IV. Prohibited Wastes
14.12.220 Prohibited discharges.
A. In most cases, the concentration or amount of any particular constituent which will be judged to be excessive or unreasonable cannot be foreseen but will depend on the results of technical determinations and the actions of regulatory agencies. The list of constituents which may be regulated provides specific limits only where they are now reasonably well established. The other constituents in the list are presented with the objective of enumerating the types of wastes which will be regulated from time to time.
B. Except as provided in Section 14.12.230, no person shall discharge or cause to be discharged to a public sewer, which directly or indirectly connects to the city’s sewerage systems, the following wastes:
1. Any waste containing pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit or sixty degrees centigrade using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
2. Any waste containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in such quantities that, alone or in combination with other waste substances, may create a hazard for humans, animals or the local environment, interfere detrimentally with wastewater treatment processes, cause a public nuisance, or cause any hazardous condition to occur in the sewerage system;
3. Any waste having a pH less than 6.0 or greater than 12.0 or having any corrosive or detrimental characteristic that may cause injury to wastewater treatment or maintenance personnel or may cause damage to structures, equipment or other physical facilities of the sewerage system;
4. Any solids or viscous substances of such size or in such quantity that they may cause obstruction to flow in the sewer or be detrimental to proper wastewater treatment plant operations; these objectionable substances include, but are not limited to, asphalt, dead animals, offal, ashes, sand, mud, straw, industrial process shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, whole blood, paunch manure, bones, hair and fleshings, entrails, paper dishes, paper cups, milk containers, or other similar paper products, either whole or ground;
5. Any rainwater, stormwater, groundwater, street drainage, subsurface drainage, roof drainage, yard drainage, water from yard fountains, ponds or lawn sprays, swimming pool drainage, or any other uncontaminated water, unless specifically authorized by the city engineer;
6. Any water added for the purpose of diluting wastes which would otherwise exceed applicable maximum concentration limitations;
7. Any nonbiodegradable cutting oils, commonly called soluble oil which form persistent water emulsions;
8. Any excessive concentrations of nonbiodegradable oil, petroleum oil or refined petroleum products;
9. Any dispersed biodegradable oils and fats, such as lard, tallow or vegetable oil in excessive concentrations that would tend to cause adverse effects on the sewerage system;
10. Any waste with an excessively high concentration of cyanide;
11. Any unreasonably large amounts of undissolved or dissolved solids;
12. Any wastes with excessively high BOD, COD or decomposable organic content;
13. Any strongly odorous waste or waste tending to create odors;
14. Any wastes containing over 0.1 milligram/liter of dissolved sulfides;
15. Any substance promoting or causing the promotion of toxic gases;
16. Any waste having a temperature of one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit or higher or which would result in influent temperatures at the treatment plant in excess of one hundred four degrees Fahrenheit;
17. Any wastes requiring an excessive quantity of chlorine or other chemical compound used for disinfection purposes;
18. Any excessive amounts of chlorinated hydrocarbon or organic phosphorus type compounds;
19. Any excessive amounts of deionized water, steam condensate or distilled water;
20. Any waste containing substances that may precipitate, solidify or become viscous at temperatures between fifty degrees Fahrenheit and one hundred degrees Fahrenheit;
21. Any garbage or waste that is not ground sufficiently to pass through a three-eighths inch screen;
22. Any wastes containing excessive quantities of boron, chromium, phenols, plastic resins, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, mercury, cadmium, selenium, arsenic or any other objectionable materials toxic to humans, animals, the local environment or to biological or other wastewater treatment processes; in no event shall the below-specified limits for Plant 2 or Plant 3 be exceeded:
Plant 2 | Plant 3 | |
|---|---|---|
Arsenic | 0.81 mg/L | 1.00 mg/L |
Cadmium | 0.11 mg/L | 0.19 mg/L |
Chromium (total) | 4.28 mg/L | 5.00 mg/L |
Copper | 3.97 mg/L | 7.13 mg/L |
Lead | 0.90 mg/L | 1.48 mg/L |
Mercury | 0.20 mg/L | 0.09 mg/L |
Molybdenum | 0.80 mg/L | 1.47 mg/L |
Nickel | 0.75 mg/L | 6.64 mg/L |
Selenium | 0.59 mg/L | 0.45 mg/L |
Silver | 2.41 mg/L | 2.81 mg/L |
Zinc | 6.93 mg/L | 5.25 mg/L |
Benzene | 0.50 mg/L | 0.50 mg/L |
1,2-Dichlorobenzene | 0.30 mg/L | 0.50 mg/L |
1,4-Dichlorobenzene | 1.20 mg/L | 5.50 mg/L |
Ethylbenzene | 7.920 mg/L | 7.920 mg/L |
Methylene chloride | 31.0 mg/L | 44.0 mg/L |
Phenols | 2,000 mg/L | 300 mg/L |
Tetrachloroethene | non-detect | non-detect |
Toluene | 3.390 mg/L | 3.390 mg/L |
Total Dissolved Solids | 3,500 mg/L | 2,700 mg/L |
pH | 6-12 unit | 6-12 unit |
Notwithstanding the limitations that are specified above in this section:
a. The city may impose more restrictive standards or requirements on discharge if it is deemed necessary to comply with the objectives of this chapter, specific prohibitions or the terms of the city’s waste discharge order,
b. The city may authorize discharges containing higher concentrations on a site-specific basis, provided that the concentrations of such discharges shall not cause pass through or interference. Upon approval by the city, site-specific limitations shall be established through the terms specified in the discharger’s industrial wastewater discharge permit. The city may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, concentration based limitations. However, no special agreement shall be allowed to contravene federal, state or local pretreatment standards,
c. The city may develop best management practices (BMPs), by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits to implement local limits and the requirements of this section;
23. Any blowdown or bleed water from cooling towers or other evaporative coolers exceeding one-third of the makeup water;
24. Any single pass cooling water;
25. Any excessive quantities of radioactive material wastes;
26. Recognizable portions of the human anatomy.
C. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged to any public sewer which directly or indirectly connects to the city’s sewerage system any wastes, which will cause interference or pass through, or if in the opinion of the city engineer such wastes may have an adverse or harmful effect on sewers, maintenance personnel, wastewater treatment plant personnel or equipment, treatment plant effluent quality, public or private property, or may otherwise endanger the public, the local environment or create a public nuisance. The city engineer, in determining the acceptability of specific wastes, shall consider the nature of the waste and the adequacy and nature of the collection, treatment and disposal system available to accept the waste.
D. The city engineer shall from time to time prepare a list of the maximum permissible quantities or concentrations of certain constituents in industrial wastewater flows and otherwise issue detailed directions for meeting the requirements of this section. (Ord. 4740 § 1, 2013; Ord. 4540 § 3, 2008; Ord. 3667 § 1, 1995)