Montague Municipal Code Art. IV Use of Sewers

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any rainwater, storm water, groundwater, street drainage, subsurface drainage, yard drainage water, water from yard fountains, ponds or lawn sprays or any other uncontaminated water into any sewage facility which directly or indirectly discharges to facilities owned by the city. (Ord. 142 § 304, 1976)

A. The city reserves the right to inspect any existing lateral or collecting sewers that discharge wastewater directly · or indirectly to trunk sewers. If it is found that such lateral or collecting sewers are improperly used or improperly maintained, thereby causing discharge of septic wastewater, excessive groundwater, debris or any other objectionable substance to the city sewer, the superintendent will give notice of the unsatisfactory condition to the offending discharger and shall direct the condition be corrected.

B. In cases of continued noncompliance with the city's directive, the city may disconnect the offending sewer from the city's sewer system. (Ord. 142 § 306, 1976)

A. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged to a trunk sewer, either directly or indirectly, any waste that creates a stoppage, plugging, breakage, any reduction in sewer capacity or any other damage to sewers or sewerage facilities of the city. Any excessive sewer or sewerage maintenance expenses or any other expenses attributable thereto will be charged to the offending discharger by the city.

B. Any refusal to pay excessive maintenance expenses duly authorized by the superintendent shall constitute a violation of this chapter. (Ord. 142 § 307, 1976)

No industrial wastewaters shall be discharged to a trunk sewer discharging directly or indirectly to a trunk sewer until a permit for industrial wastewater discharge has been approved by the superintendent. (Ord. 142 § 305, 1976)

A. In most cases, the concentration or amount of any particular constituent which will be judged to be excessive or unreasonable cannot be foreseen but will depend on the results of technical determinations and the actions of regulatory agencies. The list of constituents which may be regulated provides specific limits only where they are now reasonably well established. The other constituents in the list are presented with the objective of enumerating the types of wastes which will be regulated from time to time.

B. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged to a public sewer, which directly or indirectly connects to the city's sewer system, the following wastes:

1. Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, solvent, fuel oil or any liquid, solid or gas that would cause or tend to cause flammable or explosive conditions to result in the sewage system;

2. Any waste containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in such quantities that, alone or in combination with other waste substances, may create a hazard for humans, animals or the local environment, interfere detrimentally with wastewater treatment processes, cause a public nuisance, or cause any hazardous condition to occur in the sewage system;

3. Any waste having a pH lower than 6.0 or having any corrosive or detrimental characteristic that may cause injury to wastewater treatment or maintenance personnel or may cause damage to structures, equipment or other physical facilities of the sewage system;

4. Any solids or viscous substances of such size or in such quantity that they may cause obstruction to flow in the sewer or be detrimental to proper wastewater treatment plant operations. These objectionable substances include, but are not limited to, asphalt, dead animals, offal, ashes, sand, mud, straw, industrial process shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, whole blood, paunch manure, bones, hair and fleshings, entrails, paper dishes, paper cups, milk containers, or other similar products, either whole or ground;

5. Any rainwater, stormwater, groundwater, street drainage, subsurface drainage, roof drainage, yard drainage, water from yard fountains, ponds or lawn sprays, or any other uncontaminated water;

6. Any water added for the purpose of diluting wastes which would otherwise exceed applicable maximum concentration limitations;

7. Any nonbiodegradable cutting oils, commonly called soluble oil, which form persistent water emulsions;

8. Any excessive concentrations of nonbiodegradable fuel oil, petroleum products;

9. Any dispersed biodegradable oils and fats, such as lard, tallow or vegetable oil, in excessive concentrations that would tend to cause adverse effects on the sewer system;

10. Any waste with an excessively high concentration of cyanide;

11. Any unreasonably large amounts of undissolved or dissolved solids;

12. Any wastes with excessively high BOD, COD or decomposable organic content;

13. Any strongly odorous waste or waste tending to create odors;

14. Any waste containing over 0.1 milligram per liter of dissolved sulfides;

15. Any wastes with a pH high enough to cause alkaline incrustations on sewer walls;

16. Any substance promoting or causing the promotion of toxic gas;

17. Any waste having a temperature of one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit or higher;

18. Any wastes requiring an excessive quantity of chlorine or other chemical compound used for disinfection purposes;

19. Any excessive amounts or chlorinated hydrocarbons or organic phosphorous-type compounds;

20. Any excessive amounts of deionized water, steam condensate or distilled water,

21. Any waste containing substances that may precipitate, solidify or become viscous at temperatures between fifty and one hundred degrees Fahrenheit;

22. Any waste producing excessive discoloration of wastewater or treatment plant effluent;

23. Any garbage or waste that is not ground sufficiently to pass through a three-eighths-inch screen;

24. Any wastes containing excessive quantities of iron, boron, chromium, phenols, plastic resins, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, mercury, cadmium, selenium, arsenic or any other objectionable materials toxic to humans, animals, the local environment or to biological or other wastewater treatment processes;

25. Any blowdown or bleedwater from cooling towers or other evaporative coolers exceeding one-third of the makeup water;

26. Any single-pass cooling water;

27. Any excessive quantities of radioactive material wastes;

28. Recognizable portions of the human anatomy.

C. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged to any public sewer which directly or indirectly connects to the city's sewerage system any wastes, if in the opinion of the superintendent such wastes may have an adverse or harmful effect on sewers, maintenance personnel, wastewater treatment plant personnel or equipment, treatment plant effluent quality, public or private property, or may otherwise endanger the public, the local environment or create a public nuisance. The superintendent, in determining the acceptability of specific wastes, shall consider the nature of the waste and the adequacy and nature of the collection, treatment and disposal system available to accept the waste. (Ord. 142 § 406, 1976)

A. All persons owning vacuum or “cesspool” pump trucks or other liquid waste transport trucks and desiring to discharge septic tank, seepage pit, interceptor or cesspool contents, industrial liquid wastes or other liquid wastes to sewerage facilities of the city or to facilities that discharge directly or indirectly to such sewage facilities shall first have a valid city trucker's discharge permit. All applicants for a trucker's discharge permit shall complete the application form, pay the appropriate fee, receive a copy of the city's regulations governing discharge to sewers of liquid waste from trucks and shall agree, in writing, to abide by these regulations.

B. Discharge of septic tank, seepage pit, interceptor or cesspool contents or other waste containing no industrial wastes may be made by trucks holding a city permit at any of the city's designated public dumping manholes. Truck-transported industrial wastes shall be discharged only at the locations specified by the superintendent for the specific waste. The city may require payment for treatment and disposal costs or may refuse permission to discharge certain prohibited wastes.

• C. The trucker's discharge permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance.

D. Any person negligently or wilfully violating the city's requirements for liquid waste discharges from trucks is in violation of this chapter and may have his permit revoked by the superintendent. (Ord. 142 § 414, 1976)

In respect to trade secrets, it is determined that the public interest served by not making the records public clearly outweighs the public interest served by the disclosure of such records. Accordingly, any trade secrets acquired by the city in the course of implementation or enforcement of this chapter shall not be made public except to the extent necessary to enforce this chapter. (Ord. 142 § 415, 1976)

Any unauthorized entering, breaking, damaging, destroying, uncovering, defacing or tampering with any structure, equipment or appurtenance which is a part of the city's sewerage system is a violation of this chapter. (Ord. 142 § 214, 1976)