(a) Except where expressly authorized to do so by an applicable Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, no Industrial User shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any other way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a Pretreatment Standard or Requirement. The Service Director may impose mass limitations on Industrial Users which are using dilution to meet applicable Pretreatment Standards or Requirements, or in other cases where the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(b) Each user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other substances regulated by this chapter. Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the owner or user's own cost and expense. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the Service Director for review, and shall be approved by the Service Director before construction of the facility. All categorical and non-categorical Industrial Users shall notify the Service Director immediately of all discharges which could affect the operation, cause pass-through or cause elevated levels of sludge contamination at the Wastewater Treatment Facility. Discharges of petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral oil origin are prohibited if discharged in amounts that can pass through or cause interference at the POTW.
(c) No user who commences contributions to the wastewater system after the effective date of this chapter shall be permitted to introduce pollutants into the system until accidental discharge procedures have been approved by the Service Director. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures shall not relieve the Industrial User from the responsibility to modify the user's facility as necessary to meet requirements of this chapter. In the case of an accidental discharge, it is the responsibility of the user to immediately telephone and notify the Service Director of the incident. The notification shall include location of discharge, type of waste, concentration and volume, and emergency actions taken by the user. Any user who does not comply with the above or fails to notify the Service Director as required shall be subject to the fine and criminal penalties indicated in Section 931.99 hereof.
(d) Written Notice. Within five days following an accidental discharge the user shall submit to the Service Director a detailed written report describing the cause of the discharge and the measures to be taken by the user to prevent similar further occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage, or other liability which may be included as a result of damage to the POTW, fish kills, or any other damage to person or property; nor shall such notification relieve the user of any fines, civil penalties, or other liability which may be imposed by this article or other applicable law.
(e) Notice to Employees. A notice shall be permanently posted on the user's bulletin board or other prominent place advising employees whom to call in the event of a dangerous discharge. Employers shall insure that all employees who may cause or suffer such a dangerous discharge to occur are advised of the emergency notification procedure.
(f) Batch dumps, slug discharges and/or other discharges from holding tanks are prohibited except as provided for in Section 931.05(d).
(g) Any removal and hauling of captured material not performed by the user's personnel must be performed by licensed waste disposal firms. All such materials, plus any prohibited wastes must be transported to a State approved disposal site.
(h) All reports required as a result of these regulations shall contain the results of sampling and analysis of the Industrial discharge, including the flow and the nature and concentration of production and mass where requested by the Service Director, of pollutants contained therein which are limited by the applicable Pretreatment Standards. If sampling performed by an Industrial User indicates a violation, the user shall notify the Service Director within twenty-four hours of becoming aware of the violation. The Industrial User shall repeat the sampling and analysis, and shall continue on a daily basis to repeat the sampling and analysis until such time as compliance is achieved. The Industrial User shall submit the results of the repeat analysis to the Service Director within thirty days after becoming aware of the violation. Where the City has preformed the sampling and analysis in lieu of the industrial user, the City authority shall perform the repeat sampling and analysis unless it notifies the user of the violation and requires the user to perform repeat analysis.
(i) An upset shall constitute an affirmative defense to an action brought for noncompliance with Categorical Pretreatment Standards if the requirements of paragraph (a) are met.
(1) An Industrial User who wishes to establish the affirmative defense of Upset shall demonstrate, through properly signed, contemporaneous operating logs, or other relevant evidence that:
A. An Upset occurred and the Industrial User can identify the specific cause(s) of the Upset;
B. The facility was at the time being operated in a prudent and workmanlike manner and in compliance with applicable operation and maintenance procedures;
C. The Industrial User has submitted the following information to the Service Director within twenty-four hours of becoming aware of the Upset (if this information is provided orally a written submission must be provided within five days):
1. A description of the Indirect Discharge and cause of noncompliance;
2. The period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times or, if not corrected, the anticipated time the noncompliance is expected to continue;
3. Steps being taken and/or planned to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.
D. In any enforcement proceeding, the Industrial User seeking to establish the occurrence of an Upset shall have the burden of proof.
E. In the usual exercise of prosecutorial discretion, City enforcement personnel may review any claims that noncompliance was caused by an upset. No determinations made in the course of the review constitute final action subject to judicial review. Industrial Users will have the opportunity for a judicial determination of any claim of Upset only in enforcement action brought for noncompliance with Categorical Pretreatment Standards.
F. The Industrial User shall control production of all Discharges to the extent necessary to maintain compliance with Categorical Pretreatment Standards upon reduction, loss, or failure of its treatment facility until the facility is restored or an alternative method of treatment is provided. The requirement applies in the situation where, among other things, the primary source of power of the treatment facility is reduced, lost or fails.
(j) If an Industrial User knows in advance of the need for a bypass it shall submit prior notice to the Service Director, if possible, at least ten days before the date of the bypass.
(1) An Industrial User shall submit oral notice of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable Pretreatment Standards to the Control Authority within twenty-four hours from the time the Industrial User becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five days of the time the Industrial User 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 reoccurrence of the bypass. The Service Director may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four hours.
(k) Bypass is prohibited, and the Service Director may take enforcement action against an Industrial User for a bypass, unless:
(1) Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage;
(2) 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
(3) The Industrial User submitted notices as required in this chapter.
(4) The Service Director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Service Director determines that it will meet the conditions in this section.
(Ord. 7662-09. Passed 8-27-09.)