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(A) For the purpose of this division, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicated or required a different meaning.
ACT or THE ACT. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, being 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Director of the Division of Water Quality of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources or his or her designee.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INDUSTRIAL USER.
(a) If the industrial user is a corporation, authorized representative shall mean:
1. The president, secretary, 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
2. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities, provided, the manager is authorized to make management decisions which govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct 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 control mechanism requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(b) If the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, an authorized representative shall mean a general partner or the proprietor, respectively.
(c) If the industrial user is a federal, state or local government facility, an authorized representative shall mean a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.
(d) The individuals described in subsections (a) through (c) above may designate another 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 city. If the designation of an authorized representative is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility, or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, a new authorization satisfying the requirements of this section must be submitted to POTW Director prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an authorized representative.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five days at 20ºC, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g. mg/l).
BUILDING SEWER. A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
BYPASS. The intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user’s treatment facility.
CATEGORICAL STANDARDS. National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or Pretreatment Standard.
CONTROL AUTHORITY. Refers to the POTW organization if the POTW organization’s Pretreatment Program approval has not been withdrawn.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or EPA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or other duly authorized official of said agency.
GRAB SAMPLE. A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one time basis without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks, including but not limited to such holding tanks as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum pump tank trucks.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE or DISCHARGE. The discharge or the introduction from any nondomestic source regulated under § 307(b), (c), or (d) of the Act, (33 U.S.C. § 1317), into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
INDUSTRIAL USER or USER. Any person which is a source of indirect discharge.
INTERFERENCE. The inhibition, or disruption of the POTW collection system, treatment processes, operations, or its sludge process, use, or disposal, which causes or contributes to a violation of any requirement of the Control Authority’s (and/or POTW’s, if different from the Control Authority) NPDES, collection system, or non-discharge permit or prevents sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with specified applicable state and federal statutes, regulations, or permits. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with § 405 of the Act, (33 U.S.C. § 1345) or any criteria, guidelines, or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq., the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (MPRSA) or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any State sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
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.
NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD OR CATEGORICAL STANDARD. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with §§ 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users, and which appears in 40 C.F.R. Chapter 1, subpart N, pt. 405 through 471.
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD OR PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 16-126 of this chapter and are developed under the authority of 307(b) (33 U.S.C. § 1317(b)) of the Act and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5.
NEW SOURCE. As defined in 40 C.F.R. § 403.3(m), including any subsequent amendments and additions.
NONCONTACT COOLING WATER. Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM, OR NPDES, PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342), or pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1 by the State under delegation from EPA.
NON-DISCHARGE PERMIT. A permit issued by the state pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1(d) for a waste which is not discharged directly to surface waters of the state or for a wastewater treatment works which does not discharge directly to surface waters of the state.
PASS THROUGH. A discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the State in quantities or concentrations which, alone or with discharges from other sources, causes a violation, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, of the Control Authority’s (and/or POTW’s, if different from the Control Authority) NPDES or Non-discharge Permit, or a downstream water quality standard even if not included in the permit.
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.
pH. A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed as standard units, and calculated as the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT. Any “waste” as defined in G.S. § 143-213(18) and dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, 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 (for example, pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, metals, BOD, COD, toxicity, and odor).
POTW DIRECTOR. The chief administrative officer of the Control Authority or his or her delegate.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT. That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
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 pollution into a POTW collection system and/or treatment plant. The reduction or alteration may be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes or other means, except as prohibited by 40 C.F.R. pt. 403.6(d).
PRETREATMENT PROGRAM. The program for the control of pollutants introduced into the POTW from nondomestic sources which was developed by the city in compliance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.8 and approved by the approval authority as authorized by N.C.G.S. § 143 215.3(a)(14) in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.11.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT STANDARD. Any prohibited discharge standard, categorical standard, or local limit which applies to an industrial user.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW) or MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER SYSTEM. A treatment works as defined by § 212 of the Act, (33 U.S.C. § 1292) which is owned in this instance by the city. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant. For the purposes of this division “POTW” shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the city who are, by contract or agreement with the city, or in any other way, users of the city’s POTW.
SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE. Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the user’s treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER or SIU. An industrial user that discharges wastewater into a publicly owned treatment works and that:
(a) Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blow-down wastewaters);
(b) Contributes process wastewater which makes up five percent or more of the NPDES or Non-discharge permitted flow limit or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant. In this context, organic capacity refers to BOD, TSS, and Ammonia;
(c) Is subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 C.F.R. pt. 403.6 and 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, subchapter N, pt. 405-471; or
(d) Is designated as such by the Control Authority on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation, or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, or for contributing to violations of the POTW’s effluent limitations and conditions in its NPDES or non-discharge permit, or for limiting the POTW’s sludge disposal options.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE or SNC. The status of noncompliance of a significant industrial user when one or more of the following criteria are met. Additionally, any industrial user which meets the criteria in subparagraph (B)(35), pt. (c), (d), or (h) shall also be SNC.
(a) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66% or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter (not including flow) during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric Pretreatment Standard or Requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 C.F.R. pt. 403.3(l);
(b) Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty three (33) percent or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric Pretreatment Standard or Requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 C.F.R. pt. 403.3(l) multiplied by the applicable TRC; (TRC equals 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils, and grease, 1.2 for all other pollutants (except flow and pH);
(c) Any other violation of a Pretreatment Standard or Requirement as defined by 40 C.F.R. Part 403.3(l) (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the Control Authority and/or POTW 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);
(d) Any discharge of a pollutant or wastewater that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in either the Control Authority’s or the POTW’s, if different than the Control Authority, exercise of its emergency authority under 40 C.F.R. pt. 403.8(f)(l)(vi)(B) and § [8.1(e)] of this SUO to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(e) Violations of compliance schedule milestones, contained in a pretreatment permit or enforcement order, for starting construction, completing construction, and attaining final compliance by 90 days or more after the schedule date;
(f) Failure to provide reports for compliance schedule, self-monitoring data, baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, and compliance reports within 30 days from the due date;
(g) Failure to accurately report noncompliance; and
(h) Any other violation or group of violations that the Control Authority and/or POTW determine will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
SLUG LOAD or DISCHARGE. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through, or in any other way violates the POTW’s regulations, local limits, or industrial user permit conditions. This can include, but is not limited to, spills and other accidental discharges; discharges of a non-routine, episodic nature; a non-customary batch discharge; or any other discharges that can cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in § 15-126 of this chapter.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC). A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987.
STORM WATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
SUPERINTENDENT. The person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the publicly owned treatment works and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this division, or his duly authorized representative.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater or other liquids, and which is removable by laboratory filtering.
UPSET. An exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the user. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
WASTEWATER. The liquid and water carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, mobile sources, treatment facilities and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and storm water that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
WASTEWATER PERMIT. As set forth in § 15-150 of this chapter.
WATERS OF THE STATE. All streams, rivers, brooks, swamps, sounds, tidal estuaries, bays, creeks, lakes, waterways, reservoirs and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the State or any portion thereof.
(B) This division is gender neutral and the masculine gender shall include the feminine and vice versa.
(C) Shall is mandatory; may is permissive or discretionary.
(D) The use of the singular shall be construed to include the plural and the plural shall include the singular as indicated by the context of its use.
(E) The following abbreviations when used in this division, shall have the designated meanings.
(1) ADMI. American Dye Manufacturer’s Institute.
(2) BOD. Biochemical Oxygen Demand.
(3) C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations.
(4) COD. Chemical Oxygen Demand.
(5) EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.
(6) gpd. Gallons per day.
(7) l. Liter.
(8) mg. Milligrams.
(9) mg/l. Milligrams per liter.
(10) N.C.A.C. North Carolina Administrative Code.
(11) G.S. North Carolina General Statutes.
(12) NPDES. National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
(13) O&M. Operation and Maintenance.
(14) POTW. Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
(15) RCRA. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
(16) SIC. Standard Industrial Classification.
(17) SWDA. Solid Waste Disposal Act.
(18) TSS. Total Suspended Solids.
(19) TKN. Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen.
(20) U.S.C. United States Code.
(Ord. passed 5-17-94; Am. Ord. passed 11-19-02; Am. Ord. passed 10-20-09; Am. Ord. passed 11-20-12)
SUBDIVISION B: GENERAL SEWER USE REQUIREMENTS
(A) General prohibitions. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed into the POTW, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which causes interference or pass through. These general prohibitions apply to all users of a POTW whether or not the user is a significant industrial user or subject to any national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
(B) Specific prohibitions. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:
(1) Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including but not limited to wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140ºF (60ºC) using the test methods specified in 40 C.F.R. § 261.21;
(2) Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference but in no case solids greater than one-half-inch in any dimension;
(3) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;
(4) Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 12.5 or wastewater having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage to the POTW or equipment;
(5) Any wastewater containing pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants, (BOD, etc.) in sufficient quantity, (flow or concentration) either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to cause interference with the POTW;
(6) Any wastewater having a temperature greater than 131ºF (55ºC), or which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104ºF (40ºC);
(7) Any 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;
(8) Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the POTW Director in accordance with § 16-134 of this division;
(9) Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair;
(10) 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 regulations or permits issued under § 405 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1345); the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or State criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used;
(11) Any wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, including, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts sufficient color to the treatment plant’s effluent to render the waters injurious to public health or secondary recreation or to aquatic life and wildlife or to adversely affect the palatability of fish or aesthetic quality or impair the receiving waters for any designated uses;
(12) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except as specifically approved by the POTW Director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
(13) Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water and unpolluted industrial wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the POTW Director;
(14) Fats, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin in concentrations greater than 125 mg/l unless authorized by the POTW Director;
(15) Any sludges, screenings or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
(16) Any medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the POTW Director in a wastewater discharge permit;
(17) Any material containing ammonia, ammonia salts, or other chelating agents which will produce metallic complexes that interfere with the municipal wastewater system;
(18) Any material that would be identified as hazardous waste according to 40 C.F.R. pt. 261 if not disposed of in a sewer except as may be specifically authorized by the POTW Director;
(19) Any wastewater causing the treatment plant effluent to violate State Water Quality Standards for toxic substances as described in 15A NCAC 2B.0200;
(20) Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant’s effluent to fail a toxicity test;
(21) Recognizable portions of the human or animal anatomy;
(22) Any wastes containing detergents, surface active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the municipal wastewater system; and
(23) 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.
(C) Processing and storing wastes. Pollutants, substances, wastewater, or other wastes prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the municipal wastewater system. All floor drains located in process or materials storage areas must discharge to the industrial user’s pretreatment facility before connecting with the system.
(D) Action of the Director. When the POTW Director determines that a user(s) is contributing to the POTW, any of the above enumerated substances in such amounts which may cause or contribute to interference of POTW operation or pass through, the POTW Director shall:
(1) Advise the user(s) of the potential impact of the contribution on the POTW in accordance with § 16-185 of this division; and
(2) Take appropriate actions in accordance with division (D) for such user to protect the POTW from interference or pass through.
(Ord. passed 5-17-94; Am. Ord. passed 11-20-12)
Users subject to categorical pretreatment standards are required to comply with applicable standards as set out in 40 C.F.R. §§ 405 through 471 and incorporated herein.
(A) Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the POTW Director may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(c).
(B) When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the POTW Director shall impose an alternate limit using the combined wastestream formula in 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(e).
(C) A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 C.F.R. § 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard.
(D) A user may obtain a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.15.
(E) A user may request a removal credit adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.7.
(Ord. passed 5-17-94; Am. Ord. passed 11-20-12)
(A) An industrial waste survey is required prior to a user discharging wastewater containing in excess of the following daily average discharge limits. The limit duration should be defined in § 15-122:
175 mg/l | BOD |
200 mg/l | TSS |
40 mg/l | TKN |
0.003 mg/l | arsenic |
0.005 mg/l | cadmium |
0.061 mg/l | copper |
0.04 mg/l | cyanide |
0.05 mg/l | lead |
0.0003 mg/l | mercury |
0.06 mg/l | nickel |
0.005 mg/l | silver |
0.05 mg/l | total chromium |
0.2 mg/l | zinc |
(B) (1) Industrial waste survey information will be used to develop user-specific local limits when necessary to ensure that the POTW’s maximum allowable headworks loading is not exceeded for particular pollutants of concern.
(2) User specific local limits for appropriate pollutants of concern shall be included in wastewater permits. The POTW Director may impose mass limits in addition to, or in place of, concentration based limits.
(Ord. passed 5-17-94; Am. Ord. passed 10-20-09)
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