(a) General discharge prohibitions.
(1) No discharger shall contribute or cause to be discharged, directly or indirectly, any of the following described substances into the POTW or otherwise to the facilities of the city:
A. Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the operation of the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140°F or 60°C using the test method specified in 40 C.F.R. § 261.21;
B. Solid or viscous substances which will or may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the POTW;
C. Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or higher than 9.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment or personnel of the system;
D. Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or to exceed the limitation set forth in this chapter. A toxic pollutant shall include but not be limited to any pollutant identified in the Toxic Pollutant List set forth in Appendix A hereto;
E. Any noxious, malodorous or toxic liquid, gases, vapors, fumes or solids which either singly or by interaction are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair or may cause acute worker health and safety problems;
F. Any substance which may cause the POTW’s effluent or treatment 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 POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under § 405 of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1345; any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq., the Clean Air Act, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq., the Toxic Substances Control Act, being 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq., or state standards applicable to the sludge management method being used;
G. Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES and/or other disposal system permits;
H. Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity or cause structural damage in the POTW resulting in interference; but in no case, wastewater with a temperature at the introduction into the POTW treatment plant which exceeds 40°C (104°F);
I. Any slugload;
J. Any unpolluted water except such water as may be discharged to a sewer which is designated to carry storm water;
K. Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentrations as exceed limits in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
L. Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance;
M. Any petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral amounts that may pass through or cause interference; or
N. Hauled septic or industrial wastes except at locations and at times as designated by the Director. Any removal of manhole lids, or other access to the sewer system for the purpose of discharging wastes at times and/or locations other than those designated by the Director, or without the expressed written permission of the Director, shall be considered a violation and shall be subject to enforcement action including fines and penalties subsequently described in § 949.99.
(2) When the Director determines that a discharger is contributing any of the above enumerated substances in such amounts as to interfere with the operation of the POTW, the Director shall: advise the discharger of the impact of the contribution on the POTW; and develop effluent limits for such discharger to correct the interference with the POTW.
(b) Limitations on wastewater strength.
(1) National categorical pretreatment standards. 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 dischargers of the regulated industrial categories. An application for modification of the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards may be considered for submittal to the Regional Administrator by the Director, when the city’s wastewater treatment system achieves consistent removal of the pollutants as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 403.7.
(2) 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 § 949.01(a).
(3) Dilution. No discharger shall increase the use of potable or process water in any way, nor mix separate waste streams 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. The Director may impose mass limitations on dischargers which are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases where the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(4) Supplementary limitations. No discharger shall discharge or cause to be discharged into the sewerage system any of the following pollutants in concentrations above those specifically permitted in a wastewater discharge permit issued by the city. Discharge permits shall impose maximum discharge concentration or mass based limits where appropriate. In the absence of such specific wastewater discharge permit limitations, no person shall discharge any of the following pollutants above levels normally found in domestic sewage.
Ag | (silver) |
As | (arsenic) |
Cd | (cadmium) |
CN | (free cyanide) |
Cr | (total chromium) |
Cr | (hexavalent chromium) |
Cu | (copper) |
Hg | (mercury) |
grease and oil of animal, vegetable and/or mineral origin | |
Mo | (molybdenum) |
Ni | (nickel) |
Pb | (lead) |
phenols | |
Se | (selenium) |
Tl | (thallium) |
Zn | (zinc) |
(5) Best management practices (BMPs). The authority may develop BMPs by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits to implement local limits and the requirements of § 949.03.
(c) Accidental discharges.
(1) Each discharger shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited or restricted materials or substances established by this chapter. Where necessary, facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the discharger’s cost and expense.
(2) The Director shall evaluate whether each significant industrial user needs an accidental discharge/slug load discharge control plan or other action to control such discharges. The Director may require any discharger to develop, submit for approval, and implement such a plan or take other action that may be necessary to control accidental or slug load discharges.
(3) An accidental discharge/slug load discharge control plan shall address, at a minimum, the following:
A. Description of discharge practices, including non-routine and batch discharges.
B. Description of stored chemicals.
C. Procedures for immediately notifying the authority of any accidental discharge or slug load discharge, as required in § 949.03(c)(6).
D. Procedures to prevent adverse impact from any accidental or slug load discharge. Such procedures include but are not limited to, inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site runoff, employee training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants, including solvents, and/or measures and equipment for emergency response.
(4) The Director shall evaluate the need for a plan or structure to control a potential slug load discharge at least once per control mechanism cycle.
(5) Each existing discharger shall complete its plan and submit same to the Director within 180 days after the effective date of this chapter. No discharger who discharges to the city POTW after the aforesaid date shall be permitted to introduce pollutants into the system until accidental discharge protection procedures have been approved by the Director. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures by the Director shall not relieve the discharger from the responsibility to modify its facility as necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter.
(6) Dischargers shall verbally notify the Director immediately upon the occurrence of a “slug load” or accidental discharge of substances prohibited by this chapter and shall submit a written notification letter to the Director within five working days. Both notifications shall include location of discharge, date and time thereof, type of waste, concentration and volume and corrective actions. Any discharger who discharges a slug load of prohibited materials shall be liable for any expense, loss or damage to the POTW, in addition to the amount of any fines imposed on the Authority on account thereof under state or federal law.
(7) Employers shall instruct all employees who may cause or discover a slug load or accidental discharge with respect to proper emergency notification procedures including the proper person to notify at the POTW.
(8) Dischargers must notify the Director of any significant changes to the discharger’s operations which might alter the nature, quality, or volume of the wastewater discharge, at least 30 days before the change is implemented.
(d) Bypass not violating applicable pretreatment standards or requirements. A discharger may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause pretreatment standards or requirements to be violated, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provisions of divisions (e) and (f) hereof.
(e) Notice.
(1) If a discharger knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the Director, if possible at least ten days before the date of the bypass.
(2) A discharger shall submit oral notice of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards to the Director within 24 hours from the time the discharger becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five days of the time the discharger becomes aware of the bypass. The written submission shall contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times, and, if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the bypass. The Director may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within 24 hours.
(f) Prohibition of bypass.
(1) Bypass is prohibited, and the Director may take enforcement action against a discharger for a bypass, unless:
A. The bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury or severe property damage;
B. There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventative maintenance; and
C. The discharger submitted notices as required under division (e) hereof.
(2) The Director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the Director determined that it will meet the three conditions listed in division (f)(1) hereof.
(g) Notification of the discharge of hazardous waste.
(1) Any user who commences the discharge of hazardous waste shall notify the POTW, the EPA Regional Waste Management Division Director, and state hazardous waste authorities, in writing, of any discharge into the POTW of a substance which, if otherwise disposed of, would be a hazardous waste under 40 C.F.R. Part 261. Such notification must include the name of the hazardous waste as set forth in 40 C.F.R. Part 261, the EPA hazardous waste number, and the type of discharge (continuous, batch, or other). If the user discharges more than 100 kilograms of such waste per calendar month to the POTW, the notification also shall contain the following information to the extent such information is known and readily available to the user: an identification of the hazardous constituents contained in the wastes, an estimation of the mass and concentration of such constituents in the wastestream discharged during that calendar month, and an estimation of the mass of constituents in the wastestream expected to be discharged during the following 12 months. All notifications must take place no later than 180 days after the discharge commences. Any notification under this paragraph need be submitted only once for each hazardous waste discharged. However, notifications of changed conditions must be submitted under division (e)(2) of this section. The notification requirement in this section does not apply to pollutants already reported by users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under the self-monitoring requirements of division (b)(4) of this section.
(2) Dischargers are exempt from the requirements of division (g)(1), above, during a calendar month in which they discharge no more than 15 kilograms of hazardous wastes, unless the wastes are acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40 C.F.R. §§ 261.30(d) and 261.33(e). Discharge of more than 15 kilograms of nonacute hazardous wastes in a calendar month, or of any quantity of acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40 C.F.R. §§ 261.30(d) and 261.33(e), requires a one-time notification. Subsequent months during which the user discharges more than such quantities of any hazardous waste do not require additional notification.
(3) In the case of any new regulations under § 3001 of RCRA identifying additional characteristics of hazardous waste or listing any additional substance as a hazardous waste, the user must notify [the Director], the EPA Regional Waste Management Waste Division Director, and state hazardous waste authorities of the discharge of such substance within 90 days of the effective date of such regulations.
(4) In the case of any notification made under this section, the user shall certify that it has a program in place to reduce the volume and toxicity of hazardous wastes generated to the degree it has determined to be economically practical.
(5) This provision does not create a right to discharge any substance not otherwise permitted to be discharged by this ordinance, a permit issued thereunder, or any applicable federal or state law.
(Ord. 93-17, passed 2-22-1993; Ord. 2012-63, passed 9-10-2012; Ord. 2015-22, passed 2-23-2015)