A. General Prohibitions: No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater that may cause, either alone or by interaction with other materials, pass- through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
B. Specific Prohibitions: No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater.
1. Certain Types Of Wastewater: Wastewater containing substances:
a. In concentrations that inhibit or interfere with the operation or performance of the POTW; or
b. That are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment process employed, or are only partially amenable to treatment, such that the POTW's effluent cannot meet the requirement of any agency having jurisdiction over the POTW; or
c. In concentrations in excess of limitations imposed in a permit issued by the city or other regulatory agency having jurisdiction; or
d. That impair the use or disposal of POTW sludge and sludge products pursuant to state and federal statutes, including, but not limited to, the solid waste disposal act (42 USC 6901), the clean water act (42 USC 1857), the toxic substance control act (15 USC 2601);
2. Flammable Or Explosive Pollutants: Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit (140°F) (60°C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21. Pollutants include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides, sulfides, and any other substances which are or may be a hazard to the POTW;
3. Wastewater Having pH Less Than 6.0 Or More Than 10.0: Wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or more than 10.0, or otherwise causing damage to structures, equipment, processes or personnel of the POTW, unless these permit limits are modified by a wastewater discharge permit, or by a special approved discharge authorization;
4. Solid Or Viscous Substance: Solid or viscous substance capable of obstructing wastewater which will or may cause obstruction to the flow of the wastewater or other interference with the operation of the POTW. In no instance may a substance be greater than three-eighths inch (3/8") in any dimension;
5. Pollutants Causing Interference: Pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;
6. Wastes Exceeding Certain Limits: Wastes containing more than two hundred milligrams per liter (200 mg/l) of total suspended solids in any one day; or wastes containing more than two hundred milligrams per liter (200 mg/l) of biochemical oxygen demand in any one day unless specifically authorized by the superintendent;
7. Excessive Flow: A flow of twenty five thousand (25,000) gallons per day or more of process wastewater (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater) or a flow of five percent (5%) or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the treatment facility receiving waters, unless specifically authorized by the superintendent;
8. Liquid Or Vapor Having Temperature Inhibiting Biological Activity: Any liquid or vapor having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case any liquid or vapor which causes the temperature at the introduction into the POTW to exceed one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (100°F) (37.8°C) unless this limit is modified by a wastewater discharge permit;
9. Oil: Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass-through;
10. Toxic Gases, Vapors Or Fumes: 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;
11. Trucked Or Hauled Pollutants: Trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the city;
12. Noxious Or Malodorous Liquids, Gases Or Solids: Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or health, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;
13. Wastewater That Imparts Color: Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently impart color to the treatment plant's effluent, thereby violating the city's IPDES permit. Color (in combination with turbidity) shall not cause the treatment plant effluent to reduce the depth of the compensation point for photosynthetic activity by more than ten percent (10%) from the seasonably established norm for aquatic life;
14. Radioactive Wastes Or Isotopes: Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except as specifically approved by the superintendent in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
15. Unpolluted Wastewater: Stormwater, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the superintendent;
16. Industrial Waste Residue: Any sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes or from industrial processes;
17. Medical Wastes: Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the superintendent;
18. Wasterwater Causing Toxicity Test Failure: Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test;
19. Substances Causing Excessive Foaming: Detergents, surface active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
20. Flammable Or Explosive Liquids, Solids, Or Gases: Any liquid, solids, or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are or may be sufficient, either alone or by interaction with other substances, to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any way to the POTW or to the operation of the POTW. At no time shall two (2) successive readings on an explosion meter, at the point of discharge into the system (or 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;
21. Harmful Solids: Grease, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshing, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dusts, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, wastepaper, wood, plastics, gas, tar asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud, or glass grinding or polishing wastes, unusual concentrations of solids such as, but not limited to, fuller's earth, lime slurries and lime residues, or unusual concentrations of dissolved solids such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and sodium sulfate;
22. Substances Violating IPDES Or Other Permits: Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its IPDES and/or other disposal system permits;
23. Harmful Wastewater; Exception: Any wastewater which, in the opinion of the superintendent, can cause harm either to the sewers, sewage treatment process, or equipment; have an adverse effect on the receiving stream; or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance, unless allowed under special agreement by the superintendent (except that no special waiver shall be given from categorical pretreatment standards);
24. Sewage; Exception: The contents of any tank or other vessel owned or used by any person in the business of collecting or pumping sewage, effluent, septic tank waste, or other wastewater unless said person has first obtained testing and approval as may be generally required by the city and paid all fees assessed for the privilege of said discharge;
25. Hazardous Waste: Any hazardous waste as defined in rules published by the state of Idaho or in 40 CFR 261, including hazardous waste mixed with domestic waste under EPA's domestic sewage exemption (DSE) rule through direct or indirect connections to the wastewater collection system;
26. Pesticides: Persistent pesticides and/or pesticides regulated by the federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act (FIFRA);
27. Chlorine Residual: Chlorine residual of more than twenty milligrams per liter (20 mg/l), unless specifically authorized by the superintendent;
28. Impervious Surface Wastewater: Discharge of any wastewater to streets, storm drains, storm channels, parking lots, service dock areas, or ground;
29. Grease Trap/Interceptor Treatment Products: Use of grease trap/interceptor treatment products, including bacteria, designed to digest the grease, is specifically prohibited;
30. Substances Causing Overloading, Excessive Collection Or Treatment Costs: Any substance which may cause the treatment facilities of the POTW to be overloaded or cause excessive city collection or treatment costs, or may use a disproportionate share of the POTW or its treatment facilities.
Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
(Ord. 3125 § 1, 2023: Ord. 3032, 2019: Ord. 2837 § 1, 2008)