Simi Valley Municipal Code Art. 6 Permits

No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing the Director from issuing a permit allowing an industrial waste of unusual strength or character or issuing a discharge permit allowing mass-based limitations on a case-by-case basis provided that the discharge does not violate federal, state, or local pretreatment requirements. The user must pay all extra costs incurred by the City connected with treating such discharge. The Director reserves the right to amend user permits based on changes to applicable federal, state, or local regulations.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Permits for the use of the City's sewerage system shall be required as outlined in this chapter. Permit applications, in a form prescribed by the Director and accompanied by all applicable fees, must be filed with the Director. Application and permit fees shall be used to defray administrative costs and shall be subject to periodic revisions. In compliance with the Act all costs of industrial waste control shall be charged to the contributing industrial connections. Permits may be renewed by payment of fees as set by the City. The cost of laboratory analysis and staff time to establish user compliance with its Discharge limits shall be billed to the industrial facility sampled in accordance with the fees as set by the City.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

All persons proposing to connect or discharge industrial wastewater into any part of the City's POTW must first apply for and obtain a permit. The Director will deny or condition new or increased contributions of pollutants or changes in the nature of pollutants from users, based on the industry's violations of applicable pretreatment standards or the limitations imposed by this chapter or where such contributions could cause the City's POTW to be inhibited or to violate its NPDES Permit. All existing users connected to or discharging to any part of the POTW must obtain a permit, if required by the City, within ninety (90) calendar days after the effective date of this chapter. In addition, each permit, upon renewal, or each application for a permit must be accompanied by the fees as set by the City.

Permits shall be classified as follows:

(a) Class I—Significant Industrial User (SIU):

(1) Any user who meets any of the following:

(i) Has a waste discharge subject to categorical pretreatment standards;

(ii) Has an average discharge flow of 25,000 gallons or more per day of process wastewater to the POTW, excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater;

(iii) Contributes a process wastestream that makes up five (5%) percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the publicly owned treatment plant; or

(iv) Is designated by the City on the basis that the User:

A. Has a reasonable potential, either individually or in combination with other contributing industries, for adversely affecting the POTW operation or upon the quality of effluent from the POTW;

B. May cause or threaten to cause the City to violate its NPDES Permit;

C. Has a reasonable potential to violate any pretreatment standard; or

(v) Has in its waste Discharge a Toxic Pollutant.

(2) All Class I users must be inspected and sampled a minimum of two (2) times each year.

(b) Class I—Non-Significant Categorical Industrial User:

(1) Any user who is subject to categorical pretreatment standards, but never discharges more than 100 gallons per day of total categorical wastewater, excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater and:

(i) The user has complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and pretreatment requirements; and

(ii) The user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.

(c) Zero-Discharge Categorical:

(1) Any user who is subject to categorical pretreatment standards, but never discharges wastewater from a categorical process, excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater and meets the following conditions:

(i) The user has no reasonable potential to adversely affect the POTW's operation.

(ii) The user has no potential for violating any pretreatment standard or pretreatment requirement due to accidental spills, operational problems, or other causes.

(d) Class II:

(1) Any user who meets any of the following criteria:

(i) Is not required to obtain a Class I Permit;

(ii) Has discharge characteristics of greater than two (2) equivalent dwelling units;

(iii) Discharges industrial or commercial wastewater which may have potential effects on the City's POTW; or

(iv) Has a reasonable potential to violate any local limit, pretreatment standard or pretreatment requirement.

(2) Class II users may be inspected and sampled on a random basis at least once each year.

(3) Class II MM facilities must demonstrate that the discharge is of a known quality and quantity without measurable fluctuation during the duration of the permit. The City may require BMPs in lieu of pretreatment. Class II MM facilities may be inspected and sampled by the City anytime within the life of their permit.

(4) Class II MM Permits are issued for a one- to three-year period, based on the complexity of the operations at the facility.

(e) Class III:

(1) Any user who meets all of the following criteria:

(i) Is not required to obtain a Class I or Class II Permit;

(ii) Has discharge characteristics of less than or equal to two (2) equivalent dwelling units;

(iii) Has no toxic pollutants or hazardous wastes in its wastewater; and

(iv) Is in compliance with all pretreatment standards and pretreatment requirements.

(2) Class III users may be inspected and sampled on a random basis at least once each year.

(3) Class III MM facilities must demonstrate that the discharge is of a known quality and quantity without measurable fluctuation during the duration of the permit. The City may require BMPs in lieu of pretreatment. Class III MM facilities may be inspected and sampled by the City anytime within the life of their permit.

(4) Class III MM Permits are issued for a one- to five-year period, based on the complexity of the operations at the facility.

(f) Class IV Liquid Waste Hauler:

(1) Persons owning or operating vacuum pump trucks or other liquid waste transport vehicles who wish to discharge chemical toilets, septic tank, seepage pit, or cesspool contents, or liquid wastes, generated within the City's boundary, into the City's POTW must first have a valid City waste hauler's discharge permit. All applicants applying for a waste hauler's discharge permit must fill out completely the City's waste hauler's discharge permit application, pay the appropriate fees as set by the City, receive a copy of the City regulations governing discharge of liquid wastes from liquid waste transport vehicles, and must agree, in writing, to abide by these regulations.

(2) discharge of chemical toilet, septic tank, seepage pit, or cesspool contents, or other wastes containing no industrial wastes may be made by a person holding a valid waste hauler's discharge permit at a designated location within the City POTW. Truck transported industrial wastes must be approved by the Director and discharged only at the locations specified by the City. The City shall require payment for any excessive treatment and disposal costs or may refuse permission to discharge certain wastes.

(3) The waste hauler's discharge permit shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed five (5) years from date of issuance. Waste haulers are required to provide a waste tracking form for each load. This form shall include, at a minimum, the name and address of the waste hauler, permit number, truck identification, names and addresses of sources of waste, and volume and characteristics of waste. The form must identify the source location, known or suspected waste pollutants, and whether any wastes are RCRA hazardous wastes.

(4) Any person violating the City requirements for liquid waste discharges from trucks shall be in violation of this chapter and may have his permit suspended or revoked by the Director upon five (5) days written notice. Nothing in this chapter shall be so construed as to conflict with the requirements or enforcement rights set forth in California Health and Safety Code, Sections 117400—117450 or other existing laws, rules and regulations adopted by the State of California.

(g) Class V:

(1) Temporary dischargers:

(i) A permit shall be required of all users granted temporary permission by the City to discharge uncontaminated water, storm drainage, or groundwater directly or indirectly to the City's sewerage facilities. This temporary permit may be granted when no alternate method of disposal is reasonably available.

(ii) Users seeking a temporary permit must complete and file with the City, prior to commencing discharge, an application in the form prescribed by the City. This application must be accompanied by applicable fees, plumbing plans, or other data as required by the City for review.

(iii) The City may specify and make part of each temporary permit specific conditions and pretreatment requirements.

(iv) All applicable fees, in the amount adopted by the City's Fee Schedule, must be paid prior to issuance of a permit.

(v) A charge for use to cover costs to the City for providing sewerage service and monitoring shall be established by the City's Fee Schedule.

(vi) Temporary Permits shall be issued for a period not to exceed one (1) year.

(2) Out-of-City Dischargers:

(i) Permits for dischargers located outside of the City's service area, but tributary to the City's sewerage facilities, may be issued by the City in its sole discretion through special agreement. The Director will be authorized to inspect the discharger's facilities to determine compliance with this chapter.

(3) Groundwater Reclamation Projects:

(i) Discharge permits shall be required for any groundwater reclamation projects discharging to the City POTW.

(ii) This permit may be granted when no alternate method of disposal is reasonably available.

(iii) Users seeking a permit for groundwater reclamation must complete and file with the City, prior to commencing discharge, an application in the form prescribed by the City. This application must be accompanied by applicable fees, plans, or other data as required by the City.

(iv) The City may specify and make part of each groundwater permit specific conditions and pretreatment requirements.

(v) All applicable fees, in the amount adopted by the City's Fee Schedule, must be paid prior to issuance of a permit.

(vi) A charge for use to cover costs of the City for providing sewerage service and monitoring shall be established by the City's Fee Schedule.

(4) Mobile Wastewater Generators: Discharge permits may be issued for mobile wastewater generators who discharge the captured wastewater to the City sewer system. Captured wastewater may be discharged to the sewer system by way of a recreational vehicle sanitary sewage dump station or through a private cleanout with the owner's express permission. All applicable fees, in the amount adopted by the City's Fee Schedule, must be paid prior to issuance of a permit.

(5) Saltwater Pool Discharge:

(i) Discharge permits shall be issued for the discharge from the draining of saltwater pools. The terms and conditions of the permit may limit the days, times, concentrations, and volumes that may be discharged into the POTW.

(ii) All applicable fees, in the amount adopted by the City's Fee Schedule, must be paid prior to issuance of a permit.

(iii) A charge for use to cover costs of the City for providing sewerage service and monitoring shall be established by the City's Fee Schedule.

(h) Class VI facilities are classified as facilities with no process wastewater and discharge only sanitary sewage to POTW. Class VI HM facilities are classified as Class VI facilities that have hazardous materials on-site.

(i) Class VII facilities are classified as facilities that are not connected to the sewer system. Class VII HM facilities are classified as Class VII facilities that have hazardous materials on-site.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Users seeking a permit must complete and file with the Director an application on the form prescribed by the City. The application must be accompanied by the applicable fee. In support of this application, the user may be required to submit some or all of the following information:

(a) Business name, address, phone number, contact name and title;

(b) SIC and NAICS numbers of applicant;

(c) Volume of wastewater to be discharged;

(d) Wastewater pollutants and characteristics required by the Director as determined by an analysis performed in accordance with the standards set in this chapter. The user must pay for the cost of such analyses;

(e) Time and duration of discharge;

(f) Wastewater flow rates, including daily, monthly, and seasonal variations, if any;

(g) Site plans, floor plans, and mechanical and plumbing plans and details to show all sewers and appurtenances by size, location, and elevation;

(h) Description of activities, facilities, and plant processes on the premises including all materials and types of materials that are, or could be, discharged;

(i) Each product produced by type, amount, and rate of production;

(j) Hours of plant operation;

(k) Number of employees per shift and definition of shifts;

(l) Certification and signature of an authorized representative of the owner of the building or land that the owner will accept financial responsibility for cleanup and closure costs of sewers, wastewater storage tanks, or pretreatment facilities; and

(m) The Director will evaluate the data furnished by the user and may require additional information. After evaluation, inspection, and acceptance of the data furnished, the Director may issue a permit subject to terms and conditions.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Permits shall be expressly subject to all provisions of this chapter and all other regulations, user charges, and fees established by the City. A permit shall include such conditions that are deemed necessary by the Director to prevent pass through or interference, protect the quality of the water body receiving the POTW's effluent, protect worker health and safety, facilitate sludge management and disposal, and protect against damage to the POTW. The permit shall also include effluent limits, including BMPs, based on applicable pretreatment standards.

The Director will evaluate the data furnished by the user and may require additional information to determine whether to issue a permit. The Director may deny any application for a permit if it does not meet the standards set in this chapter.

Permit conditions may include some or all of the following:

(a) Limits on the average and maximum wastewater pollutants and characteristics;

(b) Limits on the average and/or maximum rate and time of discharge and/or requirements for flow regulations and equalization;

(c) Limits regarding the discharge of specific pollutants;

(d) The unit charge or schedule of user charges and fees for the wastewater to be discharged to the system;

(e) Requirements for installation and maintenance of inspection and sampling facilities, equipment, and flow measurement devices;

(f) Requirements for containment of uncontrolled discharge and installation of secondary containment structure(s). The secondary containment system must meet the requirements of 40 CFR 264.175(b);

(g) Requirements for the development and implementation of spill control plans or other special conditions necessary to adequately prevent accidental, unanticipated, or non-routine discharges;

(h) Requirements, which may include self monitoring, sampling, reporting, notification and recordkeeping requirements, specific sampling locations, frequency of sampling, times of sampling, test standards, reporting schedules, and pre-notification of sampling for self-monitoring programs;

(i) Requirements for the installation of pretreatment technology, pollution control, or construction of appropriate containment devices, designed to reduce, eliminate, or prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW;

(j) Requirements for maintaining and submitting technical reports and records relating to wastewater treatment, discharges, and disposal;

(k) Requirements on daily average and maximum discharge rates, or other appropriate conditions when pollutants subject to limitations and prohibitions are proposed or present in the user's wastewater discharge;

(l) Compliance schedules;

(m) Applicable civil and criminal penalties for violation of pretreatment standards and requirements;

(n) Requirements for wastewater analyses to be done in accordance with the standards set in this chapter;

(o) Requirements for maintaining and affording city access to appropriate records;

(p) Requirements for notification to the director of any new introduction of wastewater pollutants or any substantial change in the volume or character of the wastewater pollutants;

(q) Requirements for the development and implementation of waste minimization plans to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW;

(r) Requirements for the control of slug discharges;

(s) Requirements for notification of slug, upset, or bypass discharges;

(t) Requirements for notification of discontinued discharge and the responsibility of the building and/or landowner for facility cleanup and closure;

(u) Requirements for an amended application to be filed within ten (10) business days if conditions noted in the original application change; and

(v) Other conditions to ensure compliance with this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Permits shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed five (5) years from the effective date of the permit. The permit must contain a statement that indicates the permit issuance date, expiration date, and effective date. The user must apply for renewal of the permit no later than sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the permit. After submitting an application for renewal, if the user is not notified by the City thirty (30) days prior to expiration of the permit, the permit shall automatically be extended for thirty (30) days or until the Director makes a determination on the application for renewal, whichever occurs first.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The user must be informed of any modifications to their permit at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of modification. Any modifications or new conditions in the permit must be issued in writing and include a reasonable time schedule for compliance.

The City may modify a permit for any of the following reasons:

(a) To incorporate any new or revised federal, state, or local pretreatment standards or pretreatment requirements;

(b) To address significant alterations or additions to the user's operations, processes, or wastewater volume or character since the time of the permit issuance;

(c) A change in the POTW that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of an authorized discharge;

(d) Information indicating that the permitted discharge poses a threat to the City's POTW, personnel, or the receiving waters;

(e) Violation of any terms or conditions of the permit;

(f) Misrepresentations or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the permit application or in any required reporting;

(g) Revision of, or a grant of variance from, any categorical pretreatment standard;

(h) To correct typographical or other errors in the permit; or

(i) To reflect a transfer of the facility ownership or operation to a new user/owner where requested in accordance with Section 6-13.609.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Permits are issued to a specific user/owner for a specific operation at a particular location; permits must not be reassigned, transferred, or sold without written approval from the Director in accordance with Section 6-13.609.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Individual permits may be transferred to a new user/owner only if the permittee gives at least sixty (60) days advance notice to the Director and the Director approves the transfer. The notice must include a written certification by the new user/owner which:

(a) States that the new user/owner has no intent to change the facility's operations and processes;

(b) Identifies the specific date on which the transfer is to occur; and

(c) Acknowledges full responsibility for complying with the existing individual permit.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Self-monitoring, sampling, reporting, notification, and record-keeping requirements must include an identification of pollutants, or BMPs, to be monitored, sampling location, sampling frequency, and sample type based on federal, state, and local law.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

No wastewater shall be discharged in which there has been a new or increased contribution of pollutants or change of characteristics which causes it to be different from that expressly allowed under the permit issued, without written notification to and approval by the Director at least thirty (30) days prior to Discharge. Upon such notification, the Director may require that a new application be filed and a new permit obtained before any waste discharge involving the changed characteristics takes place.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

(a) All permitted users must notify the Director in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to discontinuing its industrial process wastewater discharge for more than thirty (30) days unless the user can demonstrate to the Director that it could not have known of the discontinued discharge. The discontinued discharge may be temporary or permanent.

(b) Within thirty (30) days of the discontinued discharge, the user must provide the Director with a plan for the removal of all process wastewater from the sewers, industrial wastewater storage tanks, grease interceptors, sand and oil interceptors, or pretreatment facilities in accordance with all applicable regulations. The contents must not be discharged to a public sewer without prior written approval from the Director.

(c) The Director shall have the right to inspect the facilities of the user in accordance with the procedures established in this chapter.

(d) If the user fails to clean up and remove the contents of its facilities to the satisfaction of the Director, such activities and the costs shall be the responsibility of the owner of the facility or land.

(e) Failure of the user or owner to promptly and satisfactorily clean up and remove any contents of the sewers, industrial wastewater storage tanks, or pretreatment facilities shall subject the user and owner of the building and land to any enforcement action authorized in this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The Director may revoke an individual permit for any of the following reasons:

(a) Failure to notify the Director of significant changes to the wastewater prior to the changed discharge;

(b) Failure to provide prior notification to the Director of changed conditions;

(c) Misrepresentation or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the permit application;

(d) Falsifying self-monitoring reports and certification statements;

(e) Tampering with monitoring equipment;

(f) Refusing to allow the Director timely access to the facility premises and records;

(g) Failure to meet effluent limitations;

(h) Failure to pay permit fees, monitoring fees, sewer charges, or fines;

(i) Failure to meet compliance schedules;

(j) Failure to complete a wastewater survey or the permit application;

(k) Failure to follow procedures for permit transfer as provided in Section 6-13.609; or

(l) Violation of any pretreatment standard or pretreatment requirement, or any terms of the permit or this chapter.

Permits shall be void upon cessation of operations or transfer of business ownership except as provided in Section 6-13.609. All permits issued to a user are void upon the issuance of a new permit to that user.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)