§ 13-703. Pretreatment control of prohibited wastes.

(1)

Regulatory actions. If wastewaters containing any substances described in section 13-702 are discharged or proposed to be discharged into the city's wastewater system, the city may take any action necessary to:

(a)

Prohibit the discharge of such wastewater.

(b)

Require a discharger to demonstrate that in-plant modifications will reduce or eliminate the discharge of such substances to comply with this chapter.

(c)

Require the pretreatment necessary, including storage facilities or flow equalization, to reduce or eliminate the objectionable characteristics or substances so that the discharge will not violate these rules and regulations.

(d)

Recover costs for maintenance of flow in the wastewater system. Recover in full costs incurred to maintain flow in the wastewater system as a result of the discharge, including the following costs:

(i)

Personnel costs.

(ii)

Equipment rental.

(iii)

Supplies used.

(iv)

Overhead.

(v)

Taxes.

(vi)

Debt service or capital costs.

In regard to extraneous flow, the method of charging therefore shall be in accordance with the charges and fees in effect at that time of billing.

In addition, parties found to be responsible for damages to the wastewater system caused by abnormal or deleterious wastes shall be liable to the city and/or any third parties for claims for personal injury and/or property damages caused by such abnormal and/or deleterious wastes.

The city shall also have the authority to:

(e)

Make special agreement or arrangements to treat high strength wastes provided unit operations, sludge handling or disposal, and pass-through pollutant standards are not exceeded, thereby violating the NPDES permit. In order for any exemption or grant to be approved, the requesting industry must demonstrate good management practices including, but not limited to, preventing or reducing the contribution of pollutants to the sewer system, preventative operating and maintenance procedures, scheduling of activities, process changes, prohibiting of activities, and other management practices to reduce the quantity and qualify of effluent discharge and drainage.

(f)

Take other remedial action as may be deemed necessary or desirable to achieve the purpose of this chapter.

(g)

Require grease, oil, and sand interceptors when, in the opinion of the city engineer or his representative, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid waste containing grease in excessive amounts of any flammable wastes, sand, or 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 and must be approved by the city engineer or his representative prior to installation and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

(h)

Require the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes to install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. The manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the city. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.

(2)

Submission of plans. When pretreatment or equalization of wastewater flows prior to discharge into any part of the city's wastewater system is required by the city, plans, specifications, and other pertinent data or information related to the pretreatment or flow control facilities shall first be submitted to the city for written approval. The approval shall not exempt the discharger of such facilities from compliance with any applicable code, ordinance, rule, regulation, or order of any governmental authority. Any subsequent alterations or additions to the pretreatment or flow control facilities shall not be made without due notice to and prior approval of the city. The approval shall not operate to waive any other requirements of this chapter or relieve any person from civil or criminal liability under this chapter or any other applicable law that either is currently enacted or may be enacted in the future.

(3)

Pretreatment facilities operations. If pretreatment or control of waste flows is required, such facilities shall be maintained in good working order and operated as efficiently as possible by the owner or operator at his own cost and expense, subject to the requirements of these rules and regulations and all other applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.

(4)

Powers and authority of inspectors.

(a)

The city engineer, wastewater division manager or their duly authorized employees, and agents representing the state or the federal government are hereinafter designated governmental inspectors for compliance with this chapter. The governmental inspectors bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, and testing in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(b)

While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in subsection (a), the governmental inspectors shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the governmental inspectors. The governmental agency shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by governmental inspectors and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions as required in subsection (1)(h).

(c)

The governmental inspectors bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties through which the governmental agency holds a duly negotiated easement for the purposes of, but not limited to, inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair, and maintenance of any portion of the sewage works lying within the easement. All entry and subsequent work, if any, on the easement shall be done in full accordance with the terms of the duly negotiated easement pertaining to the private property involved.

(5)

Physical protection from accidental discharge. Each industrial user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other wastes regulated by this chapter. Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the expense of the owner or operator. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the city for review and be approved before construction of the facilities. Review and approval of such plans and operational procedures shall not relieve the industrial user from the responsibility to modify his facilities as necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter. The city may require an alarm system or diking or other facilities to protect against accidental discharges.

(6)

Reporting of potential problems including accidental discharge/slug discharge. If for any reason a facility does not or is not able to comply with any prohibition or limitation in this chapter, the facility responsible for the discharge shall immediately notify the wastewater division manager or his representative by the quickest means possible so that corrective action may be taken to protect the wastewater system. In addition, a written report addressed to the wastewater division manager or his representative detailing the date, time, and cause of the accidental discharge; the quantity and characteristics of the discharge; and corrective action taken to prevent future discharges shall be filed by the responsible industrial facility within five (5) days of the occurrence of the noncomplying discharge or incident.

(7)

Accidental discharge/slug discharge control plans. The wastewater division manager or his representative shall evaluate whether each significant industrial user needs an accidental discharge/slug discharge control plan or other action to control slug discharges. The wastewater division manager or his representative may require any user to develop, submit for approval or implement such a plan or take such other action that may be necessary to control slug discharges. Alternatively, the wastewater division manager or his representative may develop such a plan for any user. An accidental discharge/slug discharge control plan shall address, at a minimum, the following:

(a)

Description of discharge practices, including nonroutine batch discharges;

(b)

Description of stored chemicals;

(c)

Procedures for immediately notifying the wastewater division manager or his representative of any accidental or slug discharge, as required by section 13-705; and

(d)

Procedures to prevent adverse impact from any accidental or slug discharge. Such procedures include, but are not limited to, inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site runoff, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants, including solvents, and/or measures and equipment for emergency response.

( Ord. No. 41-2016-17 , § 1, 1-5-17)