(a) The following described substances, materials, waters or waste shall be limited in discharges to the municipal system to concentrations or quantities which will not harm either the sewers, wastewater treatment process or equipment; will not have an adverse effect on the receiving stream; will not cause violations of the NPDES regulations; will not inhibit the City's sludge use or disposal method; or will not otherwise endanger lives, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance. The Director may set limitations more severe than the limitations established in this chapter if in his opinion such more severe limitations are necessary to meet the above objectives. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability, the Director will give consideration to such factors as the quantity of subject waste in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, the wastewater treatment process employed, capacity of the wastewater treatment plant, degree of treatability of the waste in the wastewater treatment plant, and other pertinent factors. Discharges to the sanitary sewer with the following characteristics or pollutants are prohibited:
(1) Any waters or wastes containing pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, waste streams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit or sixty degrees Centigrade using the test method specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
(2) Any waters or wastes containing pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.
(3) Where continuous pH measurement is not employed, any water or wastes having a pH lower than 6.0, or higher than 11.0 or as otherwise required, or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the treatment works.
(4) Wastewater having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (sixty-five and one-half degrees Celsius) at the point of entrance to the main sewer. This discharge shall not cause the composite waste received at the wastewater treatment plant to exceed 104 degrees Fahrenheit (forty degrees Celsius).
(5) Wastewater containing amounts of petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oils or product of mineral oil origin that can pass through or cause interference.
(6) Wastewater from non-domestic users containing floatable oils, fat or grease.
(7) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. Garbage grinders may be connected to sanitary sewers from homes, hotels, institutions, restaurants, hospitals, catering establishments or similar places where garbage originates from the preparation of food in kitchens for the purpose of consumption on the premises or when served by caterers.
(8) Any waters or wastes containing iron, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc, mercury or other objectionable or toxic substances to such degree that any such material received in the composite wastewater at the wastewater treatment plant exceeds the limits established by the Director for such materials.
(9) Any waters or wastes containing odor-producing substances exceeding limits which may be established by the Director.
(10) Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life concentration as may exceed limits established by the Director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(11) Quantities of flow, concentrations or both which constitute a slug as defined herein.
(12) Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the wastewater treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such a degree that the wastewater treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.
(13) Any water or wastes which, by interaction with other water or wastes in the public sewer system, release obnoxious gases, form suspended solids which interfere with the collection system or create a condition deleterious to structures and treatment processes. The Director shall require all discharges to conform to all NPDES permit requirements and any other state or federal regulations.
(14) Any substance which may cause the treatment works effluent or any other product of the treatment works 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 treatment works cause the treatment works to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
(15) Any substance which causes pass through or interference as defined in Section 1040.01.
(16) Any water or wastewater which is categorized as "hazardous waste" as regulated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
(17) Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
(18) Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the wastewater facilities such as, but not limited to, ashes, bones, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metals, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair, fleshings or entrails.
(b) No user shall increase the use of potable or process water in any way for the purpose of diluting a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the standards set forth in this chapter.
(c) Where an industrial user continuously measures the pH of its discharge to the sanitary sewer, the user shall maintain the pH of such wastewater within the range set forth in paragraph (a)(3) hereof. Excursions from the range are permitted subject to the following limitations:
(1) The total time during which the pH values are outside the required range of pH values shall not exceed six hours in any calendar month;
(2) No individual excursion from the range of pH values shall exceed fifteen minutes in any sixty minute period; and
(3) No instantaneous excursion of pH values shall be below 2.0.
For purposes of this subsection (c), an "excursion" is an unintentional and temporary incident in which the pH value of a discharge to the sewer exceeds the range set forth in paragraph (a)(3) hereof.
(d) Pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. Local limits may be found in the most recent local limits study approved by OEPA. This study may be obtained from the Director's Office. These maximum concentrations may be changed as necessary by the City or state regulatory agencies, based on new information concerning inhibitory substances or to protect treatment plant processes. Industrial dischargers covered by federal pretreatment requirements shall meet those limitations as well as the limitations required in the most recent NPDES permit for the municipality, unless otherwise specified in the individual industrial user's permit.
A part of each pollutant above has been allocated to the industries that discharge them. A schedule of that allocation may be obtained from the Director's office. Should a new industry that intends to use any of the above metal in its process locate its facility within the confines of the City's sewer system, or a sewer system which discharges to the City's sewer system (a satellite system), that industry will be required to negotiate with the City for its discharge limits of the above pollutants. Also, any entity found through sampling to be discharging the above pollutants above background concentrations may be placed on a monitoring schedule at the discretion of the Director.
For mercury, every industrial user will be required to develop a plan outlining the best management practices (BMP) it will employ to eliminate the introduction of mercury into the collection system from its process flow. A copy of this BMP plan shall be filed with the Director.
(e) 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 this section, and which in the judgment of the Director may cause the pass through or interference of the POTW, or otherwise be incompatible with the wastewater facilities, processes, equipment or receiving waters, inhibit the City's sludge use or disposal method, violate any pretreatment limits imposed by this chapter, endanger the health or safety of POTW employees or other persons, create a hazard to the environment, cause the City to violate any condition of its NPDES permit or constitute a public nuisance, the Director may:
(1) Reject the wastes;
(2) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
(3) Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
(4) Suspend the treatment service to a user as provided for in Section 1040.143, or take other enforcement action.
If the Director 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 Director, and of OEPA.
(f) Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Director, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing floatable 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 Director, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. In the maintaining of these interceptors, the owner(s) shall be responsible for the proper removal and disposal by appropriate means of the captured material and shall maintain records of the dates and means of disposal which are subject to review by the Director. Any removal and hauling of the collected material not performed by the owner(s)' personnel must be performed by currently licensed waste disposal firms.
(g) Where pretreatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided or required for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner(s) at his expense.
(h) When required by the Director, the owner(s) of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable structure together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such structure, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Director. The structure shall be installed by the owner(s) at his expense and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
(i) The Director may require a user of sewer services to provide information needed to determine compliance with this chapter. These requirements may include the information described in Section 1040.12.
(j) No provision of this chapter shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment, provided the special arrangement does not violate then existing state or federal regulations.
(Ord. 42-01. Passed 3-26-01; Ord. 32-04. Passed 2-23-04; Ord. 153-14. Passed 6-23-14; Ord. 246-21. Passed 10-25-21.)