(a) Discharge prohibitions. The provisions in this section are intended to:
(1) Prohibit the discharge to the POTW of wastewater which may cause pass-through or interference or which could have detrimental effects on the physical structures or operating personnel of the POTW, or on the general public or the environment; and
(2) Restrict the discharge to the POTW of storm water, groundwater and non-contact cooling water.
(b) Prohibited discharges. No user shall discharge, cause to be discharged, or allow to be discharged into the POTW any of the following:
(1) Pollutants which may or do create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, pollutants or wastewater with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140°F (60°C), as determined by a Pensky-Martens closed cup tester, using the test method specified in ATSM Standard D-93-79 or D-93-80k (incorporated by reference, see 40 C.F.R. § 260.21) or a Setaflash closed cup tester, using the test method specified in ATSM Standard D-3278-78 (incorporated by reference, see 40 C.F.R. § 260.21), and pollutants which exceed 10% of the lower explosive limit (LEL) at any operation or maintenance of the point within the POTW;
(2) Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors or fumes within the POTW, in a quantity that may cause acute or chronic health and safety problems for workers or exceed any applicable occupational health or safety standard;
(3) Pollutants which may or do cause corrosive or abrasive structural damage to the POTW;
(4) Solid or viscous pollutants in amounts which may or do obstruct flow or cause interference in the POTW;
(5) Wastewater having an instantaneous pH less than 6.0 or greater than 10.5;
(6) Any pollutant, including oxygen- demanding pollutants, released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which may or do cause interference in the POTW;
(7) Pollutants which may or do cause:
a. Restriction of hydraulic capacity of structures in the POTW;
b. Unsafe conditions to personnel in the operation, inspection or maintenance of the POTW or unsafe conditions to the general public, with respect to the collection system;
c. Exceptional or unreasonably burdensome effort, attention or expense in the operation or maintenance of the POTW; or
d. Heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW, resulting in interference, but in no case heat such that the temperature at the discharge to the collection system exceeds 150°F (66°C) or the influent at the POTW treatment plant exceeds 104°F (40°C);
(8) Pollutants which may or do cause pass- through or interference;
(9) Any pollutants which exceed, for that user, the limitations set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard, as adjusted under the combined wastestream formula in Michigan Rule R 323.2311(7), which may be expressed as concentration limits, mass limits, or both, as provided in Michigan Rule R 323.2311(5). A categorical pretreatment standard shall be adjusted if 40 C.F.R. § 403.15 applies and the criteria of 40 C.F.R. § 403.15(b) and (c) are met (net/gross calculation);
(10) Any liquids, gases or solids which either singly or by interaction with other substances may or do create a public nuisance;
(11) Any pollutant introducing colors not removed in the POTW treatment process, such as but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;
(12) Any unpolluted water, non-contact cooling water, storm water, groundwater or surface water, unless the City Director gives written permission to the user for the discharge of such waters based on available hydraulic capacity and potential impacts on the POTW treatment capability. The scope and duration of the discharge of the waters shall be determined at the sole discretion of the City Director;
(13) Any radioactive wastes in harmful quantities as such quantities are defined by applicable State and Federal regulations;
(14) Any grease or other pollutants that will become solid or viscous at a temperature of 140°F (60°C) or below after being discharged into the POTW;
(15) Hazardous substances that were not listed or disclosed in the user’s application for a use permit that:
a. May or do cause or contribute to a violation of State or Federal water quality standards in the receiving waters to which the POTW discharges; or
b. Result in or contribute to a liability of the City under Part 201 of the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of 1994, as amended, or the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA). Nothing in this subsection determines the percentage share or allocation share amount of a user’s Part 201 or CERCLA liability.
(16) Hazardous substances in quantities exceeding the numerical limit in a user’s use permit which:
a. May or do cause or contribute to a violation of State or Federal water quality standards in the receiving waters to which the POTW discharges; or
b. Result in or contribute to a liability of the City under Part 201 of the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of 1994, as amended, or the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA). Nothing in this subsection determines the percentage share or allocation share amount of a user’s Part 201 or CERCLA liability.
(17) Sludge, unless the City Director has determined that it is amenable to treatment by the POTW and does not otherwise violate any discharge prohibition; or
(18) Any new or used petroleum oil or grease, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that may or do cause interference or pass-through.
(c) Concentration limits for specific pollutants.
(1) Pollutant concentration limits. Discharges made by non-domestic users having concentrations of specific pollutants greater than the pollutant concentration limits described in Table 46-146(c) in the appendix at the end of this chapter are prohibited, except as regulated under subsection (d) of this section.
(2) Measurement of pollutant concentrations.
a. The instantaneous concentration limit for a specific pollutant shall apply to the instantaneous concentration of the pollutant measured by sampling in accordance with § 46-149(a)(3)a.
b. The daily concentration limit for a specific pollutant shall apply to the daily concentration of the pollutant measured by sampling in accordance with § 46-149(a)(3)b.
(d) Special arrangements. The CWPCS may establish a special arrangement between the City and a user in a use permit or an order that allows discharges to the POTW that are otherwise prohibited by this section. A special arrangement shall not cause the City to violate any NPDES permit provisions. The special arrangement may include special alternative limits (SALs) that are greater or less than the discharge limits in subsection (c) of this section. A special arrangement may also include requirements for best management practices (BMPs) in addition to, but not in lieu of, any discharge limit. BMPs shall be established in a use permit if the user is a significant non-domestic user. The decision to establish a special arrangement shall be made at the sole discretion of the CWPCS. The special arrangement may be terminated or modified at will at any time by the City. A special arrangement shall not create any vested rights or property rights in the user. A special arrangement shall create no rights to discharge to the POTW that the user would not have had in the absence of a special arrangement. Provisions relating to termination or modification of a special arrangement may be more fully set forth in the special arrangement document. As a condition precedent to the entry into a special arrangement, the City shall require the user to sign an acknowledgment and acceptance of the provisions of this subsection. Any special arrangement may contain provisions for the user to pay a compensatory charge to the City. A special arrangement shall not allow a discharge that exceeds a categorical pretreatment standard unless a removal credit or a fundamentally different factor variance applies to allow the user to exceed the otherwise applicable categorical pretreatment standard. In such case, the special arrangement shall not allow a discharge that exceeds the limit allowed by the removal credit or variance. A violation of the terms of a special arrangement, including any SAL, BMPs or special pretreatment requirements, shall be a violation of this division.
(1) Procedures for establishing special alternative limits. In determining a SAL, the CWPCS shall allocate a share of the maximum allowable industrial loading for the pollutant of concern as set forth in subsection (2) of this subsection (d) among one or more non-domestic users in amounts and on terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the CWPCS.
(2) Maximum allowable industrial loadings. The total mass of a pollutant of concern used by or allocated to all non-domestic users, including mass allocated by the CWPCS in establishing SALs for the pollutant, shall not exceed in the aggregate for all non-domestic users the maximum allowable industrial loadings described in Table 46-146(d)(2) in the appendix at the end of this chapter.
(e) Local initiative limits. The City Director may impose limits on a user for pollutants not specifically listed in Table 46-146(c) in the appendix at the end of this chapter, which may be in a use permit or in an order. In determining a local initiative limit (LIL), the City Director shall consider available data on acceptable POTW pollutant loading based on POTW design, treatability of the pollutant, the potential for pass-through or interference, current POTW pollutant loading, the properties of the pollutant, and other relevant factors deemed appropriate by the City Director. The City Director may also establish generally applicable LILs by rulemaking. A generally applicable LIL may be established and shall be enforceable as a discharge prohibition, provided the City Director first publishes notice of the proposed LILs in the newspaper in the City with the largest circulation, provides written notice to users who are known to the City Director to discharge a significant mass or concentration of the pollutant, and provides for an opportunity to interested persons to submit written comments. If significant public comments are received, the City Director shall hold a public hearing to take additional oral and written comments. After these procedures are completed, the City Director shall publish the final enforceable LILs in the same newspaper along with the effective date of the LILs.
(f) Categorical pretreatment standards. A user shall comply with all categorical pretreatment standards and any other pretreatment requirements established under §§ 307(b), 307(c) or 402(b)(8) of the Act that are applicable to that user, as adjusted under the combined wastestream formula in Michigan Rule R 323.2311(7). If a categorical pretreatment standard and another limit contained in this division or in an applicable State of Michigan pretreatment requirement regulate the same pollutant, then the more restrictive of them shall apply. If a user requests that a removal credit be applicable to that user, then the user shall pay all costs associated with supporting, obtaining, and administering the removal credit so that the City incurs no costs. It shall be at the sole discretion of the City whether or not a removal credit shall be established and how a removal credit shall be allocated.
(g) Trucked wastes. No wastes or wastewater shall be discharged by any user or person into the POTW from a vehicle which transported the waste or wastewater to the point of discharge. The preceding sentence does not prohibit a user from trucking wastes or wastewater to the user’s treatment facility.
(h) Future conditions. Future conditions imposed on the City by government agencies with proper jurisdiction may require subsequent amendment of this chapter by the City. Where Federal- or State-promulgated pretreatment standards require limits on parameters not covered in this chapter or limits more stringent than those specified in the chapter, the State or Federal limits shall have precedence and take effect with respect to the applicable user on the later of their promulgation date or the date specified for compliance with such standards.
(i) Reserved right of revision. The City reserves the right to establish by ordinance, rule, order or use permit more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the POTW.
(Ord. 3630, passed 12-13-2004; Ord. 3736, passed 11-19-2008)