Atascadero Municipal Code Ch. 8 Prohibited Discharges

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewers.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)

Swimming pools may be discharged into the sanitary sewer system upon issuance of a permit to do so and shall be performed in a method and at a time approved by the City Engineer.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:

(a) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas that has a closed-cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit (140°F) or sixty degrees Celsius (60°C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261:21;

(b) Any waters or wastes containing toxic, infectious, or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singularly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process or constitute a nuisance or hazard to humans, animals, the local environment, or create any hazard in the hazardous condition to occur in the sewage system;

(c) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than nine, or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel or the wastewater treatment and collection system;

(d) Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the wastewater treatment collection works such as, but not limited to, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, un-ground garbage, paper materials such as newspapers, dishes, cups, milk containers, and meat processing plant wastes such as animal skins, intestines, fleshings, and paunch materials retained on a screen having eight meshes per inch each way;

(e) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (150°F);

(f) Any water or wastes which may contain more than 100 parts per million, by weight, of fat, oil, grease, or wax;

(g) Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids or oxygen demanding pollutants of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials at the wastewater treatment plant;

(h) Any noxious or malodorous gas or substance capable of creating a public nuisance;

(i) Any water added to a wastewater discharge for the sole purpose of dilution as a means to achieve compliance with any pretreatment standard or local limit;

(j) Any waters or wastes containing any radioactive materials or wastes of such half-life or concentration that they do not comply with regulations issued by appropriate authorities (Sections 30285 and 30287 of the California Code of Regulations); and

(k) Any waters or wastes containing color which is not removed in the ordinary wastewater treatment plant process.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)

Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the City, 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 the private living quarters of dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the City and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

(a) Maintenance Requirements. Grease interceptors shall be maintained in efficient operating condition by periodic removal of the full content of the interceptor, which includes wastewater, accumulated FOG, floating materials, sludge and solids.

(b) Best Management Practice Requirements. All FSEs shall implement Best Management Practices in accordance with the requirements and guidelines established by the City under its FOG Control Program in an effort to minimize the discharge of FOG to the sewer system. Employees of all FSEs shall be trained by ownership/management periodically in BMP, which may include, but is not limited to:

(1) How to dry wipe pots, pans, dishware and work areas before washing to remove grease;

(2) The location and use of absorption products to clean under fryer baskets and other locations where grease may be spilled or dripped;

(3) How to properly dispose of grease or oil from cooking equipment into a grease receptacle such as a barrel or drum without spilling;

(4) Use of proper water temperatures to minimize grease blockages downstream;

(5) Record keeping.

(c) Record Keeping Requirements. The FSE shall keep all manifests (if provided), receipts and invoices of all cleaning, maintenance, grease removal of/from the grease interceptor, disposal carrier and disposal site location for no less than three years. The FSE shall, upon request, make the manifests, receipts and invoices available to any City representative, or inspector. These records may include:

(1) A log book of grease interceptor, grease trap or grease control device cleaning and maintenance practices;

(2) A record of Best Management Practices being implemented, including employee training;

(3) Records of sampling data and sludge height monitoring for FOG and solids accumulation in the grease interceptors;

(4) Records of any spills and/or cleaning of the lateral or sewer system.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)

Where pretreatment of discharge is required by the City, the necessary facilities shall be provided, operated and maintained at the user's expense. Detailed plans showing the facilities and their operating procedures shall be submitted to the City for review. Such plans must be acceptable to the City before construction is begun. Any changes in the pretreatment facilities or method of operation must be reported to and approved of by the City prior to implementation of the proposed changes. Operational difficulties or failures of pretreatment facilities shall be reported immediately to the City.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)

When required by the City, the owner of any property served by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and flow measurement of the discharge. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessible 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 expense and shall be maintained by him or her so as to be safe and accessible at all times.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)

All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of water and wastes shall be determined by the testing procedures specified in 40 CFR Part 136. When required by the City, the industrial user shall provide safe and secure access to the proper sampling point for the determination of compliance with federal categorical standards and/or local discharge limits. This may require the installation of a control manhole as described in Section 7-8.006. All testing shall be performed by an approved laboratory and conducted at the expense of the discharger.

(a) Right of Entry—Inspection and Sampling.

(1) The City personnel and/or other authorized representatives of the City shall have the right to enter the premises of any user to determine whether the user is complying with all requirements of this chapter or order issued hereunder. Users shall allow the City ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, records examination, and the performance of any additional duties.

(2) Should a user have security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the user shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, the City will be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities as set forth above.

(3) The City shall have the right to set up on the user's property, or require installation of, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling and/or metering of the user's operations.

(4) Any temporary or permanent obstruction preventing safe and easy access to the facility area to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the user at the written or verbal request of the City and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the user.

(5) Unreasonable delays in allowing the City access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this chapter.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)

All persons discharging to the City wastewater system shall be subject to, and comply with, the current City Council approved policies, provisions, and best management practices contained within the City's Sanitary Sewer Management Plan. The adopted SSMP may be amended from time to time, as recommended by the City Engineer, by resolution of the City Council.

(Ord. 438 § 2, 2004; Ord. 551 § 2, 2010)