159.01 REGULATION OF DISCHARGES.

   (a)   No person shall discharge or cause or allow to be discharged into the sanitary sewer or storm water collection, storage and sewer systems any wastewater, materials, or substances which are hereby deemed to be unacceptable, including without limitation those which have been determined by the Director of Public Works to:

      (1)    Constitute a hazard to life and limb of personnel engaged in inspection, maintenance, or operation of the systems or to persons who may come in contact with discharges from the sewer systems;

      (2)    Constitute or create a public health hazard;

      (3)    Contain properties which may be detrimental to the functional integrity or operation of sewers or pumping stations, or which are in any way deleterious to any part of the sewer systems;

      (4)    Produce excessive odors or in any other way constitute or create a public nuisance;

      (5)    Be in violation of any rule or regulation for sewer use adopted by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), Cuyahoga County or any other agency responsible for sewers, pumping stations, or other system components into which wastewater and storm water are discharged;

      (6)    Cause the City to incur unreasonable expense in the handling or treatment thereof;

      (7)    Be of such a volume or be discharged at such a rate as to exceed the capacity of any part of the sewer systems;

      (8)    Directly or indirectly cause water pollution in violation of any permit conditions or State or Federal regulations; or

      (9)    Contain concentrations of any toxic or deleterious material or substance which are prohibited or are in excess of limits set thereon by other provisions of this Chapter or these ordinances.

   (b)    No person shall discharge or cause or allow to be discharged into the sanitary sewer or storm water collection, storage and sewer systems any wastewater which is hereby deemed by the Director to constitute an unacceptable discharge because it contains any of the following:

      (1)    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 cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the sewerage facilities or to the operation of the systems. Materials of this nature include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naptha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides. Discharges of this nature must be monitored to ensure that the Lower Explosive Limit (L.E.L.) of the explosion hazard meter located at the point of discharge into the sewer system is never exceeded by five percent (5%) in any two successive readings or by ten percent (10%) in any single reading;

      (2)    Gaseous, liquid or solid substances which when discharged into the sewer systems may alone or by interaction with other substances interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to human beings or animals, inhibit aquatic life, create a hazard to recreation in the receiving waters or the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant or create a hazard as defined in the federal Clean Water Act;

      (3)    Construction materials, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, asphalt, plastic, wood, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshing, grass clippings, wastepaper, or any solid or viscous substance capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or of otherwise interfering with the proper operation of the sewer systems;

      (4)    Water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/l or which contains substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 1° C and 65° C at the point of discharge into the systems;

      (5)    Water, waste or steam with a temperature in excess of 65° C (150° F);

      (6)   Water or waste having a PH lower than 5.5 or higher than 10.0 or which may cause corrosion or deterioration of the systems. Materials of this nature include, but are not limited to, acids, alkalis, sulfides, concentrated chloride and fluoride compounds and substances which will react with water to form acidic products;

      (7)    Water or waste containing total cyanide in excess of five (5) mg/l or containing "readily releasable cyanide" (cyanide released at a temperature of 65° C (150° F) and PH of 2.5) in excess of two (2) mg/l;

      (8)    Radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration that they violate regulations or orders issued by the authority having control over their use and/or may cause damage or hazards to the sewer systems, human beings or animals;

      (9)    Solids, liquids, or gases which, either alone or by interaction with other substances in the sewer systems, are capable of producing objectionable odors or colors or which may otherwise constitute or create a public nuisance;

      (10)    Garbage that has not been ground or comminuted to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely in suspension under flow conditions normally prevailing in the sewer systems with no particle greater than one-half (1/2) inch in any dimension;

      (11)    Wastewater or storm water flow rates which exceed the design capacity of any component of the sewer systems; or

      (12)    Water which increases the hydraulic load on the sewer systems, including but not limited to cooling, storm, surface, subsurface, drainage, swimming pool or other relatively unpolluted water.

   (c)    Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any agreement or arrangement between the City or the NEORSD and any user of the sewer system whereby the user may deposit unacceptable discharges into said system for special treatment subject to applicable payments or surcharges over and above any surcharges for transportation to and treatment in the NEORSD system.
(Ord. 09-36. Enacted 3-23-09.)