§ 27-38. Prohibited discharges.

(a)

No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, swimming pool drain or subsurface drainage to any sanitary sewer.

(b)

Industrial cooling water, unpolluted process water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to sewers specifically designated as storm sewers, or to a natural outlet with approval of the state department of natural resources.

(c)

No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, to any public sewer any of the following described waters or wastes:

(1)

Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas;

(2)

Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases, in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans or animals, create a public nuisance or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including, but not limited to, cyanides in excess of one mg/l as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer;

(3)

Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5, or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works;

(4)

Solid or viscous substances in quantities, or of such size, capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers, or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works, including, but not limited to, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails, paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc.

(d)

No person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if such discharge violates Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prohibitions against the substances, and the wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment; have an adverse effect on the receiving stream; or otherwise endanger life, limb, public property or constitute a nuisance. Following EPA guidelines as to the acceptability of such wastes, the superintendent of the utilities system will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers; materials of construction of the sewers; nature of the sewage treatment process; capacity of the sewage treatment plant; degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant; and other pertinent factors. The prohibited substances are as follows:

(1)

Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

(2)

Any water or waste containing fat, wax, grease or oil, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32—150 degrees Fahrenheit.

(3)

Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths horsepower or greater shall be prohibited. It is the intent of this subsection that only small home-type garbage grinders be allowed to discharge into the sanitary sewers.

(4)

Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.

(5)

Any waters or wastes containing in excess of the amounts (expressed in mg/l) of the following materials:

Arsenic ..... 0.05

Barium ..... 5.0

Boron ..... 1.0

Chromium ..... 2.0

Lead ..... 0.1

Manganese ..... 1.0

Nickel ..... 1.0

Tin ..... 1.0

Zinc ..... 5.0

and similar objectionable or toxic substances; or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement to such a degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the EPA for such materials.

a.

Maximum limits for discharge of heavy metals shall include, but not be limited to:

mg/l

 

Cadmium ..... 0.02

Mercury ..... 0.005

Selenium ..... 0.02

Silver ..... 0.10

b.

Prohibited heavy metal and toxic material shall include, but not be limited to:

1.

Antimony.

2.

Beryllium.

3.

Bismuth.

4.

Cobalt.

5.

Fungicides.

6.

Herbicides.

7.

Molybdenum.

8.

Pesticides.

9.

Rhenium.

10.

Strontium.

11.

Tellurium.

12.

Uranyl ion.

(6)

Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances, in such concentrations exceeding limits, after treatment of the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the state, federal or other public agencies of jurisdiction, for the discharge to the receiving waters.

(7)

Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by state or federal regulations.

(8)

Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5.

(9)

Materials which exert or cause:

a.

Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids, including, but not limited to, fuller's earth, lime slurries and lime residues, or of dissolved solids, including, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate;

b.

Excessive discoloration, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;

c.

Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works;

d.

Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting slugs.

(10)

Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed, or are amenable to treatment only to such a degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot be satisfactorily applied to the land. No person shall dilute their waste discharge, in lieu of treatment or removal, to reduce the concentration of any of the parameters stated in this subsection (d) to levels below the concentrations stated in this subsection (d).

(e)

If any waters or wastes are discharged that contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in subsection (d) of this section, the industry or persons responsible for such discharge are subject to penalties provided in section 1-10. If, in the judgment of the superintendent of the utilities system, any wastes may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or constitute a public nuisance, the superintendent of the utilities system may require the following:

(1)

Pretreatment to reduce the levels of the deleterious substances to acceptable amounts. All costs of pretreatment are to be borne by the customer;

(2)

Control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or

(3)

Payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of subsection (j) of this section.

If the superintendent of the utilities system permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the pretreatment plant and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the city and the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.

(f)

Grease, oil and sand interceptors or traps shall be provided for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except that any such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwellings. The following are the minimum capacity requirements for all public food preparation establishments where cooking activities occur:

(1)

Minimum capacity of 1,000 gallons for establishments with a peak period of 140 meals per hour or less;

(2)

For establishments with 140 meals or more during peak hours, the following formulas shall be used:

a.

Meals per peak hour × 7, for establishments without commercial dishwashers;

b.

Meals per peak hour × 9 × storage factor of 1 or 2, for establishments with automatic commercial dishwashers.

1.

For the purposes of this subsection (f)(2)b., the term "storage factor of 1" means for a 12-hour operation and the term "storage factor of 2" means for a 24-hour operation. In such instances, the storage factor shall be prorated for actual hours of operation.

2.

An annual fee of $10.00 shall be paid to the building inspector by the establishment affected by this section, which shall be for the permit and yearly inspection. The fee shall be due and payable on or before January 31 of each year.

3.

Within 30 days from written demand, failure to comply with this subsection (f) shall result in the discontinuance of sewer and/or water service to the establishment. Likewise, failure to follow orders of the building inspector shall result in discontinuance of the water and/or sewer service.

(g)

Where preliminary treatment or flow equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be continuously maintained in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.

(h)

When required by the superintendent of the utilities system, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole, together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances, in the building sewer to facilitate continuous observation, sampling and measurement of the wastes. When required, the manhole shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the superintendent of the utilities system. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense, and shall be maintained by the owner so as to be safe and accessible at all times.

(i)

All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this division shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at the provided control manhole, or upon suitable samples taken at the control manhole. If no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property. The particular analyses involved will determine whether a 24-hour composite of all outfalls of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from 24-hour composites of all outfalls whereas pHs are determined from periodic grab samples.

(j)

No statement contained in this section shall be construed as preventing an agreement or arrangement between the city and industrial concern whereby an industrial waste that is not prohibited by EPA and/or state regulations, such as those outlined in subsection (d) of this section, may be accepted by the city for treatment, subject to satisfactory payment arrangements by the industrial concern. Payment by the industry shall include reimbursement of any costs for construction, on the part of the city, to accommodate the industrial waste operation and maintenance of the increment of the wastewater facilities required to treat and transport the wastewater discharge of the industry. Costs to be considered shall include the following:

(1)

Amortization of the indebtedness or costs to the city for required improvements to the wastewater facilities, plant and interceptor sewers to accommodate the industrial waste;

(2)

Operation and maintenance of the treatment facilities; and

(3)

Any additional costs which are necessary to ensure adequate treatment on a continuous basis.

(Code 1961, § 8:164; Ord. No. 1131, § 1, 1-4-1993)