Modesto Municipal Code Art. 6 Monitoring, Reporting, Notification, and Inspection Requirements

(a) The City may require reports for self-monitoring of wastewater constituents and characteristics of the discharger needed for determining compliance with any limitation, or requirement as specified in the user's permit, federal regulations, or this chapter. These reports include:

(1) Baseline Monitoring Reports (BMR);

(2) Compliance Schedule Progress Reports;

(3) Ninety (90) Day Compliance Reports;

(4) Periodic Reports on continued compliance;

(5) Other reports as required by the City.

Monitoring reports of the analyses of wastewater constituents and characteristics shall be in a manner and form approved by the City and shall be submitted upon request of the Director. When applicable, the self-monitoring requirement and frequency of reporting shall be set forth in the user's permit. The analyses of wastewater constituents and characteristics and the preparation of the monitoring report shall be done at the sole expense of the user. Failure by the user to perform any required monitoring and/or submit monitoring reports required by the City shall be a violation of this chapter, may result in a determination that the permittee is in significant non-compliance, and be cause for the City to initiate all necessary tasks and analyses to determine the wastewater constituents and characteristics for any limitation and requirement specified in the user's permit or in this chapter. The user shall be responsible for any and all expenses of the City in undertaking such monitoring analyses and preparation of reports.

(b) Each industrial user is required to notify the City, in writing, at least ninety (90) days before, any planned changes to the industrial user's operations or systems which may result in the nature, quality or volume of its wastewater to exceed that industrial user's classification parameters or permit limits.

(Added by Ord. 3137-C.S., § 1, effective 6-17-99)

All industrial users not subject to categorical pretreatment standards and not required to obtain a wastewater permit shall provide appropriate reports to the City as the Director may require.

(Added by Ord. 3137-C.S., § 1, effective 6-17-99)

(a) The City may inspect and sample the wastewater generating and disposal facilities of any user to ascertain whether the intent of this chapter is being satisfied and the user is complying with all requirements.

(b) The City shall have the right to set up on the user's property or any other locations as determined by the City, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling or metering operations. Where a user has security measures in force, the user shall make necessary arrangements so that personnel from the City will be permitted to enter without delay for the purpose of performing their specific responsibilities.

(c) In order for the City to determine the wastewater characteristics of the discharger for purposes of determining compliance with permit requirements, the user is required to make available for inspection and copying by the City all notices, self-monitoring reports, waste manifests, and records including, but not limited to, those required in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, without restriction but subject to the confidentiality provision set forth in Section 5-6.109 herein. All records are to be kept a minimum of three (3) years.

(d) All samples shall be taken, preserved, and analyzed in accordance with the procedures presented in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Part 136 (Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants) or the most recent accepted edition of Standard Methods for the Analysis of Wastewater. Unless approved otherwise by the City, all analyses shall be performed by a laboratory(ies) certified by the State to perform analysis for the specific pollutant in wastewater.

(Added by Ord. 3137-C.S., § 1, effective 6-17-99)

(a) In the event the discharger is unable to comply with any of the permit conditions due to a breakdown of equipment, accidents caused by human error or act of God, or the discharge will exceed the provision of this chapter, the discharger shall notify the City by immediately telephoning as soon as the discharger has knowledge of the incident.

(b) The discharger shall confirm this notification in writing as soon as possible, but no later than five (5) working days from the telephone notification. The written notification shall state the date of the incident, the reasons for the discharge or spill, what steps were taken to correct the problem, and what steps are being taken to prevent the problem from recurring.

(c) Such notification shall not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage, or other liability which may be incurred as a result of damage or loss to the City or any other damage or loss to person or property; nor shall such notification relieve the user of any fees or other liability which may be imposed by this chapter or other applicable law.

(Added by Ord. 3137-C.S., § 1, effective 6-17-99)

(a) Bypass, including discharge of off specification product, of industrial wastewater to the sewer is prohibited. The City may take enforcement action against the user, unless:

(1) Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage;

(2) There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of treated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate backup equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventative maintenance; and

(3) The permittee submitted notices as required by Section 5-6.604.

(b) If a permittee knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the City, the permittee, if possible, shall notify the City at least ten (10) days before the date of the bypass.

(c) The City may approve an anticipated bypass after considering its adverse effects, if the City determines that it will meet the conditions listed in this section.

(d) A permittee shall submit oral notice of an unanticipated bypass, to the City, immediately after the user has knowledge of the bypass. A written report shall also be provided within five (5) working days of the time the permittee becomes aware of the bypass. The report shall contain a description of the bypass, its cause, the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times, and if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the bypass. Failure to submit oral notice or written report may be grounds for permit revocation.

(e) Such notification shall not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage or other liability which may be incurred as a result of damage or loss to the City or any other damage or loss to person or property; nor shall such notification relieve the user of any fees or other liability which may be imposed by this chapter or other applicable law.

(Added by Ord. 3137-C.S., § 1, effective 6-17-99)

(Ord. 3649-C.S., § 5, effective 7-14-16)