For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE. The accidental discharge of toxic substances or prohibited pollutants in amounts which the city determines may interfere with the operation of the POTW.
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.
AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. In the context of an enforcement proceeding, a response or defense put forward by a defendant, regarding which the defendant has the burden of proof, and the merits of which are independently and objectively evaluated in a judicial or administrative proceeding.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (“EGLE”) or its successor state department, or the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF INDUSTRIAL USER. An authorized representative of an industrial user may be:
(1) A president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation, if the industrial user is a corporation;
(2) A general partner or sole proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, respectively;
(3) The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales for expenditures exceeding $25,000,000, in second-quarter 1980 dollars, if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(4) The individuals described in divisions (1) through (3) above may designate a DULY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted to the city.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quality of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five days at 20°C expressed in terms of weight and concentration (milligrams per liter (mg/l)).
BUILDING SEWER. A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
CATEGORICAL INDUSTRIAL USER. An industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.
CITY. The City of St. Johns or the City Commission of St. Johns.
COMBINED WASTESTREAM FORMULA. A formula applied where regulated, unregulated and/or dilution wastestreams are combined/mixed prior to pretreatment.
COMMERCIAL USER. All nondomestic sources of discharge other than industrial users, as defined herein, including, but not limited to the following: a publicly or privately owned facility where persons are engaged in the exchange or sale of goods or services, hospitals, retail establishments, schools and facilities operated by local and state governments.
CONTROL AUTHORITY. The City of St. Johns or the Supervisor, as defined herein.
COOLING WATER. The water discharged from any use, such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
DAILY MAXIMUM. The arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant collected during a calendar day.
DAILY MAXIMUM LIMIT. The maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where DAILY MAXIMUM LIMITS are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where DAILY MAXIMUM LIMITS are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
DOMESTIC SOURCE. A source whose waste normally emanates from residential living units and results from the day-to-day activities usually considered to be carried on in a domicile.
EGLE. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or EPA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
GRAB SAMPLE. A single sample collected at a particular time and place which represents the composition of the waste stream only at that time and place.
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks, such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum pump tank trucks.
INDUSTRIAL USER. A source of discharge under regulations issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342), which source originates from, but is not limited to, facilities engaged in industry, manufacturing, business, trade or research, including the development, recovery or processing of natural resources.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE. Any liquid, solid or gaseous waste form of energy or combination thereof resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, business, trade or research, including the development, recovery or processing of natural resources.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE SURVEY. A survey of all companies that discharge to the POTW. The survey identifies the magnitude of the wastewater flows and pollutants in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.8.(f)(2).
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), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or more stringent state criteria applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
LOCAL LIMIT. Specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the city upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1) and (b).
MONTHLY AVERAGE. The sum of all “daily discharges” measured during a calendar month divided by the number of “daily discharges” measured during that month.
MONTHLY AVERAGE LIMIT. The highest allowable average of “daily discharges” over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all “daily discharges” measured during a calendar month divided by the number of “daily discharges” measured during that month.
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 user.
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Any regulation developed under the authority of § 307(b) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5.
NEW SOURCE.
(1) Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under § 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source, if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
(a) The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
(b) The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
(c) The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source should be considered.
(2) Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a NEW SOURCE if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of divisions (1)(b) or (1)(c) above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3) Construction of a NEW SOURCE as defined under this definition has commenced if the owner or operator has:
(a) Begun or caused to begin as part of a continuous onsite construction program:
1. Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
2. Significant site preparation work, including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
(b) Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this definition.
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM or NPDES PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342).
PASS THROUGH. A discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the city’s NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
PERSON. Any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.
pH. The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT. Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water. POLLUTANT does not mean (1) sewage from vessels or (2), water, gas or other material which is injected into a well to facilitate production of oil or gas, or water derived in association with oil or gas production and disposed of in a well, if the well, used either to facilitate production or for disposal purposes, is approved by authority of the state in which the well is located, and if such state determines that such injection or disposal will not result in degradation of ground or surface water.
POLLUTION. The impairment (reduction) of water quality by agricultural, domestic, or industrial wastes (including thermal and radioactive wastes) to a degree that the natural water quality is changed to hinder any beneficial use of the water.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT. That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
PRETREATMENT or TREATMENT. The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature 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, process changes or other means, except as prohibited by 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(d).
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirements related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard imposed on a user.
PRETREATMENT STANDARDS or STANDARDS. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
PROHIBITED DISCHARGE STANDARDS or PROHIBITED DISCHARGE. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW). A treatment works as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292). 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 POTW.
RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT (RCRA). Dated October 21, 1976, Pub. L. No. 94580 (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq.) provides technical and financial assistance for the development of plans and facilities for recovery of energy and resources from discarded materials and for the safe disposal of discarded materials and hazardous waste.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE. One or more of the following by any significant industrial user:
(1) CHRONIC VIOLATIONS OF WASTEWATER DISCHARGE LIMITS, defined here as those in which 66% or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, as defined or referred to in § 54.38;
(2) TECHNICAL REVIEW CRITERIA (TRC) VIOLATIONS, defined here as those in which 33% or more of wastewater measurements taken for each pollutant parameter during a six-month period equals or exceeds the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, as defined or referred to in § 54.38 multiplied by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
(3) Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined or referred to in § 54.38 (e.g., daily maximum, long-term average or narrative standard) that the Supervisor determines has caused, alone or in combination with, other discharges, interference or pass through, including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public;
(4) Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to the public or to the environment, or has resulted in the Supervisor’s exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(5) Failure to meet, within 90 days of the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in an individual wastewater discharge permit or local permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
(6) Failure to provide within 30 days after the due date, any required reports, including baseline monitoring reports, reports on compliance with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
(7) Failure to accurately report noncompliance; or
(8) Any other violation(s), which may include a violation of Best Management Practices, which the Supervisor determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER.
(1) Except as provided in division (2) of this definition:
(a) All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under the Code of Federal Regulations, 40 C.F.R. § 403.6 and 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N; or
(b) Any other industrial user that: discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process wastestream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the control authority on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.8(f)(6)).
(2) Upon a finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in division (1)(b) of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standards or requirement, the control authority may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user or POTW, and in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER.
SPECIAL ALTERNATIVE LIMIT (SAL). User-specific maximum limits may be set for specific pollutants. SALs are developed in accordance with the POTW’s Industrial Pretreatment Program and § 54.38(D).
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 SEWER. A separate pipe, conduit or open channel (sewer) that carries runoff from storms, surface drainage, and street wash, but does not include industrial or domestic wastes.
STORMWATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
SUPERVISOR. The person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the publicly owned treatment works and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter, or his or her duly authorized representative.
SURCHARGE. The additional charges made by the city for the treatment of wastewater containing pollutants in excess of specified concentrations, loadings or other applicable limits, or for other purposes specified in this chapter.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of or is suspended in water, wastewater or other liquids and which is removable by laboratory filtering.
TOXIC POLLUTANT. Those pollutants or combinations of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly through food chains, will cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions in reproduction) or physical deformations in such organisms or their offspring.
UPSET. An exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the user. An UPSET does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
USER. Any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into city’s POTW.
WASTEWATER. The liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present, 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 underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through or border upon the state or any portion thereof.
(Ord. 677, passed 8-28-2023)