(A) It is unlawful for any user to contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of the city's sewer system. These city prohibitions apply to all users of the city's sewer system whether or not the user is subject to National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or any other federal, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
(B) It is unlawful for a user to contribute the following substances, directly or indirectly, to the city sewer system (40 CFR § 403.5(b)):
(1) Pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the city sewer system, including, without limitation, waste streams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140° Fahrenheit or 60° Centigrade using the test methods specified in 40 CFR § 261.21.
(2) Any liquids, 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 create a fire or explosion hazard in the city sewer system or be injurious in any other way to the city's sewer system, its operation or personnel. At no time must two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system) be more than 5% nor any single reading over 10% of the lower explosive limit (LEL).
(3) Prohibited materials, include, without limitation, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides, sulfides or any other substances which violate this chapter or any applicable local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, regulations, standards or permits, or which damage or interfere with the operation or performance of the city's sewer system. See 40 CFR § 403.5(b)(1);
(4) Pollutants, which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the city sewer system in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems;
(5) Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the Public Works Director;
(6) Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or a pH higher than 10.0 or wastewater having any other corrosive or detrimental characteristics capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel of the city's sewer system. See 40 CFR § 403.5(b)(2);
(7) Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment plant such as, without limitation, grease, garbage with particles greater than one-half inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch, manure, bones, hair, hides or flesh, entrails, whole blood and/or components, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, waste paper, wood, plastics, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud, and glass grinding or polishing wastes (40 CFR § 403.5(b)(3));
(8) Rain water, storm water, ground water, street drainage, sub-surface drainage, roof drainage, water from yard fountains, ponds, or lawn sprays or other contaminated water.
(9) Non-biodegradable oils commonly called soluble oils which may form persistent water emulsions or oil, petroleum oil or refined petroleum products beyond a concentration set forth under “Specific Pollutant Limitations,” disposal of oils and fats including lard, tallow, or vegetable oil in concentrations which may be detrimental to the city’s sewer system or which violate the city’s NPDES permit;
(10) Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids which either singly or by interaction with other wastes are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair;
(11) Any substance which may cause the city’s wastewater treatment plant’s effluent, or any other product such as residues, sludges or scums to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process.
(12) In no case must a material be discharged which causes the city’s wastewater treatment plant to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under §405 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. §1345. Any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act (2 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. §§2601 et seq., or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used;
(13) Any substance that could cause a pass through violation, 40 CFR § 403.5(a)(1), or any slug load or pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, and the like) released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, could cause Interference with wastewater treatment plant (40 CFR § 403.5(b)(4)).
(14) Any wastewater with objectionable color including, without limitation, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;
(15) Wastewater having a temperature greater than 150° F, or which could inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104° F (40° C);
(16) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
(17) Any wastewater which could cause a hazard to human life or create a public nuisance;
(18) Deionized water, steam underwaste or distilled water in excess of laboratory usage; single pass cooling water, blow-down or bleed water from cooling towers or other evaporation coolers exceeding one-third of the make-up water (quantities in excess of one-third of the make-up water may be discharged into the city’s sewer system, subject to this chapter, during off-peak hours if hydraulic sewer capacity is available);
(19) Any wastewater with amounts of TDS which may be detrimental to the city’s sewer system;
(20) It is unlawful for any person to discharge or cause to be discharged into the city’s sewer system any waste or wastewater if in the opinion of the Director the discharge may have an adverse or harmful effect on sewers, maintenance personnel, wastewater treatment plant personnel or equipment, treatment plant effluent quality, public or private property or may otherwise endanger ecological systems or create a public nuisance.
(21) In determining the acceptability of specific wastewater under this section, the Director, in addition to the foregoing, must consider the nature of the wastewater, the adequacy and nature of the collection, the treatment and disposal system available to accept the wastewater, and the city policy embodied in this chapter.
(22) The Director may promulgate standards as provided herein and upon appropriate application must establish terms and conditions appropriate to specific dischargers.
(Ord. 1093, passed 2-17-04; Am. Ord. 1156, passed 10-2-06) Penalty, see § 51.999