Sanger Municipal Code Div. 4 Industrial Discharge Requirements

(a) [Purpose.] The purpose of the industrial discharge requirements is as follows:

To provide for and regulate the disposal of sanitary sewage into the sanitary system of the city in such manner and to such extent as is reasonably necessary to maintain and increase the ability of the sanitary sewer system to handle and dispose of sanitary sewage;

To provide for and regulate the disposal of industrial wastes into the sanitary sewer system of the city in such manner and to such extent as may be reasonably necessary to maintain and increase the ability of such system to handle and dispose of all sanitary sewage;

To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the sanitary sewer system which will pass through the treatment works of the City of Sanger Water Pollution Control Plant ("plant") or otherwise be incompatible with such works or interfere with the ability of the plant to treat, discharge and recycle wastewater, or to use of dispose of plant bio-solids;

To improve opportunities to recycle and reclaim treated effluent and wastewater sludge;

To protect the physical structures of the sanitary sewer system and efficient functioning of its component parts;

To protect the city and its personnel;

To preserve and protect the health, safety, and property of the public;

To enable the city to comply with all applicable and compatible laws, rules, regulations and orders of the state and the United States;

To provide for the charging and collection of various fees and other charges reasonably necessary for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, maintenance and operation of the sanitary sewer system of the city;

To protect the environmental health of the Tulare Lake basin.

(b) Conflicts with other chapters of this Code. In the event of any conflicts or inconsistencies between the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of any other chapter of this Code, the provisions of this chapter shall control.

(c) Responsibility for enforcement. The primary responsibilities for enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall be vested in the city manager or his/her designee.

(Ord. No. 990, §§ 1, 2(Exh. A), 2-18-99)

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

Ammonia means that form of nitrogen which is chemically definable as NH 3 .

Average concentration means the concentration of a pollutant in an industrial user's discharge that is calculated by adding the concentrations of the particular pollutant in all composite samples taken during a given time period, including but not limited to self monitoring samples, and dividing the total by the number of samples taken.

Best management practices means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to prevent or reduce the introduction of pollutants to the sanitary system which have been determined by the director to by cost effective for particular industry groups, business types, or specific industrial processes.

Diluting waters means noncontact cooling water, boiler blowdown, domestic sewage, groundwater, stormwater, surface drainage, or potable waters which are not a part of an industrial process and which do not contain priority pollutants but which are combined with industrial wastewater prior to the monitoring point for industrial wastewater discharge.

Director means Director of Municipal Services of the City of Sanger.

Group 1 discharger means an industrial user which does not typically use heavy metals as part of its operational process, and whose average process is more than five percent of the average daily sewage flow of the city and/or has a five-day BOD greater than 300 parts per million by weight of suspended solids and/or has wastewater characteristics determined by the director to be beyond the description of a group 2 discharger.

Group 2 discharger means an industrial user which typically uses heavy metals as part of its operational process and which discharges industrial wastes into the sanitary sewer system.

Group 3 discharger means an industrial facility that discharges less than five percent of the aggregate flow of water and/or waste into the overall sewer system as determined by the director.

Industrial user means any nonresidential user that discharges industrial wastes to the sanitary sewer system.

Industrial wastes means the wastes from producing, manufacturing and processing operations of every kind and nature.

Interference means a discharge which alone, or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the processes or operation or the sanitary sewer system, including the plant, or causes or significantly contributes to a violation of requirement of the national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit. Also includes prevention of bio-solids use or disposal by the plant in accordance with published regulations providing guidelines under section 405 of the Federal Clean Water Act or in regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), the Toxic Substances Control Act, or more stringent state regulations (including those contained in any state bio-solids management plan prepared pursuant to title IV of the SWDA.

Mass audit study means an investigation of pollutant prevention and source reduction measures performed by or for an industrial user, pursuant to audit protocols adopted by the director, to analyze the volume and concentration of, but not limited to, biological oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids, organic and inorganic electrical conductivity, nitrogen, pH, color, potential heavy metals, and/or any other priority pollutant identified in regulations adopted by the director in an industrial user's process streams and discharge, and to identify the maximum feasible reduction measures available to the industrial user.

Maximum allowable concentration means the highest permissible concentration or other measure of pollutant magnitude taken at a specific point in time.

Maximum feasible reduction measures means all individual measures, and all functionally interdependent measures, of reducing the mass of specified pollutant(s) in an industrial user's discharge, which the director finds would be cost effective if installed by the industrial user. Individual measures, which are not cost effective, shall be considered if they substantially reduce the mass of pollutant(s) discharged.

pH means the logarithm or the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions in moles per liter or solution.

Plant means the City of Sanger Water Pollution Control Plant.

Priority pollutants means all pollutants as defined by the general pretreatment regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency, found at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) sections 401 and 403, as amended.

Process flow means the daily, 24-hour, flow of wastewater from any kind or nature of production, manufacturing or processing operation, including industrial and commercial operations where water is used for the removal of any type of waste other than sanitary sewage. Process flow does not include diluting waters.

Reasonable control measures means control technologies, best management practices, source control practices and waste minimization procedures which prevent or reduce the introduction of pollutants to the sanitary sewer system and are determined by the director to be cost effective for particular industry groups, business types, or specific industrial processes.

Sanitary sewage means water-carried wastes from residences, businesses, buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, excluding ground, surface and stormwaters, subsurface drainage and also excluding industrial waste.

Sanitary sewer system means all sewers, treatment plants, and other facilities owned or operated by the city for carrying, collecting, pumping, treating, and disposal of sanitary sewage and industrial wastes.

Significant change means any change in an industrial user's operation that results in either of the following:

A flow, which exceeds the expected peak flow as, submitted in the discharger's pretreatment permit.

A 25 percent change in the maximum allowable concentrations as submitted in the discharger's pretreatment permit.

Standard methods means the procedures set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations unless the director has approved another method for the analysis of industrial wastewater in writing in advance of use of the procedure. All analysis shall be performed by a laboratory certified by the State for the specific pollutants and matrix to be analyzed, unless other wise approved in writing, by the Director, prior to the performance of a sample analysis.

Stormwaters means the flow in sewers resulting from rainfall.

Suspended solids means solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage, or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

Total toxic organics are the sum of the concentrations for each of the regulated toxic organic compounds listed at 40 CFR 401.15 and which are found in the discharge at a concentration greater that ten micrograms per liter.

User means any person responsible for payment of sewer service charges. A critical user means …

(Ord. No. 990, §§ 1, 2(Exh. A), 2-18-99)

(a) Protection from accidental discharge.

(1) Each industrial user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes regulated by this code into either the storm or sanitary sewer system.

(2) Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the industrial user's expense.

(3) All industrial users shall notify the city by telephone immediately upon the accidentally discharging wastes of reportable quantities as determined by 40 CFR 117 to enable the countermeasures to be taken by the city to minimize damage to the sanitary sewer system, plant, treatment process, and the disposal fields.

(4) Telephone notification shall be followed, within five 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 occurrences.

(5) Notification of the city will not relieve users of notification requirements under any other federal, state or local law, nor of liability for any expense, loss, or damage to the sanitary sewer system, plant, or treatment process, and the disposal fields or for any fines or penalties imposed on the city on account thereof under applicable provisions of state or federal law.

(b) Notice, disconnection from water system. In the event of a violation of any provision of this code or any rule or regulation established thereto, the director, in writing, shall notify the person causing, allowing or committing such violation, specifying the violation and, if applicable, the time after which upon failure of such person to prevent or rectify the violation, the director will exercise the authority to disconnect the premises from the water system or the sewer system. Such time shall not be less than five days after the deposit of such notice in a United States Post Office in the city, addressed to the person upon whom notice is given. In the event such violation results in a public hazard or menace, the director or other authorized representative may enter upon the premises without notice and do such things and expend such sums as may be necessary to abate such hazard and reasonable value of the things done and amounts expended in so doing shall be a charge upon the person in violation.

(c) Pretreatment by owner. Each owner of private premises shall, at the owner's expense, provide such treatment or take such other measures, as the director may require to reduce objectionable characteristics, contents, or rate of discharge of waters or wastes being deposited in the sanitary sewer system, to prevent damage to or interference with the sanitary sewer system.

(d) Monitoring facilities.

(1) The director may require any industrial user of the sanitary sewer system to construct, at the industrial user's own expense and at an approved location, monitoring facilities to allow inspection, sampling, and flow measurement of the building sewer or internal drainage systems.

(2) The monitoring facilities, sampling, and measurement equipment and access thereto shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition at the expense of the industrial user.

(3) Any required monitoring facilities shall be specified in the wastewater discharge permit issued pursuant to this code.

(e) Prohibited discharges; storm and other water.

(1) No person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit any stormwater, surface water or roof runoff, to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof.

(2) A wastewater discharge permit for the discharge of ground water or subsurface drainage shall only be issued if there is no reasonable alternative method for disposal of such water.

(f) Interfering substances. No person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged in the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any industrial waste containing any of the following substances exceeding the concentrations set forth in table 1 below:

TABLE 1

(a) Any liquid of vapor having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

(b) Any water or waste which may contain more than 100 parts per million, by weight, fat, oil or grease.

(c) Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.

(d) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 6.5 or higher than 8.5, or having an other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of plant.

(e) For group 3 discharges, any water or waste having a ph level as set forth in (d) above. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the pH levels for group 3 discharges may fall below or exceed these limits set out above based upon the actual pH level of the water provided by the city. In the event the city supplies water with a pH level of less than 7.0, a group 3 discharger shall be required to discharge water or waste with a pH level of no lower than .5 below the pH level for city supplied water. In the event the city supplies water with a pH level of more than 8.0, a group 3 discharger shall be required to discharge water or waste with a pH level of no higher than .5 above the pH level of the city supplied water.

(f) Any cyanide greater than 1.0 part per million.

(g) Any hexavalent chromium greater than 1.0 parts per million.

(h) Any trivalent chromium greater than 10 parts per million.

(i) Any copper greater than 1.0 part per million.

(j) Any nickel greater than 1.0 part per million.

(k) Any cadmium greater than .7 part per million.

(l) Any zinc greater than 1 part per million.

(m) Any phenols and derivatives greater than 12 parts per million.

(n) Any tin greater than 1 part per million.

(o) Any antimony greater than 5 part per million.

(p) Any arsenic greater than 1 part per million.

(q) Any lead greater than .4 part per million.

(r) Any manganese greater than 35 part per million.

(s) Any mercury greater than .01 part per million.

(t) Any selenium greater than 2 part per million.

(u) Any silver greater than .7 part per million.

(v) Any TTO greater than 2.13 part per million.

(w) Any xylene greater than 1.5 part per million.

(x) Any material with an inorganic electroconductivity greater than 700uS/cm.

(y) Notwithstanding subsection (x) above, group 3 dischargers shall not discharge any material with an average inorganic electroconductivity, measured daily, greater than either 700uS/cm or 500uS/cm above the background level for water received from the city whichever is higher.

No person shall discharge, cause, allow, or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any toxic or poisonous substances or any other pollutant, including but not limited to biological oxygen demand and electrical conductivity, in sufficient quantity to injure or cause an interference with the sewage treatment process, or in sufficient quantity to constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or in sufficient quantities to create a hazard for humans, or which may create a hazard in the use or disposal of sewage sludge. Compliance with the above limits may be based on a grab sample or a composite sample at the discretion of the director or his/her agent.

Sampling data showing noncompliance shall be corrected within 36 hours of delivery of notice from the director to the discharger.

(g) Prohibition on use of diluting waters. The use of diluting waters as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment, to achieve compliance, or to meet local limitations for wastewater as set forth in table A, or to avoid or minimize any requirement imposed in a wastewater discharge permit is prohibited.

(h) Suspended solids: dissolved matter. No person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any liquid contained suspended solids or dissolved matter of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle, process or treat such matter at the plant.

(i) Noxious or malodorous matter. No person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any solid, liquid, vapor, gas, or thing which is so malodorous or noxious that their discharge into the sanitary sewer system would cause a public nuisance.

(j) Colored matter. No person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process such as, but not limited to, dye waste and vegetable tanning solutions.

(k) Garbage. No person shall discharge, deposit, or throw, or cause, allow or permit to discharged, deposited, or thrown in the sewer system or any part thereof, any garbage, or any fruit, vegetable, animal or other solid material from any food-processing plant or other industrial plant or retail grocery store, irrespective of whether or not it shall have first passed through a mechanical grinder.

No person shall install, operate, use or maintain upon the premises of any food-processing plant, or any other industrial plant or retail grocery store, any mechanical grinder or waste grinder that is connected directly or indirectly to the sanitary sewer system, or any part thereof.

(l) Screened industrial waste. No person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any garbage, or any fruit, vegetable, animal, or other solid industrial wastes resulting from the processing, packaging, or canning of fruits, vegetables, or other foods or products, unless such wastes have first been passed through screens having openings not exceeding one thirty-second of an inch in dimension. The director may authorize, in writing, the discharge into the sanitary sewer system of such wastes if they are first passed through screens having larger openings, if the director is satisfied that such larger openings will provide screening efficiency and effectiveness equal to or better than that provided by the above-specified openings of one thirty-second of an inch in dimension.

Each person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any such wastes shall install and maintain in good operating order, screens and all needed appurtenances, including but not limited to all necessary conveyors and elevators, all in sufficient quantity and of sufficient size and quality to continuously and effectively screen not less than 100 percent of the peak hydraulic and solids loading imposed on such screens and appurtenances during any process period.

No person shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part of the system, unless and until he or she has obtained a wastewater discharge permit pursuant to this code granting approval to do so. The director may require such person to provide to the director a report prepared by a registered professional engineer which shows, to the satisfaction of the director, that the provisions of this code have been complied with, before the wastewater discharge permit is granted.

(Ord. No. 990, §§ 1, 2(Exh. A), 2-18-99)

(a) Group 1 and 2 dischargers; approved mass audit study required. No group 1 or 2 discharger shall discharge, cause, allow or permit to be discharged into the sanitary sewer system or any part thereof, any industrial waste containing heavy metals unless the director has approved a mass audit study for that discharge.

(b) Group 1 and 2 dischargers; revision of MECL. Any group 1 or 2 discharger may file an application for the dischargers MECL where production increases or process changes are projected to cause the discharger to exceed the discharger's MECL.

(c) Compliance. All group 1 and 2 dischargers lawfully discharging industrial wastewater to the sanitary sewer system on January 1, 1998, shall cause their facilities to be in full compliance per this code not later than the effective date of this ordinance, except as otherwise provided herein. The director may extend the time period set forth above at the request of a discharger provided that such extension would not cause interference with operation of the sanitary sewer system or plant; and the director makes a written determination that the discharger has installed all maximum feasible reduction measures, or reasonable control measures, but still cannot achieve full compliance; and the discharger has implemented an action plan to achieve compliance.

(d) [Compliance for group 3 dischargers.] Group 3 dischargers, as defined in subsection 82-174(h), lawfully discharging industrial wastewater to the sanitary sewer system on January 1, 1998, shall cause their facilities to be in full compliance per this code not later than the effective date of this division. The director may extend this time period set forth above at the request for a discharger provided that such extension would not cause interference with operation of the sanitary sewer system or plant; and the director makes a written determination that the discharger has installed all maximum feasible reduction measures, or reasonable control measures, but still cannot achieve full compliance; and the discharger has implemented an action plan to achieve full compliance. For requirements for pH levels and inorganic electroconductivity, as specified in section 82-175, table 1, subsections (e) and (y), the standards shall not be effective until the city has initially supplied the group 3 discharger with written monthly test data taken from the water supplied to the discharger for a period of three months, tested within the preceding six months. Within 60 days after such initial test data is supplied, the group 3 discharger shall be in full compliance with the standards or have received a director's extension in the manner specified above. New test data shall be made available by the city quarterly thereafter, and such new data will trigger in the discharger the compliance obligations described hereinabove.

(Ord. No. 990, § 2(Exh. A), 2-18-99)

(a) Mandatory wastewater discharge permits. No critical user shall connect, discharge, cause, allow, or permit any discharge, into the sanitary sewer system except in accordance with a wastewater discharge permit issued by the director.

(b) Permit duration and amendment.

(1) Wastewater discharge permits shall be issued for a specific duration not to exceed five years.

(2) Permits shall be subject to amendment by the city as limitations or requirements for wastewater discharge are modified or changed.

(3) The holder of a wastewater discharge permit shall be informed of any proposed amendment to its permit at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the amendment.

(4) The director may include a compliance schedule in an amended permit.

(c) Permit application.

(1) All persons requiring a wastewater discharge permit shall file a complete application, in the form prescribed by the director, and accompanied by the applicable fees, as established by resolution of the city council.

(2) For new construction, permit applications shall be filed with the director at the time that an application for a building permit for a new building or structure is made.

(3) All persons discharging wastewaters into the sanitary sewer system for which a wastewater discharge permit has been issued must apply for a new permit prior to making a significant change in the operations affecting their discharge.

(d) Delinquent fees.

(1) Any person who fails to file an application for a wastewater discharge permit prior to discharge shall be assessed a penalty for delinquent filing as follows:

a. Up to and including 30 days delinquency, the penalty shall be 50 percent of the permit fee.

b. More than 30 days but less than one year delinquency, the penalty shall be 100 percent.

c. More than one year delinquency, the penalty shall be 1,000 percent of the permit fee.

(2) Such penalties shall be in addition to any other penalties or fines that may be levied, and in addition to any other remedies that the city may have respect to discharge.

(e) Signature requirements.

(1) Permit applications, discharge reports and any other reports required by the director shall be signed by an executive officer of the business filing the application.

(2) Such executive officer shall be at least of the level of vice president, general partner, president, or an individual responsible for the overall operation of the facility applying for permit.

(f) Additional information.

(1) If the director is not satisfied that the permit application has sufficient information to determine whether the permit should be issued, the director may refuse to issue the permit or request that the applicant submit additional information.

(2) The applicant shall have 30 working days after reviewing a request for information, to complete the application.

(3) If the returned application is not resubmitted within the specified time period, then a new application for wastewater discharge permit must be submitted along with the application fees for a new permit.

(g) To transfer of permit. Wastewater discharge permits are issued to a specific user for a specific operation. No user shall assign, transfer or sell a wastewater discharge permit, or use the permit on premises or for facilities or operations not covered by the permit.

(h) Denial of permit. The director may deny a wastewater discharge permit if any one or more of the following conditions exist:

(1) The application is not accompanied by the required fee(s).

(2) The application contains false or misleading information.

(3) The issuance of the permit would result in the discharge of industrial wastes of such quantity or strength that the public health or safety, or public or private property endangered.

(4) The issuance of the permit would cause the plant to violate any permit conditions, laws, or regulations of the state and/or federal government.

(5) The applicant has not provided adequate information to establish that its discharge will comply with all requirements of this Code and with such other terms and conditions as the director may deem necessary to include in the discharger's permit.

(6) The applicant has not provided plans for sufficient protection from accidental discharges to the land, storm sewer system, and sanitary sewer system.

(i) Permit condition. Wastewater discharge permits shall be expressly subject to all provisions of this code and all other regulations, user charges, discharge limitations and fees established by the city and all applicable local, state and federal law regulations, including but not limited to:

(1) Limits on the average and maximum wastewater constituents and characteristics.

(2) Requirements for installation and maintenance of flow monitoring, inspection, and sampling facilities.

(3) Specifications and pretreatment requirements for monitoring programs, which may include sampling locations, frequency of sampling, number, types and standards for tests and reporting, schedule.

(4) Compliance schedules.

(5) Requirements for submission of technical reports or discharge reports.

(6) Requirements for maintaining and retaining plant records relating to wastewater discharge as specified by the city and affording the city access thereto.

(7) Requirements for notification to the city of any new introduction of wastewater constituents or any significant change in the volume or character of the wastewater constituents being introduced into the wastewater stream.

(8) Requirements and plans for protection against accidental discharges, including but not limited to berming of chemicals and waste materials.

(9) Requirements for notification of accidental discharges.

(Ord. No. 990, § 2(Exh. A), 2-18-99)

(a) Power to inspect. The director and other duly authorized employees and agents of the city shall have the right to access upon all properties for the purpose of inspecting any sewer or storm drain connection, including, but not limited to, all discharge connections of roof and surface drains and plumbing fixtures, in, inspecting, observing, measuring, photographing, sampling, and testing the quality, consistency, and characteristics of sewage and industrial wastewaters being discharged into any public sewer; and inspecting and copying any records relating to quantity and quality of wastewater discharges, including but not limited to water usage and effluent discharged, chemical usage, and hazardous waste records.

The director may terminate service or revoke the permit of any person who has discharged wastewater to the sanitary sewer system and/or has unreasonably refused access to the city.

(b) Discharge reports. The director may require that any person discharging wastewater into the sanitary sewer system file periodic discharge reports or a zero discharge report. The periodic discharge report may include, but is not limited to, nature of process, volume, rates of flow, hours of operation, number of employees, or other information which relates to the generation of waste, including wastewater constituents and characteristics in the wastewater discharge and the ability of the discharge to meet applicable discharge limits.

The zero discharge report shall certify that the discharger does not discharge industrial waste to the sanitary sewer system.

It shall be unlawful for any person who has discharged wastewater to the sanitary sewer system to refuse to file any report requested by the director.

(c) Termination of service and permit revocation. The director may revoke any wastewater discharge permit, and/or terminate, or cause to be terminated wastewater service to any premises:

(1) If a discharge of wastewater for the premises causes or threatens to cause a violation of any provision of this code or applicable local, state or federal regulations.

(2) If a discharge of wastewater from the premises causes or threatens to cause a condition of contamination, pollution or nuisance.

Written notice of the permit revocation or service termination, and a statement of the grounds shall be delivered to the discharger. The notice shall be effective ten calendar days after it is served on the discharger, unless the director determines that immediate permit revocation or suspension of service is necessary for the preservation of public health or safety or for the protection of public or private property. If the director determines that immediate permit revocation or suspension of services is necessary, the director may act to revoke the permit or suspend service immediately after written notice is delivered to the discharger. It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge any material into the sanitary sewer system from any premises for which the permit has been revoked or wastewater service has been terminated.

(Ord. No. 990, § 2(Exh. A), 2-18-99)