(a) General Discharge Prohibitions. No discharger shall contribute or cause to be discharged, directly or indirectly, any of the following described substances into the POTW or otherwise to the facilities of the City:
(1) 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 140 degrees Fahrenheit or 60 degrees Centigrade using the test method specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
(2) Solid or viscous substances which will or may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the POTW.
(3) Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or higher than 10.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment or personnel of the system.
(4) Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or to exceed the limitation set forth in the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards. A toxic pollutant shall include but not be limited to any pollutant identified in the Priority Pollutant List set forth in Appendix A hereto.
(5) Any noxious or malodorous liquids, or 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 or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair.
(6) Any substance which may cause the POTW's effluent or treatment 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 Section 405 of the Act; any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act or State standards applicable to the sludge management method being used.
(7) Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES and/or other disposal system permits.
(8) Any substance with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
(9) Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference; but in no case wastewater with a temperature at the introduction into the wastewater treatment plant which exceeds 40 degrees C (104 degrees F).
(10) Any slugload.
(11) Any unpolluted water including, but not limited to, noncontact cooling water, except such water may be discharged to a sewer which is designated to carry storm water.
(12) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentrations as exceed limits in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations.
(13) Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
(14) When the Director determines that a discharger is contributing any of the above enumerated substances in such amounts as to interfere with the operations of the POTW, the Director shall:
A. Advise the discharger of the impact of the contribution on the POTW; and
B. Develop effluent limits for such discharger to correct the interference with the POTW.
(15) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through.
(16) Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the Director.
(b) Limitations on Wastewater Strength.
(1) National categorical pretreatment standards. National categorical pretreatment standards as promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) pursuant to the Act shall be met by all dischargers of the regulated industrial categories. An application for modification of the national categorical pretreatment standards may be considered for submittal to the approval authority by the Director, when the City's wastewater treatment system achieves consistent removal of the pollutants as defined by 40 CFR 403.7.
(2) Right of revision. The City reserves the right to amend this chapter to provide for more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the POTW where deemed necessary to comply with the objectives set forth in Section 924.01.
(3) Dilution. No discharger shall increase the use of potable or process water in any way, nor mix separate waste streams for the purpose of diluting a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the standards set forth in this chapter. The Director may impose mass limitations on dischargers which are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases where the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(4) Supplementary limitations. No discharger shall discharge wastewater containing concentrations of the following enumerated materials exceeding the following values. These values are subject to respond to changes in Federal and State regulations, environmental protection criteria, plant design and operational criteria, and the nature of industrial contributions to the POTW effluent.
Table 1 - CBOD5 distribution by Individual Loading Allocation Method
Industry | CBOD Local Limit (mg/L) |
Bunge | 1,800 |
Unverferth | 1,000 |
Chef Solutions | 4,750 |
Lake View Farms | 4,000 |
(Ord. 2009-51. Passed 9-8-09.)
Table 2 - Local Limits applicable to all industries
Pollutants | Proposed Daily Local Limits (mg/l) | Monthly Local Limits (mg/l) |
Bis (2 ethyhexyl) phthalate | 0.107 | |
TDS | 7,079 | |
TSS | 1,885 | |
Cadmium | 0.260 | 0.159 |
Total Chromium | 7.100 | |
Hexavalent Chromium | 0.481 | |
Copper | 1.632 | |
Lead | 1.477 | 1.233 |
Mercury | 0.0015 | |
Nickel | 4.024 | |
Zinc | 6.692 | |
Oil/Grease | 150 Total (100 animal, vegetable; 50 mineral, hydrocarbons) | |
CBOD5 | 200 | |
(Ord. 2009-12. Passed 3-24-09.)
(c) Accidental Discharges and Slugloads
(1) Each discharger shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited or regulated materials or substances established by this chapter and from slugloads. Where determined by the Director to be necessary, facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials and slugloads shall be provided and maintained at the discharger's cost and expense. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the Director for review, and shall be approved by the Director prior to construction of the facility. No discharger who discharges to the Delphos POTW shall be permitted to introduce pollutants into the system until accidental discharge and slugload protection procedures have been approved by the Director. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures by the Director shall not relieve the discharger from the responsibility to modify its facilities or plan as necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter. Each discharger shall be evaluated once each permit cycle for the need for prevention plans. Each discharger shall notify the Director immediately of changes at the facility affecting the potential for a slug discharge.
(2) Dischargers shall verbally notify the superintendent of the POTW during working hours, in person, by telephone, or by message left on the POTW's answering machine, or after working hours, by calling the superintendent's cell phone immediately upon the occurrence of a slugload or accidental discharge of substances prohibited by this chapter with a written notification letter on forms available from the superintendent to follow within three working days. Both notifications shall include location of discharge, date and time thereof, type of waste, concentration and volume and corrective actions.
(3) Signs shall be permanently posted in conspicuous places on the discharger's premises advising employees whom to call in the event of a slug load or accidental discharge. Employers shall instruct all employees who may cause or discover such a discharge with respect to emergency notification procedures.
(d) Bypass not Violating Applicable Pretreatment Standards or Requirements. A discharger may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause pretreatment standards or requirements to be violated, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provisions of subsection (e) and (f) hereof.
(e) Prohibition of Bypass.
(1) Bypass is prohibited, and the Director may take enforcement action against a discharger for a bypass, unless:
A. Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury or severe property damage;
B. There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventative maintenance; and
C. The discharger submitted notices as required under subsection (f) hereof.
(2) The Director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Director determines that it will meet the three conditions listed in subsection (e)(1) hereof.
(f) Notice.
(1) If a discharger knows in advance of the need for bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the Director, if possible at least ten days before the date of the bypass.
(2) A discharger shall submit oral notice of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards to the Director within twenty four hours from the time the discharger becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five days of the time the discharger becomes aware of the bypass. The written submission shall contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times, and, if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of the bypass. The Director may waive the written report on a case by case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty four hours.
(Ord. 2008-55. Passed 10-14-08.)