Tehachapi Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

A. This chapter sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the city wastewater collection and treatment systems and enables the city to protect its collection and treatment system and to comply with all state and federal laws.

B. The objectives of this chapter are:

1. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the city wastewater system which will interfere with the operation of the system including the land disposal facilities; and

2. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the city wastewater system which can pass through the system into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system.

C. This chapter shall apply to all persons within the city and to persons outside the city who are, by contract or agreement, users of the city publicly owned treatment works (POTW).

D. The public works superintendent shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 90-15-577 §1(part), 1990)

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms, phrases and words as used in this chapter shall have the meanings following the itemization of such terms, phrases and words:

A. "Authorized representative of industrial user" means an authorized representative of an industrial user may be a principal executive officer of at least the level of vice president; a general partner or proprietor; and a duly authorized representative of the individual designated above if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the discharge originates.

B. "Industrial wastewater" means all water carried wastes, and wastewater of the city, excluding domestic wastewater, and shall include all wastewater from any producing, manufacturing, processing, institutional, commercial, service, agricultural, or other operation. These may include wastes of human origin similar to domestic wastewater.

C. "Permittee" means the person to whom a permit has been issued pursuant hereto.

D. "Pretreatment" means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging into the city POTW.

E. "Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" means the city wastewater collection, transmission, treatment and disposal facilities. This definition includes any sewers that convey wastewater to the treatment facility.

F. "Superintendent" means the public works superintendent of the city.

G. "User" means any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater to the city POTW.

H. Additional Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter additional terms shall have the meaning indicated by the 1981 edition of "Glossary: Water and Wastewater Control Engineering" published jointly by: AWWA, APHA, ASCE, and WPCF".

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)

A. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation of the POTW.

B. A user may not contribute the following substances to the POTW:

1. Any liquids, solids, or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the POTW. Prohibited materials include but are not limited to: gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides, and sulfides and any other substances which the city has notified the user is a fire or explosion hazard or a hazard to the POTW;

2. Any garbage that has not been properly shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in the POTW with no particle greater than three-eighths of an inch in any dimension;

3. Any ashes, cinders, pulp, sand, cement, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, asphalt, resins, plastics, woods, animal hair, paunch manure, or any other solid or viscous substances capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operations of the POTW;

4. Any water or waste containing grease as follows: floatable grease in excess of fifty milligrams per liter or dispersed in excess of fifty milligrams per liter. Grease is an oil, fat or other ether soluble matter;

5. Any liquid or water having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit;

6. Any water or waste having a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than 11;

7. Any radioactive waste;

8. Any water or waste containing more than 0.5 milligrams per liter of dissolved sulfides;

9. Septic tank sludge or effluent;

10. Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard;

11. Any water or waste containing suspended solids or soluble solids of such character and quality that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials in the POTW;

12. Any waters or wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard or create a hazard;

13. Any substance which will cause damage or imbalance of any portion of the treatment sludge disposal process;

14. Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate any state or federal disposal system conditions or receiving water quality standards;

15. Any pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released at a flow rate and/or concentration which will cause interference to the POTW.

C. Medical Wastes.

1. Hospitals, clinics, offices of medical doctors, and convalescent homes:

a. May discharge, through a city approved grinder installation with inlet size and design features suitable for its intended use and so constructed that all particles pass through a maximum three-eighth-inch opening, wastes of the following categories:

i. Wet organic kitchen wastes from food preparation and disposal but excluding all paper and plastic items, and

ii. Solid wastes generated in the rooms of patients who are not isolated because of a suspected or diagnosed communicable disease;

b. Shall not discharge to the sewer by any means:

i. Disposal hypodermic needles, syringes and associated articles following their use,

ii. Recognizable portions of the human anatomy,

iii. Wastes excluded by other provisions of this chapter except as specifically permitted in subdivision C(1)(a) of this section,

iv. All solid wastes not included in subdivision C(1)(a) of this section, or

v. Infectious wastes, defined as:

Laboratory and surgical operating room wastes except as excluded in subsection C(2) below,

Wastes from outpatient areas,

Equipment, instruments, utensils, and other materials of a disposable nature that may harbor or transmit pathogenic organisms and that are used in the rooms of patients having a suspected or diagnosed communicable disease which, by the nature of the disease, is required to be isolated by public health agencies,

2. Discharge of wastes listed in subdivision C(1)(b) of this section to the city's sewerage facilities shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

3. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the authority of the county health officer to define wastes as being infectious and, with the concurrence of the superintendent, to require that they not be discharged to the sewer.

D. Prohibitions on Storm Drainage and Groundwater.

1. Stormwater, ground water, street drainage, subsurface drainage or yard drainage shall not be discharged directly or indirectly to the district's sewage facilities. The city may approve the temporary discharge of such water only when no alternate method of disposal is reasonable available.

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

E. Prohibition on Unpolluted Water.

1. Unpolluted water such as single pass cooling water, shall not be discharged through direct or indirect connection to a city sewer. The city may approve the discharge of such water only when no alternate method of disposal is reasonably available.

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

3. When the superintendent determines that a user may or is contributing to the POTW any of the above enumerated substances in such amounts as to interfere with the operation of the POTW the superintendent shall develop effluent limitations for such user to correct the interference with the POTW.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)

A. Upon the promulgation of federal categorical pretreatment standards for a particular industrial subcategory, any federal standard more stringent than limitations imposed under this chapter shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed by this chapter.

B. Federal limitations for maximum for one day shall be determined by grab samples; limitations for average daily value for consecutive days shall be measured by twenty-four-hour composite samples.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)

State requirements and limitations when adopted shall apply when they are more stringent than those in this chapter.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)

A. Quality of Wastes. The admission into the public wastewater sewers of any waters or wastes having characteristics exceeding any of the following concentration limits shall be subject to the review and approval of the superintendent, and, where necessary in the opinion of the superintendent, the owner shall provide, at his own expense, such preliminary treatment as may be necessary to reduce the strength below the listed limits before admission to the public sewers. Plans and specifications for facilities to provide pretreatment for any of the following materials shall be prepared by a registered engineer and shall be submitted to the superintendent for approval before discharge into a sewer:

1. Antimony, 5.0 mg/l;

2. Arsenic, 0.2 mg/l;

3. Barium, 5.0 mg/l;

4. Beryllium, 1.0 mg/l;

5. BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), 150 mg/l;

6. Boron (elemental), 2.9 mg/l;

7. Cadmium, 0.2 mg/l;

8. Chlorides, 175 mg/l;

9. Chlorinated hydrocarbons, 0.02 mg/l;

10. Chromium (total), 0.5 mg/l;

11. Cobalt, 1.0 mg/l;

12. Copper, 0.7 mg/l;

13. Cyanide, 0.5 mg/l;

14. Fluoride, 10.0 mg/l;

15. Grease or oil of animal or vegetable content, 200 mg/l;

16. Grease or oil of mineral or petroleum origin, 50 mg/l;

17. Hydrogen-ion concentration of pH rating less than 5.5 or more than 11.0;

18. Iron, 3.0 mg/1;

19. Lead, 0.1 mg/1;

20. Manganese 0.5 mg/l;

21. Mercury, 0.005 mg/l;

22. Nickel, 1.0 mg/l;

23. Phenolic compounds, phenols, cersols (M, O, and P), and pyrogallic acid, 1.0 mg/l;

24. Selenium, 0.02 mg/l;

25. Silver, 0.1 mg/1;

26. Sodium, 150 mg/l;

27. Sulfate, 75 mg/l;

28. Sulfide, 0.5 mg/l;

29. Suspended solids content of 250 mg/l;

30. Temperature, maximum one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit;

31. Total dissolved solids;

32. Zinc, 30.0 mg/l.

B. Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the city engineer, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amount, or any flammable wastes, sand, and other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the city engineer and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Grease and oil interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature. They shall be of substantial construction, watertight, and equipped with easily removable covers which when bolted in place shall be gastight and watertight. Where installed, all grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be maintained by the owner, at their expense, in continuously efficient operation at all times.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)

(Ord. No. 23-04-776, § 2, 12-4-2023)

A. Wastewater Discharge for New Development.

1. The quantity of wastewater discharge for new development shall be limited to the most restrictive of the following:

a. The property's proportional share of the serving sewer lines;

b. Maximum average daily flow of four thousand gallons for each acre of site to be developed;

c. Maximum daily flow shall not exceed ten percent of the POTW remaining capacity.

2. If the industrial development immediately adjacent to the proposed development has developed to a use less than that specified in subdivision A(1)(b) of this section, additional capacity may be credited up to a maximum of ten thousand gallons per acre per day.

B. Slugs and Equalized Discharges. No person shall cause the discharge of slugs of water or wastes into the city's sewer. Each person producing a discharge of a slug into the city's sewer shall construct and maintain, at his own expense, a suitable storage and flow control facility to insure the equalization of the discharge over a twenty-four-hour period. Such facility shall have a capacity of at least eighty percent of the total normal volume discharged during a twenty-four-hour production period, unless a smaller size is approved by the superintendent, and the outlet to the sewer shall be equipped with a rate discharge controller or other approved device, the regulation of which shall be directed by the superintendent.

(b) Special Agreements. No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting any special agreement or arrangement between the city and any person whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be admitted to the wastewater collection system, either before or after pretreatment, provided there is no impairment of the functioning of the wastewater treatment plan by reason of the admission of such wastes, and no extra costs are incurred by the city without recompense by the person.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)

No user shall increase the use of process water or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the limitations of this chapter or state and federal standards.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)

Each user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited material or other substances regulated by this chapter. In the case of accidental discharge, it is the responsibility of the user to immediately telephone and notify the city of the incident. Failure to notify of an accidental discharge shall be cause to disconnect service.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1 (part), 1990)

A. When required by the superintendent, detailed plans and operating procedures for pretreatment facilities and/or for the prevention of accidental discharge shall be submitted to the city for approval.

B. Plans and procedures must be approved prior to issuance of a building permit.

(Ord. 90-15-577 § 1(part), 1990)