[Amended 11-4-1996 by Ord. No. 200]
A. 
No user or industrial 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. This shall be deemed to include any interference or pass-through as above defined in § 185-24. These general prohibitions apply to all such users of the POTW, whether the user is subject to National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or any other national, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user or industrial user may not contribute the following substances into the 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 two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system) be more than 5%, nor any single reading over 10%, of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, hydrides, sulfides and any other substance which is a fire hazard or a hazard to the system.
(2) 
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, garbage with particles greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, 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, glass grinding or polishing wastes.
(3) 
Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or greater than 9.0 unless the POTW is specifically designed to accommodate such wastewater or wastewater having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel of the POTW.
(4) 
Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure, to interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters or the POTW or to exceed the limitation set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A toxic pollutant shall include, but not be limited to, any pollutant identified pursuant to § 307(a) of the Act.
(5) 
Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases or solids which either singly or by interaction with other wastes are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair.
(6) 
Any substance which may cause the POTW's effluent or any other product of the POTW, such as residues, sludges or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under § 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 Substance Control Act or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.
(7) 
Any substance which will cause a pass-through or interference of the POTW, such as, but not limited to, oils and greases as specified in § 185-30 of this article, and 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 problems.
(8) 
Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
(9) 
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 POTWs which exceeds 40° C. (104° F.), unless the POTW treatment plant is designed to accommodate such temperature.
(10) 
Any pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which cause interference to the POTW. In no case shall a slug load have a flow rate or contain concentration or qualities of pollutants that exceed for any time period longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration, quantities or flow during normal operation.
(11) 
Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Superintendent in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(12) 
Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
(13) 
Stormwater, groundwater (except groundwater resulting from Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or Environmental Protection Agency directed remediation that is determined not to be harmful to the wastewater plant), roof runoff, subsurface drainage or cooling water.
(14) 
Inhibitory substances.
B. 
Local limits apply at the point of discharge and violation of the local limits will be considered a violation of these regulations.
C. 
A user or industrial user or other waste source may discharge groundwater or surface waters from an approved remediation site to the publicly owned treatment works on a short-term basis after making application to and receiving approval from the Borough. The approved discharger will be issued a municipal industrial pretreatment program wastewater contribution permit and will be required to meet all regulations. At no time shall the accumulative total of remediation discharge wastewater (including leachate from landfills) exceed 250,000 gallons per day or 2.5% of the wastewater plant's average daily flow, whichever is lesser.
[Amended 3-23-1995 by Ord. No. 192]
A. 
Every owner of property situate within the Township of Lower Pottsgrove abutting on or adjoining any street or alley in which there is a public sewer or within 150 feet of a public sewer shall connect the buildings erected upon such property to the said public sewer at the proper cost, expense and liability of the owner within two months after notice so to do, and upon failure to make such connection, the Township may make the same and collect the cost thereof from the owner by a municipal claim or an action of assumpsit as provided by law.
B. 
No unauthorized persons shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Township or, where applicable, the Superintendent.
C. 
There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: 1) for residential and commercial service; and 2) for service to establishments producing nondomestic or industrial waste contributions. In either case, the owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the Township. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Superintendent and/or the Township. A permit and inspection fee for a residential or commercial building sewer permit and for an industrial building sewer permit shall be paid to the Township at the time the application is filed. All building sewer permit applications under Subsection B above shall be reviewed and approved in writing by the Borough prior to permit issuance. Permit and inspection fees for sewer permits shall be in such amounts as may be established from time to time by the Borough. All sewer permits shall be subject to the right of the Township to require the installation and maintenance of inspection and sampling facilities.
D. 
All costs and expenses incidental to the installation, connection and maintenance of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the Township and the Borough and the Township Authority and Borough Authority from any loss or damage that, directly or indirectly, may be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
E. 
A separate and independent building sewer shall be provided for every building.
F. 
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination, and tested by the Township to meet all requirements of this part.
G. 
The size, slope, alignment, materials or construction of a building sewer and the methods to be used in excavating, placement of the pipe, joint testing and backfilling the trench shall all conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the Township. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification therefor, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9 shall apply.
H. 
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation three feet below the first-floor elevation. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer.
I. 
No person shall make connection of sump pumps, roof downspouts, foundation drains, areaway drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer, unless such connection is approved in writing by the Township for purposes of disposal of polluted surface drainage.
J. 
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the Building and Plumbing Codes or other applicable rules and regulations set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and the WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight and verified by proper testing. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Township before installation.
K. 
The applicant for the building sewer permit shall notify the Township when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection to the public sewer and testing shall be made under the supervision of the Township or its representative.
L. 
All excavations for building sewer installation shall be adequately guarded with barricades and lights so as to protect the public from hazard. Streets, sidewalks, parkways and other public property disturbed in the course of the work shall be restored in a manner satisfactory to the Township.
M. 
No excavation shall be commenced to open any portion of a street until the owner, his agents and/or independent contractor shall have first obtained a permit from the Township as required by law.
N. 
No excavation, construction or connection work shall be commenced within the Township or Authority right-of-way until the owner, his agents and/or independent contractor shall have first filed a bond in double the amount of the cost of the work to be performed as determined by the Township or Authority, agreeing to indemnify and save harmless the Township and Authority against any and all loss, damages, costs and expenses which the Township or Authority may thereafter suffer, incur, be put to or pay by reason of the failure to complete properly any of the aforesaid excavation, construction or connection work. The term "owner" as used herein shall be deemed to include the owner or owners in fee simple, lessees of the premises, occupiers of the premises and all other parties having a beneficial use or interest in the premises and occupying the same with the consent and permission of the owner of the fee title.
O. 
The Township shall have power to close streets to traffic for the purpose of making connections with due regard to the convenience of the public. The Township shall also have power to specify the time when work in any block or district shall begin and when the same shall be suspended. Contractors and owners having begun the work of making connection will be required to complete the same expeditiously. All excess material shall be cared for by the owner or contractor.
P. 
From and after the effective date of this part all sewers of every kind, nature and description proposed to be constructed in building developments within the Township shall be completely constructed, built and installed at the sole cost, expense and liability of the person or persons, firm, association or corporation promoting, sponsoring, managing, constructing, developing or erecting such building development and/or the owners of property abutting on and benefitted by the line as installed, provided that the actual work of construction and installation may, at the option and discretion of the Township, be done either by the owners and developers under proper agreement and supervision or by the Township at the entire cost of the owner.
Q. 
Any and all sewers or sections thereof hereafter constructed and installed in such building developments within the Township shall not be accepted, connected with or emptied into the Township system nor become part of the Township system until they shall have been completed, inspected and approved and found to be in accordance with the provisions of this part and with all regulations and requirements of the Township and shall have been so certified by the Township or its representative.
R. 
The same formalities shall be required in cases of repairs, alterations and additions as are required in making original connections.
[Amended 11-4-1996 by Ord. No. 200]
Upon the promulgation of the Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards (40 CFR 405 to 471) for a particular industrial subcategory, the federal standard, if more stringent than limitations imposed under this part for sources in that subcategory, shall control. Each user or industrial user shall be responsible to notify the Borough of changes to their status under the federal, state or local regulations.
Where the Borough's wastewater treatment system achieves consistent removal of pollutants limited by federal pretreatment standards, the Borough may apply to the approval authority for modifications of specific limits in the federal pretreatment standards. "Consistent removal" shall mean the reduction in the amount of a pollutant or alteration of the nature of the pollutant by the wastewater treatment system to a less toxic or harmless state in the effluent which is achieved by the system in 95% of the samples taken when measured according to the procedures set forth in Section 403.7(c)(2) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 403, "General Pretreatment Regulations for Existing and New Sources of Pollution," promulgated pursuant to the Act. The Borough may then modify pollutant discharge limits in the federal pretreatment standards if the requirements contained in 40 CFR 403.7 are fulfilled and prior approval from the approval authority is obtained.
[Amended 11-4-1996 by Ord. No. 200; 4-2-2001 by Ord. No. 229; 1-23-2020 by Ord. No. 347; 10-24-2024 by Ord. No. 370]
A. 
No user of the Lower Pottsgrove Township Authority Wastewater Collection System and the Pottstown Borough Authority/Borough Wastewater Collection and Treatment Plant shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, wastewater containing pollutant levels in excess of the following maximum discharge limitations:
Pollutant
Maximum Daily Limit
(mg/l)
Total arsenic
1.2284
Total cadmium
0.1425
Total chromium
3.905
Total copper
3.711
Total cyanide
1.2883
Total lead
2.2001
Total mercury
0.1195
Total molybdenum
1.8707
Total nickel
3.886
Total selenium
2.0093
Total silver
1.2659
Total zinc
4.548
Total toxic organics
2.13
Pollutants
Instantaneous Maximum
(mg/l)
Free cyanide
0.56
Total phenols
1.00
Pollutants
Maximum Daily Limit
(mg/l)
(1) Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5)
250
(1) Total suspended solids
250
(1) Ammonia, as N
25
(1) Oil and grease
100
B. 
Lower Pottsgrove Township, Lower Pottsgrove Township Authority, and/or Pottstown Borough/Authority may impose alternate mass and/or concentration limits upon industrial users for all parameters within this section as long as the total loading remains within the approved limits, as specified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. For these pollutants, each industry that is subjected to the requirements of the municipal industrial pretreatment program, is allocated a specific mass limit and/or a specific concentration limit.
C. 
Pollutants marked with "(1)" that exceeded the maximum daily limit shall be surcharged using the following formula:
Surcharge = 0.17+0.29(BOD,mg/l)/(250mg/l)+0.39(TSS,mg/l)/(250mg/l)+0.15(NH3-N,mg/l)/(25mg/l)
State requirements and limitations on discharges shall apply in any case where they are more stringent than federal requirements and limitations or those in this part.
No user or industrial 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 the limitations contained in the Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards or with any other pollutant specific limitation developed by the Borough or state.
[Amended 11-4-1996 by Ord. No. 200]
Each user or industrial user shall provide protection from accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other substances regulated by this part into the collection system. Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the user's or industrial user's cost and expense. The Borough shall evaluate, at least once every two years, if the user requires spill prevention and slug discharge measures to be implemented. If the Borough deems it necessary, a slug discharge control plan may be required. The plan must contain certain minimum elements, such as a description of the user's chemical storage and discharge practices, procedures of notifying the Borough of slug loadings, measures of preventing and containing spills, and emergency response and follow-up procedures as required by §§ 185-34 and 185-35. No user or industrial user who commences contribution to the POTW system after the effective date of this part shall be permitted to introduce pollutants into the system until the accidental discharge procedures have been approved by the Borough. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures shall not relieve the user or industrial user from the responsibility to modify its facility as necessary to meet the requirements of this part. In the case of an accidental discharge, it is the responsibility of the user or industrial user to immediately telephone and notify the POTW of the incident. The notification shall include location of discharge, type of waste, concentration and volume, and corrective actions.
Within five days following an accidental discharge, the user or industrial user shall submit to the Superintendent a detailed written report describing the cause of the discharge and the measures to be taken to mitigate any expenses, loss, damage or other liability which may be incurred as a result of damage to the POTW or aquatic life or any other damage to person or property. Such report shall not relieve the user or industrial user of any fines, civil penalties or other liability which may be imposed by this part or other applicable law.
A notice shall be permanently posted on the user's or industrial user's bulletin board or other prominent place advising employees who to call in the event of a dangerous discharge. Employers shall ensure that all employees who may cause or suffer such a dangerous discharge to occur are advised of the emergency notification procedures.