(A) No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of the city’s POTW. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not the user is subject to national categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user may not contribute the substances listed in § 52.047 of this code of ordinances or the following substances to the city’s POTW:
(1) 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 POTW or to the operation of the POTW. Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including but not limited to waste streams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140ºF (60ºC) using the test methods specified in 40 C.F.R. § 261.21. 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;
(2) Any wastewater containing any pollutants in sufficient quantity or released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the POTW, or to exceed the limitation set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A pollutant shall include, but not be limited to, any pollutant identified pursuant to § 307(a) of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1317(a);
(3) Any wastewater which imparts colors that cannot be removed by the treatment process;
(4) Any wastewater containing radioactive wastes or isotopes;
(5) Detergents, surface-active agents or substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
(6) Any substance which may cause the POTW’s effluent or any other product of the POTW such as residues, sludges or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under § 405 of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1345, any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 6941 et seq., the Clean Air Act, being 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., the Toxic Substances Control Act, being 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.
(7) Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES and/or state disposal system permit or the receiving water quality standards;
(8) Any solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the waste treatment facilities such as, but not limited to, grease, garbage with particles greater than one-half inch in any dimension, or any material which can be disposed of as trash. No garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths horsepower or greater shall be installed in any building which is connected directly or indirectly to a public sewer, without prior approval of the Council. The Council shall not approve any garbage grinder which does not grind garbage to a degree so that no particle is greater than one-half inch in any dimension and shall be empowered to order that any garbage grinder, regardless of its size or when it was installed, which does not grind garbage to a degree so as to make it acceptable under this subchapter, not be used to grind garbage which is thereafter directly or indirectly discharged into a public sewer;
(9) Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or greater than 10.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment or personnel of the POTW;
(10) Heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case heat in quantities that the temperature at the POTW treatment plant exceeds 40ºC (104ºF);
(11) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or passthrough;
(12) Pollutants which 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; and
(13) No trucked or hauled pollutants will be accepted.
(B) When the Superintendent determines that a user is contributing to the POTW any of the above enumerated substances or substances listed in § 52.047 in amounts as to interfere with the operation of the POTW, the Superintendent may:
(1) Advise the user of the impact of the contribution on the POTW; and
(2) Develop effluent limitations for the user to correct the interference with the POTW.
(C) A discharge violation by a user will subject the user to some type of enforcement action, regardless of whether or not the city advises the user of the impact of the contribution on the POTW or develops appropriate effluent limits.
(1999 Code, § 101.03) Penalty, see § 52.999