For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACT or THE ACT. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
ADMINISTRATOR. The Water and Sewer Superintendent or any other person designated by the Board to perform the functions and exercise the responsibilities assigned by this chapter to the Administrator.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF INDUSTRIAL USER.
(1) A principal executive officer of at least the level of vice-president, if the industrial user is a corporation;
(2) A general partner or proprietor, if the industrial user is a partnership or proprietorship, respectively; or
(3) A duly-authorized representative of the individual designated above, if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the indirect discharge originates.
BOD (BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND). The quantity of oxygen (expressed in milligrams per liter) required to satisfy the five-day oxygen demand of a million pounds of domestic sewage or industrial wastes (or a combination of both) when tested in accordance with the procedures given in the latest edition of Standard Methods of the Examination of Water and Sewage, published by the American Public Health Association. BOD is a measure of the pollutional strength of wastes of any nature.
CATEGORICAL STANDARDS. National Categorical Pretreatment Standards.
COMBINED SEWER. A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
COOLING WATER. The water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
CONNECTION. Refers to the act of tapping on to the city’s water or sewer system where service is available (as defined in § 18-128(E) of this chapter), but where previously there has been no service lateral running from a main line within a public right-of-way or easement to the customer’s property. A CONNECTION also refers to the lines and apparatus constituting the link between a main line in the public right-of-way or easement and the customer’s property. A CONNECTION is to be distinguished from an extension.
CUSTOMER. The person in whose name any account for water or sewer service is established.
DH. Department of Health.
DIRECT DISCHARGE. The discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the state.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE. Liquid wastes from bathrooms, toilet rooms, kitchens and home laundries.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or EPA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
EXTENSION. The act of adding additional lines or additional footage onto existing lines within a public right-of-way or easement to reach or make service available, as defined in § 18-128(E) of this chapter, to properties where service was not previously available. The term also refers to the lines and apparatus constituting the EXTENSION.
GARBAGE. Solid wastes from the preparation, cooking, handling and dispensing of food.
GRAB SAMPLE. A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE. The discharge or the introduction of non-domestic pollutants from any source regulated under § 307(b) or (c) of the Act, (33 U.S.C. § 1317), into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
INDUSTRIAL USER. A source of indirect discharge that does not constitute a “discharge of pollutants” under regulations issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342).
INDUSTRIAL WASTES. Liquid wastes from institutional, commercial and industrial processes and operations as distinct from domestic sewage.
INTERFERENCE. The inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment processes or operations which contributes to a violation of any requirement of the city’s NPDES permit. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with § 405 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1345) or any criteria, guidelines or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) being 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq., the Clean Air Act being 42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq., the Toxic Substances Control Act being 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq. or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
LIQUID WASTES. Waste products that are either dissolved in or suspended in a liquid.
NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD or PRETREATMENT STANDARD. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users.
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Any regulation developed under the authority of § 307(b) of the Act and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5.
NATURAL OUTLET. The body of water, stream or watercourse receiving the discharge waters from the sewage treatment plant or formed by the discharge of the sewage treatment plant.
NEW SOURCE. Any source, the construction of which is commenced after the publication of proposed regulations prescribing a § 307(c) (33 U.S.C. § 1317) categorical pretreatment standard which will be applicable to such source, if such standard is thereafter promulgated within 120 days of proposal in the Federal Register. Where the standard is promulgated later than 120 days after proposal, a NEW SOURCE means any source, the construction of which is commenced after the date of promulgation of the standard.
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM OR NPDES PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342).
OVERSIZE LINE OR FACILITY. A line or other component of the water or sewage system that exceeds the greater of:
(1) The minimum size line or facility normally required by the city to serve more than a single customer; or
(2) The minimum size line or facility necessary to serve the development for which the line or facility was installed.
pH. The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the height of the hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution. It indicates the acidity and alkalinity of a substance. A pH value of 7.0 is considered neutral. A STABILIZED pH is one that does not change beyond the specified limits when the waste is subjected to aeration. A pH value below 7.0 is acid and above 7.0 is alkaline.
POLLUTION. The human-made or human-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and radiological integrity of water.
POLLUTANT. Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.
PRETREATMENT or TREATMENT. The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or other means, except as prohibited by 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(d).
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard imposed on an industrial user.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE. The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particles greater than one-half inch in any dimension.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW). A treatment works as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292), which in this case is the city’s sanitary sewer system. This definition includes any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant, but does not include pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment. For the purposes of this chapter, POTW shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the city who are, by contract or agreement with the city, users of the city’s POTW. The term POTW, rather than “sanitary sewer system”, is used primarily in certain parts of this chapter.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT. The sewage treatment plant owned and operated by the city.
SANITARY SEWER. A pipe or conduit that carries sewage or polluted industrial wastes and to which storm, surface and ground waters or unpolluted industrial wastes are not intentionally admitted.
SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM. The sanitary sewer system owned and operated by the city, including all sanitary sewer lines and pipes, the sewage treatment plant and all other facilities used in connection with the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage. The term SEWER SYSTEM is sometimes used interchangeably.
SEWAGE. Liquid wastes.
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT. The facility owned by the city where sewage is collected and treated.
SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM. Sanitary sewer system.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER. Any industrial user of the city’s sewage treatment system who:
(1) Has a discharge flow of 25,000 gallons or more per average work day;
(2) Has a flow greater than 5% of the flow in the city’s sewage treatment system;
(3) Has in its wastes toxic pollutants as defined pursuant to § 307 of the Act; or
(4) Is found by the city, DHE or EPA to have significant impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industries, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system’s effluent quality or air emissions generated by the system.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC). A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1972.
STORM WATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
TOXIC POLLUTANT. Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the provision of § 307(a) of the Clean Water Act being 3 U.S.C. § 1317, or other acts.
USER. Any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the city’s POTW.
WASTEWATER. The liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
WATERS OF THE STATE. All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage systems and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or under ground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through or border upon the state or any portion thereof.
WATER SYSTEM. The water utility system owned and operated by the city, including all devices and facilities for the treatment, storage and distribution of water.
(2011 Code, § 18-101)