No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will cause interference or pass through. These general prohibitions apply to all users whether or not the user is subject to national categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements. A user may not contribute the following substances to the City POTW:
A. 
Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature and quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the POTW or to the operation of the WPCP. At no time shall two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter, at the point of discharge into the system or at any point in the system, be more than 5% nor any single reading over 10% of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides and any other substances which the City, state or EPA has notified the user is a fire hazard or a hazard to the system.
B. 
Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities, such as, but not limited to, grease, garbage with particles greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, wastepaper, wood, plastics, gas, tar, asphalt residues, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, mud or glass-grinding or polishing wastes.
C. 
Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and/or personnel of the POTW.
D. 
Any wastewater containing toxic pollutants in sufficient quantity, whether singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the WPCP or to exceed the limitation set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A "toxic pollutant" shall include, but shall not be limited to, any pollutant identified pursuant to Section 307(a) of the Act.
E. 
Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases or solids which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair.
F. 
Any substance which may cause the WPCP effluent or any other product of the WPCP, such as residues, sludges or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with any reclamation process. In no case shall a substance discharged to the POTW cause the WPCP to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, guidelines or regulations developed under Section 405 of the Act or any 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.
G. 
Any substance which will cause the WPCP to violate its SPDES permit or the receiving water quality standards.
H. 
Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
I. 
Heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the WPCP, resulting in interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the POTW treatment plant exceeds 40° C. (104° F.) unless the Approval Authority, upon request of the POTW, approves alternate temperature limits.
J. 
Any pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which a user knows or has reason to know will cause Interference to the WPCP. In no case shall a slug load have a flow rate or contain a concentration or quantities of pollutants that exceed for any time period longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration, quantities or flow during normal operation.
K. 
Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Superintendent in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
L. 
Any wastewater which causes a hazard to human life or creates a public nuisance.
M. 
Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass through.
N. 
Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors or fumes within the WPCP in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.
O. 
Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the WPCP.
P. 
Pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, waste streams with a closed cup flash point of less than 140° F. or 60° C. using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
A. 
If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in § 278-25 of this article and which, in the judgment of the Superintendent, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters or which otherwise may create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Superintendent may:
(1) 
Reject the wastes;
(2) 
Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to public sewers;
(3) 
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
(4) 
Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of Subsection B below. If the Superintendent permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Superintendent and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.
B. 
No statement contained in this section shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City and any industrial concern, whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment, subject to payment therefor, by the industrial firm and subject to all applicable federal categorical pretreatment standards and other pollutant limitations.
C. 
Any municipal or private contractee to the City is required to comply with all aspects of this chapter.
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Superintendent, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Superintendent and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
When required, shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater," published by the American Public Health Association, or in the case of industrial wastewater, as approved by the Administrator of the EPA, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the POTW and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from a 24-hour composite of all outfalls, whereas pH is determined from periodic grab samples.)
Upon the promulgation of the federal categorical pretreatment standard for a particular industrial subcategory, the federal standard, if more stringent than limitations imposed under this chapter for sources in that subcategory, shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this chapter. The Superintendent shall notify all affected users of the applicable reporting requirements under 40 CFR 403.12.
State requirements and limitations on discharges shall apply in any case where they are more stringent than federal requirements and limitations or those in this chapter.
The City reserves the right to establish by local law more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges to the wastewater disposal system if deemed necessary to comply with the objectives presented in § 278-1 of this chapter.
No user shall increase the use of process water or, in any way, attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the limitations contained in the federal categorical pretreatment standards or in any other pollutant-specific limitation developed by the City or state without the prior written consent of the Superintendent.
[Amended by L.L. No. 3-2012]
A. 
Each user shall provide protection from slugs and the accidental discharge of prohibited materials or other substances regulated by this chapter. Facilities to prevent accidental discharge of prohibited materials shall be provided and maintained at the owner's or user's own cost and expense. Detailed plans showing facilities and operating procedures to provide this protection shall be submitted to the City for review and shall be approved by the City before construction of any new facility, which will be an SIU. All existing SIUs shall complete such a plan by January 1, 1985. No SIU who commences contribution to the WPCP after the effective date of this chapter shall be permitted to introduce pollutants into the system until accidental discharge procedures have been approved by the City, including control plans. Review and approval of such plans and operating procedures shall not relieve the industrial user from the responsibility to modify the user's facility as necessary to meet the requirements of this chapter. In the case of an accidental discharge, it is the responsibility of the user to immediately telephone and notify the WPCP of the incident. The notification shall include location of discharge, type of waste, concentration and volume and corrective action. The required elements of the control plan include:
(1) 
Description of the discharge practices, including nonroutine batch discharges.
(2) 
Description of stored chemicals.
(3) 
Procedures for immediately notifying the City of slug discharges, including any discharge that would violate a prohibition under 40 CFR 403.5(b) with procedures for follow-up written notification within five days.
(4) 
If necessary, procedures to prevent adverse impact from accidental spills, including inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site runoff, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants (including solvents), and/or measures and equipment for emergency response.
B. 
Written notice. Within five days following an accidental discharge, the user shall submit to the Superintendent a detailed written report describing the cause of the discharge and the measures to be taken by the user to prevent similar future occurrences. Such notification shall not relieve the user of any expense, loss, damage or other liability which may be incurred as a result of damage to the POTW, fish kills or any other damage to person or property; nor shall such notification relieve the user of any fines, civil penalties or other liability which may be imposed by this article or other applicable law.
C. 
Notice to employees. A notice shall be permanently posted on the user's bulletin board or other prominent place advising employees whom to call in the event of a dangerous discharge. Employers shall ensure that all employees who may cause or suffer such a dangerous discharge to occur are advised of the emergency notification procedure.
[Amended 10-5-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989]
No person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not to exceed $250 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or both, for each offense.