The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, shall be as defined herein. Words, terms and phrases used in this chapter not otherwise defined shall be as defined or interpreted or used in the pretreatment requirements. Terminology for analytical testing shall be that contained in "Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants," published at Title 40 CFR, Part 136.
“Annual average concentration” means the average concentration of a substance measured over any twelve-month period of time.
“Authorized representative” means an authorized or duly authorized representative as defined below:
(a) If the discharger is a corporation:
(1) The president, secretary, treasurer, or a vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation; or
(2) The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for discharge permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(b) If the discharger is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or proprietor, respectively.
(c) If the discharger is a federal, state, or local governmental facility: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.
(d) The individuals described in paragraphs (a) through (c), above, may designate a duly authorized representative if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates, or with overall responsibility for environmental matters for the organization, and the written authorization is submitted to the superintendent.
“Average concentration” of a substance means the total daily discharge weight of the substance divided by the total daily wastewater volume at the point of discharge.
“Berm” means a ridge, lip or other raised barrier to the flow of liquid which is not rendered ineffective by the liquid and is sufficiently high to contain anticipated fluid amounts, or which causes sufficient grade to prevent migration of anticipated fluid amounts.
“Best Management Practices” or “BMPs” means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to implement the prohibitions in this chapter. BMPs include treatment requirements, operating procedures and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal or drainage from materials storage.
“Biochemical oxygen demand” or “BOD” means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures.
“Categorical discharger” shall mean any discharger subject to categorical pretreatment standards.
“Categorical pretreatment standard” means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA that apply to a specific category of dischargers and that appear in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 - 471.
“Cesspool” means a lined or partially lined underground pit into which raw sanitary sewage is discharged.
“City” means City of Palo Alto.
“Collection system” means the pipes, junction boxes, channels and other conveyance apparatus used to move storm water or sewage.
“Cooling system blowdown” means water routinely discharged from a cooling water system to maintain efficient operation of the system.
“Cooling water” means water which is used to cool fluids or equipment in commercial or industrial processes or air conditioning systems.
“Cooling water system” means the pipes, heat exchangers and other appurtenances used to convey cooling water in cooling towers, direct contact cooling systems and similar fixed cooling systems. Multiple units of a cooling water system serving a building or piece of equipment are considered as one system if the cooling water distribution system units are physically connected.
“Contaminated groundwater” means water found beneath the earth's surface which does not meet state or federal standards for drinking water supplies or other specified beneficial uses.
“Contaminated water” means water that does not meet state or federal standards for discharge to navigable waters.
“County” shall mean the County of Santa Clara.
“Cycles of concentration” means the flow rate of water added to a cooling tower water system divided by the flow rate of water discharged from the cooling tower.
“Discharge” means the introduction of any pollutant or of any industrial, commercial or domestic waste into the sanitary sewer system or storm drain system.
“Discharger” means any person or entity who has the potential to or who discharges, causes, or permits the discharge of any pollutant or of any industrial, commercial or domestic waste into the sanitary sewer system or storm drain system.
“Domestic waste” means the liquid and waterborne wastes derived from the ordinary living processes, free from industrial wastes and of such character as to permit satisfactory disposal, without special treatment, into the sewer system.
“Enforcement response plan” or “ERP” means the document describing the guidelines for identifying violations of and enforcing specific local limits; pretreatment standards and requirements; and the requirements of this chapter.
“EPA” means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
“Exceptional waste” means that subset of industrial waste specified in Section 16.09.080(c)(2).
“Fail-safe valve” means a gravity, spring loaded or electrically driven valve that is normally closed. The valve can be opened by continuously applying pressure or depressing a switch mechanism that automatically closes the valve when not in use or depressed.
“Grease” means, and includes, fats, oils, waxes or other related constituents. Grease may be of vegetable or animal origin, including butter, lard, margarine, vegetable fats and oils, and fats in meats, cereals, seeds, nuts and certain fruits. Grease may also be of mineral origin, including kerosene, lubricating oil, and road oil. Grease in the sanitary sewer system is generally present as, but need not be, a floatable solid, a liquid, a colloid, an emulsion, or in a solution.
“Hazardous material” means any material so designated by Title 17 of this code.
“Hazardous waste” means a material designated as a hazardous waste by either state or federal regulations.
“Industrial waste” means the waste or wastewater from any production, manufacturing or processing operation of whatever nature including institutional and commercial. “Industrial waste” shall not include domestic waste. “Industrial waste” shall include contaminated water from construction operations, contaminated water from erosion of disturbed land, and contaminated water from irrigation runoff.
“Interference” means a discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the plant, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal, or exceeds the design capacity of the sanitary sewer system.
“Loading dock” means that area of a facility intended for the loading and unloading of trucks, plus an additional radius of ten feet.
“Machine shop” means a fixed facility which cuts, grinds, polishes, deburrs, or machines metal parts but does not conduct metal finishing as that term is defined by the EPA in 40 CFR part 433.
“Metal fabrication facility” means a fixed facility that forms, welds and assembles metal pieces, but does not conduct metal finishing as that term is defined by the EPA in 40 CFR part 433.
“New source” means a new or modified building, structure, facility or installation as defined in EPA 40 CFR part 403.3(m) from which there is or may be a discharge subject to proposed or existing pretreatment standards.
“Oil-water separator” means a receptacle designed and constructed to intercept, separate, and prevent the passage of oils and sediments into the sanitary sewer system.
“Once-through cooling system” means a cooling system through which water passes through only once before discharge to a drain, including laboratory bench top cooling systems.
“Organic solvent” means any solvent which contains carbon in its molecular structure.
“Pass-through” means a discharge that exits the plant into a water of the United States in quantities or concentrations that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the plant's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
“Person” means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or public agency.
“Plant” means the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant.
“Point of discharge” means the point or points designated as such in the permit. Where no designation is made it shall mean the point where the private sewer joins a public sewer.
“Pretreatment requirement” means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a discharger, other than a pretreatment standard.
“Pretreatment standards” means prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards and local limits.
“Pretreatment system” means a treatment system at an industrial or commercial facility that is designed to reduce the amount of pollutants, eliminate pollutants, or alter the nature of the pollutant properties in the waste water prior to discharge to the sanitary sewer system.
“Root control chemicals” means any chemical introduced into pipes in order to inhibit or kill roots in the pipe.
“Sampling location” means an access box, valve, spigot or similar structure from which samples representative of an industrial wastewater discharge from a particular process or processes, piece of equipment, activity, building, or facility are collected.
“Sanitary sewage” or “sewage” means water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, excluding ground, surface and storm waters, subsurface drainage and also excluding industrial waste.
“Sanitary sewer overflow” or “SSO” means any overflow, spill, release, discharge or diversion of untreated or partially treated wastewater from the sanitary sewer system. SSOs include:
(a) Overflows or releases of untreated or partially treated wastewater that reaches waters of the United States;
(b) Overflows or releases of untreated or partially treated wastewater that do not reach waters of the United States; and
(c) Wastewater backups into buildings and on private property that are caused by blockages or flow conditions within the sanitary sewer system.
“Secondary containment” means and shall have the meaning specified by the hazardous materials storage ordinance (Title 17, Palo Alto Municipal Code).
“Seepage pit” means a device comprised of one or more pits extending into porous strata, lined with open-jointed masonry or similar walls, capped and provided with a means of access such as a manhole cover and into which wastewater disposal system effluent is discharged.
“Sewage treatment plant” means any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sanitary sewage.
“Sewer” means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
“Sewer system” or “sanitary sewer system” means the collection system, all sewers, treatment plants and other facilities owned or operated by the city for carrying, collecting, storing, treating, reclaiming and disposing of sanitary sewage and industrial wastes.
“Significant industrial user” (SIU) means, except as provided in (c) and (d):
(a) A discharger subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or
(b) A discharger that:
(1) Discharges an average of 25,000 gpd or more of process wastewater to the sanitary sewer system (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater);
(2) Contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the sanitary sewer system; or
(3) Is designated as such by the superintendent on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the sanitary sewer system's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
(c) The superintendent may determine that a discharger subject to categorical pretreatment standards is a non-significant categorical industrial user (non-SCIU) rather than a significant industrial user on a finding that the discharger never discharges more than 100 gallons per day (gpd) of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless specifically included in the pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met:
(1) The discharger, prior to superintendent's finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and requirements;
(2) The discharger annually submits the certification statement required in 16.09.135(a)(3), together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement; and
(3) The discharger never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.
(d) Upon a finding that a discharger meeting the criteria in subsection (b) of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the sanitary sewer system's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the superintendent may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from a discharger, determine that such discharger should not be considered a significant industrial user.
“Significant noncompliance” means a violation or series of violations by a discharger of one or more criteria set forth in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(viii).
“Simple payback period” means the number of years required to allow the dollar value of an investment in water pollution control to be exceeded by cost savings resulting from the investment.
“Single toxic organic” or “STO” shall mean the highest quantifiable value for any individual toxic organic compound.
“Slug discharge” means any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge of wastewater, material or waste of high volume or pollutant concentration which violates any of the specific prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(b) or Sections 16.09.045 or 16.09.050 or that has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through or in any other way violate the plant's regulations, local limits, or sanitary sewer system requirements or NPDES permit conditions.
“Storm drains” or “storm drain system” means the system of pipes, gutters, surface conveyance and channels used to collect and convey storm water.
“Superintendent” means the manager of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant, his or her designee or such other person as may be designated by the city manager.
“Total toxic organics” or “TTO” shall mean the sum of all quantifiable toxic organic compound concentrations greater than 0.010 mg/liter.
“Toxic organic compound” shall mean any organic pollutant contained in 40 CFR Part 433.11(e).
“Unpolluted water” means water to which no constituent has been added, either intentionally or accidentally, that would render such water unacceptable for disposal to the storm drain system or natural drainage or directly to surface waters.
“Wastewater” the liquid and water-carried wastes generated by a domestic, commercial and or industrial facility, whether treated or untreated, discharged into or permitted to enter the sewer system.
“Wet sanding” means the use of water and sandpaper for the removal of paint.
(Ord. 5084 § 2 (part), 2010)