(a) It shall be unlawful for any significant industrial user to discharge or cause to be discharged any wastewater whatsoever, directly or indirectly, into the sewerage system without first obtaining a Class I permit authorizing the discharge. The General Manager may require minor dischargers to obtain Class II permits containing specified requirements whenever necessary to further the objectives of this Article. It shall be unlawful for any discharger to discharge any wastewater in excess of permit requirements or to violate any other requirement of this Article.
(b) Permits for wastewater discharges may include, but are not limited to, conditions and terms requiring pretreatment of wastewater before discharge; limiting discharge of certain wastewater parameters; restricting peak flow discharges; requiring standards of performance on the wastewater quality; restricting discharge to certain hours of the day; requiring payment of additional charges to defray increased costs to the City created by the wastewater discharge; requiring sampling and monitoring before and during discharge; requiring specific investigations or studies to determine methods of reducing toxic constituents in discharges; and other conditions and terms necessary to achieve the objectives of this Article. Permits shall be issued for a fixed time period not to exceed five years.
(c) Each permit shall include requirements that the discharger shall reimburse the City for extraordinary costs, in addition to the applicable sewer service charge, for treatment, pumping, maintenance of the sewerage system, administration, incidental expenses, inspection and monitoring, and payment of penalties imposed on the City by enforcement agencies caused by the specific characteristics of the discharge into the sewerage system. When the discharge of wastewater or any pollutant causes an obstruction, damage or other impairment to the sewerage system, the discharger shall pay to the City an amount equal to the costs of cleaning and repairing the sewerage system, plus all related administrative costs, penalties and other incidental fees and expenses. Permits for discharges shall not be renewed unless all such costs have been paid to the City.
(d) The discharge of wastewater into the sewerage system through means other than an approved side sewer is prohibited, unless authorized by a permit. This subsection does not apply to groundwater discharges authorized in accordance with Section 123(h) of this Article. Trucked waste dischargers shall obtain a permit from the General Manager prior to commencing any discharge. The General Manager shall prescribe requirements consistent with this Article and any other applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to requirements to pay appropriate permit fees and charges. Permits shall not be granted to trucked waste dischargers that do not have San Francisco business licenses or are discharging wastewater produced, treated, or stored in facilities not located within the General Manager's jurisdiction unless the trucked waste discharger enters into a binding contractual commitment to be subject to and comply with the requirements of this Article and the exercise of the General Manager's authority granted by this Article. The General Manager may require any person subject to this subsection:
(1) To treat wastewater on its own site prior to discharge into the sewerage system, whether the discharge is through an approved side sewer or by any other means approved by the General Manager;
(2) To construct a side sewer in accordance with Department specifications and cease the discharge of wastewater in any manner other than through the approved side sewer;
(3) To provide the General Manager with a compliance schedule, as specified in Section 120(b), for meeting the provisions of this Article;
(4) To perform and submit for the General Manager's review and approval wastestream and process environmental audits and to implement any objectives, including reclamation and waste minimization objectives, identified by the audits.
(Added by Ord. 19-92, App. 1/23/92; amended by Ord. 116-97, App. 3/28/97)