A. 
General Prohibition. A user must not introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater that causes pass through or interference. This general prohibition applies 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. A user must not introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any of the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:
1. 
Pollutants that create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, waste streams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees F (sixty degrees C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
2. 
Wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or more than 9.0, or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW or equipment;
3. 
Solid or viscous substances in amounts that may cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference, including solids that exceed one-quarter inch in any dimension;
4. 
Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD5, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration that, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;
5. 
Wastewater having a temperature greater than one hundred fifty degrees F (sixty-five degrees C), or that will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater that causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed one hundred four degrees F (forty degrees C);
6. 
Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;
7. 
Pollutants that result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause worker health and safety problems;
8. 
Trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the pretreatment coordinator in accordance with Section 13.40.140 of this chapter;
9. 
Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either alone or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to health, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;
10. 
Wastewater that 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 NPDES permit;
11. 
Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
12. 
Storm water, 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 pretreatment coordinator;
13. 
Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
14. 
Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the pretreatment coordinator in an individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit;
15. 
Wastewater, alone or in conjunction with other sources, that causes the treatment plant's effluent to fail any toxicity test;
16. 
Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which that might cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
17. 
Fats, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin in concentrations greater than fifty mg/L;
18. 
Any garbage or other solid material from any food processing plant, industrial plant or retail grocery store;
19. 
Any water, waste or other matter that will result in contamination, pollution or nuisance including, but not limited to, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, whole blood, paunch manure, recognizable portions of the human anatomy, tissue fluids, entrails, ashes, mud, straw, sand, wood, grass clippings or vegetation trimmings, spent lime, stone or marble dust, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, asphalt residues, waste paper, plastics, spent grains or hops;
20. 
Any other solid or liquid that is determined by the city to be or have the potential to be detrimental to the POTW.
Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section must not be processed or stored in such a manner that there is a reasonable potential for their discharge to the POTW.
(Ord. 757 § 2, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
Users must comply with the Categorical Pretreatment Standards set forth at 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405–471.
A. 
Where a Categorical Pretreatment Standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the pretreatment coordinator may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with subsections E and F.
B. 
Where the limits in a Categorical Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of mass of pollutant per unit of production, the pretreatment coordinator may convert the limits to equivalent limitations expressed either as mass of pollutant discharged per day or effluent concentration for purposes of calculating effluent limitations applicable to individual industrial users.
C. 
When wastewater subject to a Categorical Pretreatment Standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same Standard, the pretreatment coordinator shall impose an alternate limit in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(e).
D. 
A categorical industrial user may obtain a net or a gross adjustment to a Categorical Pretreatment Standard pursuant to this section.
1. 
Categorical Pretreatment Standards may be adjusted to reflect the presence of pollutants in the industrial user's source water. Any industrial user wishing to obtain credit for source pollutants must make application to the city. Upon request of the industrial user, the applicable Standard will be calculated on a "net" basis (i.e., adjusted to reflect credit for pollutants in the source water) if the requirements of subsection (D)(2) of this section are met.
2. 
Criteria.
a. 
Either:
i. 
The applicable Categorical Pretreatment Standards contained in 40 CFR, subchapter N, specifically provide that they shall be applied on a net basis; or
ii. 
The industrial user demonstrates that the control system it proposes or uses to meet applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards would, if properly installed and operated, meet the Standards in the absence of pollutants in the source waters.
b. 
Credit for generic pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), and oil and grease will not be granted unless the industrial user demonstrates that the constituents of the generic measure in the user's effluent are substantially similar to the constituents of the generic measure in the source water or unless appropriate additional limits are placed on process water pollutants either at the outfall or elsewhere.
c. 
Credit will be granted only to the extent necessary to meet the applicable Categorical Pretreatment Standard(s), up to a maximum value equal to the influent value. Additional monitoring may be necessary to determine eligibility for credits and compliance with Categorical Pretreatment Standard(s) adjusted under this section.
d. 
Credit will be granted only if the user demonstrates that the source water is drawn from the same body of water as that into which the POTW discharges. The city may waive this requirement if it finds that no environmental degradation will result.
E. 
When a Categorical Pretreatment Standard is expressed only in terms of pollutant concentrations, an industrial user may request that the city convert the limits to equivalent mass limits. The determination to convert concentration limits to mass limits is within the discretion of the pretreatment coordinator. The city may establish equivalent mass limits only if the industrial user meets all the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1)(a) through (e) below.
1. 
To be eligible for equivalent mass limits, the industrial user must:
a. 
Employ, or demonstrate that it will employ, water conservation methods and technologies that substantially reduce water use during the term of its individual wastewater discharge permit;
b. 
Currently use control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the applicable Categorical Pretreatment Standard, and not have used dilution as a substitute for treatment;
c. 
Provide sufficient information to establish the user's actual average daily flow rate for all wastestreams, based on data from a continuous effluent flow monitoring device, as well as the user's long-term average production rate. Both the actual average daily flow rate and the long-term average production rate must be representative of current operating conditions;
d. 
Not have daily flow rates, production levels, or pollutant levels that vary so significantly that equivalent mass limits are not appropriate to control the discharge; and
e. 
Have consistently complied with all applicable Categorical Pretreatment Standards during the period prior to the industrial user's request for equivalent mass limits.
2. 
An industrial user subject to equivalent mass limits must:
a. 
Maintain and effectively operate control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the equivalent mass limits;
b. 
Continue to record the facility's flow rates through the use of a continuous effluent flow monitoring device;
c. 
Continue to record the facility's production rates and notify the pretreatment coordinator whenever production rates are expected to vary by more than twenty percent from its baseline production rates determined in subsection (F)(1) of this section. Upon notification of a revised production rate, the pretreatment coordinator will reassess the equivalent mass limit and revise the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the facility; and
d. 
Continue to employ the same or comparable water conservation methods and technologies as those implemented pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) of this section so long as it discharges under an equivalent mass limit.
F. 
When developing equivalent mass limits, the pretreatment coordinator:
1. 
Will calculate the equivalent mass limit by multiplying the actual average daily flow rate of the regulated process(es) of the industrial user by the concentration-based daily maximum and monthly average standard for the applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard and the appropriate unit conversion factor;
2. 
Upon notification of a revised production rate, will reassess the equivalent mass limit and recalculate the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the facility; and
3. 
May retain the same equivalent mass limit in subsequent individual wastewater discharger permit terms if the industrial user's actual average daily flow rate was reduced solely as a result of the implementation of water conservation methods and technologies, and the actual average daily flow rates used in the original calculation of the equivalent mass limit were not based on the use of dilution as a substitute for treatment pursuant to Section 13.40.100. The industrial user must also be in compliance with Section 13.40.710 regarding the prohibition of bypass.
G. 
The pretreatment coordinator may convert the mass limits of the Categorical Pretreatment Standards of 40 CFR Parts 414, 419 and 455 to concentration limits for purposes of calculating limitations applicable to individual industrial users. The conversion is at the discretion of the pretreatment coordinator.
H. 
Once included in its permit, the industrial user must comply with the equivalent limitations developed in this section in lieu of the promulgated Categorical Standards from which the equivalent limitations were derived.
I. 
Many Categorical Pretreatment Standards specify one limit for calculating maximum daily discharge limitations and a second limit for calculating maximum monthly average, or four-day average, limitations. Where such Standards are being applied, the same production or flow figure shall be used in calculating both the average and the maximum equivalent limitation.
J. 
Any industrial user operating under a permit incorporating equivalent mass or concentration limits calculated from a production-based Standard shall notify the pretreatment coordinator within two business days after the user has a reasonable basis to know that the production level will significantly change within the next calendar month. Any user not notifying the pretreatment coordinator of such anticipated change will be required to meet the mass or concentration limits in its permit that were based on the original estimate of the long term average production rate.
(Ord. 757 § 2, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
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.
(Ord. 757 § 2, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
The pretreatment coordinator is authorized to establish local limits pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5(c). Local limits will be approved by city council resolution to protect against pass through and interference. No person shall discharge wastewater containing in excess of the daily maximum limits list (most recent local limits resolution) available at City Hall and on the city webpage (http://crescentcity.org/). The local limits apply at the point where wastewater is discharged to the POTW.
The pretreatment coordinator may impose mass limitations in addition to or instead of the concentration-based limitations. The pretreatment coordinator is authorized to set IU-specific limits for pollutants on a case-by-case basis. The loading allocation will be based on the discharger's current loading, its need for a continued loading allocation, its ability to apply pretreatment to achieve certain discharge pollutant levels (i.e., treatability), or any other factor that the pretreatment coordinator determines is relevant. The pretreatment coordinator will ensure that the sum of the allocated loadings does not exceed the current maximum allowable industrial loading (MAIL).
To ensure that it does not allocate more than the MAIL, Crescent City will monitor loading from IUs with individual wastewater discharge permits. The city will monitor and compare actual loading to the allocated MAILs upon receipt of any discharge monitoring data on an annual basis.
The pretreatment coordinator may develop best management practices (BMPs), by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits or general permits, to implement local limits and the requirements of Section 13.40.050.
(Ord. 757 § 2, 2010; Ord. 767 § 4, 2012; Ord. 799 § 3, 2017; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
The city reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits or in general permits, more stringent Standards or Requirements on discharges to the POTW consistent with the purpose of this chapter.
(Ord. 757 § 2, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)
A user must never 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 pretreatment coordinator 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.
(Ord. 757 § 2, 2010; Ord. 816 § 4, 2019)