(A) The Department shall determine the acceptability or unacceptability of any discharge to the system. Such a determination shall be made on the basis of sound engineering and operational evaluations, taking into consideration the nature and concentration of the discharge, its point of entry into the system, its compatibility with other discharges in the system, its compatibility with the treatment facility receiving it and all other factors pertinent to the effect of the discharge on any part of the system or treatment process. The Department shall impose charges on any user of the sewage works who discharges wastes having a strength greater than normal sewage or containing non-permissible quantities or prohibited substances into the public sewer system. The charges so imposed shall be based on the extra costs incurred by the Department in surveillance, sampling and testing of the discharges, additional operating and maintenance expenses and any other actions required to identify, handle, process or supplement normal activities due to the unauthorized discharge of excessive strength or unusual character wastes, plus overhead charges. Failure by a user to pay the charges and to provide such corrective measures as may be required to prevent further unauthorized discharges, after due notice by the Department and being given a reasonable time to comply, shall be sufficient cause to discontinue sewer service to the premises.
(B) Unacceptable discharges shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, those which have been determined by the Department to:
(1) Contain materials or substances which would constitute a hazard to life of personnel engaged in inspection, maintenance and operation of the system;
(2) Contain materials or substances which are toxic, as defined in this code;
(3) Contain materials or substances which are in any way deleterious to any part of the system;
(4) Contain concentrations of any toxic or deleterious materials or substances in excess of any limits set thereon, in accordance with this code;
(5) Cause the Department to incur excessive expense in the handling or treatment thereof;
(6) Be incompatible with the treatment process or inhibit the performance of the treatment process at the town wastewater facility;
(7) Be of such volume or contain such BOD, suspended solids or other material load which could cause the treatment facility to exceed its design capabilities;
(8) Cause a treatment facility of the Department to fail to meet effluent requirements set by state and federal regulatory agencies or cause such effluent to have a degrading effect on the receiving body of water; and
(9) Contain viable pathogenic organisms in such quantities as to be a hazard to public health.
(C) The Department shall refuse the service of the facilities to any person whose discharge is determined by the Department to be unacceptable in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(D) No person shall release or cause to be released or allow to run, leak or escape into the sewer system any discharge containing any materials or substances considered by the Department to be toxic, as defined in this code, or to be in any way deleterious to any part of the sewer system or treatment process. Certain materials shall, by their nature, be considered by the Department to be toxic or deleterious, except in small quantities or concentrations. Such materials or substances shall include by not necessarily be limited to:
(1) Construction materials, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastic, wood, paunch manure, fur, waste or any solid or viscous substance capable of or causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the sewer system;
(2) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquids, solids or gases;
(3) Steam or hot water above 105°F (40°C);
(4) Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 33°F and 150°F (1°C and 65°C);
(5) Any water or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than 9.5 or having any other corrosive property apt to cause damage or hazard to structures, equipment of the sewer system or personnel employed in its operation;
(6) Any water or waste contain readily releasable cyanide (cyanide released at a temperature of 150°F/65° and pH=2.5) in excess of two mg/l; any water or water containing total cyanide in excess of five mg/l;
(7) Coal tar, its derivatives and waste;
(8) Any liquids or wastes containing toxic, radioactive, poisonous or other substances in sufficient quantities or rate of flow as to injure or interfere with any of the sewage treatment process, to cause corrosive structural damage, to constitute a hazard to human beings or animals or to create any hazard in the receiving waters; and
(9) Any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, surface drainage, cooling water or unpolluted process water.
(E) Certain toxic substances and pathogenic bacteria, admission of which into the system would otherwise be prohibited, shall be acceptable in a discharge if reduced by treatment at the source to a point that it will meet the general purposes of these rules and regulations or come within any applicable standards set thereon now or hereafter in accordance with these regulations, or discharge in such small concentrations so as to not be injurious to personnel; sewers; any biochemical, biological or other sewage treatment process or receiving water. Such substances shall include, but not necessarily be limited to:
(1) Any alcoholic, antibiotics, arsenic, bromine, iodine, chlorine, copper, copper salts, creosols, creosotes, fluorine, formaldehydes, mercury, phenols, phenol derivatives, silver, silver compounds, toxic dyes (organic or mineral) or zinc;
(2) Any strong oxidizing agents, such as chromates, dichromates, permanganates or peroxides;
(3) Any chemical compounds producing toxic, flammable or explosive gases either upon acidification, alkalization, oxidation or reduction;
(4) Any strong reducing agents such as nitrates, sulfides, sulfites and thiosulfates; and
(5) Any waste from industrial process, hospital procedures or commercial processes containing viable pathogenic organisms.
(F) The following table lists the maximum allowable values of certain materials in or characteristics of wastewater entering the sewer system. The Department reserves the right to establish standards for substances not contained in this list. In setting additional standards, the Department will generally follow the standards of the Water Pollution Control Federation. In defining and interpreting the values of the following table, reference shall be made to Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, American Waterworks Association, latest edition.
(G) (1) Any discharge to the sewer system containing garbage may be made acceptable by means of grinding and dilution; provided, however, that, the installation of and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor are subject to review and approval by the Department prior to such installation and operation and are subject to periodic inspection by the Department thereafter.
Material or Characteristic | Maximum Allowable Value |
Material or Characteristic | Maximum Allowable Value |
Arsenic | 0.1 ppm |
Boron | 1.0 ppm |
Barium | 10.0 ppm |
Chromium, total | 10.0 ppm |
Copper | 10.0 ppm |
Cyanides | 2.0 ppm |
Cadmium | 2.0 ppm |
Lead | 0.1 ppm |
Manganese | 0.5 ppm |
Mercury | 0.05 ppm |
Nickel | 10.0 ppm |
Selenium | 0.1 ppm |
Silver | 0.5 ppm |
Zinc | 10.0 ppm |
Iron | 25.0 ppm |
Phenols | 0.5 ppm |
Temperature | 105°F |
(2) The above limitations are intended to apply generally to all industrial users within the sewer system. If, and when, state and federal regulatory agency regulations require a specific pretreatment concentration for a specific industry, whichever is the more stringent concentration level between these regulations shall apply.
(Prior Code, § 16-2-6)