Delano Municipal Code Ch. 13.12 Sewers—general Provisions

Footnotes:

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Prior history: Ords. 438, 522 as amended by 596.

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this article shall be as follows:

"Act" or "the Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.

"Approval authority" means the executive officer of the California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

"Approved test procedures" means those procedures found at Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 136 and those alternate procedures approved by the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the provisions of Title 40.

"Authorized representative of user" means a duly authorized representative of a user in accordance with the general pretreatment regulations.

"B.O.D." (denoting 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.

"Building" means any structure built for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind.

"Building drain" means that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning two feet from the building wall.

"Building sewer" means the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.

"Categorical user" means a user that is subject to the National Categorical Standards.

"Cesspool" means an excavation in the ground made for receiving crude sewage and so constructed that the solid matter is retained and the liquid portion is permitted to seep away.

"Chemical oxygen demand" ("C.O.D.") means the measure of chemically oxidizable material in domestic or other wastewaters as determined by appropriate testing procedures and expressed in terms of mass per volume (mg/l).

"City" means the City of Delano, California or any authorized person acting in its behalf.

"Class I user" means any industrial user who:

1. Has a discharge flow of 50,000 gallons or more per normal working day or 12 million gallons or more per year; or

2. Involves the discharge of wastewater which may contain, at any given time, any of the components as specified in Section 13.24.030, Prohibited discharges; or

3. Is subject to federal categorical pretreatment standards as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"Code" means the Uniform Plumbing Code as adopted by the city council from time to time.

"Composite sample" means a sample resulting from the combination of individual aliquots taken at equal intervals based on increments of time, flow or both.

"Control authority" means the city manager, director of public works or a duly authorized representative.

"Control point" means point of access to a user's sewer where sewage monitoring can be done.

"Cooling water" means the water discharged from any system of condensation, such as air conditioning, cooling, and refrigeration systems.

"Dilution" means the addition of any material, either liquid or nonliquid, or any other method to attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the national categorical standards or local limits set by this section.

"Director" means the City of Delano Director of Public Works or his authorized representative unless otherwise specified.

"Domestic sewage" means water-borne materials normally discharged from sanitary conveniences of dwellings, including apartment houses and hotels, office buildings, factories and institutions, free from stormwater, commercial, utility and process discharges or rinse water or runoffs. "Normal domestic sewage" means normal sewage for Delano, California, in which the average daily concentration, calculated on a twenty-four hour basis, of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) are established at two hundred fifty mg/l each, on the basis of the normal contribution of twenty hundredths pounds per capita per day each, and in which the average daily concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD) is established at four hundred fifty mg/l. It is further expressly provided that for the purpose of this section, any discharge that exceeds the above concentration of BOD, TSS or COD shall be classified as nondomestic and made subject to all regulations pertaining thereto, whether or not such discharge was partially of domestic origin. Additionally, notwithstanding average concentrations, any discharge may be classified by the director as nondomestic, if it has a reasonable potential, in the opinion of the control authority, to adversely affect the POTW treatment plant.

"Effluent" means partially or completely treated sewage flowing out of any sewage treatment facility.

"Engineer" means the director of public works, city engineer, or his authorized representative.

"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" means the U.S. Environmental Agency, or where, appropriate, the regional water management division director, or other duly authorized official of said agency.

"Existing source" means any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication by EPA of proposed categorical pretreatment standards, which will be applicable to such source if the standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with Section 307 of the Act.

"Garbage" means solid food wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.

"General Pretreatment Regulations" means Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 403, "General Pretreatment Regulations for Existing and New Sources of Pollution."

"Grab sample" means a sample of effluent taken at the inspection manhole as a representative of flow at an instant of time.

"Headworks" means the location where raw (untreated) sewage is introduced into the sewage treatment facilities.

"Industrial user" means any discharger that discharges nondomestic sewage.

"Industrial waste" means nondomestic waterborne waste.

"Industrial waste pretreatment plant" means any works or device for pretreatment of industrial liquid wastes prior to discharge into the public sewer.

"Insanitary" means a condition which is contrary to sanitary principles or is injurious to health and means in particular any sewer connection, construction or condition, temporary or permanent, which would permit or make possible by any means whatsoever, for any unapproved foreign matter to enter a domestic or public sewer system or for any sewage to escape a sewer connection or public sewer.

"Inspector" means the engineer or chief building inspector of the code enforcement division of the city or their authorized representatives.

"Interceptor" means a device for retaining sand, silt, grit mineral material, petroleum solvent, grease or oil by gravity-differential separation from wastewater and of a design and capacity approved by the city engineer.

"Interference" is as defined in the General Pretreatment Regulations.

"Maximum allowable discharge limit" means maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composite sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.

"Monthly average limit" means a discharge limit based on the average of the analytical results of all samples for a parameter taken during a calendar month using approved methods for both sampling and analysis.

"National Categorical Standards" means the pretreatment regulations of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I, Subchapter N, "EPA Effluent Guidelines and Standards."

"Natural outlet" means any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or groundwater.

"New source" means the following:

1. Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under Section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:

a. The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site 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 or 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 should be considered.

2. 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 Title 40, CFR 403.3(k)(1)(ii) and Title 40, CFR 403.3(k)(1)(iii) but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

3. Construction of a new source as defined herein has commenced if the owner or operator has:

a. Begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or 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; or

b. 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.

"Noncategorical user" means a user that is not subject to the national categorical standards.

"Noncontact cooling water" means water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.

"Nondomestic sewage" means a discharge to the POTW that is not domestic sewage.

"Nonprocess flows" means sewage that is not classified as domestic or process, such as noncontact cooling water, cooling tower blowdown, air conditioner condensates, and demineralizer blowdown.

"Off-site charges" means a charge made by the city to property owners or developers for connecting to the existing public sewage system.

"Outfall" means a discharge of sewage that is expressly identified by the control authority for control and monitoring purposes.

"Overload" means the imposition of mass or hydraulic loading on a treatment facility in excess of its engineered design capacity.

"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 City of Delano NPDES permits, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.

"Person" means 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 governmental entities.

"pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in gram-equivalents per liter of solution.

"Pollutant" means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).

"POTW" (publicly owned treatment works) means the sewage treatment works owned by the City of Delano. This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of sewage. It includes sewers, pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey sewage the City of Delano POTW.

"Pretreatment" means 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 pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration may be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, process changes or by other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).

"Pretreatment requirements" means all of the requirements that are set forth in this chapter and relevant sections of Delano Municipal Code, Section 13.

"Private sewage disposal system" means a septic tank, cesspool or such other facilities as may be permitted under this article.

"Private sewer" means a sewer laid by private parties other than a building sewer, to serve one or more buildings which are not immediately adjacent to a public sewer, so as to connect the building or buildings to a public sewer, and irrespective of whether the sewer is constructed in public or private property.

"Process flow" means sewage that is generated during manufacturing or processing, which comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product, or waste product.

"Properly shredded garbage" means the food wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-fourth inch in any dimension.

"Public sewer" means a sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights, and is controlled and maintained by the city.

"Removal" is as defined in the General Pretreatment Regulations.

"Saddle" means the connection installed on a main line sewer by boring a hole in the sewer pipe and installing a prefabricated fitting.

"Septic tank" means an approved watertight tank or compartment for use in eliminating, disposing, digesting or reducing solid substances in sewage before disposing of the effluent in a cesspool or leaching system.

"Sewage" means any waterborne wastes transported by the public sewer, except stormwater, groundwater, roof or yard drainage, and includes domestic sewage, industrial waste and wastewater or contaminated water of any origin.

"Sewage pumping plant" means any works or device used to raise sewage from a lower to a higher level or to overcome friction in a sewer line.

"Sewage treatment plant" means any works or device for the treatment of sewage, except a septic tank or a cesspool.

"Sewer" means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage together with appurtenant manholes, lamp holes and cleanouts.

"Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.

"Significant user" means a user that fits one or more of these definitions: (1) subject to national categorical standards; (2) discharges an average of twenty-five thousand gallons per day (gpd) or more of process flow to the POTW; (3) discharges of process flow which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant, or; (4) has a reasonable potential, in the opinion of the control authority, to adversely affect the POTW treatment plant.

"Slug" means any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than fifteen minutes more than five times the average twenty-four hour concentration or flows during normal operation.

"Special sewer" means any public sewer constructed within the boundaries of the city, territory annexed to the city or areas outside the city, in which the cost was not directly assessed to or borne by the abutting property and which has been, or may hereafter be designated as a "special sewer" by resolution of the city council.

"Special sewer fee" means the fee established by resolution of the city council to be paid by any person, firm or corporation upon issuance of a permit to connect to a special sewer.

"Standard Industrial Classification" (SIC) means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the office of management and budget.

"Storm drain" means any conduit, channel or ditch that carries stormwaters and surface waters and drainage in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently, but excludes sewage, industrial wastes and wastewater, other than unpolluted cooling water or irrigation water.

"Storm water" means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.

"Surcharge" means the additional wastewater service charge incurred by any user discharging waste containing higher concentrations of BOD, TSS and COD than those defined for domestic sewage herein.

"Suspended solids" means solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

"To discharge" means and includes to deposit, conduct, drain, emit, throw, run, allow to seep, or otherwise release or dispose of, or to allow, permit or suffer any of these acts.

"Total organic carbon" ("T.O.C.") means the measure of total organic carbon in domestic or other wastewaters as determined by the appropriate testing procedure.

"TSS" (total suspended solids, nonfilterable residue) means solids that either float on the surface or are in suspension, measure at one hundred three to one hundred five degrees Celsius, expressed in mg/l, as determined by approved test procedures.

"User" means a discharger of any domestic or nondomestic sewage to the POTW. A user includes, but is not limited to, any individual, firm, company, partnership, corporation, group, association, organization, agency, city, county, or district.

"Wastewater" means any contaminated water except from industrial waste or domestic sewage.

(Ord. 1153 §1 (Att. A), 2006; Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

The provisions of this article shall be applicable to any building, structure or property situated within the city which is owned or leased or controlled or operated or occupied by the United States, the State of California, the County of Kern or by any public or quasi-public agency, corporation or association.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

No unauthorized person shall maliciously, wilfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is a part of the public sewer system. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Contractors, utility companies and private and commercial excavators shall locate all sewer lines prior to any excavation work and shall be held responsible for any damage, accidental or wilful.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

No persons shall dump or cause to be dumped, into any manhole, lamp hole or flushing inlet any materials (solid, liquid, or gaseous) whatsoever without prior approval of the engineer and/or inspector.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Any person found to be in violation of any provision of this article except Section 13.12.030 shall be served by the city with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Any person who continues any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Section 13.12.060 is guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished as provided in Chapter 1.16 of this Code.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Any person who violates any provision of this article or permit condition, or who violates any cease-and-desist order, prohibition or effluent limitation shall be liable civilly for a penalty not to exceed six thousand dollars for each day in which such violation occurs. Also, the violator is liable to the city for any expense, loss, or damage occasioned the city by reason of such violation.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

When the city finds that a discharge of wastewater has taken place in violation of prohibitions or limitations of this article or the provisions of a wastewater discharge permit, the city manager may issue a cease and desist order and direct that those persons not complying with such prohibitions, limitations, requirements, or provisions:

(1) Cease discharge immediately; or

(2) Comply immediately; or

(3) Comply in accordance with a time schedule set forth by the city.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Whenever a discharger of wastewater is in violation of the provisions of this article, the city attorney may petition the Superior Court for the issuance of a preliminary or permanent injunction, or both, as may be appropriate in restraining the continuance of such discharge.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Any person who violates any provision of this article or permit condition, or who violates any cease-and-desist order, prohibition or effluent limitation is guilty of a misdemeanor, which upon conviction is punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars, or imprisonment for not more than six months in the county jail, or both. Each day in violation may constitute a new and separate violation and shall be subject to the penalties contained herein.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

The city manager shall annually publish in the newspaper of general circulation in the Delano area a list of the industrial users who significantly violated applicable pretreatment requirements or standards at least once during the twelve previous months. The notification shall also summarize any enforcement actions taken against the industrial user(s) during the same twelve months. A significant violation is one which remains uncorrected forty-five days after notification by the engineer.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

The city may revoke any wastewater discharge permit or terminate sewerage service for any violation as to any provision of this article. All costs for terminating service shall be paid by the permittee; all costs for reinstituting service shall be paid by the permittee.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

The city may suspend sewerage service when such suspension is necessary, in the opinion of the engineer, in order to stop an actual discharge which presents or may present an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons, to the environment, causes interference to the city's sewerage facilities, or causes the city to violate any state or federal law or regulation.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

When a discharge of waste causes an obstruction, damage, or any other impairment to city facilities, the city may assess a charge against the user for the work required to clean or repair the facility and add such charge to the user's sewer service charge.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, record, report, plan or other document filed with the city or who falsifies, tampers with or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this article, is subject to the civil liabilities imposed under Section 13.12.110.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

The engineer shall have the power to temporarily shut off any premises from the use of the public sewerage system and/or a municipal industrial waste pipeline of the city where the occupant or user of such premises is placing in such public sewerage system and/or municipal industrial waste pipeline substances in violation of this article. The engineer shall report the circumstances of such shutoff to the city council at its next meeting following such shutoff.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

At any time after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this article the city council shall have the right to make charges for the discharge of industrial wastes into the public sewerage system of the city or into any municipal industrial waste pipeline of the city. The same shall be fixed from time to time by resolution of the city council. Any person who refuses to pay such charges shall not discharge any industrial wastes into any sewer pipe, or municipal industrial waste pipeline within the city, and upon direction of the city council, the engineer shall cut off the premises of such person from the use of any sewer, sewer pipe or municipal industrial waste pipeline for the discharge of any industrial wastes.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

All moneys collected from the charges made by this chapter shall be deposited in the sewer operation fund.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).

Decisions, judgments or findings made by the engineer pursuant to this article may be appealed to the city council. The city council may amend, modify, confirm or reject any such decision, judgment or finding; provided the purpose and intent of this article is not violated. The ruling of the city council in appeals shall be final and conclusive. No appeal shall be made with respect to the specific ordinance requirements pertaining to quality, content or type of sewage that may be discharged.

(Ord. 913 (part), 1991).