Town of Tonawanda, NY Article I Definitions; Applicability

§ 165-1 Definitions, word usage.

A. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings of terms used in this Part 1 shall be as follows:

ABNORMAL POLLUTANT

Industrial waste, substance or wastewater characteristic in excess of that found in normal sewage, but which is otherwise acceptable into a public sewer under the terms of this Part 1.

ABNORMAL POLLUTANT SURCHARGE

The charge levied against any person for services rendered during treatment of abnormal pollutants or waste. This charge is intended to partially defray the added cost of transporting and treating abnormal pollutants or waste. This charge shall be in addition to the usual monthly charge for sanitary sewerage service.

ABNORMAL SEWAGE

Any industrial waste having a suspended solid or BOD content in excess of that found in normal sewage but which is otherwise acceptable into a public sewer under the terms of this Part 1.

ABNORMAL SEWAGE PERMIT

A permit approved by and received from the Pretreatment Administrator permitting the discharge or deposit of abnormal sewage into a sanitary sewer upon payment of a surcharge.

ABNORMAL SEWAGE SURCHARGE

The charge levied against any person for services rendered during treatment of abnormal sanitary sewage or waste. This charge is intended to partially defray the added cost of transporting and treating abnormal sewage or waste. This charge shall be in addition to the usual monthly charge for sanitary sewerage service.

ACT

The Federal Clean Water Act, as amended.

ADMINISTRATOR

The person or person's authorized deputy, agent or representative in responsible charge of operating and maintaining the pretreatment program.

APPLICANT

That person who makes application for any permit. The applicant may be any owner, new or old, or his agent.

ASTM

American Society for Testing and Materials.

BASELINE MONITORING REPORT

Within 180 days after the effective date of a categorical pretreatment standard, or 180 days after the final administrative decision made upon a category determination submission under 40 CFR 403.6(a)(4), whichever is later, existing industrial users subject to such categorical pretreatment standards and currently discharging to or scheduled to discharge to a publicly owned treatment works shall be required to submit to the Pretreatment Administrator a report which contains identifying information, a list of permits held by the facility, a description of operations, flow measurement data and measurement of pollutants as required under 40 CFR 403.12(b).

BOD (DENOTING "BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND")

The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter.

BOD STRENGTH INDEX

The measure of the biochemical oxygen demand content of sewage in parts per million (milligrams per liter).

BUILDING DRAIN

That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the wall of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.

BUILDING SEWER

The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.

CFR

Code of Federal Regulations.

COMBINED SEWER

A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.

CONTROL AUTHORITY

The Town of Tonawanda Town Board.

COOLING WATER

The water discharge from any system of condensation, such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration. It should contain no polluting substances which would produce COD or suspended solids in excess of five milligrams per liter, or toxic substances as limited elsewhere in this Part 1.

DEC

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (or NYSDEC).

DILUTION OF DISCHARGE

The intentional or unintentional mixing of unpolluted water or wastes with polluted process wastewaters such that it creates a lowering of pollutant concentrations in the polluted wastewaters.

ENGINEER

(1) CITY ENGINEER The City Engineer of the City of Tonawanda or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.

(2) VILLAGE ENGINEER The Village Engineer of the Village of Kenmore or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.

(3) CONSULTING ENGINEER An individual engineer or firm of professional engineer(s), licensed to practice in New York State, and who has specifically been designated by the Town to perform certain enumerated tasks.

EPA

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (or USEPA).

FEDERAL ACT

The 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendment (P.L. 92-500) and the 1977 Clean Water Act (P.L. 95-217) and any amendment thereto; as well as any guidelines, limitations and standards promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the Act.

FEDERAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD

Any federal regulation which specifies quantities or concentrations which may be discharged to the POTW by existing and new industrial users in specific industrial subcategories, as found in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N.

GARBAGE

Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparations, cooking and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.

INDIRECT DISCHARGE

The introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any nondomestic source regulated under Section 307(b) or (d) of the Clean Water Act.

INDUSTRIAL WASTE PERMIT

A permit to deposit or discharge industrial waste into any sanitary sewer in the Town.

INDUSTRIAL WASTES

The liquid or liquid-carried solid or gaseous wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade or businesses, institutions, utilities, governmental entities or other SIC Index establishments whether classified as polluted water/waste or nonpolluted water/wastes. This classification includes all wastewater except those generated by sanitary facilities such as domestic sinks, water closets, urinals, showers, tubs, etc.

INDUSTRIAL USER

Any person or user generating or producing as a by-product liquid wastes from manufacturing processes, trade, business, institution or other SIC Index operations as distinct from sanitary sewage and which indirectly discharges to the Town of Tonawanda POTW.

INTERCEPTOR SEWER

Any public sewer or appurtenances owned and operated by the Town of Tonawanda.

INTERFERENCE

The inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment processes or operations or which contributes to a violation of any requirement of Town of Tonawanda SPDES permit. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge reuse, reclamation or disposal by the POTW in accordance with § 405 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1345) or any criteria, guidelines or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act or more stringent state criteria applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.

LABORATORY DETERMINATION

The measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes in accordance with the methods contained in the latest edition at the time of any such measurement, test or analysis, of "Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Sewage," a joint publication of the American Public Health Association, the American Waterworks Association and the Water Pollution Control Federation or in accordance with any other method prescribed by the USEPA or by any other method specifically approved by the Pretreatment Administrator.

NATIONAL PRETREATMENT STANDARDS

Standards prohibiting certain industrial discharges as referenced in 40 CFR Part 403.5 as well as Federal Categorical pretreatment standards.

NATURAL OUTLET

Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.

NEW OWNER

That individual or entity who purchased property within the service area of the Town of Tonawanda after the effective date of this Part 1.

NEW SOURCE

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 pretreatment standards under Section 307(c) of the Clean Water Act which will be applicable to such source, provided that the building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or the building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or the production or wastewater-generating processes of the building, structure, facility or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site.

NEW USER

A discharger to the POTW who commences discharge after the effective date of Part 1.

NORMAL SEWAGE

Sewage which, when analyzed, shows by weight a daily average of not more than 2,500 pounds per million gallons (250 parts per million) of suspended solids and not more than 2,500 pounds per million gallons (250 parts per million) of BOD, and which is otherwise acceptable into a public sewer under the terms of this Part 1.

OBJECTIONABLE WASTE

Any wastes that can harm either the sewers, sewer treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property or constitute a nuisance.

OWNER OR OWNERS

The owner or owners of record of the freehold of the premises or lesser estate therein, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee or other person, firm or corporation in control of a building.

P (DENOTING "PHOSPHATE")

The total phosphate determined under standard laboratory procedures, expressed in milligrams per liter.

PASS-THROUGH

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 this POTW's SPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

PERSON

Any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation, including municipal corporation, or group.

PH

The reciprocal of the logarithm of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

PLUMBING INSPECTOR

The person authorized by the Town to inspect and approve plumbing connections within the Town's jurisdiction.

POLLUTANTS

Defined now or hereafter by appropriate local, state or federal authorities or by the Pretreatment Administrator, substances which may be present in wastewater, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, the amount which may contain soluble or insoluble solids of organic or inorganic nature which may deplete the dissolved oxygen content of natural waters, contribute solids, contain oil, grease or floating solids which may cause unsightly appearance on the surface of such waters or contain materials detrimental to aquatic life. "Pollutants" shall also mean any substance or wastewater characteristic present in polluted water or waste.

POLLUTED WATER OR WASTE

Any water or liquid waste containing any of the following: phenols or other substances to an extent imparting taste and odor in receiving waters; toxic or poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state or solution; noxious odorous gases; more than 10,000 parts per million by weight of dissolved solids, of which more than 2,500 parts per million are chloride; more than 10 parts per million each of suspended solids and/or BOD; color exceeding 50 parts per million; a pH value of less than 5.0 or more than 9.5; and/or water or waste not approved for discharge into a stream or waterway by the appropriate state or federal authority.

POTW

Publicly owned treatment works.

PRESSURE SEWERS

Any pipe or conduit for carrying sewage under pressure and without intermediate openings to the atmosphere.

PRETREATMENT

The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of the pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, process changes or by other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6, General Pretreatment Regulations for Existing and New Sources of Pollution.

PRETREATMENT ADMINISTRATOR

The Pretreatment Administrator of the Town of Tonawanda or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.

PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS

Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard, imposed on an industrial user.

PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE

The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of foods 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 (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.

PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW)

A treatment works as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292); includes any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW but does not include pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment.

PUBLIC SEWER

A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and is controlled by public authority.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

Any additional rules and regulations adopted by the Town of Tonawanda Town Board.

SANITARY SEWER

A sewer which carries sewage and to which storm-, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

SANITARY WASTES

Those wastes generated by normal sanitation facilities, including sinks, urinals, water closets, showers, bathtubs, dishwashers, clothes washers and similar fixtures and appliances.

SEWAGE

A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such ground-, surface and storm waters as may be present.

SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT

Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.

SEWAGE WORKS

All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

SEWER

A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.

SEWER DISTRICT

The Town of Tonawanda Consolidated Sanitary Sewer District.

SEWER INSPECTOR

Any person, agent or representative of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or Town of Tonawanda Pretreatment Administrator who has the proper authority to approve, inspect, observe, sample or test building sewers or appurtenances in the sewer system.

SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER (SIC)

(1) All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N; and

(2) Any other industrial user that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process wastestream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the Pretreatment Administrator as defined in 40 CFR § 403.12(a) on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement [in accordance with 40 CFR § 403.8(f)(6)].

SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE

An industrial user is in significant noncompliance if its violation meets one or more of the following criteria:

(1) Chronic violations of "wastewater discharge limits," defined here as those in which 66% 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.

(2) "Technical review criteria" (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33% 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).

(3) Any other violation of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or longer-term average) that the Pretreatment Administrator 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).

(4) 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 under paragraph (f)(1)(vi)(B) of 40 CFR 403.8 to halt or prevent such a discharge.

(5) Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction or attaining final compliance.

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

(7) Failure to accurately report noncompliance.

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

SLUG

Any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flows during normal operation.

SPDES PERMIT

State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) pursuant to Titles 7 and 8 of Article 17 of the Environmental Conservation Law, Part 1.

SS STRENGTH INDEX

The measure of the suspended solids content of sewage in parts per million (milligrams per liter).

STANDARD METHODS

Standard Methods of the Examination of Water and Wastewater prepared and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, American Waterworks Association and the Water Environment Federation, latest edition.

STORM DRAIN (SOMETIMES TERMED "STORM SEWER")

A sewer which carries storm- and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.

STRENGTH INDEX

Both the biochemical oxygen demand index and the suspended solids strength index.

SUSPENDED SOLIDS (SS)

Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

SYSTEM

The trunk sewers, interceptors, pumping stations, pressure lines, grinder pump stations, treatment plant, outfall conduits and so forth, designed to collect, transmit, treat and dispose of estimated flows and loadings of participants and other users of the system.

TOTAL EXTRACTABLE HYDROCARBONS

The measure of the amount of total oil and grease which is of hydrocarbon petroleum origin.

TOTAL OIL AND GREASE

The total amount of oil and grease material present in a waste sample, including materials of both vegetable and mineral origin.

TOXIC SUBSTANCES

Any substance, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which, when discharged to the sewer system in sufficient amount, may tend to interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to recreation in the receiving waters of the effluent from the sewage treatment plant, pose a hazard to sewer maintenance personnel or constitute a hazard to fish or animal life or inhibit aquatic life.

TREATMENT WORKS

Any devices or systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of liquid nature. This includes intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvement, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply, such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and any works, including site acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is one for ultimate disposal or residues resulting from such treatment; or any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal wastes, including stormwater runoff, or industrial waste, including waste in combined stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.

UNPOLLUTED WATER OR WASTE

Any water or liquid waste containing none of the following: phenols or other substances to an extent imparting taste and odor in receiving waters; toxic or poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state or solution; noxious or odorous gases; not more than 10,000 parts per million, by weight, of dissolved solids, of which not more than 2,500 parts per million are chloride; not more than 10 parts per million each of suspended solids and BOD; color not exceeding 50 parts per million; a pH value of less than 5.0 nor higher than 9.5; and/or any water or waste approved for discharge into a stream or waterway by the appropriate state or federal authority.

WATERCOURSE

A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

B. "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive.

§ 165-2 Applicability.

This Part 1 shall affect only that area of the Town of Tonawanda, exclusive of the Village of Kenmore, where sanitary sewer and/or drainage (storm sewer) districts have been created.