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City of Monroe, MI
Monroe County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
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A. 
General prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass-through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
B. 
Specific prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following pollutants, substances or wastewater:
(1) 
Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, waste streams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140°F (60°C.) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
(2) 
Any liquids, solids or gases which, by reason of their nature and 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. Examples may include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketone, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromate, carbides, hydrides and sulfides.
(3) 
Wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 10.0 or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW or equipment.
(4) 
Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference but in no case solids greater than 0.5 foot in any dimension. Further solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities, such as but not limited to grease, animal guts or tissues, paunch, manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshing, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, flass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, wastepaper, wood, plastics, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining, or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud or glass grinding or polishing wastes.
(5) 
Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW.
(6) 
Wastewater discharged from a user with a temperature and quantity great enough to cause the temperature of the incoming wastewater at the treatment plant to exceed 104°F. (40°C.).
(7) 
Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass-through.
(8) 
Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving water of the POTW or exceed the limitation set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. This prohibition of toxic pollutants will conform to Section 307(a) of the Act.
(9) 
Trucked or hauled pollutants, except for septic tank waste discharged in accordance with § 570-32 of this Part 2.
(10) 
Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair.
(11) 
Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant's effluent.
(12) 
Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(13) 
No user shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, water from footing drains or roof water to any sanitary sewer or sewer connection. Any premises connected to a storm sewer shall comply with county, state and federal requirements as well as those of this public corporation. Any stormwater, surface water, groundwater or water from footing drains at construction activities shall not be discharged to any sanitary sewer. Downspouts and roof leaders shall be disconnected from sanitary sewers within six months of the date of this Part 2. If this is not done, the City of Monroe as operator shall perform this work and bill the user. Stormwater, groundwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designed as storm sewers. Discharge of cooling water or unpolluted process water to a natural outlet shall be approved only by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
(14) 
Sludge, screening, scums or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes.
(15) 
Medical wastes (solid), solid medical wastes, including hypodermic needles, surgical dressings etc., shall not be discharged to the sanitary sewer.
(16) 
Any constituent causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test.
(17) 
Detergents, surface-active agents or other substances in amounts which cause excessive foaming in the POTW.
(18) 
Grease, oil and sand separators shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Director, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand and other harmful ingredients. Such separators shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All separators shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Grease and oil separators shall be constructed of impervious material capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature. They shall be of substantial construction, watertight and equipped with easily removable covers, which when bolted in place shall be gastight and watertight.
(19) 
Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate its NPDES permit or the receiving water quality standards. Where installed, all grease, oil and sand separators or flow-equalizing facilities shall be maintained by the owner, at his expense, in continuously efficient operation at all times.
(20) 
Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids or any constituent of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials at the sewage treatment plant.
C. 
Pollutants, substances or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
The categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471, are hereby incorporated.
A. 
Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the Director of Wastewater may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(c).
B. 
When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the Director of Wastewater may impose an alternate limit using the combined waste stream formula in 40 CFR 403.6(e).
C. 
A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 CFR 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard. Such variance must be granted by the USEPA.
D. 
A user may obtain a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 CFR 403.15.
[Amended 5-3-2010 by Ord. No. 10-004; 10-15-2012 by Ord. No. 12-006]
A. 
The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass-through and interference. At no time shall any person discharge wastewater containing in excess of the following:
0.35
mg/l arsenic
0.04
mg/l cadmium
1.5
mg/l chromium total
2.0
mg/l copper
1.0
mg/l cyanide
0.75
mg/l lead
0.0002
mg/l mercury*
4.0
mg/l nickel
200
mg/l oil and grease [FOG (fat, oil and/or grease) by weight]
1.0
mg/l silver
2.61
mg/l zinc
600.0
mg/l BOD
2000
mg/l suspended solids
4.0
mg/l phosphorus
65.0
mg/l TKN (total kieldahl nitrogen)
*The discharge of mercury above the quantification level shall represent an exceedence of the local limit. Mercury sampling procedures, preservation and handling, and analytical protocol for compliance monitoring shall be in accordance with the USEPA Method 245.1, unless Method 1631 is required by the City. The quantification level shall be 0.2 ug/l for Method 245.1 or 0.5 ng/l for Method 1631, unless higher levels are appropriate due to sample matrix interference.
B. 
All concentrations for metallic substances are for total metal unless indicated otherwise. The Director of Wastewater may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, the concentration-based limitations above.
C. 
If any waters are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics encumbered above, and which in the judgment of the Director may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Director may:
(1) 
Reject the wastes.
(2) 
Require pretreatment to the level defined as "normal domestic sewage."
(3) 
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge.
(4) 
Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes and sewer charges.
(5) 
Require new industrial customers or industries with significant changes in strength or flow to submit information to the Director concerning the proposed flows, prior to approval of discharge permit.
D. 
If the Director permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plant and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Director and shall be subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.
The City of Monroe as operator reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW.
No user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement. The Director of Wastewater may impose mass limitations on users who are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.