(A) Prohibitions on wastewater discharges. No person shall discharge, deposit, cause, or allow to be discharged into the POTW any wastewater which contains the following:
(1) Pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including but not limited to wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140° F. or 60° C. using the test method specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
(2) Discharges having a pH lower than 6.0 S.U. or greater than 9.0 S.U., unless otherwise permitted by the city, or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works;
(3) Solid or viscous pollutants in amounts which will cause obstruction to the flow in the POTW resulting in interference;
(4) Any pollutant including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, and the like) released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference with the POTW;
(5) Heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the POTW treatment plant exceeds 40° C. (104° F.);
(6) Discharges of petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral oil origin if discharged in amounts that can cause pass through or cause interference;
(7) Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems;
(8) Any water or waste containing wax, fats, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/L unless otherwise permitted by the city or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32° and 150° F.;
(9) Noxious or malodorous solids, liquids or gases, which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to life, or are or may be sufficient to prevent entry into a sewer for its maintenance and repair;
(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 public sewer, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension;
(11) Wastewater at a flow rate or containing such concentrations or quantities of pollutants that exceeds for any time period longer than 15 minutes more than 5 times the average 24-hour concentration, quantities or flow during normal operation and that would cause a treatment process upset and subsequent loss of treatment efficiency;
(12) Any toxic substances in amounts exceeding standards promulgated by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 307(a) of the Act, and chemical elements or compounds, phenols or other taste or odor-producing substances, or any other substances which are not susceptible to treatment or which may interfere with the biological processes or efficiency of the POTW treatment plant, or that will pass through the system, including but not limited to, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc;
(13) Any unpolluted water including, but not limited to, water from cooling systems or of stormwater origin, which will increase the hydraulic load on the POTW;
(14) Wastes with objectionable color not removable by the treatment process;
(15) Discharges of trucked or hauled wastes, except at specific locations and times as designated by Tri Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority. Any removal of manhole lids, or other access to the sewer system for the purpose of discharging wastes at times or locations other than those designated, or without the expressed permission of Tri Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority and the city, shall be considered a violation and shall be subject to enforcement action including fines and penalties allowed under this chapter.
(B) Limitations on wastewater discharges. No person shall discharge, convey, permit or allow to be discharged or conveyed, to a public sewer any wastewater containing pollutants of such character or quantity that will:
(1) Not be susceptible to treatment or will interfere with the process or efficiency of the POTW;
(2) Violate pretreatment standards or requirements;
(3) Cause the POTW treatment plant to violate its NPDES permit or applicable receiving water standards.
(C) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the city, Tri Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority, and any user of the POTW whereby wastewater of unusual strength or character is discharged into the system. No agreement shall be made which violates any state or federal standards or requirements including categorical pretreatment standards.
(D) As specified in Tri Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority's approved and amended pretreatment program for the Tri Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority Plant, limitations for specific pollutants have been established and shall be abided by all users of the POTW. A listing of such limitations is available from the Superintendent. The city shall issue wastewater discharge contribution permits to significant industrial users, as defined herein, specifying applicable discharge limits and monitoring requirements.
(E) (1) If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are to be proposed to be discharged to the POTW which contain the substances or possess characteristics previously enumerated in this chapter, and which have a deleterious effect upon the POTW, the city may:
(a) Reject any wastes;
(b) Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the POTW;
(c) Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge and/or;
(d) Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of § 54.26.
(2) If the city permits the pretreatment or equalization of industrial wastewater, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the city, the state EPA and Tri Cities North Regional Wastewater Authority and shall be subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.
(F) Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when they are necessary, for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the county/city and shall be located as to be readily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
(G) Where preliminary treatment or flow- equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his or her own expense.
(H) When required by the city, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the city. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his or her own expense, and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
(I) All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this chapter shall be determined in accordance with the October 16, 1975 Federal Register (40 CFR 136), or otherwise by EPA approved methods and shall be determined at the control manhole provided, or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the POTW and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb, and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a 24-hour composite of outfalls of a premise is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from 24-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pH's are determined from periodic grab samples).
(J) No statement contained in this section shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the city and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the city for treatment, subject to the payment of a surcharge based on the strength and character of the waste, provided such payments are in accordance with federal and state guidelines for user charge system and industrial cost recovery systems.
(K) The city shall have the right to reject any industrial waste which may not be compatible with the POTW. The city further has the right to require pretreatment of industrial wastes if deemed necessary, and to impose a surcharge commensurate with any added difficulty or added direct cost associated with treating or handling an industrial waste.
(L) All industrial users shall notify the city at least 30 days in advance of any new discharges or significant changes to the user's operations or system which might alter the nature, quality or volume of its wastewater. This includes, but is not limited to, the listed or characteristic hazardous wastes for which the industrial user has submitted initial notification under 40 CFR 403.12(p).
(1974 Code, § 54.13) (Ord. 29-84, passed 9-4-1984; Am. Ord. 26-87, passed 7-6-1987; Am. Ord. 9-91, passed 3-4-1991; Am. Ord. 44-92, passed 8-3-1992; Am. Ord. 08-06, passed 3-6-2006; Am. Ord. 37-07, passed 10-15-2007; Am. Ord. 14-09, passed 6-1-2009) Penalty, see § 54.99