(a) Whenever the context of this chapter requires, the masculine gender includes the feminine or neuter, and the singular includes the plural.
(b) The titles of the chapters and sections of this chapter are solely for convenience and are not an aid in the interpretation of this chapter.
(1) "ACGIH" means the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.
(2) "Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.
(3) "ASTM" means the American Society for Testing Materials.
(4) "Biochemical oxygen demand" (BOD) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, as prescribed in "Standard Methods" in five days at twenty degrees Centigrade, expressed in milligrams per liter.
(5) "Building drain" means the part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet (1.5 meters) beyond the foundation wall of the building or structure.
(6) "Building sewer" means that part of the drainage system which extends from the end of the building drain and conveys its discharge to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
(7) "Capital charges" means those amounts paid by each premises connected to, having access to or benefited by the treatment works to pay the debt service requirements and capital expenditures for the treatment works and all facilities appurtenant thereto or operated in connection therewith.
(8) "Capital expenditures" means those expenditures which pay the debt service requirements of the treatment works of the City and all facilities appurtenant thereto or operated in connection therewith, the cost of additions, extensions and improvements to the treatment works and facilities, and which pay for the acquisition of tangible and intangible property for the administration, management and operation of the treatment works and facilities.
(9) "Categorical Standards" means National Categorical Pretreatment Standards specifying quantities or concentrations of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged to the treatment works of the City promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) pursuant to the Act for specific industrial subcategories as listed in Appendix C of 40 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 403.
(10) "Chemical oxygen demand" (COD) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, as prescribed in "Standard Methods" expressed in milligrams per liter.
(11) "City" means the City of Toledo, Ohio.
(12) "Combined sewer" means a sewer intended to serve as a sanitary sewer and a storm sewer.
(13) "Commissioner of Health" means the Commissioner of Health of the City or his authorized agent or representative.
(14) "Compatible pollutants" means pollutants which the treatment works were designed to treat, which are BOD, SS, phosphorous and fecal coliform bacteria, plus additional pollutants identified in the NPDES permit if the treatment works were designed to treat such pollutants and, in fact, do remove such pollutants to a substantial degree.
(15) "Director of Public Service" means the Director of Public Service of the City or his authorized agent or representative.
(16) "Director of Public Utilities" means the Director of Public Utilities of the City or his authorized agent or representative.
(17) "Discharger" is used interchangeably with "user" and means those premises connected or required to be connected to the public sewer. "Discharger", where the context requires, means "person".
(18) "Domestic wastes" means wastes containing compatible pollutants generated by human sanitary use and household activities.
(19) "Easement" means an acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.
(20) "Grease and oil" means substances such as hydrocarbons, fatty acids, soap, fats, waxes, oils and other materials which are specifically determined by the procedures outlined in "Standard Methods."
(21) "Garbage" means the animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.
(22) "Industrial discharger" means:
A. Any nonresidential user of the treatment works which is identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1972, Federal Office of Management and Budget, as amended and supplemented under one of the following divisions:
Division A - Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing;
Division B - Mining;
Division D - Manufacturing;
Division E - Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas and Sanitary Services;
Division G - Retail Trade;
Division I - Services.
B. Any discharger to the treatment works who discharges wastewater, which contains toxic pollutants, solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, which may contaminate the sludge, or injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process or the treatment works, 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.
(23) "Industrial wastes" means the wastewater from industrial processes, trade or business as distinguished from domestic or sanitary wastes.
(24) "Infiltration" means water other than wastewater that enters a sewer system, including, but not limited to, building drains and building sewers, from the ground through any means such as, but not limited to, defective pipes, pipe joints, connections, or manholes. Infiltration does not include, and is distinguished from, inflow.
(25) "Infiltration/Inflow" (I/I) means the total quantity of water from both infiltration and inflow without distinguishing the source.
(26) "Inflow" means water other than wastewater that enters a sewer system, including, but not limited to, building drains and building sewers, from sources such as roof leaders, cellar drains, yard drains, area drains, foundation drains, drains from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers, cross connections between storm sewers and sanitary sewers, catch basins, cooling towers, storm waters, surface runoff, street wash waters, or drainage. Inflow does not include, and is distinguished from, infiltration.
(27) "Interference" means discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:
A. Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes, or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and
B. Therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent State or local regulations); Section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and including State regulations contained in any State sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
(28) "May" is permissive.
(29) "Natural outlet" means any outlet, including storm sewers, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water which does not require an NPDES permit.
(30) "New source" means 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 section 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. 1. The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located, or
2. The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source, or
3. 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.
B. 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 subsections (c)(30) A. 2. or (c)(30) A. 3. hereof but otherwise alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment.
C. Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:
1. Begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous onsite construction program:
a. Any placement, assembly or installation of facilities or equipment or
b. 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
2. 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 paragraph.
(31) "Nonindustrial user" means all users of the wastewater facilities not classified as an industrial user for purposes of the user charge system.
(32) "Normal domestic waste" means wastes which are characterized by a per capita discharge of 100 gallons per day at a loading of 300 milligrams per liter BOD, 600 milligrams per liter COD, 400 milligrams per liter SS and fifteen milligrams per liter phosphorus.
(33) "NPDES permit" means National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit as issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency under authorization issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Region V, March 11, 1974.
(34) "OEPA" means the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
(35) "Operation, maintenance and replacement costs" means labor, materials, supplies, equipment, accessories and appurtenance costs required to operate the facilities, keep the facilities in operating condition and maintain the capacity and performance during the service life of the treatment works for which such works were designed and constructed.
(36) "OSHA" means the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
(37) "Pass through" means 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 POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
(38) "Person" means any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, group or governmental body.
(39) "pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration of hydrogen ions is expressed in moles per liter of solution.
(40) "Phosphorus" means the total phosphorus content of a sample including all of the orthophosphates and condensed phosphates, both soluble and insoluble and organic and inorganic species, and referred to in "Standard Methods" as total phosphorus.
(41) "Potable water" means water that is suitable for drinking.
(42) "Pretreatment" means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging such pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, by process changes or by other means, except dilution.
(43) "Private wastewater disposal" means the use of any privy, vault, cesspool, septic tank or other wastewater treatment, storage or disposal facility which does not discharge to the treatment works.
(44) "Properly shredded garbage" means the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of foods that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
(45) "Public sewer" means a common sewer which is part of the treatment works. It also includes sewers within or outside the City boundaries that ultimately discharge into the treatment works of the City, even though those sewers may not have been constructed with City funds.
(46) "Sanitary sewer" means a sewer that carries liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions, together with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally.
(47) "Sanitary wastes" means the combination of liquid and water-carried wastes discharged from toilet and other sanitary plumbing facilities.
(48) "Segregated domestic wastes" means the discharges from nonresidential sources generated from normal human biological activities, separate and distinct from "industrial wastes."
(49) "Sewage" means the "wastewater" of a community.
(50) "Sewer" means a pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
(51) "Sewage collection system" means each, and all, of the public sewers within the publicly owned treatment works which are primarily installed to receive wastewaters directly from building sewers or other facilities which convey wastewater from each lot, parcel of land, building or premises, and which include service connection fillings designed for connection with such building sewers or facilities. Building sewers or other facilities which convey wastewater from each lot, parcel of land, building or premises to the public sewer are specifically excluded from the definition.
(52) "Sewer service charge" is used interchangeably with "rates or charges of rents" and means the total charges computed for a user by adding the "user charges" and "capital charges" of the fixed and volume charges of the rates provided for in Chapter 929.
(53) "Shall" is mandatory.
(Ord. 1122-89. Passed 11-28-89.)
(54) "Significant industrial user" means:
A. Except as provided in subsection (c) (54) B, hereof "significant industrial user" includes:
1. All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards; and,
2. Any other industrial user that: discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW; contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent (5%) or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or has a reasonable potential, in the opinion of the Director, to adversely affect the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
B. The Director may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user, determine that a noncategorical industrial user is not a significant industrial user if the industrial user has no reasonable potential to adversely affect the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
(Ord. 724-91. Passed 9-17-91.)
(55) "Standard Methods" means the most recent edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association.
(56) "State" means the State of Ohio.
(57) "Storm sewer" is used interchangeably with "storm drain" and means a drain or sewer for conveying surface waters, ground water or unpolluted water from any source.
(58) "Suspended solids" (SS) means total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of, or is in suspension in, water, wastewater or other liquids, and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in "Standard Methods" and referred to as filterable residue.
(59) "TLV" or threshold limit value means the airborne concentrations of substances and the conditions under which it is believed that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed to day after day without adverse effects. TLV values are issued by the ACGIH.
(60) "Toxic pollutant" means, but is not limited to, any pollutant identified in the Toxic Pollutant List promulgated by the USEPA under the provisions of the Act.
(61) "Treatment works" is used interchangeably with "sewerage system" and means any and all devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of domestic or industrial wastes of a liquid nature, or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most economical cost over the useful life of the works, including, but not limited to, interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances, extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment unit and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisitions of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment; or in any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of wastewater, including storm water runoff or industrial waste, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
(62) "Unpolluted water" means water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect or water that would not cause a violation of receiving water quality standards, as established by federal or State laws and regulations, and the quality of which would not be benefited by discharge to the treatment works; provided, however, for water to be unpolluted, it shall contain not more than 300 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids, and not more than twenty milligrams per liter each of suspended solids and biochemical oxygen demand.
(63) "Upset" means an exceptional incident in which a discharger unintentionally or temporarily is in a state of noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter and/or standards set forth in the rules, regulations and standards of the Director of Public Utilities due to factors beyond the reasonable control of the discharger. Specifically excluded is noncompliance due to such incident to the extent it is caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation thereof.
(64) "USEPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(65) "User" is used interchangeably with "discharger" and means those premises connected or required to be connected to the public sewer system. "User", where the context requires, means "person".
(66) "User charge" means that amount paid by each "user" connected to, having access to or benefited by the treatment works proportionate to the service provided. This charge shall cover all operation, maintenance and replacement costs for the treatment works and all facilities appurtenant thereto and functions performed in connection therewith.
(67) "User class" means groups of users having similar flow and wastewater characteristics and the services provided such groups are essentially the same.
(68) "Wastewater" means the spent water of a community or segment of a community. Wastewater may be 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, or any combination of the foregoing.
(69) "Wastewater treatment plant" means an arrangement of devices and structures for treating wastewater, industrial wastes and sludge which devices and structures are part of the treatment works.
(70) "Watercourse" means a natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.
(71) "WPCF/ASCE Manuals of Practice" means those guidelines on established methods of design and construction published jointly by the Water Pollution Control Federation and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
(Ord. 1122-89. Passed 11-28-89.)