San Leandro Municipal Code Art. 6 Accidental Discharge

(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 2014-020, 11/17/14; Ordinance No. 2018-006, 3/19/18 (Sections 3-14-605, 3-14-640))

Each user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials regulated by Pretreat-ment Standards or Requirements or other wastes determined to be harmful or hazardous by State or Federal regulations into the City's sanitary sewer and/or storm sewer. Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the user's expense. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the City for review, and shall be approved by the City before construction of the protective facilities. It is the user's responsibility to submit plans which are in compliance with Federal, State and local regulations.

The review and approval of such plans and operating procedures will in no way relieve the user from the responsibility of modifying the facilities as necessary to protect the sanitary or storm sewer system. The review and approval of such plans will in no way relieve the user of any responsibility or liabilities in the event of a spill or accidental discharge.

Users shall immediately notify the POTW upon any changes at their facilities affecting the potential for a slug discharge or accidentally discharging wastes in violation of these regulations and/or discharging a slug load to enable counter measures to be taken by the City to minimize damage to the sewerage system and the receiving waters. This notification does not relieve the user of the responsibility of notifying all other required agencies as outlined in the California Code of Regulations, Title 19, and other applicable regulations.

The initial notification shall be followed, within five days of the date of occurrence, by a detailed written statement to the Manager describing the causes of the accidental discharge and the measures being taken to prevent future occurrences. Such notification will not relieve users of liability for any expense, loss or damage, or for any fines imposed by the City, or for other violations of Federal, State, or local laws where applicable.

Any person responsible for any unauthorized discharge shall keep accurate records of the events of the discharge at the time of the discharge. The record shall include all pertinent information related to the unauthorized discharge, including, but not limited to, dates, times, names of parties involved, volume of discharge, substance discharged, agencies notified and corrective action taken. Discharger shall keep all records related to the unauthorized discharge for at least five years. Records shall be available for review by the City upon request.

Any person responsible for any unauthorized discharge shall institute and complete all actions necessary to remedy the effects of such unauthorized discharge, whether sudden or gradual, with the cost borne by the discharger. When deemed necessary by the Manager, identification and clean-up of the discharge may be initiated by the City or by an authorized individual or firm. All costs associated with such clean-up shall be borne by the owner, user or other person responsible for the unauthorized discharge.

In the event that the clean-up costs are less than the cost of legal disposal, a fine may be levied. The fine may be the difference between the cost of legal disposal and the actual cleanup cost, plus 25% of the total amount.

A notice shall be furnished and permanently posted in a conspicuous place on the premises of each commercial or industrial user advising employees whom to call in case of an accidental discharge in violation of these regulations.

In order that employees of users be informed of City requirements, users shall make available to their employees copies of these regulations together with other environmental information and notices which may be furnished by the City.

The user shall provide adequate containment of materials that are prohibited from discharge or could have a deleterious effect in the event of an accidental discharge. The user shall be responsible for protecting the City sewer inlets from intentional or unintentional discharges of such materials. All points of entry to the sanitary sewer are subject to review and approval by the City. Potential points of entry for accidental discharge must be clearly labeled to provide warning. The user shall be responsible for immediately reporting any accidental discharge to the sanitary sewer.

All users are required, when requested by the City, to develop and implement a Slug/Spill Prevention Plan. Each plan shall include at a minimum; discharge practices (including non-routine batch discharges), guidelines for storage of chemicals, location of chemical storage, procedures to notify the POTW immediately of slug discharges and spills, operation and maintenance procedures, general housekeeping practices, training programs, and other information as required. Slug control plan elements are specified at 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(vi).

The operation, maintenance, and repair of private sewer laterals are the responsibility of the property owner or user. The reconnection of a property owner's or user's private sewer lateral to a relocated City sanitary sewer main upon a determination by the City Engineer that conditions related to particular sections of sanitary sewer or the sewerage system require the necessary and appropriate reconnection shall be the responsibility of the City. In such instances, the City's responsibility shall be limited to reimbursing a property owner's or user's costs to reconnect from the premises to the POTW. Any person responsible for a sewer overflow shall take immediate action to contain, control, and cease the unauthorized discharge and institute and complete all actions necessary to remedy the effects of such unauthorized discharge, whether sudden or gradual, with the cost borne by the discharger. When deemed necessary by the Manager, clean-up of the discharge may be initiated.