(a) (1) Except as provided in (b) below, no person shall place, throw, or deposit, or cause or permit to be placed, thrown or deposited in any public sewer, drain, catch basin, water closet, privy, any dead animal, offal, or garbage, fish, fruit, vegetable waste, or any other solid matter or material of any kind whatsoever, of such a nature or in such quantities as will, or will be likely to clog or obstruct any public sewer, drain, or catch basin, or which will or will be likely to interfere with or prevent the effective or efficient use of the operation of any of the same.
(2) No person shall cause or permit to be deposited or discharged into any public sewer, drain, or catch basin, water or sewage, or liquid waste of any kind, containing chemicals, greases, oil, tar, or other matter or material which would by reason of precipitation or settlement of such matter or materials be likely to clog or obstruct any of the same, or which by reason thereof will be likely to interfere with or prevent the effective or efficient use of any of same, or which will be likely to necessitate or require frequent repair, cleaning out, or flushing of any sewer, drain or catch basin.
(b) Garbage resulting from the preparation of any food or drink prepared on premises where they are served or proposed to be served for consumption, properly ground to such fineness and by such methods as may be from time to time approved by the City, may be discharged into a public sewer by such methods as may be from time to time approved by the City.
(c) No person shall intentionally allow sanitary sewage to flow into a sanitary sewer of the City which flows into the Rocky River Sewage Treatment Plant, which does not meet the following requirements:
(1) Wastewater having a temperature greater than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius), or which will inhibit biological activity in the Rocky River wastewater treatment plant resulting in Interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius);
(2) Shall contain no gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel, oil or gases, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid, or gas, except as may be found in normal domestic sanitary sewage;
(3) Shall contain no unground garbage;
(4) Wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or more than 9.0, or otherwise causing corrosive damage or hazard to the POTW or equipment or personnel; unless specifically allowed by a site-specific industrial wastewater discharge permit;
(5) Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, or constitute a hazard to humans or animals; 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; Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids, which either singly or by interaction, are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair;
(6) Shall contain no cooling water;
(7) Shall contain no more than ten (10) milligrams per liter of the following gases: hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, or nitrous oxide;
(8) Shall contain no phenols excess of 0.5 milligrams per liter by weight. These limits may be modified at the discretion of the City if the aggregate of contributions throughout the area of service create treatment difficulties, or produce a plant effluent discharge to receiving waters, which may be prohibitive;
(9) Shall have no corrosive properties either acid or alkaline capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, or personnel of the Department of Sewers;
(10) Shall not contain a toxic or poisonous substance of high chlorine demand in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or create any hazard to the receiving waters or stormwater overflows or the effluent of the wastewater treatment plant. Additional restrictions including BMP’s may also be placed on other compounds, including mercury, when it is shown that the concentration of these materials at a treatment plant is sufficient to adversely affect any portion of the treatment process and the compliance with the NPDES permit;
(11) Any water or wastes containing the discharge of strong acid iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solution whether neutralized or not;
(12) Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable Local, State or Federal regulations;
(13) Any waters containing suspended solids of such character and quantity that unusual provisions, attention, or expense is required to handle such materials at the wastewater treatment plant;
(14) Any waste exerting excessive or unusual chlorine demand in such quantities as to constitute a load greater than twenty (20) percent the normal average demand at the wastewater treatment plant;
(15) Any waste or water containing excessive amounts of phosphorus so as to constitute a load greater than twenty (20) percent the normal average load at the wastewater treatment plant;
(16) Any waste which would cause the City to violate the pretreatment standards established by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio EPA, NPDES permit and local Sewer Use Ordinances;
(17) Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which that might cause excessive foaming in the POTW.
(d) Any wastes which are highly colored or wastes which are of unusual volume, concentration of solids, or composition, as for example in total suspended solids of inert nature (such as fuller's earth) or in total dissolved solids (such as sodium chloride, calcium chloride or sodium sulfate) or unusual in BOD, shall not be discharged into the sanitary sewer without special review by the City.
(e) Any water or wastes which by interaction with other water or wastes in the public sewer system, releases obnoxious gases; develops color of undesirable intensity (greater than twenty (20) color units); forms suspended solids in objectionable concentration (greater than twenty-five hundred (2500) mg/1); or creates any other conditions deleterious to structures and treatment processes, shall be subject to control or shall be debarred from the system as determined by the City.
(f) No person shall deposit cesspool effluent or any waste or sewage into any manhole without a permit from the Director of Public Safety-Service. The Director of Public Safety-Service may permit operators of cesspool pump trucks holding valid certificates of registration issued by the County Health Officer to dispose of cesspool effluent into manholes designated by him upon payment of a disposal fee (as defined under 914.15) for each truckload; provided the effluent does not contact any substance which, in his opinion, is deleterious.
(g) Every person is hereby expressly prohibited from introducing into the sewage system of the City any wastes which exceed the standards herein provided. Introduction of such wastes into the City sewage system in excess of such standards is hereby declared to be a public nuisance which can be abated by Court action on the part of the City.
(h) If waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated above, and which in the judgment of the City may have a deleterious effect upon the wastewater facilities, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or cause a violation of the NPDES permit, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the City may:
(1) Reject the wastes.
(2) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers.
(3) Require control over the quantities and rate of discharge.
(4) Require payment to cover added cost of handling and treatment of such wastes consistent with the user charge system and to generate revenue in proportion to cost incurred.
(Ord. 73-12. Passed 12-10-12.)