Soledad Municipal Code Ch. 13.16 Use Regulations

No person shall discharge wastes to a community sewer which cause, threaten to cause, or are capable of causing either alone or by interaction with other substances:

A. A fire or explosion;

B. Obstruction of flow or injury to the treatment works;

C. Danger to life or safety of personnel;

D. A strong, offensive odor or prevention of the effective maintenance or operation of the treatment works;

E. Air pollution by the release of toxic or malodorous gases or malodorous, gas-producing substances;

F. Interference with the wastewater treatment process;

G. The city's effluent or any other product of the treatment process, residues, sludges or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process;

H. A detrimental environmental impact or a nuisance in the waters of the state or a condition unacceptable to any public agency having regulatory jurisdiction over the city;

I. Discoloration or any other condition in the quality of the city's treatment works effluent such that receiving water quality requirements established by law cannot be met;

J. Conditions at or near the city's treatment works which violate any statute or any rule, regulation, or ordinance of any public agency or state or federal regulatory body;

K. The city's treatment works to be overloaded or cause excessive city collection or treatment costs, or may use a disproportionate share of the city facilities.

(Prior code § 26-36-20)

A. Stormwater, groundwater, rainwater, street drainage, subsurface drainage or yard drainage shall not be discharged through direct or indirect connections to a community sewer unless a permit is issued by the city. The city may approve the discharge of such water only when no reasonable alternative method of disposal is available.

B. If a permit is granted for the discharge of such water into a community sewer, the user shall pay the applicable charges and fees and meet such other conditions as required by the city.

(Prior code § 26-36-21)

A. Unpolluted water, including but not limited to cooling water, process water or blow-down from cooling towers or evaporative coolers, shall not be discharged through direct or indirect connection to a community sewer unless a permit is issued by the city. The city may approve the discharge of such water only when no reasonable alternative method of disposal is available.

B. If a permit is granted for the discharge of such water into a community sewer, the user shall pay the applicable charges and fees and shall meet such other conditions as required by the city.

(Prior code § 26-36-22)

No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, any radioactive waste into a community sewer except:

A. When the person is authorized to use radioactive materials by the State Department of Health or other governmental agency empowered to regulate the use of radioactive materials; and

B. When the waste is discharged in strict conformity with current California Radiation Control Regulations (California Administrative Code, Title 17) and the Atomic Energy Commission regulations and recommendations for safe disposal; and

C. When the person is in compliance with all rules and regulations of all other applicable regulatory agencies.

(Prior code § 26-36-23)

A. Waste from garbage grinders shall not be discharged into a community sewer except:

1. Wastes generated in preparation of food normally consumed on the premises; or

2. Where the user has obtained a permit for that specific use from the city, and agrees to undertake whatever self-monitoring is required to enable the city to equitably determine the charges and fees based on the waste constituents and characteristics.

B. Such grinders must shred the waste to a degree that all particles will be carried freely under normal flow conditions prevailing in the community sewer. Garbage grinders shall not be used for grinding plastic, paper products, inert materials, or garden refuse.

(Prior code § 26-36-24)

No person shall discharge any substances directly into a manhole or other opening in a community sewer other than through an approved building sewer, unless he has been issued a permit by the city. If a permit is issued for such direct discharge, the user shall pay the applicable charges and fees and shall meet such other conditions as required by the city.

(Prior code § 26-36-25)

No person shall discharge any holding tank waste into a community sewer unless he has been issued a permit by the city. Unless otherwise allowed by the city under the terms and conditions of the permit, a separate permit must be secured for each separate discharge. This permit will state the specific location of discharge, the time of day the discharge is to occur, the volume of the discharge and the wastewater constituents and characteristics. If a permit is granted for discharge of such waste into a community sewer, the user shall pay the applicable charges and fees and shall meet such other conditions as required by the city. An exception to the above is that no permit will be required for discharge of domestic wastes from mobile home holding tanks; provided, that such discharges are made into a city-approved facility designed to receive such wastes.

(Prior code § 26-36-26)

A. No person shall discharge wastewater containing in excess of:

0.1 milligrams per liter arsenic;

0.2 milligrams per liter cadmium;

2.0 milligrams per liter copper;

1.0 milligrams per liter cyanide;

1.0 milligrams per liter lead;

0.01 milligrams per liter mercury;

1.0 milligrams per liter nickel;

0.2 milligrams per liter silver;

0.5 milligrams per liter total chromium;

3.0 milligrams per liter zinc.

B. No person shall discharge any wastewater:

1. Having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (65.5* Celsius);

2. Containing more than three hundred milligrams per liter of oil or grease of animal or vegetable origin;

3. Containing more than one hundred milligrams per liter oil or grease of mineral or petroleum origin;

4. Having a pH lower than 6.0;

5. Containing in excess of 0.02 milligrams per liter total identifiable chlorinated hydrocarbons which cannot be removed by the city's wastewater treatment process;

6. Containing in excess of 1.0 milligrams per liter phenolic compounds which cannot be removed by the city's wastewater treatment process.

C. Effluent limitations promulgated by the Federal Act shall apply in any instance where they are more stringent than those in this division. Under Section 307 (b) of the Act, federal pretreatment standards are designed to achieve two purposes: (1) to protect the operation of publicly owned treatment works, and (2) to prevent the discharge of pollutants which pass through such works inadequately treated. Users in industrial categories subject to effluent guidelines issued under Section 304 (b) of the Act, which are discharging incompatible pollutants to publicly owned treatment works, are required to adopt best practicable control technology currently available, as defined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 304 (b) of the Act. Where the city's treatment works was designed to and does achieve substantial removal of pollutants other than the four pollutants listed in the definition for compatible pollutants in Section 1.02f of the Act (BOD, suspended solids, pH, and fecal coliform bacteria) , the city may, at its discretion, not require the user to achieve best practicable control technology currently available, since this would lead to an uneconomical duplication of treatment facilities. While the term "substantial removal" is not subject to precise definition, it generally contemplates removals in the order of eighty percent or greater. Minor incidental removals in the order of ten to thirty percent are not considered "substantial." For some industrial categories it may be necessary to define pretreatment guidelines for problems that may arise as a result of the discharges into the city's treatment works. However, any adjustments required for particular industrial categories should be considered in connection with the city's requirements rather than in the national pretreatment standard. Limitations on wastewater strength in subsections A and B of this section may be supplemented with more stringent limitations pursuant to Section 13.24.020:

a. If the city determines that the limitations in subsections A and B of this section may not be sufficient to protect the operation of the city's treatment works; or

b. If the city determines that the limitations in subsections A and B of this section may not be sufficient to enable the city's treatment works to comply with water quality standards for effluent limitations specified in the city's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

(Prior code § 26-36-27)

Waste not permitted to be discharged into the community sewer must be transported to a state-approved disposal site. The required "Waste Haulers Report" must be completed and a copy furnished within thirty days to the city by the discharger.

(Prior code § 26-36-28)