No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged, either directly or indirectly, any wastewater which, in the opinion of the Director, may have any harmful effect on the sewer system, any POTW personnel or equipment, effluent quality, sludge quality, public or private property, or may otherwise endanger the public, a POTW, the environment or create a public nuisance. The Director, in reviewing the acceptability of specific wastewater, shall consider the characteristics of the wastewater and the adequacy and characteristics of any POTW to accept the wastewater.
A. General Discharge Prohibitions: No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of any POTW. These general prohibitions apply to all such users of a POTW whether or not the user is subject to national categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, State, or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user may not contribute the following substances to a POTW:
1. Any liquids, solids, or gases with a closed cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit (140°F) (60°C) using test methods referenced in 40 CFR 261.21 or which, by reasons of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient, either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion hazard or be injurious in any other way to a POTW or to the operation of a POTW. At no time shall two (2) successive readings on an explosimeter at any point in the system be more than five percent (5%) nor any single reading over ten percent (10%) of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter.
2. Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with a POTW.
3. Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or higher than 9.0, or wastewater having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel of a POTW.
4. Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of a POTW, or to exceed the limit set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A toxic pollutant shall include, but not be limited to, any pollutant identified pursuant to section 307(a) of the Act.
5. Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance, or hazard to life, or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair.
6. Any substance which may cause a POTW's effluent, or any other product of a POTW, 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 a POTW cause the POTW to be out of compliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations.
7. Any substance which will cause a POTW to violate its NPDES and/or State disposal system permit or the receiving water quality standards.
8. Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
9. Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in a POTW resulting in treatment interference. Wastewater with a temperature at the introduction to a POTW which exceeds forty degrees Celsius (40°C) (104°F) unless the POTW is designed to accommodate such temperature.
10. Any pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference to a POTW. The industry shall coordinate with any connected POTW for the discharge of any slug load which may have the potential to cause interference with that POTW.
11. Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Director in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations.
12. Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference with POTW processes or pass through to the receiving waters.
13. Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
14. Mercury quantities in excess of ten (10) ng/L.
B. Dilution Of Discharges: No user shall ever increase the use of process water for the purposes of attempting to dilute or to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the limitations contained in the Federal categorical pretreatment standards or in any other pollutant specific limitation developed by the City, State or Federal government.
C. Specific Limits: In most cases, the concentration of the amount of any particular constituent which will be considered excessive will depend upon the results of technical determinations and regulatory agency regulations. Limits and/or constituents to be subject to limits are subject to change based on POTW impacts, technical determinations and regulatory requirements. Specific local limits for pollutants to be allowed in the discharge to any Otsego wastewater treatment facility are developed based upon the design limits of the respective POTW. When the Director determines that a user(s) is contributing to a POTW any of the substances identified in subsection B of this section in such amounts as to interfere with the operation of the POTW, the Director shall advise the user(s) of the impact of the contribution on the POTW, and require effluent limitation(s) for such user to correct the interference with the POTW.
D. Stormwater Prohibited:
1. Prohibited Discharges Into System: It shall be unlawful for any owner, occupant or user of any premises to direct into or allow any stormwater, surface water, water from air conditioning systems or building sump pump systems, oil or other material hereafter excluded by the City to drain into the sanitary sewer system.
2. Sump Pump Required:
a. All dwellings and other buildings and structures which require, because of the infiltration of water into basements, crawl spaces and the like, a sump pump system to discharge excess water, shall have a permanently installed discharge line which shall not at any time discharge water into the sanitary sewer system, except as otherwise provided herein.
b. A permanent installation shall be one which provides for year- round discharge capability to either the outside of the dwelling, building or structure, or to the storm sewer system.
c. Unless directly connected to the storm sewer system by an underground tile or line system, or some other verifiable means, it shall consist of:
(1) A mechanical sump pump and discharge line which shall be constructed with rigid pipe (plastic, copper, galvanized or black pipe) one inch (1") inside diameter minimum with a union or other approved coupling for easy disconnection for repair or replacement.
(2) The discharge line shall protrude to the outside to a permanently drilled hole or opening, and shall extend at least three feet (3') outside of the foundation wall of the dwelling, building or other structure with a hose connection.
(3) The line leading from the sump pump shall have a connection on the outside of the dwelling, building or structure which shall prevent it from being pulled back in through the hole.
3. Disconnection Of Prohibited Discharges: All discharges to the sanitary sewer system prohibited by this chapter shall be immediately disconnected.
4. Inspections:
a. The building official, Public Utilities Supervisor, City Engineer or other authorized City staff shall, at reasonable times, be permitted to enter upon all properties connected to the sanitary sewer system for the purpose of an inspection and observation, to determine whether there is compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(1) Noncompliance with the requirements of this chapter not corrected within thirty (30) days after the date of an inspection by the City, unless extended by City staff due to issues with seasonal construction.
(2) Properties that have not complied with a request for an inspection within thirty (30) days of mailed notice by the City.
c. The City further reserves its rights to all criminal, civil or administrative actions necessary for the administration and enforcement of this subsection.
E. Swimming Pools: Swimming pools shall be equipped with facilities for completely emptying the pool and other drainage to the POTW. Discharge of the pool water to the POTW shall be at a rate not exceeding two hundred fifty (250) gallons per minute. No direct connection shall be made to the sewer. The outlet from the pool recirculation system shall terminate at least six inches (6") above the receptacle connected to the POTW. (Prior Code § 6-3-7)