Section
General Provisions
51.001 Purpose and policy
51.002 Definitions and abbreviations
General Sewer Use Requirements
51.015 Prohibited discharge standards
51.016 National categorical pretreatment standards
51.017 Local limits
51.018 State requirements
51.019 Right of revision
51.020 Dilution
51.021 Pretreatment of wastewater
51.022 Accidental discharge/slug control plans
51.023 Hauled wastewater
Fees
51.035 Purpose
51.036 User charges
51.037 Surcharges
51.038 Pretreatment program administrative costs
Wastewater Discharge Permit Application and Issuance
51.050 Wastewater dischargers
51.051 Wastewater permits
Reporting Requirements
51.065 Baseline monitoring reports
51.066 Compliance schedule progress reports
51.067 Reports on compliance with categorical pretreatment standard deadline
51.068 Periodic compliance reports
51.069 Reports of changed conditions
51.070 Reports of potential problems
51.071 Reports from unpermitted users
51.072 Notice of violation/repeat sampling and reporting
51.073 Notification of discharge of hazardous waste
51.074 Analytical requirements
51.075 Sample collection
51.076 Timing
51.077 Record keeping
Compliance Monitoring
51.090 Monitoring facilities
51.091 Inspection and sampling
51.092 Search warrants
Confidential Information
51.105 Confidential information
Enforcement
51.120 Administrative remedies
51.121 Other available remedies
51.122 Remedies nonexclusive
51.123 Annual publication of significant noncompliance
Affirmative Defenses to Discharge Violations
51.135 Upset
51.136 Prohibited discharge standards defense
51.137 Bypass
Fats, Oils and Grease
51.150 Scope and purpose
51.151 Definitions
51.152 Grease interceptor installation, maintenance, recordkeeping and grease removal
51.999 Penalty
GENERAL PROVISIONS
(A) This chapter sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the town and enables the town to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, including the Clean Water Act and the general pretreatment regulations (40 C.F.R. Part 403).
(B) The objectives of this chapter are:
(1) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipality wastewater system which will interfere with the operation of the system or contaminate the resulting sludge;
(2) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into any waters of the state or otherwise be incompatible with the system;
(3) To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludges from the municipal system;
(4) To protect both municipal personnel who may be affected by sewage, sludge and effluent in the course of their employment as well as protecting the general public;
(5) To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance and improvement of the municipal wastewater system; and
(6) To ensure that the municipality complies with its NPDES or non-discharge permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements and any other federal or state laws to which the municipal wastewater system is subject.
(C) This chapter provides for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the municipal wastewater system, through the issuance of permits to certain nondomestic users and through enforcement of general requirements for the other users, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires user reporting and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.
(D) This chapter shall apply to all users of the municipal wastewater system. The provisions of this chapter are intended to supplant and replace in their entirety the former sewer use ordinance in effect as of the date of this enactment. The provisions of this chapter do not affect any act heretofore done, any liability incurred, any right accrued or vested or any suit or prosecution instituted or pending as of such date. Except as otherwise provided herein, the POTW Director shall administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted to or imposed upon the POTW Director may be delegated by the POTW Director to other town personnel. By discharging wastewater into the municipal wastewater system, industrial users located outside the town limits agree to comply with the terms and conditions established in this chapter, as well as any permits, enforcement actions or orders issued hereunder.
(Ord. 192, passed 10-4-1994)
(A) 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.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Director of the Division of Environmental Management of the State Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources, or his or her designee.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INDUSTRIAL USER.
(a) If the industrial user is a corporation, AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean:
1. The president, secretary or a 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; or
2. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production or operation facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or 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.
(b) If the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean a general partner or the proprietor, respectively.
(c) If the industrial user is a federal, state or local government facility, an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or his or her designee.
(d) The individual described in divisions (a), (b) and (c) above may designate another 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 general responsibility for environmental matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted to the town.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures, for five days at 20°C, usually expressed as a concentration (for example, milligrams per liter (mg/l).
BUILDING SEWER. A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
BYPASS. The intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user’s treatment facility.
CATEGORICAL STANDARDS. National categorical pretreatment standards or pretreatment standard.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or EPA. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or other duly authorized official of said agency.
GRAB SAMPLE. A sample which is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks, including, but not limited to, such holding tanks as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE or DISCHARGE. The discharge of the introduction from any nondomestic source regulated under § 307(b) or (d) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317), into the POTW, including holding tank waste discharged into the system.
INDUSTRIAL USER or USER. Any person which is a source of indirect discharge.
INTERFERENCE. The inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment processes, operations or its sludge process, use or disposal, which causes or contributes to a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES or non-discharge permit or prevents sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with specified applicable state and federal statues, regulations or permits. 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) (48 U.S.C. §§ 690 et seq. ), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (MPRSA) or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
MEDICAL WASTE. Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes and dialysis wastes.
NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD or CATEGORICAL 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, and which appears in 40 C.F.R. Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471.
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM or NPDES PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342), or pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1 by the state under delegation from the EPA.
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 51.015 and are developed under the authority of § 307(b) of the Act and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5.
NEW SOURCE.
(a) Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there may be discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed categorical pretreatment standards under § 307(c) provided that:
1. The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;
2. The building, structure, facility, 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 if 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 division (a)1., (a)2. or (a)3. above but otherwise alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(c) For purposes of this definition, construction of a NEW SOURCE has commenced if the owner or operator has:
1. Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site 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.
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 definition.
NONCONTACT COOLING WATER. Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product.
NON-DISCHARGE PERMIT. A disposal system permit issued by the state pursuant to G. S. § 143-215.1.
PASS THROUGH. A discharge which exits the POTW into water of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or with discharges from other sources, causes a violation, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, of the POTW’S NPDES or non-discharge permit, or a downstream water quality standard.
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. This definition includes all federal, state and local government entities.
pH. A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed as standard units, and calculated as the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT. Any waste as defined in G.S. § 143-213(18) and dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity or odor).
POTW DIRECTOR. The Town of Walnut Cove Town Manager.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT. The 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 pollutant properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollution into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes or other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT PROGRAM. The program for the control of pollutants introduced into the POTW from non-domestic sources which was developed by the town in compliance with 40 C.F.R. Part 403.8 and approved by the approval authority as authorized by G.S. § 143-215.3(a)(14) in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Part 403.11.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical standards and local limits.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW) or MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER SYSTEM. A treatment works as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292) which is owned in this instance by the town. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant. For the purposes of this chapter, POTW shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the town who are by contract or agreement with the town or in any other way, users of the town POTW.
SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE. Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the user’s treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonable be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER. Any industrial user of the wastewater disposal system who:
(a) Has an average daily process wastewater flow of 50,000 gallons or more;
(b) Contributes more than 5% of any design or treatment capacity (i.e., allowable pollutant load) of the wastewater treatment plant receiving the indirect discharge;
(c) Is required to meet a national categorical pretreatment standard; or
(d) If found by the town, the Division of Environmental Management or the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have the potential for impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industrial users, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system’s effluent quality or compliance with any pretreatment standards or requirements.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE or REPORTABLE NONCOMPLIANCE. A status of noncompliance defined as follows:
(a) Violations of wastewater discharge limits:
1. Chronic violations. Sixty-six percent or more of the measurements exceed (by any magnitude) the same daily maximum limit or the same average limit in a six-month period;
2. Technical review criteria (TRC) violations. Thirty-three percent or more of the measurements are more than the TRC times the limit (maximum or average) in a six-month period. There are two groups of TRCs: for conventional pollutants BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, TRC = 1.4; for all other pollutants TRC = 1.2;
3. Any other violation(s) of an effluent limit average or daily maximum that the control authority believes has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through; or endangered the health of the sewage treatment plant personnel or the public; and
4. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health/welfare or to the environment and has resulted in the POTW’s exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge.
(b) Violations of compliance schedule milestones, contained in a pretreatment permit or enforcement order, for starting construction, completing construction and attaining final compliance by 90 days or more after the schedule date;
(c) Failure to provide reports for compliance schedule, self-monitoring data, baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports and periodic compliance reports within 30 days from the due date;
(d) Failure to accurately report noncompliance; and
(e) Any other violation or group of violations that the control authority considers to be significant.
SLUG LOAD. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge stands in § 51.015.
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, 1967.
STORM WATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
SUPERINTENDENT. The person designated by the town 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.
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.
UPSET. An exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment 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.
WASTEWATER. The liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, mobile sources, treatment facilities and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and storm water 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, watercourse, 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.
(B) This chapter is gender neutral and the masculine gender shall include the feminine and vice-versa. Shall is mandatory; may is permissive or discretionary. The use of the singular shall be construed to include the plural and the plural shall include the singular as indicated by the context of its use.
(C) The following abbreviations, when used in this chapter, shall have the designated meanings:
BOD | Biochemical oxygen demand |
C.F.R. | Code of Federal Regulations |
COD | Chemical oxygen demand |
EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
G.S. | North Carolina General Statutes |
gpd | Gallons per day |
l | Liter |
mg | Milligrams |
mg/l | Milligrams per liter |
NPDES | National pollution discharge elimination system |
O & M | Operation and maintenance |
POTW | Publicly owned treatment works |
RCRA | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
SIC | Standard industrial classification |
SWDA | Solid Waste Disposal Act |
TSS | Total suspended solids |
TKN | Total Kjeldahl nitrogen |
U.S.C. | United States Code |
(Ord. 192, passed 10-4-1994)
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