Coachella Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

It is the intent of this chapter to protect public health, city and Coachella Sanitary District personnel, the collection system and the environment from waste discharges by nonresidential users with the potential to detrimentally impact the beneficial use of reclaimed water and municipal sludge.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

A. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth:

1. Conditions and limitations on the use of the city's sewer system;

2. Specific enforcement provisions to resolve noncompliance with this chapter, thereby allowing the city to:

a. Comply with the laws, regulations, and rules imposed upon it by regulatory agencies;

b. Ensure that the city's sewerage facilities and treatment processes are protected and are able to operate with the highest degree of efficiency;

c. Protect the beneficial use of reclaimed water and municipal sludge; and

d. Protect the public health and environment.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

A. This chapter shall be interpreted in accordance with the definitions set forth in Article II. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the direct and indirect discharge of all wastes to facilities of city.

B. The city shall seek the cooperation of the users of the collection system to ensure compliance with this chapter. Reasonable approaches shall be utilized when applying applicable regulations without compromising the intent, purpose and policies of this chapter.

C. The city shall adopt more stringent quality requirements on wastewater discharges regulated by 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, in the event that more stringent quality requirements are necessary to protect beneficial use of reclaimed water and municipal sludge.

D. The city shall encourage conservation and pollution prevention through source control strategies which reduce the amount of pollutants entering the environment, prior to recycling, pretreatment, or disposal.

E. The city shall use the revenues derived from the application of this chapter to defray the cost of regulating sewer usage to include, but not be limited to, administration, monitoring, permitting, reporting, and enforcement.

F. All costs and expenses incurred by the plan check procedure of the city's source control division shall be paid by the applicant. Plan check fees shall be in an amount established by ordinance or resolution of the district.

G. The city shall ensure that all parties are afforded due process of law. An applicant or user shall be given written notice of rejection of an application, or violation of a control mechanism, or of any enforcement action. Such notice shall include a statement of reasons in support thereof and proposed actions to be taken, if any. Affected applicants or users shall have the right to a hearing. Decisions/determinations may be appealed as set forth in Article V.

H. The city, at its discretion, may utilize any one, combination, or all enforcement remedies provided in Article V in response to any violation.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to sewer construction, use, maintenance, discharge, deposit, or disposal of wastewater, both directly and indirectly, into and through all city collection systems and to the issuance of control mechanisms and assessment/imposition of fees, fines and penalties thereof.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

This chapter applies to all nondomestic users of the city's sewer system and specifies herein that all users of the city's sewer system are subject to regulation and enforcement.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

A. The general manager is authorized to:

1. Issue waste discharge authorizations;

2. Issue waste discharge permits;

3. Require the installation and maintenance of pretreatment and/or monitoring facilities and equipment;

4. Conduct inspections of facilities, including, but not limited to, inspecting and copying records;

5. Require monitoring and reporting of discharges to the public sewer system;

6. Monitor the quality of wastewater entering the sewer system;

7. Require the development of spill containment plans and reporting of accidental discharges;

8. Require the development of a slug control plan (per Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR) 403.8(f)(2)(v));

9. Deny, approve or approve with conditions, new or increased discharges or change in the quantity or characteristics of discharges, when such discharges do not meet applicable pretreatment requirements as specified in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(1)(I).

10. Take enforcement actions against those who violate or cause violation of this chapter or discharge permit conditions. These actions may include, but are not limited to the following:

a. Issuing letters;

b. Issuing notices of violation;

c. Issuing administrative orders ;

d. Issuing cease and desist orders;

e. Initiating and conducting noncompliance meetings;

f. Initiating and conducting administrative hearings;

g. Petitioning the courts for injunctions or civil penalties;

h. Signing criminal complaints;

i. Terminating services;

j. Requiring payment of violation charges;

k. Revoking and/or suspending the discharge permit.

11. Delegate authority to the division head or department head of any power granted to or the carrying out of any duty imposed upon the general manager pursuant to this chapter.

12. Adopt such rules, regulations and standards as are reasonable and necessary to protect the collection system and POTW and to control the proper use thereof.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

A. The city shall be permitted to enter all properties from which wastes or wastewaters are being or are capable of being discharged into a public sewer main for purposes of inspecting, observing, measuring, sampling, and testing pertinent to the discharge of wastes or wastewaters to ascertain whether the intent of this chapter is being met and the user is complying with all requirements. The city shall have access at reasonable times to all parts of the wastewater generating and disposal facilities for the purposes of inspection and sampling. The city shall have the right to set up on the user's property such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling or metering operations. Where a user has security measures in force, the user shall make necessary arrangements so that personnel from the city will be permitted to enter without delay for the purpose of performing their specific responsibilities.

B. The city may require the user to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition by the user at its own expense. All devices used to measure wastewater flow and quality shall be calibrated pursuant to the manufacturer's recommendations to ensure their accuracy

C. Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility 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.

D. Unreasonable delays in allowing the city access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

If the city has been refused access to a building, structure, or property, or any part thereof, and is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this chapter, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program of the city designed to verify compliance with this chapter or any permit or order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety and welfare of the community, then the city may seek issuance of a search warrant from the superior court of the county of Riverside.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

To provide for fair and equitable use of sewerage facilities, the city shall have the unqualified right to require a discharger to provide information necessary to insure compliance with all rules, regulations and provisions of this chapter.

All information and data on a user shall be available to the public unless the user specifically requests and is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the city that the release of such information would divulge information, processes or methods which would be detrimental to the user's competitive position. The demonstration of the need for confidentiality made by the permittee must meet the burden necessary for holding such information from the general public under applicable state and federal law.

In any event, the city shall not limit EPA's access to any information provided by the discharger.

In any event, information concerning wastewater quality and quantity will not be deemed confidential. Such information may include, but is not limited to:

1. Wastewater discharge peak flow rates and volume over a specified time period;

2. Physical, chemical, bacteriological, or radiological analysis of wastewaters;

3. Information on raw materials, processes, and products;

4. Quantity and disposition of specific liquid, sludge, oil, solvent, or other materials;

5. Details of wastewater pretreatment facilities, their operation and maintenance;

6. Details of systems to prevent and control the losses of materials through spills to the public sewer main;

7. Detailed plumbing plans indicating all sources discharging to the on- or off-site pretreatment or sewerage facilities;

8. A slug control program, per 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(v);

9. Notification of discharges of a listed hazardous waste (Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to the sewer system per 40 CFR 403.12(p));

10. Baseline monitoring reports per 40 CFR 403.12(b);

11. Compliance progress reports in accordance with all provisions listed in 40 CFR 403.12(c)(d)(e).

12. Notification of potential problems, including slug loading in accordance with all provisions listed in 40 CFR 403.12(f).

13. Notification of substantial changes in volume or character of pollutants discharged in accordance with all provisions listed in 40 CFR 403.12(j).

14. Monitoring and analysis reports demonstrating continued compliance in accordance with all provisions listed in 40 CFR 403.12(g).

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)

The city is regulated by several agencies of the United States Government and the state of California, pursuant to the provisions of federal and state law. Federal and state laws (including, but not limited to:

1. Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq);

2. California Porter Cologne Water Quality Control Act (California Water Code section 13000 et seq.);

3. California Health & Safety Code sections 25100 to 25250;

4. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.); and

5. California Government Code, Sections 54739-54740) grant to the city the authority to regulate and/or prohibit, by the adoption of an ordinance, and by issuance of control mechanisms, the discharge of any waste, directly or indirectly, to the city sewerage facilities.

Said authority includes the right to establish limits, conditions, and prohibitions; to establish flow rates or prohibit flows discharged to the city sewerage facilities; to require the development of compliance schedules for the installation of equipment systems and materials by all users; and to take all actions necessary to enforce its authority, whether within or outside the city boundaries, including those users that are tributary to the city or within areas for which the city has contracted to provide sewerage services.

(Ord. No. 1057, § 2(Exh. B), 10-23-13)