This chapter may be cited as the “Sewer Use and User Charge Chapter of the County Utilities Department” and may be referred to herein as “this chapter.”
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/18/98)
(A)
The purpose of this chapter is to set uniform requirements for the users of the county’s wastewater collection system and treatment works; to enable the county to comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and the regulations; to provide for the public health and welfare; to protect the county’s economic interests in the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) and its treatment byproducts; and to otherwise ensure protection of public health, public resources and environment by regulating the quality and quantity of wastewater discharged into the wastewater collection system and treatment works.
(B)
(1)
This chapter provides a means for determining wastewater volumes, constituents and characteristics and permit issuance to certain users.
(2)
This chapter hereby establishes effluent limitations and other discharge criteria and provides that certain users shall prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which may potentially interfere with the operation of the POTW or contaminate the sewage sludge and shall also prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which may pass through the treatment works into the receiving waters or may otherwise be incompatible with the treatment works.
(3)
This chapter is also designed to improve opportunities to protect the county’s options to beneficially reuse, market, reclaim or dispose of treatment byproducts and to improve the county’s ability to minimize the quantity of a user’s discharge.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/18/98)
The county’s sewer service area is defined to coincide with sustainable development area 1 as indicted on the sustainable land development code official map series map 6 – county water and sewer utilities, as such may be amended from time to time.
(Ordinance 2014-11 adopted 11/25/14)
Violation of any local, state or federal regulation or law which affects the functioning of the county POTW or the county’s beneficial use of the byproducts of its wastewater treatment shall be considered a violation of this chapter.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/18/98)
(A)
BOD: Biochemical oxygen demand.
(B)
CFR: Code of Federal Regulations.
(C)
COD: Chemical oxygen demand.
(D)
CWA: Clean Water Act of 1977, 33 USC, sections 1251 et seq. (P.L. 95-217 et seq.).
(E)
EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(F)
gpd: Gallons per day.
(G)
l: Liter.
(H)
LEL: Lower explosive limit.
(I)
MGD: Million gallons per day.
(J)
mg: Milligrams.
(K)
mg/l: Milligrams per liter.
(L)
NPDES: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
(M)
O&M: Operation and maintenance
(N)
POTW: Publicly owned treatment works.
(O)
RCRA: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
(P)
SIC: Standard industrial classification.
(Q)
SWDA: Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 USC, section 6901 et seq.
(R)
TSS: Total suspended solids.
(S)
USC: United States Code.
(T)
WPCA: Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 USC, section 1251 et seq. (P.L. 92-500.).
(U)
UPC: Uniform Plumbing Code.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/18/98)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
The final written approval by the county of the construction of sanitary sewers and acceptance of the sewers for public maintenance.
Letters indicating acceptance shall not be issued unless adequate evidence has been provided to the county that the sanitary sewer was built in accordance with plans, specifications and applicable standards.
Upon issuance of a letter of acceptance, funds or financial guarantees retained by the county to ensure proper completion of the sewer may be released.
A property:
Which abuts or is within 200 feet of the county sewer system or is within 200 feet of the boundaries of a public street or sanitary sewer utility easement which contains the county sanitary sewer system; and
Which may physically connect to the county sewer by means of either a gravity or pressure sewer line.
The Federal Water Pollution Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC, section 1251 et seq.
The requirement that an industrial user make every reasonable effort to maintain quantity of discharge and the amounts and toxicity of pollutants in discharge as far below the regulatory limits as is practical, consistent with the purpose for which the permit is issued, taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety, the limited resources available and the public interest in protecting the county’s options for the beneficial reuse, marketing, reclamation or disposal of the waste treatment byproducts as well as other societal and socioeconomic considerations.
One of the following:
If the industrial user is a corporation:
The president, secretary, treasurer or a vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal function or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation.
The manager of one or more manufacturing, production or operation facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25 million, if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures. The manager 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 has overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company; and
The authorization is submitted to the county utilities department.
If the industrial user is a partnership, association, sole proprietorship or a general partner or the proprietor.
If the industrial user is a federal, state or local government or an agent thereof, a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility.
The consecutive calendar month of metered water use which is the basis for monthly sewer service charges.
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter reserved under standard laboratory procedure, for five days at 20°C, expressed in terms of weight and concentration (mg/l).
Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the U.S. EPA in accordance with 33 USC, section 1317 (section 307(b) and (c) of the act), which applies to industrial users.
A measure of the oxygen consuming capacity of organic and inorganic matter present in wastewater expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/l) and measured under standard laboratory procedures. COD is used as a measure of the wastewater strength.
The County of Santa Fe.
The county manager or his or her duly authorized representative.
A codification of the general and permanent rules.
The optical density at the visual wavelength of maximum absorption, relative to distilled water. One-hundred percent transmittance is equivalent to zero optical density.
The sample resulting from the combination of individual wastewater samples taken at selected intervals, which intervals are based on either an increment of flow or time.
A manhole installed to allow access to the wastewater discharge of a facility for purposes of sample collection and flow measurement. The manhole shall be constructed in a manner and in a location as may be required by the county.
A device installed to allow access to the wastewater discharge of a facility for purposes of sample collection. This will normally be a tee of an appropriate size inserted into the sanitary sewer service line and constructed in a manner and in a location as may be required by the county.
The water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
See user.
The county utilities department or its director or the director’s designated representative.
A private individual, corporation or public entity that invests capital in the development of real estate.
The additional use of potable water for the purposes of reducing the concentration of pollutants in the wastewater before discharging to the POTW. The normal use of potable water for sanitary facilities and food preparation shall not be considered dilution.
The director of the county utilities department.
The introduction into the POTW of a pollutant or wastewater, treated or untreated. The term includes the introduction of either a single pollutant or of multiple pollutants.
A permit issued by the state environment department or the USEPA national pollution discharge eliminate system permit applicable to the county POTW in question.
Liquid waste which contains constituents and has characteristics similar to that from a residential connection and which for the purpose of this chapter does not contain COD or BOD and TSS in excess of the following concentrations:
See residential user.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication of proposed categorical pretreatment standards under section 307(b) and (c), 33 USC, section 1317, of the act and which will be applicable to the source if the standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with section 307 of the act.
The measure of the wastewater load produced by a plumbing fixture, as described in section 402 of the Uniform Plumbing Code.
The board of county commissioners meeting in a session which has been duly called in accordance with the State Open Meetings Act.
A sample taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis without regard to volume of flow of the waste stream or the time of day of the sampling and which sample is taken over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
A liquid waste that is discharged from any fixture, appliance or appurtenance of a residential plumbing system which does not include fecal matter.
A floatation chamber used to remove grease or oil from wastewater prior to discharge to the public sewer system.
The amount of time in which half the atoms of a radioactive substance will have disintegrated.
Any waste derived from holding tanks associated with, but not limited to vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum pump tank trucks.
Any person who is a source of nondomestic wastewater discharge.
Wastewater originating from sources other than domestic or which exhibit characteristics other than domestic wastewater.
A permit issued by the county in accordance with this chapter.
The maximum concentration of any regulated parameter in any type of sample, either grab or composite.
A sanitary sewer system with flows exceeding two mgd or with a diameter of ten inches or larger.
A discharge or a permit violation which:
May cause or may contribute to the disruption of the processes or operations of the POTW treatment plant or with the county’s beneficial reuse, marketing, reclamation or disposal of waste treatment byproducts; or
Violates the county’s discharge permit or any pertinent federal, state or local regulations or permits.
A real estate parcel which has been created, defined or acknowledged by means of the land subdivision authorities of the county.
One service connection to the POTW which is shared by more than one legal lot.
The act referred to is permissive.
Wastes including, but not limited to isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood byproducts pathological wastes, needles, syringes, scalpels or other sharp implements, body parts, fetal tissue, fomites, etiological agents, contaminated laboratory wastes and dialysis wastes.
A permit issued pursuant to section 402 of the act.
Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate produce, waste product or finished product.
Any pollutant other than human excrement and household gray water.
A connection to the POTW whose assumed wastewater flow is based, for the purpose of sewer service rates, on metered water use for a base period consisting of the most recent March through November period preceding the fiscal year of fee assessment and for which water use records are available unless direct metering of discharge volume is available.
A person who has legal control over property.
Any individual, partnership, limited partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity or their legal representatives, agents or assigns.
This definition includes all federal, state or local governmental entities.
The negative logarithm, to base ten, of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. This is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution.
A manmade or man-induced waste whose discharge into a water stream causes alteration of the chemical, physical, biological or radiological integrity of the water.
The portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to the wastewater.
A process used to reduce the quantity of a user’s wastewater discharge or the amount of pollutants, eliminate pollutants or the alter the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater thereby rendering them less harmful to the POTW process prior to discharge 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 as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).
Any substantive or procedural requirement imposed on an industrial user which is related to pretreatment of wastewater discharges into the POTW, other than a national pretreatment standard.
A sanitary sewer which is privately constructed and privately maintained by the owner or resident and which is constructed in accordance with state and county standards and to which individual structures may be connected.
This definition does not include plumbing installations regulated by the UPC.
A sanitary sewer that is owned, controlled and maintained by the county.
County-owned or operated treatment works including any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant, but excluding pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to the POTW treatment works.
Any compound containing any atomic nuclei which spontaneously disintegrate.
All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, arroyos, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems and drainage systems, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through or border upon the United States or any portion thereof.
A connection to the POTW whose assumed wastewater flow is based, for the purpose of sewer service rates, on metered water use for the most recent December through February period preceding the fiscal year of fee assessment.
A residential connection shall include single-family and multi-family apartments and mobile home parks.
A residential district created by subdivision or condominium development wherein the proprietary interest in each single-family dwelling is held in fee simple, condominium or cooperative ownership, which has been approved by the county.
Persons discharging domestic wastewater to the POTW.
Any system of pipes or conduits used to convey wastewater from its point of origin to a treatment facility.
The criteria, standards and regulations related to the design of public sanitary sewer systems, which are hereinafter referred to as appendix B to this chapter.[1]
The length of gravity flow or low pressure flow pipe extending from the public sanitary sewer to the private property line or to the edge of the right-of-way or sanitary sewer easement, the purpose of which line is to connect the plumbing of any structure to the public sanitary sewer.
The mixture of domestic sludge and wastewater removed during the pumping of a septic tank, cesspool or other wastewater holding or on-site treatment facilities. Sand, grit and grease from traps or industrial waste from holding tanks are not considered septage.
A watertight receptacle which receives the discharge of a sewage system or part thereof designed and constructed so as to retain solids, digest organic matter through a period of detention and allow the liquids to discharge into the soil outside of the tank through a system of open joint piping or a seepage pit meeting the requirements of the Uniform Plumbing Code and the regulations of the state.
See wastewater.
A solid, semi-solid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.
Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to scum or solids removed in primary, secondary or advanced wastewater treatment processes and a material derived from sewage sludge.
Sewage sludge does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.
The physical connection of a property sewer to the county POTW by means of a sanitary sewer service line.
The act referred to is mandatory.
Industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards; and
Any other industrial user that:
Discharges an average of 5,000 gpd or more of process wastewater;
Contributes a process wastestream which makes up to 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the treatment plant; or
Is designated as significant by the county on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential to cause interference.
The solids separated from liquids during processing pretreatment of industrial wastes, with or without the addition of chemical agents.
Any release of a discharge at a flow rate or concentration which will cause a violation of this chapter; any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge.
The maximum amount of the solute (substance) that will be dissolved in a definite amount of solvent (water at 25°C and a pH of seven) and produce a stable system.
A classification pursuant to the most recent standard industrial classification manual issued by the Executive Office of the President of the United States Office of Management and Budget.
The most recent edition of the reference book Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater, issued by American Public Health Association.
The State of New Mexico.
Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom, including rainfall and snowmelts.
The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater or other liquid, and which is removable by laboratory filtering.
Total suspended solids shall be determined in accordance with Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, as determined by the department.
Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the provision of section 307, 33 USC, section 1317, of the act and any subsequent amendments, or other pollutants or combination of pollutants which may result in interference of the POTW, or otherwise listed by the department.
The portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment of wastewater.
Any discharge of treated wastewater from the POTW made in accordance with the discharge permit.
The Uniform Plumbing Code, as adopted and amended by the county.
Any person who contributes, causes or allows the contribution of sewage or industrial wastewater into the POTW.
Any sludge, reuse water or other product resulting from wastewater treatment processes.
The liquid and water-carried wastes or sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which is released to the POTW.
Arrangement in which potable water is piped to a property from the public supply.
(Ordinance 1998-16 adopted 12/18/98)