sampling and analysis in lieu of the industrial user, the Control Authority shall perform the repeat sampling and analysis unless it notifies the industrial user of the violation and requires the IU to perform the repeat sampling and analysis. If the Control Authority does the sampling, the shall perform the repeat sampling within 30 days of violation unless notifying the IU and requiring the IU to perform the repeat sampling and analysis.
(4) Reports of dischargers shall contain all results of sampling and analysis of the discharge, including the flow, the type of sample, and the nature and concentration, or production and mass where required by the Superintendent. The frequency of monitoring by the discharger shall be as prescribed in the wastewater discharge permit. All analysis shall be performed in accordance with 40 CFR, Part 136 and amendments thereto. Where 40 CFR, Part 136 does not include a sampling or analytical technique for the pollutant in question, sampling and analysis shall be performed in accordance with the procedures set forth in the EPA publication, Sampling and Analysis Procedures for Screening of Industrial Effluents for Priority Pollutants, April 1977, and amendments thereto, or with any other sampling and analytical procedures approved by the Superintendent.
(5) If an industrial user subject to the reporting requirement in subsections (b), (d) or (e) hereof monitors any pollutant more frequently than required by the City, using the procedures prescribed in subsection (f) hereof, the result of this monitoring shall be included in the report.
(6) All wastewater samples must be representative of the User's discharge. Wastewater monitoring and flow measurement facilities shall be properly operated, kept clean and maintained in good working order at all times. The failure of a User to keep its monitoring facility in good working order shall not be grounds for the User to claim that sample results are unrepresentative of its discharge.
(g) Monitoring Waivers.
(1) The City may authorize, at its discretion, an industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard, except for Centralized Waste Treatment facilities regulated by and defined in 40 C.F.R. 437, to forego sampling of a pollutant regulated by a categorical pretreatment standard. Monitoring waivers do not apply to pollutants where there are certification processes and requirements established by the control authority or by categorical pretreatment standards (e.g. TOMP/certification alternative to total toxic organics monitoring) unless allowed for by the applicable categorical pretreatment standard.
(2) If a waived pollutant is found to be present or is expected to be present based on changes that occur in the IU's operations, the user shall be required to immediately notify the control authority in writing and start monitoring that pollutant at the frequency specified in the POTW's pretreatment program.
(3) The monitoring waiver applies only to IU self-monitoring and monitoring performed by the City to satisfy IU self-monitoring requirements.
(4) In making its request for a pollutant monitoring waiver, the industrial user must demonstrate through sampling and other technical factors that the pollutant is neither present nor expected to be present in the discharge, or is present only at background levels from intake water and without any increase in the pollutant due to activities of the industrial user. In making a demonstration that a pollutant is not present, the industrial user must provide data from at least one sampling of the facility's process wastewater prior to any treatment present at the facility that is representative wastewater from all processes. Non-detectable sample results may only be used as a demonstration that a pollutant is not present if the USEPA approved analytical method from 40 C.F.R. 136 with the lowest method detection limit for that pollutant was used.
(5) Waivers are valid only for the duration of the effective period of the IU's control mechanism but in no case longer than five years. The IU must submit a new request for the waiver before the waiver can be granted for each subsequent control mechanism.
(6) The request for a monitoring waiver shall be signed by an authorized representative of the industrial user in accordance with paragraph (F) of rule 3745-3-06 of the Administrative Code, and it must include the certification statement in 40 C.F.R. 403.6(a)(2)(ii).
(7) The City will include any monitoring waiver as a condition in the industrial user's discharge permit. The supporting reason(s) for a monitoring waiver and the information submitted by the user in its request for the waiver shall be maintained in the industrial user's file by the City for three years after expiration of the waiver.
Upon approval of the monitoring waiver and revision of the IU's control mechanism by the City, the IU shall certify on each self-monitoring report with the following statement:
"Based on my inquiry of the person or persons directly responsible for managing compliance with the pretreatment standards under 40 C.F.R. [specify applicable national pretreatment standard part or parts], I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, there has been no increase in the level of [list pollutant or pollutants] in the wastewaters due to the activities at the facility since submittal of the last periodic report under paragraph (E) of rule 3745-3-06 of the Administrative Code."
(h) Signatory Requirements. Any reports required in subsections (b), (d) or (e) hereof shall include the certification statement as follows:
"I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations."
Furthermore, all reports shall be signed by an authorized representative of the industrial user. If an authorization as defined in Section 933.02 is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility, or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, a new authorization satisfying the requirements in Section 933.02 shall be submitted to the Superintendent of Wastewater Treatment prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an authorized representative.
(i) Inspection and Sampling.
(1) All sewers shall have an inspection and sampling manhole or structure with an opening of no less than twenty-four inches diameter and an internal diameter of no less than thirty-six inches containing flow measuring, recording and sampling equipment as required by the Superintendent to assure compliance with this Ordinance. The Superintendent may require the owner of any premises which discharges to the system to install a suitable inspection chamber together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the discharge, or potential discharge. Such chambers, when required, shall be constructed in accordance with the City's requirements and all applicable local construction standards and specifications. Construction shall be completed within thirty days following approval and written notification by the Superintendent. Any installations of sampling facilities, flow monitoring facilities, instruments, devices etc. required by the POTW shall be paid for by the industrial user.
(2) If the sampling and monitoring facilities are not constructed within thirty days of official notification given to the property owner by the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall utilize City procurement procedures to commission the purchase and installation of such sampling and monitoring equipment. The City's cost of the sampling and monitoring manhole installation shall be charged to and collected from the property owner.
(3) The City may inspect the facilities and the process and operation records of any discharger to determine compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance. The discharger shall allow the City or its representatives, upon presentation of credentials of identification, access to all process and operation documents and to enter upon the premises of the discharger for the purposes of inspection, sampling or records examination. The Superintendent shall have the right to set up on the discharger's property such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling, inspection, compliance monitoring and/or metering operations. The Superintendent shall, at all times have free access to the premises and process and operation records of any user, and free access to the premises and process operation records of any person reasonably believed by the Superintendent to be a user or possible user, for the purpose of inspecting, sampling or testing the discharge emanating therefrom, or any discharge which may emanate therefrom in order to determine whether such discharge, or potential discharge is acceptable or unacceptable to the City.
(j) Confidential Information. Information and data furnished to the Superintendent with respect to the nature and frequency of discharge shall be available to the public without restriction, unless the discharger demonstrates to the satisfaction of the City that release of such information would divulge information entitled to protection as trade secrets or proprietary information. Wastewater constituents and characteristics shall not be recognized as confidential information. Information accepted by the Superintendent as confidential, shall not be transmitted to any governmental agency until and unless a ten day notification is given to the discharger. No permit holder shall have a claim against the City for release of any information as a condition of continuance of their permit.
(k) Bypass.
(1) Definitions.
A. "Bypass" means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of any industrial user's treatment facility.
B. "Severe property damage" means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which cause them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass.
(2) Bypass not violating applicable pretreatment standards or requirements. An industrial user may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause an applicable pretreatment standard to be violated, but only if it is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provisions of subsection (j)(4) hereof.
(3) Notice.
A. If an industrial user knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the Superintendent at least ten days before the date of the bypass.
B. An industrial user shall submit oral notice of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards to the Superintendent within twenty-four hours from the time the industrial user becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five days of the time the industrial user becomes aware of the bypass. The written submission shall contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times, and if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue, and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate and prevent reoccurrence of the bypass. The Superintendent o may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four hours or is deemed to be sufficient.
(4) Prohibition of bypass.
A. Bypass is prohibited and the City may take enforcement action against an industrial user for a bypass, unless:
1. The bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury or severe property damage; or
2. There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventative maintenance; and,
B. The City may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the City determines that it shall meet the two conditions listed in subsection (j)(4)A hereof.
(l) Notification of Change in Discharge Characteristics. All industrial users shall promptly notify the Superintendent in writing at least 60 days in advance of any substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants in their discharge. A substantial change is any change that affects the flow or pollutant loading by more than ten (10) percent, additional flows or loadings which cause the total regulated wastestream to surpass the design capacity of the pretreatment system, or a change in a discharge that would contain the listed or characteristic hazardous wastes for which the Industrial User has submitted initial notification pursuant to 40 CFR 403.12(p).
(m) Notification of the Discharge of Hazardous Waste.
(1) Any User who commences the discharge of hazardous waste shall notify the POTW, the EPA Regional Waste Management Division Director, and OEPA hazardous waste authorities, in writing, of any discharge into the POTW of a substance which, if otherwise disposed of, would be hazardous waste under 40 CFR Part 261, the EPA hazardous waste number, and the type of discharge (continuous, batch or other). If the User discharges more than one hundred (100) kilograms of such waste per calendar month to the POTW, the notification also shall contain the following information to the extent such information is known and readily available to the User: an identification of the hazardous constituents contained in the wastes, an estimation fo the mass and concentration of such constituents contained in the wastestream discharged during the calendar month, and an estimation of the mass of constituents in the wastestream expected to be discharged during the following twelve (12) months. All notification must take place no later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the discharge commences. Any notification under this paragraph need be submitted only once for each hazardous waste discharged. However, notification of changed conditions must be submitted under subsection (k) hereof. The notification requirement in this Section does not apply to pollutants already reported by Users subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards un the self-monitoring requirements of subsections (b), (d), and (e) hereof.
(2) Dischargers are exempt from the requirements of paragraph (l) above, during a calendar month in which they discharge no more than fifteen (15) kilograms of hazardous wastes, unless the wastes are acute hazardous wastes ad specified in 40 CFR 261.30(d) and 261.33(c). Discharge of more than fifteen (15) kilograms of non-acute hazardous wastes in a calendar month, or of any quantity of acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40 CFR 261.30(d) and 261.33(e) requires a one-time notification. Subsequent months during which the User discharges more than such quantities of any hazardous waste do not require additional notification.
(3) In the case of any new regulations under Section 3001 of RCRA identifying additional characteristics of hazardous waste or listing any additional substance as a hazardous waste, the User must notify the Superintendent, the EPA Regional Waste Management Division Director and the OEPA Hazardous Waste authorities of the discharge of such substance within ninety (90) days of the effective date of such regulations.
(4) In the case of any notification made under this Section, the User shall certify that is has a program in place to reduce the volume and toxicity of hazardous wastes generated to the degree it has determined to be economically practical.
(5) This provision does not create a right to discharge any substance not otherwise permitted to be discharged by this ordinance, a permit issued there under, or any applicable Federal or State law.
(n) Users shall provide necessary wastewater treatment as required to comply with this chapter and shall achieve compliance with all Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards within the time limitations as specified by the Federal Pretreatment Regulations. Any facilities required to pretreat wastewater to a level acceptable to the City shall be provided, operated and maintained at the user's expense. Detailed plans showing the pretreatment facilities and operating procedures shall be submitted to the City for review, and shall be acceptable to the City before construction of the facility. The review of such plans and operating procedures shall in no way relieve the user from the responsibility of modifying the facility as necessary to produce an effluent acceptable to the City under the provisions of this chapter. Acceptance after review by the City in no way relieves the discharger from meeting all pertinent regulations. Any subsequent changes in the pretreatment facilities or method of operations shall be reported to and be acceptable to the City prior to the user's initiation of the changes.
(o) Where additional pretreatment and/or operation and maintenance activities shall be required to comply with this Ordinance, the discharger shall provide a declaration of the shortest compliance schedule by which the discharger shall provide such additional pretreatment and/or implementation of additional operation and maintenance activities.
(1) The schedule shall contain milestone dates for the commencement and completion of major events leading to the construction and operation of additional pretreatment required for the discharger to comply with the requirements of this Ordinance including, but not limited to dates relating to hiring an engineer, hiring other appropriate personnel, completing preliminary plans, completing final plans, executing contracts for major components, commencing construction, completing construction and all other acts necessary to achieve compliance with this Ordinance.
(2) Under no circumstances shall the Superintendent permit a time increment for any single step directed toward compliance which exceeds nine months.
(3) Not later than fourteen days following each milestone date in the schedule and the final date for compliance, the discharger shall submit a progress report to the Superintendent including no less than a statement as to whether or not it complied with the increment of progress represented by that milestone date and, if not, the date on which it expects to comply with this increment of progress, the reason for delay, and the steps being taken by the discharger to return the construction to the approved schedule. In no event shall more than nine months elapse between such progress reports.
(p) Start-up of New Sources. New sources shall install and have in operating condition, and shall "start-up" all pollution control equipment required to meet applicable pretreatment standards before beginning to discharge. Within the shortest feasible time, not to exceed ninety days, new sources shall meet all applicable pretreatment standards.
(q) Accidental Discharges. Each discharger shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited or regulated materials or discharges established by this regulation. Where necessary, facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the discharger's cost and expense. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the Superintendent for review, and shall be approved by the Superintendent before construction of the facility. Each existing discharger shall complete its plan and submit same to the Superintendent. No discharger who discharges to the system shall be permitted to introduce pollutants into the system until accidental discharge protection procedures have been approved by the City. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures by the Superintendent shall not relieve the discharger from the responsibility to modify its facility as necessary to meet the requirements of this regulation. Dischargers shall notify the Superintendent immediately upon the occurrence of a "slug load" or accidental discharge prohibited by this regulation. The notification shall include location of discharge, date and time thereof, type of waste, concentration and volume, and corrective actions. Any discharger who discharges a slug load or accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be liable for any expense, loss or damage to the City, in addition to the amount of any fines imposed on the City on account thereof under State or federal law.
Signs shall be permanently posted in conspicuous places on discharger's premises, advising employees whom to call in the event of a slug load or accidental discharge. Employers shall instruct all employees who may cause or discover such a discharge with respect to emergency notification procedures.
(r) Operating Upsets or Other Conditions Resulting in Noncompliance. Any discharger which experiences an upset in operations or other conditions which place the discharger in a temporary state of noncompliance with this chapter or a wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant hereto shall inform the Superintendent hereof within twenty-four hours of first awareness of the commencement of the upset. Where such information is given orally, a written follow-up thereof shall be filed by the discharger with the Superintendent within five days. The report shall specify:
(1) Description of the upset, the cause thereof and the upset's impact on discharger's compliance status;
(2) Duration of noncompliance, including exact dates and times of noncompliance and if the noncompliance continues, the time by which compliance is reasonably expected to occur; and
(3) All steps taken or to be taken to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of such an upset or other conditions of noncompliance.
A documented and verified bona fide operating upset shall be an affirmative defense to any enforcement action against a discharger for any noncompliance with this Ordinance or with any wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant hereto which arises out of violations alleged to have occurred during the period of the upset.
(Ord. 2016-50. Passed 3-21-2016.)