For the purposes of this title, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section:
"Act"
means Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as
the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC 1251, et seq., or as amended.
"Administrator"
means the appropriate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Regional Administrator (San Francisco EPA, Region IX).
"Amalgam separator"
means a device that employs filtration, settlement, centrifugation,
or ion exchange to remove amalgam and its metal constituents from
a dental office vacuum system before it discharges to the sewer.
"Amalgam waste"
means and includes noncontact amalgam (amalgam scrap that
has not been in contact with the patient); contact amalgam (including,
but not limited to, extracted teeth containing amalgam); amalgam sludge
captured by chair-side traps, vacuum pump filters, screens, and other
amalgam trapping devices; used amalgam capsules; and leaking or unusable
amalgam capsules.
"Applicant"
means a person or entity making application for a permit
and shall be an occupant and/or owner, or an occupant and/or owner's
authorized representative of the premises to be served by the sewer
for which a permit is required.
"Approval authority"
means the Program Director in a National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) State with an approved State pretreatment
program.
"Approved POTW pretreatment program"
means a program administered by a publicly owned treatment
works (POTW) that meets the criteria established in 40 CFR, Parts
403.8 and 403.9, or as amended, and which has been approved by the
administrator or approval authority in accordance with 40 CFR, Part
403.11, or as amended.
"Authorized representative"
of the applicant or user.
(a)
If the applicant or user is a corporation:
(i)
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
(ii)
The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating
facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management
decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including
having the explicit or implicit duty of making the major capital investment
recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures
to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws
and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established
or action(s) taken to gather complete and accurate information for
individual wastewater discharge permit requirements; and where authority
to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in
accordance with corporate procedures.
(b)
If the applicant or user is a partnership, association, or sole
proprietorship: an authorized representative shall mean a general
partner or proprietor, respectively.
(c)
If the applicant or user is a Federal, State, or local governmental
facility: a director or highest official appointed or designated to
oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government
facility, or their designee.
(d)
The individuals described in subsections (8)(a) through (c),
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 having overall responsibility for environmental
matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted
to the City's Director of Utilities.
(e)
A user not falling within one of the above categories must designate
as the authorized representative an individual responsible for the
overall operation of the facility.
"Best available technology (BAT)"
means the most efficient hardware, fixtures and systems as
determined by the Director of Utilities for reduction of the amount
of wastewater volume or pollutants.
"Best management practices (BMPs)"
means schedules of activities, prohibition of practices,
maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent
or reduce unintended discharges to the sanitary sewer system. BMPs
include, but are not limited to, pretreatment requirements, operational
procedures and practices, maintenance and repair of equipment, record
keeping, containment to prevent spills or leaks, sludge or waste disposal,
good housekeeping practices or diversion of water away from raw materials
or chemical storage areas.
"BOD"
means biochemical oxygen demand as determined by the five-day
BOD in accordance with standards set forth in 40 CFR Part 136, or
as amended.
"Building"
means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering
any use or occupancy as determined by the Director of Utilities.
"City"
means the City of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California.
"Color"
means the optical density at the visual wave length of maximum
absorption, relative to distilled water. One hundred percent transmittance
is equivalent to zero optical density.
"Commercial user"
means all retail stores, restaurants, office buildings, laundries,
and other private business and service establishments, including churches
and lodges.
"Compatible pollutant"
means a component of wastewater which does not interfere
with, is removed by, and is not otherwise incompatible with the subregional
water reclamation system or its processes.
"Compliance schedule"
means a detailed time schedule of specific actions which
a user is required to take in order to prevent or correct a violation
of any prohibitions or limitations prescribed herein or any of the
City's effluent limitations or pretreatment standards promulgated
in accordance herewith.
"Composite sample"
means the sample resulting from the combination of individual
wastewater samples taken at selected intervals based on an increment
of either flow proportional or time.
"Connected"
means a physical joinder of any plumbing or drainage system
or fixture contained in any structure to the subregional sewer system.
"Contamination"
means an impairment of the quality of the waters of the State
by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through
poisoning or through the spread of disease.
"Cooling water"
means the water discharged from any use such as air conditioning,
cooling or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is
heat and other minor chemical constituents.
"Cooling water, noncontact"
means water used for cooling which does not come into direct
contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product,
or finished product.
"Customer"
means a person who is, or who has agreed to be, responsible
for the payment of water or sewer service charges. "Customer" is also
synonymous with "account," against which charges are assessed and
billed.
"Director"
means the Director of Utilities or duly authorized representative.
"Dissolved solids"
means the residue upon evaporation of water after filtration
in accordance with standards set forth in 40 CFR Part 136, or as amended,
or any other test procedures approved by the Administrator. Dissolved
solids are also termed total dissolved solids or "TDS."
"Enforcement response plan or ERP"
means the mechanism for addressing applicable local, State,
or Federal violations. The ERP shall include a written description
of each type of enforcement, when to administer it, and how the monitoring
schedule is affected. In conjunction with the written description,
there may be an enforcement response plan flow chart which maps out
the path through the various levels of enforcement.
"EPA"
means the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.
"Existing source"
means any source of discharge, the construction or operation
of which commenced prior to the publication by EPA of proposed categorical
pretreatment standards under Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act or
as amended which will be applicable to such source if the standard
is thereafter promulgated in accordance with Section 307 of the Act
or as amended.
"Federal water pollution control act of 1972"
means Public Law 92-500, officially entitled the "Federal
Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972," also known as the
Clean Water Act, and as amended, as well as guidelines, limitations,
and standards promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Grab sample"
means a sample which is taken from a waste stream without
regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not
to exceed 15 minutes.
"Holding tank waste"
means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical
toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
"Improvement"
means that which is built or constructed, an edifice of any
kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts
joined together in some definite manner. For the purpose of this title,
this definition shall not include "building" as defined above and
temporary on-site storm basins, but shall include the playing area
of any nonenclosed sport facility or restricted sport field.
"Indirect discharge"
means the introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any
nondomestic source regulated under Section 307(b), (c), or (d), or
as amended, of the Act.
"Industrial cost recovery"
means the portion of annual capital cost recovery allocable
to industry and subject to Federal industrial payback.
"Industrial user"
means a source of indirect discharge including SIUs and other
industry.
"Industrial wastewater"
means the waterborne waste and wastewater from any production,
manufacturing, or processing operation of whatever nature including
institutional and commercial operations where water is used for the
removal of significant quantities of waste other than from human habitation
of premises connected to the public sewers.
"Infiltration"
means water entering the sewer system through the ground.
"Inflow"
means water entering a sewer system from surface drainage
and from clean cooling water from non-contact cooling systems.
"Instantaneous maximum allowable discharge limit"
means the maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to
be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete
or composite samples collected, independent of the industrial flow
rate and the duration of the sampling event.
"Interceptor"
means a grease removal device designed to intercept, trap,
or otherwise prevent grease, sand, flammable liquids, or other substances
potentially harmful to the sewer system from entering.
"Interference"
means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge
or discharges from other sources, both:
(a)
Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations,
or its sludge processes, use, or disposal; and
(b)
Therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the
POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration
of a violation) or of the prevention of sludge use or disposal in
compliance with statutory provisions, regulations or permits issued
thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section
405 of the Act or as amended; the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA)
or as amended, including Title II, more commonly referred to as the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or as amended, and including
regulations contained in any State sludge management plan prepared
pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA or as amended; the Clean Air Act
or as amended; the Toxic Substances Control Act or as amended, and
the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act or as amended.
"Local limits"
means the technically and/or literature-based limits, expressed
either as concentration or as mass, of those pollutants.
"Lot"
means any premises, piece or parcel of land or property as
bounded, defined or shown upon a map, plat or deed recorded in the
office of the County Recorder; provided, however, that in the event
any building or improvements appurtenant to said building cover more
area than a "lot," as herein defined, the term "lot" shall be deemed
to be and include all such pieces or parcels of land upon which said
buildings or improvements are wholly or partly located.
"Medical waste"
means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and
blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated
bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes,
and dialysis wastes.
"Multifamily residential unit"
means a residential unit as defined in Section
20-70.020 of the City Code and as amended that is connected through a service lateral connection to the collection system and the service lateral connection serves more than one residential unit.
"National categorical pretreatment standard"
Categorical Standard means any regulation containing pollutant
discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section
307(b) and (c), or as amended, of the Act, which applies to a specific
category of industrial users, and which appears in 40 CFR Chapter
1, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
"Natural outlet"
means any outlet into a watercourse, ditch, pond, lake, or
other body of surface or groundwater.
"New source"
means:
(a)
Any building, structure, facility, improvement or installation
from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction
of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment
standards under Section 307(c), or as amended, of the Act, which will
be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated
in accordance with that section, provided that:
(i)
The building, structure, facility, improvement or installation
is constructed at a site or on a lot at which no other source is located,
or
(ii)
The building, structure, facility, improvement or installation
totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the
discharge of pollutants at an existing source, or
(iii)
The production or wastewater generating processes of the building,
structure, facility, improvement or installation are substantially
independent of an existing source at the same site or lot. The Director
of Utilities shall determine whether the production or wastewater
generating processes are substantially independent, taking into account
these factors 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;
(b)
Construction on a site at which an existing source is located
resulting in a modification of said source if the construction does
not create a new building, structure, facility, improvement or installation
but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production
equipment;
(c)
Construction of a new source as defined under this section has
commenced if the applicant, user or customer has:
(i)
Begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous onsite construction
program:
1.
Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities, improvement
or equipment; or
2.
Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation,
or removal of existing buildings, structures, improvements or facilities
which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of
new source facilities or equipment; or
(ii)
Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase
of facilities or equipment which is intended to be used in its operation
within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can
be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts
for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute
a contractual obligation under this subsection.
"Nonresidential user"
means users whose premises are primarily for commercial,
or governmental or other nonresidential activity but excluding premises
of industrial users. Incidental residential use is not precluded.
"NPDES permit"
means National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit
issued to a POTW pursuant to Section 402 of the Act, or as amended.
"Nuisance"
means any condition caused, maintained or permitted to exist
which constitutes a threat to public health, safety, and welfare or
which is injurious to the senses or which significantly obstructs,
injures or interferes with the reasonable or free use of property
in a neighborhood, community or to any considerable number of persons.
A public nuisance also has the same meaning as set forth under the
California
Civil Code.
"Off-site sewer"
means a public sewer constructed or to be constructed outside
the boundaries of a subdivision or outside the edges of a lot.
"Pass-through"
means any discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the
United States 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 POTW's NPDES permit or waste discharge
requirements, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of
a violation.
"Permanent sewer service"
means the installation of a permanent (nontemporary) City
water meter by City forces in an approved water meter box accompanied
by: (a) completion of construction of a permanent sewer lateral to
a permitted structure; and (b) a request to the City by the property
owner, agent, or tenant to establish a permanent sewer service account.
For sewer service only requests, "permanent sewer service" means the
completion of construction of a permanent sewer lateral to a permitted
structure accompanied by a request to the City by the property owner,
agent, or tenant to establish a permanent sewer service account.
"Person(s)"
means any individual, partnership, co-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, and
local governmental entities.
"pH"
means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion
concentration and indicates the measure of acidity or alkalinity,
expressed as Standard Units (SU).
"Pollutant"
includes but is not limited to dredge soil, solid waste,
incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge,
munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials,
radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock,
sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes,
and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature,
TDS, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor) as well as
any other referenced pollutants in 40 CFR or as amended.
"Pollution"
means an alteration of the quality of the waters of the State
by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects: (a) such waters for
beneficial use; or (b) facilities which serve such beneficial uses.
"Premises"
means a parcel of real property, or portion thereof, including
any improvements thereon, which is determined by the Director of Utilities
to be a single unit for the purposes of receiving, using, and paying
for sewerage service.
"Pretreatment"
means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination
of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties
in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing
such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration may be obtained
by physical, chemical, or biological processes, process changes or
by other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR Part 403.6(d), or as
amended.
"Pretreatment requirements"
means any substantive or procedural requirement related to
pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard, imposed
on an industrial user.
"Public agency"
means the United States Government or any department or agency
thereof; the State of California or any department or agency thereof;
any city, county, town, or any department or agencies thereof; any
school district; any other governmental or public district or entity;
or any other legal public district, entity or entities; or any combination
of the foregoing.
"Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)"
means a treatment works as defined by Section 212, or as
amended, of the Act, which is owned and/or operated by a State or
municipality. This includes any devices and systems used in the collection,
storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of the municipal sewage
or industrial wastewater of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers,
pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW
treatment plant.
"Residential user"
means users whose premises are primarily for residential
purposes and have no significant producing or processing activity
of a commercial or industrial nature.
"Septic tank waste"
means any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical
toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks. (See Holding tank waste.)
"Sewage"
means the water-borne wastes received from human habitation
and use of premises for residential, business, institutional, commercial
and industrial purposes.
"Sewer service lateral"
means that portion of the sewer system which connects the
user's premises to the City sewer.
"Sewer or sanitary sewer"
means a pipe or conduit which carries sewage and/or industrial
wastewater and to which storm, surface, and groundwater are not intentionally
admitted. Unless otherwise qualified, the word "sewer" when used in
this title shall be taken to mean "sanitary sewer." A City sewer or
public sewer is any sewer located within an easement or public right-of-way
and which is maintained by the City.
"Sewer or sanitary overflow"
means any overflow, spill, release, discharge or diversion
of untreated or partially treated wastewater that may or may not reach
water of the United States or that may or may not cause wastewater
backups into buildings or onto private property.
"Sewer system"
means all works for collecting, pumping, treating, disposing,
storing, and reclaiming sewage.
"Shall"
is mandatory, and "may" is permissive.
"Significant industrial user (SIU)."
(a)
Except as provided in subsections (83)(b) and (c) of this section,
the term "significant industrial user" or "SIU" means:
(i)
All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards
under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, subchapter N; and
(ii)
Any other industrial user that: discharges an average of 25,000
gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding
sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes
a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average
dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant;
or is designated as such by the Director of Utilities on the basis
that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely
affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard
or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)).
(b)
The Director of Utilities may determine that an industrial user
subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and
40 CFR Chapter I, subchapter N is a non-significant categorical industrial
user rather than a significant industrial user on a finding that the
industrial user never discharges more than 100 gallons per day (gpd)
of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling
and boiler blowdown wastewater unless specifically included in the
pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met:
(i)
The industrial user, prior to the Director of Utilities' finding,
has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment
standards and requirements;
(ii)
The industrial user annually submits the certification statement
required in 40 CFR 403.12(q) together with any additional information
necessary to support the certification statement; and
(iii)
The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated
wastewater.
(c)
Upon finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in
subsection (83)(a)(ii) of this section has no reasonable potential
for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any
pretreatment standards or requirement, the Director of Utilities may
at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received
from an industrial user or POTW, and in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6),
determine that such industrial user is not a significant industrial
user.
"Sludge"
means a primarily organic solid product produced by wastewater
treatment processes that can be beneficially recycled.
"Slug discharge"
means a discharge capable of causing adverse impacts to the
City, its workers, or the environment, or any pollutant including
an oxygen-demanding pollutant released in a discharge at a flow rate
and/or pollutant concentration which may cause interference with the
operation of the City sewer system. A slug discharge is considered
to be a discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including, but
not limited to, an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge.
Batch discharges are intentional, controllable discharges that occur
periodically within an industrial user's process (typically the result
of a non-continuous process). Accidental spills are unintentional,
largely uncontrolled discharges that may result from leaks or spills
of storage containers or manufacturing processes in an area with access
to floor drains.
"Standard industrial classification" or "SIC"
means a classification pursuant to the latest published edition
of the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive
Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget used to promote
the comparability of industries.
"Subregional system"
means the Santa Rosa Subregional Water Reclamation System
service area, a POTW, which includes the Cities of Santa Rosa, Rohnert
Park, Sebastopol, Cotati, and the South Park County Sanitation District.
"Suspended solids (SS)"
means 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 per standards set forth in 40
CFR Part 136, or as amended, and amendments thereto or any other test
procedure approved by the Administrator. Other test procedures may
be used when approved by the Director of Utilities.
"Total dissolved solids (TDS)"
means the residue upon evaporation of water after filtration.
Standards for analysis are set forth in 40 CFR Part 136, or as amended.
Other test procedures may be used when approved by the Director of
Utilities.
"Total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)"
means ammonia as nitrogen, as measured by the Kjeldahl method.
Standards for analysis are set forth in 40 CFR Part 136 or as amended.
Other test procedures may be used when approved by the Director of
Utilities.
"Toxic pollutant"
means one of the pollutants or combinations of pollutants
listed as toxic under Section 307 of the Act or as amended.
"Trade secret"
means a method or process, not patented, but known only to
persons using it in producing an article of trade or a service having
commercial value.
"User"
means any person who is owner of record, lessee, sublessee,
mortgagee in possession, or responsible for property having a connection
to a City sewer or for processes which contribute sewage or industrial
wastewater to a City sewer. See also "Industrial user."
"User agency"
means a public agency which by agreement with the City is
served by and acquires a capacity service in the Santa Rosa subregional
system.
"Waste"
includes sewage and any and all other waste substances, liquid,
solid, gaseous, or radioactive associated with human habitation, or
of human or animal origin, or from any producing, manufacturing or
processing operation of whatever nature. See also "Industrial wastewater."
"Waste hauler"
means those that haul wastewater from a domestic, commercial,
industrial origin or others as approved by the Director of Utilities
to the POTW. Such domestic sources include chemical toilets, campers,
trailers, septic tanks, or cesspools.
"Wastewater"
means the liquid and water carried industrial wastewater,
or sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial
and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or
untreated, which is contributed to the City sewer system.
"Wastewater discharge permit"
means the written permit or mechanism by which new or increased
contributions of pollutants, or changes in the nature of pollutants,
to the subregional system by industrial users, may be controlled to
ensure compliance with applicable pretreatment standards, pretreatment
requirements, or City local limits.
"Water quality requirements"
means requirements for City's treatment plant effluent established
by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, or
by State or Federal regulatory agencies for the protection of receiving
water quality. Water quality requirements include effluent limitations
and waste discharge standards, limitations, or prohibitions which
may be established, adopted or amended from time to time by State
or Federal laws or regulatory agencies.
"Waters of the state" or "receiving waters"
means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways,
wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage
systems, and all other bodies or accumulations 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.
(Ord. 3895 § 1, 2008; Ord. 4040 §§ 1, 2, 2015; Ord. 2019-016 § 1)