McFarland Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the maximum possible beneficial public use of the city's facilities through adequate regulation of sewer construction, sewer use and industrial wastewater discharges, to provide equitable distribution of the city's costs, to provide for the setting of sewer use charges for various classifications of sewer users, and to provide procedures for complying with requirements placed upon the city by other regulatory agencies.

(Ord. 174 §101, 1978)

The definitions given in this section shall be used in the interpretation of this chapter, the issuance of permits, the making of charges for service and all other operations of this chapter unless another meaning for the word is apparent from the context. "Shall" is mandatory and "may" is permissive.

A. "Council" or "city council" means the city council of the city of McFarland.

B. "City manager" means the city manager of the city as duly appointed by the city council.

C. "City engineer" means the city engineer of the city.

D. "City sewer" means the public sewer usually eight inches or larger in diameter used to collect wastewater from house connections and transport it to the city's wastewater treatment plant.

E. "Discharger" means any person that discharges or causes discharge to a public sewer.

F. "Domestic wastewater" means the water-carried waste produced from noncommercial or nonindustrial activities and which result from normal human living processes.

G. "House connection" means the sewer connecting any building sewer or building waste drainage system to the public sewer for the purpose of conveying domestic wastewater.

H. "Industrial wastewater" means all water-carried wastes and wastewater of the community excluding domestic wastewater and uncontaminated water, and includes all wastewater from any producing, manufacturing, processing, institutional, commercial, agricultural or other operation where wastewater discharged includes significant quantities of wastes of nonhuman origin.

I. "Inspector" means a person authorized by the city to inspect wastewater generation, conveyance, processing and disposal facilities.

J. "Person" means any individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, public agency, and any other organization or group of persons, public or private.

K. "Sewage" means all wastewater.

L. "Sewerage" means any and all facilities used for the collection, conveyance, pumping, treating and disposing of wastewater.

M. "Sewerage system" means a network of wastewater collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal facilities interconnected by sewers, and owned by the city.

N. "User" means discharger.

O. "Wastewater" means the water-carried wastes of the community derived from human or industrial sources including domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater. Rainwater, groundwater or drainage of uncontaminated water is not wastewater.

(Ord. 174 Appx. A, 1978)

(Ord. No. 002-2010, § 1, 2-11-10)

A. This chapter shall be interpreted in accordance with the definitions set forth in Section 13.12.020.

B. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all direct or indirect discharges to any part of the sewerage system of the city including the discharge of all liquid- carried wastes. This chapter, among other things, regulates sewer construction in areas within the city, quantity and quality of discharged wastes and the degree of water pretreatment required; provides for the setting of waste discharge fees to assure equitable distribution of costs, the approval of plans for sewer construction, the issuance of permits for industrial wastewater discharge and other miscellaneous permits; and establishes criminal and civil liability for violations of the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 174 §102, 1978)

A. Generally, liquid wastes originating within the city's boundaries will be removed by the city sewerage system provided the wastes will not:

1. Damage structures;

2. Create nuisances such as odors;

3. Menace public health;

4. Impose unreasonable collection, treatment or disposal costs on the city;

5. Interfere with wastewater treatment processes;

6. Exceed quality requirements set by regulatory governmental agencies; or

7. Detrimentally affect the local environment.

B. The highest and best use of the city's sewerage system is the conveyance, treatment and disposal of domestic wastewater. The use of the city's sewerage systems for industrial wastewater discharges is subject to additional regulation by the city.

(Ord. 174 §103, 1978)