The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the discharge, deposit, or disposal of all wastes, including any material which may cause pollution of underground or surface waters in, upon, or affecting the territory of the City and the design, construction, alteration, use and maintenance of public sewers, house laterals, industrial connection sewers, sewage pumping plants, interceptors, and appurtenances; the issuance of permits and the collecting of fees therefor and fees to pay the cost of checking plans and inspecting the construction; and providing penalties for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts or to any work performed in behalf of these districts. The wastewater ordinance adopted by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County shall apply to all wastes discharged, deposited, or disposed of through direct connections to their facilities, and to all industrial wastes discharged, deposited, or disposed of through their sewerage systems and tributaries thereto.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
Except as otherwise provided herein, the City Engineer and the Director of Public Works shall jointly administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the City Engineer or the Director of Public Works may be delegated by either to persons in the employ of the City.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
Except as otherwise provided herein, all plans required under the provisions of this chapter for the construction of main line sewers and house laterals shall conform with the standards of design prescribed by this chapter and with the standards of design on file in the office of the City Engineer. Any plans submitted for approval under the provisions of this chapter shall be prepared by, or under the direction of, and shall be signed by a Registered Civil Engineer of the State.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
The City Engineer will approve plans for sewerage construction, approve a permit for industrial wastewater discharge, or issue a permit under this chapter only if it appears to the City Engineer that the sewerage construction, sewer connection, industrial wastewater discharge, or other construction or procedure conforms with the provisions of this chapter. All required fees and charges shall be paid before approval of plans or issuance of a permit. The City Engineer shall provide printed application forms for the permits required by this chapter.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
The provisions of this chapter requiring permits shall not apply to contractors constructing public sewers and appurtenances under contracts awarded by the City.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
Permits issued under the provisions of this chapter are not transferable from one person to another person, or from one location to another location.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
The City Engineer shall keep a permanent and accurate account of all fees and charges received under this chapter, containing the names and addresses of the persons or companies on whose accounts the fees and charges were paid, the dates and amounts thereof, and the purpose for which the fees and charges were paid.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
In the event that any person shall have paid a fee for plan checking, for processing a sewer easement, for tapping a public sewer, or for the processing of reimbursement documents and maps, and no work or processing has been done on these functions, such person, upon presentation to the City Engineer of a request therefor in writing, shall be entitled to a refund in an amount equal to 80% of the fee actually paid. In the event that any person shall have paid a fee for inspection and record plans and subsequently shall request and receive permission to revise the work so as to appreciably reduce the amount thereof, he shall be entitled to a refund of a portion of the original fee; said portion shall be the difference between the original amount of the fee and a new amount to be determined from the revised valuation or total footage of main line and house lateral sewers, or both. The City Engineer shall satisfy himself as to the right of such person to such refund, and each such refund shall be paid as provided by law for the payment of claims against the City.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
All work done under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to inspection by and shall meet the approval of the City Engineer; provided, however, that approval by the City Engineer shall not relieve the permittee or any other person from complying with all of the applicable provisions of this chapter.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
When it appears to the satisfaction of the City Engineer that all work done under the permit has been constructed according to, and meets the requirements of all the applicable provisions of this chapter and that all fees have been paid, if requested, he shall cause to be issued to the permittee constructing such work a certificate of final inspection. The said certificate shall recite that such work as is covered by the permit has been constructed according to this chapter and that said work is in an approved condition.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
Any unauthorized entering, breaking, damaging, destroying, uncovering, defacing, or tampering with any structure, equipment, or appurtenance, which is a part of the City's sewerage system, shall be a violation of this chapter.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
For the purpose of this chapter certain words and phrases are defined and certain provisions shall be construed as herein set forth unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Cesspool" is a lined excavation in the ground which receives the discharge of a drainage system or part thereof, so designed as to retain the organic matter and solids discharging therein, but permitting the liquids to seep through the bottom and sides and constructed pursuant to the provisions of the City Plumbing Code.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Chimney" means a vertical section of a house lateral extending either from a vertical tee on the main line or from a long radius 1/4 bend set vertically at the curb or property line, and in either case suitably reinforced with cement concrete.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Conductor" or "roof leader" means any piping which carries stormwater or rainwater from any roof or elevated parking area. The term "downspout" is usually applied to the vertical portion of such piping.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Discharger" means any person that discharges or causes a discharge to a public sewer.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Domestic sewage" means the waterborne wastes produced from noncommercial or nonindustrial activities along with those which result from normal human living processes.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Effluent" means the liquid outflow from any treatment plant or facility constructed and operated for the partial or complete treatment of sewage or industrial waste.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"House lateral" means that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a connection with the main line sewer for the purpose of conveying domestic sewage.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Industrial building" means any building, structure, or works which is used, or which is designed to be used, for the manufacture, processing, or distribution of materials, equipment, supplies, food, or commodities of any description; or which is used, or designed to be used, as a school, sanitarium, hospital, penal institution, or charitable institution; together with all appurtenances thereto and the surrounding premises under the same ownership or control.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Industrial connection sewer" means that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a connection with the main line sewer for the purpose of conveying industrial wastewater.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Industrial waste" means any and all waste substances, liquid or solid, except domestic sewage, and includes among other things radioactive wastes and explosive, noxious or toxic gases when present in the sewerage system.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Industrial wastewater" means all waterborne wastes and wastewater, excluding domestic sewage and uncontaminated water, and includes all wastewater from any producing, manufacturing, processing, institutional commercial, agricultural, or other operation where the wastewater discharged includes significant quantities of wastes of nonhuman origin.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Inspector" means a person authorized by the Director of Public Works or the City Engineer to inspect wastewater generation, conveyance, storage, processing, and disposal facilities.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Gravity separation interceptor" means any facility designed, constructed, and operated for the purpose of removing and retaining dangerous, deleterious, or prohibited constituents from wastewater by differential gravity separation before discharge to the public sewer.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Licensed contractor" means a contractor having a valid license issued pursuant to Chapter 9, Division 3, of the Business and Professions Code, State of California, which license includes the activities on the permit applied for.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Lot" means any piece or parcel of land bounded, defined, or shown upon a plat or deed recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Los Angeles County, which conforms to the boundaries of such lot as shown upon such recorded map, plat, or deed; provided, however, that in the event any building or structure covers more area than a lot as herein defined, the term "lot" shall include all such pieces or parcels of land upon which said building or structure is wholly or partly located together with the yards, courts, and other unoccupied spaces legally required for the building or structure.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Main line sewer" means any public sewer in a dedicated right-of-way in which changes in alignment or grade occur only at manholes, or where angle points or curves between manholes have been approved by the City Engineer. Such sewers are generally eight inches (8") or more in diameter.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Permittee" means the person to whom a permit has been issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Pollution" of underground or surface waters means affecting such waters in a manner which, if allowed to continue, would render them unfit for human or animal use or toxic to vegetation to an extent adversely affecting plant growth or curtailing crop yield.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Public sewer" means any sewer dedicated to public use and whose use and operation are controlled by a public corporation by means of appropriate easements.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Radioactive material" means material containing chemical elements that spontaneously change their atomic structure by emitting any particles, rays, or energy forms.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Rainwater diversion system" means any device designed to prevent the entry of stormwaters into the public sewer system or other waste disposal or treatment systems and to redirect storm flows to appropriate areas.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Wye saddle" means a short pipe fitting with a shoulder at one end to allow the application of the fitting to a hole tapped in the main line sewer such that the short pipe shall form a 45 degree angle from the main line sewer pipe. "Tee saddle" means a short pipe fitting with a shoulder at one end to allow the application of the fitting to a hole tapped in the main line sewer such that the short pipe shall form a 90 degree angle from the main line sewer pipe.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Seepage pit" means a lined excavation in the ground which receives the discharge of a septic tank, so designed as to permit the wastewater from the septic tank to seep through its bottom and sides.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Septic tank" is a watertight receptacle which receives the discharge from a sewerage system, so designed and constructed 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 drain field system or one or more seepage pits.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Sewage" or "wastewater" means any waterborne or liquid wastes, including domestic sewage and industrial waste, but does not include or mean stormwater, groundwater, roof, or yard drainage.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Sewage pumping plant" means any facility designed and constructed to raise sewage from a lower to a higher level or to overcome head losses due to pipeline friction.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Sewerage" means any and all facilities used for collecting, conveying, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Solid wastes" means the nonliquid borne wastes normally considered to be suitable for disposal with refuse at sanitary landfill refuse disposal sites.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Tapping" means the forming of a tee or wye branch connection to a main line sewer by installing a tee or wye saddle after the sewer is in place.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Trunk sewer" means a sewer under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Uncontaminated water" means any wasted water not contaminated or polluted with sewage, and which is suitable, or could readily be made suitable, for discharge to the City's stormwater drainage system.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)
"Waste disposal facility" means any dump, solid waste disposal site, transfer station, sanitary landfill, land reclamation project, incinerator, or other similar site or facility which is used, or intended to be used, for the acceptance for transfer, salvage, or disposal of rubbish, garbage, or industrial waste, whether liquid or solid.
(Added by Ord. 674, adopted 10-27-81)