Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated.
1. Act. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended (33 United States Code section 1251 et seq.).
2. Administrator. The Regional Administrator of Region IX, United States Environmental Protection Agency.
3. Authorized or Duly Authorized Representative of User.
a. If the user is a corporation:
i. The president, secretary, treasurer, or vice president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function; or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation; or
ii. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct other 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 wastewater discharge permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures;
b. If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or proprietor, respectively;
c. If the user is a federal, state or local government facility: a director or highest official appointed or designed to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or his/her designee; or
The individuals, described in paragraphs a through c above, may designated a duly authorized representative if such authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position that is 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 city.
4. Baseline Monitoring Report. An initial report submitted by an industrial user determined to be subject to a pretreatment standard pursuant to section 15.40.290.
5. Best Management Practices (BMP). The schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in article II of this chapter. BMPs include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
6. Biochemical Oxygen Demand. The quantity of oxygen utilized in the oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees centigrade expressed in terms of weight and concentration (milligrams per liter [mg/L]).
7. Building Sewer. That portion of a side sewer beginning at the plumbing or drainage outlet of any building or industrial facility and running to the property line or to a private sewage disposal system.
8. Bypass. An intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user’s treatment facility.
9. California Toxics Rule (CTR). Water quality criteria or standards specifically for the State of California promulgated by USEPA pursuant to the Act and codified at 40 CFR Part 131.
10. Categorical Industrial User (CIU). An industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or requirement.
11. Categorical Pretreatment Standard or Categorical Standards. Any regulation containing pollution discharge limits promulgated by USEPA in accordance with section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 United States Code section 1347) that apply to a specific category of users and that appear in 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
12. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). A measure of oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water.
13. City. City of Chico.
14. Compatible Pollutant. Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, fecal coliform bacteria, plus additional pollutants identified in the city’s NPDES permit.
15. Consistent Removal. Reduction in the amount of a pollutant or alteration of the nature of the pollutant by the city’s sanitary sewer system to a less toxic or harmless state in the effluent, which is achieved by the city’s sanitary sewer system in ninety-five (95) percent of the samples taken when measured according to the procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part 403.7(c).
16. Cooling Water. The water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling, or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
17. County. County of Butte.
18. Daily Maximum. The arithmetic average of all samples for a pollutant collected during a calendar day.
19. Daily Maximum Limit. The maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
20. Director. Director of public works for the City of Chico.
21. Discharge or Indirect Discharge. The introduction of pollutants or wastewater into the city’s sanitary sewer system by any means.
22. Discharger. Any person discharging waste to the city’s sanitary sewer system. The term is synonymous with “user.”
23. Domestic Wastewater. Any liquid, solid, sewage or waterborne waste of the type normally resulting from ordinary residential living processes (e.g., human excrement, gray water [household showers, dishwashing]), free from industrial wastes and generally containing only compatible pollutants which can be discharged into the city’s sanitary sewer system without prior treatment.
24. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
25. Existing Source. Any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication by USEPA of proposed pretreatment standards which will be applicable to such source if the pretreatment standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with section 307 of the Act.
26. GPD or gpd. Gallons per day.
27. Grab Sample. A sample taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.
28. Grit. Heavy suspended mineral matter present in water or wastewater such as sand, gravel, or cinders.
29. Industrial User. A nondomestic or commercial source of pollutants connected to the city’s sanitary sewer system. Used herein, the term shall be generic and when used shall include categorical industrial users, significant industrial users, and governmental agencies.
30. Industrial Wastewater. Any liquid or waterborne waste from manufacturing, processing, commercial or industrial facilities, except domestic wastewater, boiler blowdown, and uncontaminated or noncontact cooling water, provided, however, that substantial discharge of boiler blowdown closely associated with industrial activity shall be considered industrial wastewater when such discharge has a reasonable potential to affect or interfere with the city’s sanitary sewer system, its treatment process, or operations as determined by the director.
31. Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit. A waste discharge permit issued to categorical industrial users and significant industrial users.
32. Instantaneous Limit. The maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
33. Interceptor. Generally, a two or more compartment tank designed to prevent undesirable materials from leaving a commercial or industrial site and entering the city’s sanitary sewer system. The tank allows adequate retention time so that wastewater may cool and the material it contains may stabilize. In this chapter, the usage of the term is generic and shall mean grease traps, sand traps, or separators wherever they may be located.
34. Interference. A discharge that, alone, or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the city’s sanitary sewer system, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use, or disposal; and therefore, is a cause of a violation of the city’s NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder, or any more stringent state or local regulations: section 405 of the Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); any state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of SWDA; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
35. Local Limits. Specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the city upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 CFR Part 403.5(a)(1) and (b).
36. MGD or mgd. Million gallons per day.
37. Maximum Allowable Headworks Loading (MAHL). The maximum loading of a given pollutant that the city’s sanitary sewer system can accept without causing an exceedance of the most limiting of the following restrictions:
a. City’s sanitary sewer system upset limits (activated sludge and/or anaerobic digestion);
b. Pass-through limits (e.g., NPDES permit effluent limitations, water quality criteria/objectives);
c. Biosolids disposal limits; or
d. The city’s sanitary sewer system design capacity limits.
38. Maximum Allowable Industrial Loading (MAIL). The maximum loading of a given pollutant that can be discharged in total of all industrial users without causing an exceedance of the most limiting of the following restrictions:
a. City’s sanitary sewer system upset limits (activated sludge and/or anaerobic digestion);
b. Pass-through limits (e.g., NPDES permit effluent limitations, water quality criteria/objectives);
c. Biosolids disposal limits; or
d. The city’s sanitary sewer system design capacity limits.
39. Medical Waste. Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.
40. Monthly Average. The sum of all “daily discharges” measured during a calendar month divided by the number of “daily discharges” measured during that month.
41. Monthly Average Limit. The highest allowable average of “daily discharge” over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all “daily discharges” measured during a calendar month divided by the number of “daily discharges” measured during that month.
42. National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Any regulation developed under the authority of section 307(b) of the Act.
43. National Toxics Rule (NTR). Water quality criteria or standards promulgated by USEPA pursuant to the Act and codified in 40 CFR Part 131.
44. New Source:
a. Any building, structure, facility, installation or other source from which there is (or may be) a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such new source if such pretreatment standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
i. The building structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
ii. The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
iii. 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 paragraphs (a)(ii) or (a)(iii) above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
c. Construction of a new source as defined under this subsection has commenced if the owner or operator has either:
i. 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 which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
ii. Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this subparagraph.
45. Noncontact Cooling Water. Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any additives, raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
46. Nonresidential Premises. All premises other than residential premises.
47. Occupant. The owner of premises and any person residing on premises or using premises for any purpose.
48. Owner. The person or persons holding the title to premises as shown by the official records of the County of Butte.
49. Pass Through. A discharge which exits the city’s sanitary sewer system into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with other sources, cause a violation of the city’s NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
50. Permit or Wastewater Discharge Permit. A wastewater discharge permit issued by the city, including both industrial wastewater discharge permits and pollution prevention permits.
51. 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.
52. pH. The negative logarithm of the hydrogen-ion activity in moles per liter of solution as determined by approved methods that measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed as standard units.
53. Pollutant. Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity odor).
54. Pollutant of Concern (POC). Any pollutant or substance, the discharge of which is prohibited by this chapter.
55. Pollution. The manmade or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and/or radiological integrity of water.
56. Pollution Prevention Permit. A wastewater discharge permit issued by the city to users who are neither SIUs nor CIUs.
57. Pollution Prevention Program. The city’s program to regulate wastewater discharges not permitted under an industrial wastewater discharge permit.
58. Premises. Any lot, place, or parcel of land, or any building, structure, or mobile home, or any part of a building, structure, or mobile home on any lot, place or parcel of land.
59. Pretreatment. 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 such pollutants into the city’s sanitary sewer system. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes; by process changes; or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutant unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
60. Pretreatment Requirements. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard imposed on a user.
61. Pretreatment Standard or Standards. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, or local limits.
62. Prohibited Discharge Standards or Prohibited Discharges. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances. These prohibitions appear in article II of this chapter.
63. Residential Premises. All premises used exclusively for residential purposes except for boarding houses, dormitories, motels, hotels, hospitals, convalescent homes, or other premises used primarily as a temporary place of residence.
64. Sanitary Sewer System. A treatment works as defined by section 212 of the Act, which is owned by the city (as defined by section 502(4) of the Act). This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastewater. It also includes sewers, pipes, pump stations, and other conveyances which convey wastewater to the water pollution control plant.
65. Sewage. Liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and wastewater from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, or institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the city’s sanitary sewer system.
66. Sewer Lateral. The portion of a side sewer connecting a building sewer to the sewer main or trunkline maintained by the city.
67. Sewer Main. Any public sewer constructed in a street, a sewer easement, a public utility easement, or a public service easement which is less than 15 inches in diameter and designed to accommodate more than one lateral sewer.
68. Sewerage Collection System. That part of the city’s sanitary sewer system used to collect wastewaters and convey the same to the headworks of the water pollution control plant.
69. Side Sewer. The sewer line beginning at the foundation wall of any building and terminating at the sewer main and including the building sewer and lateral sewer together.
70. Significant Industrial User (SIU):
a. Any categorical industrial user in accordance with 40 CFR Part 403.6 and 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N; or
b. Any other industrial user which:
i. Discharges twenty-five thousand (25,000) gallons per day or more of process wastewaters (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling water, and boiler blowdown wastewaters); or
ii. Contributes a process waste stream which makes up five (5) percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the water pollution control plant; or
iii. Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the city’s sanitary sewer system or for violating a pretreatment standard or requirement.
c. The city may determine that an industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR Part 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N is a Non-Significant Categorical Industrial User (NSCIU) rather than an SIU on a finding that the industrial user never discharges more than 100 gpd of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless specifically included in the pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met:
i. The industrial user, prior to the city’s finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and requirements; or
ii. The industrial user annual submits the certification statement required in section 15.40.180, together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement; and
iii. The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.
iv. Upon a finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in subsection (b) above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the treatment plant or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the city may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user, and in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR Part 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user should not be considered an SIU.
71. Slug Discharge or Slug Load. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration of a non-routine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to an accidental spill, or a non-customary batch discharge, which has reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the city’s regulations, local limits, or NPDES permit conditions.
72. Spill. A release, whether accidental or intentional, of a material.
73. Stormwater. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
74. Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR). The regulations pertaining to the protection of the environment that are adopted by the United States government and subsequent amendments.
75. Total Suspended Solids (TSS). The portion of residue present in wastewater that is retained on a filter (nonfilterable) as determined by approved methods.
76. Toxic Pollutant. Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in 40 CFR Part 401.15.
77. United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, the Regional Administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.
78. User. Any person who discharges, contributes, causes, or permits the discharge of wastewater into the city’s sanitary sewer system.
79. Wastewater. Liquid and water-carried wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, or institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are discharged into or permitted to enter the city’s sanitary sewer system.
80. Water Pollution Control Plant. That part of the city’s sanitary sewer system used in the treatment and/or reclamation of wastewater and sludge discharged to the sewerage collection system, including all land and all buildings or portions of buildings used in the operation and maintenance of the treatment works.
(Ord. 2481 §1 (part))