(A) Surface and process waters. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.
(B) Storm water. Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the Superintendent. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Superintendent, to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet.
(C) Permitted discharges. Septic tank waste, portable toilet waste, recreational vehicle waste and other such wastes that are not prohibited by division (D) below may be hauled and discharged directly into the town’s wastewater treatment plant at a designated receiving location within such area, at such times as are established by the Town Administrator.
(D) Prohibited discharges. No user permitted to discharge by division (C) above shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the town’s wastewater treatment plant any pollutant or wastewater that creates pass-through or other interference with the existing operation of the plant. Furthermore, no user may directly discharge the following substances into the plant:
(1) Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the town wastewater collection system and publicly owned treatment works, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140º Fahrenheit/60º Celsius using the test methods specified in 40 C.F.R. § 261.21;
(2) Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.5 or more than 9.0 or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the publicly owned treatment works or equipment or endangering personnel;
(3) Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the publicly owned treatment works resulting in interference, but in no case solids greater than one-half inch in any dimension;
(4) Any wastewater containing pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD and the like), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with either the publicly owned treatment works or any wastewater treatment or sludge process or which will constitute a hazard to humans or animals;
(5) Any wastewater having a temperature greater than 65º Celsius/150º Fahrenheit or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 40º Celsius/104º Fahrenheit);
(6) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;
(7) Any pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors or fumes within the publicly owned treatment works in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems;
(8) Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge locations designated by the city, in accordance with division (C) above;
(9) Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance, a hazard to life or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair;
(10) Any wastewater which imparts color that cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant’s effluent, thereby violating the publicly owned treatment works National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Color, in combination with turbidity, shall not cause the treatment plant effluent to reduce the depth of the compensation point for photosynthetic activity by more than 10% from the seasonable established norm for aquatic life;
(11) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes, except as specifically approved by the Town Administrator in compliance with applicable federal or state regulations;
(12) Stormwater, surface water, groundwater, 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 Town Administrator;
(13) Any sludges, screenings or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
(14) Any medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the Town Administrator in a wastewater discharge permit;
(15) Any wastewater causing the treatment plant’s effluent to fail a toxicity test;
(16) Any wastes containing detergents, surface active agents or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the publicly owned treatment works; and
(17) Any discharge of fats, oils or greases of animal or vegetable origin is limited to 100 mg/l.
(E) User fee schedule. The users described in the Appendix of Fines and Fees shall pay (in advance together with information as required by the Town Administrator) the fees set forth below prior to each and every discharge authorized by division (C) above.
(F) Access. Any person or entity can gain access by requesting such service Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., from the Town Hall. Local town businesses can gain access by requesting a key for 24-hour access. Out of town businesses can obtain a key for 24-hour access by paying the minimum fee set forth in the Appendix of Fines and Fees for access. All key holders will be required to record each dump (amount, date and time) and place it in the provided lock box. Billing will be done at the end of the month with Net 10 terms.
(G) Authority of Superintendent.
(1) Deleterious substances; action by Superintendent. If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged, to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in division (D) of this section, and which in the judgment of the Superintendent may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Superintendent may:
(a) Reject the wastes;
(b) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
(c) Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
(d) Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of § 52.12.
(2) Review and approval. If the Superintendent permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Superintendent, and subject to the requirement of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.
(H) Interceptors. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Superintendent, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Superintendent, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Such interceptors shall be owned and maintained by the users and not the town.
(I) Maintenance of facilities. Where preliminary treatment or flow equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his or her expense.
(J) Manholes. When required by the Superintendent, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Superintendent. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his or her expense and shall be maintained by him or her so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
(K) Standards.
(1) All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of water and wastes to which reference is made in this section shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole.
(2) In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property.
(3) The particular analyses involved will determine whether a 24-hour composite of all outlets of premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from 24-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pHs are determined from periodic grab samples.
(L) Dilution prohibited. Dilution of waste streams containing toxic materials and metals shall not be construed to be treatment or disposal of the toxic materials or metals and shall not be allowed at any point in the sewer system.
(Prior Code, § 8-2-11) (Ord. 387, passed 11-30-2023) Penalty, see § 52.99