Lincoln Municipal Code Art. VI Pretreatment Program

(a) Purpose and policy. The provisions of this chapter set forth uniform requirements for users of the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) and enables the city to comply with all applicable State and Federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (33 United States Code [U.S.C.] section 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment Regulations (Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 403). The objectives of this article are:

(1) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will interfere with its operation;

(2) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will pass through the POTW, inadequately treated, into receiving waters, or otherwise be incompatible with the POTW;

(3) To protect both POTW personnel who may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment and the general public;

(4) To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludge from the POTW;

(5) To enable the city to comply with its NPDES permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other federal or state laws to which the POTW is subject.

This chapter shall apply to all users of the POTW. This chapter authorizes the issuance of individual wastewater discharge permits; provides for monitoring, compliance, and enforcement activities; establishes administrative review procedures; and requires user reporting.

(b) Administration. Except as otherwise provided herein, the public works director shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the public works director may be delegated by the public works director to an authorized representative.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

(a) General prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes Pass Through or Interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.

(b) Specific prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:

(1) Pollutants that create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees F or 60 degrees C using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;

(2) Pollutants that will cause corrosive structural damage to the POTW, but in no case discharges with pH lower than 5.0 or more than 12.5;

(3) Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in Interference;

(4) Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (B.O.D., etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause Interference with the POTW;

(5) Heat in amounts that will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in Interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104 degrees F (40 degrees C);

(6) Petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause Interference or Pass Through;

(7) Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems;

(8) Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the public works director in accordance with Section 13.08.826;

(9) Hazardous wastes in accordance with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the California Code of Regulations, Division 4.5, Title 22.

(10) Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;

(11) Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant's effluent;

(12) Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;

(13) Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the public works director;

(14) Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;

(15) Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the public works director in an individual wastewater discharge permit;

(16) Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail toxicity test;

(17) Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which that might cause excessive foaming in the POTW;

Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this Section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

(a) Users must comply with the categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.

(b) The city will recognize revised standards if a fundamentally different factors (FDF) variance has been granted by the EPA for a specific user based on 40 CFR 403.13. In that case, the users standards would be replaced by the revised FDF Standard.

(c) When the limits in a categorical Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of mass of pollutant per unit of production, the city may convert the limits to equivalent limitations expressed either as mass of pollutant discharged per day or effluent concentration for purposes of calculating effluent limitations applicable to individual Industrial users in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(c)(2).

(d) When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the city shall impose an alternate limit based on the combined wastestream formula in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(e).

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

(a) The city is authorized to establish local limits pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5(c).

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

The city reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW consistent with the purpose of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)

No user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement. The public works director may impose mass limitations on users who are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.

(Ord. No. 992B, § 1, 6-25-2019)