(a) Notice of Upset. Any discharger who experiences an upset in operations which places the discharger in a temporary state of noncompliance with this chapter shall inform the Director immediately of first awareness of the commencement of the upset. Where such information is given orally, a written follow-up report thereof shall be filed by the discharger with the City within five days. The report shall specify:
(1) Description of the upset, the cause thereof and the upset's impact on a discharger's compliance status;
(2) Duration of noncompliance, including exact dates and times of noncompliance and, if the noncompliance continues, the time by which compliance is reasonably expected to occur;
(3) All steps taken or to be taken to reduce, eliminate and prevent recurrence of such upset or other conditions on noncompliance;
A documented and verified bona fide operating upset shall be an affirmative defense to any enforcement action brought by the City against a discharger for any noncompliance with this chapter which arises out of violations alleged to have occurred during the period of upset.
(b) Bypass. Bypass is prohibited, and the City may take enforcement action against a discharger for a bypass, unless: the bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury or severe property damage, and where 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 down time. If the discharger knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall give prior notice to the City, if possible at least ten days before the date on which the bypass is to occur. If the bypass is not anticipated, the discharger shall notify the City orally within twenty-four hours of becoming aware of bypass. This twenty-four hour notice shall be followed within five days by a written description of the bypass, its cause, its duration (or, if it has not been corrected, how long it is expected to continue), and what has been done to rectify the problem. The Director reserves the right to waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four hours.
(Ord. 107-1991. Passed 6-24-91.)