Lincoln Municipal Code Art. I Definitions and Abbreviations

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this chapter shall be as set out in this article.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Applicant" means the owner or the agent of the owner of the property for which sewer service is being requested.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Authorized or duly authorized representative of the user" means:

(a) If the user is a corporation:

(1) The president, secretary, treasurer, or a vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation; or;

(2) The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures to assure long term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for individual wastewater discharge permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

(b) If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or proprietor, respectively.

(c) If the user is a Federal, State, or local governmental facility: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.

(d) The individuals described in subsections (a) through (c), above, may designate a duly authorized representative if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted to the public works director.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Best management practices or BMPs" means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in Section 13.08.810(a) and (b). BMPs include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage. BMPs also include alternative means (i.e., management plans) of complying with, or in place of certain established categorical pretreatment standards and effluent limits.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"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 20 degrees Celsius, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/l).

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"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 the building and conveys it to the building sewer beginning two feet outside the building wall.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Building sewer" means that part of the horizontal piping of a drainage system which extends from the end of the building drain and which receives the discharge of the building drain and conveys it to a public sewer, private sewer, individual sewage-disposal system or other point of disposal.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with sections 307(b) and (c) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. section 1317) that apply to a specific category of users and that appear in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 471.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Categorical industrial user" means an industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"City inspector" means the individual designated by the public works director as the inspector of sewer service, or his authorized representative.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Combined sewer" means a public sewer which is designed to carry both sanitary and storm flows.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Commercial service" means provision of sewer service to any structure, facility or premises which is neither residential or industrial in character and which is used for business, trade, manufacturing or processing activities. "Commercial service" includes hotels, motels, rest homes, schools and all other service not otherwise defined as "domestic service" or "industrial service."

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Daily maximum" means the arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant collected during a calendar day.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Daily maximum limit" means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Domestic service" means provision of sewer service for household residential purposes to either single-family or multiple-family dwelling units.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Environmental Protection Agency or EPA" means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, the Regional Administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Existing source" means any source of discharge that is not a "New source."

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

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

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Grab sample" means a sample that is taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Indirect discharge or discharge" means the introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Industrial service" means provision of sewer service to any structure, premises or facility used for manufacturing, processing or similar industrial uses, and shall include all uses permitted only within an industrial zone by the zoning ordinance, except residential and commercial uses.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Industrial wastes" means the liquid wastes from industrial processes as distinct from sanitary sewage.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Instantaneous 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 the duration of the sampling event.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Interference" means a discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and therefore, is a cause of a violation of the city's NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder, or any more stringent State or local regulations: Section 405 of the Clean Water Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); any State regulations contained in any State sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Local limit" means specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the city upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b).

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Mains" means collection pipelines located in streets, highways, public ways or private rights-of-way which are used to serve the general public.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Medical waste" means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Monthly average" means the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Monthly average limit" means the highest allowable average of "daily discharges" over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"National pretreatment standard or pretreatment standard" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with section 307(b) and (c) of the Act, which applies to industrial users. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

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

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"New source" means:

(a) 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 Clean Water Act that will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:

(1) The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or

(2) The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or

(3) 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.

(b) 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 subsections (a)(2) or (3) of this section, but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

(c) Construction of a new source as defined under this section has commenced if the owner or operator has:

(1) Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite construction program

a. Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or

b. 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

(2) 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 under this section.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"NPDES permit" means the current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for the WWTRF.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"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 NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Person" means any individual, firm, company, association, society, partnership, corporation, organization or group, 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.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen-ion concentration in grams per liter of solution.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"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). Appropriate pretreatment technology includes control equipment, such as equalization tanks or facilities, for protection against surges or slug loadings that might interfere with or otherwise be incompatible with the POTW. However, where wastewater from a regulated process is mixed in an equalization facility with unregulated wastewater or with wastewater from another regulated process, the effluent from the equalization facility must meet an adjusted pretreatment limit calculated in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(e).

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Pretreatment requirements" means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard, imposed on an industrial user.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Pretreatment standards or standards" means prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Premises" means buildings, establishments, parcels of land or lots which are improved and benefited by drainage, or the integral property or area, including improvements thereon, to which sewer service is or will be provided.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Prohibited discharge standards or prohibited discharges " means absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in Section 13.08.810.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Properly shredded garbage" means the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have 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-half inch in any dimension.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Public sewer" means any sewer which is controlled by the city or other public agency operating a sanitary sewer within the city.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Public works director" means the employee of the city designated as the public works director, or his authorized representative.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"POTW" means a treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. section 1292), which is owned by the city. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances, which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Sanitary sewage" means any waste discharging into the sewage system and which contains human or animal excreta, offal or any feculent matter.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Sanitary sewer" means any sewer which carries sanitary sewage or industrial wastes, and to which storm waters, surface waters and groundwaters are not intentionally admitted.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Service connection" means the pipe or other conduit by means of which sewage is conducted from the premises to a main.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Sewage" means a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such groundwaters, surface waters and storm waters as may be present.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Sewage facilities" means all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage, whether public or private.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Sewage treatment plant" means any arrangement of devices and structures used for the treatment of sewage.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Sewer" means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Significant industrial user or SIU" means:

(a) An industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or

(b) An industrial user that:

(1) Discharges an average of 25,000 gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater);

(2) Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or

(3) Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Slug load or slug discharge" means any discharge at a flow rate or concentration, which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in Section 13.08.810. A slug discharge is any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the POTW's regulations, local limits or permit conditions.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Storm drain" means a pipe or conduit for carrying the runoff from storm and surface drainage.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Total suspended solids or 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 filtration, expressed in milligrams per liter.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"User or industrial user" means a source of indirect discharge.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"Watercourse" means a channel in which a flow of water, either groundwater or surface water, occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

"WWTRF" means City of Lincoln Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Facility.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

The following abbreviations, when used in this chapter, shall have the designated meanings:

B.O.D. - Biochemical Oxygen Demand

BMP - Best Management Practice

BMR - Baseline Monitoring Report

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations

EPA - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

gpd - gallons per day

IU - Industrial user

mg/l - milligrams per liter

NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

POTW - Publicly Owned Treatment Works

RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

SIU - Significant Industrial user

TSS - Total Suspended Solids

U.S.C. - United States Code

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)