TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  SECTION                                                                                                                                

 

ARTICLE I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

Purpose and Policy

 

Definitions

 

Abbreviations

 

 

 

ARTICLE II - USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS

 

Mandatory Sewer Connection

 

Unlawful Discharge to Storm Sewers or Natural Outlets

 

Compliance

 

Discharge of Unpolluted Waters into Sewers

 

Substances which Interfere

 

Affirmative Defenses

 

 

 

ARTICLE III - PRIVATE WASTEWATER DISPOSAL

 

Public Sewer not Available

 

Requirements for Installation

 

 

 

ARTICLE IV - BUILDING SEWERS AND CONNECTIONS

 

Permits

 

Prohibited Connections

 

Design and Installation

 

Inspection

 

Maintenance

 

 

 

ARTICLE V - POLLUTANT DISCHARGE LIMITS

 

General Conditions

 

Restricted Discharges

 

Dilution of Wastewater Discharge

 

Fats, Oils and Grease, Waste Foods, and Sand Discharge Guidelines

 

Special Industrial Pretreatment Requirements

 

Protection from Accidental and Slug Discharges

 

State Requirements

 

City’s Right to Revision

 

Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards

 

 

 

ARTICLE VI - PRETREATMENT PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

 

Wastewater Discharges

 

Industrial User Discharge Permits

 

Permit Modifications

 

Permit Conditions

 

Permit Duration

 

Permit Transfer

 

Reporting Requirements for Permittees

 

Permit Violations

 

Monitoring Requirements

 

Certification Statement

 

Inspection and Sampling

 

Pretreatment

 

Confidential Information

 

 

 

ARTICLE VII - FEES

 

Purpose

 

Charges and Fees

 

 

 

ARTICLE VIII - POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS

 

Right to Enter Premises

 

Right to Obtain Information Regarding Discharge

 

Access to Easements

 

Safety

 

 

 

ARTICLE IX - ENFORCEMENT

 

General

 

Enforcement Actions

 

 

 

ARTICLE X - PENALTIES

 

Written Notice

 

Continued Violation

 

Revocation of Permit

 

Liability

 

Misrepresentation and/or Falsifying Documents

 

Destruction of POTW and Legal Action

 

Judicial Action

 

Termination of Service

 

Criminal Prosecution

 

 

 

ARTICLE XI - VALIDITY

 

Inconsistent or Conflicting Policies

 

Separation Clause

 

Effective Dates

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ARTICLE I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

A. Purpose and Policy

 

This Policy sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the City of Winchester and enables the City to comply with all applicable State and Federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977 and the general Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR 403).

 

The Objectives to this Policy are:

 

            1. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system, which will interfere with the operation of the system or contaminate the resulting sludge;

 

            2. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system;

 

            3. To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and sludges from the system; and

 

            4. To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of the wastewater system.

 

This Policy provides for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the wastewater system through the issuance of permits to certain non-domestic users, enforcement of general requirements for all users, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires industrial user reporting, and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.

 

This Policy shall apply to the City of Winchester and to persons outside the City who are, by contract or agreement with the City, users of the City's Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Except as otherwise provided herein, the Manager of the Winchester Utilities on behalf of the City POTW shall administer, implement and enforce the provisions of the Policy.

 

B. Definitions

 

Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this Policy, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

 

            1. Act or "the Act" - The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et. seq.

 

            2. Approval Authority - The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control and/or any authorized representative thereof.


 

            3. Authorized Representative - An authorized representative of a user may be: (i) a principal executive officer of at least the level of vice-president, if the industrial user is a corporation, (ii) a general partner or proprietor if the user is a partnership or proprietorship, respectively; (iii) a duly authorized representative of the individual designated above if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the indirect discharge originates. An authorized representative of the City may be any person designated by the City to act on its behalf.

 

            4. Available - As used in connection with this Policy means a public sewer located at the property line or point at which connection may be made with the City sanitary sewage collection facilities.

 

            5. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures, five (5) days at 20 Centigrade expressed in terms of weight and concentration in milligrams per liter (mg/l).

 

            6. Board - The Winchester Utilities, its Board of Directors, or the Manager of the POTW or his/her designee.

 

            7. Building Sewer Permit - As set forth in “Building Sewers and Connections” (Article IV).

 

            8. Categorical Standards - National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or Pretreatment Standard. Any regulations containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (C) of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1347) and 40 CFR 403 which applies to a specific category of industrial users.

 

            9. City - The City of Winchester, Tennessee, its Council or Mayor or his/her designer, or Manager of the Winchester Utilities.

 

            10. Combined Sewer - Any conduit carrying both sanitary sewage and storm water or surface water.

 

            11. Compatible Pollutant - Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids and fecal coliform bacteria; plus additional pollutants that the POTW is designed to treat and, in fact, does treat to the degree required by the POTW's NPDES permit.

 

            12. "24-Hr., Flow Proportioned Composite Sample" - A combination of individual samples of water or wastewater taken at selected intervals, or based on quantity of flow for some specified period, to minimize the effect of variability of the individual sample. Individual samples may have equal volume or may be proportioned to the flow at the time of the sampling.

 

            13. Control Authority - The term shall refer to the “Approval Authority" defined hereinabove; or the Manager of the POTW or his/her designer if the City has an approved pretreatment program under the provisions of 40 CFR 302.11.

 

            14. Cooling Water - The water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.

 

            15. County Health Department - The Health Department for Franklin County.

 

            16. Dilution Stream - Any wastewater not generated by a process regulated for the specific pollutant by a categorical standard under 40 CFR, Subchapter N.

 

            17. Direct Discharge - The discharge of treated or untreated wastewaters directly to the waters of the State of Tennessee.

 

            18. Easement - An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.

 

            19. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or his/her duly authorized representative of said agency.

 

            20. Equipment - All movable, non-fixed items necessary to the wastewater treatment process.

 

            21. Federal Pretreatment Standards - Federal Regulations for pretreatment of industrial wastewater under 40 CFR, Subchapter N and any applicable regulations, as amended.

 

            22. Garbage - The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.

 

            23. Grab Sample - A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.

 

            24. Holding Tank Waste - Any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump tank trucks.

 

            25. Incompatible Pollutant - All pollutants other than compatible pollutants as defined in its section.

 

            26. Indirect Discharge - The discharge or the introduction of pollutants into a POTW from a nondomestic source regulated under Section 307(b), (c) or (d) of the Act and including holding tank wastes discharged into the system.

 

            27. Industrial User - A source of indirect discharge.

 

            28. Industrial Waste - The wastewaters from industrial or commercial processes as distinct from domestic or sanitary wastes.

 

            29. Interceptor - A device designed and installed so as to separate and retain deleterious, hazardous and undesirable matter from domestic wastes while permitting domestic sewage or liquid wastes to discharge into the sewer system or drainage system by gravity. Interceptor as defined herein is commonly referred, to as a grease, oil or sand trap.

 

            30. Interference - The inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment processes or operations or that which contributes to a violation of any requirement of the City's NPDES permit. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the

POTW in accordance with Section 405 of the Act (33 USC 1345) or any criteria, guidelines or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substance Control Act, or more stringent state criteria (including those obtained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV or SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.

 

            31. Manager - The Manager of wastewater facilities, and/or of Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) and/or of water pollution control for the Winchester Utilities or his/her authorized deputy, agent or representative.

 

            32. Maximum Daily Concentration - The maximum concentration per day of pollutant based on the analytical results obtained from a 24-hour composite sample.

 

            33. May - This is permissive.

 

            34. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or NPDES Permit - A permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 USA 1332).

 

            35. Natural Outlet - Any outlet, including storm sewers, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or groundwater.

 

            36. New Source - Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which is commenced after the publication of proposed regulations prescribing a Section 307(c) (33 USC 1317) categorical pretreatment standard which will be applicable to such source, if such standard is thereafter promulgated within 120 days of proposal in the Federal Register. Where the standard is promulgated later than 120 days after proposal, a new source means any source, the construction of which is commenced after the date of promulgation of the standard.

 

            37. Operation and Maintenance Expenses - All annual operation and maintenance expenses including replacement cost related directly to operating and maintaining the sewage works as shown by annual audit.

 

            38. Pass-through - A discharge which exits the POTW into the 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 the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of violation).

 

            39. Person - Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity of any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents, or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, and the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.

 

            40. pH - The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter of solution.

 

            41. Pollutant - Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastes discharged into water.

 

            42. Pollution - The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and/or radiological integrity of water.

 

            43. POTW Treatment Plant - That portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment (including recycling and reclamation) of municipal sewage and industrial waste.

 

            44. Pretreatment or Treatment - 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 or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes or process change(s), or other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).

 

            45. Pretreatment Requirements - Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a National Pretreatment Standard imposed on a significant industrial user.

 

            46. Prohibitive Discharge Standard - Any regulation developed under the authority of 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5.

 

            47. Properly Shredded Garbage - The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.

 

            48. Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) - A treatment works as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 USC 1292) which is owned in this instance by the City.

This definition includes any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant but does not include pipes, sewers, or other conveyance not connected to a facility providing treatment. For the purpose of this Policy "POTW" shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the jurisdiction of the City who are users to the City's POTW.

 

            49. Public Sewers - A common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility. In general, the public sewer shall include the main sewer in the street and the service branch to the curb or property line, or a main sewer on private property and the service branch to the extent of ownership by public authority.

 

            50. Replacement - Expenditure for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the service life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works were designed and constructed.

 

            51. Sanitary Sewer - A sewer that carries liquid and waterborne wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions.

 

            52. Sewage - The spent water of a community. Domestic or sanitary waste shall mean the liquid or waterborne wastes from residences, commercial buildings and institutions and is distinct from industrial sewage. The terms "sewage" and "wastewater" are used interchangeably.

 

            53. Sewage System or Works - All facilities for collecting, transporting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage and sludge, namely the sewerage system and POTW.

 

            54. Sewer - A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.

 

            55. Sewer Service or Lateral - The extension from the building or house drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal, also called "connection."

 

            56. Sewer User Charges - A system of charges levied on users of a POTW for the cost of operation and maintenance, including replacement of such works.

 

            57. Shall - This is mandatory.

 

            58. Significant Industrial User - Any user of the City's wastewater disposal system who (1) is subject to a categorical Pretreatment Standard(s) under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N; or (ii) has an average discharge flow of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, non contract cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); or (iii) has a flow greater than 5 percent or more of average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or (iv) has in its wastewaters toxic pollutants as defined pursuant to Section 307 of the Act or state statutes and rules; or (v) is found by the City, State Approval Authority or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have significant impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing users, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system’s effluent quality, or air emissions generated by the system.

 

            59. Significant Violation - A violation that meets one or more of the following criteria:

 

                        (A) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent or more of all of the measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) the daily maximum limit or the average limit for the same pollutant parameter;

 

                        (B) Technical Review Criteria (TRC) - Violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);

 

                        (C) Any other violation of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or longer-term average) that the Manager determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);

 

                        (D) Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;

 

                        (E) Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge permit or other order issued hereunder for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;

 

                        (F) Failure to provide, within 30 days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;

 

                        (G) Failure to accurately report noncompliance;

 

                        (H) Any other violation or group of violations which the Manager determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

 

            60. Slug Discharge - Any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or non-customary batch discharge and/or any discharge of water or wastewater in which the concentration of any given constituent or the quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than fifteen (15) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty-four (24) hour concentration or flow rate during normal operation and/or adversely affects the POTW.

 

            61. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) - A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1972.

 

            62. State - The State of Tennessee.

 

            63. Storm Drain or Storm Sewer - A drain or sewer for conveying water, groundwater, surface water, or unpolluted water from any source.

 

            64. Storm Water - Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.

 

            65. Submission - A request by a(n) (1) POTW for approval of a pretreatment program to the EPA; (2) POTW to the EPA to revise the discharge limits in categorical pretreatment standards to reflect POTW pollutant removals; or (3) NPDES State to the EPA for approval of its state pretreatment program.

 

            66. Surcharge - A charge for service in addition to the basic sewer user and debt service charge, for those users whose contribution contains biochemical oxygen demand (SOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (TSS) or ammonia nitrogen (NH3N) in concentrations which exceed limits specified therein for such pollutants.

 

            67. Total Suspended Solids (TSS) - Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of, or is in suspension in water, wastewater, or other liquids, and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater” and referred to as non-filterable residue.

 

            68. Toxic Pollutant - Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the provisions of CWA Section 307(a) or other Acts.

 

            69. Unpolluted Water - Water of quality equal to or better than the treatment works effluent criteria in effects or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefited by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.

 

            70. User - Any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the POTW. See definition of Person.

 

            71. User Charge - The charge levied on all users, including but not limited to, persons, firms, corporations, or governmental entities that discharge, cause, or permit the discharge of sewage into the POTW.

 

            72. Wastewater - The spent water of a community. Sanitary or domestic wastes shall mean the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings and institutions as distinct form industrial wastes. See Sewage.

 

            73. Wastewater Discharge Permit - As set forth in the Administration Section of this Policy.

 

            74. Waste Facilities - The structures, equipment and processes required to collect, carry away, and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent.

 

            75. Wastewater Treatment Works - An arrangement of devices and structures for treating domestic wastewaters and sludges. Sometimes used synonymously as “waste treatment plant” or “sewage treatment plant.”

 

            76. Watercourse - A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.

 

            77. Waters of the State - All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, water courses, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation system, drainage system and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the State or any portion thereof.

 

C. Abbreviations

 

The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:

 

BOD - Biochemical Oxygen Demand

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations

CWA - Clean Water Act of 1977

EPA - Environmental Protection Agency

l - liter

mg/l - milligram per liter (parts per million)

ug/l - micron per liter (parts per billion)

NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

POTW - Publicly Owned Treatment Works

SIC - Standard Industrial Classification

SEDA - Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 USC 6901, et. seq.)

TSS - Total Suspended Solids

USC - United States Code

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ARTICLE II - USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS

 

A. Mandatory Sewer Connection

 

            1. The owner(s) of all houses, buildings, or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation or other purposes, situated within the City and abutting on any Street, alley, or right-of-way in which there is now located or may in the future be  located a public sanitary sewer of the City, is hereby required at the owner's expense to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this Policy, within thirty (30) days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within one hundred (100) feet of the property line.

 

            2. It shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of wastewater where public sanitary sewer service is available, as defined in paragraph 1, except as provided for in “Private Wastewater Disposal” (Article III). The existence within the City wherever the services of the City sanitary sewage collection, treatment and disposal facilities are available, or may hereafter be made available, of septic tanks, seepage laterals, privies, earth pits, cesspools, sanitary waste vaults, sewage drainage fields, private sewage disposal systems, or any other such facilities or works for the disposition of sanitary sewage wastes other than the facilities of the City, is hereby declared to be a menace to the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens and inhabitants of the City and is hereby determined and declared to constitute a public nuisance. The existence of such facilities as toilets, sinks, wash basins, showerbaths, bathtubs, any commercial or industrial machinery or device producing a liquid waste product, etc., in or upon any improved property or premises in said City where the facilities of the City's sewage collection, treatment and disposal system are available or may hereafter be made available is similarly declared to be a menace to the public health and general welfare of the City and its inhabitants, unless such facilities are connected to the City sewage collection, treatment and disposal system. The Manager may prescribe the type and manner of connection to said facilities, and may require that each connection be supervised and inspected by an authorized and qualified agent of the City sewer department, herein named the Winchester Utilities.

 

            3. At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private wastewater disposal system, a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer system in compliance with this Policy, and any septic tanks, cesspools and similar private wastewater disposal facilities shall be cleaned of sludge and filled with suitable material or salvaged and removed.

 

B. Unlawful Discharge to Storm Sewers or Natural Outlets

 

            1. It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner on public or private property within the City or into any sewer which connects to the storm sewer system of the City, any objectionable wastewater or industrial wastes.

 

            2. It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the City of Winchester or in any area under the jurisdiction of said City, any wastewater or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with subsequent provisions of this Policy. No provision of this Policy shall be construed to relieve the owner of a discharge to any natural outlet of the responsibility for complying with applicable State and Federal regulations governing such discharge.

 

C. Compliance

 

The discharge of any wastewater into the public sewer system by any person is unlawful except in compliance with the provisions of this Policy, and any more stringent state or federal standards promulgated pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, the Clean Water Act of 1977 and subsequent amendments.

 

 

D. Discharge of Unpolluted Waters into Sewers

 

            1. No person(s) shall discharge or cause to be discharged through any leak, defect or connection any unpolluted waters such as storm water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage or cooling water to any sanitary sewer, building sewer, building drain or building plumbing. The Manager or his representative shall have the right, at any time, to inspect the inside or outside of buildings or smoke test for connections, leaks, or defects to building sewers and require leaks or defects to building sewers and require disconnection or repair of any pipes carrying such water to the building sewer. Such waters shall not be removed through the dual use of a sanitary drain sump or a sump pump to building sanitary sewer. Discharge of such waters by a manual switch-over from sanitary sewer to storm drainage will not be an acceptable method of separation. In case both storm and sanitary sewage is present, separate drainage or pumping system shall be included.

 

            2. Stormwater, groundwater and all other unpolluted drainage may be discharged to such sewers as are used as storm sewers approved by the Manager. Under no circumstances shall sanitary sewage be discharged to a storm sewer.

 

            3. The owner(s) of any building sewers having such connections, leaks, or defects shall bear all costs incidental to removal of such sources.

 

E. Substances which Interfere

 

No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will interfere with the operation or performance of the POTW. These general prohibitions apply to all such users of a POTW whether or not the user is subject to federal categorical pretreatment standards or any other federal, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user shall not contribute the following substances to any 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 or to the operation of the POTW. At no time shall a wastestream exhibit a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Centigrade) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naptha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and any substance which the City, State or EPA has notified the user as a fire hazard or a hazard to the sanitary sewer system.

 

            2. Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5 or higher than 9 or having any other corrosive property(s) capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the POTW.

 

            3. Any slug load or pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants, released at a flow or concentration that will cause interference with the POTW's operation.

 

            4. Solid or viscous substance in quantities of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the wastewater facilities.

 

            5. Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater with a temperature at the introduction into the POTW that will result in a treatment plant influent temperature which exceeds 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Centigrade).

 

            6. Any pollutant(s) which, either alone or by interaction with other substances, produce toxic gases, vapors or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.

 

            7. Any substances which may cause the POTW's effluent or any other product of the POTW such as residues, sludges, or scum to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process where the POTW is pursuing a reuse and reclamation program. In no case shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to be in non-compliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Act; any criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal, developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or State criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.

 

            8. Any substance which causes the POTW to violate its NPDES permit, sludge disposal permit or the water quality standards of the receiving stream.

 

            9. Petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through at the POTW.

 

            10. Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety.

 

            11. Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the Manager.

 

F. Affirmative Defenses

 

A user shall have an affirmative defense in any action brought against it alleging a violation of the general prohibitions established in Section E of this Article and the specific prohibitions in paragraphs E.3, E.5, E.9, and E.l0 of this article where the users can demonstrate that:

 

            1. It did not know or have reason to know that its discharge, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, would cause pass-through or interference; and