Skip to content

Title 15 — WATER AND SEWAGE

Petaluma Municipal Code Ch. 15.44 Sewer Use and Source Control—general Provisions

Petaluma Municipal Code · 2026-09 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · Petaluma

Cite as: Petaluma Municipal Code Chapter 15.44 · Text as of 2026-10-04

15.44.010 Purpose.

Chapters 15.44 through 15.76 set forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contribution into the

wastewater collection and treatment system for the city of Petaluma. These Chapters 15.44 through 15.76 provide

for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) through the

issuance of permits to certain nondomestic users and through enforcement of general requirements for

nondomestic users, authorize monitoring and enforcement activities, require user reporting, and provide for the

setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.

These Chapters 15.44 through 15.76 shall be generally referred to as the city’s "sewer use and source control

ordinance." All references to this "part" within these chapters shall refer to the entirety of Chapters 15.44 through

15.76 and any revisions which may occur thereto.

The purpose of these chapters is to:

A. Provide for and regulate the disposal of sanitary sewage and industrial waste into the city sanitary sewer

system in such manner and to such extent as is reasonably necessary to maintain and increase the ability of such

system to handle and dispose of sanitary sewage and industrial wastes in full and consistent compliance with all

current and future NPDES permit conditions.

B. Improve opportunities to recycle and reclaim treated eZuent and wastewater sludge.

C. Protect the physical structures of the said sewer system and the eYcient functioning of its component parts.

D. Protect the city and its personnel, and preserve and protect the health, safety and comfort of the public.

E. Prevent the potential of process upsets at the POTW and disruptions or adverse impacts to the collection and

treatment of sewage.

F. Comply with all applicable and compatible laws, rules, regulations and orders of the state of California and

the United States.

G. Assess Wnes to:

1. Deter potential violators.

2. Provide fair and equitable treatment of the regulated community.

3. Facilitate swift resolution of environmental problems.

4. Deter future noncompliance by providing an incentive for users to remain in compliance.

5. Remove the economic beneWt a user gains over others by not complying.

These chapters shall apply to the city of Petaluma and to persons outside the city of Petaluma who are, by

agreement, users of the POTW. (Ord. 2282 NCS §3, 2007.)

Exceptions & meaning →

15.44.020 DeFnitions.

A. Unless the context speciWcally indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in these

chapters, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

1. "Abnormal sewage" means any nondomestic (commercial, institutional or industrial) wastewater having

any pollutants or constituents containing items listed in Section 15.48.030(A) through (F) or any other

regulated compound found in excess of that found in normal sewage but which is otherwise acceptable in a

public sewer under the terms of this part.

2. "Abnormal sewage surcharge" means the charge, in addition to the usual monthly charge for sanitary

sewage service, levied against any person for services rendered for collection and treatment of abnormal

sewage to defray the added cost of transporting and treating such abnormal sewage.

3. "Accidental discharge" means the discharge of waste in quantities (either concentration, mass, or

volume) greater than allowed in this part, the discharge permit, or federal law. The discharge may be sudden

or gradual.

4. "Act" or "the Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as

amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.

5. "Amenable to treatment" means a substance which does not damage or interfere with the operations of

the POTW and is acceptable, after treatment, for river discharge, recycled water discharge, and sludge

disposal.

6. "Approval authority" means California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay

Region—United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or its designees.

7. "Approved methods" means in accordance with test procedures established in 40 CFR Part 136. In the

event this publication does not include the procedure for analysis of the certain constituent, the latest edition

of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater shall be used or an analytical procedure

approved by the city or an analytical procedure approved by the California Regional Water Quality Control

Board, San Francisco Bay Region—United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or its designees.

8. "Authorized representative of industrial user" means an authorized representative of an industrial user.

An authorized representative must meet at least one of the following criteria:

a. A responsible corporate oYcer, if the industrial user is a corporation.

(1) President, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal

business function, or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for

the corporation; or

(2) The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities; provided, the

manager is authorized to make management decisions which govern the operation of the regulated

facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment

recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures to assure long-term

environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary

systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for control

mechanism requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated

to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

b. A general partner or proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship,

respectively.

c. A duly authorized representative of the industrial user. To meet the "duly authorized" criteria the

following criteria must be met:

(1) The authorization is made in writing by the individual described in subsection (A)(8)(a) or (b) of

this section.

(2) The authorization speciWes either an individual or a position having responsibility for the

overall operation of the facility from which the industrial discharge originates, such as the position of plant manager, operator of a well, or well Weld superintendent, or a position of equivalent

responsibility, or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company.

d. Authorized Representative Declaration Form. The city has prepared a standardized form for

declaration of authorized representatives. This form is included as part of the permit document.

e. Authorized Representative Certi5cation Statement. All reports shall be signed by the authorized

representative and shall contain the following statement accompanied with the representative’s name,

title, date, and signature [see signatory requirements, 40 CFR 403.12(l)]:

Authorized Representative Statement:

I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my

direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualiWed

personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the

person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering

the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true,

accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are signiWcant penalties for submitting false

information, including the possibility of Wne and imprisonment for knowing violations.

  1. "BeneWcial uses" means uses of the waters of the state that may be protected against quality

degradation including, but not limited to, domestic, municipal, agricultural and industrial supply, power

generation, recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, navigation, and the preservation and enhancement of Wsh,

wildlife and other aquatic resources or reserves, and other uses, both tangible or intangible as speciWed by

federal or state law.

  1. "Best management practices (BMPs)" means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices,

maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement compliance with the discharge

limitations listed in Chapter 15.48 and 40 CFR 122.2 (NPDES Regulations). BMPs also include treatment

requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runo[, spillage or leaks, slug

discharges, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.

  1. "Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation

of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, Wve days at twenty degrees centigrade expressed in

terms of weight and concentration (milligrams per liter (mg/L)).

  1. "Building sewer" means a sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the community

sewer.

  1. "Bypass" means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a treatment facility.

  2. "Categorical industrial user" means all industrial users subject to National Categorical Pretreatment

Standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N (96).

  1. "Categorical pretreatment standards" means national pretreatment standards specifying quantities or

concentrations of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged to a POTW by existing or new

industrial users in speciWc industrial subcategories as established under the appropriate Subpart of 40 CFR

Chapter I, Subchapter N (Part 400 et seq.).

  1. "Chemical oxygen demand (COD)" means a measure of the oxygen-consuming capacity of organic and

inorganic matter present in wastewater. COD is expressed as the amount of oxygen consumed from a

chemical oxidant in mg/L during a speciWc test.

  1. "City" means the city of Petaluma. The city council of Petaluma may designate the position(s) or

person(s) to whom responsibilities and authority of the city are delegated and may from time to time modify

such delegations. Absent any further speciWc delegation by the city council of Petaluma, the authority and

responsibility set forth in this part (Chapters 15.44 through 15.76) shall be delegated to the director of public

works and utilities, including his or her designee(s).

  1. "Community sewer" or "city sewer" means a sewer owned and operated by the city including city

pipelines, pump stations, manholes, and other similar facilities which accept, collect and convey sanitary

sewage to the POTW. A city sewer or community sewer is any sewer located within an easement or public

right-of-way and which is maintained by the city. Sewer laterals on private property are not considered a city

sewer.

  1. "Compatible pollutant" means biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and total coliform

bacteria, plus additional pollutants identiWed in the city’s NPDES permit if the city’s POTW was designed to

treat such pollutants, and if such pollutants do not interfere with the operations of the POTW; or adversely

impact sludge use and disposal; or adversely impact air quality; or adversely impact recycled water use and

distribution, and the POTW does remove such pollutant to a substantial degree.

  1. "Composite sample" means a sample which is collected manually or automatically, and discretely or

continuously over a twenty-four-hour period or the entire period of operation (for facilities with less than

twenty-four-hour operations). Whenever possible, the sample should be collected in proportion to the Xow at

the time of the collection of the aliquot.

  1. "Conventional pollutant" means those pollutants that are susceptible to conventional treatment under

normal operating conditions. Only Wve pollutants are presently considered conventional pollutants:

biochemical oxygen demand; total suspended solids (nonWlterable) (TSS); pH; fecal coliform; fats, oil, and

grease.

  1. "Cooling water" means the water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or

refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.

  1. "Corrosive wastes" means any liquid or waterborne waste or gaseous or solid substance which can

cause actual physical damage or destruction to any public or sanitary sewer or which prevents or materially

retards treatment of sewage in the wastewater treatment plant.

  1. "Diluting waters" means cooling water, domestic sewage, ground water, recycled water, surface

drainage or potable waters which are not part of an industrial process and which do not contain constituents

for which United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pretreatment limitations apply but which are

combined with industrial process wastewater prior to monitoring.

  1. "Discharge prohibition" means every limitation, mechanism or strategy to control pollutant sources by

prohibiting the discharge to the community sewer, potentially as an alternative to establishing numeric

discharge limits for each user.

  1. "Domestic sewage" or "normal sewage" means liquid and waterborne wastes derived from ordinary

living processes, free from industrial wastes, and of a character as to permit satisfactory disposal, without

special treatment, into the city’s sewerage system. Domestic waste shall be considered to have an average

BOD of 250 mg/L and an average TSS of 250 mg/L.

27. "Environmental Protection Agency" or "EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency,

or where appropriate the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly

authorized oYcial of said agency.

28. "Flash point" means the minimum temperature of a liquid at which the liquid gives o[ a vapor in

suYcient concentration to ignite when tested under speciWc conditions.

29. "Grab sample" means a sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard

to the Xow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.

30. "Hazardous waste" means a waste, or combination of wastes, which because of its quantity,

concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may:

a. Cause, or signiWcantly contribute to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or

incapacitating reversible illness.

b. Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when

improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of or otherwise managed.

c. Any waste listed as hazardous or deWned as hazardous pursuant to RCRA, California Hazardous

Substances Control Act, or other federal or state regulations deWning hazardous wastes or hazardous

substances.

31. "Holding tank waste" means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, septic tanks, vacuum-pump

tank trucks, recreational vehicles, boats, campers, mobile homes, trailers, portable toilets, chemical toilets, or

any temporary sanitation facility.

32. "Incompatible pollutant" means any pollutant as deWned in 40 CFR Part 264, Appendix V or any pollutant

which is not included in the deWnition of "compatible pollutant" (this section).

33. "Indirect discharge" or "discharge" means the introduction of wastewater potentially containing

pollutants into community sewers and/or the POTW from any nondomestic user regulated under Section

307(b), (c), or (d) of the Act.

34. "Industrial user" means a source of indirect discharge. (See deWnition of "indirect discharge" above.)

35. "Industrial waste" or "industrial wastewater" means all water-carried waste and wastewater discharge to

the community sewers, excluding domestic wastewater, from any producing, manufacturing, processing,

institutional, commercial, agricultural, or other operation. Industrial wastewater may also include waste of a

human origin similar to domestic wastewater which has been mixed with industrial waste or commercial

waste prior to discharge to the city’s community sewers.

  1. "Inspector" means a person authorized by the city to inspect wastewater generation, conveyance,

process and disposal facilities.

37. "Interference" or "interfere" means an act which, alone or in conjunction with other discharges:

a. Harms, threatens to harm or disrupt, or disrupts the facilities, processes or operations of the city

sewers or POTW.

b. Has an adverse e[ect on the quality of the eZuent, sludge, air emissions or other residues

generated by the city’s facilities.

c. Has an adverse e[ect on the receiving waters, or is likely to endanger life, health, or property or

otherwise cause a nuisance.

d. In the opinion of the city otherwise adversely a[ects the city’s ability to meet the objectives of

Exceptions & meaning →

Section 15.44.010.

e. Causes or contributes, or threatens to cause or contribute, to a violation of any requirement of the

city’s NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation); or prevents the

use or disposal of sewage sludge by the POTW in compliance with the following statutory provisions and

regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section 405 of

the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (including Title II more

commonly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)) including state regulations

contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA), the Clean

Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Control

Act, and more stringent state criteria applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the

POTW.

  1. "Lower explosive limit (L.E.L.)" means the point where the concentration of gas-in-air is suYciently large

to result in an explosion if an ignition source is present.

  1. "Manager" means city manager of the city of Petaluma.

  2. "Minor user" or "commercial user" means any nonresidential user that the city determines does not

meet the deWnition of permitted user (Section 15.52.010) but which discharges waste other than domestic

sewage to the city sewage system.

  1. "Mass emission rate" means the weight of material discharged to the sewer system during a given time

interval. Unless otherwise speciWed, the mass emission shall mean pounds per day of a particular constituent

or combination of constituents.

  1. "National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit" or "NPDES permit" means a permit issued

pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).

  1. "National pretreatment standard" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits

promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act, which are applied to industrial

users. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5.

  1. "National prohibitive discharge standard" or "prohibitive discharge standard" means any regulation

developed under the authority of 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5.

  1. "Natural outlet" means any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, bay, ocean, or other body of

surface water, or outlet into the ground water.

  1. "New source" means any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a

discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed

pretreatment standards under Section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source if such

standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section; provided, that:

a. The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is

located.

b. The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment

that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source.

c. The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation

are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are

substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the

existing plant, and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as

the existing source should be considered.

(1) Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modiWcation rather

than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility or

installation meeting the criteria of subsections (A)(46)(a) or (A)(46)(c) of this section but otherwise

alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

(2) Construction of a new source as deWned under this section has commenced if the owner or

operator has begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:

(a) Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment.

(b) SigniWcant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing

buildings, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation

of new source facilities or equipment.

(c) Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment

which is intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or

contracts which can be terminated or modiWed without substantial loss, and contracts for

feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this

section.

47. "Nonconventional pollutants" means all pollutants that are not classiWed as either conventional or

priority pollutants by the U.S. EPA.

48. "Nuisance" means any condition which is injurious to health or o[ensive to the senses or an obstruction

to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfort or enjoyment of life or property or which

a[ects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons,

although the extent of the annoyance or damage inXicted upon individuals may be unequal.

49. "Pass through" means a discharge which exits the POTW into the waters of the United States in

quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other

sources, is a cause of violation of any requirement of the POTW NPDES permit (including an increase in the

magnitude or duration of a violation). (40 CFR 403.3(n).)

50. "Person" means any individual, partnership, co-partnership, Wrm, company, corporation, association,

joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives,

agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where

indicated by the context.

51. "pH" means the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in

moles per liter of solution and refers to the scale typically used to evaluate the acid-base nature of a liquid.

52. "Plant manager" means the person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the publicly

owned treatment works and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this title, or his or her

duly authorized representative.

53. "Pollution" means the manmade or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and

radiological integrity of water.

54. "Premises" means a parcel of real estate including any improvements thereon, or a separately habitated

or occupied portion thereof, which is determined by the city to be a single user for purposes of receiving,

using, and paying for service.

55. "Pretreatment" or "treatment" means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of

pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can

be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes by other means, except as

prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).

56. "Pretreatment facility" means any facility or device for treatment, control or Xow limitations of sewage or

industrial waste, prior to discharge into a city sanitary sewer.

57. "Pretreatment requirements" means any substantive or procedural requirement related to

pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard imposed on an industrial user.

58. "Priority pollutant" means the EPA list of priority toxic pollutants as identiWed in 40 CFR 131.38 which are

deemed to be an environmental hazard and may be present in wastewater. Because of the known or

suspected hazards of these pollutants, users who discharge these substances and certain industrial users

which use these substances in industrial processes are subject to regulation.

59. "Process wastewater" means any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct

contact with, or results from the production of, or use of, any raw material, intermediate product, Wnished

product, by-product, or waste product.

60. "Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" means a treatment works as deWned by Section 212 of the

Act, which is owned by a state or municipality (as deWned by Section 502(4) of the Act). This deWnition includes

any publicly owned devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of

municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid in nature. It also includes publicly owned sewers, pipes and

other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW treatment plant. The term also means the

municipality as deWned in Section 502(4) of the Act, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and

the discharges from such a treatment works.

61. "Reclaimed or recycled water" means water which, as a result of treatment of waste, is suitable for direct

beneWcial use or a restricted beneWcial use that would not otherwise occur.

62. "Regional Water Quality Control Board" means Region 2 of the California Regional Water Quality Control

Board, San Francisco Bay Region.

63. "Sanitary sewer" means pipe or conduit which carries domestic sewage, industrial waste, or a

combination of domestic sewage and industrial waste, and to which storm, surface water and ground water

are not intentionally admitted.

64. "Sewage system" means all sanitary sewers and community sewers including facilities and

appurtenances owned or operated by the city for carrying, collecting, pumping, treatment and disposal of

waste and wastewater.

65. "SigniWcant industrial user," except as provided in subsections (A)(65)(c) and (A)(65)(d) of this section,

means:

a. All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR

Chapter I, Subchapter N.

b. Any other industrial user that discharges an average of twenty-Wve thousand gallons per day or

more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown

wastewater); contributes a process waste stream which makes up Wve percent or more of the average

dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the

city on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely a[ecting the POTW’s

operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR

403.8(f)(6)).

c. The city may determine that an industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards under

40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N is a nonsigniWcant categorical industrial user rather

than a signiWcant industrial user on a Wnding that the industrial user never discharges more than one

hundred gallons per day (gpd) of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling

and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless speciWcally included in the pretreatment standard) and the

following conditions are met:

(1) The industrial user, prior to the city’s Wnding, has consistently complied with all applicable

categorical pretreatment standards and requirements.

(2) The industrial user annually submits the certiWcation statement required in 40 CFR 403(12)(q)

together with any additional information necessary to support the certiWcation statement.

(3) The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.

d. Upon Wnding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in subsection (A)(65)(b) of this section has

no reasonable potential for adversely a[ecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment

standards or requirement, the city may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition

received from an industrial user or POTW, and in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such

an industrial user is not a signiWcant industrial user.

66. "SigniWcant noncompliance" means an industrial user violation that meets one or more of the following

criteria:

a. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, deWned here as those in which sixty-six percent or

more of all of the measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric

pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as deWned by 40 CFR 403.3(l).

b. Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, deWned here as those in which thirty-three percent or

more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equals

or exceeds the product of a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous

limits, as deWned by 40 CFR 403.3(l) multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC equals 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats,

oil and grease and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH).

c. Any other violation(s) of a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, as deWned by 40 CFR

403.3(l) daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard that the POTW determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through

(including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public).

d. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or

to the environment or has resulted in the POTW’s exercise of its emergency authority under 40 CFR

403.8(f)(l)(vi)(B) to halt or prevent such a discharge.

e. Failure to meet, within ninety days of the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone

contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing

construction, or attaining Wnal compliance.

f. Failure to provide, within forty-Wve days after the due date, required reports, including baseline

monitoring reports, reports on compliance with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, ninety-day

compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance

schedules.

g. Failure to accurately report noncompliance.

h. Any other violation or group of violations which may include a violation of best management

practices, which the city determines will adversely a[ect the operation or implementation of the local

pretreatment program.

67. "Slug discharge" means any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an

accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or

pass through, or in any other way violate the city’s regulations, local limits or permit conditions.

68. "Slug discharge control plan" shall contain, at a minimum, the following elements:

a. Description of discharge practices, including nonroutine batch discharges.

b. Description of stored chemicals.

c. Procedures for immediately notifying the city of Petaluma of slug discharges.

d. Procedures to prevent adverse impact from accidental spills, including inspection and maintenance

of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant

site run-o[, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing

toxic organic pollutants (including solvents), measures and equipment for emergency response,

containment, and proper disposal.

69. "Solvent management plan" means a strategy for keeping track of all solvents delivered to a site, their

storage, use and disposal. This includes keeping spent solvents segregated from other process wastewater to

maximize the value of the recoverable solvents, to avoid contamination of other segregated wastes, and to

prevent the discharge of toxic organics to any wastewater collection system or the environment.

70. "Standard Industrial ClassiWcation (SIC)" means a classiWcation pursuant to the Standard Industrial

ClassiWcation Manual issued by the Executive OYce of the President, OYce of Management and Budget,

  1. "State" means the state of California.

  2. "Storm sewer" means a sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but which excludes

sewage and industrial waste.

  1. "Stormwater" means any Xow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and

resulting therefrom.

  1. "Total suspended solids (TSS)" means the total suspended matter that Xoats on the surface of, or is

suspended in, water, wastewater or other liquids, and which is removable by laboratory Wltering.

  1. "Total toxic organics (TTO)" means the sum of the masses or concentrations of speciWc toxic organic

compounds found in the industrial user’s process discharge at a concentration greater than 0.01 mg/L. Each

categorical standard lists the speciWc toxic organic compounds that are to be included in the summation to

deWne TTO for the category.

  1. "Toxic pollutant" means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations

promulgated by the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, California Water Quality Control

Board or the regional board including those provisions set forth under Section 307(a) of the Act or other clean

water regulations.

  1. "Treatment plant upset" means interference as deWned in this section.

  2. "User" means any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the

city’s POTW.

  1. "Waste minimization" means the reduction or elimination, to the extent feasible, of any waste that is

generated or subsequently treated, stored, or disposed of. It is the elimination or reduction in the use of

hazardous materials and the generation of hazardous wastes. It seeks to prevent pollutant releases to all

environmental media; water, land or air.

  1. "Wastewater" means the liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings,

commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed

into or permitted to enter the community sewers or the POTW.

  1. "Wastewater discharge permit" means sewer use permit as set forth in Section 15.52.020.

  2. "Water quality requirements" means requirements for the city’s treatment plant eZuent established by

the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit, or by state or federal regulatory agencies. Water

quality requirements include eZuent limitations and waste discharge standards, limitations, or prohibitions

which may be established or adopted by the state or federal laws or regulatory agencies.

  1. "Waters of the state" means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs,

reservoirs, aquifers, drainage systems and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or

underground, natural or artiWcial, public or private, which are contained within, Xow through, or border upon

the state or any portion thereof.

(Ord. 2472 NCS §2, 2013; Ord. 2402 NCS §2, 2011; Ord. 2282 NCS §3, 2007.)

Exceptions & meaning →

15.44.030 Abbreviations.

The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:

"BOD"—Biochemical oxygen demand

"CFR"—Code of Federal Regulations

"COD"—Chemical oxygen demand

"CWA"—Clean Water Act

"EPA"—Environmental Protection Agency

"L"—Liter

"mg"—Milligrams

"mg/L"—Milligrams per liter

"NPDES"—National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

"POTW"—Publicly owned treatment works

"SIC"—Standard Industrial ClassiWcation

"SWDA"—Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq.

"U.S.C."—United States Code

"TSS"—Total suspended solids (Ord. 2282 NCS §3, 2007.)

Exceptions & meaning →

Get a plain-English answer with a citation back to this text.

Ask AI about this code
▸Contents — Petaluma Municipal Code

GoCodebook provides public access, search, citation, multilingual explanation, and practical interpretation of legally adopted building regulations. It is not a substitute for the official ICC or California code publications.