Buchanan County, VA Article I General Provisions

§ 73-1 Purpose and policy.

A. This chapter sets forth uniform requirements for users of the wastewater collection and publicly owned treatment works (POTW) for the Buchanan County Public Service Authority (PSA) and enables the PSA to comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations, including the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.), and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR Part 403) and the Virginia Permit Regulation (VP680-14-01 Part 7). Additionally, this chapter is to provide for the maximum possible beneficial public use of the PSA's POTW through regulation of sewer construction, sewer use and wastewater discharges. Further objectives of this chapter are:

(1) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW or collector system that will interfere with the operation of the POTW or collector system or shorten the design life thereof;

(2) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which will pass through the POTW, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or otherwise be incompatible with the POTW;

(3) To ensure that the quality of the wastewater treatment plant sludge is maintained at a level which allows its use and disposal in compliance with applicable statutes and regulations;

(4) To protect POTW personnel who may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment and to protect the general public;

(5) To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewater and sludge from the POTW;

(6) To provide for fees for the equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance and improvement of the POTW; and

(7) To enable the PSA to comply with its VPDES permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements and any other federal or state laws to which the POTW is subject.

B. This chapter shall apply to all users of the POTW. The chapter authorizes the issuance of wastewater discharge permits; authorizes monitoring, compliance and enforcement activities; establishes administrative review procedures; requires industrial user reporting; and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.

§ 73-2 Administration.

The Board of the PSA, by this chapter, appoints the Executive Director to administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the Executive Director may be delegated by the Executive Director to other PSA personnel. The Board of the PSA shall be notified, in writing, by the Executive Director of any delegation of the powers provided herein.

§ 73-3 Definitions; word usage.

A. Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

ACT OR THE ACT

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the "Clean Water Act," as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.

APPROVAL AUTHORITY

The Executive Director or Director of the Virginia State Water Control Board in the area served by the POTW.

ASTM

The American Society for Testing and Materials.

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES 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 employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25,000,000 (in second-quarter 1980 dollars), if 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 or his/her designee.

(4) The individuals described in Subsections (1) through (3) above 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 PSA.

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)

The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five days at 20° C., expressed in terms of mass and concentration [milligrams per liter (mg/l)].

BUILDING SEWER

The extension from a building wastewater plumbing facility to the treatment works.

CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD OR CATEGORICAL STANDARD

Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) which apply to a specific category of industrial users and which appear in Title 4 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471.

COLOR

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.

COMBINED SEWER

Any sewer intended to receive both wastewater and stormwater or surface water.

COMPOSITE SAMPLE

The sample resulting from the combination of individual wastewater samples taken at selected intervals based on an increment of either flow or time.

CONTROL AUTHORITY

The Executive Director or Director of the Virginia State Water Control Board in the area served by the POTW.

DAY

The twenty-four-hour period beginning at 12:01 a.m.

DISCHARGER

Person or persons, firm, company, industry or other similar sources of wastewater who introduce such into the POTW.

EASEMENT

An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OR EPA

The United States Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the Regional Water Management Division Director or other duly authorized official of said agency.

ESTABLISHMENT

Any industrial establishment, mill, factory, tannery, paper or pulp mill, mine, coal mine, colliery, breaker or coal processing operations, quarry, oil, refinery, boat, vessel and each and every other industry or plant or works, the operation of which produces industrial wastes or other wastes or which may otherwise alter the physical, chemical or biological properties of any state waters.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The person designated by the PSA to supervise the operation of the POTW and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter or his duly authorized representative.

EXISTING SOURCE

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 § 307 of the Act.

GARBAGE

The solid animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the domestic or commercial handling, storage, dispensing, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.

GRAB SAMPLE

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.

GROUNDWATER

Any water beneath the land surface in the zone of saturation.

INDIRECT DISCHARGE OR DISCHARGE

The introduction of (nondomestic) pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source regulated under § 307(b), (c) or (d) of the Act.

INDUSTRIAL USER OR USER

A source of indirect discharge, or a nondomestic discharge to a treatment works.

INDUSTRIAL WASTES

Liquid or other wastes resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade or business or from the development of any natural resources.

INSTANTANEOUS MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE DISCHARGE LIMIT

The maximum concentration (or loading) of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composite sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.

INTERFERENCE

A discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources:

(1) Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes use or disposal; and

(2) Therefore is a cause of a violation of the PSA's NPDES and/or VPDES 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): § 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.

MEDICAL WASTE

Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood by-products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, fomites, etiologic agents, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes and dialysis wastes.

MUNICIPALITY

A city, county, town, district association, authority or other public body created under the law and having jurisdiction over disposal sewage, industrial or other wastes.

NATURAL OUTLET

Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or any other body or surface or groundwater.

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 § 307(c) of the Act, which 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.

(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 is substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether there 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) above but otherwise alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment.

(3) Construction of a new source as defined under this definition has commenced if the owner or operator has:

(a) Begun or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction program, any placement, assembly or installation of facilities or equipment; or 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 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.

NONCONTACT COOLING WATER

Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material intermediate product, waste product or finished product.

NPDES

(Reserved)

OWNER

The Commonwealth of Virginia or any of its political subdivisions, including but not limited to sanitation district commissions and authorities, sanitary boards and public or private institutions, corporations, associations, firms or companies organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country or any person or group of persons acting individually or as a group.

PASS-THROUGH

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 PSA's VPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, copartnership, 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

A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed in standard units.

POLLUTANT

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 and odor].

PRETREATMENT

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

Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on an industrial user, other than a pretreatment standard.

PRETREATMENT STANDARDS OR STANDARDS

Prohibitive discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards and local limits.

PROHIBITED DISCHARGE STANDARDS OR PROHIBITED DISCHARGES

Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 73-12 of this chapter.

PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE

Garbage that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under flow conditions normally prevailing in the treatment works, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.

PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS OR POTW

A treatment works, as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292), which is owned by the commonwealth or municipality. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes and any conveyances which convey wastewater to a treatment plant. The term also means the municipal entity having jurisdiction over the industrial users and responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the treatment works.

RESIDENTIAL USER (CLASS I)

All premises used only for human residency and which is connected to the treatment works.

SANITARY WASTEWATER

Wastewater discharged from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, office buildings, industrial plants or institutions.

SEPTIC TANK WASTE

Any sewage from holding tanks, such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers and septic tanks.

SEWAGE

Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).

SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER

(1) Industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards; and

(2) Any other industrial user that:

(a) Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater;

(b) Contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry-weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the treatment plant; or

(c) Is designated as significant by the PSA 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

Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in § 73-12 of this chapter 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

A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the United States Office of Management and Budget.

STANDARD METHODS

The latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association, the Water Pollution Control Federation and the American Water Works Association.

STATE

The Commonwealth of Virginia.

STORM SEWER

A sewer for conveying storm-, surface and other waters, which are not intended to be transported to a treatment works.

STORMWATER

Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom, including snowmelt.

SURFACE WATER

(1) All waters which are currently used, were used in the past or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce.

(2) All interstate waters, including interstate wetlands.

(3) All other waters, such as inter/intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, wet meadow or natural ponds, the use, degradation or destruction of which would affect or could affect interstate or foreign commerce, including any such waters:

(a) Which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes;

(b) From which fish or shellfish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce; or

(c) Which are used or could be used for industrial purposes by industries in interstate commerce.

(4) All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as surface waters under this definition.

(5) Tributaries of water identified in Subsections (1) through (4) of this definition.

(6) Wetlands adjacent to waters, other than waters that are themselves wetlands, identified in Subsection (1) through (5) of this definition.

SUSPENDED SOLIDS

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

One of 126 pollutants or a combination of those pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the EPA under the provision of § 307 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317).

TREATMENT FACILITY

Only those mechanical-power-driven devices necessary for the transmission and treatment of pollutants (e.g., pump stations and unit treatment processes).

TREATMENT PLANT

That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment of sewage and industrial waste.

TREATMENT PLANT EFFLUENT

Any discharge of pollutants from the POTW into waters of the commonwealth.

TREATMENT WORKS

Any devices and systems used for the storage, treatment, recycling and/or reclamation of sewage or liquid industrial waste or other waste necessary to recycle or reuse water, including intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, individual systems, pumping, power and other equipment and their appurtenances, extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions or alterations; and any works, including land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment or any other method or system used for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal waste or industrial waste, including waste in combined sewer, water and sanitary sewer systems.

VPDES

Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program, as administered by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

WASTEWATER

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.

B. "Shall" is mandatory; "may" is permissive or discretionary. The use of the singular shall be construed to include the plural, and the plural shall include the singular as indicated by the context of its use.

§ 73-4 Abbreviations.

The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:

BOD

Biochemical oxygen demand.

CFR

Code of Federal Regulations.

COD

Chemical oxygen demand.

gpd

Gallons per day.

L

Liters.

mg

Milligrams.

mg/l

Milligrams per liter.

O&M

Operation and maintenance.

POTW

Publicly owned treatment works.

RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

SIC

Standard industrial classification.

SWDA

Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.).

TSS

Total suspended solids.

USC

United States Code.

§ 73-5 Modification required.

Any approval by the PSA of a type, kind or capacity of an installation shall not relieve a person of the responsibility of revamping, enlarging or otherwise modifying an installation to accomplish an intended purpose.