(A) General discharge prohibitions.
(1) No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of the wastewater treatment plant. These general prohibitions apply to all such users of a wastewater treatment plant whether or not the user is subject to national categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user may not contribute the following substances to any wastewater treatment plant:
(a) Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the wastewater treatment plant or to the operation of the wastewater treatment plant. 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. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, adlehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides and any other substances which the borough, the state or EPA has notified the user is a fire hazard or a hazard to the system;
(b) Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities such as, but not limited to, grease, garbage with particles greater than one-half inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, waste paper, wood, plastics, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining, or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud or glass grinding or polishing wastes;
(c) Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or greater than 9.0, unless the wastewater treatment plant is specifically designed to accommodate such wastewater, or wastewater having any other corrosive or caustic property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel of the wastewater treatment plant;
(d) Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the wastewater treatment plant, or to exceed the limitation set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A toxic pollutant shall include, but not be limited to, any pollutant pursuant to § 307(a) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1317(a);
(e) Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases or solids 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;
(f) Any substance which may cause the wastewater treatment plant’s effluent or any other product of the wastewater treatment plant, 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 wastewater treatment plant cause the wastewater treatment plant to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under § 405 of the Act, 33 U.,S.C. § 1345; any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq.), the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.) or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used;
(g) Any substance which will cause the wastewater treatment plant to violate its NPDES and/or state disposal system permit or the receiving water quality standards;
(h) Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;
(i) Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the wastewater treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater with a temperature at the introduction into the wastewater treatment plant which exceeds 40°C (104°F) unless the wastewater treatment plant is designed to accommodate such temperature;
(j) Any pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD and the like) released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which a user knows or has reason to know will cause interference to the wastewater treatment plant. In no case shall a slug load have a flow rate or contain concentration or qualities of pollutants that exceed for any time period longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration, quantities or flow during normal operation;
(k) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the superintendent in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations; and
(l) Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
(2) When the borough determines that a user(s) is contributing to the wastewater treatment plant any of the above enumerated substances in such amounts as to interfere with the operation of the wastewater treatment plant, the borough shall:
(a) Advise the user(s) of the impact of the contribution on the wastewater treatment plant; and
(b) Develop effluent limitation(s) for such user to correct the interference with the wastewater treatment plant.
(B) Federal categorical pretreatment standards. Upon the promulgation of the federal categorical pretreatment standards for a particular industrial subcategory, the federal standard, if more stringent than limitations imposed under this subchapter for sources in that subcategory, shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this subchapter. The borough shall notify all affected users of the applicable reporting requirements under 40 C.F.R. § 403.12.
(C) Modification of federal categorical pretreatment standards. Where the borough’s wastewater treatment system achieves consistent removal of pollutants limited by federal pretreatment standards, the borough may apply to the approval authority for modification of specific limits in the Federal pretreatment standards. CONSISTENT REMOVAL shall mean reduction in the amount of a pollutant or alteration of the nature of the pollutant by the wastewater treatment system to a less toxic or harmless state in the effluent which is achieved by the system in 95% of the samples taken when measured according to the procedures set forth in § 403.7(c)(2) of 40 C.F.R. Part 403, “General Pretreatment Regulations for Existing and New Sources of Pollution”, promulgated pursuant to the Act. The borough may then modify pollutant discharge limits in the federal pretreatment standards if the requirements contained in 40 C.F.R. Part 403, § 403.7 are fulfilled and prior approval from the approval authority is obtained.
(D) Specific pollutant limitations.
TABLE 1 | ||
Average Monthly | Instant Maximum | |
TABLE 1 | ||
Average Monthly | Instant Maximum | |
Arsenic, mg/l | 0.55 | 1.1 |
*Biochemical oxygen demand, mg/l | 250 | 500 |
Cadmium, mg/l | 0.31 | 0.62 |
*Chemical oxygen demand, mg/l | 400 | 600 |
Chromium - Hexavalent, mg/l | 0.04 | 0.28 |
Chromium - total, mg/l | 4.76 | 9.52 |
Copper, mg/l | 0.14 | 0.28 |
Cyanide - free, mg/l | 0.04 | 0.08 |
Cyanide - total, mg/l | 0.86 | 1.72 |
Lead, mg/l | 1.38 | 2.76 |
Mercury, mg/l | 0.002 | 0.004 |
Nickel, mg/l | 1.23 | 2.46 |
Oil and grease, mg/l | 26 | 52 |
pH - maximum | 9 | 9 |
pH - minimum | 6 | 6 |
Phenols, mg/l | 3.2 | 6.4 |
Selenium, mg/l | 0.01 | 0.02 |
Silver - GF, mg/l | 0.43 | 0.86 |
*Suspended solids, mg/l | 200 | 300 |
Temperature — maximum | 90 | 180 |
*Total Kjeldahl nitrogen, mg/l | 40 | 80 |
Total toxic organics, mg/l | 2.13 | 2.13 |
Zinc, mg/l | 2.02 | 4.04 |
* Indicates that the specified levels are for the purpose of assessing surcharges, [/tfn] | ||
(E) State/federal requirements. State and/or federal requirements and limitations on discharges shall apply in any case where they are more stringent than the requirements and limitations in this subchapter.
(F) Borough’s right of revision. The borough reserves the right to establish by ordinance more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the wastewater disposal system if deemed necessary to comply with the objectives presented in § 53.100(A) of this subchapter.
(G) Excessive discharge. No user shall ever increase the use of process water or, in any way, attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the limitations contained in the federal categorical pretreatment standards, or in any other pollutant-specific limitation developed by the borough or state. (Comment: Dilution may be an acceptable means of complying with some of the prohibitions set forth in § 53.100(A), e.g., the pH prohibition.)
(H) Accidental discharges.
(1) Generally. Each user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other substances regulated by this subchapter. 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 borough for review and shall be approved by the borough before a construction of the facility. All existing users shall complete such a plan as advised by the borough. No user who commences contribution to the wastewater treatment plan after the effective date of this subchapter shall be permitted to introduce pollutants into the system until accidental discharge procedures have been approved by the borough. 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 the requirements of this subchapter. In the case of an accidental discharge, it is the responsibility of the user to immediately telephone and notify the wastewater treatment plan of the incident. The notification shall include location of discharge, type of waste, concentration and volume, and corrective actions.
(2) Written notice. Within five days following an accidental discharge, the user shall submit to the borough a detailed written report describing the cause of the discharge and the measures to be taken by the user to prevent similar future occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage, wastewater treatment plant, 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 section or other applicable law.
(3) 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 ensure that all employees who may cause or suffer such a dangerous discharge to occur are advised of the emergency notification procedure.
(1980 Code, Ch. 20, Part 5, § 82) (Ord. 1226, passed 3-18-1991, § 2; Ord. 1237, passed 9-21-1992, § 1; Ord. 1270, passed 11-18-1996, § 1) Penalty, see § 53.999