Ridgecrest Municipal Code § 16-120 Reporting requirements for permittee

(a) No connection of any nature shall be made nor permitted to the collector or trunk sewers which will admit wastes which do not comply in all respects to the discharge and waste requirements of this article.

(b) No person shall knowingly discharge or deposit or allow discharge or deposit into trunk sewers of solids or fluids which create nuisances, such as offensive odors, are a menace to public health, or are detrimental to the functioning of said trunk sewers or to the treatment and disposal facilities and processes of the city. The wastewater facilities supervisor shall be consulted prior to the discharge or deposit of wastes other than those of a sanitary nature derived from the ordinary living processes, or of such character so as to permit satisfactory disposal without special treatment.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.1; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

The following discharges and wastes are prohibited from introduction into the collector of trunk sewers:

(1) Brines, including brines produced in the regeneration of water softeners shall not be discharged into the trunk sewers.

(2) Uncontaminated cooling water shall not be discharged into the trunk sewers.

(3) No persons shall discharge or cause to be discharged any rain water, stormwater, groundwater, street drainage, subsurface drainage, yard drainage, including evaporative type air cooler discharge water, to any sewage facility which is directly or indirectly connected to the sewage facilities of the city.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.2; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

(a) No person shall discharge: swimming pool wastewater, cesspool or septic tank pump trucks, or industrial waste into a trunk sewer without having first notified and obtained permission from the wastewater facilities supervisor.

(b) Swimming pool wastewater discharges are limited to the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., and are further subject to the limitations contained in the permit.

(c) Cesspool or septic tank pump trucks discharging into city facilities are subject to the limitations contained in such permit. At the discretion of the city, industrial waste permits and/or county health department permits shall first be obtained by the applicant.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.3; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

Each request for a permit to discharge industrial wastes to the collector or trunk sewer shall be subject to review and approval of the city. Each industrial waste discharge will be considered individually, giving due consideration to its effect upon the trunk sewers and the treatment and disposal facilities and processes of the city. In addition to limitations on industrial wastes as may be imposed by the city engineer pursuant to the issuance of a permit, the following general limitations shall apply to all industrial wastes discharged to the trunk sewers.

(1) Material which will settle out in the sewers, such as sand or metal filings, shall not be discharged to the sewers. Wastewaters containing such materials must be passed through sand traps or other suitable structures, properly designed and maintained by the permittee, before discharge to the sewer.

(2) Oil and grease shall be removed from wastewaters insofar as practicable. In the case of industries with large volumes of wastewaters containing oils of a hydrocarbon nature, the floatable oil content will be limited to ten parts per million. Industries with wastes containing animal or vegetable oils or fats mixed with other suspended matter rendering separation difficult may, in some cases, be allowed higher concentrations of floatable oil or grease, up to 25 parts per million. Dispersed oil and grease will, in general, be allowed in concentrations up to 600 parts per million provided that dilution of the waste in sewage does not cause the oil or grease to separate on the surface or collect on the walls of the sewer. Total oil determinations in oil field or refinery wastewaters will be made by the procedure of Kirshmann and Pomeroy, Anal. Chem. 2,793 (1949). Determinations in other wastes will be made by the procedures described in the latest editions of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Sewage published by the American Public Health Association, except where wastes of unusual character make other procedures necessary. Definition of floatable oil and grease, and instructions for determination of same, are available on request from the city's office.

(3) Unreasonable or unnecessarily large amounts of suspended solids shall not be discharged into the sewer.

(4) High BOD wastes may in some cases cause excessive sulfide formation. In such cases, suitable restrictions may be imposed by the city, and the industry discharging the same will be charged the cost of corrective treatment.

(5) Wastes of strong odors, such as mercaptans, shall not be discharged into the sewer.

(6) Dissolved sulfides in wastes discharged into the sewer shall not exceed a concentration of 0.1 ppm.

(7) Acids shall not be discharged into the sewer unless neutralized to a pH value of six or above. Highly alkaline wastes will usually be accepted, except where they may cause encrustation of sewers. Nitric acid requires special consideration; the wastewater facilities supervisor shall be consulted prior to making such discharges.

(8) Compounds which may give off toxic or flammable gases in amounts considered dangerous by the city will not be permitted in the sewers. The concentration of cyanide in any waste (including HCN and CN) shall not exceed ten ppm. Wastes containing radioactive material shall require special consideration and a permit therefor issued by the city.

(9) Contaminated cooling water blowdown, or bleed, from cooling towers or other evaporative coolers and when cooling is done by using only heat exchange, without utilizing evaporative cooling, the wastewater shall not be discharged to the sewer.

(10) Industries shall segregate sewage and industrial wastes from roof and yard run-off. Roof and yard run-off shall not be discharged to the sewer.

(11) The temperatures of discharges will generally be limited to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Where the quantity of discharge represents a significant portion of the flow in a particular sewer, it may be necessary to lower the temperature further.

(12) Chemical solutions containing nitric acid or salts thereof in concentrations above five percent by weight, and volumes in excess of 50 gallons shall not be discharged into the sewer. Industries desiring to dispose of such wastes may consult the city as to permissible disposal methods.

(13) Wastes shall not be discharged into the sewers containing heavy metals in concentrations greater than permitted by the regional water quality control board for sewage effluent.

(14) Wastes containing boron, fluorides, chlorides and sodium or potassiums or other dissolved solids which will cause the effluent of the city's treatment facilities to exceed the requirements of the regional water quality control board shall not be discharged into the city's sewers.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.4; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

Each customer shall comply with the provisions of this section to ensure that the collection, treatment and disposal processes are not damaged.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.5; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 38 USC § 1251 et seq.

Administrator or regional administrator means the appropriate Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator.

Indirect discharge means the discharge or introduction of nondomestic pollutants from any source regulated under section 307(b) or (c) of the Act, into the city's treatment facilities.

Interference means inhibition or disruption of the city's sewer system, treatment process or operations which contributes to a violation of any requirement of its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The term "interference" includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the city's facilities in accordance with section 405 of the Act, or any criteria guidelines or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substance Control Act, or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to title IV of the Solid Waste Disposal Act) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the city's treatment facilities.

New source means any source, the construction of which is commenced after the publication of proposed regulations prescribing a section 307(c) Categorical Pretreatment Standard which will be applicable to such source, if such standard is thereafter promulgated within 120 days of the proposal in the Federal Register. Where the standard is promulgated later than 120 days after the proposal, the term "new source" shall mean any source the construction of which is commenced at the date of promulgation of the standard.

Publicly owned treatment works or POTW means a treatment works as defined by section 212 of the Act, which is owned by a state or municipality (as defined by section 502(4) of the Act). This definition includes any sewers that convey wastewater to such a treatment works, but does not include pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment. The term "publicly owned treatment works" also means the municipality as defined in section 502(4) of the Act, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such treatment works.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.6; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

Upon promulgation of the categorical pretreatment standards for particular industry sub-category, the Federal Standard, if more stringent than the limitations imposed under this division for sources in that sub-category, shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this division. The wastewater facilities supervisor shall notify all affected users of the applicable requirements under the general pretreatment regulations, Solid Waste Disposal Act, and the Act.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.7; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

(a) If additional pretreatment and/or operation and maintenance will be required to meet the pretreatment standards, the shortest schedule by which the user will provide such additional pretreatments shall be utilized. The completion date in this schedule shall not be later than the compliance date established for the applicable pretreatment standard.

(b) The following conditions shall apply to the schedule:

(1) The schedule shall contain increments of progress in the form of dates for the commencement and completion of major events leading to the construction and operation of additional pretreatment required for the user to meet the applicable pretreatment standards e.g., hiring an engineer, completing preliminary plans, completing final plans executing contract for major components, commencing construction, completing construction, and so forth.

(2) No increment referred to in subsection (b)(1) of this section shall exceed nine months.

(3) Not later than 14 days following each date in the schedule and the final date for compliance, the user shall submit a progress report to the wastewater facilities supervisor including, as a minimum, whether or not it complied with the increment of progress to be met on such date, and, if not, the date on which it expects to comply with this increment of progress, the reason for the delay, and the steps being taken by the user to return the construction to the schedule established. In no event shall more than nine months elapse between such progress reports to the wastewater facilities supervisor.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.8; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

(a) Compliance, date of report. Within 90 days following the date for final compliance with applicable pretreatment standards or, in the case of a new source, following commencement of the introduction of wastewater into POTW, any user subject to pretreatment standards and requirements shall submit to the wastewater facilities supervisor a report indicating the nature and concentration of all pollutants in the discharge from the regulated process which are limited by pretreatment standards and requirements and the average and minimum daily flow for those process units in the user facility which are limited by such pretreatment standards or requirements. The report shall state whether the applicable pretreatment standards or requirements are being met on a consistent basis and, if not, what additional operation and maintenance and/or pretreatment is necessary to bring the user into compliance with the applicable pretreatment standards or requirements. This statement shall be signed by an authorized representative of the user, and certified to by a qualified professional.

(b) Periodic compliance reports.

(1) Any user subject to a pretreatment standard, after the compliance date of such pretreatment standard, or, in the case of a new source, after commencement of the discharge into the POTW, shall submit to the manager of water reclamation operations during the months of June and December, unless required more frequently in the pretreatment standard or by the wastewater facilities supervisor the report indicating the nature and concentration of pollutants in the effluent which are limited by such pretreatment standards. In addition, this report shall include a report of all daily flows which, during the reported period, exceeded the average daily flow reported in subsection (a) of this section. At the discretion of the wastewater facilities supervisor and in consideration of such factors as local high or low flow rates, holidays, budget cycles and so forth, the wastewater facilities supervisor may agree to alter the monitoring on which the above reports are to be submitted.

(2) The wastewater facilities supervisor may impose mass limitations on users which are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases where the imposition of mass limitations are appropriate. In such cases, the report required by subsection (b)(1) of this section shall indicate the mass of pollutants regulated by pretreatment standards in the effluent by the users. These reports shall contain the results of sampling and analysis of the discharge, including the flow and nature and concentration, of production and, where requested by the wastewater facilities supervisor, mass of pollutants contained therein which are limited by the applicable pretreatment standards. The frequency of monitoring shall be prescribed in the applicable pretreatment standards. All analysis shall be performed in accordance with the procedures established by the administrator pursuant to section 304(g) of Act and contained in 40 CFR part 136, amendments thereto or with any other test procedures approved by the administrator.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.9; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

The city shall annually publish, in the daily newspaper within the jurisdiction, a list of users which are not in compliance with any pretreatment requirements or standards at least once during the 12 previous months. The notification shall also summarize any enforcement action taken against the user during the same 12 months.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.10; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

State requirements and limitations on discharges apply in any case where they are more stringent than categorical standards or this article, provided such requirements are adopted as set forth herein.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.11; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)

The city reserves the right to establish by ordinance more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the wastewater disposal system if deemed necessary to comply with the objectives as set forth in this article.

(Code 1980, § 12-8.12; Ord. No. 86-05, § 4)