Except as herein provided, no person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes into the POTW, except those waters and wastes handled in accordance with the hauled septic and industrial waste requirements specified in this chapter:
(A) Any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements; (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1), General Prohibitions)
(B) Heats in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the treatment plant exceeds 40°C (104°F); (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b), Specific Prohibitions)
(C) Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to waste streams with a closed-up flashpoint of less than 140°F (60°C) using the text methods specified in 40 C.F.R. 261.21; (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b), Specific Prohibitions.)
(D) Any solid or viscous wastes which cause obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of any sewer or treatment works; (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b), Specific Prohibitions)
(E) Any “other wastes” as defined in § 51.002;
(F) Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating a public nuisance;
(G) Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Wastewater Superintendent in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
(H) Any industrial waste that may cause a deviation from the NPDES permit requirements, pretreatment standards, and all other state and federal regulations as now set out or may be set out in the future as a requirement for the NPDES permit;
(I) Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids, or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance, or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the POTW;
(J) Any waters or wastes except hauled wastes having a pH lower than 5.0 or higher than 12.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the sewage works. (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b), Specific Prohibitions) Wastewaters which are monitored on a continuous basis with automated pH monitoring and control devices, and which exceed the limitation of 12.0 will not be cause for a violation if the duration of the excursion for any single event does not exceed 15 minutes, and combined excursions do not exceed 180 minutes in any calendar month. No pH greater than 12.5 shall be authorized for any duration of time;
(K) Any of the following substances which shall be termed contaminants. It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge into a public sewer any such contaminants in any quantity where the level of the contaminants exceed the following average limits during a 24-hour period or a period of normal daily operations. The concentration based limitations for the following contaminants apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. At the discretion of the Wastewater Superintendent, and under the following guidelines, the city may consider mass based limitations in addition to or in place of the concentration based limitations.
(1) The Wastewater Superintendent may consider mass based limits only in situations where a facility has tried in good faith to comply with our local concentration based limits using pretreatment or other legitimate means, and the attempt(s) is unsuccessful.
(2) The city’s POTW does have ample loading capacity for the parameter(s) of concern, and the consideration of mass based limits will not cause the POTW to exceed the Maximum Allowable Headworks Loadings and Maximum Allowable Industrial Loadings.
Contaminant | Concentration (mg/L) |
Contaminant | Concentration (mg/L) |
Arsenic (total) | 0.09 |
Cadmium (total) | 0.04 |
Chromium (total) | 2.00 |
Copper (total) | 0.95 |
Cyanide | 0.15 |
Lead (total) | 0.20 |
Mercury (total) | 0.0002 |
Molybdenum | 0.55 |
Nickel (total) | 1.10 |
Oil (hexane soluble or equivalent) | 100.0 (see division (L) below) |
Phenols | 1.00 |
Selenium (total) | 0.22 |
Silver | 0.40 |
Zinc | 3.00 |
(L) Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease, or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32°F and 150°F (OºC and 65°C). Processed vegetable and animal origin fats and oils that cannot solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32°F and 150°F (0°C and 65°C) may be discharged in excess of 100mg/l;
(M) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Wastewater Superintendent;
(N) Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solutions whether neutralized or not;
(O) Materials which exert or cause any of the following:
(1) Unusual concentrations of inert TSS such as, but not limited to, Fullers earth, lime slurries, and lime residues, or of dissolved solids such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate;
(2) Excessive discoloration such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;
(3) Unusual BOD chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the POTW; and/or
(4) Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting “slugs” as defined in § 51.002.
(P) Water or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the POTW effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters;
(Q) Any waters containing TSS of such character and quantity that unusual provisions, attention, or expense is required to handle the materials at the POTW;
(R) Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW; (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b), Specific Prohibitions)
(S) Petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through; (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b), Specific Prohibitions)
(T) Pollutants 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; and/or (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b), Specific Prohibitions)
(U) Any substance in a concentration that may pose danger to human health or the environment.
(Ord. 2009-02, passed 5-12-2009) Penalty, see § 51.999