Grand Terrace Municipal Code Art. I Preamble (CA)

13.12.100 - Purpose and policy.¶

A. This chapter sets forth uniform requirements for all users of the Grand Terrace wastewater collection and treatment system, which system serves the city of Grand Terrace, city of Colton and certain unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County.

B. The city of Grand Terrace, which is also served by the city of Colton, is required by the "Joint Powers Agreement for Pretreatment Program Responsibilities and Authority in the Grand Terrace Wastewater Treatment Plant Service Area," dated November 15, 1990, to establish and maintain legal authority within its sewer service area and to amend or revise its wastewater ordinance and wastewater discharge limits whenever necessary to assure that its ordinance provisions and wastewater discharge limits are, at least, as restrictive as those specified in this chapter.

C. This chapter enables the city to comply with all applicable state and federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977 and amendments thereto and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR Part 403).

D. The objectives of this chapter are:

To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater system which may interfere with the operation of the system or contaminate the resulting sludge;
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater system which may pass through the system, inadequately treated, into surface waters, groundwaters, the atmosphere, or otherwise be incompatible with the system;
To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and sludges from the system; and
To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of the wastewater system.

E. This chapter shall apply to all users of the publicly owned treatment works (POTW). The chapter provides for regulation through issuance of permits to certain non-domestic users and enforcement of general requirements for the other users. The chapter also authorizes monitoring, compliance and enforcement activities, user reporting, establishes administrative review procedures, and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs for sewer service.

(Ord. 179 § 1(part), 1998)

Exceptions & meaning →

13.12.105 - Definitions and abbreviations.¶

A. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases used in this chapter shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

"Act" or "the Act" mean the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq. Pursuant to California Water Code Section 13370 et seq., the state is authorized to implement the provisions of the Act.
"Approved analytical methods" means the sampling referred to in 40 CFR Part 403, Appendix E, and analysis of samples so collected, shall be performed in accordance with the techniques prescribed in 40 CFR Part 136 and amendments thereto. Where 40 CFR Part 136 does not contain sampling or analytical techniques for the pollutant in question, or where the EPA determines that the Part 136 sampling and analytical techniques are inappropriate for the pollutant in question, sampling and analysis shall be performe4d using other sampling and analytical procedures approved by the city and the EPA.
Authorized Representative of Industrial Users.

a. An authorized representative of an industrial user may be:

i. A responsible corporate officer, if the user submitting required reports is a corporation;

ii. A general partner or proprietor if the user submitting the required reports is a partnership or sole proprietorship respectively;

iii. The person in responsible charge, if the user is a governmental agency; or

iv. An individual responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates.

b. If authorization under this definition is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility, or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, a new authorization satisfying the requirements of these definitions shall be submitted to the city prior to or together with any reports to be signed by the new authorized representative.

"Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)" means the quantity of oxygen (expressed in mg/l), required to biochemically oxidize the organic matter in a wastewater sample over a five-day period at twenty degrees centigrade.
"BMR" means baseline monitoring report.
"BOD" means biochemical oxygen demand (five-day). See definition under "Biochemical oxygen demand."
"Bypass" means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user's pretreatment facilities.
"Categorical industrial user" means an industrial user who is subject to promulgated categorical standards.
"Categorical pretreatment standard" or "categorical standard" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1317) which apply to a specific category of users and which appear in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, as it exists and as it may be amended.
"CFR" means Code of Federal Regulations.
"Chemical oxygen demand (COD)" means the quantity of oxygen (expressed in mg/l) required to chemically oxidize the contents of a wastewater sample under specific conditions of oxidizing agent, temperature and time.
"City" means the city of Grand Terrace or the city council of the city of Grand Terrace.
"Class I user" means a categorical industrial user.
"Class II user" means a noncategorical significant industrial user.
"Class III user" means a nonsignificant industrial user.
"Class IV user" means a temporary industrial user.
"Class V user" means a wastehauler.
"COD" means chemical oxygen demand. See definition under "Chemical oxygen demand."
"Compliance time schedule (CTS)" means a formal timetable issued by the director for users to achieve compliance with the provisions of this chapter and/or a wastewater discharge permit. Each compliance time schedule shall contain milestone dates as well as a final compliance date.
"Composite sample" means a sample which is collected from a wastewater discharge at selected intervals over a time period of twenty-four hours. A composite sample may be collected using automatic continuous or discrete sampling equipment, or by manually collecting a minimum of four grab samples. When specified by the director, composite samples shall be collected in a manner which is proportional to the flow rate of the discharge.
"Constituent" means any physical, chemical, or microbiological component or parameter of water or wastewater which can be quantified using approved analytical methods.
"County" means the county of San Bernardino or the board of supervisors of the county of San Bernardino.
"Director" means the public works director of the city of Grand Terrace or his authorized representative, agent or deputy.
"Discharger" means any person who, directly or indirectly, causes or contributes to a discharge into the POTW.
"Discharge to the ground" means the discharge of wastewater to or into the soil which is not contained in an impermeable facility approved by the director.
"Domestic wastewater" means water bearing wastes from residences and other premises resulting from personal use of water for ordinary living processes of humans and of such a character as to permit satisfactory disposal, without special treatment, into the POTW. The maximum strength shall be considered to be two hundred fifty mg/l each for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and for total suspended solids (TSS).
"Effluent" means the treated wastewater flowing from the wastewater treatment facilities, or the nondomestic wastewater discharged by an industrial user, to the POTW.
"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized official of the agency.
"EPA" means Environmental Protection Agency. See definition under "Environmental Protection Agency."
"Exchange-type water conditioning equipment" means water conditioning equipment that is removed for regeneration from the premises at which it is normally operated to a commercial regeneration facility.
"Federal regulations" means any applicable provision of the Act as amended and any regulation promulgated by the EPA under Title 40 CFR implementing the Act.
"Food processing facilities" means those wholesale or retail facilities which handle, process or prepare foodstuffs intended for human and/or animal consumption.
"Grab sample" means a sample which is collected from a wastewater discharge, without regard to the flow in the wastestream, over a period of time not exceeding fifteen minutes.
"Gravity separation interceptor (or grease intercepter)" means a detention chamber designed to remove oil and grease, and solids from wastewater before discharge to the POTW and which detention chamber is acceptable to the director.
Grease. See definition under "Oil and grease."
"Hazardous substance" means any substance which is toxic, explosive, corrosive, flammable or an irritant, or which generates pressure through heat or decomposition including but not limited to, any substance determined to be a toxic or a hazardous substance pursuant to Sections 307 and 311(b)(2) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C., Section 1251, et seq., or its implementing regulations at 40 CFR Parts 116 and 129; any substance classified as a hazardous substance pursuant to California Water Code Section 13050 (p) and any imminently hazardous chemical substance subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C., Section 2601, et seq.
"Hazardous waste" means any hazardous substance which is either the resultant and/or intermediate or final by-product of any process.
"Industrial user (IU)" means any nonresidential user who discharges nondomestic wastewater to the POTW.
"Instantaneous maximum allowed discharge limit" means the maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected independent of the industrial flow rate and duration of the sampling event.
"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, use or disposal; and

b. Causes 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 in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and including state regulations contained in any applicable state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.

"l" means liter.
LEL lower explosive limit. See definition under "Lower explosive limit."
"Lower explosive limit (LEL)" means the minimum concentration of a combustible gas or vapor in the air which will ignite if an ignition source is present.
"Mass emission rate" means the mass of material discharged to the POTW during a given time interval. Unless otherwise specified, the mass emission rate shall be expressed in pounds per day of a particular constituent or combination of constituents.
"May" is permissive.
"MBAS" means methylene blue activated substances.
"Medical waste" means isolated wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, fomites, etiologic agents, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, dialysis wastes, hypodermic needles, syringes, instruments, utensils or any other paper or plastic items of disposable nature used for medically related purposes. The term "medical waste" shall exclude de minimus amounts of wastes, human blood and paper items of a disposable nature associated with domestic wastewater discharges.
"mg" means milligrams.
"Milligrams per liter (mg/l)" means unit of the concentration of water or wastewater constituent. It is one gram of the constituent in one thousand liters of water.
"National pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit" means the permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) for the city's POTW treatment plant.
"New source" means those sources defined in 40 CFR 403.3(k), as it may be revised or amended.
"Noncategorical significant industrial user" means a significant industrial user who is not subject to promulgated categorical standards.
"Noncontact cooling or heating water" means water discharged from any use which has no direct contact with any raw material, intermediate or final product, and to which the only pollutant added is heat.
"Nondomestic wastewater" means all wastewater except domestic wastewater and unpolluted water as defined herein. Nondomestic wastewater shall include, but not be limited to, wastewater resulting from industrial, commercial, producing, manufacturing, processing, institutional, governmental, and agricultural operations, and brine wastewater resulting from the regeneration of water conditioning devices. All liquid wastewater hauled by truck, rail, or any other means shall also be considered as nondomestic wastewater, regardless of the original source of the wastes.
"Nonsignificant industrial user (NSIU)" means any industrial user who is not a significant industrial user.
"NPDES" means National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
"NPDES permit" means national pollutant discharge elimination system permit. See definition under "National pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit."
"Oil and grease" means any of the following in part or in combination:

a. Petroleum-derived products, e.g., oils, fuels, lubricants, solvents;

b. Vegetable-derived products, e.g., oils, shortenings, soluble cutting oils;

c. Animal-derived products, e.g., fats, greases, oils, lard.

"Pass-through" means a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with other discharges, cause a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
"Permittee" means any user which is issued a permit to discharge to the POTW pursuant to Sections 13.12.300 et seq. of the Grand Terrace Municipal Code.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity, or their representatives, agents or assigns.
"pH" means the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions, as analyzed in accordance with approved analytical methods. pH represents both acidity and alkaline on a scale ranging from zero to fourteen where seven represents neutrality, numbers less than seven, increasing acidity, and more than seven, increasing alkaline.
"Plumbing official" means the director of building of the city or his authorized representative or deputy.
"Pollutant" means any constituent or characteristic (including but not limited to pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity or odor) of wastewater on which a discharge limit may be imposed either by the city or regulatory bodies empowered to regulate the POTW; and any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal and agricultural wastes.
"Pollution" means the man-made or man-induced adverse alteration of the chemical, physical, biological or radiological integrity of water.
"POTW" means publicly owned treatment works. See definition under "Publicly owned treatment works."
"POTW treatment plant" means the portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
"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. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes of other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR Section 403.6(d), use of dilution.
"Pretreatment requirement" means any substantive or procedural pretreatment requirement, other than a pretreatment standard, imposed on an industrial user.
"Pretreatment standards" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits or prohibitions promulgated by EPA or the city, applicable to industrial users, including promulgated categorical standards; national prohibitive discharge standards developed pursuant to Section 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5, general discharge prohibitions contained in Section 13.12.210 of this chapter; and any specific local discharge limits established by the city.
"Pretreatment wastes" means all wastes liquid or solid, removed from a wastestream or discharge by physical, chemical or biological means.
"Public sewer" means any sewer located in or maintained by the city of Grand Terrace. The term as used herein does not include storm drains or channels for conveyance of natural surface waters.
"Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" means the Colton Wastewater Treatment Plant and any other devices or systems used by the city in the storage, conveyance (including all sewers, pipes, lift stations, and other conveyances which convey wastewater to the wastewater treatment plant), treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage.
"RCRA" means the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) as amended or revised.
"Regional board" means the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region.
"Responsible corporate officer" means:

a. A president, secretary, treasurer or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy or decisionmaking functions for the corporation.

b. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities employing more than two hundred fifty persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding twenty-five million dollars (in second-quarter 1980 dollars), if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

"Restaurants" means and includes, but is not limited to, retail establishments selling prepared foods and drinks for consumption on or off the premises.
"Sample point" means a location approved by the director from which wastewater that is representative in content and consistency of the entire flow of wastewater being sampled can be collected.
"Septic waste" means any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum pump trucks.
"Service area" means the area in which discharges to the sewerage system flow to, or are intended by the city to flow to, the POTW.
"Sewage" means human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
"Sewerage system" means any and all facilities used for collecting, conveying, pumping, treating and disposing of wastewater.
"Shall" is mandatory.
"SIC" means standard industrial classification.
"Significant industrial user (SIU)" means an industrial user of the POTW who (i) is subject to categorical standards, or (ii) has an average daily discharge of twenty-five thousand gallons or more of process wastewater (excluding sanitary waste, unpolluted water, and boiler/ cooling tower blowdown discharges), or (iii) has a discharge which makes up five percent or more of the average dry-weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the wastewater treatment facilities receiving the wastewater, or (iv) has in its wastes toxic pollutants as defined pursuant to Section 307 of the Act, or (v) is designated by the director to have a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or violating any applicable pretreatment standard, requirement or discharge limit set forth in this chapter.
"Significant noncompliance (SNC)" means violations of pretreatment standards or requirements, which include violations of effluent limits, sampling violations, analysis violations, reporting violations, compliance schedule and regulatory deadline violations, which satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

a. Violations of wastewater discharge limits:

i. Chronic Violations. Sixty-six percent or more of all the measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) either of the following two figures:

(A) The daily maximum effluent limit(s) set for a pollutant or pollutant property in 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, or in this chapter, or in the wastewater discharge permit;

(B) The average applicable effluent limit(s) set for a pollutant or pollutant property, in 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, or in this chapter, or in the wastewater discharge permit.

ii. Technical Review Criteria (TRC) Violations. Thirty-three percent or more of all the measurements for each pollutant or pollutant property taken during a six-month period exceed either of the following two figures:

(A) The daily maximum effluent limit(s) set for a pollutant or pollutant property in 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, or in this chapter, or in the wastewater discharge permit, multiplied by the applicable TRC constant in subsection (iii) below;

(B) The average effluent limit (the average of daily values for thirty consecutive days) set for a pollutant or pollutant property in 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, or in this chapter, or in the wastewater discharge permit, multiplied by the applicable TRC constant in subsection (iii) below.

iii. Applicable TRC constants for technical review criteria (TRC) violations:

(A) TRC constant is 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease;

(B) TRC constant is 1.2 for all other pollutants, except pH. pH is not subject to technical review criteria.

iv. Any other violation(s) of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or long-term average) that the director determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through (including endangering the health of the POTW personnel or the public).

v. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health or welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge.

b. Violations, by ninety days or more, of schedule milestones for starting construction, completing construction, achieving final compliance, including such milestones specified in compliance time schedules or other administrative orders.

c. Failure to provide reports as specified or required by administrative orders, permits, compliance time schedules, monitoring and reporting programs, or categorical standards (baseline monitoring reports, ninety-day compliance reports, and periodic reports) or other reports within thirty days of the due date.

d. Failure to accurately report noncompliance.

e. Any other violation(s) that the director determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the pretreatment program.

"Single pass noncontact cooling or heating water" means water used solely for the purpose of cooling or heating, which has no direct contact with any raw material, or any intermediate, final or waste product, and which is used only once and then discarded.
"SIU" means significant industrial user. See definition under "Significant industrial user."
"Slug discharge control plan" means a plan submitted to the city by a user pursuant to Section 13.12.330 D of this chapter, which specifies to the director's satisfaction the potential pollutants used and/or stored at the user's facility; potential pathways of entry of the potential pollutants into the POTW; and facilities and procedures for preventing or controlling the occurrence of slug loading.
"Slug loading (slug discharge)" means the discharge of any pollutant, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), which is released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which may cause pass-through of or interference with the POTW.
SNC. Significant Noncompliance. See definition under "Significant noncompliance."
"Solvent management plan (toxic organic management plan)" means a plan submitted to the city by an industrial user pursuant to Section 13.12.330 C of this chapter, which specifies to the director's satisfaction the solvents and other toxic organic compounds used and stored; the methods of delivery, storage and disposal used; and procedures for assuring that solvents and other toxic organics do not routinely spill or leak into the POTW or ground.
"Specific compliance plan" means a plan submitted to the city by an industrial user pursuant to Section 13.12.330 E of this chapter, which specifies to the director's satisfaction the cause of noncompliance, the corrective actions which will be taken to prevent recurrence of the noncompliance, and, if required by the director, a proposed compliance time schedule.
"Spent solutions" means any concentrated non-domestic wastewater (i.e., plating solutions and static rinses), which contains concentrations of pollutants, the discharge of which may cause interference, pass-through or a violation of any pretreatment standard or requirement.
"Spill containment" means a protection system to prevent the discharge of noncompliant pollutants to the sewerage system.
"Standard industrial classification (SIC)" means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987 or latest edition thereof.
"Standard methods" means "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," latest edition, prepared and published by the American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Environment Federation, which specifies accepted procedures used to assess the quality of water and wastewater.
"State" means state of California.
"State water board" means the state of California Water Resources Control Board.
"Stormwater" means any flow of water resulting from natural precipitation.
"Stormwater system" means all stormwater conveyance and treatment facilities located within the city including, but not limited to storm drains, catch basins, storm drain manholes, and stormwater pumping facilities.
"SWDA" means Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.
"TDS" means total dissolved solids. See definition under "Total dissolved solids."
"Temporary industrial user" means an industrial user who is granted temporary permission by the director to discharge unpolluted water or wastewater to the POTW. Such temporary permission shall not be granted to industrial users subject to promulgated categorical standards.
"TFR" means total filterable residue. See definition under "Total dissolved solids."
"Total dissolved solids (TDS)" means the quantity of nonvolatile substances remaining after filtration through a standard filter and drying to constant weight at one hundred eighty degrees centigrade, expressed in terms of milligrams per liter (mg/l) and analyzed in accordance with approved analytical methods. TDS is synonymous with total filterable residue (TFR).
"Total toxic organics (TTO)" means the sum of the concentrations for each of the toxic organic compounds regulated by applicable categorical standards which are found in the user's discharge at a concentration greater than 0.010 milligrams per liter, and analyzed in accordance with approved analytical methods.
"Toxic pollutant" means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in 40 CFR 401.15 or 40 CFR 403, Appendix B.
"TRC" means technical review criteria.
"TSS" means total suspended solids.
"Unpolluted water" means noncontact cooling or heating water, air conditioning condensate, ice melt, condensate, rainwater, or uncontaminated groundwater, surface water, stormwater or other water to which no pollutant has been added either intentionally or unintentionally.
"U.S.C." means United States Code.
"User" means any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the POTW.
"Wastehauler" means any person engaged in vehicular transport of waste, as part of or incidental to any business, for the purpose of discharging the transported waste to the POTW.
"Wastewater" means the liquid and water-carried domestic wastes or nondomestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
"Wastewater discharge permit or permit" means the regulatory procedure established and enforced by the director to control the flow and quality of wastes discharged into the POTW.
"Wastewater treatment facilities" means the structures, equipment, and processes maintained by the city which accept untreated sewage from the public sewer and which treat and dispose of domestic and nondomestic wastewater.
"Water conditioning equipment" means any device or apparatus used to soften or otherwise condition water, including zeolite or resinous anion or cation exchange softeners, demineralizers, or any other like device.
"Waters of the state" means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the state or any portion thereof.

B. Words used in this chapter in the singular may include the plural and the plural the singular. Use of masculine shall include feminine and the use of feminine shall include masculine.

(Ord. 179 § 1(part), 1998)

Exceptions & meaning →