For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACT or THE ACT. The Clean Water Act, also known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended.
ACCEPTABLE CEILING CONCENTRATION. Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. Part 1910.1000(b)(2), and with reference to Table Z-2 of Part 1910.1000, the highest concentration level, in parts per million, of each air contaminant listed in Table Z-2 to which any person may be exposed at any time during an eight-hour period except for a time period, and up to a concentration not exceeding the maximum duration and concentration allowed in the column under “acceptable maximum peak above the ceiling concentration for an eight-hour shift.”
APPLICABLE PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. For any specified pollutant, District prohibitive discharge standards, District specific limitations on discharge, the state’s Pretreatment Standards, or the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards, whichever standard is most stringent.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. Region V Administrator, USEPA.
AUTHORIZED OR DULY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE USER.
(1) If the user is a corporation:
(a) The president, secretary, treasurer, or a 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
(b) The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit 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 individual wastewater discharge permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(2) If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or proprietor, respectively.
(3) If the user is a federal, state, or local governmental facility: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.
(4) The individuals described in divisions (1) through (3) above, may designate a DULY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position 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 District.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs). The schedule of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in § 51.020 (40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1) and (b)). 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. BMPs also include alternative means (e.g., management plans) of complying with or in the place of certain established Categorical Pretreatment Standards and effluent limits.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic material under standard laboratory procedures for five days at 20°C, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/1).
BOARD. The Board of Commissioners of the City Sanitary District.
BYPASS. The intentional diversion of wastewaters from any portion of an IU’s treatment facility.
CATEGORICAL INDUSTRIAL USER (CIU). An IU subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.
CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD or CATEGORICAL STANDARD. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by USEPA in accordance with §§ 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) that apply to a specific category of IUs and that appear in 40 C.F.R. Ch. I, Subch. N, Parts 405-471.
CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (COD). A measurement of the amount of oxygen required to oxidize organic and oxidizable inorganic compounds of water and wastewater. It shall be expressed as the amount of oxygen consumed, in milligrams per liter, from a chemical oxidant in a specific test, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by 40 C.F.R. Part 136.3.
COMPOSITE SAMPLE. A sample collected in accordance with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. § 403 Appx. E.
CITY. The City of East Chicago, Indiana or its governing body, the Common Council.
COMPOSITE SAMPLE. A sample collected in accordance with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. § 403 Appx E.
CONTROL AUTHORITY. The District.
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 a day. Where DAILY MAXIMUM LIMITS are expressed in terms of concentration, the DAILY DISCHARGE is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
DISTRICT. The City Sanitary District or its Board of Commissioners.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or USEPA. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the administrator or other duly authorized official of the Agency.
FUME. Any gas-like emanation containing minute solid particles arising from the heating of a solid body.
GAS. Any substance characterized by relatively low density and viscosity, high ability to expand and contract with changes in temperature and pressure, high ability to diffuse readily, and a spontaneous tendency to distribute itself uniformly throughout any container.
GRAB SAMPLE. Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 403 Appx. E, a sample that is taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE. The introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any non-domestic source regulated under § 307(b), (c), or (d) of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1317.
INDUSTRIAL USER (IU). A source of indirect discharge.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE. Solid, liquid, or gaseous waste resulting from any industrial, manufacturing, trade, or business process or from the development, recovery, or processing of natural resources.
INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER DISCHARGE PERMIT. A permit to deposit or discharge sewage, industrial wastes, and/or other wastes into any sewer as issued by the District.
INSTANTANEOUS LIMIT. The maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from analysis of any grab, discreet, or composite sample collected, independent of industrial flow rate, and duration of the sampling event.
INTERFERENCE. A discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, does one of the following;
(1) Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, its sludge processes, or its selected sludge use or disposal methods.
(2) Causes a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
(3) Prevents the use of the POTW’s sewage sludge or its sludge disposal method selected in compliance with the following statutory provisions, regulations, or permits issued thereunder or more stringent state or local regulations:
(a) Section 405 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1345);
(b) The Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (42 U.S.C. § 6901), including:
1. Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); and
2. The rules contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA (42 U.S.C. § 6941).
(c) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7401); and
(d) The Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. § 2601).
LOCAL LIMIT. Specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the District upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1) and (b).
LOWER EXPLOSIVE LIMIT (LEL). The lower limit of flammability of a gas or vapor at ordinary ambient temperatures expressed in percent of the gas or vapor in air by volume, as measured by instrumentation calibrated with methane gas.
MAY. Is permitted.
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.
mg/L. Milligrams per liter.
MONTHLY AVERAGE. The sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.
MONTHLY AVERAGE LIMIT. The highest allowable average of daily discharges 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.
NATIONAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD. Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 403.3(1), any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits, general discharge prohibitions, or specific discharge prohibitions, promulgated by the USEPA in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1317, which applies to IUs. This definition includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 403.3.
NEW SOURCE.
(1) Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is (or may be) a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under § 307(c) of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1317(c), that will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section; provided that:
(a) The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;
(b) The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
(c) 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.
(2) 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 divisions (1)(b) or (1)(c) above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3) Construction of a NEW SOURCE as defined herein has commenced if the owner or operator has:
(a) Begun or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite construction program
1. Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
2. Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing building, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment.
(b) Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which is 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 definition.
NON-CONTACT COOLING WATER. The water discharged from any process such as air conditioning, cooling, or refrigeration that does not come in contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product and during which the only pollutant added to the water is heat.
NPDES PERMIT. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which sets the conditions for the discharge of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to the navigable waters of the United States.
O&M. Operation and maintenance.
OTHER WASTES. Decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, refuse, ashes, garbage, offal, oil, tar, chemicals, and all other substances except sewage and industrial wastes.
PASS THROUGH. A discharge which exits a POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
PERMITTEE. Any IU to which the District has issued a wastewater discharge permit.
PERSON. Any individual, partnership, copartnership, 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 governmental entities.
pH. The logarithm (to the base ten) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion activity of a solution, expressed in moles per liter of solution.
ppb. Parts per billion
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, municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
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, introducing such pollutants into the POTW. This 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 pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENT. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on an IU, other than a pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT STANDARDS OR STANDARDS. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW), A treatment works, as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292), which is owned by the District. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances, which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.
SANITARY DISTRICT. The Sanitary District of the city, a municipal corporation, also referred to as DISTRICT.
SEPTIC TANK WASTE. Any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
SEWAGE. Water-cooled human wastes or a combination of water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface, storm, and other waters as may be present.
SHALL. Is mandatory.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER (SIU). Any IU who:
(1) Is subject to National Categorical Pretreatment Standards;
(2) Discharges an average of 25,000 or more gallons per day of process wastewater (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling, and boiler blow down wastewaters) to the POTW, or that contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW; or
(3) Is designated as such by the District on the basis that the IU presents a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation, or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE (SNC). Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. Part 403.8(f)(2)(viii), an IU is in SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE if its violation meets one or more of the following criteria:
(1) CHRONIC VIOLATIONS OF WASTEWATER DISCHARGE LIMITS, defined here as those in which 66% or more of all of the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard;
(2) TECHNICAL REVIEW CRITERIA (TRC) VIOLATIONS, defined here as those in which 33% or more of all of the measurements taken for each pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC=1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil, and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
(3) Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, BMPs, or narrative standard) that the District determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference, or pass through, including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public;
(4) Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare, or to the environment or has resulted in the District’s exercise of its emergency authority under 40 C.F.R. § 403.8(f)(vi)(B) to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(5) Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
(6) Failure to provide, within 30 days after the due date, any required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
(7) Failure to accurately report noncompliance; and/or
(8) Any other violation or group of violations, which may include a violation of best management practices, which the District determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
SLUDGE. Any solid, semi-solid, or liquid waste generated from a municipal, commercial, or industrial wastewater treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, or another waste having similar characteristics and effects as defined in standards issued under §§ 402 and 405 of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1342(a), and in the applicable requirements under §§ 3001, 3004, and 4004 of the SWDA.
SLUG LOAD or SLUG DISCHARGE.
(1) The discharge of any substance at a rate or in a concentration which causes interference to the POTW;
(2) Any discharge which exceeds, for a period longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the average 24-hour flow, during normal operation;
(3) Which exceeds, for a period longer than 15 minutes, more than five times the 24-hour allowable concentration of any substance listed in § 51.037;
(4) A discharge which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through; or
(5) In any other way, violate the District’s regulations, local limits, or permit conditions.
SMOKE. Any air suspension containing minute solid particles and droplets, resulting mainly from the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous and other organic matter.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION. A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987.
STORMWATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
SUPERINTENDENT. The Director of Utilities of the city who acts as Director of the District, and supervises the operation of the POTW, and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter. The term also means a duly authorized representative of the Director.
TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS or SUSPENDED SOLIDS. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and that is removable by laboratory filtering.
TOXIC POLLUTANTS. Those substances referred to in § 307(a) of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1317(a), as well as any other known potential substances capable of producing toxic effects.
TWENTY-FOUR HOUR FLOW. The volume of flow representing a monthly average of 24 hours of flow as measured by flow monitoring equipment which has been approved by the District.
UPSET. An exceptional incident in which an IU unintentionally and temporarily is in a state of noncompliance with either the standards set forth in § 51.037 hereof or applicable categorical pretreatment standards due to factors beyond the reasonable control of the IU, and excluding noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation thereof.
USER or INDUSTRIAL USER. A source of indirect discharge.
VAPOR. The gaseous state of any substance which is liquid or solid at room temperature and pressure.
WASTEWATER. Liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT or TREATMENT PLANT. The portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
(Ord. 18-0017, passed 11-13-2018)