(a) Pretreatment plan. The City Director may require, by an order or a use permit, any user to prepare and implement a pretreatment plan. The plan shall be for complying with § 46-146 through the reduction of the amount of pollutants, elimination of pollutants or alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into the POTW. The reduction, elimination or alteration may be obtained by physical, chemical or biological wastewater treatment processes, process changes (such as pollution prevention) or by means other than treatment or process changes (such as BMPs), except for the use of dilution, unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement.
(1) Pretreatment plan approval. The pretreatment plan shall be submitted to the City Director for approval within the period specified in the order or use permit and before implementation of the plan. The plan shall be prepared in accordance with good engineering practices and include any and all measures necessary for controlling the amount or nature of wastewater pollutants, discharge monitoring, periodic reporting, and other actions and procedures required by the City Director. In evaluating the plan, the City Director may consider the significance of potential pollutant sources, the economic and technical feasibility of identifying, detecting, quantifying and controlling them, the practicable minimum and other relevant criteria.
(2) Enforcement held in abeyance. The City Director may withhold enforcement action regarding a discharge of PCB or mercury if a user is responsibly preparing or implementing a pretreatment plan for reaching a practicable minimum and its discharge is not causing or contributing to interference or pass-through. Such a decision shall be made at the sole discretion of the City Director.
(3) Compliance schedule. Where applicable and appropriate, the pretreatment plan shall include a compliance schedule, which shall consist of one or more actions, including timetables for an action or a sequence of actions leading to compliance with a pretreatment standard or other limitation, prohibition or standard. The following steps or phases shall be included in the compliance schedule, where applicable and appropriate:
a. Retention of a qualified consultant;
b. Completion of any engineering or scientific investigations or surveys deemed necessary;
c. Preparation and submission of a preliminary plan to achieve pretreatment;
d. Preparation of plans and specifications, working drawings, or other engineering or architectural documents that may be necessary to effect pretreatment;
e. Establishment of a date to let any contract necessary for any construction;
f. Establishment of completion dates for any construction necessary;
g. Establishment of a date to accomplish the pretreatment pursuant to the order or use permit; and
h. Establishment of separate timetables for a phase or unit in the event a phase or unit of construction or implementation may be effected independently of another phase or unit.
(4) Amendment. The order or use permit shall be subject to amendment or revocation by the City, provided that notice of such action is served upon the user in the same manner as in the original order or use permit and subject to the same procedure for review and appeal.
(b) Categorical pretreatment standards (CPS).
(1) Inclusion in standard. If a CPS is promulgated for a subcategory under which a user believes itself to be included, the user or the City Director may request from the MDEQ within 60 days after the promulgation date a written determination of whether the user does or does not fall within that particular subcategory. Such request shall be made and reviewed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Michigan Rule R 323.2311, as amended. If an existing user adds or changes a process or operation that may be included in a subcategory, the user shall request the certification before commencing to discharge from the added or changed process or operation. A new source shall request the determination before commencing to discharge. If the City requests the determination, then the City shall notify the affected user of the submission and the user may provide written comments to the MDEQ within 30 days after notification is sent.
(2) Compliance date. A user to which a promulgated CPS applies shall achieve compliance with such standard in accordance with and within the time period provided for in Michigan Rule R 323.2311, as amended.
(Ord. 3630, passed 12-13-2004; Ord. 3740, passed 11-19-2008)