As used in this chapter:
(a) "Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
(b) "Best management practices" or "BMPs" means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in OAC 3745-3-04. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
(c) "Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, as prescribed in 40 CFR, Part 136, in five days at 20°C, expressed in milligrams per liter.
(d) "Building drain" means that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building, and conveys it to the building sewer, terminating five feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
(e) "Building sewer or house connection" means the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
(f) "Bypass" means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of an industrial user's treatment facility.
(g) "Chemical oxygen demand (COD)" means the quantity of oxygen equivalent to that portion of the organic matter in a sample of wastewater that is susceptible to oxidation by a strong chemical oxidant, as prescribed in 40 CFR, Part 136, expressed in milligrams per liter.
(h) "Capital charges" mean those amounts paid by the owner of each structure connected to the treatment works, proportionate to the probable demand placed on the system to pay the debt service requirements and capital expenditures to enlarge or improve the wastewater facilities. Those structures outside the City shall have included in their capital charge an amount equivalent to the sum paid by the owners' property inside the City through assessments, taxes and investments in facilities already paid for by City residents.
(i) "Categorical Standards" means National Categorical Pretreatment Standards specifying quantities or concentrations of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged to the treatment works of the City promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) pursuant to the Act for specific industrial subcategories as listed in Appendix C of 40 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), Part 403.
(j) "Combined sewer" means a sewer intended to serve as a sanitary sewer and a storm sewer, or as an industrial sewer and a storm sewer.
(k) "Commercial user" means retail or wholesale business establishments that discharge primary normal strength wastewater into the public wastewater treatment system, works and facility.
(l) "Composite sample" means a combination of individual samples collected at periodic intervals of the entire discharge day. The composite must be flow proportional; either the time interval between each individual sample or the volume of each individual sample must be directly proportional to either the wastestream flow at the time of the sampling or the total wastestream flow since the collection of the previous sample. Samples may be collected manually or automatically.
(m) "Compatible pollutants" mean pollutants which the treatment plant was designed to treat, which are BOD, SS, phosphorus, ammonia (NH3) and fecal coliform bacteria, plus additional pollutants identified in the NPDES permit if the publicly-owned treatment works was designed to treat such pollutants and in fact does remove such pollutants to a substantial degree.
(n) "Connection charge" means that amount paid by the owner of each new or old structure to be connected to the treatment works.
(o) "Director" means the Director of Utilities of the City, or his authorized agent or representative.
(p) "Discharger" is used interchangeably with "user" and means those premises connected or required to be connected to the public sewer. "Discharger", where the context requires, means "person".
(q) "Easement" means an acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.
(r) "Floatable oil" means oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility. Wastewater shall be considered free of floatable fat if it is properly pretreated and does not interfere with the collection system.
(s) "Garbage" means the animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.
(t) "Grab sample" means an individual sample collected at such time and location as to be representative of the discharge.
(u) "Incompatible pollutant" means any pollutant which is not compatible.
(v) "Indirect discharge" means a discharge from a facility to the collection system of a publicly owned treatment works.
(w) "Industrial user (IU)" shall include users discharging waste from any process that creates a non-domestic waste, not limited to manufacturing activities involving the mechanical or chemical transformation of material or substance into other products. These activities occur in establishments usually described as plants, factories, or mills and characteristically use power-driven machines and material-handling equipment.
(x) "Industrial wastes" mean the wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business as distinguished from domestic or sanitary wastes.
(y) "Instantaneous limit" means the maximum allowable concentration of a pollutant determined from the analysis of any discrete or composite sample collected, independent of the flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
(z) "Institutional/governmental user" means hospitals, nursing homes, schools, city, county, state or federal buildings or facilities that discharge wastewater into the public wastewater treatment system, works and facility.
(aa) "Interference" means discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:
(1) Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes, or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and
(2) Therefore is a cause of violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and including state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA); the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
(bb) "Major addition or alteration" means the addition of 2,000 square feet or more to an existing structure or an alteration of an existing structure which changes its use within the listing of equivalent factors set forth in Section 1040.08, and which also causes an increased discharge in the volume of wastewater.
(cc) "May" is permissive.
(dd) "Natural outlet" means any outlet, including the outlet of storm sewers, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or groundwater which does not require an NPDES discharge permit.
(ee) "New source" means any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
(1) The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
(2) The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
(3) The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site.
(ff) "Nonindustrial user" means all users of the wastewater facilities not classified as an industrial user.
(gg) "Non-significant categorical user" means any industrial user who meets all of the following:
(1) Does not discharge more than 100 gallons per day of total categorical wastewater (does not include sanitary, non-contact cooling, and/or boiler blowdown wastewater unless it is specifically included in the categorical pretreatment standard); and
(2) Does not discharge at any time any untreated concentrated wastewater which is regulated by categorical pretreatment standards.
(hh) "Non-significant industrial user" means any IU who meets all of the following:
(1) Does not discharge any wastes that could adversely affect the POTW;
(2) Does not discharge any wastes subject to categorical standards; and
(3) Does not meet any of the requirements listed under the "significant industrial user" definition.
(ii) "NPDES permit" means the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, as issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency under authorization issued by the U.S. EPA, Region Five, March 11, 1974.
(jj) "OEPA" means the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
(kk) "Operation, maintenance and replacement costs" mean those costs, including labor, materials, supplies, equipment, accessories and appurtenances, required to operate the facilities, keep the facilities in operating condition and maintain the capacity and performance during the service life of the treatment works for which such works were designed and constructed.
(ll) "Pass through" means a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
(mm) "Person" means any individual, firm, company, partnership, association, society, corporation or group.
(nn) "pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter of solution.
(oo) "Phosphorus" means the total phosphorus content of a sample, including all of the orthophosphates and condensed phosphates, both soluble and insoluble, and organic and inorganic species, and referred to in 40 CFR Part 136 as total phosphorus.
(pp) "POTW" means publicly-owned treatment works.
(qq) "Pretreatment" means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging such pollutants into the publicly-owned treatment works. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, by process changes, or by other means, except dilution.
(rr) "Pretreatment standards" means any limitations or restrictions imposed upon the discharge to the sewer from non-domestic users, in order to prevent:
(1) Pass through;
(2) Interference;
(3) Harm to the sewers or treatment works;
(4) Adverse effect on the receiving stream;
(5) Inhibition of sludge disposal options;
(6) Violations of the NPDES limits;
(7) Endangerment of the health or safety of POTW workers or the public;
(8) Endangerment of public property; or
(9) Creation of a nuisance.
"Pretreatment standards" include categorical pretreatment standards and any local limitations and prohibitions established by the Director to fulfill the pretreatment program requirements contained in the City NPDES permit.
(ss) "Properly shredded garbage" means the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
(tt) "Public sewer" means a common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility.
(uu) "Residential user" means a principal family residence or habitation classified as a single-family, multi-family, or apartment dwelling that discharges domestic sanitary wastewater having characteristics of 250 milligrams per liter biochemical oxygen demand and 200 milligrams per liter suspended solids into the public wastewater treatment system, works, and facility.
(vv) "Sanitary sewer" means a sewer that carries liquid and/or water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally.
(ww) "Segregated domestic wastes" means wastes which are characterized by a per capita discharge of 100 gallons per day at a loading of 200 mg/l BOD and 250 mg/l SS, commonly termed "normal domestic sewage."
(xx) "Severe property damage" means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. "Severe property damage" does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
(yy) "Sewer" means a pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
(zz) "Shall" is mandatory.
(aaa) "Significant industrial user" means:
(1) Except as provided in division B. of this definition, the term "significant industrial user" includes:
A. All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards; and,
B. Any other industrial user that: discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW; contributes a process waste stream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or has a reasonable potential, in the opinion of the Director, to adversely affect the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
C. The Director may at any time, on his own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user, determine that a noncategorical industrial user is not a significant industrial user if the industrial user has no reasonable potential to adversely affect the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
(bbb) "Slug" means any pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference with the POTW.
(ccc) "Storm drain" or "storm sewer" means a drain or sewer for conveying water, groundwater, subsurface water or unpolluted water from any source.
(ddd) "Suspended solids (SS)" mean total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of, or is in suspension in, water, wastewater or other liquids, and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in 40 CFR Part 136, and referred to as nonfilterable residue.
(eee) "Treatment works" mean any and all devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature, or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most economical cost over the useful life of the works, including interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof, elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment; or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal wastes, including storm water runoff, or industrial waste, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
(fff) "Unpolluted water" means water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefitted by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.
(ggg) "Upset" means an exceptional incident in which a discharger unintentionally or temporarily is in a state of noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards due to factors beyond the reasonable control of the discharger. Specifically excluded is noncompliance due to such incident to the extent that it is caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation thereof.
(hhh) "USEPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(iii) "User charge" means that amount paid by each owner of structures connected to the treatment works proportionate to the service provided. This charge shall cover all operation, maintenance and replacement costs for the facilities.
(jjj) "Wastewater" or "sewage" means the spent water of a community, and may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and storm water that may be present.
(kkk) "Wastewater treatment plant" means an arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater, industrial wastes and sludge.
(lll) "Watercourse" means a natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.
(mmm) "40 CFR Part 136" means the part of the Code of Federal Regulations which prescribes the analytical methods to be used for reporting any discharge regulated directly or indirectly under an NPDES permit.
(Ord. 175-91. Passed 7-8-91; Ord. 128-98. Passed 8-10-98; Ord. 210-04. Passed 11-8-04; Ord. 155-13. Passed 8-5-13; Ord. 56-14. Passed 2-24-14; Ord. 163-20. Passed 9-14-20; Ord. 246-21. Passed 10-25-21.)