(a) As used in this chapter, certain terms are defined as follows:
(1) "Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the "Clean Water Act" (33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.), as amended.
(2) "Appeal Board" means the WPCC Appeal Board appointed by the mayors of the cities of Willoughby and Eastlake, as established in Section 915.17.
(3) "Authorized representative" means either:
A. A principal executive officer if the user is a corporation;
B. A general partner or proprietor if the user is a partnership or proprietorship; or
C. A duly-authorized representative of the individual or organization if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the indirect discharge originates.
(4) “Best Management Practices” or “BMP’s” means schedules of activities, prohibitions or practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in Section 915.05 of this chapter. BMP’s also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
(5) "Bypass" means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of an industrial user's treatment facility.
(6) "C.B.O.D." or "Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at twenty degrees Centigrade expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l) or parts per million (ppm) by weight.
(7) "Categorical Pretreatment Standards" means National pretreatment standards specifying quantities or concentrations of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged or introduced into a POTW by specific industrial dischargers customarily applied to end-of-process streams, following pretreatment.
(8) "City" means the City of Willoughby, Ohio.
(9) "C.O.D." or "Chemical Oxygen Demand" means the quantity of oxygen required to satisfy the carbon in a waste as determined by chemical oxidation of the waste with a strong oxidation agent (acid solution), expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l).
(10) "Combined sewer" means a sewer designated by the City to carry sewage, storm water, surface water and drainage, and which may carry unpolluted wastewater and cooling water.
(11) "Commercial user" includes retail or wholesale business establishments that discharge wastewater into the public wastewater treatment system, works and facility.
(12) "Compatible pollutant" means C.B.O.D., C.O.D., phosphorus, oil and grease, suspended solids, pH and fecal coliform bacteria; plus any additional pollutants identified in the publicly owned treatment works' NPDES permit where such treatment work is designed to and, in fact does, treat such pollutants to the degree required by the POTW's NPDES permit.
(13) "Cooling water" means the water discharged from a condensation, air conditioning, cooling, refrigeration or other system, but free from odor or oil, and containing no polluting substances which could produce C.B.O.D. or suspended solids each in excess of ten milligrams per liter.
(14) "Direct discharge" means the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the State.
(15) "Director" means the Director of Public Service of the City and wherever used in this chapter shall mean the Director or his duly-authorized representative.
(16) "Discharger" means any user who discharges an effluent into a POTW or storm drainage system.
(17) "EPA" means the Environmental Protection Agency, whether the U.S. or the Ohio EPA, or, where appropriate, a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized official of such agency.
(18) "Floatable oil" means oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility.
(19) "Garbage" means solid wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
(20) "Grab sample" means a sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.
(21) "Holding tank waste" means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
(22) "Incompatible pollutant" means a waste constituent which interferes with the operation and performance of the wastewater treatment works.
(23) "Indirect discharge" means the discharge or the introduction of nondomestic pollutants from any source regulated under Section 307(b) or (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1317) into the POTW including holding tank waste discharged into the sewer system.
(24) "Industrial user" or "user" means a source of indirect discharge.
(25) "Industrial wastes" mean the liquid, solid or gaseous waste resulting from industrial processes, trade or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
(26) "Insignificant user" means those users having no process wastes or significant wastes other than normal sewage.
(27) "Intercepting sewer" means a sewer intended to receive flows from both combined sewers and sanitary sewers; or a sewer whose primary purpose is to transport wastewater from collector (local) sewers to a wastewater treatment plant.
(28) "Interference" means a 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 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.
(29) "Major significant user" means:
A. All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards and any other industrial user with substantial process waste being discharged or with a high possibility of discharging other than normal sewage who:
1. Discharge an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW;
2. Contribute 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
3. Have 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 his own initiative or in response to a petition received from a user, determine that a noncategorical user is not a major significant user if the user has no reasonable potential to adversely affect the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
(30) "Minor significant user" means:
A. Any industrial users with very low process waste and low concentrations of pollutants in their waste or those that discharge sanitary waste but have a potential for discharging other than normal sewage; that is, accidental spills who:
1. Discharge an average of less than 25,000 gallons per day of process wastewater to the POTW;
2. Contribute a process wastestream which makes up less than five percent (5%) of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or
3. Have 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 his own initiative or in response to a petition received from a user, determine that a noncategorical user is not a minor significant user if the user has no reasonable potential to adversely affect the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
(31) "Multiple user" means the owner of any property where more than one industrial user and commercial user discharge into a common sewer line and control manhole.
(32) "NPDES" or "NPDES permit" means any National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit or equivalent document or requirements issued by the State water pollution control agency to regulate the discharge of pollutants from the wastewater treatment works.
(33) "Natural outlet" means any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or ground water.
(34) "New source" means any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which is commenced after the adoption of Federal, State or local pretreatment standards which are applicable to such sources, provided that:
A. The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
B. The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
C. The production of 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 are to be considered.
(35) "Normal sewage" means sewage which when analyzed, shows, by weight, a daily average of not more than 225 milligrams per liter (mg/l) suspended solids; nor more than 185 mg/l C.B.O.D. and/or 250 mg/l C.O.D.; nor more than fifty mg/l ammonia; nor more than eighty mg/l grease and oil (Hexane EPA Method 1664A); nor more than eight mg/l phosphorus. These concentrations shall be used for determining surcharges.
(36) "OEPA" means the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency; the department of the State of Ohio assigned and designated as the legal authority of administration, supervision and regulation of municipal, private and industrial wastewater treatment plants in Ohio.
(37) "Operation" means any physical and mechanical actions, processes or functions required to efficiently operate the wastewater treatment works as defined herein.
(38) "Owner" means any individual, company, partnership, firm, corporation or any other entity who holds an industrial/commercial parcel as personal property.
(39) "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).
(40) "pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.
(41) "Phosphorus-Total" means a constituent in wastewater identified in "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater".
(42) "Pollutant" means any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical waste, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.
(43) "Pollution" means the man-made or man induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and radiological integrity of water.
(44) "POTW" means Publicly Owned Treatment Works, any pump stations, sewers and force mains that convey wastewater to, and including the POTW treatment plant, but not including pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment.
(45) "Pretreatment or treatment" means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to, or in lieu of, discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW.
(46) "Pretreatment requirements" mean any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment other than a National Pretreatment Standard imposed on an industrial user.
(47) "Properly shredded garbage" means the wastes from the preparation, cooking or dispensing of foods that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles are carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch in any dimension.
(48) "Public sewer" means a sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.
(49) "Sanitary sewage" means sewage discharged from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, including apartment houses, hotels or motels, office buildings, factories or institutions, and free from storm and surface waters.
(50) "Sanitary sewer" means a sewer designated by the City to carry sewage and to which storm, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.
(51) "Sanitary sewer system" means a sewer and other appurtenances used to control, channel or divert sanitary or industrial wastes, but excluding storm and surface waters.
(52) "Sewer system" means a pipe or pipes and/or conduit or conduits used to collect and transport sewerage or stormwater.
(53) "Severe property damage" means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
(54) "Sewage surcharge" means the fee required to cover the increased costs of treating wastes with concentrations in excess of those found in "normal sewage".
(55) "Sewage works" means the wastewater treatment works or sewerage system and includes all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating or disposing of sewage.
(56) "Sewer" means a pipe or conduit used to collect and transport sewage or stormwater.
(57) "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.
(58) "SIC" means Standard Industrial Classification, pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, a classification issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1972.
(59) "Slug" means any discharge of wastewater containing any pollutant released in a single extraordinary discharge episode of such volume or strength that may, or does, cause problems, including interference, at the POTW.
(60) "State" means the State of Ohio.
(61) "Storm drainage system" means storm drain, a sewer and appurtenance and public ditches, swales, retention areas, dams, weirs, dikes and any other appurtenances used to control, channel or divert storm and surface waters and drainage, but exclude sewage and industrial wastes. It may however, be used to carry unpolluted wastewater and cooling water.
(62) "Storm water" means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
(63) "Suspended solids-Total" mean solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage or other liquid, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
(64) "Toxic pollutant" means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the EPA.
(65) "Unpolluted water" or "unpolluted wastewater" means water or wastewater which does not contain any:
A. Free or emulsified grease or oil;
B. Acid or alkali;
C. Phenols or other substances which impart taste or odor to receiving waters;
D. Toxic or poisonous substances in suspension, collodial state, or solution;
E. Noxious or odorous gases;
F. Dissolved solids in excess of 10,000 mg/l;
G. Suspended solids in excess of ten mg/l;
H. C.B.O.D. in excess of ten mg/l; or
I. Color in excess of fifty units.
(66) "Upset" means an exceptional incident in which a discharger unintentionally and temporarily is in a state of noncompliance with the standards set forth herein due to factors beyond the reasonable control of the discharger, and excluding noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance or careless or improper operation thereof.
(67) "User" means any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater in the POTW.
(68) "Volatile organic matter" means the material in the sewage solids transformed to gases or vapors when heated at 550 degrees C. for fifteen to twenty minutes.
(69) "Wastewater or sewage" means the liquid and water carried industrial or domestic waste from any dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities and institutions, together with any ground water, surface water, and storm water that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter, the POTW.
(70) "Wastewater treatment system" means all treatment facilities, sanitary sewers (i.e. lateral, trunk or interceptor), lift stations, force mains, laboratory and office facilities and all other appurtenances used to treat or convey wastewater.
(71) "Watercourse" means a channel in which a flow of water occurs either continuously or intermittently.
(72) "WPCC" means the Willoughby-Eastlake Water Pollution Control Center.
(Ord. 1991-118. Passed 8-6-91; Ord. 2010-69. Passed 6-8-10; Ord. 2016-49. Passed 5-3-16.)