(A) General prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater that causes pass through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW.
(B) Specific prohibitions.
(1) A user of the POTW, whether or not the user is subject to national categorical standards or state, local, or any other national pretreatment standard or requirement, shall not allow the introduction of the following into the POTW:
(a) A pollutant from any source of nondomestic wastewaters that could pass through or cause interference with the operation or performance of the POTW.
(b)
Pollutants that create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140º F. (60º C.), using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
(c) Wastewater having a pH less than 5.0, or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW or equipment;
(d) Solid or viscous substances in amounts that will cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the POTW;
(e) Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (such as BOD), released in a discharge at a flow rate or pollutant concentration that could cause interference with the POTW;
(f) Wastewater having a temperature greater than (110º F. (45º C.)), or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater that causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104º F. (40º C.);
(g) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;
(h) Pollutants that could 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;
(i) Trucked or hauled pollutants, except with the permission of the POTW and when introduced at discharge points designated by the Workforce Manager;
(j) Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to quality of life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;
(k) Wastewater which imparts color that cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently impact color to the treatment plant's effluent, thereby violating the city’s NPDES permit;
(l) Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes, except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
(m) Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the Workforce Manager;
(n) Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
(o) Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the Workforce Manager in a wastewater discharge permit;
(p) Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant’s effluent to fail a toxicity test;
(q) Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances that may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
(r) Wastewater causing two readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the POTW, or at any point in the POTW, of more than 5%, or any single reading over 10% of the lower explosive limit of the meter; or
(s) Total phosphorus discharges. Phosphorus discharges to the publicly owned treatment works must be in concentrations that do not cause pass through and interference.
(2) Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section must not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
(C) Other prohibitions regarding connections. All users shall comply with the following provisions regarding connections to the POTW.
(1) New construction which shall be a tributary to a combined sewer shall be designed by the user to minimize or delay inflow contribution to the combined sewer.
(2) New construction of combined sewers outside of the existing combined sewer service area is prohibited.
(3) No user shall make a new connection unless there is capacity available to all downstream sewers, lift stations, force mains and the sewage treatment plant, including capacity for BOD and SS.
(4) Except as otherwise provided, 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 sewage.
(5) The owner of all homes, 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 a public sanitary or combined sewer of the city is hereby required, at his or her expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, within 90 days after date of official notice to do so, provided that the public sewer is within 300 feet of the property line.
(6) No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer, or appurtenance thereof, without first obtaining a written permit from the Clerk-Treasurer.
(7) There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: for residential and commercial service and for service to establishments producing material wastes. In either case, the owner or his or her agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the city. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgement of the Workforce Manager. A permit and inspection fee of $10 for a residential or commercial building permit and $25 for an industrial building sewer permit shall be paid to the Clerk-Treasurer at the time the application is filed.
(8) All costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the city from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
(9) A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building; except where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court yard or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer.
(10) Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the inspector, to meet all requirements of this chapter.
(11) The size, slope, alignment, materials of construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointly testing and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules of the city. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and WPCF Manuals of Practice No. 9 shall apply.
(12) Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
(13) No person shall make connection of inflow sources, such as roof down spouts, basement drains, sump pumps, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or ground water to a building sewer or building drain which, in turn, is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
(14) The connection of a building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing code or other applicable rules and regulations of the city, or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of ASTM and the WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9. All such connections shall be made gas-tight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Workforce Manager before installation.
(15) The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the inspector when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The construction shall be made under the supervision of the inspector or his or her representative.
(16) All excavations for building sewer installations must be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways, and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the city.
(17) Unpolluted water from air conditioners, cooling, condensing systems or swimming pools shall be discharged to a storm sewer, where it is available, or to a combined sewer approved by the city. Where a storm sewer is not available, discharge may be to a natural outlet approved by the city and by the State of Indiana. Where a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural sewer is not available, such unpolluted water may be discharged to a sanitary sewer, pending written approval by the city.
(18) The inflow/clear water connection for any new building shall be made separate and distinct from the sanitary waste connection, to facilitate disconnection of the former if a separate storm sewer subsequently becomes available.
(Ord. 500, passed 6-9-01; Am. Ord. 506, passed 9-24-01; Am. Ord. 681, passed 8-22-16; Am. Ord. 716, passed 5-13-19)
Penalty, see § 51.99