(A) General discharge prohibitions.
(1) Storm water. No storm water shall be directed into or allowed to drain into the sanitary sewer system. No downspout or footer drain shall be connected to any sanitary sewer.
(a) Test authorized.
1. Test of downspouts authorized. The Director of Service or any employee of the city designated by him or her may enter upon any lot or parcel of land within the city and test any down-spout on any building thereon to determine whether or not it discharges water into any sanitary sewer.
2. Test of sewer connections authorized. The Director of Service or any employee of the city designated by him or her may enter on any lot or parcel of land and open any test tee thereon to determine whether or not any sewer to sewer connection is blocked on the lot, parcel of land or in the public street in front of the same, and to determine whether the sewer connections are connected to the proper sewer.
3. Excavation for test; restoration of property. On entering any lot or parcel of land for any of the above-mentioned purposes, the Director of Service or any employee designated by him or her may make the excavation and do such other work as may be necessary to make the test herein authorized. Upon completion of the tests, the Director of Service shall cause the premises to be restored as nearly as practicable to their condition before such tests were made.
(b) Order to abate illegal connections. If investigation and tests reveal that downspouts or footer drains or any surface water flows into any sanitary sewer, the Director of Service shall order the abatement of such condition. All costs involved in any necessary corrective action shall be at the sole expense of the property owner, contractor or builder involved. Failure to comply with such order shall be considered a misdemeanor and in violation of this chapter.
(2) No person shall intentionally allow sanitary sewage to enter the sanitary sewer system with a temperature of more than 130º F.
(3) Dilution. No user shall increase the use of potable or process water or dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with any pretreatment standard or requirement. This shall not prohibit the use of equalization tanks utilized to regulate flows.
(4) Pass through and interference. No user shall discharge or cause to be, discharged, directly or indirectly, any pollutants which by their nature or concentration will pass through or cause interference with the operation of performance of the POTW.
(5) Specific prohibitions. In addition, no discharger shall contribute or cause to be discharged, directly or indirectly, any of the following described substances into the POTW:
(a) Pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flash point of less than 140° F or 60° C using the test method specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
(b) Pollutants which will cause corrosive or structural damage to the POTW, but in no case discharges with a pH lower than 6.0 or higher than 9.0 standard units.
(c) Solid or viscous substances which will or may cause obstruction to the flow in the POTW or otherwise interfere with proper operation of the wastewater system. Prohibited substances include, but are not limited to, grease, uncomminuted garbage, manure, hair, feathers, sand, spent lime, grass clippings, straw, and similar substances.
(d) Any slugload.
(e) Wastewater having a temperature greater than 130ºF. (54ºC.), or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case shall wastewater entering the headworks of the POTW exceed 104º F. (40º C.).
(f) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through the POTW.
(g) Any noxious or malodorous liquids, solids, or gases which either singly or by interaction result in toxic or malodorous gases, vapors or fumes which cause a public nuisance, health and safety problems, or danger to POTW workers.
(h) Any wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment processes, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently impart color to the treatment plant effluent, thereby violating the city’s NPDES permit.
(i) Any unpolluted waters which will increase the hydraulic loading on the plant including, but not limited to, any storm water, surface water, groundwater, artesian well water, roof run-off water, swimming pool drains, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or uncontaminated industrial process waters. This applies strictly to all new connections. All existing connections may be approved or rejected after review of hardship and/or other considerations.
(j) Any trucked or hauled pollutants, including septage and industrial waste, except at locations and times designated by the POTW.
(k) Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity either singly or by interaction to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitutes a hazard to humans or animals, or to exceed the limitation set forth in this chapter.
(l) Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES permit and/or any other disposal system permits.
(m) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes or such, half-life or concentration as exceed limits established by the city in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(n) 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 or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair.
(o) Sludges, screening, or other residues from pretreatment of industrial waste.
(p) Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the Director in a wastewater discharge permit.
(q) Wastewater causing the treatment plant’s effluent to fail a toxicity test.
(r) Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in or passing-through the POTW.
(s) Fats, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin refer to § 914.03. Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
(B) Limitations on wastewater strength.
(1) Federal requirements. National categorical pretreatment standards as promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) pursuant to the Act shall be met by all industrial users which are subject to such standards.
(2) State requirements. State requirements and limitations on discharges to the POTW shall be met by all dischargers which are subject to those standards in any instance in which they are more stringent than federal requirements and limitations or those in this chapter or any other applicable ordinance.
(3) Local requirements. No discharger shall discharge or cause or allow to be discharged into the POTW any pollutant in concentrations above those specifically permitted in a wastewater discharge permit issued by the city. Discharge permits shall impose maximum discharge concentration limits or mass based limits where appropriate. In the absence of such specific wastewater discharge permit conditions, no person shall discharge any of the following pollutants, except as such pollutants may occur, and only in the concentrations such pollutants may occur, in the potable water supplied to the premises.
(C) Right of city to revise regulations; establish removal credits.
(1) Right of revision. The city reserves the right to amend this chapter to provide for more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the POTW where deemed necessary to comply with the objectives set forth in this chapter.
(2) Limit conversion. Local limits and categorical pretreatment standards expressed in terms of concentration may be converted to mass discharge limitations at the discretion of the city. Categorical pretreatment standards which specify mass limitations may alternately be converted to concentration limits when deemed appropriate by the city.
(3) Removal credits. Where applicable, the city may elect upon approval of Ohio and U.S. EPA to initiate a program of removal credits as part of this chapter to reflect the city's ability to remove pollutants in accordance with 40 CFR Part 403.7.
(4) Net/gross calculations. The city may elect to adjust categorical pretreatment standards to reflect the presence of pollutants in the discharger's intake water in accordance with 40 CFR Part 403.15.
(D) Accidental discharges.
(1) Protection. Each user, at his or her expense, shall provide protection from accidental discharges of prohibited materials or other wastewaters subject to this chapter. Signs shall be permanently posted in conspicuous places on discharger's premises, advising employees whom to call in the event of a slug or accidental discharge. Employers shall instruct all employees who may cause or discover such a discharge with respect to emergency notification procedures.
(2) Accidental discharge notification. Users shall notify the POTW immediately upon the occurrence of a slugload or accidental discharge of any such materials or wastewaters by violation of this chapter or applicable wastewater discharge permit conditions. This notification shall be followed within five days of the date of occurrence, by a detailed written statement as required under division (D)(3) of this section describing the cause of the discharge and the remedial measures taken to reduce the possibility of recurrence. Such notification shall not relieve the user of any liability for any expense, loss or damage to the POTW.
(3) Upset notification. Any user which experiences a failure of a pretreatment system which results in an unintentional or temporary state of noncompliance with this chapter due to factors beyond reasonable control, shall inform the Director as soon as possible, but not later than 24 hours after the beginning of the upset. Where information is given orally, the user shall file a written report with the POTW within five days. The report shall include:
(a) A description of the incident, its cause and its impact on the user's compliance status;
(b) The duration of noncompliance, including exact dates and times of noncompliance. If the noncompliance continues, the time by which compliance is reasonably expected to be attained; and,
(c) All steps taken or to be taken to reduce, eliminate or prevent recurrence of the conditions of noncompliance.
(4) Bypasses. Bypasses of pretreatment facilities are prohibited and the city may pursue enforcement action unless the user receives prior written approval for bypass from the city.
(E) Right to reject wastes. If any waters or wastes are discharged or proposed to be discharged to the POTW which do not comply with the provisions of this chapter, or in the judgment of the city will not comply with this chapter, the city may:
(1) Reject the wastes;
(2) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the POTW; and/or
(3) Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes under the provisions of § 914.03(C).
(F) Notification of changes in discharge. All industrial users shall notify the city in advance of any substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants in their discharge, including the listed or characteristic hazardous wastes for which the industrial user has submitted initial notification under 40 CFR 403.12(P).
(Ord. 8623, passed 1-14-03; Am. Ord. 9622, passed 11-27-07
) Penalty, see § 914.99