"Act" or "the Act"
means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC 1251 et seq.
"Applicant"
means an owner of property who applies for sanitary sewer service to such property (hereinafter referred to as "sewer").
Authorized Representative of the Industrial User.
(1) 
If the industrial user is a corporation, "authorized representative" shall mean:
(a) 
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.
(b) 
The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation 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 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 actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(2) 
If the industrial user is a partnership, or sole proprietorship, an authorized representative shall mean a general partner or proprietor, respectively.
(3) 
If the industrial user is a Federal, State or local governmental facility, an authorized representative shall mean a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility.
(4) 
The individuals described in subsections (1) through (3) of this definition 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.
"Best management practices (BMPs)"
means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in RDMC § 13.10.410 through § 13.10.421. BMPs also include 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 (BOD)"
means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five-day 20 degree centigrade expressed in terms of mass and concentration milligrams per liter (mg/l).
"Building"
means any structure inhabited or used by human beings.
"Building sewer or lateral"
means a sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
"Categorical pretreatment standard" or "categorical standard"
means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the U.S. EPA in accordance with Sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 USC 1317) which apply to a specific category of industrial users and which appear in 40 CFR, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405471.
"City"
means the City of Rio Dell, California, or the City Council of Rio Dell.
"City Manager" or "Manager"
means the person designated by the City to manage the operation of the POTW, and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter, or his duly authorized representative.
"City of Rio Dell sanitary sewer system"
means the sanitary sewer system owned by the City of Rio Dell.
"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.
"Composite sample"
means the sample resulting from the combination of individual wastewater samples taken at selected intervals based on an increment of either flow or time.
"Consumer"
means any person to whom the City supplies sewer service under a contract, either expressed or implied, to make payment therefor.
"Cost"
means labor, material, transportation, expense, supervision, engineering and other necessary overhead expense.
"Council"
means City Council or the City Manager acting under authority of the City Council.
"Department"
means the Sewer Department of the City.
"Domestic wastewater"
means wastewater derived principally from dwellings, business buildings, institutions and the like.
"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)"
means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the regional water quality control board or other duly authorized official of said agency.
"Existing source"
means any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication of proposed categorical pretreatment standards which will be applicable to such source if the standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with Section 307 of the Act.
"Extension"
means sewer main extension, or system of collection lateral.
"Grab sample"
means a sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.
"Grease hauler"
means a person, firm or business that collects the contents of a grease interceptor and transports it.
"Grease interceptor"
means a plumbing appurtenance or appliance that intercepts fats, oil and grease from a wastewater discharge.
"Indirect discharge" or "discharge"
means the introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source.
"Industrial user" or "user"
means any person who discharges or causes or permits the discharge of nondomestic wastewater into the POTW.
"Instantaneous maximum allowable discharge limit"
means the maximum concentration (or loading) 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 which 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 permits issued thereunder (or more stringent State or local regulations): Section 405 of the Clean Water Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), 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 SWDA; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
"Legal or equitable owner"
means any owner of record, mortgagee, trustee or contract purchaser of real property.
"Main"
means a sewer main in the sewer collection system of the City without regard to sizing.
"Medical waste"
means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood byproducts, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, fomites, etiologic agents, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes and dialysis wastes.
New Source.
(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 such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section; provided, that:
(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, should 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 subsection (1)(b) or (c) of this definition but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3) 
Construction of a new source as defined in this section 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 which are 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 (3)(b).
"Noncontact cooling water"
means water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
"Nuisance"
means anything which is injurious to health or is indecent or offensive to the senses or an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfort or enjoyment of life or property or which affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal.
"Pass through"
means a 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 City's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
"Permit"
means any written authorization required pursuant to this chapter or any other regulation of the City for the installation of the sewage system.
"Person"
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, or local governmental entities.
"pH"
means a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed in standard units.
"Pollutant"
means any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, industrial wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, agricultural and industrial wastes, and the characteristics of the wastewater (i.e., pH, temperature, total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, color, BOD, chemical oxygen demand (COD), toxicity, odor).
"Premises"
means a parcel of real estate, including any improvements thereon, which is determined by the City to be a single user for the purpose of receiving, using and paying for services.
"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 allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
"Pretreatment requirements"
means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on an industrial user, other than a pretreatment standard.
"Pretreatment standards" or "standards"
means prohibitive discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
"Prohibited discharge standards" or "prohibited discharges"
means absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in RDMC § 13.10.410 and § 13.10.420.
"Public sewer"
means a sewer lying within a street or easement and which is controlled by or under the jurisdiction of the City.
"Publicly owned treatment works" or "POTW"
means any devices or storage, treatment, recycling or reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes and any conveyances which convey wastewater to a treatment plant. Also, the City's jurisdiction over the industrial users and responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the treatment works. Building sewers connecting building drains to the POTW are not public sewers although they may be partially located in a public right-of-way or easement.
"Septic tank wastes"
means any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
"Service connection or laterals"
means the laying of pipes from the main to the property line inclusively.
"Sewage"
means human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, and the like). A combination of water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments.
"Sewage facility"
means all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage.
"Significant industrial user"
applies to industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards; any other industrial user that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day (gpd) or more of process wastewater, contributes a process waste stream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the treatment plant, or is designated as significant by the City 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.
"Slug load"
means any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in RDMC § 13.10.410 and § 13.10.420 or any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge.
"Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code"
means a classification pursuant to the "Standard Industrial Classification Manual" issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
"Stormwater"
means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation including snowmelt.
"Suspended solids"
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.
"Toxic pollutant"
means one of 126 pollutants, or combination by the EPA under the provision of Section 307 (33 USC 1317) of the Act.
"Treatment plant effluent"
means any discharge of treated wastewater from the POTW into waters of the State.
"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. Uncontaminated or contaminated waters discarded or discharged by users and no longer usable for industrial or domestic purposes, including but not limited to water or a combination of water and other substances described in RDMC § 13.10.410 and § 13.10.420.
"Wastewater treatment plant" or "treatment plant"
means the portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment of sewage and industrial waste.
(Formerly 13.10.520; Ord. 190 §§ 1, 58, 1987; Ord. 203, 1990; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
The Council reserves the right and power from time to time to adopt rules and regulations for the operation and maintenance of the Sewer Department of the City, and for furnishing sewer service, and may likewise establish and modify the rates, charges and penalties established and imposed by this chapter, and may from time to time prescribe rules for the extension of sewer collection within and beyond the boundaries of the City.
(Ord. 190 § 2, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
If a dispute shall arise between any sewer customer and the City concerning sewer service or the amount of sewer billed to such consumer, the dispute may be settled subject to the approval of the Council by the City Manager or designee. The final decision and settlement of any such dispute shall be recorded in the minutes of the Council. The provisions and procedures provided for in this section are permissive only and shall in no way affect the other provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 190 § 3, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
No person owning, occupying or having under his control any premises shall connect their vault, cesspool, privy, sewer or private drain with any waterway, watercourse or ditch in the City.
(Ord. 190 § 5, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
The City shall, at its own expense, make all repairs necessary to sewer pipe lines connecting with mains. The City shall make no repair or do any work whatsoever on the sewer pipe line beyond the connection to private property.
(Ord. 190 § 7, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
Any authorized employee of the City shall have reasonable access to any premises with sewer service for the purpose of making inspections of the sewer system upon such premises. Any person who, as owner or occupant of any premises, refuses admittance to or hinders or prevents inspection by an authorized employee of the City, after service of notice of intention, shall have all water shut off to the said premises.
(Ord. 190 § 9, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
The City shall have the right in an emergency, for the purpose of making sewer line repairs, extensions or other necessary purposes, to turn the water off or on without notice, but it shall be the duty of the Water Department to make a reasonable effort to notify all consumers that the water is to be turned off or on.
(Ord. 190 § 10, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014; Ord. 380 § 1, 2020)
It shall be unlawful for any person to open any manhole or to interfere in any manner with any street sewer service connection or any service pipe connected with mains or to tap any sewer service pipe, without paying the established costs therefor after having made written application therefor as provided by this chapter, or in any way to trespass upon the public property of the Sewer Department without written permission first being obtained from the City Manager or designee.
(Ord. 190 § 11, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
Before any sewer service will be supplied by the City to any person which requires a connection or reconnection to the City-owned mains of any real property, the owner of the property shall make a written application from such service and service connection upon a form provided by the City. Such form shall be substantially as shown in Exhibit A attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter and by reference incorporated herein.
(Ord. 190 § 12, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
From time to time, the City Council shall adopt sewer service charges and fees.
Upon application for a building permit and prior to the actual construction of any sewer facilities by the applicant, a sum of money equal to the amount of the applicable connection fees shall be paid to the City in addition to any and all actual costs by the City to provide new service.
(Ord. 190 §§ 13, 13.A, 1987; Ord. 194 § 1, 1988; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 307 § 1, 2013; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)
There shall be a charge set apart from any other charge or fee for the actual costs to the City for the installation of any sewer mains or system laterals to any private property or other consumer; provided further, that such a charge shall be a minimum of $200.00 or actual costs, whichever is higher. Sizes, locations and connections methods shall be at the sole discretion of the City Manager or designee.
(Ord. 190 § 14, 1987; Ord. 286, 2012; Ord. 296, 2012; Ord. 322 § 1, 2014)