(A) Other terms used in this chapter, but not defined herein, shall have the meaning set forth in the latest edition of Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association (APHA), the American Waterworks Association (AWWA) and the Water Pollution Control Federation (WPCF).
(B) Unless otherwise expressly stated in the chapter, waste constituents and characteristics shall be measured by methods set forth in the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, and/or Methods for Chemical Analysis of Waters and Wastes, published by the EPA.
ACT. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC 1251 et seq.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Public Utilities Superintendent who shall have operation control and responsibility of the water and sewer system under the general supervision of the Town Manager.
APPROVED POTW PRETREATMENT PROGRAM or POTW PRETREATMENT PROGRAM. A program administered by the POTW that meets the criteria established in §§ 403.8 and 403.9 of the Act and which has been approved by a Regional Administrator of EPA or State Director in accordance with § 403.11 of the Act.
AVERAGE DAILY FLOW. The total quantity of liquid tributary to a point divided by the number of days of flow measurement.
BOD (BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20°C, expressed in milligrams per liter or parts per million by weight.
COD (CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND). The quantity of equivalent oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic matter as measured by standard laboratory methods, as set out herein, expressed in milligrams per liter.
COLLECTOR (OR COLLECTION) LINES. The conduits to which laterals and service connections from residential, commercial, institutional and industrial users are connected.
COLOR. The true color due to the substances in solution expressed in wave lengths of light.
COOLING WATER. The water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration, during which the only pollutant added to the water is heat.
COMPATIBLE POLLUTANT. BOD, suspended solids, pH and fecal coliform bacteria, and additional pollutants as are now or may be in the future specified and controlled in the town's NPDES permit(s) for its wastewater treatment works where the works have been designed and used to reduce or remove the pollutants.
COMPLETE WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM. Consists of all the connected treatment works necessary to transport wastewaters from individual homes or buildings to a plant or facility wherein treatment of the wastewater is accomplished; the treatment of the wastewaters to remove pollutants; and the ultimate disposal, including recycling or reuse, of the treated wastewaters and residues resulting from the treatment process. The term may also be referred to as a sewerage system or wastewater system.
COUNTY. The County of Onslow, North Carolina or any duly authorized official(s) acting on behalf of the county.
DIRECTOR. The chief administrative officer of the Division of Environmental Management, North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development.
DOMESTIC WASTES. Liquid wastes from noncommercial preparation, cooking and handling of food; or those containing human excrement and wash waters from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities and institutions.
EPA. The federal agency named the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
EXCESSIVE RADIATION DOSE. A dose of radiation in excess of the maximum permissible dose. MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE DOSE shall mean a dose of radiation to any part of the body, internal and external or both that, in the light of current knowledge, is not expected to cause appreciable bodily injury to a person at any time during his/her lifetime. Application of this definition will conform to all federal and state regulations concerning the use of radioactive materials.
EXPANSION. Increasing the hydraulic capacity and treatment capacity of a treatment facility but not increasing the level or degree of efficiency of treatment.
FEDERAL ACTS. Public Law 92-500, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972; and/or Public Law 95-217, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1977.
GARBAGE. Solid wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
GREASE AND OILS. A group of substances with similar physical characteristics including hydrocarbons, fatty acids, soaps, waxes, oils and any other material that is extracted with a stated solvent from an acidified sample and that is not volatilized during the test.
GREASE INTERCEPTOR/GREASE TRAP. A device or system designed and intended to intercept and remove from the wastewater stream fats, oils, greases, solids or any other substance the presence of which in the wastewater stream is regulated by federal, state or local law, whether statutory, regulatory or otherwise. Unless the context requires otherwise, the terms GREASE INTERCEPTOR and GREASE TRAP shall be interchangeable, but generally the term GREASE INTERCEPTOR refers to such a device or system that is located outdoors and the term GREASE TRAP refers to such a device or system that is located indoors.
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tank such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum pump tank trucks.
HYDRAULIC LOAD. The tributary wastewater flow to a line segment, pumping station, treatment plant and the like, measured in million gallons per day, gallons per day, gallons per minute or other unit of flow.
INCOMPATIBLE POLLUTANT. Any pollutant which is not a compatible pollutant as defined in this section.
INDUSTRIAL USER.
(a) Any nongovernmental, nonresidential user of a publicly-owned treatment works which discharges more than the equivalent of 25,000 gallons per day (GPD) of sanitary wastes and which is identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1972, Office of Management and Budget, as amended and supplemented under one of the following divisions:
1. Division A - Agriculture, forestry and fishing;
2. Division B - Mining;
3. Division D - Manufacturing;
4. Division E - Transportation, communications, electric, gas and sanitary services;
5. Division I - Services.
(b) In determining the amount of a users discharge for purposes of classification as an industry, the town may exclude domestic wastes or discharges from sanitary conveniences.
(c) After applying the sanitary waste exclusion in subsection (2) of this definition (at the town’s discretion), dischargers in the divisions that have a volume exceeding 25,000 GPD or the weight of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) or suspended solids (SS) equivalent to that weight found in 25,000 GPD of sanitary waste are considered industrial users and are subject to pretreatment requirements of incompatible pollutants. Sanitary wastes, for purposes of this calculation of equivalency, are the wastes discharged from residential users. The town, with the Regional Administrator’s approval, shall define the strength of the residential discharges in terms of parameters including, as a minimum, BOD and SS per volume of flow.
(d) Any nongovernmental user of the treatment works which discharges wastewater to the treatment works containing toxic pollutants or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity to either singly or by interaction with other wastes, contaminate the sludge of the municipal system, or to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, or which constitutes a hazard to humans or animals, creates a public nuisance, or creates any hazard in, or has an adverse effect on the waters receiving any discharge from the treatment works.
(e) All commercial users of an individual system constructed with grant assistance under § 201(h) of the Act and Subpart E.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES. Liquid or water-carried wastes from institutional processes and operations, as distinguished from domestic sewage.
INFILTRATION. The water entering a wastewater system, including wastewater service connections, from the ground through such means as, but not limited to, defective pipes, pipe joints, connections or manhole walls.
INFLOW. The water discharged into a wastewater system, including service connections from such sources as, but not limited to, roof leaders, cellars, yard and area drains, foundation drains, cooling water discharge, drains from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers, cross connections from storm sewers and combined sewers, catch basins, storm waters, surface runoff, street wash waters or drainage.
INTERCEPTOR LINE. A conduit whose primary purpose is to transport wastewaters from collector or collection lines to a pumping station or treatment facility.
INTERFERENCE. Inhibition or disruption of the town's sewer systems, treatment processes or operations which contributes to a violation of any requirement of the NPDES permit(s). The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with § 405 of the Act, 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 (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.
LATERAL LINE. A line that discharges into a branch or other wastewater conduit and has no other common wastewater line tributary to it.
MASS EMISSION RATE. The weight of material discharged to the town's wastewater collection system during a given time interval. Unless otherwise specified, the mass emission rate shall mean pounds per day of a particular constituent or combination of constituents.
MONITORING FACILITY. A manhole, flume box, junction box or other structure approved by the town which shall provide access to a wastewater stream for purpose of visual observation, sampling and flow measurement.
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES). The federal and/or state managed program for issuing, conditioning and denying permits for the discharge of pollutants from point sources into navigable waters.
NATIONAL 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, which applies to industrial users.
NPDES PERMIT or PERMIT. A permit issued to a POTW pursuant to § 402 of the Act.
NORMAL STRENGTH SEWAGE. That liquid waste having chemical concentrations not in excess of that to be expected from domestic sewage, which for purposes of this chapter shall mean BOD equal to or less than 250 mg/l, suspended solids equal to or less than 250 mg/l, total solids equal to or less than 750 mg/l, COD equal to or less than 600 mg/l, ammonia nitrogen equal to or less than 30 mg/l and other chemical and physical characteristics not in excess of those prohibited by this chapter.
OWNER. The person(s) holding legal title to the premises or the tenant(s) occupying the same, whoever is obligated to pay the town for water consumed on the premises taken from the town water system and/or who is obligated to pay the town for sewer service.
PEAK FLOW. The maximum rate of flow occurring at any time measured in terms of gallons per normal calendar day of 24 hours.
PERSON. Any individual, firm, company, partnership, association, society, corporation, institution or group, including the state, and agencies, districts, commissions and political subdivisions created by or pursuant to state law.
pH. The logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution. A stabilized pH will be considered as a pH which does not change beyond the specified limits when the wastewater is subjected to aeration. A pH value indicates the degree of acidity or alkalinity.
POLLUTION. An alteration of the quality of the waters.
ppm. Part per million by weight in water and wastewater analysis and is the equivalent of milligrams per liter (mg/l).
PREMISES. A parcel of real estate or portion thereof, including any improvements, which is determined by the town to be a single user for purposes of receiving, using and paying for sewer service.
PRETREATMENT. Application of physical, chemical and biological processes to reduce the amount of pollutants in or alter the nature of the pollutant properties in wastewater prior to discharging the wastewater into the publicly-owned wastewater system.
PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. All applicable federal rules and regulations implementing § 307 of the Act as well as any nonconflicting state and local standards. In cases of conflicting standards or regulations, the more stringent thereof shall be applied.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE. Wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to the degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public wastewater lines, with no particle greater than ½-inch in any dimension.
PUBLIC SANITARY SEWER OR PUBLIC SEWER. A sewer owned or controlled by the town or county which carries wastewater or polluted industrial wastes, and to which storm, surface and ground waters and unpolluted industrial wastes are not intentionally admitted.
PUBLICLY-OWNED TREATMENT WORKS or POTW. A treatment works as defined by § 212 of the Act, which is owned by a state or municipality (as defined by § 502M of the Act). This definition includes any sewers that convey wastewater to a treatment works, but does not include pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment. The term also means the municipality as defined in § 502M of the Act, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and from the treatment works.
RECEIVING STREAM. A body of water, stream or water course receiving the discharge of waters from the wastewater treatment plant.
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR. The appropriate EPA Regional Administrator.
REPLACEMENT COSTS. Expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the service life of the collection, interception, pumping and treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which the works were designed and contracted. The term operation and maintenance includes replacement.
SANITARY SEWERS. A sewer which is intended to carry only sanitary and acceptable strength industrial wastewater from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions.
SEWER. A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
SEWER CONNECTION. A sewer pipe line, normally a four-inch or six-inch diameter pipe, running laterally from a street line, an off-street line or a trunk line to an individual tract, lot or parcel of land to serve one or more houses or other buildings, whether or not connected to any house or building. The jurisdiction, responsibility and liability of the town concerning sewer connections is limited to the portion of sewer pipe lines within public rights-of-way.
SHALL and MAY. Shall is mandatory; may is permissive.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER. A user who has a flow of 25,000 gallons or more per average day; has a flow greater than 5% of the flow carried by the town's system receiving the waste; has in its waste a toxic pollutant as defined in standards issued under § 307(a) of the Act; or has a significant impact either singly or in combination with other contributing industries, on the treatment works or the quality of effluent discharged from the treatment works.
STORM SEWER or STORM DRAIN. A line or drain designed and constructed to carry storm and surface waters and drainage, but not wastewater and polluted industrial wastes.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS (SS). Solids that either float on the surface or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids, which are removable by laboratory filtering (expressed in parts per million or milligram per liter by dry weight).
TOXIC WASTE. Those wastes, or combination of wastes, including disease-causing agents, which, after discharge, and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including reproduction malfunctions) or physical deformities, in organisms or their offspring. Toxic substances include, by way of illustration and not limitation: lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, vanadium, arsenic, molybdenum, antimony, nickel, barium, beryllium, copper, selenium, zinc, orthonitro-chlorabenzene (ONCB), polychlorinated biphenoyls (PCB's) and dichlordiph trichloroethane (DDT); and any other materials that have or may hereafter be determined to have toxic properties.
TREATMENT WORKS. Any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal waste or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. Treatment works include intercepting lines, outfall lines, pumping, power and other equipment for wastewater treatment and their appurtenances; expansions, improvement, remodeling, additions and alteration thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from the treatment; or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal wastes including industrial wastes.
UNPOLLUTED WATER. Water not containing any pollutants limited or prohibited by the effluent standards in effect, or water whose discharge will not cause any violation of receiving water quality standards.
UPGRADING. Increasing the level, degree and efficiency of treatment of a treatment facility.
USER. Any political entity, corporation, business, organization or person who discharges, causes or permits the discharge of wastewater into the town's wastewater collection system.
USER CHARGE. A charge levied on users of a wastewater system, or that portion of the ad valorem taxes paid by a user, for the user's proportionate share of the cost of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the works under §§ 204(b)(1)(A) and 201(h)(2) and Subpart E of the Act.
VIOLATION. A contravention of one or more points of the chapter. Each day on which a violation shall occur or continue shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense.
WASTE. Includes sewage and all other waste substances, liquid, solid, gaseous or radioactive, associated with human habitation, or of human or animal origin, or from any producing, manufacturing or processing operation of whatever nature, including the waste placed within containers for whatever nature prior to, and for purposes of disposal.
WASTEWATER. A combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with any ground water, surface water and storm water that may be present.
WASTEWATER COLLECTION SYSTEM. All of the common lateral lines and pumping facilities within a publicly-owned wastewater system, which are primarily installed to receive wastewaters directly from facilities which convey wastewaters from individual structures or from private property, and which include service connection Y fittings designed for connection with those facilities. The facilities which convey wastewater from individual structures or from private property to the public lateral line or its equivalent, are specifically excluded from the definition, with the exception of pumping units and pressurized lines for individual structures or group of structures when the units are cost effective and are owned and maintained by the town.
WASTEWATER CONSTITUENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS. The individual chemical, physical, bacteriological and radiological parameter, including volume and flow rate and other parameters that serve to define, classify or measure the contents, quality and strength of wastewater.
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PLANT (WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT OR FACILITIES). An arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater to remove or alter its objectionable constituents and thus render it less offensive or dangerous, including any devices and structures used to recycle or reuse the treated wastewater and to process and dispose of any sludge derived from any of the treatment processes.
(OC, § 5-2-2) (Ord. passed 3-8-88; Am. Ord. passed 1-23-01)