Rohnert Park Municipal Code Ch. 13.32 Sewer Use Permits

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 834, § 6, adopted Feb. 22, 2011, repealed Ch. 13.32, in its entirety and enacted new provisions to read as herein set out. Prior to this amendment, Ch. 13.32 pertained to similar subject matter. See Ordinance List and Disposition Table for derivation.

The city engineer shall classify all users in accordance with the principal activity conducted on the premises where the discharge occurs. The purposes of the classification are to facilitate regulation of discharges to the Subregional system on the basis of each user's waste quality, quantity, flow, and city involvement; to provide an effective means of source control of toxic substances; and to provide a basis for sewer use charges to insure an equitable recovery of capital and operating costs. User permit classifications are as follows:

(A) Nonresidential User. Users that discharge non-domestic wastewater to the sanitary sewer system and do not meet the criteria of SIU.

(B) Zero Discharger. Users who do not discharge to the sanitary sewer system, except domestic wastewater, do not have pollutants resulting from any commercial or industrial process, have no floor drains, and do not generate wastewater.

(C) Significant Industrial User.

(D) Ongoing Groundwater Discharger. Users that discharge wastewater generated from groundwater remediation projects in excess of six months.

(E) One Time Discharger. Users that discharge wastewater generated as a result of purging monitoring wells, dewatering underground storage tanks, groundwater sampling, or for a variety of other reasons for projects that will not exceed six months.

(F) Waste Hauler. Haulers that service domestic waste systems. Such systems include septic tanks, cesspools, chemical toilets, trailers, or campers.

(Ord. No. 834, § 6, 2-22-2011)

(A) All user applicants, other than residential users, who intend to connect their premises to the city sewer, must obtain a sewer use permit.

(B) All users who convey waste by tank truck or other vehicle to a point of direct entry into the city sewerage system must obtain a sewer use permit.

(Ord. No. 834, § 6, 2-22-2011)

(A) Application Form. Persons applying for a sewer use permit shall complete and file with the City Engineer an application form obtained from the City, together with the applicable fees. The application shall include the following information:

(1) A description of activity, facilities and plant process on the premises, including raw materials processes and types of materials which are or could be discharged;

(2) Total product produced by type;

(3) Number and type of employees;

(4) Estimated waste water strength;

(5) Estimated waste water flow;

(6) Average and peak waste water discharge flow for each service sewer;

(7) Locations of sewer laterals, sampling points, and pretreatment facilities;

(8) Water supply information;

(9) Source, volume and chemical characteristics of the contents of each tank; and

(10) Any other information the City Engineer shall deem necessary to evaluate the permit application.

(B) Additional Information. The City Engineer will evaluate the data furnished by the applicant and may require additional information. After evaluation and approval of the data furnished, the City Engineer will determine the class of the user and may issue a nonresidential or industrial sewer user permit subject to conditions and terms as provided herein.

(Ord. No. 834, § 6, 2-22-2011)

(A) Nonresidential and Industrial Sewer Use Permits. Sewer use permits may contain prohibitions on discharge of certain toxic substances as identified by federal or state law and of hazardous substances and may contain other conditions as deemed appropriate by the city engineer to insure compliance with Chapters 13.08 through 13.52 of this code.

(B) Industrial Sewer Use Permits. Industrial sewer use permits may impose any or all of the following additional conditions, or any other conditions deemed necessary by the city engineer:

(1) Separation of industrial waste water from sanitary sewage prior to discharge to the city sewer;

(2) Pretreatment of industrial wastes;

(3) Limits on flow rate, time of discharge, strength of specific constituents or characteristics, or requirements for flow and constituent regulation or equalization;

(4) Requirements for inspection, flow measurement, and sampling facilities including access to such facilities by the city engineer;

(5) Monitoring program which may include: Sampling locations, frequency and method of sampling; number, types, and standard for tests; and the establishment of a reporting schedule. Monitoring shall be provided by the user at his expense, using a state certified laboratory. The user's laboratory, where available, may be used if approved by the city engineer;

(6) Submission of technical reports or discharge reports;

(7) Maintenance of plant records relating to waste water discharge, as specified by the city engineer, and affording the city engineer access thereto; or

(8) Valid waste water discharge permit from City of Santa Rosa subregional system's industrial waste division.

(Ord. No. 834, § 6, 2-22-2011)

(A) Validity. A sewer use permit shall be valid for five years from the date of its issuance unless one of the following occurs:

(1) Change in User. A sewer use permit shall not be assigned or transferred.

(2) Change in Use. Whenever the use of the premises by the user or the character of the discharge changes materially from that stated in the permit application, or when deemed necessary by city engineer, the user shall file an application for a new permit within sixty days.

(B) Change of Permit Conditions. After providing written notice to the discharger, the city may change the conditions of a sewer use permit, including changing the limits or constituents of waste water strength from time to time as circumstances may require. The city shall allow the discharger a reasonable amount of time to comply with any changes.

(C) Tank Truck Discharges. A separate sewer use permit may be required for each load of wastes conveyed to discharge point by tank truck.

(Ord. No. 834, § 6, 2-22-2011)

(A) Temporary Suspension. A wastewater discharge permit may be temporarily suspended by the city engineer at any time if, in his or her opinion, the continued discharge of the waste or water into the sewer system would, when combined with other discharges into the sewer system, exceed the city's allocated capacity service in the subregional system, substantially jeopardize the ability of the treatment system to meet water quality requirements or would cause an unsafe condition to occur. In lieu of temporary suspension of permits, the city engineer may impose such temporary restrictions, conditions, or limitations upon the quantities, qualities, and rates of discharge made thereunder as deemed necessary to assure that said receiving water quality requirements will not be violated by the discharge to the POTW, or to alleviate the unsafe condition. In addition, the city engineer may suspend a wastewater discharge permit at any time if he/she deems said suspension necessary to halt or prevent a discharge that has the potential to endanger human lives and/or injure the environment.

(B) Notice of Suspension. Notice of the temporary suspension or the imposition of temporary restrictions, conditions, or limitations shall be given in writing by the city engineer to the user at least 24 hours before the effective date of any such suspension, restriction, condition, or limitation. Delivery of said notice to the user's place of business within the city shall constitute delivery of notice to user. In circumstances where the city engineer deems it necessary to suspend a wastewater discharge permit in order to prevent potential danger to human life and/or injury to the environment, or in any circumstance that would cause a violation of the treatment plant's NPDES permit, the city engineer shall deliver such notice within 48 hours of such suspension if the city engineer is unable to provide the notice before the suspension.

(C) Compliance. Unless directed otherwise on the notice of suspension, the permittee shall cease discharging into the city sewer or conform to the temporary restrictions, conditions or limitations on the effective date of said notice.

(Ord. No. 834, § 6, 2-22-2011)

(A) Grounds for Revocation. The city engineer may revoke a sewer use permit for any of the following reasons:

(1) Failure of the permittee to comply with the conditions of the permit; or

(2) Failure of the permittee to pay when due any charges imposed as a condition of a permit.

Notice. No permit shall be revoked by the city engineer until the city engineer has notified the permittee in writing of the intent to do so and has afforded the permittee the opportunity to appear before him within a reasonable period of time to show cause why the permit should not be revoked; provided, however, a permit may be summarily revoked after informal notice by the city engineer if the continuing discharge reasonably appears to present an imminent endangerment to the health, safety, or welfare of persons.

(B) Compliance. Unless directed otherwise on the notice of revocation, the permittee shall cease discharging into the city sewer on the effective date of revocation.

(Ord. No. 834, § 6, 2-22-2011)