A. General Discharge Prohibitions: No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements. The following are specifically prohibited:
1. Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient, either alone or by interaction, to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the operation of the POTW. At no time shall two (2) successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system) be more than five percent (5%) nor any single reading over ten percent (10%) of the lower explosive limit of the meter. No wastestream having a closed cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit (140°F) (60° Celsius) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21 is allowed to be discharged to the POTW.
2. Solid or viscous substances which will or may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater system.
a. Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease, or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of one hundred milligrams per liter (100 mg/l), for nonbiodegradable (mineral) fats, oils and greases or in excess of two hundred fifty milligrams per liter (250 mg/l) for biodegradable (nonmineral) fats, oils and greases, or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between thirty two degrees (32°) and one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (150°F) (or 0° and 65° Celsius).
b. Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths (3/4) horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater, shall be subject to the review and approval of the public works director.
c. Any pretreatment sludges and spent chemicals generated shall be disposed of in accordance with section 405 of the clean water act and subtitles C and D of the resource conservation and recovery act. (Ord. 1090, 8-24-1999)
3. Any wastewater having a pH less than 6.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the system, such as, but not limited to, battery or plating acids and wastes, copper sulfate, chromium salts and compounds, or salt brine. (Ord. 1149, 8-11-2003)
4. Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or to exceed the limitation set forth in the categorical pretreatment standards, as promulgated, which is hereby adopted by reference.
5. Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids which, either singly or by interaction, are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair.
6. Any substance which may cause the POTW's effluent or treatment residues, sludges, or scums to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. (In no case shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under section 405 of the act; any criteria, guidelines, or regulations affecting sludge use on disposal developed pursuant to the solid waste disposal act, the clean air act, the toxic substance control act, or state standards applicable to the sludge management method being used.)
7. Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES and/or other disposal system permits.
8. Any substance with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions. Color (in combination with turbidity) shall not cause the treatment plant effluent to reduce the depth of the compensation point for photosynthetic activity by more than ten percent (10%) from the seasonably established norm for aquatic life.
9. Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW treatment plant resulting in interference; but in no case, any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (150°F) (66° Celsius), or having temperatures sufficient to cause the influent to the treatment plant to exceed one hundred four degrees Fahrenheit (104°F) (40° Celsius) unless the approval authority, upon the request of the city, approves the alternate limits.
10. Any pollutant released in such strength or volume as to cause interference in the treatment plant.
11. Any unpolluted water including, but not limited to, noncontact cooling water, unless approved by the board of sewer appraisers.
12. Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as to exceed limits established by the city in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
13. Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
14. Any waters or wastes containing heavy metals and similar objectionable or toxic substances to such a degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the point of discharge exceeds the limits as follows. All concentrations for metallic substances are for "total" metal unless indicated otherwise. The superintendent may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, the concentration based limitations below. Where a user is subject to a categorical pretreatment standard and a local limit for a given pollutant, the more stringent limit shall apply.
Daily Maximum Allowable Discharge Limits
Arsenic | 0.20 mg/l |
Cadmium | 1.20 mg/l |
Chromium | 4.80 mg/l |
Copper | 1.50 mg/l |
Cyanide | 0.10 mg/l |
Lead | 9.00 mg/l |
Mercury | 0.01 mg/l |
Nickel | 0.50 mg/l |
Silver | 2.40 mg/l |
Zinc | 9.50 mg/l |
15. Truck or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the city and in accordance with this section.
16. Stormwater, surface water, groundwater, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the superintendent.
17. Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the superintendent in a wastewater discharge permit.
18. Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test.
19. Detergents, surface active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW.
20. Grease, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dusts, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, waste papers, wood, plastics, gas, tar asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud, or glass grinding or polishing wastes.
21. Any wastewater, which in the opinion of the superintendent can cause harm either to the sewers, sewage treatment process, or equipment; have an adverse effect on the receiving stream; or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance, unless allowed under special agreement by the superintendent (except that no special waiver shall be given from categorical pretreatment standards).
22. The contents of any tank or other vessel owned or used by any person in the business of collecting or pumping sewage, effluent, septage or other wastewater unless said person has first obtained testing and approval as may be generally required by the city of Weiser and paid all fees assessed for the privilege of said discharge.
23. Persistent pesticides and/or pesticides regulated by the federal insecticide fungicide rodenticide act (FIFRA).
24. Pollutants, substances or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
25. 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.
B. Other Limitations:
1. Categorical Pretreatment Standards: Categorical pretreatment standards as promulgated by the environmental protection agency pursuant to the act shall be met by all dischargers of the regulated industrial categories. The categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N, parts 405-471, are hereby incorporated. An application for modification of the categorical pretreatment standards may be considered for submittal to the approval authority by the city, when the city's wastewater treatment system achieves consistent removal of the pollutants as defined by 40 CFR section 403.7.
2. State Requirements: State requirements and limitations on discharges to the POTW shall be met by all users which are subject to such standards in any instance in which they are more stringent than federal requirements and limitations, or those in this chapter or other applicable ordinances.
3. Right Of Revision: The city reserves the right to amend this chapter or an industrial wastewater permit to provide for more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the POTW where deemed necessary to comply with the objectives set forth in subsection 7-6-1A of this chapter.
4. Dilution: No discharger shall, without written approval of the superintendent, increase the use of potable or process water in any way, nor mix separate waste streams for the purpose of diluting a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the standards set forth in this chapter.
5. Mass Limitations: The city may impose mass limitations on dischargers which are using dilution to meet the pretreatment standards or requirements of this chapter or, in other cases, where the imposition of mass limitations is deemed appropriate by the city.
6. Special Agreements: The city reserves the right to enter into special agreements with users setting out special terms under which they may discharge to the POTW. In no case will a special agreement waive compliance with a categorical pretreatment standard or federal pretreatment requirement. However, the user may request a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 CFR 403.15. They may also request a variance from the categorical pretreatment standard from the approval authority. Such a request will be approved only if the user can prove that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when establishing that categorical pretreatment standard. A user requesting a fundamentally different factor variance must comply with the procedural substantive provisions in 40 CFR 403.13.
7. Wastewater Treatment: User shall provide necessary wastewater treatment as required to comply with this chapter and shall achieve compliance with all applicable pretreatment standards and requirements set out in this chapter within the time limitations specified by the EPA, the state or the city, whichever is more stringent. Any facilities required to pretreat wastewater to a level acceptable to the city shall be provided, operated and maintained at the user's expense. Detailed plans showing the pretreatment facilities and operating procedures shall be submitted to the city for review, and shall be acceptable to the city before construction of the facility. The review of such plans and operating procedures will in no way relieve the user from the responsibility of modifying the facility as necessary to produce an acceptable discharge to the city under the provisions of this chapter.
8. Compliance: Compliance by existing user (categorical users) covered by categorical pretreatment standards shall be within three (3) years of the date the standard is effective unless a shorter compliance time is specified in the appropriate standard. The city shall establish a final compliance deadline date for any existing significant industrial user (SIU) not covered by categorical pretreatment standards or for any categorical user when the local limits for said user are more restrictive than EPA's categorical pretreatment standards.
9. New Source Dischargers: New source dischargers and "new users" (that fit the definition of SIU) are required to comply with applicable pretreatment standards within the shortest feasible time (not to exceed 90 days from the beginning of discharge). New sources and "new users" shall install and have in operating condition and shall "start up" all pollution control equipment required to meet applicable pretreatment standards before beginning to discharge.
10. Compliance Date: Any wastewater discharge permit issued to a categorical user shall not contain a compliance date beyond any deadline date established in EPA's categorical pretreatment standards. Any other existing SIU, which is in noncompliance with any local limits shall be provided a compliance scheduled placed in an order or other similar enforcement document as outlined elsewhere in this chapter.
11. Interceptors: Fats, oils, greases, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the superintendent, they are necessary for the proper handling of wastewater containing excessive amounts of fats, oils, greases, or sand, except that such interceptors shall not be required for residential users. All interception units shall be or type and capacity approved by the superintendent and shall be so located to be easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Such interceptors shall be inspected, cleaned and repaired regularly, as needed, by the user at his expense. The introduction of chemical, bacterial and/or enzyme or any other additive into a grease or grit interceptor is prohibited unless approved by the superintendent.
12. Flammable Discharges: Users with the potential to discharge flammable substances may be required to install and maintain an approved, combustible gas detection meter.
C. Accidental Discharge/Slug Control Plans: The city may require any user to develop and implement an accidental discharge/slug control plan. Where deemed necessary by the city, facilities to prevent accidental discharge or slug discharges of pollutants shall be provided and maintained at the user's cost and expense. An accidental spill prevention plan/slug control plan showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the city for review and approval before implementation. The city shall determine which user is required to develop a plan and require said plan to be submitted within ninety (90) days after notification by the city. Each user shall implement its ASPP as submitted or as modified after such plan has been reviewed and approved by the city. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures by the city shall not relieve the user from the responsibility to modify its facility as necessary to meet the requirements of this section.
Any user required to develop and implement an accidental discharge/control slug plan shall submit a plan which addresses, at a minimum, the following:
1. Description of discharge practices, including nonroutine batch discharges;
2. Description of stored chemicals;
3. Procedures for immediately notifying the POTW of any accidental or slug discharge. Such notification must also be given for any discharge which would violate any of the standards in this section; and
4. Procedures to prevent adverse impact from any accidental or slug discharge. Such procedures include, but are not limited to, inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site runoff, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants (including solvents), and/or measures and equipment for emergency response. (Ord. 1090, 8-24-1999)