This chapter sets forth uniform requirements for users of the publicly owned treatment works for the city of Crescent City and enables the city to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (33 United States Code [USC] Section 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment Regulations (Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 403). The objectives of this chapter are:
A. 
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works that will interfere with its operation;
B. 
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works that will pass through the publicly owned treatment works, inadequately treated, into receiving waters, or otherwise be incompatible with the publicly owned treatment works;
C. 
To protect both publicly owned treatment works personnel who may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment and the general public;
D. 
To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludge from the publicly owned treatment works;
E. 
To provide for fees for the equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the publicly owned treatment works; and
F. 
To enable the city to comply with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other federal or state laws to which the publicly owned treatment works is subject.
This chapter applies to all users of the publicly owned treatment works. The chapter authorizes the issuance of individual wastewater discharge permits or general permits; provides for monitoring, compliance, and enforcement activities; establishes administrative review procedures; requires user reporting; and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established in this chapter.
(Ord. 757 § 1, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
The pretreatment coordinator will administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the pretreatment coordinator may be delegated by the pretreatment coordinator to a duly authorized city of Crescent City employee.
(Ord. 757 § 1, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
The following abbreviations, as used in this chapter, have the designated meanings:
BOD5 – Biochemical Oxygen Demand
BMP – Best Management Practice
BMR – Baseline Monitoring Report
CFR – Code of Federal Regulations
CIU – Categorical Industrial user
COD – Chemical Oxygen Demand
EPA – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
gpd – gallons per day
IU – Industrial User
mg/L – milligrams per liter
NPDES – National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NSCIU – Non-Significant Categorical Industrial User
POTW – publicly owned treatment works
RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
SIU – Significant Industrial User
SNC – Significant Noncompliance
TSS – Total Suspended Solids
USC – United States Code
(Ord. 757 § 1, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
The following terms and phrases, as used in this chapter, have the meanings hereinafter designated.
"Act" or "the Act"
means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC Section 1251 et seq.
"Approval authority"
means California Regional Water Quality Control Board North Coast Region.
"Authorized or duly authorized representative of the user"
means:
1. 
If the user is a corporation: the president, or any other officer or manager to whom the authority has been delegated by the corporation's board of directors, by resolution, certified and delivered to the city.
2. 
If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: any general partner or the sole proprietor, respectively.
3. 
If the user is a limited liability company: the managing agent of the LLC.
4. 
If the user is a federal, state, or local governmental agency: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.
5. 
The individuals described in paragraphs 1 through 4, above, may designate a duly 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.
"Best management practices" or "BMPs"
means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in Section 13.40.050(A) and (B), referenced in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b). BMPs may refer to treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
"Biochemical oxygen demand" or "BOD5"
means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five days at twenty degrees centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/L).
"Bypass"
means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user's pretreatment facility.
"Categorical industrial user"
means an Industrial user subject to a Categorical Pretreatment Standard or Categorical Standard.
"Categorical Pretreatment Standard" or Categorical Standard"
means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 USC Section 1317) that apply to a specific category of users and that appear in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
"Categorical wastewater"
means discharge that is subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N.
"Chemical oxygen demand" or COD"
means a measure of the oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water.
"City"
means the city of Crescent City or the city council of the city of Crescent City.
"Daily discharge"
means either: (1) the total mass of the constituent discharged over the calendar day (12:00 a.m. through 11:59 p.m.) or any twenty-four-hour period that reasonably represents a calendar day for the purposes of sampling (as specified in the permit), for a constituent with limitations expressed in units of mass; or (2) the unweighted arithmetic mean measurement of the constituent over the day for a constituent with limitations expressed in other units of measurement (e.g., concentration).
"Daily maximum"
means the arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant collected during a calendar day.
"Daily maximum limit"
means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
"Discharge" or indirect discharge"
means the introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any non-domestic source.
"Environmental Protection Agency" or EPA"
mean the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, the Regional Administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.
"Existing source"
means any source of discharge that is not a new source.
"General permit"
means a permit issued by the city to control SIU discharges to the POTW if the type of operations of various users are the same or substantially similar, the discharge is the same, the effluent limitation are the same and require the same or similar monitoring and in the opinion of the pretreatment coordinator, are more appropriately controlled under a general permit than under individual wastewater discharge permits.
"Grab sample"
means a sample that is taken from a waste stream without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen minutes.
"Gray water"
means domestic wastewater composed of washwater from kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks and tubs, clothes washers, and laundry tubs that are not used for disposal of chemical or chemical-biological ingredients.
"Indirect discharge" or "discharge"
means the introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any non-domestic source.
"Individual wastewater discharge permit"
means a permit issued by the city to control SIU discharges to the POTW.
"Industrial user" or "user"
mean a source of indirect discharge.
"Instantaneous limit"
means the maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
"Interference"
means a discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal and therefore, is a cause of a violation of the city's NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or any permits issued thereunder, or any more stringent state or local regulations: Section 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); any state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
"Local limits"
means specific discharge limits adopted by the city and enforced as to industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b).
"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.
"Monthly average"
means the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.
"Monthly average limit"
means the highest allowable monthly average over a calendar month.
"New source"
means:
1. 
Any building, structure, facility, 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) of the Act that will be applicable to such source if the Pretreatment Standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, if:
a. 
The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
b. 
The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
c. 
The production or wastewater-generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such 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, must be considered.
2. 
Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of paragraph (1)(b) or (c) above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
3. 
Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:
a. 
Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction program:
i. 
Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment, or
ii. 
Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
b. 
Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment that is intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts that can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this paragraph.
"Noncontact cooling water"
means water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
"Non-significant categorical industrial user"
means an industrial user that never discharges more than one hundred 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:
1. 
The industrial user, prior to the city's finding, has consistently complied with all applicable Categorical Pretreatment Standards and Requirements;
2. 
The Industrial user annually submits the certification statement required in Section 13.40.450(B), together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement; and
3. 
The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.
"Pass through"
means a discharge that exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the city's NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
"Person"
means any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, limited liability company, 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 a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.
"Pollutant"
means dredged spoil, 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, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD5, COD, toxicity, or odor).
"POTW
means a publicly owned treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 USC Section 1292), which is owned by the city. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances, which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.
"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, introducing such pollutants 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 unless that is allowed by an applicable Pretreatment Standard.
"Pretreatment coordinator"
means the person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the POTW and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter, as well as a duly authorized representative designated in writing by the pretreatment coordinator.
"Pretreatment facility"
means wastewater treatment as necessary to comply with this chapter and to achieve compliance with all Categorical Pretreatment Standards, local limits, and the prohibitions set out in Section 13.40.050. Any facilities necessary for compliance must be provided, operated, and maintained at the user's expense.
"Pretreatment requirements"
means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a user, other than a Pretreatment Standard.
"Pretreatment Standards"
means prohibited discharge standards, Categorical Pretreatment Standards, and local limits.
"Prohibited discharge standards" or prohibited discharges"
means absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances as set forth in Section 13.40.050 of this chapter.
"Septic tank waste"
means any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
"Sewage"
means human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
"Significant industrial user" or "SIU"
means except as provided in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this section, a significant industrial user is:
1. 
An industrial user subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards; or
2. 
An industrial user that:
a. 
Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater),
b. 
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
c. 
Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any Pretreatment Standard or Requirement;
3. 
The city may determine that an industrial user subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards is a non-significant categorical industrial user rather than a significant industrial user;
4. 
Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in paragraph 2 of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, the city may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an Industrial user, and in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.
"Slug load" or "slug discharge"
means any discharge at a flow rate or concentration that could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in Section 13.40.050 of this chapter. A slug discharge is any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to, an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way to violate the POTW's regulations, local limits or permit conditions.
"Storm water"
means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, including and resulting from precipitation.
"Total suspended solids" or "suspended solids"
mean the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and that is removable by laboratory filtering.
"Upset"
means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with Categorical Pretreatment Standards because of factors beyond the control of the user.
"User" or "industrial user"
means a source of indirect discharge.
"Wastewater"
means liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.
"Wastewater treatment plant" or "treatment plant"
means that portion of the POTW that is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
(Ord. 757 § 1, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)