This Ordinance sets uniform requirements for direct and indirect
contributors into the wastewater collection system of East Norriton-Plymouth-Whitpain
Joint Sewer Authority ("Joint Sewer Authority") and/or the Township
and enables the Joint Sewer Authority and/or the Township to comply
with all applicable state and federal laws required by the Clean Water
Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment
Regulations (40 CFR Part 403, as amended).
The objectives of this Ordinance are:
A.
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater collection
system ("POTW") which will interfere with the operation of the system
or contaminate the resulting sludge at the POTW servicing the townships.
B.
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which will
pass through the system inadequately treated into receiving waters
or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system.
C.
To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and
sludges from the system.
D.
To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of operating the
wastewater collection system.
E.
To protect the general public, and treatment works personnel who
may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment.
F.
To enable the Joint Sewer Authority and/or the Township to comply
with its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES")
permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other
federal or state laws to which the POTW is subject; and, to empower
the POTW to enforce penalties against violators as required by its
Enforcement Response Guide and by federal and state law.
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This Ordinance provides for the regulations of direct and indirect
contributors to the POTW through the issuance of permits to certain
nondomestic users, and through enforcement of general requirements
for the other users; authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities;
requires user reporting; assumes that existing customer's capacity
will not be preempted; and, provides for the setting of fees for the
equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established
herein.
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This Ordinance shall apply to the persons in townships and to
persons outside the respective townships who are users or significant
users of the Township's collection systems and the POTW. Except
as otherwise provided herein, the Joint Sewer Authority, with notification
to the respective townships, shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this Ordinance.
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Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following
terms and phrases as used in this Ordinance shall have the meanings
hereinafter designated:
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the
Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
The Regional Administrator of EPA, Region III.
If the user is a corporation:
The president, secretary, treasurer, or a vice-president of
the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any
other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions
for the corporation; or
The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating
facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management
decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility, including
having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment
recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures
to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws
and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established
or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for individual
wastewater discharge requirements; and where authority to sign documents
has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate
procedures.
If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general
partner or proprietor, respectively.
If the user is a federal, state, or local facility: a director
or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation
and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their
designee.
The individuals described in Paragraphs (1) through (3), above,
may designate another authorized representative if the authorization
is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position
responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the
discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental
matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted
to the Joint Sewer Authority.
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in Section 2.1 A and B. BMPs include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage. BMPs also include alternative means (i.e., management plans) of complying with, or in place of certain established categorical pretreatment standards and effluent limits.
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five (5) days
at 20 degrees centigrade, expressed in terms of weight and concentration
[milligrams per liter (mg/L)].
A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user
to the POTW.
Any regulation, heretofore or hereafter adopted by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency, being any regulation containing
pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with Section
307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) that apply
to a specific category of users and that appear in 40 CFR Chapter
I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
A water pollutant that is amenable to treatment by a municipal
wastewater treatment plant. These pollutants consist of, but are not
limited to, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids
(TSS), oil and grease, pH, ammonia and phosphorous.
The water discharged from any use, such as air conditioning,
cooling or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is
heat.
The arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant
collected during a calendar day or 24-hour period.
The maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during
a calendar day or 24-hour period. Where daily maximum limits are expressed
in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged
over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed
in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic
average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all
measurements taken that day.
The discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly
to the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate,
the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or
other duly authorized official of said agency.
Any source of discharge that is not a "new source."
A grab sample is an individual sample which is taken from
a wastestream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the
wastestream. These samples must be collected over a period of time
not exceeding 15 minutes. A grab sample shows the wastestream characteristics
at the time the sample is taken. 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.
The discharge or the introduction of pollutants into the
collection system from any nondomestic source.
An industrial, commercial or institutional source of indirect
discharge.
The maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged
at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited
sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the
duration of the sampling event.
Shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the Act of June
22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394) known as the "Clean Stream Law" and
the regulations adopted thereunder.
A discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge
or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its
treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or
disposal, and, therefore, is a cause of a violation of the POTW's
NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal
in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions
or permits issued thereunder, or any more stringent state or local
regulations: Section 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act,
including Title II commonly referred to as the "Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act" (RCRA); any state regulations contained in any state
sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid
Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control
Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
Specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the Joint Sewer Authority upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b) or Section 2.1 A and B of these regulations.
Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood
products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding,
surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis
wastes.
The sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar
month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that
month.
The highest allowable average of daily discharges over a
calendar month, calculated as the sum of all daily discharges measured
during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges
measured during that month.
Any regulation hereto or hereafter adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency containing any pollutant discharge limits heretofore or hereafter promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users, as set forth in 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N.
A permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C.
1342).
Any regulation developed under the authority of 307(b) of
the Act and contained in 40 CFR Section 403.5(a) and (b).
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 proposed pretreatment standards
under Section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source
if such Standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that
section, 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 process of the building,
structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent
of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these
are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which
the new facility is integrated with the existing plant, and the extent
to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity
as the existing source, should be considered.
Construction on a site at which an existing source is located
results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction
does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation
meeting the criteria of Section (1)(b) or (c) above but otherwise
alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
Construction of new source as defined under this paragraph has
commenced if the owner or operator has:
Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction
program:
If any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or
equipment; or
Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation,
or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities which
is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source
facilities or equipment; or
Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase
of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation
within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can
be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts
for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute
a contractual obligation under this paragraph.
Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact
with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished
product.
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 the POTW's NPDES permit, including
an increase in the magnitude of duration of violation.
Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company,
corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, governmental
entity, 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.
A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed
in standard units.
Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage,
garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials,
radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock,
sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastes,
and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., temperature, TSS,
turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination
of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties
in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants
into the POTW. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical,
chemical, or biological processes; by process changes; or by other
means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless
allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment
imposed on a user, other than a pretreatment standard.
Pretreatment standards shall mean prohibited discharge standards,
categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in Section 2.1 of this Ordinance.
A treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33
U.S.C. 1292), which is owned by the Joint Sewer Authority. This definition
includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment,
recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid
nature and any conveyances which convey wastewater to the treatment
plant.
Any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets,
campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing
operations, etc.).
Except as provided in Subparagraph OO(2) and OO(3) of this section:
All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards;
or
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 blow down wastewater); contributes
a process waste stream which makes up five percent (5%) or more of
the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW
treatment plant; or is designated as such by the Joint Sewer Authority
on the basis that it 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)].
The Joint Sewer Authority may determine that an industrial user
subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and
40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, is a nonsignificant categorical industrial
user rather than a significant industrial user on a finding that the
industrial user never discharged more than 100 gallons per day (gpd)
of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling
and boiler blow down wastewater, unless specifically included in the
pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met: Upon
finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in Subparagraph
(1)(a) above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the
POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or
requirement, the POTW may at any time, on its own initiative or in
response to a petition received from a user, and in accordance with
40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a significant
industrial user.
The industrial user, prior to the Joint Sewer Authority's
finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical
pretreatment standards and requirements;
The industrial user annually submits the certification statement
required in 40 CFR 403.12(q) together with any additional information
necessary to support the certification statement; and
The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated
wastewater.
Upon a finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria
in Paragraph OO(1)(b) of this section has no reasonable potential
for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating
any pretreatment standards or requirement, the Joint Sewer Authority
may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition
received from an industrial user or POTW, and in accordance with 40
CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a significant
industrial user.
An industrial user is in significant noncompliance if its
violation meets one or more of the specific criteria set forth in
40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(viii). For purposes of this definition, an industrial
user is in significant noncompliance if its violation meets one or
more of the following criteria:
Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here
as those in which sixty-six percent (66%) or more of all of the measurements
taken for the same pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period
exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement,
including instantaneous limits as defined in Section 2;
Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as
those in which thirty-three percent or more of wastewater measurements
taken for each pollutant parameter during a six-month period equals
or exceeds the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement
including instantaneous limits, as defined by Section 2 multiplied
by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease,
and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement
as defined by Section 2 (daily maximum, long-term average, Instantaneous
Limit, or narrative standard) that the Joint Sewer Authority 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;
Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment
to the public or to the environment or has resulted in the Joint Sewer
Authority's exercise of its emergency authority under of this
Ordinance to halt or prevent such a discharge;
Failure to meet, within ninety (90) days after the schedule
date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in this Ordinance,
a wastewater discharge permit or in an enforcement order.
Failure to provide, within forty-five (45) days after the due
date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, reports
on compliance with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, periodic
self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance
schedules;
Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
Any other violation or group of violations that may include
a violation of BMPs, which the Joint Sewer Authority determines will
adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment
program.
Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration, which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in Section 2.1 of this Ordinance. A slug discharge is any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the Joint Sewer Authority's and/or POTW's regulations, local limits or permit conditions.
A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification
Manual issued by the United States Office of Management and Budget.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural
precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
The person designated by the POTW to supervise the operation
of the POTW, and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities
by this Ordinance, or a duly authorized representative.
The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of,
or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquids, and which
is removable by laboratory filtering.
Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic
in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the EPA under the
provision of CWA 307(a) or other acts.
A source of indirect discharge.
Liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from
residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing
facilities, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface
water, and stormwater that may be present, whether treated or untreated,
which is contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:
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BMP
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Best management practice
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BOD
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Biochemical oxygen demand
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CFR
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Code of Federal Regulations
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COD
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Chemical oxygen demand
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EPA
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Environmental Protection Agency
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L
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Liter
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mg
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Milligrams
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mg/L
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Milligrams per liter
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NPDES
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National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
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POTW
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Publicly owned treatment works
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SIC
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Standard Industrial Classification
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SWDA
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Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.
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USC
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United States Code
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TSS
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Total suspended solids
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