Simi Valley Municipal Code Art. 8 Monitoring, Reporting, Inspection, Record Keeping, and Notification…

All facilities will be subject to periodic measurements of flow rates, flow volumes, and wastewater characteristics for compliance with any limitations or requirements specified in the permit or this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

If sampling performed by a user indicates a violation, the user must notify the Director within twenty-four (24) hours of becoming aware of the violation. The user must also repeat the sampling and analysis and submit the results of the repeat analysis to the Director within thirty (30) days after becoming aware of the violation. Where the City has preformed the sampling and analysis in lieu of the user, the City will perform the repeat sampling and analysis. Repeat sampling is not required if:

(a) The City performs sampling at the user's facility at least once a month, and the subsequent sampling results are compliant; or

(b) The City performs sampling at the user's facility between the time when the initial sampling was conducted and the time when the user or the City received the results of this sampling and the subsequent sampling results are compliant.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Any user may be required by the Director, by permit or otherwise, to engage in periodic monitoring and sampling of its discharge. Where a user is required to monitor or sample, the user must notify the Director by telephone facsimile or by e-mail as specified in the user's permit at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of any monitoring or sampling events. Notification must include the date, time, and location of proposed monitoring or sampling. Monitoring and sampling shall be carried out during the user's designated operating hours. Prior to the commencement of any sampling or monitoring, the Director may request that the user furnish to the City a split sample and all supporting data and other pertinent information. The Director reserves the right to refuse any data developed from the monitoring or sampling event if the user fails to comply with the pre-notification procedure.

Each user must submit to the Director, certified under penalty of perjury by the user, its monitoring and sampling report or other requested data.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The sampling, analysis, and flow measurement procedures, equipment, and results must be subject at any time to inspection by the Director. Sampling and flow measurement facilities must provide safe access to authorized personnel.

Those users required by the Director to make periodic measurements of industrial wastewater flows and pollutants must make at least the minimum number of measurements required. The minimum requirement for periodic measurements shall be at least two 24-hour measurements per year. All wastewater samples must be representative of the user's discharge. Wastewater monitoring and flow measurement facilities shall be properly operated, kept clean, and maintained in good working order at all times. The failure of a user to keep its monitoring facility in good working order shall not be grounds for the user to claim that sample results are unrepresentative of its discharge. Representative samples of the industrial wastewater shall be obtained at least once each hour over the 24-hour period, or the designated hours of operation for the facility. All samples must be properly refrigerated and preserved, composited according to measured flow rates during the 24-hour period, and analyzed for the specified wastewater pollutants. Industrial plants with large fluctuations in quantity or quality of wastewater may be required to provide continuous sampling and analyses for every working day. When required by the Director, users must install and maintain, in proper working order, automatic flow-proportional sampling equipment, automatic analysis and recording equipment, or both.

Measurements to verify the quantities of waste flows and waste pollutants reported by users will be conducted on a random basis by the Director.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

All users must maintain records of all information resulting from any monitoring activities required by applicable regulations. At a minimum the following information must be included:

(a) The date, exact place, method, and time of sampling and the names of the person or persons taking the samples;

(b) The dates analyses were performed;

(c) The identity and addresses of the person(s) who performed the analyses; and

(d) The results of such analyses.

All users shall be required to retain records of all monitoring activities and results, whether or not required by this chapter, for a minimum period of three (3) years. The records must be made available for inspection and copying by the Director at any time. This period of retention shall be extended during the course of any unresolved litigation involving the user or the City sewerage facilities. If a user subject to the reporting requirement in this section monitors any regulated pollutant at the appropriate sampling location more frequently than required by the Director, the results of this monitoring must be included in the report.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Samples and flow measurement must represent the normal wastewater flow to the public sewer over a twenty-four (24) hour period. Composite samples shall be collected according to flow or time, with at least one sample collected hourly. Samples may be collected either manually or by automatic integrated sampling equipment approved by the Director. Chain-of-custody logs must be maintained by the user for all samples required by this chapter.

(a) Samples collected to satisfy reporting requirements must be based on data obtained through appropriate sampling and analysis performed during the period covered by the report, based on data that is representative of conditions occurring during the reporting period.

(b) The sampling, handling, storage, and analysis of all samples taken for the determination of the characteristics of wastewater discharges must be performed in accordance with procedures established in 40 CFR 136, unless otherwise specified in an applicable categorical pretreatment standard, by laboratories certified by the State of California, by a laboratory of the user approved by the Director. If 40 CFR 136 does not contain sampling or analytical techniques for the pollutant in question, or where the EPA determines that Part 136 sampling and analytical techniques are inappropriate for the pollutant in question, sampling and analyses must be performed by using validated analytical methods or any other applicable sampling and analytical procedures approved by EPA. If performed by City personnel, an appropriate charge shall be paid by the user requesting the tests. Prior to submittal to the Director of data developed in the laboratory of a user, the results must be verified by an authorized representative of the user, certified to by a qualified professional, and signed by an authorized representative of the user. Any independent laboratory or user performing tests must immediately furnish any required test data or information on the test methods or equipment used upon request by the Director.

(c) Except as indicated in subsections (d) and (e) below, the user must collect wastewater samples using 24-hour flow-proportional composite sampling techniques, unless time-proportional composite sampling or grab sampling is authorized by the Director. Where time-proportional composite sampling or grab sampling is authorized by the director, the samples must be representative of the discharge. Using protocols specified in 40 CFR Part 136 and approved EPA procedures, multiple grab samples collected during a 24-hour period may be composited prior to the analysis as follows: for cyanide, total phenols, and sulfides, the samples may be composited in the laboratory or in the field; for volatile organics and oil and grease, the samples may be composited in the laboratory. Composite samples for other parameters unaffected by the compositing procedures as documented in approved EPA methodologies may be authorized by the Director. In addition, grab samples may be required to show compliance with Instantaneous Limits.

(d) Samples for oil and grease, temperature, pH, cyanide, total phenols, sulfides, and volatile organic compounds must be obtained using grab sample techniques.

(e) For sampling required in support of baseline monitoring and 90-day compliance reports a minimum of four (4) grab samples must be used for pH, cyanide, total phenols, oil and grease, sulfides, and volatile organic compounds for facilities for which historical sampling data do not exist. For facilities with historical sampling data available, the Director may authorize a lower minimum. For the reports required by Section 6-13.812(d) the user is required to collect the number of grab samples necessary to assess and assure compliance with applicable pretreatment standards and pretreatment requirements.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The determination or estimation of pollutants contained in sanitary sewage, liquid waste, and industrial wastewater discharges must be by one of the following methods:

(a) Sampling and analysis by City personnel;

(b) Sampling and analysis by user personnel or laboratory acceptable to the director and employed by the user; or

(c) Estimates determined by a study of waste producing operations leading to the discharge and approved by the Director.

The method selected must be approved by the Director prior to the commencement of sampling. In the event either method (b) or (c) is selected and approved, the Director may determine the accuracy of the results obtained by appropriate sampling and analysis.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The measurement of total flow of sanitary sewage, liquid waste, or industrial wastewater shall be made by means of a metering device, approved by the Director, purchased, installed, and maintained at the expense of the user or by estimate arrived at from total water used in the area occupied, or by other means acceptable to the Director and the user. The user shall have the option of selecting whether the measurement shall be made by meter, or by estimate, provided that the method of estimating is approved by the Director.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The determination of peak flow rate shall be made by means of an effluent meter approved by the Director and purchased, installed, and maintained at the expense of the user, or by field measurements made by the City. The User shall have the option of selecting the method of determination to be used, provided that in the event the field measurement method is selected, the user will bear all expenses incurred by the City in carrying out the field measurements.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Unless specifically relieved of such obligation in writing by the Director, the Director shall require all users to take periodic measurements of flow rates, flow volumes, and wastewater characteristics for use in determining the industrial wastewater treatment surcharge.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The user must apply for an amended permit should measurements or other investigations reveal that the user is discharging at a flow rate, flow quantity, or pollutant loading in excess of that stated in their permit or in excess of the quantities reported to the City by the user. If an industrial wastewater treatment surcharge was based upon the reported discharge quantity or pollutant loading the user shall be assessed for all delinquent charges together with any penalties and interest that may apply.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of a categorical pretreatment standard, or the final administrative decision on a category determination, whichever is later, existing users currently discharging, or scheduled to discharge, to the POTW must submit to the Director a report that indicates whether the user meets the categorical pretreatment standard. At least ninety (90) days prior to commencement of their discharge, new sources, and sources that become categorical industrial users subsequent to the promulgation of an applicable categorical pretreatment standard, must submit to the Director a report that contains the information listed below. A new source must report the method of pretreatment it intends to use to meet applicable categorical pretreatment standards. A new source also must give estimates of its anticipated flow and quantity of pollutants to be discharged.

Users described above must submit all of the information below:

(a) Name and address of the facility;

(b) Name of the operator and owner(s);

(c) A list of any environmental control permits held by or for the facility;

(d) A brief description of the nature, average rate of production, each product produced by type, amount, processes, and rate of production, and SIC and NAICS of the operation(s) carried out by the user. This description must include a schematic process diagram that indicates points of discharge to the POTW from the regulated processes;

(e) Information showing the measured average and maximum daily flow, in gallons per day, to the POTW from regulated process streams and other streams, as necessary, to allow use of the combined wastestream formula, if applicable;

(f) Measurement and reporting of pollutants:

(1) The categorical pretreatment standards applicable to each regulated process and any new categorically regulated processes for existing sources;

(2) The results of sampling and analysis identifying the nature and concentration or mass, where required by the pretreatment standard or by the Director, of regulated pollutants in the discharge from each regulated process;

(3) Instantaneous, daily maximum, and long-term average concentrations or mass, where required, must be reported;

(4) The sample must be representative of daily operations and analyzed using the techniques set forth in this chapter. Where the pretreatment standard requires compliance with a BMP or pollution prevention alternative, the user must submit documentation as required by the Director or the applicable pretreatment standards to determine compliance with the pretreatment standard;

(5) The user must take a minimum of one representative sample to compile that data necessary to comply with the requirements of this chapter;

(6) Samples should be taken immediately downstream from pretreatment facilities if such exist or immediately downstream from the regulated process if no pretreatment exists.

(7) The Director may allow the submission of a baseline report which utilizes only historical data so long as the data provides information sufficient to determine the need for industrial pretreatment measures; and

(8) The baseline report must indicate the time, date, and place of sampling and methods of analysis and must certify that such sampling and analysis is representative of normal work cycles and expected pollutant discharges to the POTW.

(g) A compliance certification statement must be reviewed and certified by a qualified professional, and signed and approved by an authorized representative of the user, indicating whether pretreatment standards are being met on a consistent basis and, if not, whether additional operation, maintenance, and/or additional pretreatment is necessary to meet the pretreatment standards and pretreatment requirements;

(h) If additional operation, maintenance, and/or pretreatment will be required to meet the pretreatment standards, the shortest compliance schedule by which the user will provide such measures must be provided. The completion date in this schedule must not be later than the compliance date established for the applicable pretreatment standard; and

(i) All baseline monitoring reports must be signed and certified in accordance with Section 6-13.818 of this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

(a) The compliance schedule shall contain progress increments in the form of dates for the commencement and completion of major events leading to the construction and operation of additional pretreatment required for the user to meet the applicable pretreatment standards.

(b) No increment referred to above shall exceed nine (9) months.

(c) The user must submit a progress report to the Director no later than fourteen (14) days following each date in the schedule and the final date of compliance including, as a minimum, whether or not it complied with the increment of progress, the reason for any delay, and, if appropriate, the steps being taken by the user to return to the established schedule.

(d) In no event shall more than nine (9) months elapse between such progress reports to the Director.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Within ninety (90) days following the date for final compliance with applicable categorical pretreatment standards, or, in the case of a new source, following commencement of the introduction of wastewater into the POTW, any user subject to pretreatment standards and pretreatment requirements must submit to the Director a report containing the information described in Section 6-13.812(d) and (e).

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

(a) All SIUs must submit at a minimum every June and December reports indicating the nature, concentration of pollutants in the discharge which are limited by pretreatment standards, and the measured or estimated average and maximum daily flows for the reporting period. In cases where the pretreatment standard requires compliance with a BMP or pollution prevention alternative, the user must submit documentation required by the Director or the pretreatment standard necessary to determine the compliance status of the user. At the discretion of the Director, the Director may agree to alter the months during which the reports required in this section are to be submitted.

(b) Any user who is not meeting City requirements, discharge limitations, or pretreatment standards and is required to submit a compliance report must do so on the proper form and in compliance with the requirements set in this chapter or in a compliance schedule set by a regulatory agency.

(c) All compliance sampling and monitoring must be performed and completed within the reporting period as defined in the compliance schedule.

(d) All Discharges sampled and monitored by the user in excess of the requirements issued by the City must be reported with the compliance report covering the period in which the samples were collected.

(e) All periodic compliance reports must be signed and certified in accordance with Section 6-13.818 of this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

All users must notify the Director no less than thirty (30) days in advance of any substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants in their discharge, including any changes that affect the potential for a slug discharge. Modifications to the permit may be required to accommodate the change. Users must notify the Director of any changes to processes at least ninety (90) days in advance. The Director may require the user to submit such information as necessary to evaluate the changed condition. The Director may issue a permit or modify an existing permit in response to changed or anticipated changed conditions.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

In the case of any discharge that may cause potential problems for the POTW, the user must immediately notify the director by telephone of the incident. This notification must include:

(a) The location of the discharge;

(b) Type of waste, concentration, and volume, if known; and

(c) Any corrective actions taken by the user.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The following certification statement is required to be signed and submitted by users submitting permit applications, baseline monitoring reports, compliance reports with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, periodic compliance reports, and for an initial request to forego sampling of a pollutant. The following certification statement must be signed by an authorized representative:

I certify under penalty of perjury that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gathered and evaluated the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for violations.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

All users not required to obtain a permit shall provide appropriate reports to the Director as the Director may require.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

The Director shall have the right to enter the premises of any user to determine whether the user is complying with all requirements of this chapter and any permit or order issued hereunder. Users must allow the Director ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, records examination and copying, and the performance of any additional duties.

(a) Where a user has security measures in force that require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the user must make necessary arrangements with its security personnel so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, the Director will be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.

(b) The Director shall have the right to set up on the user's property, or require installation of, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling and/or metering of the user's operations.

(c) The Director may require the user to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment must be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition by the user at the user's expense. All devices used to measure wastewater flow and quality must be calibrated to ensure their accuracy.

(d) Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled must be promptly removed by the user at the written or verbal request of the Director and must not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be born by the user.

(e) Unreasonable delays in allowing the Director access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

(a) The user must notify the POTW and all appropriate state and federal hazardous waste authorities, in writing, of any discharge into the POTW of a substance, which, if otherwise disposed of, would be a hazardous waste under 40 CFR 261. Such notification must include the name of the hazardous waste, the EPA Hazardous Waste number, and the type of discharge, continuous, batch, or other. If the user discharges more than 100 kilograms of such waste per calendar month to the POTW, the notification must also contain the following information to the extent such information is known and readily available to the user: An identification of the hazardous pollutants contained in the wastes; an estimation of the mass and concentration of such pollutants in the wastestream discharged during that calendar month; and an estimation of the mass of pollutants in the wastestream expected to be discharged during the following twelve (12) months. All notifications must take place within 180 days of the effective date of this chapter. Users who commence discharging after the effective date of this chapter must provide the notification no later than 180 days after the discharge of the listed or characteristic hazardous waste. Any notification under this paragraph need be submitted only once each calendar year for each hazardous waste discharged. However, notifications of changed discharges must be submitted under 40 CFR 403.12(j). The notification requirement in this section does not apply to pollutants already reported under the self-monitoring requirements of 40 CFR 403.12(b), (d), and (e).

(b) Users are exempt from the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section during a calendar month in which they discharge no more than fifteen (15) kilograms of hazardous wastes, unless the wastes are acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40 CFR 261.30 et seq. and 261.33(e). Discharge of more than fifteen (15) kilograms of non-acute hazardous wastes in a calendar month, or of any quantity of acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40 CFR 261.30 et seq. and 261.33(e), requires a one-time notification prior to discharge.

(c) In the case of any new regulations under section 3001 of RCRA identifying additional characteristics of hazardous waste or listing any additional substance as a hazardous waste, the user must notify the POTW and all hazardous waste authorities required of the discharge of such substance within ninety (90) days of the effective date of such regulations.

(d) In the case of any notification made under this section, the user must certify that it has a program in place to reduce the volume and toxicity of hazardous wastes generated to the degree it has determined to be economically practical.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

In the event of an uncontrolled discharge, the user must immediately notify the director of the incident by telephone. The notification must include locations of discharge, type of material, concentration and volume, and corrective actions taken.

Within five (5) days following the uncontrolled discharge, the user must submit to the Director a detailed written report describing the cause of the discharge, corrective action taken, and measures to be taken to prevent future occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the user of any additional liabilities, fines, and costs incurred as a result of this uncontrolled discharge.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)

Users are required to notify the Director of any event that violates any section of this chapter. No statement in this chapter shall be construed as relieving the user from the notification requirements of other federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or ordinances.

In the event of emergencies, potential risk to public health or safety, potential property damage, or potential health or safety risk to City employees, the user must notify the Director and the City of Simi Valley Police Department. If the Director is unavailable, the user may contact the Assistant Director of Public Works, Deputy Director/Environmental Compliance, Deputy Director/Sanitation, or Principal Engineer/Sanitation.

In no event shall the availability of the Director relieve the user from the time limitations for notifications established in this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1170, eff. April 21, 2011)