Chapter 14.01
GENERAL PROVISIONS, DEFINITIONS, AND ABBREVIATIONS
Sections:
14.01.020 Connection approval required.
14.01.030 Definitions of terms commonly used.
14.01.040 Definition of additional terms.
14.01.005 General provisions.
The intent of Chapters 14.01 through 14.08 is to provide legal authority in accordance with the requirements of 40 CFR 403.8, General Pretreatment Regulations. “The publicly owned treatment works shall operate pursuant to legal authority enforceable in Federal, State, or Local courts, which authorizes or enables the publicly owned treatment works to apply and to enforce the requirements of Sections 307(b) and (c), and 402(b)(8) of the Clean Water Act, as amended and any regulations implementing those sections. Such authority may be contained in a statute, ordinance, or series of contract or joint powers agreements which the publicly owned treatment works is authorized to enact, enter into, or implement, and which are authorized by state law.” Comply with state law, OAR 340-45-063. (Ord. 1676(part), 1992; Ord. 1618 §9(part), 1989).
14.01.010 General.
A. Chapters 14.01 through 14.08 set forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater treatment system. The objectives are:
1. To prevent the introduction of any pollutants into the wastewater treatment plant which will interfere with or damage the operation of the treatment plant, including interference with its use or disposal of the resulting sludge;
2. To prevent the introduction of any pollutants into the wastewater treatment plant which will pass through the treatment plant, inadequately treated, into the Rogue River or its tributaries or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the treatment plant operation;
3. To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters and sludges from the treatment plant;
4. To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of the wastewater treatment system;
5. To provide for the efficient use of the wastewater treatment system for the benefit of the user;
6. To provide for the protection of the health and welfare of employees working in the sewer system.
B. Chapters 14.01 through 14.08 provide for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the wastewater treatment system through the issuance of permits to certain nondomestic users and through enforcement of general requirements for all users, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires user reporting and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs.
C. The plant superintendent shall initiate contact with the jurisdictional participant regarding any restrictive action within their jurisdiction prior to the action, except in an emergency. In an emergency, contact shall be initiated with the jurisdictional participant at the earliest practical time. (Ord. 1676(part), 1992; Ord. 1618 §9(part), 1989).
14.01.020 Connection approval required.
No industrial waste connection shall be made to the sewer system without prior approval of the manager/plant superintendent. All conditions allowing industrial waste connection to the sewer system defined in the industrial waste discharge permit shall be satisfied prior to system connection. Jurisdictional participants shall assure that the industrial user completes the application for sewer use permit form and forwards same to the plant superintendent and Bear Creek Valley Sanitary Authority. (Ord. 1676(part), 1992; Ord. 1618 §9(part), 1989).
14.01.030 Definitions of terms commonly used.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases when used in this title shall have the meanings hereinafter set forth in this section, whether appearing in capital or lower case form.
1. “Act” or “the Act” means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.
2. “Applicable pretreatment standards” means the most stringent regulation for any specified pollutant regulated by degree or amount by this title, local limits, State of Oregon Pretreatment Standards, or National Categorical Pretreatment Standards.
3. “Approval authority” means the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
4. “Authorized representative of the industrial user.”
a. If the industrial user is a corporation, “authorized representative” means:
i. The president, secretary, 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; or
ii. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities employing more than two hundred fifty persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding twenty-five million dollars (in second-quarter 1980 dollars), if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
b. If the industrial user is a partnership, association, or sole proprietorship, an “authorized representative” means a general partner of the proprietor.
c. If the individual user is representing federal, state or local governments, or an agent thereof, an “authorized representative” means a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility.
d. The individuals, described in paragraphs a through c 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 authorization is submitted to the plant superintendent.
5. “Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)” means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under a standard laboratory procedure in five days at a temperature of twenty degrees centigrade, expressed in milligrams per liter, or parts per million by weight. Sampling and analysis shall be performed in accordance with the techniques prescribed in 40 CFR Part 136 and amendments thereto.
6. “Categorical pretreatment standard” or “categorical standard” means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the U.S. EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users and which appears in 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405--471, incorporated herein by reference.
7. “Combined sewer” or “system” means a conduit or system of conduits in which both sewage and stormwater are transported.
8. “Commercial building” means all buildings or premises used for any purpose other than a dwelling unit, but not an industrial user.
9. “Compatible pollutant” means biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, and fecal coliform bacteria, plus additional pollutants which the treatment plant is designed to treat.
10. “Constituent” means one of the functional elements into which a waste material or substance may be divided. Typical constituents referred to, for example, within this document are cadmium, copper, cyanide, lead, nickel, chromium, mercury, zinc, etc., the smaller parts of which constitute a whole.
11. “Cooling water” means the water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
12. “Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)” means the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality or, where appropriate, the terms may also be used as a designation for the director of the department or other duly authorized official of the department.
13. “Direct discharge” means the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the state of Oregon.
14. “Extra-strength industrial waste discharge” means industrial, commercial or hospital industrial wastes discharged into the sewer system containing a total of more than sixty pounds of biochemical oxygen demand, or suspended solids in any one day and having an average strength in excess of three hundred ppm of biochemical oxygen demand or suspended solids.
15. “Garbage” means solid wastes originating from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of foods, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
16. “Grab sample” means a sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.
17. “Holding tank waste” means any waste which has been stored in holding tanks, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
18. “Indirect discharge” means the introduction of pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works from any nondomestic source regulated under Section 307(b), (c) or (d) of the Act.
19. “Industrial user” or “user” means a source of indirect discharge.
20. “Industrial waste” means any liquid, solid or gaseous waste discharged into a sanitary sewer which, by characteristic, quantity or constituent, exceeds normal domestic levels. Includes any industrial or commercial discharge that meets the above stated criteria.
21. “Industrial waste discharge permit” means a permit to discharge industrial wastes into the wastewater collection and treatment system issued under the authority of Chapters 14.04 through 14.08 and which prescribes certain discharge requirements and limitations.
22. “Industrial waste pretreatment program” means the program approved by the Department of Environmental Quality regulated through the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Waste Discharge Permits, and administered by the treatment plant for the purpose of complying with federal, state and local regulations governing industrial waste discharge to the wastewater treatment system.
23. “Interceptor” means a sanitary sewer which receives the flow from a number of trunk, main, or lateral sewers and transports it to a treatment plant or other point of disposal. Generally an interceptor collects the flow from a number of trunks, mains or laterals which would otherwise discharge to a natural outlet.
24. “Interference” means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:
a. Inhibits or disrupts the sewer system, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and
b. Therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirements of the NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent federal, state or local regulations): Section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and including 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.
25. “Jurisdictional participant” means the participant that has the legal jurisdiction within certain defined boundaries as now or hereafter constituted.
26. “Lateral” means a sanitary sewer which will receive the flow from service connections and discharge into a main, truck or interceptor.
27. “Leachate” means a solution or product obtained when a liquid percolates through a material and results in dissolving and transporting of soluble materials.
28. “Local limit” means a technically based constituent limit specific to the ability of the treatment plant to treat the constituent so it does not upset or inhibit the treatment process, pass through to the Rogue River, or limit or inhibit the beneficial use of sludge and treated effluent.
29. “Main” means a sanitary sewer which will receive the flow from one or more laterals and which will discharge into a trunk or interceptor.
30. “Manager” means the legal representative for the jurisdictional participant.
31. “Manager/plant superintendent.” This notation indicates joint action by the jurisdictional participant and the plant superintendent. Both will be cosignatories to the action. The manager is considered the legal representative for the jurisdictional participant. The plant superintendent is the responsible authority in administering the industrial waste pretreatment program.
32. “May” is permissive.
33. “National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit” means a permit issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality which prescribes operating and effluent limitations relating to the treatment of sewage.
34. “National pretreatment standard” means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act, which applies to industrial users. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to Section 403.5
35. “New source” means:
a. 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 which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
i. The building, structure; facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
ii. The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
iii. 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.
b. 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 paragraphs (a)(ii), or (a)(iii) of this section but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
c. Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:
i. Begun or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:
(A) Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment, or
(B) 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
ii. 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 paragraph.
36. “Participant” means a governmental entity that is party to the Regional Sewer Agreement dated September 1985, and subsequent amendments, between the Bear Creek Valley Sanitary Authority, city of Central Point, city of Jacksonville, city of Medford and the city of Phoenix.
37. “Pass-through” means a discharge which exits the treatment plant 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 treatment plants NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
38. “Person” means any individual, partnership, firm, company, trust, estate, governmental entity, or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.
39. “pH” means the common logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. pH shall be determined by one of the procedures outlined in Standard Methods. (pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.)
40. “Plant superintendent” means the city of Medford WQCP superintendent or duly designated representative with authority to administer the industrial waste pretreatment program and respond to the requirements of regulatory agencies with respect to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit held by the water quality control plant.
41. “Pollution” means the manmade or man-induced alteration of chemical, physical, biological and radiological integrity of water.
42. “Pretreatment” or “treatment” means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into the sewer system. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological process, or process changes by other means, except intentional dilution as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment is prohibited.
43. “Pretreatment requirement” means any substantive or procedural requirement, other than a National Pretreatment Standard, imposed on an industrial user.
44. “Prohibited pollutant” means any pollutant contained in the discharge to the sewer system which is prohibited in its entirety or regulated by degree or amount by Chapters 14.01 through 14.08.
45. “Properly shredded garbage” means the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow and conditions normally prevailing in public sewers.
46. “Regional Committee.” The regional committee is made up of one representative of each participant that collects and discharges wastewater to the treatment plant. The primary function of this committee is to review and approve the schedule of charges for wastewater treatment and to resolve appeals as provided in Section 14.07.070 of this title, conduct informational and fact-gathering hearings, both to and from users, staff and the technical advisory group, and such other duties as may be assigned under the terms of this title and the Regional Sewer Agreement, dated September, 1985, and any subsequent amendments to that agreement.
47. “Regional facilities” means the components of the sewer system used to intercept and treat domestic and industrial wastewater within the boundaries of the contributors to the water quality control plant.
48. “Sanitary sewer” means a pipe or conduit designed or used to transport sewage and to which stormwater, surface and groundwaters are not admitted intentionally.
49. “Sewer system” means all components of the sewer system used to collect and treat domestic and industrial wastewater within the boundaries of the contributors to the water quality control plant.
50. “Sewer user” means every person using any part of the sewer system.
51. “Shall” is mandatory.
52. “Significant Industrial User.”
a. Except as provided in paragraph (b) below, the term “significant industrial user” shall mean: (1) industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards, and (2) any other industrial user that: (i) discharges an average of twenty-five thousand GPD or more of process wastewater, (ii) contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the treatment plant, or (iii) is designated as significant by the plant superintendent on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for causing pass-through or interference.
b. Upon a finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in paragraph (a)(2) of this section has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the sewer system’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the plant superintendent may, in accordance with 40 CFR Section 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a significant industrial user.
53. “Significant Noncompliance.”
a. Sixty-six percent or more of wastewater measurements taken during a six-month period exceed the discharge limits for the same pollutant by any amount;
b. Thirty-three percent or more of wastewater measurements taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
c. Any other discharge violation that the plant superintendent believes has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through (including endangering the health of personnel or the general public);
d. Any discharge of pollutants that has caused imminent endangerment to the public or to the environment, or has resulted in the plant superintendent’s exercise of emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;
e. Failure to meet, within ninety days of the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
f. Failure to provide, within thirty days after the due date, any required reports, including baseline monitoring reports, ninety-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
g. Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
h. Any violation(s) which the plant superintendent has reason to believe are significant.
54. “Slug” means any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period longer than fifteen minutes, more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flows, during normal operation and includes any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge.
55. “SPCC” means spill prevention, containment and countermeasure plan as defined in 40 CFR Section 112.
56. “Standard methods” means the examination and analytical procedures set forth in the most recent edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, published by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Pollution Control Federation and the supplement to this document titled Selected Analytical Methods Previewed and Cited by the U.S. EPA.
57. “Storm drain” means a conduit designed or used exclusively to transport stormwater.
58. “Stormwater” means waters on the surface of the ground or underground resulting from rainfall or other natural precipitation.
59. “Suspended solids” or “total nonfilterable residue” means solids that either float on the surface, or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids; and which are removable by laboratory filtering in accordance with procedures set forth in Standard Methods.
60. “Technical Advisory Group.” The technical advisory group is comprised of the managers and administrators or other representatives of the participants. The primary function of this committee is to make recommendations to the regional committee on the following matters: technical information, rates, systems development charges and other matters requested by the regional committee.
61. “This ordinance” means Chapters 14.01 through 14.08, inclusive.
62. “Toxic pollutants” or “noncompatible pollutants” means substances listed on the priority pollutant list prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and any other substances in which additional information available indicates toxicity or hazardous levels.
63. “Treatment plant” means the Vernon Thorpe Water Quality Control Plant (WQCP) at 1100 Kirtland Road, Central Point, operated by the city of Medford, the wastewater treatment facility.
64. “Unpolluted water or liquids” means any water or liquid containing none of the following: free or emulsified grease or oil; acids or alkalis; substances that may impart taste-and-odor or color characteristics; toxic or poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state or solution; odorous or otherwise obnoxious gases. It shall meet the state standards for water used in recreation. Analytical determinations shall be made in accordance with procedures set forth in Standard Methods and other approved EPA methods.
65. “Upset” means an exceptional incident in which a discharger unintentionally and temporarily is in a state of noncompliance with the discharge requirements set forth in Chapters 14.01 through 14.08 or existing permit due to factors beyond the reasonable control of the discharger, and excluding noncompliance caused by operation error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance or careless or improper operation.
66. “Wastewater” means the liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the WQCP.
67. “Wastewater treatment system” means the components of the sewer system used to intercept and treat domestic and industrial wastewater within the boundaries of the contributors to, and including, the treatment plant.
68. “Water Quality Control Plant (WQCP).” See “treatment plant” in subsection 63 of this section. (Ord. 1676(part), 1992; Ord. 1618 §9(part), 1989).
14.01.040 Definition of additional terms.
Words, terms or expressions peculiar to the art or science of sewerage not hereinabove defined shall have the respective meanings given in Glossary, Water and Wastewater Control Engineering, published in 1981, prepared by a joint committee representing the American Public Health Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Water Works Association, and the Water Pollution Control Federation. (Ord. 1676(part), 1992; Ord. 1618 §9(part), 1989).
14.01.050 Abbreviations.
The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:
1. BOD--Biochemical Oxygen Demand
2. CFR--Code of Federal Regulations
3. COD--Chemical Oxygen Demand
4. DEQ--Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
5. EPA--Environmental Protection Agency
6. l--Liter
7. mg--Milligrams
8. mg/l--Milligrams per liter
9. NPDES--National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
10. OAR--Oregon Administrative Rules
11. O&M--Operation and maintenance
12. SIC--Standard Industrial Classification
13. SWDA--Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq.
14. USC--United States Code
15. WQCP--Water Quality Control Plant
16. TSS--Total Suspended Solids
(Ord. 1676(part), 1992; Ord. 1618 §9(part), 1989).