Except as otherwise provided herein, the Director of the Department
of Water Pollution Control shall administer, implement and enforce
the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted to, or duties imposed
upon, the Director of the Department of Water Pollution Control may
be delegated by the Director to the Director of the Department of
Water Pollution Control or to other Township personnel.
[Amended 4-7-2020 by Ord.
No. 20-015]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings
of terms used in this chapter shall be as follows:
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.
AMMONIA-NITROGEN (NH3-N)
The quantity of nitrogen measurable by the procedures as
described in "Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater
(latest edition)," or an equivalent method authorized by the Township.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE USER
A.
A principal executive officer of at least the level of vice
president, if the user is a corporation.
B.
A general partner or proprietor if the user is a partnership
or proprietorship, respectively.
C.
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.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure as described
in "Standard Methods for the Examination of Waste and Wastewater"
(latest edition) in five days at 20° C., expressed in milligrams
per liter (mg/L).
BUILDING SEWER
Any pipe and any necessary connections conveying sewage from
a single building of any kind to the sanitary sewer, also called a
"house connection."
BYPASS
The anticipated or unanticipated intentional diversion of
waste streams from any portion of a user's wastewater treatment works.
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection or authorized representative.
COMPOSITE SAMPLE
A sample consisting of several portions collected during
a specific time period and combined to make a representative sample.
CONNECTION
Any physical or operational change associated with an increase
in projected flow to a collection system of any building, facility
or other structure, either proposed or existing, for which a building
permit or other Township approval, including site plan or subdivision
approval, is required, and which connects directly or indirectly to
any portion of the POTW.
COOLING WATER
Any water used for the purpose of carrying away excess heat,
and which may contain biocides used to control biological growth.
DIRECTOR
The Director of the Department of Water Pollution Control
or authorized deputy, agent or representative.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE
Waste and wastewater from humans or household operations
that is discharged to or otherwise enters a treatment works.
EASEMENT
An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned
by others.
EXISTING SOURCE
Any source which is not a new source, including presently
existing discharges which are not currently permitted.
FLOATABLE OIL
Oil, fat or grease in a physical state such that it will
separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment
facility.
GARBAGE
The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling,
preparation, cooking and serving of foods.
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.
HAZARDOUS POLLUTANT
B.
Any substances regulated as a pesticide under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, P.L. 92-516 (7 U.S.C. § 136
et seq.);
C.
Any substance used or manufactured which is prohibited under
the Federal Toxic Substances Control Act, P.L. 94-469 (15 U.S.C. § 2601
et seq.);
D.
Any substance identified as a known carcinogen by the International
Agency for Research on Cancer;
E.
Any hazardous waste as designated pursuant to this chapter;
or
F.
Any hazardous substance as defined pursuant to § 3
of P.L. 1976, c. 141 (N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11b).
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Any solid waste that is defined or identified as a hazardous
waste pursuant to the Solid Waste Management Act, N.J.S.A. 13:1E et
seq., N.J.A.C. 7:26-8, or 40 CFR Part 261.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE
The discharge or the introduction of pollutants from any
nondomestic source, including those regulated under Section 307(a)(b)
or (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) into the POTW.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
Any liquid, gaseous or solid substance, or a combination
thereof, resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, trade,
commerce or business, from the development or recovery of any natural
resources as distinct from sanitary sewage, including but not limited
to those pollutants regulated under Section 307(a)(b) or (c) of the
Act.
INTERFERENCE
A discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge
or discharges from other sources:
A.
Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations,
or its sludge processes, use or disposal; or
B.
Is a cause of a violation of any requirements of the POTW's
NJPDES permit, (including an increase in the magnitude or duration
of a violation) or of the prevention of sludge (from the POTW) use
or disposal in compliance with the following statutory provisions
and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state
or local regulations): Section 405 of the Act, the Solid Waste Disposal
Act (SWDA) [including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)], and Sections 2, 4 and 6 of
the state Act, and any regulations, criteria or guidelines developed
pursuant thereto, including but not limited to N.J.A.C. 7:14A-20 and
the statewide sludge management plan.
NATIONAL PRETREATMENT STANDARDS
Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated
by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act which
applies to industrial users. This term includes prohibited discharge
standards established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5.
NEW JERSEY POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NJPDES)
The state system for issuing, modifying, suspending, revoking
and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing of discharge
permits pursuant to the state Act. The term also includes discharge
permits (NPDES) issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C.
§ 1251 et seq.).
NEW SOURCE
A.
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:
(1)
The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed
at a site at which no other source is located; or
(2)
The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces
the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants
at an existing source; or
(3)
The production of wastewater-generating process of the building,
structure, facility or installation is substantially independent of
any 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.
B.
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 subsection (1)(a) or (c) above but otherwise
alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment.
C.
Construction of a new source, as defined under this definition,
is commenced if the owner or operator has:
(1)
Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction
program:
(a)
Any placement, assembly or installation of facilities or equipment;
or
(b)
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
(2)
Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase
of facilities or equipment which is intended to be used for 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 definition.
NONCONTACT COOLING WATER
Water used for cooling which does not come in direct contact
with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished
product.
NORMAL SEWAGE
Sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes, which when analyzed
show by weight the following characteristics:
A.
BOD: 3,300 pounds per million gallons (400 milligrams per liter)
or less;
B.
TSS: 3,300 pounds per million gallons (400 milligrams per liter)
or less;
C.
Ammonia nitrogen: 330 pounds per million gallons (40 milligrams
per liter) or less.
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(s) from other sources, is a cause of a violation
of any requirements of the POTW's NJPDES permit (including an increase
in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
PERMIT
B.
A control document issued by the Township to implement the requirements
of this chapter even where any or all of the conditions of the permit
have been stayed. The Wastewater Utility may issue permits for sanitary
sewer connections and the discharge of industrial waste (nondomestic
wastewater and non-SIU and noncategorical) into its sanitary sewer
system. A permit to discharge nondomestic wastewater (IWD) includes
a letter of agreement entered into between the Township and a user
of its POTW, setting discharge limitations and other conditions on
the user of the Township POTW.
PERSON
Any responsible corporate official for the purpose of enforcement
action under Section 10 of the state Act.
pH
The logarithm of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen
ions in grams per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT
Any dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter
backwash, sewage, garbage, refuse, oil, grease, sewage sludge, munitions,
chemical wastes, biological materials, medical wastes, radioactive
substance, thermal waste, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand,
cellar dirt and industrial, municipal or agricultural waste or runoff
or other residue discharged directly or indirectly to the land, groundwaters
or surface waters or into the waters of the state or the POTW.
POTW
Publicly owned treatment works; Hamilton Township Department
of Water Pollution Control.
PRETREATMENT
The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination
of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutants' properties
in wastewater, including controlling peak flow rates (flow equalization),
prior to or in lieu of introducing such pollutants into a 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.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS
Any substantive or procedural requirements related to pretreatment,
other than a pretreatment standard, imposed on a user.
PRETREATMENT STANDARDS
Any limitation on quantities, quality, rates or concentrations
of pollutants discharged into the POTW, adopted pursuant to the Pretreatment
Act, Section 4 of the state Act, or any applicable national, state or local regulations
(i.e., this chapter), including but not limited to any prohibited
discharge standards, categorical standards and local limits.
PROCESS WASTEWATER
Any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes
into direct contact with, or results from, the production or use of
any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product,
or waste product. Process wastewater includes, but is not limited
to, leachate and cooling water other than noncontact cooling water.
This definition includes the terms "commercial wastewater" and "industrial
wastewater," as used in 40 CFR Part 503.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW)
A treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33
U.S.C. § 1292), which is owned in this instance by the Township.
For the purposes of this chapter, "POTW" shall also include sanitary
sewers or other conveyances that convey wastewaters to the POTW from
persons outside the Township who are, by contract or agreement with
Township, users of the Township POTW.
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR
The Administrator of Region II of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency or an authorized representative.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer that carries domestic sewage and liquid and water-carried
industrial wastes together with minor quantities of groundwaters,
stormwaters and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally
SERIOUS VIOLATION
An exceedance of an effluent limitation for a discharge point
source as set forth in a permit, administrative order or administrative
consent order, including interim enforcement limits, as follows:
A.
For discharge limitations for pollutants that are measured by
concentration or mass:
(1)
Violations of a discharge limitation that is expressed as a
monthly average:
(a)
By 20% or more for a hazardous pollutant; and
(b)
By 40% or more for a nonhazardous pollutant.
(2)
Violations of a discharge limitation that is expressed as a
daily maximum or daily minimum without a monthly average:
(a)
By 20% or more of the average of all daily maximum or minimum
values for hazardous pollutants; and
(b)
By 40% or more of the average of all daily maximum or minimum
values for a nonhazardous pollutant.
B.
The greatest violation of a pH effluent range in any one calendar
day which violation deviates from the midpoint of the range by at
least 40% of the midpoint of the range (excluding the excursions specifically
expected by a permit with continuous pH monitoring), as determined
by the following formulas:
(1)
Example 1: If the allowed range is 5.5 to 9.0, M = 7.3, and
F = 0.4 x 7.3 = 2.9.
(2)
Any reading at or above 10.2 (i.e., above 7.3 + 2.9, or M +
F) is a serious violation.
(3)
Any reading at or below 4.4 (i.e., below 7.3 - 2.9, or M - F)
is a serious violation.
E > M + F (if the greatest exceedance
is above the allowed range)
or
E < M - F (if the greatest exceedance is below the allowed
range)
|
Where:
|
|
M
|
=
|
the midpoint of the allowed range;
|
|
F
|
=
|
0.4M, or 40% of the midpoint; and
|
|
E
|
=
|
the greatest exceedance above or below the allowed range in
that month.
|
C.
A more stringent factor of exceedance to determine a serious
violation is if the Township states the specific reason therefor,
which may include the potential for harm to human health or the environment.
SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE
Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment
facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial
and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected
to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not
mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
SEWAGE
Any wastes, including wastes from humans, households, commercial
establishments, industries and stormwater runoff, that are discharged
to or otherwise enter the POTW.
SEWER EXTENSION
Any sanitary sewer pipe, line, structure or appurtenance
used for the conveyance of domestic sewage or industrial waste of
a liquid nature, whether forced or by gravity, which:
A.
Will extend along an easement through more than two properties,
a roadway or public right-of-way;
B.
Conveys flow from more than two buildings; or
C.
Conveys, or will convey, 8,000 gallons per day or more of sewage
flow, determined in accordance with the criteria specified in N.J.A.C.
7:14A-23.3. This includes all sewer lines from a single building if
the building utilizes more than one sanitary sewer line to convey
waste to the wastewater facilities and the aggregate waste flow is
8,000 gallons per day or more.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER (SIU)
A.
A user subject to categorical standards; or
B.
A user that:
(1)
Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process
wastewater to the POTW;
(2)
Contributes a process wastewater which makes up 5% or more of
the average dry-weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW;
or
(3)
Is designated as such by the control 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.
C.
Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in subsection
(2) above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the
POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement,
the control authority may at any time, on its own initiative or in
response to a petition received from a user, and in accordance with
procedures in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should
not be considered a significant industrial user.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE
An industrial user is in "significant noncompliance" if its
violation meets one or more of the following criteria:
A.
Chronic violations of discharge limits, defined herein as those
in which 66% or more of wastewater measurements taken during a six-month
period exceed the daily maximum limit or average limit for the same
pollutant of any amount;
B.
Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as
those in which 33% or more of wastewater measurements taken for each
pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the
product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied
by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease,
and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
C.
Any other discharge violation of a pretreatment standard or
requirement as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(l) that the Township believes
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 pollutants that has caused imminent endangerment
to the public or to the environment, or has resulted in the Township's
exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;
E.
Failure to meet, within 90 days of the scheduled date, a compliance
schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement
order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining
final compliance;
F.
Failure to provide within 30 days after the due date any required
reports, including baseline monitoring reports, reports on compliance
with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, periodic self-monitoring
reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
G.
Failure to accurately report noncompliance; or
H.
Any other violation(s) which the Township determines will adversely
affect the operation or implementation of its Wastewater Utility.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIER
In accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:14-8.2, any person who commits
a serious violation for the same pollutant at the same discharge in
any two months of any consecutive six-month period, or who exceeds
the monthly average or, in a case of a pollutant for which no monthly
average has been established, the monthly average of the daily maximums
for an effluent limitation for the same pollutant at the same discharge
by any amount in any four months of any consecutive six-month period,
or any exceedance of an effluent limitation for pH by any amount,
excluding the excursions specifically excepted by a NJPDES permit
with continuous pH monitoring, at the same discharge point source
in any four months of any consecutive six-month period, or who fails
to submit a completed discharge monitoring report in any two months
of any consecutive six-month period, or who commits any of the violations
described below, unless the Township uses, on a case-by-case basis,
a more stringent frequency or factor of exceedance to determine a
significant noncomplier and the Township states the specific reasons
therefor, which may include the potential for harm to human health
or the environment.
SLUG
Any discharge of water or wastewater 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 of flows during normal operation and/or
may adversely affect the POTW.
STATE
The State of New Jersey.
STATE ACT
The New Jersey Water Pollution Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10A-1
et seq., as amended.
TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS (TSS)
The total nonfilterable residue as determined by analytical
procedures set forth in the Manual of Methods for Chemical Analysis
of Water and Wastes (USEPA, 18th Edition), and any supplements and
amendments thereto, and analyzed in accordance with an approved test
procedure.
TOXIC POLLUTANT or TOXIC SUBSTANCE
Any pollutant identified pursuant to the Act, or any pollutant
or combination of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which
after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation
into any organism, either directly or indirectly by ingestion through
food chains, may, on the basis of information available to the NJDEP,
cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations,
physiological malfunctions, including malfunctions in reproduction,
or physical deformation, in such organisms or their offspring. Toxic
pollutants shall include, but are not limited to, those pollutants
identified pursuant to Section 307 of the Act or Section 4 of the
state Act, or in the case of "sludge use or disposal practices,"
any pollutant identified pursuant to Section 405(d) of the Act.
UNPOLLUTED WATER
Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria
in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water
quality standards or interference with their designated uses.
USER
Any person, individual, firm, company, partnership, corporation,
association, group or society, mobile source, and includes political
subdivisions of this state and any federal, state or interstate agency
discharging to a POTW.
WASTEWATER
Residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural liquid
waste, septage, stormwater runoff, or any combination thereof, or
other residue discharged or collected.
WASTEWATER FACILITIES
The structures, equipment and processes required to collect,
carry away and treat sewage and dispose of the effluent and the residuals.
These shall include all pumping stations, interceptors, trunks, sub-trunks,
branches, laterals and all other sanitary sewer appurtenances, either
publicly or privately owned, except building sewers.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS
An arrangement of devices and structures for treating sewage
and sludge. Sometimes used and synonymous with "waste treatment plant"
or "wastewater treatment plant" or "water pollution control plant"
or "sewage treatment plant."