Vacaville Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter sets forth uniform requirements for Users of the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) for the city of Vacaville and enables the city to comply with all applicable State and Federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR Part 403).

The purpose of this chapter is:

A. To protect and regulate operation of the POTW through regulations, enforcement procedures and penalties for violations to this chapter;

B. To protect the environment within the city's service area, downstream of the discharge area, and its surroundings;

C. To maintain the health and safety of the public and the city employees assigned to operate and maintain the POTW;

D. To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and biosolids from the POTW;

E. To define which discharges are permissible and which are prohibited to the POTW;

F. To establish rates and fees that equitably distribute the cost of operations, maintenance and improving the POTW; and

G. To enable the city to comply with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit conditions, biosolids use and disposal requirements, and any other Federal or State laws to which the POTW is subject.

(Ord. 2016, 3/24/2026)

Except as otherwise provided herein, the Director of Utilities shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this ordinance. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the Director may be delegated by the Director to a duly authorized city of Vacaville employee.

(Ord. 2016, 3/24/2026)

Unless a provision explicitly indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

"Act" or "the Act"

means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

"Approval authority"

means the State of California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board Executive Officer or his/her Representatives(s).

"Authorized Representative of the User" or "Duly Authorized Representative of the User"

means:

If the User is a corporation:

a.

The president, secretary, treasurer, or a vice president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy or decision making functions for the corporation; or

b.

The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures to assure long term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

If the User is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or proprietor, respectively.

If the User is a Federal, State, or local governmental facility: a Director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.

If the User is a Residential Property; a homeowner or tenant, whomever is the water service account holder.

The individuals described in subsections A through C of this section, may designate a Duly Authorized Representative if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted to the city.

"Best Management Practices" or "BMPs"

means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in Sections 13.08.450(A)(1) and (A)(2). Examples of BMPs include, but are not limited to, treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage. BMPs also include alternative means (i.e., management plans) of complying with, or in place of certain established Categorical Pretreatment Standards and effluent limits.

"Biochemical oxygen demand" or "BOD"

means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five days at 20 degrees Celsius, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., milligrams per liter (mg/L)).

"Building Official"

means the Building Official of the city of Vacaville or a person designated by the Building Official to assume some or all of the Building Official's duties.

"Categorical Industrial User" or "CIU"

means an Industrial User subject to a Categorical Pretreatment Standard.

"Categorical Pretreatment Standard"

means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with Sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) that apply to a specific category of Users and that appear in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471 as may be amended from time to time.

"Chemical oxygen demand" or "COD"

means the equivalent quantity of oxygen utilized during oxidation of organic and inorganic matter in wastewater under the conditions of the COD test described in Standard Methods, expressed in milligrams per liter.

"Chlorinated hydrocarbons"

means the sum of the concentrations of all quantifiable values equal to or greater than the detection limit for all chlorinated hydrocarbons identified by EPA Method 624.

"Chlorine demand"

means the amount of chlorine required to produce a free chlorine residual of 0.1 mg/l after a contact time of 15 minutes as measured by the iodometic method on a sample at a temperature of 20 degrees centigrade in conformance with Standard Methods.

"City"

means the city of Vacaville or the City Council of the city of Vacaville, as the context dictates.

"Cleanout"

means a pipe fitting and associated piping connected to a sewer lateral that provides access to the sewer lateral for purposes of flushing, rodding, cleaning, and other maintenance and diagnostic purposes.

"Compatible pollutant"

means BOD, suspended solids, pH, fecal coliform bacteria, plus additional pollutants identified in the city of Vacaville's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

"Contamination"

means an impairment to the quality of the waters of the state by a waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease. Contamination shall include any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of wastewater, whether or not waters of the state are affected.

"Daily Maximum"

means the arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant collected during a calendar day.

"Daily Maximum Limit"

means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where Daily Maximum Limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where Daily Maximum Limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.

"Direct discharge"

means the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the state of California.

"Director"

means the person designated by the city to manage the Utilities Department or a person designated by the Director who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter or his/her designee.

"Environmental Protection Agency" or "EPA"

means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or duly authorized official of said agency.

"Existing source"

means any source of discharge that is not a "new source."

"Fats, oils, and grease" or "FOG"

means any grease related solid or viscous pollutants in amounts which may cause obstruction, which is so determined in accordance with the Standard Methods examination for grease in polluted matters.

"Food service establishments" or "FSEs"

means any commercial, industrial, institutional, or food processing facilities discharging kitchen or food preparation wastewater to the sanitary sewer system.

"Grab sample"

means a sample which is taken from a waste stream without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes and should be representative of the wastewater conditions at the time of sample collection.

"Grease control device"

means a grease interceptor, grease trap, sand-oil separator, or other mechanical grease control equipment approved by the Building Official or Director.

"Incompatible pollutant"

means any pollutant not allowable to be discharged by any agency under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

"Indirect discharge"

means the introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source.

"Industrial User" or "IU"

means a source of indirect discharge which does not constitute a "discharge of pollutants" under regulations issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act.

"Instantaneous limit"

means the maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.

"Interference"

means a discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its biosolids processes, use or disposal; or exceeds the design capacity of the POTW.

"Lateral" or "sewer lateral" or "building sewer"

means that part of the piping of a drainage system that extends from a public or private building, structure or facility and conveys wastewater to the point at which it enters the public sewer, private sewer, private sewer disposal system, or other point of disposal. Ownership of the sewer lateral may extend beyond the boundaries of the property being served.

"Lift station"

means a structure designed to pump wastewater from a lower elevation to a higher elevation.

"Local limit"

means specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the city upon industrial, institutional, or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b).

"Main" or "sewer main"

means any sewer pipe within a public or private street or right-of-way receiving or intended to receive the discharges of one or more Sewer Laterals). No sewer main constructed after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be less than eight inches in diameter nor be laid or constructed in any city street, easement or right-of-way under the control of the city, except to the lines, grades, and specifications approved by the City Manager.

"Medical Waste"

means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.

"Monthly Average"

means the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.

"Monthly Average Limit"

means the highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.

"National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit" or "NPDES Permit"

means a permit issued pursuant to the Act.

"New source"

means:

Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed Pretreatment Standards under Section 307(c) of the Act that will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated as in accordance with that section, provided that:

a.

The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or

b.

The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or

c.

The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant, and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source, should be considered.

Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) of this definition but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

Construction of a new source, as defined under this subsection, has commenced if the owner or operator has:

a.

Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite construction program:

i.

Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or

ii.

Significant site preparation work, including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities, which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or

iii.

Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment, which is intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase contracts, which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies, do not constitute a contractual obligation under this subsection.

"Noncontact Cooling Water"

means water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.

"Notice of Violation"

means an official communication from the city to a noncompliant user or entity informing the party that a violation has occurred. The Notice of Violation can contain detailed corrective measures to be implemented in order to come into compliance, a timetable to comply by and escalating consequences for noncompliance.

"Nuisance"

means anything which is injurious to health or is indecent or offensive to the senses or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfort or enjoyment of life or property of which affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.

"Pass through"

means a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the city's NPDES permit, (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.)

"Person"

means any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. This definition includes all Federal, State, and local governmental entities.

"pH"

means a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.

"Pollutant"

means any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, wastewater, garbage, sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastes discharged into water, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).

"Premises"

means any separate identifiable and transferable lot or parcel of real property, including the improvements thereon, excepting those portions thereof having well defined boundaries such as walls, fences, or hedges thus preventing the common use of the property by all occupants which shall also be considered as a separate premises.

"Pretreatment"

means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants into the POTW. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes; by-process changes; or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants, unless allowed by an applicable Pretreatment Standard.

"Pretreatment requirements"

means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a User, other than a Pretreatment Standard.

"Pretreatment Standards"

means Prohibited Discharge Standards, Categorical Pretreatment Standards, and Local Limits.

"Private Lateral Sewer Discharge" or "PLSD"

means a discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater resulting from blockages or other problems within a privately owned sewer lateral connected to the publicly owned treatment works or from other private sewer facilities.

"Private Sewer Force Main"

means a privately owned and maintained pressurized sewer pipeline that conveys wastewater from a private pumping facility (such as a grinder pump/lift station on private property) to a point of discharge at the public sewer system. The private force main in its entirety is owned by, and the responsibility for its maintenance lies with, the property owner, the developer, the homeowners' association, or the responsible party whom it serves.

"Private Sewer Lift Station"

means a privately owned and maintained pumping facility (such as a grinder pump/lift station on private property) that collects and lifts wastewater to a higher elevation for delivery into a private sewer force main or directly to the public sewer system. The private force main in its entirety is owned by, and the responsibility for its maintenance lies with, the property owner, the developer, the homeowners' association, or the responsible party whom it serves.

"Prohibited Discharge Standards"

means the absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances as specified in §§ 13.08.410 and 13.08.420.

"Publicly owned treatment works" or "POTW"

means a treatment works as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292) which is owned by the city and provides treatment of municipal wastewater and industrial waste. This definition includes the city-owned network of pipes, manholes, lift stations, and wastewater treatment plants, and any devices or systems used in the collection, conveyance, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of wastewater or industrial wastes of a liquid nature that conveys wastewater to a wastewater treatment plant.

"Purchased Sewer Capacity"

means a predetermined and agreed upon, between the User and the city, defined value set of limits on wastewater flow and strength.

"Radioactive material"

means any material containing chemical elements which spontaneously change their atomic structure with the emission of atomic energy.

"Recycled water"

means water that is used more than one time before it passes back into the water cycle. For example, wastewater that has been treated to a level that allows for its reuse for a beneficial purpose such as irrigation.

"Sanitary Sewer Spill" or "SSS"

means any overflow, spill, release, discharge, or diversion of untreated or partially treated wastewater from a wastewater or sanitary sewer collection system.

"Septic System"

is an on-site wastewater treatment system or an on-site sewage disposal system that typically consists of a septic tank (which holds and partially treats wastewater) and a drainfield or leach field (which further treats and disperses effluent into the soil). Septic systems are used for the treatment of wastewater from residential, commercial, or industrial properties that are not connected to a public sewer. The system may also include any septic tank, dosing tank, interceptor, holding tank, or other sewage receptacle that is pumped for any lot or structure consistent with Chapter 6.4 of the Solano County Code, "Sewage Standards."

"Septic Tank Waste"

means any wastewater from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.

"Service"

meanings are as follows:

"General service"

means the furnishing of facilities for domestic, commercial, industrial and governmental sewer service; excepting industrial service as defined in this section.

"Industrial service"

means the furnishing of sewer service to a commercial, industrial, and governmental establishments, the use of such sewer facilities being a necessary and an integral part of the operation of that enterprise. Industrial services shall be divided into two separate classes:

a.

Purchased sewer capacity for which the peak BOD, or TSS, or both does not exceed 400 mg/L of wastewater discharge and/or the volume of wastewater discharge does not exceed 25,000 gallons per day and/or COD, TDS or ammonia does not exceed domestic strength; or

b.

Purchased sewer capacity for which the peak BOD, or TSS content, or both exceeds 400 mg/L of wastewater discharge and/or the volume of wastewater discharge exceeds 25,000 gallons per day and/or COD, TDS or ammonia exceeds domestic strength.

"Sewer Lateral" (sometimes referred to as lateral, sewer lateral, side sewer, building sewer, or private sewer lateral)

means a privately owned and maintained sewer pipe which conveys sewage from a building to the city's wastewater or sewer collection system, including all pipes, fittings, and appurtenances, from the outer face of the building served to the connection into the public sewer main, including the connection itself.

"Sewer line hot spot"

means any part of the public wastewater or sanitary sewer collection system that the Director has determined must be flushed at a frequency greater than or equal to once every 30 days to remove obstructions from the accumulation of FOG deposits.

"Significant industrial user" or "SIU"

means:

A CIU; or

An IU that:

a.

Discharges an average of 25,000 gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding domestic and non-process wastewater);

b.

Contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the wastewater treatment plant; or

c.

Is designated, as such by the city, on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation, or for violating any Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, Contract or other Agreement.

The city may determine that an IU subject to categorical Pretreatment Standards is a Non-Significant CIU rather than a SIU on a finding that the IU never discharges more than 100 gallons per day (gpd) of total categorical wastewater (excluding domestic and non-process wastewater, unless specifically included in the Pretreatment Standard) and the following conditions are met:

a.

The IU, prior to city's finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards and Requirements;

b.

The IU annually submits the certification statement required in § 13.08.540, together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement; and

c.

The IU never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.

Upon a finding that a User meeting the criteria of a "Significant Industrial User" or "SIU" under this section has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, the city may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from a User, and in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such User should not be considered an SIU.

"Significant Noncompliance"

means Significant Noncompliance as defined by 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(viii) and amended from time to time and shall be applicable to all Users.

"Slug Discharge"

means any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the Pretreatment Standards.

"Standard Methods"

shall mean the latest EPA-approved edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater prepared and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and the Water Environment Federation on definitions, laboratory procedures of analysis, tests (including test samples) and measurements.

"Standard industrial classification" or "SIC"

means a code number system used to identify various types of industries pursuant to the North American Industry Classification System issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 2017, as amended. A particular industry may have more than one SIC code if it conducts several types of commercial or manufacturing activities onsite.

"State"

means the state of California.

"Stormwater runoff"

means runoff generated when precipitation from rain events flows over land or impervious surfaces without percolating into the ground mobilizing pollutants.

"Total dissolved solids" or "TDS"

means the measure of the dissolved combined content of all inorganic and organic substances present in a liquid.

"Total suspended solids" or "TSS"

means the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and which is removable by laboratory filtering.

"Total Toxic Organics" or "TTO"

means the sum of priority organic pollutants established by EPA with concentrations greater than 0.01 mg/L which cumulatively make up the city's TTO parameter as detailed in the city's Pretreatment Program Implementation Manual.

"Toxic pollutant"

means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the EPA under the provisions of CWA 307(a) or other acts.

"User"

means any person or source of indirect discharge, which includes but is not limited to residential, industrial, government, institutional, and commercial sources.

"Utilities staff"

means all city staff designated to administer the POTW. This term shall include the Director and other employees of the city serving in the Utilities Department as authorized by the Director.

"Wastewater"

means any combination of liquid waste and/or water-carried wastes from residential dwellings, institutions, and commercial, industrial and manufacturing facilities.

"Domestic wastewater"

means human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing, etc.).

"Industrial wastewater"

means the liquid wastes from industrial processes as distinct from domestic wastewater. Industrial wastewater may be divided into the following categories:

a.

"Process wastewater" means any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with, or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product, or waste product.

b.

"Non-process wastewaters" — means utility wastewaters (water treatment residuals, boiler blowdown, non-contact cooling tower blowdown, and air pollution control wastewaters from heat recovery equipment); treated or untreated wastewaters from groundwater remediation systems; dewatering water for building foundations; and other wastewater streams not associated with a production process.

"Wastewater discharge permit"

means a permit required by §§ 13.08.520 and 13.08.530.

"Wastewater treatment plant"

means that portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment of wastewater.

"Waters of the state"

means any surface water or groundwater, including saline water as defined in California Water Code § 13050(e), as amended.

(Ord. 2016, 3/24/2026)