(a) 
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.
(b) 
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 140ºF (60ºC) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
(2) 
Wastewater having a pH less than 5.5 or more than 11.0, 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 the one-half inch (1/2") 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 104ºF (40ºC), 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 104ºF (40ºC);
(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 production 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 director of public utilities in accordance with section 26-32 of this article;
(9) 
Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life, or 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 city’s TPDES 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 the director of public utilities;
(13) 
Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
(14) 
Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the director of public utilities in a 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 substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
(17) 
Fats, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin in concentrations greater than one hundred (100) mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32ºF and 105ºF.
Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
(Ordinance O-10-005 adopted 4/29/10; Ordinance O-21-005 adopted 3/11/21)
The categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N, parts 405– 471 are hereby incorporated.
(a) 
When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the director of public utilities shall impose an alternate limit using the combined wastestream formula in 40 CFR 403.6(e).
(b) 
A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 CFR 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard.
(c) 
The director of public utilities may develop best management practices (BMPs), by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits.
(Ordinance O-10-005 adopted 4/29/10; Ordinance O-21-005 adopted 3/11/21)
(a) 
The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. No person shall discharge wastewater containing in excess of the following instantaneous maximum discharge limits stated in terms of milligrams per liter (mg/l):
Instantaneous Maximum Limit
(mg/l)
Arsenic
0.20
Cadmium
0.14
Chromium
3.97
Copper
0.59
Lead
0.62
Mercury
0.000
Molybdenum
0.47
Nickel
1.47
Selenium
0.04
Silver
0.43
Zinc
1.96
Cyanide
0.10
NH3-N
35
TSS
Allocated per SIU (see below)
Industry
Flow Rate*
(MGD)
TSS
(mg/L)
Bluebell
 
 
Snack Plant
0.042
2,570
Backline
0.008
3,000
Flowmeter
0.133
2,500
Longwood
0.008
1,050
* The flow rate in the above table are the five-year projected flows for each industry.
(b) 
The above limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. All concentrations for the metallic substances are for “total” metal unless indicated otherwise. The director of public utilities may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, the concentration-based limitations above.
(c) 
All other pollutants of concern shall be regulated by individual permit.
(Ordinance O-10-005 adopted 4/29/10; Ordinance O-21-005 adopted 3/11/21)
The city reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in wastewater discharge permits, more stringent requirements, as may be required to meet future state, federal or local standards, on discharges to the POTW.
(Ordinance O-10-005 adopted 4/29/10; Ordinance O-21-005 adopted 3/11/21)
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 director of public utilities 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.
(Ordinance O-10-005 adopted 4/29/10; Ordinance O-21-005 adopted 3/11/21)