(A) Purpose and policy.
(1) This subchapter sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) for the town, and enables the town to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.) and the general pretreatment regulations (40 C.F.R. Ch. 1, Subch. N, part 403). The objectives of this subchapter are:
(a) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will interfere with the operation of the POTW or contaminate the resulting sludge;
(b) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into any waters of the state or otherwise be incompatible with the POTW;
(c) To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludges from the POTW;
(d) To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of the operation, maintenance and improvement of the POTW;
(e) To protect both town personnel who may be affected by wastewater, sludge and effluent in the course of their employment, as well as protecting the general public; and
(f) To ensure that the town complies with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for non-discharge permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other federal and state laws to which the POTW is subject.
(2) This subchapter provides for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the POTW, through the issuance of wastewater permits to certain industrial wastewater contributors and through enforcement of general requirements for the other contributors, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires contributor reporting, and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.
(3) This subchapter shall apply to all contributors to the POTW, as authorized by G.S. § 160A-312. The town shall designate an administrator of the POTW and pretreatment program, hereafter referred to as the POTW Director. Except as otherwise provided herein, the POTW Director shall administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this subchapter. Any powers granted to or assigned to the POTW Director may be delegated by the POTW Director to other appropriate town personnel.
(4) By discharging wastewater into the POTW, an industrial wastewater contributor located within or outside the town limits agrees to comply with the terms and conditions established in this subchapter, as well as any wastewater permits, enforcement actions, or orders issued hereunder. These requirements apply to every industrial wastewater contributor discharging into the wastewater collection system owned by any satellite POTW.
(B) Definitions and abbreviations. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this subchapter, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated.
ACT or THE ACT. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Director of the Division of Water Quality of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF AN INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER CONTRIBUTOR. An individual designated in a written and properly attested statement meeting the following criteria:
(a) If the industrial wastewater contributor is a corporation or a limited liability company, AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean:
1. The president, secretary or a vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principle business function, or any other person who performs similar policy- or decision-making functions for the corporation or company; or
2. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production or operating facilities of the corporation or company, provided, the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility, including having the explicit or implicit duty to make major capital investment recommendations, and to initiate and direct comprehensive measures to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for control mechanism requirements; and has the authority to sign documents in accordance with corporate procedures.
(b) If the industrial wastewater contributor is a partnership or sole proprietorship, an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean a general partner or the proprietor, respectively.
(c) If the industrial wastewater contributor is a federal, state or local government facility, an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility or their designee.
(d) The individuals described in divisions (a), (b) and (c) above may designate another authorized representative if the authorization is in writing and notarized, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company and the written authorization is submitted to the town.
(e) If the designation of an authorized representative 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 of this section must be submitted to the POTW Director prior to, or together with, any reports to be signed by an authorized representative.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter in wastewater under standard laboratory procedures, as defined in 40 C.F.R. part 136, for five days at 20°C, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/l).
BYPASS. The intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a contributor’s treatment facility.
CATEGORICAL STANDARD. See NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD.
COLLECTION SYSTEM PERMIT. A permit issued to the town to maintain and operate a sewer system consisting of sewer lines, force mains and pump stations, to at all times prevent discharge to land or surface waters, and to prevent any contravention of groundwater standards or surface water standards.
CONTRIBUTOR. Any person who is a source of wastewater, sanitary and/or industrial, to the POTW.
DISCHARGE. The introduction of wastewater from any industrial wastewater contributor into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or other duly authorized official of the agency.
GRAB SAMPLE. A sample taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis, with no regard to the flow in the waste stream, and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks, including but not limited to, such holding tanks as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump trucks.
INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER CONTRIBUTOR. Any person who is a source of industrial wastewater to the POTW. This term is synonymous with the term “industrial user” found in state and federal wastewater regulations, a person who discharges non-domestic wastewater.
INTERFERENCE. The inhibition or disruption of the POTW collection system, treatment processes, operations or its sludge process, use or disposal, which contributes to a violation of any requirement of the town's NPDES Permit, collection system permit or non-discharge permit, or prevents sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with specified applicable state and federal statutes, regulations or wastewater permits. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with § 405 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1345) or any criteria, guidelines or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA)(42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq.), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV of the SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the town.
MEDICAL WASTE. Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding and other materials, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes and dialysis wastes.
NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1347) which applies to a specific category of industrial wastewater contributors, and which appears in 40 C.F.R. Ch. 1, Subch. N, parts 405 through 471.
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPEDS) PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342) or pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1 by the state under delegation from EPA.
NEW SOURCE.
(a) Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of a proposed categorical pretreatment standards under § 307(c) of the Act, which will be applicable to the source if the standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with § 307(c); provided that:
1. The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;
2. The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
3. The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source, should be considered.
(b) Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a NEW SOURCE if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility or installation meeting the criteria of divisions (a)2. or (a)3. above, but otherwise alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(c) For purposes of this definition, construction of a NEW SOURCE has commenced if the owner or operator has:
1. Begun or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:
a. Any placement, assembly or installation of facilities or equipment; or
b. Significant site preparation work, including clearing, excavation or removal of existing buildings, structures or facilities necessary for the placement, assembly or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
2. Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts that can be terminated or modified without substantial loss and contracts for feasibility, engineering and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this definition.
NON-CONTACT COOLING WATER. Water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product.
NON-DISCHARGE PERMIT. A disposal system issued by the state, pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1.
PASS THROUGH. A discharge that exits the POTW into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations that, alone or with discharges from other sources, causes a violation, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, of the town’s NPDES permit, non-discharge permit or a downstream water quality standard.
PERSON. Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. This definition includes all federal, state and local government entities.
pH. A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed as standard units, and calculated as the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT. Any “waste” as defined in G.S. § 143-213(18), dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt or industrial, municipal and agricultural waste or wastewater with certain characteristics (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity and odor).
POTW DIRECTOR. The Town of Boone Director of Public Utilities, as the town administrator designated with the responsibility for the pretreatment program and enforcement of this subchapter, or his or her designee.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT. The portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
PRETREATMENT or TREATMENT. The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, discharging or otherwise introducing the pollutants into a POTW, whether obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes or other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT PROGRAM. The program for the control of pollutants introduced into the POTW from industrial wastewater sources, which was developed by the town in compliance with 40 C.F.R. part 403.8, and approved by the approval authority in accordance with 40 C.F.R. part 403.11.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical standards or local limits that apply to an industrial wastewater contributor.
PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 50.328 of this chapter and are developed under the authority of § 307(b) of the Act and 40 C.F.R. part 403.5.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW). A treatment works, as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292), owned in this instance by the town. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of town sanitary or industrial wastewater of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant. For the purposes of this subchapter, POTW shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the town who are, by contract or agreement with the town or in any other way, contributors to the town’s POTW.
RESIDENTIAL. Relating to a structure that is used primarily as a dwelling.
SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE. Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the contributor’s treatment facilities that causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources that can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER (SIU). Any industrial wastewater contributor to the POTW who:
(a) Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewaters); or
(b) Contributes process wastewater that makes up 5% or more of the NPDES or non-discharge permitted flow limit or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant. In this context, ORGANIC CAPACITY refers to BOD, TSS and ammonia; or
(c) Is required to meet a national categorical pretreatment standard; or
(d) Is found by the town, the Division of Water Quality or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have the potential for impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industrial wastewater contributors, on the POTW, the quality of sludge, the POTW's effluent quality, or compliance with any pretreatment standards or requirements, provided that:
(e) Subject to approval authority approval under 15A NCAC 02H .0907(b), the town may determine that an industrial wastewater contributor meeting the criteria in divisions (a) and (b) above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standards or requirement, or for contributing to violations of its NPDES or non-discharge permit, or for limiting the POTW's sludge disposal options, and thus is not a significant industrial user; or
(f) Subject to approval authority approval under 15A NCAC 02H .0907(b), the town may determine that an industrial wastewater contributor meeting the criteria in division (c) above meets the requirements of 40 C.F.R. part 403.3(v)(2), and thus is a non-significant categorical industrial user; or
(g) Subject to approval authority approval under 15A NCAC 02H .0907(b), the town may determine that an industrial wastewater contributor meeting the criteria in division (c) above meets the requirements of 40 C.F.R. part 403.12(e)(3), and thus is a middle tier significant industrial user. Sampling and inspection requirements may be cut in half as per 40 C.F.R. parts 403.8 (f)(2)(v)(C) and 403.12 (e)(3).
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE (SNC). A status of noncompliance of a significant industrial user when one or more of the following criteria are met. Additionally, any industrial wastewater contributor that meets the criteria in divisions (c), (d) or (h) below shall also be considered SNC:
(a) CHRONIC VIOLATIONS OF WASTEWATER DISCHARGE LIMITS, defined here as those in which 66% or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter (not including flow) during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 C.F.R. part 403.3(l);
(b) TECHNICAL REVIEW CRITERIA (TRC) VIOLATIONS, defined here as those in which 33% or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 C.F.R. part 403.3(l), multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC = 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease; 1.2 for all other pollutants (except flow and pH));
(c) Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 C.F.R. part 403.3(l) (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit or narrative standard) that the town determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);
(d) Any discharge of a pollutant or wastewater that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment, or has resulted in the town's exercise of its emergency authority under 40 C.F.R. part 403.8(f)(1)(vi)(B) and §§ 50.395 through 50.400 to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(e) Violations of compliance schedule milestones, contained in a wastewater permit or enforcement order, for starting construction, completing construction, and attaining final compliance by 90 days or more after the schedule date;
(f) Failure to provide reports for compliance schedule, self-monitoring data, baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, and periodic compliance reports within 45 days from the due date;
(g) Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
(h) Any other violation or group of violations that the town considers to be significant.
SLUG LOAD or SLUG DISCHARGE. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration that has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violates the town's regulations, wastewater permit limits or wastewater permit conditions. This can include, but is not limited to, a spill and other accidental discharge; discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature; a non-customary batch discharge; or any other discharge that can cause a violation of the prohibitive discharge standards in § 50.328 of this chapter.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC). A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987.
STORM WATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater or other liquids, and is removable by laboratory filtering.
UPSET. An exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the contributor. An UPSET does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
WASTEWATER. The liquid and water-carried industrial or sanitary wastes from dwellings, commercial building, industrial facility, mobile source, treatment facility or institution, together with any groundwater, surface water and storm water that may be present, whether treated or untreated, that are contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
(a) SANITARY WASTEWATER. The combination of liquid and water-carried wastes discharged from toilets and other sanitary plumbing facilities.
(b) INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER. The combination of liquid and water-carried wastes discharged as a result of any trade or process carried on at the contributor's facility, and shall include the wastes from pretreatment facilities and polluted cooling water.
WASTEWATER PERMIT. As set forth in § 50.339 of this chapter.
(a) SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER (SIU) PERMIT. A wastewater permit issued to an SIU.
(b) NON-SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER (NON-SIU) PERMIT. A wastewater permit issued to any industrial wastewater contributor that does not meet the definition of an SIU.
WATERS OF THE STATE. All streams, rivers, brooks, swamps, sounds, tidal estuaries, bays, creeks, lakes, waterways, reservoirs and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, that are contained within, flow through, or border upon the state, or any portion thereof.
(C) Interpretations.
(1) This chapter is gender neutral, the masculine gender shall include the feminine and vice-versa.
(2) SHALL is mandatory; MAY is permissive or discretionary.
(3) The use of the singular shall be construed to include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular, as indicated by the context of its use.
(D) Abbreviations. The following abbreviations, when used in this subchapter, shall have the designated meanings:
BOD. Biochemical oxygen demand.
C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations.
COD. Chemical oxygen demand.
EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.
gpd. Gallons per day.
G.S. North Carolina General Statutes.
l. Liter.
mg. Milligrams.
mg/l. Milligrams per liter.
NCAC. North Carolina Administrative Code.
NPDES. National pollutant discharge elimination system.
O&M. Operation and maintenance.
POTW. Publicly owned treatment works.
RCRA. Resources Conservation and Recovery Act.
SIC. Standard industrial classification.
SWDA. Solid Waste Disposal Act.
TKN. Total kjeldahl nitrogen.
TSS. Total suspended solids.
U.S.C. United States Code.
(Ord. passed 6-21-2011; Am. Ord. passed 12-13-2012)