Paso Robles Municipal Code Art. II Prohibitions and Limits on Discharges

A. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater that will cause pass through or interference at the POTW whether or not the user is subject to national categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.

B. Specific Prohibitions. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed the following substances to the POTW:

1. Any liquids, solids, or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause a fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the POTW or to the operation of the POTW and/or cause acute worker health and safety problems to its personnel or to the operation or the system;

2. Any wastewater or waste that has a closed-cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit or sixty degrees Celsius using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21; prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, or xylene;

3. Any waste having a pH less than six or more than nine or having any corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazards to structures, equipment, and/or POTW personnel. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, acids, caustics, sulfides, concentrated chloride and fluoride compounds, and substances that will react with water to form acidic products;

4. Solid or viscous wastes in amounts which will, or may, obstruct the flow in the city sewer or POTW resulting in interference with the proper operation of the city's sewage system. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, fats, oils or grease of animal or vegetable origin, debris, garbage with particles greater than one-half inch in any dimension, manure, straw, bedding materials, hair, sand, concrete or concrete slurry, stone or marble dust, metal shavings, grass clippings, cut roots, spent grains or hops, wine processing waste, paper waste, wood, plastics, rags, tar, asphalt residues, and mud and glass grinding or polishing wastes;

5. Any pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (e.g. BOD) released at a rate and/or pollutant concentration that either alone, or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;

6. Any wastewater having a temperature greater than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (sixty-six degrees Celsius) into the sewer, or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater that causes the temperature at the introduction of the treatment plant to exceed eighty degrees Fahrenheit (twenty-seven degrees Celsius);

7. Petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;

8. Any wastewater or wastes containing oil and grease such that the discharge results in a stoppage, plug, breakage, significant obstruction to flow, or any other damage to or increased maintenance of the POTW. No user shall discharge oil and grease which results in pass through and/or interference;

9. Pollutants that 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;

10. Noxious or malodorous solids, liquids, or gases, or other wastewater, which, either singularly or by interaction with other wastes, are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to life or preventing entry into sewers for maintenance or repairs;

11. Hazardous Waste. All users are prohibited from discharging hazardous waste;

12. Wastewater that imparts color not removable by the treatment process, including but not limited to, inks, dyes, and tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant's effluent;

13. Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes, except in compliance with applicable state and federal regulations;

14. Any trucked or hauled waste, except at city-designated discharge points, with city pre-approval, and in accordance with Article III of this chapter;

15. Infectious or medical wastes from clinics, out-patient clinics, medical, and dental offices, and other similar clinics and offices; pathologic specimens; disposable hypodermic needles, syringes, and associated articles (whether ground or not);

16. Any wastewater containing toxic substances in sufficient quantity, either singularly or by interaction with other substances, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the POTW, or exceed the limitations set forth in the categorical pretreatment standards or in this section. A toxic pollutant shall include, but need not be limited to, any pollutant identified in Section 307(a) of the Federal Clean Water Act;

17. Any wastewater that is capable of causing, either alone or by interaction with other substances, the POTW effluent or any other product of the treatment process, residuals, or biosolids to be unsuitable for reclamation or reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process;

18. Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which might cause excessive foaming in the POTW;

19. Discharges from water softening per Section 14.10.060;

20. Prohibited discharges from garbage grinders are as follows:

a. Improperly shredded garbage that has not been ground or comminuted to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely in suspension under normal flow conditions in the public sewers or with any particle greater than one-half inch in any dimension are not allowed.

b. Paper products, inert materials, garden refuse or waste products resulting from the handling, storage, and sale of fruit and vegetables in wholesale and retail produce establishments, and wastes from entities engaged in the preparation, processing, or preservation of food not intended primarily for immediate consumption.

c. The city reserves the right to prohibit the use of garbage grinders in commercial applications if this waste creates excessive problems in the POTW. Acceptable discharges from garbage grinders are as follows:

(1) Wastes generated in noncommercial preparation of food in a residence;

(2) Where a nonresidential IU has an existing nonresidential garbage grinder or a proposed new grinder and has approval for that specific use from the city. Such grinders may not be connected to the grease removal device and must be kept in proper working order.

21. Rain, stormwater, surface water, groundwater, seepage, roof runoff, street or yard drainage, subsurface drainage, ponds or lawn sprays, or the uncontaminated water or water added for the purpose of diluting wastes which exceed maximum concentration limitations;

22. It shall be unlawful to discharge to any storm drain or natural outlet any wastewater derived from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, including domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater petroleum products, or otherwise polluted water;

23. Outdoor connections, drains, and/or wash racks connected to the city sewer shall be covered and bermed to prevent the inflow of stormwater and shall be equipped with sand-oil interceptor approved by the director.

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)

A. The contents of swimming pools and/or spas (including filter backwash from swimming pools and/or spas) shall not be discharged into the POTW without notifying the director. Such approved discharge must be accomplished in the manner specified herein:

1. The contents of a saltwater swimming pool (including electrolytic cell backwash) shall not be discharged to the sanitary sewer, storm drain system, or natural waterway.

2. The water shall be discharged by pumping which shall not exceed the capacity of the sewer lateral or city main.

3. Each swimming pool discharging to the POTW shall be equipped with an indirect waste connection to preclude any possibility of a backflow of sewage into the swimming pool or piping system.

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)

A. New installations of residential self-regenerating water softeners (the type to which salt is added) are prohibited.

B. New residential construction shall not include plumbing loops to facilitate water softener installation.

C. If an existing water softener unit must be replaced, it must be replaced with a system that does not discharge salt brine, such as a portable exchange tank system.

D. Discharges from Existing Water Softening Units. Portable exchange water softening systems should be used instead of on-site regeneration water softening units. Discharges from commercial, industrial, and residential on-site regeneration water softening units must comply with the following:

1. Commercial or industrial users discharging water-softening brine shall not exceed the limits listed in subsection 14.10.070.B. of this chapter. A commercial operation not in compliance with the local limits shall be deemed an IU and may be required to obtain an industrial wastewater discharge permit.

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)

A. The director is authorized to establish local limits pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5(c).

B. The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. No SIU or other permitted IUs shall discharge wastewater that contains pollutants exceeding the following limits, except as allowed in Section 14.10.250:

C. Unless otherwise stated in an individual discharge permit, the uniform limits shall apply to all dischargers.

D. The above limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. The director may impose mass limitations in addition to the concentration-based limitations above.

E. Limitations on wastewater strength in this chapter may be supplemented with more stringent limitations if:

1. The director determines that the limitations and prohibitions in this chapter or other city codes or city council resolutions may not be sufficient to protect the operation of the POTW; or

2. The director determines that the limitations and prohibitions in this chapter or other city codes or city council resolutions may not be sufficient to enable the POTW to comply with water quality standards or effluent limitations specified in the city's POTW NPDES permit.

F. When the director determines that a user is contributing any of the substances in Section 14.10.040 in such amounts as to interfere with the operation of the POTW, the director may:

1. Advise the user of the contribution's impact on the POTW;

2. Develop effluent limitations for the user;

3. Place limits on the rate and time of discharge or requirements for flow regulation and equalization;

4. Require pretreatment of discharge before it is discharged to POTW; or

5. Take any other action necessary to eliminate the interference.

G. The director may incorporate BMPs in wastewater discharge permits to implement local limits and the requirements in Section 14.10.040.

H. Where a user utilizes all or a portion of its domestic water supply from a source other than the city's potable water, the city may require additional laboratory testing of any constituents of concern that may be discharged to the POTW. This testing shall be performed by a state certified laboratory, at a frequency and duration determined by the city, and solely at the user's expense.

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)

A. National categorical pretreatment standards shall apply in addition to the prohibited discharge standards cited in Sections 14.10.040—14.10.070 and the local limits cited in subsection 14.10.070.B. of this chapter.

B. All applicable federal pretreatment standards that specify quantities or concentrations of pollutants that may be discharged by a specific industrial category will be enforced by the city as required by Section 309(e) and (f) of the Federal Clean Water Act.

C. Upon promulgation of the federal categorical pretreatment standards for a particular industrial category, the federal standard, if more stringent than limitations and prohibitions imposed under this chapter, shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this chapter.

D. When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the director shall impose an alternate limit in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(e).

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)

A. No user or IU shall discharge any substances directly into a manhole or other opening in a public sewer, other than through an approved building sewer, without the director's prior approval.

B. Wastes prohibited by this chapter shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW. All floor drains located in process or materials storage areas must be permanently sealed or discharged to the IU's pretreatment facility before connecting with the POTW.

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)

No user or IU shall ever increase the use of potable or process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with any specific discharge limitation or requirement.

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)

A. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Bypass" means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user's treatment facility.

2. "Severe property damage" means substantial physical damage to property; damage to treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable; or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. "Severe property damage" does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.

B. A user may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause pretreatment standards or requirements to be violated, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provisions of subsections C. and D. of this section.

C. Bypass Notifications.

1. If a user knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the director, at least ten days before the date of the bypass, if possible.

2. A user shall provide notice to the director, by telephone or electronic mail, of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards within twenty-four hours of the time it becomes aware of the bypass. The user shall also provide a written submission within five days of the time it becomes aware of the bypass. The written submission shall contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times; the anticipated duration of the bypass, if it has not been corrected; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the bypass. The director may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report is received within twenty-four hours.

D. Bypass.

1. Bypass is prohibited, and the director may take an enforcement action against a user for a bypass, unless:

a. Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage;

b. There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass that occurred during a normal period of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance; and

c. The user submitted notices as required under subsection C. of this section.

2. The director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the director determines that it will meet the three conditions listed in subsection D.1. of this section.

(Ord. No. 1105 N.S., § 2 (Exh. A), 12-1-2020)