Borough of Punxsutawney, PA General Sewer Use Requirements

§ 192-73 Prohibited discharge standards.

General prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.

Specific prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:

(1)

Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140° F. (60° C.) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;

(2)

Wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 10.0, or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW or equipment;

(3)

Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference (but in no case solids greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension);

(4)

Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;

(5)

Wastewater having a temperature greater than 130° F. (55° C.), or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104° F. (40° C.);

(6)

Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;

(7)

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)

Trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the Pretreatment Coordinator in accordance with § 192-82 of this part;

(9)

Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;

(10)

Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant's effluent, thereby violating the Borough's NPDES permit;

(11)

Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;

(12)

Stormwater, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by Pretreatment Coordinator;

(13)

Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;

(14)

Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the Pretreatment Coordinator in an individual wastewater discharge permit;

(15)

Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test;

(16)

Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substance that might cause excessive foaming in the POTW;

(17)

Fats, waxes, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through or will exceed 100 mg/L;

(18)

Any wastewater which is incompatible with treatment processes in use at the treatment plant so as to cause interference or pass through;

(19)

Any wastewater containing any compounds or salts of aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, lindane, methoxychlor, toxaphene, dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, trichlorophenoxyproprionic acid or other persistent herbicides, pesticides or rodenticides.

(20)

Any substance which may cause the POTW treatment plant's effluent or any other product of the treatment plant, 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 treatment plant to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.

(21)

Any substance which will cause the Borough to violate its NPDES and/or water quality management (WQM) permit or applicable receiving water quality standards.

(22)

Any infectious waste.

Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this Article XI of this part shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.

§ 192-74 National Categorical Pretreatment Standards.

If the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards for a particular IU are more stringent than local limits or other requirements imposed under the Borough's Pretreatment Program, then the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards shall apply. The National Categorical Pretreatment Standards, located in 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471, are hereby incorporated by reference into this part and users must comply with the pretreatment standards.

Expansion of limits. Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the Pretreatment Coordinator may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with §§ 192-74F and 192-74G of this part. (See 40 CFR 403.6(c))

Production based standards. When the limits in a categorical pretreatment standard are expressed only in terms of mass of pollutant per unit of production, the Pretreatment Coordinator may convert the limits to equivalent limitations expressed either as mass of pollutant discharged per day or effluent concentration for purposes of calculating effluent limitations applicable to individual IUs. (See 40 CFR 403.6(c)(2))

Combined wastestream. When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the Pretreatment Coordinator shall impose an alternate limit in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(e).

Net gross adjustment. A user subject to categorical pretreatment standard may obtain a net/gross adjustment to a categorical pretreatment standard in accordance with the following provisions:

(1)

Categorical pretreatment standards may be adjusted to reflect the presence of pollutants in the IU's intake water in accordance with this section. Any IU wishing to obtain credit for intake pollutants must make application to the Pretreatment Coordinator. Upon request of the IU, the applicable standard will be calculated on a "net" basis (i.e., adjusted to reflect credit for pollutants in the intake water) if the requirements of § 192-D(2) of this part are met.

(2)

Criteria:

(a)

Either the applicable categorical pretreatment standards contained in 40 CFR Subchapter N specifically provide that they shall be applied on a net basis; or the IU demonstrates that the control system it proposes or uses to meet applicable categorical pretreatment standards would, if properly installed and operated, meet the standards in the absence of pollutants in the intake waters.

(b)

Credit for generic pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and oil and grease should not be granted unless the IU demonstrates that the constituents of the generic measure in the user's effluent are substantially similar to the constituents of the generic measure in the intake water or unless appropriate additional limits are placed on process water pollutants either at the outfall or elsewhere.

(c)

Credit shall be granted only to the extent necessary to meet the applicable categorical pretreatment standard(s), up to a maximum value equal to the influent value. Additional monitoring may be necessary to determine eligibility for credits and compliance with standard(s) adjusted under this section of this part.

(d)

Credit shall be granted only if the user demonstrates that the intake water is drawn from the same body of water as that into which the POTW discharges. The Borough may waive this requirement if it finds that no environmental degradation will result. (See 40 CFR 403.15)

Best management practices (BMPs). To the extent provided by a categorical pretreatment standard, the Borough may allow the use of BMPs as an alternative means of complying with, or in place of, the applicable categorical pretreatment standard.

Conversion from mass limits. The Pretreatment Coordinator may convert the mass limits of the categorical pretreatment standards of 40 CFR 414, 419, and 455 to concentration limits for purposes of calculating limitations applicable to individual IUS under the following conditions:

(1)

When converting such limits to concentration limits, the Pretreatment Coordinator must use the concentrations listed in the applicable subparts of 40 CFR Parts 414, 419, and 455;

(2)

The Pretreatment Coordinator must document that dilution is not being substituted for treatment as prohibited by § 192-78 of this part; and

(3)

The Pretreatment Coordinator will document how the equivalent limits were derived for any changes from concentration to mass limits, or vice versa, and make this information publicly available. (See 40 CFR 403.6(c)(7)).

Conversion of concentration limits. When the limits in a categorical pretreatment standard are expressed only in terms of pollutant concentrations, an IU may request that the Pretreatment Coordinator convert the limits to equivalent mass limits. The determination to convert concentration limits to mass limits is within the discretion of the Pretreatment Coordinator. The Pretreatment Coordinator may establish equivalent mass limits only if the IU meets all the following conditions of § 192-74G(1) below.

(1)

To be eligible for equivalent mass limits, the IU must:

(a)

Employ, or demonstrate that it will employ, water conservation methods and technologies that substantially reduce water use during the term of its control mechanism;

(b)

Currently use control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the applicable categorical pretreatment standard, and not have used dilution as a substitute for treatment;

(c)

Provide sufficient information to establish the facility's actual average daily flow rate for all wastestreams, based on data from a continuous effluent flow monitoring device, as well as the facility's long-term average production rate. Both the actual average daily flow rate and long-term average production rate must be representative of current operating conditions;

(d)

Not have daily flow rates, production levels, or pollutant levels that vary so significantly that equivalent mass limits are not appropriate to control the discharge; and

(e)

Have consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards during the period prior to the IU's request for equivalent mass limits.

(2)

An IU subject to equivalent mass limits must:

(a)

Maintain and effectively operate control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the equivalent mass limits;

(b)

Continue to record the facility's flow rates through the use of a continuous effluent flow monitoring device;

(c)

Continue to record the facility's production rates and notify the Pretreatment Coordinator whenever production rates are expected to vary by more than 20% from its baseline production rates determined in § 192-74G(1)(c) above. Upon notification of a revised production rate, the Pretreatment Coordinator must reassess the equivalent mass limit and revise the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the facility; and

(d)

Continue to employ the same or comparable water conservation methods and technologies as those implemented pursuant to § 192-74G(1)(a) above, so long as it discharges under an equivalent mass limit.

(3)

If the Pretreatment Coordinator chooses to establish equivalent mass limits:

(a)

It must calculate the equivalent mass limit by multiplying the actual average daily flow rate of the regulated process(es) of the IU by the concentration-based daily maximum and monthly average standard for the applicable categorical pretreatment standard and the appropriate unit conversion factor;

(b)

Upon notification of a revised production rate, it must reassess the equivalent mass limit and recalculate the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the facility; and

(c)

It may retain the same equivalent mass limit in subsequent control mechanism terms if the IU's actual average daily flow rate was reduced solely as a result of the implementation of water conservation methods and technologies, and the actual average daily flow rates used in the original calculation of the equivalent mass limit were not based on the use of dilution as a substitute for treatment pursuant to § 192-78 of this part. The IU must also be in compliance with 40 CFR 403.17 (regarding the prohibition of bypass).

(4)

The Borough may not express limits in terms of mass for pollutants such as pH, temperature, radiation, or any other pollutants for which mass limits are not applicable. (See 40 CFR 403.6(c)(5)(iv))

Waiver of monitoring. The Pretreatment Coordinator may authorize the IU subject to a categorical pretreatment standard to forego sampling of a pollutant regulated by a categorical pretreatment standard if the IU has demonstrated through sampling and other technical factors that the pollutant is neither present nor expected to be present in the discharge, or is present only at background levels from intake water and without any increase in the pollutant due to activities of the IU. This authorization is subject to the following conditions:

(1)

The pretreatment coordinator may authorize a waiver where a pollutant is determined to be present solely due to sanitary wastewater discharged from the facility provided that the sanitary wastewater is not regulated by an applicable categorical standard and otherwise includes no process wastewater;

(2)

The monitoring waiver is valid only for the duration of the effective period of the permit or other equivalent individual control mechanism, but in no case longer than five years. The IU must submit a new request for the waiver before the waiver can be granted for each subsequent control mechanism;

(3)

In making a demonstration that a pollutant is not present, the IU must provide data from at least one sampling of the facility's process wastewater prior to any treatment present at the facility that is representative of all wastewater from all processes;

(4)

The request for a monitoring waiver must be signed by an authorized or duly authorized representative of the user and include the certification statement found in § 192-113A of this part. (See 40 CFR 403.6(a)(2)(ii))

(5)

Nondetectable sample results may only be used as a demonstration that a pollutant is not present if the EPA approved method from 40 CFR 136 with the lowest minimum detection level for that pollutant was used in the analysis;

(6)

Any grant of the monitoring waiver by the Pretreatment Coordinator shall be included as a condition in the IU's control mechanism. The reasons supporting the waiver and any information submitted by the IU in its request for the waiver shall be maintained by the Pretreatment Coordinator for three years after expiration of the waiver;

(7)

Upon approval of the monitoring waiver and revision of the IU's control mechanism by the Pretreatment Coordinator, the IU must certify on each report with the statement in § 192-113C of this part, that there has been no increase in the pollutant in its wastestream due to activities of the IU;

(8)

In the event that a waived pollutant is found to be present or is expected to be present based on changes that occur in the IU's operations, the IU must immediately comply with the monitoring requirements of 40 CFR 403.12(e)(1) or other more frequent monitoring requirements imposed by the Pretreatment Coordinator, and notify the Pretreatment Coordinator.

(9)

This provision does not supersede certification processes and requirements established in categorical pretreatment standards, except as otherwise specified in the categorical pretreatment standard. (See 40 CFR 403.12(e)(2))

Removal credits. The Pretreatment Coordinator may grant removal credits to IUs subject to a categorical pretreatment standard in accordance with 40 CFR 403.7.

§ 192-75 State pretreatment standards.

Users must comply with any applicable state pretreatment standards or requirements.

§ 192-76 Local limits.

The Pretreatment Coordinator is authorized to establish local limits pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5(c).

The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. No person shall discharge wastewater containing in excess of the following:

Pollutant	Local Limit (mg/l)	Limit Duration
Hexavalent Chromium	0.98	Daily maximum
Copper	2.73	Daily maximum
Cyanide	2.11	Instantaneous maximum
Lead	1.00	Daily maximum
Mercury	0.0049	Daily maximum
Nickel	3.00	Daily maximum
Silver	5.12	Daily maximum
Zinc	3.04	Daily maximum

The above limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. All concentrations for metallic substances are for total metal unless indicated otherwise. The Pretreatment Coordinator may impose mass limitations in addition to the concentration-based limitations above.

The Pretreatment Coordinator may develop BMPs, by ordinance or individual wastewater discharge permit, to implement Local Limits and the requirements of § 192-73 of this part. (See 40 CFR 403.5(c)(4)).

§ 192-77 Borough's right of revision.

The Borough reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW consistent with the purpose of this part. The Borough reserves the right to adopt additional rules and regulations or modify existing rules and regulations as deemed necessary and proper in connection with the use and operation of the POTW.

§ 192-78 Dilution.

No user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement. The Pretreatment Coordinator may impose mass limitations on users who are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.