PRETREATMENT

§ 52.090 PRETREATMENT PURPOSE AND POLICY.

   (A)   This subchapter sets forth uniform requirements for discharges into the city's wastewater disposal system and enables the city to comply with all state and federal laws.

   (B)   The objectives of this subchapter are as follows:

      (1)   To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater disposal system which will interfere with the operation of the system or the use or disposal of the sludge;

      (2)   To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater disposal system which will pass through the system inadequately treated into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system; and

      (3)   To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewater and sludge from the system.

   (C)   This subchapter provides for the regulation of discharges into the city's wastewater disposal system through the issuance of permits to certain users and through enforcement of the general requirements for the other users, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires user reporting and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.

   (D)   This subchapter shall apply to the city and to persons outside the city who are, by contract or agreement with the city, users of the city wastewater disposal system. This subchapter is a supplement to §§ 52.125 et seq., as amended. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Director of the city wastewater disposal system shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this subchapter.

(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)

§ 52.091 GENERAL DISCHARGE PROHIBITIONS.

   No user shall discharge or cause to be discharged, directly or indirectly, any of the following described substances into the wastewater disposal system or to any public sanitary sewer:

   (A)   Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the wastewater disposal system or to the operation of the system. At no time shall two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter, at the point of discharge into the system or at any point in the system, be more than 5% nor any single reading over 10% of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter. Prohibited materials include but are not limited to gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides;

   (B)   Solid or viscous substances which will or may cause obstruction to the flow in a sanitary sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities such as but not limited to grease, garbage with particles greater than one-half inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, waste paper, wood, plastic, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud or glass grinding or polishing wastes;

   (C)   Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or greater than 9.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the wastewater disposal system;

   (D)   Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to inhibit or disrupt any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the wastewater disposal system. A toxic pollutant shall include but not be limited to any pollutant identified pursuant to § 307 (a) of the Act;

   (E)   Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases or solids which either singly or by interaction with other wastes are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sanitary sewers for their maintenance and repair;

   (F)   Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as but not limited to dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;

   (G)   Any wastewater which creates conditions at or near the wastewater disposal system which violate any statute or any rule, regulation or ordinance of any public agency or state or federal regulatory body;

   (H)   Any wastewater having a temperature greater than 150 degrees F (65.6 degrees C) or causing, individually or in combination with other wastewater, the influent at the wastewater treatment plant to have a temperature exceeding 104 degrees F (40 degrees C);

   (I)   Any slug load, which shall mean any pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD and the like), released in a discharge of such volume or strength as to cause inhibition or disruption in the wastewater disposal system. In no case shall a slug load have a flow rate or contain concentrations or quantities of pollutants that exceed for any time period longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24 hour concentrations, quantities or flow of the user during normal operations;

   (J)   Noncontact cooling water or unpolluted storm or groundwater;

   (K)   Any wastewater containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 150 mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32 degrees F and 150 degrees F (0 degrees C and 65.6 degrees C) and any wastewater containing oil and grease concentrations of mineral origin of greater than 100 mg/l, whether emulsified or not;

   (L)   Wastewater containing inert suspended solids (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) in such quantities that they would cause disruption with the wastewater disposal system;

   (M)   Any wastewater having a BOD5 greater than 650 mg/l or having a suspended solids concentration of greater than 350 mg/l, unless otherwise permitted by the city; and

   (N)   In addition to these prohibitions, no user shall discharge to any public sanitary sewer any discharge which will cause interference with the wastewater disposal system.

(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)

§ 52.092 LIMITATIONS ON WASTEWATER STRENGTH.

   (A)   National categorical pretreatment standards. National categorical pretreatment standards promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the Act shall be met by all users which are subject to such standards in any instance where they are more stringent than the limitations in this subchapter.

   (B)   State requirements. State requirements and limitations on discharges shall be met by all users which are subject to such standards in any instance in which they are more stringent than federal requirements and limitations or those in this or any other applicable chapter.

   (C)   City's right of revision. The city reserves the right to establish by ordinance more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the wastewater disposal system if deemed necessary to comply with the objectives presented in § 52.090.

   (D)   Dilution. No user shall increase the use of process water or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the limitations contained herein, contained in the national categorical pretreatment standards or contained in any state requirements.

   (E)   Accidental discharges.

      (1)   Each user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other substances regulated by this chapter. Where necessary, facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the owner or user's own cost and expense. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedure to provide this protection shall be submitted to the Director for review and shall be approved by the Director before construction of the facility.

      (2)   Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures shall not relieve the industrial user from the responsibility to modify the user's facility as necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter. Users shall notify the Director immediately upon having a slug or accidental discharge of substances or wastewater in violation of this chapter in order to enable countermeasures to be taken by the Director to minimize damage to the wastewater disposal system and the receiving waters.

      (3)   The notification will not relieve users of liability for any expense, loss or damage to the wastewater disposal system or treatment process or for any fines imposed on the city on account thereof under any state or federal law. A notice shall be permanently posted on the user's bulletin board or other prominent place advising employees whom to call in the event of a slug or accidental discharge. Employers shall ensure that all employees who may cause or discover such a discharge are advised of the emergency notification procedure.

(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)

§ 52.093 FEES.

   (A)   Purpose. It is the purpose of this section to provide for the recovery of costs from users of the city's wastewater disposal system for the implementation of the program established herein. The applicable charges or fees shall be set forth in the city's schedule of charges and fees to be prepared, from time to time, by the Director and approved by the City Council.

   (B)   Charges and fees. The City Council shall adopt charges and fees which may include:

      (1)   Area charges: fee set by ordinance paid at the time parcels are annexed and/or subdivided (platted) into the city limits;

      (2)   Sanitary sewer access charges: fee set by ordinance paid at the time a new connection to the city's sanitary sewer main is made;

      (3)    Fees for monitoring, inspections and surveillance procedures;

      (4)   Fees for permit applications;

      (5)   Appeal fees; and

      (6)   Other fees as the city may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained herein.

(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)

§ 52.094 GENERAL USER REPORTS.

   The Director may require that any person discharging or proposing to discharge wastewater to the wastewater disposal system file a periodic discharge report. The discharge report may include but not be limited to nature of process, rates of flow, mass discharge rate, raw material and production quantities, hours of operation, number and classification of employees, compliance status with any state or federal pretreatment standards or other information which relates to the generation of waste, including wastewater constituents and concentrations in the wastewater discharge. The reports may also include sludge disposal practices and the chemical constituents and quantity of liquid or gaseous materials stored on site, even though they may not normally be discharged. At a minimum, a summary of such data indicating each industrial user's compliance with this subchapter shall be prepared quarterly and submitted to the Director. In addition to discharge reports, the Director may require information in the form of wastewater discharge permit applications, self-monitoring reports and compliance schedules.

(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)

§ 52.095 MANDATORY DISCHARGE PERMITS.

   All industries proposing to connect or to commence a new discharge to the wastewater disposal system shall obtain a wastewater discharge permit before connecting to or discharging into the wastewater disposal system if the discharge would result in the industry being classified as a significant industrial user. All existing significant industrial users or industrial users subject to national categorical pretreatment standards under § 307(b) and (c) of the Act connected to or discharging into the wastewater disposal system shall obtain a wastewater discharge permit within 180 days after the effective date of this subchapter.

(Ord. 297, passed 3-1-2022)