Rohnert Park Municipal Code Ch. 13.36 Sewers—regulation of Waste Discharges

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 834, § 7, adopted Feb. 22, 2011, repealed Ch. 13.36, in its entirety and enacted new provisions to read as herein set out. Prior to this amendment, Ch. 13.36 pertained to similar subject matter. See Ordinance List and Disposition Table for derivation.

Waste water may be discharged into city sewers for collection, treatment, and disposal by the city, provided that (i) such waste water does not contain substances prohibited or exceed limitations of waste water volume or strength set forth in this sewer use ordinance, other laws and regulations, and if applicable, in a sewer use permit, and (ii) the user has paid all applicable city charges and is otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this sewer use ordinance.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

(A) General Prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass-through, interference, or is listed in the Specific Prohibitions in sub-section B below. These general prohibitions apply to all users discharging to the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other federal, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.

(B) Specific Prohibitions. No person shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:

(1) Pollutants which create fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including but not limited to wastestreams with closed cup flashpoint of less than 140o F (60o C) using test methods specified in 40 CFR Part 261.21 or at any point in the POTW, of more than 10% of the Lower Explosive Limit on a combustible gas meter;

(2) Wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 12.0, or any substance causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW, or equipment as standardized in Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods SW-846, current edition;

(3) Solid or viscous pollutants in amounts or concentrations which will cause or threaten to cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case solids greater than 1/4" or 0.635 cm in any dimension. The installation and use of garbage grinders (disposals) in commercial food establishments is prohibited, except in the case where a 1,000 gallon minimum interceptor is in use; [40 CFR Part 403.5(b)(3)];

(4) Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference with the POTW; [40 CFR Part 403.5(b)(4)];

(5) Wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the POTW to exceed 104o F (40o C); ); [40 CFR Part 403.5(b)(5)];

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

(7) Pollutants which 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; [40 CFR Part 403.5(b)(7)];

(8) Trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the POTW; [40 CFR Part 403.5(b)(8)];

(9) Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, 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 limitation set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. Toxic pollutants shall include but not be limited to any pollutant identified pursuant to Section 307(a) of the Act;

(10) Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;

(11) Any malodorous substance such as hydrogen sulfide or any other substance which will cause offensive odors in the sewer system or at the treatment plant;

(12) Any substance which may cause the POTW's effluent or any other product of the POTW, such as residues, sludges or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Act, any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act or the Toxic Substances Control Act, or State criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used;

(13) Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate the NPDES permit or Waste Discharge Requirements issued by the State;

(14) Any wastewater containing substances that may precipitate, solidify, or become viscous at temperatures capable of either causing obstruction to the flow in the sewers or interfering with the proper sewer system operation and maintenance;

(15) Any portions of the human anatomy;

(16) Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the POTW's effluent;

(17) Wastewater containing any radioactive waste or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;

(18) Unpolluted wastewater including but not limited to storm water, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, pool water, spa water, pond water, condensate, deionized water, non-contact cooling water or other, unless specifically authorized by the City Engineer;

(19) Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastewater;

(20) Any infectious waste that is deemed a threat to the public health and safety, or will result in any violation of applicable waste discharge requirements shall be rendered noninfectious prior to discharge;

(21) Wastewater causing the POTW effluent to fail a toxicity test;

(22) Pollutants which create conditions which violate any statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance of any public agency relating to releases of hazardous wastes, hazardous substances, or other pollutants to the environment when such release is to a publicly owned sanitary sewer;

(23) Any substance which is not amenable to treatment by the processes employed at the POTW;

(24) Any substance which will cause damage to City facilities;

(25) Any slug loading;

(26) Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;

(27) Any of the following prohibited substances as tested according to approved 40 CFR 136 methods:

(a) Aldrin;

(b) Benzidine and its salt;

(c) BHC-Alpha;

(d) BHC-Beta;

(e) BHC-Gamma (Lindane);

(f) Chrysene;

(g) DDD, DDE, and DDT;

(h) Dieldrin;

(i) Endrin;

(j) Endosulfan II (B Endosulfan);

(k) Heptachlor;

(l) Heptachlor Epoxide;

(m) Phenanthrene;

(n) Polychlorinated Biphenyl Compounds (PCBs);

(o) Tetrachloroethene (Perchloroethylene, Perc);

(p) Toxaphene;

(28) Any septic tank waste, holding tank waste, or portable toilet waste unless a permit is issued by the city and unless such sludge or waste is transported to the POTW by a permitted waste hauler in accordance with the regulations set forth within this sewer use ordinance;

(29) Wastewater causing two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the POTW, or at any point in the POTW, of more than five percent, or any single reading over ten percent of the Lower Explosive Limit of the meter; or

(30) Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, leaves, grass cuttings, metal, glass, ceramics, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure, or any other solid or viscous substance capable of either causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or interfering with the proper sewerage system operation and/or maintenance.

(C) Compliance by existing sources with the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards shall be within three years of the date the standard is promulgated unless a shorter compliance time is specified in the appropriate subpart of 40 CFR, Chapter 1, Subchapter N. Upon promulgation, if the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards are more stringent than limitations imposed under this chapter for a particular industrial subcategory, such standards shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this chapter.

(D) Other Prohibitions.

(1) No user shall discharge any wastewater directly into a manhole or other opening in the city sewage system other than through sewer laterals or other sewer connection approved by the city engineer, unless a permit has been obtained for such discharge. A permit will only be issued for such direct discharge in the event the discharge is otherwise in compliance with provisions of this sewer use ordinance and no other alternative is reasonably available in the opinion of the city engineer.

(2) Any discharge of sewage, industrial/commercial waste or other polluted waters into any storm drain or natural outlet.

(3) Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this sewer use ordinance shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.

(4) No person who owns, operates or maintains a restaurant shall at any time discharge any wastewater to the storm drain, service dock areas, or pavement. Wastewater generated by restaurants shall be disposed of through a sanitary sewer, and an approved grease removal device, interceptor, or sample station connected to a sanitary sewer or hauled off site and disposed at a legal disposal site.

(5) It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge the contents of a swimming pool or a spa into the city sewer system except in the manner specified herein. The size of pipe carrying discharge water shall not be larger than one inch and shall not be under a head to exceed twenty feet. If the water is discharged by pumping, the rate of flow shall not exceed fifty gallons per minute. Each swimming pool or spa discharging to a sanitary sewer shall be equipped with an approved air gap to preclude any possibility of a backflow of sewage into the swimming pool or spa piping system.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

(A) Those users that come within the Code of Federal Regulations definition of "Categorical Industries" shall comply with the reporting requirements of 40 Code of Federal Regulations 403.12.

(B) Notification of Discharge.

(1) Users shall notify the city immediately upon accidentally discharging wastes in violation of this sewer use ordinance to enable countermeasures to be taken by the agency to minimize damage to the community sewer, treatment facility, treatment processes and the receiving waters.

(2) Notification shall be followed, within ten days of the date of occurrence, by a detailed written statement describing the causes of the accidental discharge and the measures being taken to prevent future occurrence.

(3) Notification will not relieve users of liability for any expense, loss or damage to the sewer system, treatment plant, or treatment process or for any fines imposed on the city on account thereof, under Section 13550 of the California Water Code or for violations of Section 5650 of the California Fish and Game Code.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

(A) No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged, to a city sewer, any of the following without first obtaining a sewer use permit that specifically permits such industrial waste discharge characteristics:

(1) Discharge during a twenty-four hour period in excess of twenty five thousand gallons;

(2) Discharge of fats, oils, and/or greases of animal or vegetable origin in concentrations greater than 250 mg/l.

(3) Discharges containing metal pickling or etching wastes or plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

(A) The categorical pretreatment standards found in 40 CFR Parts 405-471 are hereby incorporated into this sewer use ordinance.

(B) Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the City Engineer may impose equivalent mass or concentration limits in accordance with 40 CFR Part 403.6(c).

(C) When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the City Engineer shall impose an alternate limit using the combined wastestream formula or flow weighted average in 40 CFR Part 403.6.

(D) A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 CFR Part 403.13 that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard.

(E) A user may obtain a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 CFR Part 403.15.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

In the event that either state or federal requirement standards for discharge to the POTW are more stringent than the limitations, requirements, and standards set forth in this sewer use ordinance, the most stringent standards or requirements shall apply.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

(A) The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass-through and interference. No SIU or groundwater remediation shall discharge, or cause to discharge, any wastewater containing in excess of the following daily maximum allowable discharge limits.

(1) Antimony (T)* 153 mg/l

(2) Arsenic (T)* 0.47 mg/l

(3) Beryllium (T)* 0.5 mg/l

(4) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) 20,400 mg/l

(5) Cadmium (T)* 0.04 mg/l

(6) Chromium VI 0.1 mg/l

(7) Chromium (T)* 1.71 mg/l

(8) Copper (T)* 0.2 mg/l

(9) Cyanide (T)* 0.2 mg/l

(10) Lead (T)* 0.3 mg/l

(11) Mercury (T)* 0.0003 mg/l

(12) Nickel (T)* 1.51 mg/l

(13) Selenium (T)* 2.7 mg/l

(14) Thallium (T)* 3.9 mg/l

(15) Zinc (T)* 1.63 mg/l

(16) pH 5.5 - 11.9

(17) Silver 0.17 mg/l

(18) Total Toxic Organics (TTO)** 2.13 mg/l

(19) Total Suspended Solids (TSS) 9,800 mg/l

(20) TPH Gas and Diesel 100 mg/l

(21) Total Dissolved Solids 5,200 mg/l

(22) Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) 2,600 mg/l

(23) BTEX*** 2.0 mg/l

* T =Total; mg/l = milligrams per liter

** Federal Register List from 40 CFR 131 Subpart D - Total Toxic Organics less pesticides and dioxins

*** Groundwater remediation and cleanup projects, BTEX=Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene

(B) The above limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. The City Engineer may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, the concentration-based limitations above.

(C) The City Engineer may allow the SIU to discharge in excess of local limits when, at the discretion of the City Engineer, the SIU has implemented all applicable Best Management Practices adopted by the City and the Subregional system.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

The city reserves the right to establish, by ordinance, resolution, or in wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the city sewerage system.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

No industrial user shall increase the use of process water or in any other way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement. The city engineer may impose mass limitations on users who are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements or in other cases when, in the opinion of the city engineer, the imposition of mass limitation is appropriate.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface, or tamper with any monitoring equipment so as to cause alteration of the sampling analysis or readings or cause damage or destruction of equipment being utilized to determine compliance with this sewer use ordinance.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

Seasonal flow dischargers shall be subject to wastewater treatment plant service capacity allocation by the city engineer. If overloading conditions occur or threaten to occur at the treatment plant or if unused service capacity is insufficient to accommodate all seasonal flows, the city engineer may allocate available service capacity among all seasonal dischargers. In allocating the flow or constituent load, the city engineer shall take into account the discharger's non-seasonal flow, wastewater conservation practice, economic and environmental impact, historical data, and any other consideration advanced by the discharger which will help the city engineer make an equitable allocation.

Notwithstanding any provision of this sewer use ordinance to the contrary, the city council and any person may enter into an agreement where unusual conditions compel special terms and conditions and charges for the interception, treatment and disposal of an industrial wastewater necessary to meet the purposes of this sewer use ordinance. In no event, however, may the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards referred to in Section 13.36.052 or any other federal or state standard, be relaxed or waived.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

(A) The city engineer may require any SIU or other user to develop a slug control plan. Before issuance of a wastewater discharge permit, the city engineer shall determine whether a user needs such a plan. Any user required to develop and implement slug control plan shall submit, at a minimum, the following:

(1) Description of discharge practices, including non-routine batch discharges.

(2) Description of stored chemicals.

(3) Procedures for immediately notifying the City Engineer of any accidental or slug discharge. Such notification must also be given for any discharge which would violate any of the prohibited discharges.

(4) Procedures to prevent adverse impact from any accidental or slug discharge. Such procedures include, but are not limited to, inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site run off, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants (including solvents), and/or measures and equipment for emergency response.

(B) In the case of an accidental spill or slug discharge, refer to Section 13.48.230 of this ordinance.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

All domestic wastewater (i.e., restrooms, showers, drinking fountains) shall be separated from process wastewater until the process wastewater has passed through a required pretreatment system and/or the user's monitoring facility. When directed to do so by the City Engineer, users shall separate existing domestic wastewater from process wastestream.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

(A) Septic tank waste may be introduced into the POTW only at locations designated by the City Engineer, and at such times as are established by the City Engineer. Such waste shall not violate any requirements established by the City. Septic tank waste haulers must obtain wastewater discharge permits.

(B) Haulers/generators of industrial wastewater must obtain wastewater discharge permits. The City Engineer may prohibit the disposal of hauled industrial wastewater. The discharge of hauled industrial wastewater is subject to all other requirements of this sewer use ordinance.

(C) Industrial wastewater haulers shall discharge loads only at locations designated by the City Engineer. No load may be discharged without prior consent of the City Engineer. The City Engineer may collect samples of each hauled load to ensure compliance with applicable standards. The City Engineer may require the industrial wastewater hauler/generator to provide a waste analysis of any load prior to discharge.

(D) Septic and/or industrial wastewater haulers shall provide a waste-tracking form for every load. This form shall include, at a minimum, the name and address of the industrial wastewater hauler, permit number, truck identification, names and addresses of sources of waste, volume, and characteristics of waste. The form shall identify the type of industry, known or suspected waste constituents.

(E) Hauled groundwater discharges shall be subject to the criteria set forth in this Section.

(F) Discharging trucked domestic septic tank wastes originating from outside the boundaries of Rohnert Park is prohibited.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

Waste generated from the cleanup of spills, leaking underground storage tanks, contaminated soil or groundwater, monitoring wells, or other similar sources shall not be discharged through direct or indirect connection to the City sewer system unless a temporary permit or a wastewater discharge permit is issued by the City Engineer. The City Engineer may approve the discharge of such wastewater and issue such a permit only when, in his or her judgment, no reasonable alternative method of disposal is available and the City's facilities and the subregional POTW will not be significantly affected.

If a temporary discharge permit is granted for the discharge of such wastewater, the user shall pay such fees and charges and meet such special conditions and requirements as determined by the City Engineer to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the public and the integrity of the City sewer and treatment system.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)

Any sludge or other material removed from the industrial wastewater by the pretreatment facility shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

(Ord. No. 834, § 7, 2-22-2011)