Chapter 13.04 SEWER USE REGULATIONS

Chapter 13.04
SEWER USE REGULATIONS

Sections:

13.04.010 Use of public sewers required.

13.04.030 Disposal of sewage and liquid waste.

13.04.010 Use of public sewers required.

A. Except as provided in this title, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage.

B. The owner of any house, building, or property used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes situated within the city and abutting on any street, alley, or right-of-way in which a public sanitary or combined sewer of the city is available is hereby required, at his or her expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein, and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this title within ninety days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within one hundred-fifty feet of the property line. If an on-site pressure system is required for a service connection, the operation and maintenance costs for that system shall be the responsibility of the owner or user.

C. Sanitary sewers are available to a parcel when that parcel borders a right-of-way or easement containing a municipal sewer main and when the main extends at least ten feet inside a perpendicular line drawn from the sewer main to any corner of the parcel which touches the right-of-way or easement.

D. Septage shall be disposed of into the sewer system at the location and in the manner authorized by the superintendent. (Ord. 88-05, 1988.)

13.04.020 Private sewage disposal.

A. Where a public sanitary or combined sewer is not available under the provisions of Section 13.04.010, the building sewer shall be connected to a private sewage disposal system complying with the requirements of the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and/or any other state governmental bodies having jurisdiction over this type of facility.

B. The owner shall operate and maintain the private sewage disposal facilities in a sanitary manner at all times, at no expense to the city.

C. At such time as a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private sewage disposal system as provided in Section 13.04.010, a direct connection shall be made to the public sewer in compliance with this title. Any septic tanks, cesspools, and similar private sewage disposal facilities shall be cleaned of sludge, abandoned, and filled with gravel or dirt. The cleaning, abandonment, and backfilling shall be done in accordance with state regulations in effect at the time the work is to be performed.

D. No statement contained in this title shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the city and any domestic user whereby a waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the city for treatment, subject to payment therefor, by the user. (Ord. 88-05, 1988.)

13.04.030 Disposal of sewage and liquid waste.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to dispose of sewage, liquid wastes, or human excreta within the jurisdiction of the city by any method other than through use of the city sewer, provided that the public sewer is available, as defined in Section 13.04.010.

B. It shall be unlawful to discharge to any natural outlet within the city or in any area under the jurisdiction of the city, any sanitary sewage, industrial wastes, or other polluted waters, except where suitable treatment has been provided in accordance with the subsequent provisions of this title.

C. It shall be unlawful for any user to discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes into the Dillingham sewerage system:

1. Any surface runoff, storm water, ground water, cooling water, or industrial process water;

2. Any water or waste containing more than one hundred milligrams per liter by weight of fat, oil, or grease; or any water or waste containing ashes, cinders, sand, mud, metal, glass, rags, plastics, wood, underground garbage, entrails, chemical residues, paint or ink residues, bulk solids, or any other 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 sewerage works;

3. Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, motor oil, mineral spirits, commercial solvent, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid, or gas;

4. Any water or wastes having a pH lower than 6.0 or higher than 9.0 or having any corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, or the life and health of the sewerage system personnel and/or the general public;

5. Any water or wastes containing toxic or poisonous substance in concentrations or quantities which, in the opinion of the superintendent, constitute a hazard to humans or animals or to interfere with any sewage treatment process or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, or which exceed limitations set forth in either a user’s permit or federal categorical pretreatment standard;

6. Any waters containing quantities of radioactive substances in excess of presently existing or subsequently accepted limits for drinking water as established by the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measuring;

7. Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or health that will pass through or interfere with the operation or maintenance of the Dillingham sewerage system, or that are sufficient to prevent entry into the Dillingham sewerage system for its maintenance and repair;

8. Any substance with objectionable color not removed in the Dillingham sewerage system;

9. Any substance that will cause the city to violate its NPDES permit;

10. Any wastewater in violation of a State of Alaska discharge limitation, including but not limited to “Solid Waste Management Regulations,” 18 AAC 60; “Water Quality Standards,” 18 AAC 70; and “Wastewater Disposal Regulations,” 18 AAC 72;

11. An increased amount of potable or process water to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the limitations contained in this title or any other applicable standard, limitation, or regulation;

12. Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred-fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

D. Admission into the sewer system of any waste or wastes in volumes or with constituents such that existing dilution conditions in the sewer or at the treatment plant will be affected to the detriment of the system shall be reviewed by the superintendent, which may require the customer discharging such wastes to install pretreatment or equalizing units of adequate design and capacity to bring constituent content or volume of flow within acceptable limits. Where preliminary treatment facilities or equalizing units are provided, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation at the owner’s expense.

E. All industrial and commercial process wastewater shall be pretreated before discharge to the public sewers, if necessary, in accordance with the provisions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, whichever is more stringent. Minimum pretreatment requirements are as follows:


Parameter	Maximum Concentration (mg/l)
BOD	300.0*
Suspended Solids (SS)	300.0*
TKN	30.0*
Arsenic	0.05
Barium	5.0
Boron	1.0
Cadmium	0.02
Chromium	0.05
Copper	0.02
Cyanide	0.05
Lead	0.10
Manganese	0.05
Mercury	0.002
Nickel	0.08
Selenium	0.02
Silver	0.01
Zinc	0.05
*BOD5, SS, and TKN may be increased by written approval of the superintendent for limited periods of time.

As a condition for authorization to dispose of industrial wastes through the sewerage system, the industrial applicant for a building sewer permit shall provide the city with information describing wastewater constituents and characteristics and the type of activity and quantity of production. (Ord. 88-05, 1988.)

13.04.040 Pretreatment.

A. If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers that contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in Section 13.04.030 of this title and which, in the judgment of the superintendent, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewerage system, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the superintendent may:

1. Reject acceptance of the discharge;

2. Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;

3. Require control over the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of this title;

4. Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of this title.

B. If the superintendent permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the facilities shall be subject to the review and approval of the superintendent and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances, and laws.

C. Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the superintendent, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand, or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the superintendent and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.

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

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

F. All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this title 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 upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that 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 sewerage system and to determine the existence of hazards of life, limb, and property. (Ord. 88-05, 1988.)