(a) Wastewater dischargers. It shall be unlawful for any person to connect or discharge to the POTW without first obtaining the permission of the director. When requested by the director, a user must submit information on the nature and characteristics of its wastewater within 30 days of the director's request. The director is authorized to prepare a form for this purpose and may periodically require users to update this information.
(b) Permits. All significant industrial users shall obtain a significant industrial user wastewater discharge permit ("significant industrial user permit" or "SIU permit") prior to the commencement of discharge to the POTW. Existing industrial users who are determined by the director to be significant industrial users shall obtain a significant industrial user permit within 180 days of receiving notification of the director's determination. Industrial users who do not fit the significant industrial user criteria may, at the discretion of the director, be required to obtain a wastewater discharge permit for nonsignificant Industrial users (non-SIU permit). Both SIU permits and non-SIU permits are referred to as wastewater discharge permits or permits.
(1) Significant industrial user determination. All persons proposing to discharge nondomestic wastewater, or proposing to change the volume or characteristics of an existing discharge of nondomestic wastewater, shall request from the director a significant industrial user determination. If the director determines or suspects that the proposed discharge fits the significant industrial user criteria, he will require that the user file a SIU permit application.
(2) Application. Users required to obtain a wastewater discharge permit, including a SIU permit, shall complete and file with the town an application in the form prescribed by the director, which shall be accompanied by an application fee in the amount prescribed in the schedule of charges and fees. Users required to renew a wastewater discharge permit shall renew such permit in accordance with the procedures for renewal described in the permit. Significant industrial users shall apply for a SIU permit within 90 days of receiving notification of the director's determination in (b)(1) above. In support of the application, the user shall submit, in units and terms appropriate for evaluation, the following information:
a. Name, address, and location (if different from the address);
b. Standard industrial classification (SIC) codes or expected classification for pretreatment, the industry as a whole, and any processes for which categorical pretreatment standards have been promulgated;
c. Types and concentrations or mass of pollutants contained in the discharge including, but not limited to, those mentioned in section 36-173 of this division and any of the priority pollutants (section 307(a) of the Act) which the applicant knows or suspects are present in the discharge as determined by a state-certified analytical laboratory, and any other pollutant of concern to the POTW. Sampling and analysis shall be performed in accordance with procedures established by the EPA pursuant to section 304(g) of the Act and as contained in 40 CFR, 136, as amended; and as required in section 36-176(k) and (l)(i)-(iii) of this division.
d. Time and duration of discharge;
e. Average daily and 30-minute peak wastewater flow rates, including daily, monthly and seasonal variations, if any;
f. Site plans, floor plans, mechanical and plumbing plans and details to show all sewers, floor drains, sewer connections, direction of flow, and appurtenances by the size, location and elevation and discharge points or locations;
g. Description of activities, facilities and plant processes on the premises, including all materials which are, or could be, discharged;
h. Where known, the nature and concentration or mass of any pollutants in the discharge which are limited by any town, state, or federal pretreatment standards and a statement regarding whether or not the pretreatment standards are being met on a consistent basis and if not, whether additional operation and maintenance (O & M) and/or additional pretreatment is required for the user to meet applicable pretreatment standards;
i. If additional pretreatment and/or O & M will be required to meet the pretreatment standards, the shortest schedule by which the user will provide such additional pretreatment. The completion date in this schedule shall not be later than the compliance date established for the applicable pretreatment standard. The following conditions apply to this schedule:
1. The schedule shall contain progress increments in the form of dates for the commencement and completion of major events leading to the construction and operation of additional pretreatment required for the user to meet the applicable pretreatment standards. No increment in the schedule shall exceed nine months;
2. No later than 14 days following each date in the schedule and the final date for compliance, the user shall submit a written progress report to the director which shall include, at a minimum, a statement as to whether or not the user complied with the increment of progress, the reason for any delay, and, if appropriate, the steps being taken by the user to return to the established schedule. In no event shall more than nine months elapse between progress reports to the director;
j. Each product produced or services performed by type, amount, process or processes and rate of production;
k. Type and amount of raw materials processed (average and maximum per day);
l. Number and type of employees, and hours of operation of plant and proposed or actual hours of operation of pretreatment system;
m. If subject to a categorical standard, a baseline monitoring report in accordance with 40 CFR 403.12(b) and 15 NCAC 2H.0908(a), as outlined in section 36-176 of this division;
n. Description of current and projected waste reduction activities in accordance with G.S. 143-215.1(g);
o. Description of existing on-site pretreatment facilities; if applicable, including operation and practices performed; and
p. Any other information as may be deemed by the director to be necessary to evaluate the permit application.
(3) Application signatories and certification. All wastewater discharge permit applications and user reports must be signed by the current representative of the user on file with the Town of Cary as defined in section 36-172; "Authorized Representative User" and must contain the following certification statement:
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. l am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations.
(4) Application review and evaluation.
a. The director is authorized to accept applications for the town and may refer all applications to the POTW staff for review and evaluation.
b. Within 60 days of receipt, the director shall acknowledge and accept the complete application, or if the application is not complete, the director shall return the application to the applicant with a statement as to what additional information is required.
(5) Tentative determination and draft permit.
a. The POTW staff shall review the application and shall conduct an on-site inspection of the significant industrial user, including any pretreatment facility. An on-site inspection of other users, including pretreatment facilities, may also be conducted. The POTW staff shall prepare a written evaluation and tentative determination to issue or deny the wastewater discharge permit.
b. If the staff's tentative determination in subsection (5)a. above is to issue the permit, the following additional determinations shall be made in writing:
1. Proposed discharge limitations for those pollutants proposed to be limited;
2. A proposed schedule of compliance, including interim dates and requirements for meeting the proposed limitations; and
3. A brief description of any other proposed special conditions which will have significant impact upon the discharge described in the application.
c. The POTW staff shall organize the determinations made pursuant to paragraphs (5)a. and (5)b. above, along with the town's general permit conditions, into a wastewater discharge permit.
(6) Permit supporting documentation. The control authority staff shall prepare the following documents for all significant industrial user permits.
a. An allocation table (AT) listing permit information for all significant industrial users, including but not limited to permit limits, permit effective and expiration dates, and a comparison of total permitted flows and loads with Division approved maximum allowable loadings of the POTW, including flow, on forms or in a format approved by the Division. The AT shall be updated as permits are issued or renewed, and as permits are modified where the permitted limits or other AT information is revised.
b. The basis, or rationale, for the pretreatment limitations, including the following:
1. Documentation of categorical determinations, including documentation of any calculations used in applying categorical pretreatment standards, and;
2. Documentation of the rationale of any parameters for which monitoring has been waived under 40 CFR Part 403.12(e)(2).
(7) Final action on applications.
a. The director shall take final action on all applications and shall notify the applicants of the action taken not later than 90 days following receipt of a complete application.
b. The director is authorized to take any one or more of the following actions:
1. Issue a wastewater discharge permit containing such conditions as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this division and G.S. 143-215.1;
2. Issue a wastewater discharge permit containing time schedules for achieving compliance with applicable pretreatment standards and requirements;
3. Modify any permit upon not less than 60 days' notice and in accordance with section 36-175 of this division;
4. Revoke any permit pursuant to section 36-179 of this division;
5. Suspend a permit pursuant to section 36-179 of this division;
6. Deny a permit application when, in the opinion of the director, such a discharge may cause or contribute to pass-through or interference or where necessary to effectuate the purposes of G.S. 143-215.1.
(8) Permit modification.
a. Procedural requirements. Modifications of permits shall be subject to the same procedural requirements as the issuance of permits, except as listed below. Any changes or new conditions in the permit shall include a reasonable time schedule for compliance attainment.
1. Changes in the ownership of the discharge when no other change in the permit is indicated.
2. A single modification of any compliance schedule not in excess of four months.
3. Modification of compliance schedules in permits for new source's construction schedules where the new source will not begin to discharge until the discharge characteristics can meet the requirements of this division.
b. Categorical standards revisions. Within nine months of the promulgation of a National Categorical Pretreatment Standard, the wastewater discharge permit of users subject to such standards shall be revised to require compliance with such standard within the time frame prescribed by such standard. Where a user subject to a National Categorical Pretreatment Standard has not previously submitted an application for a wastewater discharge permit as required by subsection (b), the shall apply for a wastewater discharge permit within 180 days of the promulgation of the applicable National Categorical Pretreatment Standard.
c. User request for modification. A request for a modification by the user shall constitute a waiver of the 60-day notice for modifications required by G.S. 143-215.1(b).
(9) Permit conditions.
a. The director shall have the authority to grant a permit with such conditions attached as the director believes necessary to achieve the purpose of this division and G.S. 143-215.1. Permit conditions shall include the following:
1. A statement of duration (in no case more than five years);
2. A statement of nontransferability;
3. Applicable effluent limits based on categorical standards or local limits, or both;
4. Applicable monitoring, sampling, reporting, notification, and recordkeeping requirements. These requirements shall include an identification of pollutants to be monitored, sampling locations, sampling frequency, and sampling type based on federal, state, and local law;
5. Notification requirements for slug loads or accidental discharge as identified in section 36-172(a), "Definitions - Slug Load or Discharge";
6. A statement of applicable civil and/or criminal penalties for violation of pretreatment standards and requirements, and any applicable compliance schedule;
7. Requirements to implement a Plan or other controls for prevention of accidental discharges or slug load as defined in section 36-172(a) "Definitions - Slug Load or Discharge", if determined by the director to be necessary for the user, and
b. In addition, at the discretion of the director, wastewater discharge permits may contain other conditions which may include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Limits on the average and maximum rate of discharge, and requirements for flow regulation and equalization;
2. Limits on the instantaneous, daily and/or monthly average and/or maximum concentration, mass, or other measure of identified wastewater pollutants or properties;
3. Requirements for the installation of pretreatment technology or construction of appropriate containment devices, and similar requirements designed to reduce, eliminate, or prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW;
4. Development and implementation of waste minimization plans to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW;
5. Development and implementation of waste minimization plans to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW;
6. The unit charge or schedule of user charges and fees for the management of the wastewater discharged to the system;
7. Requirements for installation and maintenance of inspection and sampling facilities and equipment;
8. Specifications for a monitoring program which may include sampling locations, sampling frequency, number, types, and standards for tests, and reporting schedules;
9. Requirements for immediate reporting of any instance of noncompliance and for automatic and resampling and reporting within 30 days, where self-monitoring indicates a violation(s);
10. Compliance schedules for meeting pretreatment standards and requirements;
11. Requirements for submission of periodic self-monitoring of special notification reports;
12. Requirements for maintaining and retaining plans and records relating to wastewater discharges as specified in section 36-176(m)[n] and affording the director or his representatives, access thereto;
13. Requirements for prior notification and approval by the director of any new introduction of wastewater pollutants or of any significant change in the volume or character of the wastewater prior to introduction into the POTW;
14. Requirements for the prior notification and approval by the director of any change in the manufacturing and/or pretreatment process used by the permittee;
15. Requirements for immediate notification of excessive, accidental, or slug discharges, or any discharge which could cause any problems to the POTW;
16. A statement that compliance with the permit does not relieve the permittee of responsibility for compliance with all applicable federal and state pretreatment standards, including those which become effective after the issuance of the permit; and
17. Other conditions as deemed appropriate by the director to ensure compliance with this division, and state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.
(10) Permit duration. Permits shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed five years. A permit may be issued for a period of time that is less than a year and may be drafted to expire on a specific date.
(11) Permit transfer. Wastewater discharge permits shall be issued to a specific user for a specific operation. A wastewater discharge permit shall not be assigned or transferred or sold to any person, including a new owner or new user, nor shall it be assigned or transferred to a different premises, or to a new or changed operation.
(12) Permit reissuance. A user shall apply for permit reissuance by submitting a complete permit application in accordance with subsection (b) at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the existing permit.
(Code 1982, § 19-93; Ord. No. 94-036, 12-8-1994; Ord. No. 06-004, 3-9-2006; Ord. No. 2007-20, 12-13-2007; Ord. No. 2011-Code-09, 12-15-2011)