El Segundo Municipal Code Ch. 2 Administration; Rules; Inspections

The Public Works Director shall administer and enforce the provisions of this Title and supervise the construction of public sewers in streets and public sewer easements owned by the City. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

A. Adoption: The Public Works Director may prescribe rules and regulations not inconsistent with this Title as are reasonably necessary for the lawful and efficient operation of the City sewer system including, but not limited to, rules and regulations mandated by State and Federal laws. Such rules and regulations shall become effective when adopted by resolution of the City Council. Such rules and regulations shall consider the quantity, quality and means of disposal of sewage and industrial wastes as well as geographic, topographic, and physical construction factors and treatment methods in the sewer system and the beneficial uses of the water in the system or of waters receiving discharge therefrom.

B. Notice: The Public Works Director shall serve on each person holding a permit under this Title a copy of all rules and regulations adopted by the City Council that are applicable to said permit. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

The Public Works Director shall keep complete records of all permit applications and permits issued under this Title including the location; plans and specific description of the use; the names and addresses of applicants and permittees; and records of all fees paid pursuant to this Title, with the names of the persons making payments, dates of payments, purposes and amounts of the payments. These records shall be open to public inspection. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

To the extent permitted by State law, any record, report, or information that may become known to the City in the course of implementation or enforcement of the provisions of this Title which if made public would divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets, shall not be made public by the City if the person from whom said data is obtained requests in writing that the City maintain the confidentiality of said data. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

A. Entry And Inspection On Private Property: In administering and enforcing the provisions of this Title, the Public Works Director, bearing proper credentials and identification, may at any reasonable hour enter upon any premises, subject to approval of the occupant. If the owner or occupier refuses to allow entry, the Public Works Director may do so after obtaining an appropriate warrant.

B. Emergency Entry; Denial Constitutes Misdemeanor: Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Public Works Director has reasonable cause to believe that there are violations of this Title occurring that are so hazardous, unsafe or dangerous as to require immediate inspection to protect the public health or safety, the Public Works Director shall have the right to immediately enter and inspect such property, and may use any reasonable means required to effect such entry and make such inspection, whether such property is occupied or unoccupied and whether or not permission to inspect has been obtained. If the property is occupied, he shall first present proper credentials to the occupant and demand entry, explaining his reasons therefor and the purpose of his inspection. No person shall fail or refuse to permit reasonable inspection. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

A. Facilities Inspection: Inspection of every facility involved with the discharge of wastewater to the City sewer system may be made by the Public Works Director. These facilities shall include, but not be limited to, sewers, sewage pumping plants, pollution control plants, all industrial processes, industrial wastewater generation, conveyance and pretreatment facilities, and similar facilities. Inspections may be made to determine whether such facilities comply with the provisions of this Title.

B. Access: Access to such facilities shall be given to authorized personnel of the City at all reasonable times and whenever emergency conditions exist. Any obstruction to access to the sewage facility to be inspected shall promptly be removed by the facility user or owner at the written or verbal request of the Public Works Director and shall not be replaced.

C. Interference Or Refusal: No person shall interfere with, delay, or refuse entrance to authorized City personnel attempting to inspect any facility connected directly or indirectly to the City sewer system. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

The Public Works Director may, as herein provided, enter private property to exercise any power vested in him by this Title, including the power to determine:

A. The size, depth and location of any connection with a public sewer or storm drain.

B. The quantity, quality and nature of industrial waste, sewage, or surface waters being discharged into a public sewer, storm drain, or watercourse.

C. The effectiveness of any device used to prevent waste prohibited by this Title from entering any sewer, storm drain or watercourse.

D. The location of roof, swimming pool, and surface drains, and whether they are connected to a street gutter, storm drain, or sewer.

E. The nature of liquids and the condition of processing equipment which are a potential hazard to the City sewer system.

F. Whether there is compliance with the provisions of this Title. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

The Public Works Director may inspect, as often as he deems necessary, every public sewer, sewage pumping plant, sewage or industrial waste pretreatment or treatment facility, industrial connection sewer, clarifier, dilution basin, neutralization basin, or other similar appurtenance, to ascertain whether such facilities are maintained and operated in accordance with the provisions of this Title. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

The Public Works Director may require a control manhole of a design he approves to be furnished and installed by any industrial wastewater discharger to facilitate inspection and sampling by the City or other governmental agencies. Such manholes shall be constructed at locations approved by the Public Works Director and authorized City personnel shall have unrestricted access thereto at all times consistent with the provisions of subsection 12-2-5B of this Chapter. Access of others to such manholes shall be restricted by appropriate security measures. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

A means shall be provided to effect immediate cessation of discharge of liquid chemicals, process solutions, or spent process solutions into the City sewer as a result of spills, overflows, leaks, failure of containers or inadvertent discharges. Such means of cessation shall include, but not be limited to, installation of automatic valves, gates, or bypasses to impervious containers which when activated will stop water supply to and the discharge from industrial processes. The discharger shall submit details of the proposed measures and drawings before installation and obtain approval from the Public Works Director. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

No person shall install, construct, or place any permanent or temporary object or structure in a location where it will interfere with ready and easy access to any pretreatment or treatment facility, sampling compartment, manhole, flow metering device, or any instrumentality for which a permit is required by this Title. Any such obstruction shall be removed upon order of the Public Works Director by the person responsible for it, at no expense to the City. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

When the Public Works Director is satisfied that all work done under a permit issued pursuant to this Title has been constructed according to and meets the requirements of this Title and such other applicable provisions of law, and that all required fees have been paid, he shall, upon request therefor, issue to the permittee constructing such work a certificate of final inspection, which shall recite that the work covered by the permit has been constructed according to this Title and is approved. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

All fees received by the City under this Title shall be deposited in a Sewer Fund maintained by the City Treasurer. The monies received and the interest thereon shall be used for the operation, maintenance and expansion of the City sewer system. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)

A. Violations: It shall be unlawful to violate any provision of this Title, the conditions or limitations of any permit issued under this Title, or any rule or regulation prescribed and adopted pursuant to this Title.

B. Notice; Complaint: Before requesting a criminal complaint, the Public Works Director may notify any person found to be in violation of this Title or of any limitation or requirement of a permit issued hereunder. (Ord. 1093, 1-20-1987)