Hughson Municipal Code Art. II Definitions

Certain words and phrases are defined in this section to clarify their use in this chapter. Where a definition is not given, or where a question of interpretation arises, the definition that shall control is the normal meaning of the word within the context of its use.

A.

"Act"

means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC Section 1251, et seq.

B.

"Approval authority"

means the State Water Resources Control Board acting through the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the Central Valley Region.

C.

"Biochemical oxygen demand" or "BOD"

means the quantity of oxygen expressed in parts per million by weight utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions for five days at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius as described in "Standard methods."

D.

"Building"

means a structure built, erected, and framed of component structural parts designed for the housing, shelter, enclosure, or support of persons, animals, or property of any kind.

E.

"Building drain"

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

F.

"Building permit"

means a permit issued by the building official of the city pursuant to HMC Title 15.

G.

"Building sewer"

means that part of the horizontal piping of a drainage system which extends from the end of the building drain to the public sewer and which receives the discharge of the building drain and conveys it to the public sewer.

H.

"CFR"

means the Code of Federal Regulations.

I.

"City manager"

means and includes the city manager of the city and his authorized representatives.

J.

"Cleanout"

means the cast iron or approved plastic riser fitted with an approved cleanout plug installed at the point where the building sewer connects to the public sewer.

K.

"Domestic waste"

means sanitary sewage.

L.

"Drainage system"

means and includes all the piping within public or private premises which conveys sewage or other liquid wastes to the public sewer, but does not include the public sewer.

M.

"Effluent"

means the liquid outflow of any facilities designed to treat, convey, or retain wastewater.

N.

"Environmental Protection Agency" or "EPA"

means the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Where appropriate, the term may also be used to designate the administrator or other duly authorized official of that agency.

O.

"Garbage"

means solid wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of foods, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.

P.

"Grease"

means grease, oil, fat, or other ether-soluble matter, and includes each of the following two types:

Dispersed grease, which means grease which is not floatable grease;

Floatable grease, which means grease which floats on the surface of quiescent sewage water or other liquid or which floats upon dilution of the liquid with water.

"Grease interceptor"

for the purposes of this chapter shall mean a grease trap device specifically approved by the city engineer and used either singly or in combination with an existing grease trap as determined necessary by the director of public works in order to achieve sufficient removal of sand, oils and greases or other objectionable waste.

"Grease trap"

means any suitable device designed to separate sand, oil and grease in order to prevent their discharge into the city sewer system.

Q.

"Industrial user"

means:

Any nongovernmental, nonresidential user of the sanitary sewer system which discharges more than the equivalent of 25,000 gallons per day of sanitary sewage and which is identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1972, Office of Management and Budget, as amended and supplemented under one of the following divisions:

a.

Division A, agriculture, forestry, and fishing;

b.

Division B, mining;

c.

Division D, manufacturing;

d.

Division E, transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary services;

e.

Division I, services.

Any nongovernmental user of the sanitary sewer system which discharges wastewater into the system which contains toxic pollutants or poisonous solids, liquids, or gases in sufficient quantity either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to contaminate the sludge of the system, or to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, or which constitutes a hazard to humans or animals, creates a public nuisance, or creates any hazard in or has an adverse effect on the waters receiving any discharge from the system.

Any source of indirect discharge into the sanitary sewer system which does not constitute a "discharge of pollutants" under regulations issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act.

Any user of the sanitary sewer system that has been determined to require pretreatment including physical separation of wastes.

R.

"Industrial waste"

means the wastes from producing, manufacturing, and processing operations of every kind and nature.

S.

"Land development approval"

means any prezoning, zoning, or rezoning, or any discretionary permit, which for purposes of this chapter shall be limited to site development permits, exceptions, conditional use permits, and approvals of tentative subdivision maps.

T.

"National pollution discharge elimination system permit" or "NPDES permit"

means a permit issued to the city for the sanitary sewer system by the approval authority pursuant to the Act.

U.

"Owner"

means the owner of any premises.

V.

"Permit"

means either a sewer connection permit or a wastewater discharge permit.

W.

"Permittee"

means the person, firm, or organization to whom a sewer connection permit or a wastewater discharge permit or both have been issued.

X.

"Person"

means any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, or any other legal entity, their legal representatives, agents, or assigns.

Y.

"pH"

means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

Z.

"Premises"

means a separate lot or parcel of land, improved or unimproved, which is connected directly or indirectly to the sanitary sewer system or any portion thereof, or from which any sewage is discharged or conducted, directly or indirectly, into the system.

AA.

"Pretreatment"

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 the sanitary sewer system. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes, process changes, or by other means, except as hereinafter prohibited. "Pretreatment," except where expressly authorized to do so by an express standard in this chapter, shall never include an increase in the use of process water, other nonwaste waters, or in any other way attempting to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the provisions of this chapter or any order issued pursuant to the authority herein contained.

BB.

"Private sewage disposal system"

means a septic tank with the effluent discharging into a subsurface disposal field, into one or more seepage pits, or into a combination of subsurface disposal field and seepage pit or of such other facilities as may be permitted under the Uniform Plumbing Code.

CC.

"Private sewer"

means a building sewer which receives the discharge from more than one building drain and conveys it to a public sewer.

DD.

"Public sewer"

means a sewer owned and operated by the city tributary to the wastewater treatment plant and dedicated to public use.

EE.

"Radioactive material"

means any material containing chemical elements which spontaneously change their atomic structure with the emission of atomic energy.

FF.

"Sanitary sewage"

means water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, excluding industrial waste and also excluding ground, surface, and stormwaters.

GG.

"Sanitary sewer system"

means all sewers, treatment plants, and other facilities owned or operated by the city for carrying, collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sanitary sewage and industrial waste.

HH.

"Sewage"

means and includes sanitary sewage or industrial waste or both.

II.

"Sewer"

means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

JJ.

"Sewer connection charge"

means a fee or charge levied on users of the sanitary sewer system at the time of their connection to the system for the privilege of connecting to the system.

KK.

"Sewer service charge"

means a fee or charge levied on users of the sanitary sewer system for the user's proportionate share of the cost of operation and maintenance (including replacement) of the system.

LL.

"Standard methods"

means the examination and analytical procedures for industrial waste set forth in the most recent edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water, Sewage, and Industrial Wastes," published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Pollution Control Federation. All analytical measurements made pursuant to this chapter shall be in conformity with "Standard Methods" or EPA-recommended procedures and shall be performed by a laboratory certified by the California Department of Health Services.

MM.

"Storm drainage system"

means all conduits, pumping plants, collection facilities and other appurtenances owned and operated by the city for carrying, collecting, pumping and disposing of stormwater, surface water, ground water, roof runoff or other unpolluted water.

NN.

"Stormwater"

means water to which no pollutant has been added, either intentionally or accidentally, other than street wash, surface water, rainwater runoff, or drainage, but excludes sewage. One pass cooling water may be considered as stormwater.

OO.

"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.

PP.

"System"

means the sanitary sewer system.

QQ.

"Unpolluted water"

means water to which no pollutant has been added, either intentionally or accidentally, which would render such water unacceptable to the city for disposal to storm or natural drainages or directly to surface waters.

RR.

"User"

means any person who discharges or causes, allows, or permits the discharge of wastewater into the sanitary sewer system.

SS.

"Waste"

means and includes sewage and any and all other waste substances, liquid, solid, gaseous, or radioactive, associated with human habitation, or of human or animal origin, or from any producing, manufacturing, or processing operation of whatever nature, including such waste placed within containers of whatever nature prior to, and for purposes of, disposal.

TT.

"Wastewater"

means the liquid portion of sanitary sewage or industrial waste, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the sanitary sewer system.

UU.

"Wastewater constituents and characteristics"

means the individual chemical, physical, bacteriological, radiological, and other parameters which serve to define, classify, or measure the content, quality, quantity, and strength of wastewater.

VV.

"Wastewater discharge permit"

means the permit required by HMC § 13.04.520.

WW.

"Wastewater treatment plant"

means any arrangement of devices and structures for treating sanitary sewage and industrial waste.

(Ord. 87-09 § 1, 1987; Ord. 07-07 § 1, 2007)