This chapter shall be known as the "Borough of Lansdale's Sewer
Use Ordinance" (hereinafter "this chapter").
A.
This chapter sets forth uniform requirements for contributors into
the wastewater collection and treatment systems owned and operated
by the Borough of Lansdale (hereinafter "wastewater system," "system"
or "POTW"), and enables the Borough to comply with applicable state
and federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977[1] and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR 403)
and amending and repealing inconsistent ordinances, including Ordinance
No. 1487.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
B.
At the time of the enactment hereof, the Borough of Lansdale operates
the wastewater system, and so long as the Borough of Lansdale continues
to do so, where the context refers to operations, this meaning shall
be supplied.
C.
It is declared that enactment of this chapter is necessary for the
protection, benefit and preservation of the health, safety, and welfare
of inhabitants of this Borough and of the Neshaminy Creek watershed.
D.
The objectives of this chapter are:
(1)
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater system
that may interfere with the operation of the system, interfere with
sludge management options, harm the system or the health and well-being
of operating personnel, or otherwise be incompatible with the system;
(2)
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater system
that may pass through the system inadequately treated and into receiving
waters or the atmosphere;
(3)
To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and
sludges from the system; and
(4)
To provide for the equitable distribution of the cost for the operation,
maintenance, improvement, and implementation of the Borough of Lansdale's
wastewater system and the municipal industrial pretreatment program.
E.
This chapter provides for the regulation of contributors to the wastewater
system through the issuance of wastewater contribution permits to
certain contributors and through enforcement of general requirements
for all contributors. It also authorizes monitoring and enforcement
activities, requires certain reporting, assumes that existing discharger's
allocated capacity will not be preempted, and provides for the setting
of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the
program established herein.
F.
This chapter shall apply to persons within the Borough and to all
persons outside the Borough who discharge to the Borough's wastewater
system. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Borough shall administer,
implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
G.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing
any special agreement or arrangement between the Borough and dischargers
within or outside of the Borough, whereby a waste of unusual strength
or character may be accepted by the Borough by special agreements
in writing, executed prior to such acceptance, containing safeguards,
limitations, fees, and conditions acceptable to the Borough. No such
special agreement or arrangements, however, shall waive or abrogate
any federal or state categorical pretreatment standards or requirements.
H.
The citation of statute law, regulatory law, executive order or any
official act includes any amendments thereto and includes enactments,
regulations, or executive orders which supplant the citations stated.
I.
This ordinance is intended to repeal in its entirety former Chapter
99 of the Borough of Lansdale Code, adopted June 30, 1992, as Ordinance
No. 1487.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following
terms and phrases as used in this chapter, whether or not capitalized,
shall have the meanings hereinafter designated. Terms not defined
in this chapter shall have the meaning as set forth in 40 CFR 401
through 471.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the
Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
If the user is a corporation, authorized representative shall
mean:
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 operation
facilities employing more than 250 persons, if 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, an authorized
representative shall mean a general partner or proprietor, respectively.
If the user is a federal, state or local governmental facility,
an authorized representative shall mean a director or highest official
appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of
the activities of the government facility, or his/her designee.
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices that are intended to prevent pollutants from entering a facility's wastewater or any other violation of Article II of this chapter. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation
of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five days at
20° C. expressed in terms of weight and concentration [milligrams
per liter (mg/l)].
The Borough of Lansdale, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The Borough of Lansdale Council or a quorum of the members
thereof.
A pipe that conveys wastewater from the premises of a user
to the point of connection (lateral or main sewer) to the POTW.
Any significant industrial user (SIU) subject to Categorical
Pretreatment Standards.
National categorical pretreatment standards as promulgated
under the Act.
The water discharged from any use such as air conditioning,
cooling or refrigeration, and/or water to which the only pollutant
added is heat.
Any room, group of rooms, building or enclosure used or intended
for use in the operation of a business enterprise for the sale and
distribution of any product, commodity, article or service or used
or intended for use for any social, amusement, religious, educational,
charitable or public purpose.
A discharge from a commercial establishment.
A source of a commercial discharge.
A CDR shall contain, but shall not necessarily be limited
to:
Flow measurement information for wastewater discharged to the
POTW.
Identification of the pretreatment standards and results of
measurements of pollutant concentrations and/or mass.
Statement of certification concerning compliance or noncompliance
with the pretreatment standards.
If not in compliance, a compliance schedule must be submitted
with the CDR that describes the actions the user will take and a timetable
for completing those actions to achieve compliance with the standard.
A permit or other authorization issued by the Borough to a domestic discharger or a commercial discharger with only domestic waste, allowing such waste to be discharged to the POTW, as set forth in § 323-21 of this chapter.
A municipality, other than the Borough, from which there
is a discharge into the POTW, either from a person within that municipality
or from the municipality itself.
Shall refer to the approval authority as defined hereinabove;
or the superintendent if the Borough has an approved pretreatment
program under the provisions of 40 CFR 403.11.
The discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly
to the waters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any person who discharges to the POTW, which shall include,
but not be limited to, domestic dischargers and all classes of users.
The normal waterborne waste from a residential user, as well
as toilet wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions,
commercial and industrial establishments.
A residential source of domestic waste.
The United States 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, the construction or operation of
which commenced prior to the enactment of this chapter.
Organic polar compounds derived from animal and/or plant
sources that contain multiple carbon chain triglyceride molecules.
These substances are detectable and measurable using analytical test
procedures established in the Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures
for the Analysis of Pollutants (40 CFR 136), as may be amended from
time to time. All are sometimes referred to herein as "grease" or
"greases."
Those commercial establishments primarily engaged in activities
of preparing, serving, or otherwise making food available for retail
sale and consumption by the public such as restaurants, commercial
kitchens or caterers, and those portions of the following facilities
engaged in similar activities: hotels, schools, hospitals, prisons,
correctional facilities, retirement facilities, and care institutions.
These establishments use one or more of the following preparation
activities: cooking by frying (all methods), baking (all methods),
grilling, sauteing, rotisserie cooking, broiling (all methods), boiling,
blanching, roasting, toasting, or poaching. Also included are infrared
heating, searing, barbecuing, and any other food preparation activity
that produces a hot, nondrinkable food product in or on a receptacle
that requires washing.
A sample that is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis,
with no regard to the flow in the wastestream, taken over a period
of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
A structure or device designed for the purpose of removing
and preventing FOG from entering the POTW. These devices are often
below-ground units in outside areas and are built as two- or three-chamber
baffled tanks.
The design features of a grease interceptor having the ability or volume required to effectively intercept and retain FOG from wastewaters discharged to the POTW in compliance with § 323-17 hereof.
A device for separating and retaining waterborne FOG prior to the wastewater exiting the trap and entering the POTW in compliance with § 323-17. Such traps are typically compact under-the-sink units that are near food preparation areas.
Any waste from holding tanks, including but not limited to
vessels, chemical toilets, tanks in campers, trailers, septic tanks
and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
Any property within or outside of this Borough upon which
there is erected a structure intended for continuous or periodic habitation,
occupancy or use by human beings or animals, including any unoccupied
structures from which wastewater shall be or may be discharged.
A nondomestic, noncommercial discharger of wastewater into
the POTW or a commercial establishment designated by the Borough as
an industrial user, including but not limited to: dischargers of holding
tank waste, factories, industrial cleaning operations, and wholesale
food processors.
A condition resulting from 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.
Is a cause of a violation of the Borough's NPDES permit.
Prevents sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any
of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued
thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section
405 of the Clean Water Act;[1] the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), including Title 11,
commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA);[2] any state regulations contained in any state sludge management
plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA; the Clean Air Act;[3] the Toxic Substances Control Act;[4] and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.[5]
The pipe, extending from the main sewer (located in a utility
right-of-way or municipally dedicated thoroughfare) to the street
face of the curbline (or right-of-way boundary line if there is no
curbline), that connects to the building sewer.
Limits on the discharge of certain pollutants to the POTW established by the Borough pursuant to § 323-10 of this chapter, and any revisions thereto established by the Borough.
Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated
by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) or (d) of the
Act which applies to a specific category of industrial users.
A permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C.
§ 1342).
Any regulation developed under the authority of Section 307(b)
of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5.
Any building, structure, facility or installation from which
there is or may be a discharge of wastewater, the construction of
which commenced after the enactment of this chapter or the enactment
of any new/modified chapter provisions 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;
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. 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 will 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 Subsection A(2) and (3) above but otherwise alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment. Construction of a new source as defined under this subsection has commenced if the owner or operator has:
Begun or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction
program:
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.
Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase
of facilities or equipment that are intended to be used in its operation
within a reasonable time. Options to purchase, or contracts that can
be terminated or modified without substantial loss, or contracts for
feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual
obligation under this subsection.
Any time the Borough deems the information regarding sewage
flow incomplete or incorrect, it shall have the right to seek further
information and documentation which shall be promptly provided, and
if it is determined that such original information was in error by
virtue of incomplete or incorrect information, the facility shall
be considered a new source.
An existing source will be considered a new source upon the
sale or a change in ownership thereof.
The quantity of ammonia expressed in terms of weight and
concentration (milligrams per liter) as nitrogen and determined by
an analytical method outlined in 40 CFR 136.
This term shall apply to any IU that does not meet the SIU
criteria, as determined by the Borough.
A device that removes oil from wastewater by employing various
physical or chemical separation methods, including but not limited
to: gravity separation, filters, coagulation/flocculation, and flotation.
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial of any improved property.
A discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United
States and/or waters of the state 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
Borough's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or
duration of a violation).
Any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company,
corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, governmental
entity, the United States and its agents, any other legal entity or
their legal representatives, agents, or assigns. The masculine gender
shall include the feminine, this singular shall include the plural
where indicated by the context.
The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration
of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
The quantity of phosphate ion (PO4) expressed in terms of
weight and concentration (milligrams per liter) as phosphorus and
determined by an analytical method outlined in 40 CFR 136.
Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter
backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, chemical wastes, biological
materials, medical/dental waste, radioactive materials, heat, rock,
sand, cellar dirt, or industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste,
and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature,
TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, toxicity or odor).
The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical,
biological, or radiological integrity of water.
That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to
wastewater, including recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage
and industrial wastewater.
The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination
of pollutants, the alteration of the nature of pollutants, or the
alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to
a less harmful state prior to, or in lieu of, discharging or otherwise
introducing such pollutants into the POTW. The reduction or alteration
can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes, by
process changes, or by other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR
403.6(d) (relating to dilution). Use of oil/water separators, grease
traps, grease interceptors, and silver recovery units with a capacity
of less than 50 gpd shall not be considered pretreatment.
Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment
imposed on a user.
Pretreatment standards shall mean prohibited discharge standards,
categorical pretreatment standards, and specific local pollutant limits.
Standards prohibiting the discharge of certain substances set out in § 323-5B of this chapter.
The treatment works as defined by Section 212 of the Act
(33 U.S.C. § 1292) which is owned by the Borough. This definition
includes any devices, systems, or sewers, other than building sewers,
that convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant, but does not include
pipes or other conveyances not connected to the POTW. For the purposes
of this chapter, "POTW" shall also include any sewers that convey
wastewaters to the POTW treatment plant from persons outside the Borough.
Any room, group of rooms, building or other enclosures occupied
or intended for occupancy as separate and/or individual living quarters
by a family or other group of persons living together, or by a person
living alone, but excluding institutional dormitories, hotels, motels,
or commercial establishments, as defined. Residences shall include,
but not be limited to, apartments and any form of multifamily dwellings
not otherwise defined, and retirement facilities, or such similar
facility or facilities, including but not limited to personal-care
boarding homes licensed by the commonwealth.
A report containing the results of monitoring of a user's
discharge to the POTW as required by its wastewater contribution permit
and/or this chapter.
Any pipe or conduit constituting a part of the POTW used
or usable for collection and conveyance of wastewater to the POTW.
Word usage: "shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive or
discretionary. The use of a singular shall be construed to include
the plural and the plural shall include the singular as indicated
by the context of its use.
This term shall apply to:
Users subject to categorical pretreatment standards;
Any user with pretreatment facilities or required to have pretreatment
in order to comply with the discharge limits contained in this chapter;
Any other user that:
Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process
wastewater;
Contributes a process wastestream that makes up 5% or more of
the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW;
or
Is designated as "significant" by the Borough on the basis that
the user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's
operation or for violating any pretreatment standard, requirement,
or local limit, including without limitation, users whose discharge
contains individual constituent levels that are within 90% or more
of established local limits contained in this chapter, as determined
by the Borough.
A significant industrial user is in significant noncompliance
if its violations meet one or more of the following criteria:
Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined as
those in which 66% or more of all the measurements taken during a
six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a pretreatment standard,
including instantaneous limits;
Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as
those in which 33% or more of all the measurements for each pollutant
parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product
of a pretreatment standard, including instantaneous limits, multiplied
by the applicable TRC (TRC equals 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and
grease and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
Any other discharge that the Borough 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 human health, welfare, or to the environment or has resulted in
the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent
such a discharge;
Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance
schedule milestone contained in this chapter or enforcement order
for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final
compliance;
Failure to provide, within 45 days after the due date, required
reports such as baseline monitoring reports, compliance data reports,
periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance
schedules;
Failure to report noncompliance accurately; or
Any other violation or group of violations, which may include
a violation of best management practices, that the Borough determines
will adversely affect the operation or implementation of its pretreatment
program.
Any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, or at a flow rate or concentration, which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in § 323-5 of this chapter.
A classification pursuant to the most current Standard Industrial
Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President,
Office of Management and Budget.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural
precipitation and resulting therefrom.
The person designated by the Borough who is charged with
operating the POTW, or his duly authorized representative, deputy,
or agent.
The total suspended matter that floats on the surface or
is suspended in water, wastewater, or other liquids, that is removable
by laboratory filtering.
A fee charged to a prospective discharger for the connection
of a building sewer to a lateral or a main sewer. The fee is based
on the amount of sewer capacity allocated to the discharger.
Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic
in regulations promulgated by the EPA under Section 307 (33 U.S.C.
§ 1317) of the Act.
A nonroutine incident in which there is unintentional and
temporary noncompliance with pretreatment standards because of factors
beyond the reasonable control of the user. An upset does not include
noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly
designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack
of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
Any person who contributes, causes, or permits the contribution
of wastewater into the POTW, other than domestic dischargers.
The following IUs shall be required to comply with the following
conditions, in addition to any other applicable requirements of this
chapter or of their wastewater contribution permit:
Nonsignificant industrial users:
At a minimum, NSIUs shall:
Monitor all discharges quarterly for local limits for the first
year during which it is discharging to the POTW and report the results
to the Borough;
Monitor all discharges for local limits semiannually for the
second year during which it is discharging to the POTW and report
the results to the Borough; and
Notify the Borough of any changes in operation that result in
change in constituents, constituent concentrations, and/or flow associated
with the discharged wastewater.
Zero discharge industrial user:
At a minimum, ZDIUs shall:
The liquid and water-carried wastes from dwellings, commercial
buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, together with
any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present,
whether treated or untreated, which are contributed into or permitted
to enter the Borough's POTW.
A permit or other authorization issued by the Borough to a user of the POTW, as set forth in § 323-22 of this chapter.
As set forth in § 323-23 of this chapter.
As set forth in § 323-23 of this chapter.
All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways,
wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage
systems, and all other bodies or accumulation of water, surface or
underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained
within, flow through, or border upon the state or any portion thereof.
This term shall apply to an industrial user that contributes
no wastewater to the POTW other than domestic waste.
A.
The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:
|
ASTM
|
American Standard Testing Methods
| |
|
BOD
|
Biochemical Oxygen Demand
| |
|
CFR
|
Code of Federal Regulations
| |
|
DEP
|
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
| |
|
EPA
|
United States Environmental Protection Agency
| |
|
FOG
|
Fats, oils and grease
| |
|
gpd
|
Gallons per day
| |
|
l
|
Liter
| |
|
mg
|
Milligrams
| |
|
mg/l
|
Milligrams per liter
| |
|
NPDES
|
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
| |
|
O&M
|
Operation and Maintenance
| |
|
POTW
|
Publicly Owned Treatment Works
| |
|
RCRA
|
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
| |
|
SIC
|
Standard Industrial Classification
| |
|
SWDA
|
Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.
| |
|
TSS
|
Total Suspended Solids
| |
|
USC
|
United States Code
| |
|
WEF
|
Water Environment Federation
|
