Chapter 13.20
USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS
Sections:
13.20.010 Discharges into sanitary sewers restricted.
13.20.020 Discharge of storm water and other unpolluted drainage.
13.20.030 Discharge of certain waters or wastes prohibited.
13.20.040 Discharge of certain substances subject to approval of public works director.
13.20.050 Actions by public works director regarding prohibited discharges.
13.20.055 Pretreatment standards.
13.20.060 Grease, oil and sand separators.
13.20.070 Maintenance of preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities.
13.20.080 Installation of control manholes required.
13.20.090 Measurement, testing and analysis standards.
13.20.100 Special agreements for industrial waste treatment.
13.20.010 Discharges into sanitary sewers restricted.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water, or unpolluted industrial process waters into any sanitary sewer. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.020 Discharge of storm water and other unpolluted drainage.
Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the public works director. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged on approval of the public works director to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet; provided, that the public works director may require sampling and testing or other satisfactory proof of water quality. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.030 Discharge of certain waters or wastes prohibited.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:
A. Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas;
B. Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids, or gases in sufficient quantity, either singularly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, or which constitute a hazard to humans or animals, or create a public nuisance, or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant;
C. Any waters or wastes having corrosive properties capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the sewage works;
D. 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 such as, 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 and paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders;
E. No person may deposit any garbage, rubbish, dead animal, or any substance having a tendency to obstruct the flow of the sewer in any sewer, access portal, manhole, lamp-hole, flush tank, or sewer opening. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.040 Discharge of certain substances subject to approval of public works director.
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters, or wastes, if it appears likely in the opinion of the public works director that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process, or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the public works director 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 substances prohibited are:
A. Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees centigrade);
B. Any water or waste containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit (zero and 65 degrees centigrade);
C. Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the public works director;
D. Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solution whether neutralized or not;
E. Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc, and similar objectionable or toxic substances; or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement, to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the public works director for such materials;
F. Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste or odor-producing substances, in such concentration exceeding limits which may be established by the public works director as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage, to meet the requirements of the state, federal or other public agencies of jurisdiction of such discharge to the receiving waters;
G. Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the public works director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
H. Any nonsystem wastewater. Typical examples of nonsystem wastewater include wastewater from mobile vehicle washing operations, commercial vactor wastewater, concrete cutting wastewater and landfill leachate;
I. 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 degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.050 Actions by public works director regarding prohibited discharges.
If any waters or wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in MVMC 13.20.040 and which, in the judgment of the public works director, may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment, or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the public works director may:
A. Reject the wastes;
B. Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;
C. Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or
D. 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 MVMC 13.20.100.
If the public works director permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the public works director and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.055 Pretreatment standards.
The national categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471, adopted, and hereafter amended by the EPA pursuant to the Act, and Washington State pretreatment standards found at WAC 173-216-060 and Chapter 173-303 WAC, adopted, and hereafter amended by the Washington State Department of Ecology are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full. These standards shall be met by all industrial users of the regulated industrial categories.
The public works director may also issue additional pretreatment standards pursuant to MVMC 13.20.050.
The pretreatment standards shall be kept on file in the office of the public works director, the office of the finance director, the office of the wastewater manager, and shall be made available to the public. The pretreatment standards shall be updated periodically, as warranted, and kept current with federal and state regulations and industry standards. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.060 Grease, oil and sand separators.
A. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the public works director, 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 dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the public works director and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
B. Construction. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperatures, and shall be of substantial construction, watertight, and equipped with easily removable covers which, when bolted in place, are gastight and watertight.
C. Maintenance. Where installed, all grease, oil and sand interceptors must be maintained by the owner, at the owner’s expense and liability, in good order and condition, at all times. All interceptors shall be inspected and maintained at least every six months unless more frequent inspection and maintenance is required by operating conditions. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.070 Maintenance of preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities.
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 expense. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.080 Installation of control manholes required.
When required by the public works director, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying sewage 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 wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the public works director. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense, and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.090 Measurement, testing and analysis standards.
All measurements, tests, and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this title shall be conducted 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 control manhole provided, or 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 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 outflows of a premises is appropriate or whether a grab sample or samples 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. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.100 Special agreements for industrial waste treatment.
No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or agreements between the city and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the city for treatment, subject to payment therefor, by the industrial concern. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).
13.20.110 Confidentiality.
A. A person submitting or allowing the examination of data required by the director of public works in the performance of the regulatory purposes of the city’s wastewater pretreatment pro-gram may, by written request contemporaneous with the disclosure, stating in specific detail the data sought to be protected and the basis of the claim of confidentiality, request the director to keep in confidence information given under the program.
B. The person must segregate from other information the data sought to be protected at the time of submittal.
C. Requests for confidentiality may relate to trade secrets or similar commercially valuable information. Approval of confidentiality is subject to any applicable laws requiring the disclosure of public records information and, further, does not apply to requests by other governmental agencies for purposes relating to the NPDES or pretreatment programs or in any enforcement proceedings relating to this chapter. Wastewater constituents, characteristics, or other “effluent data” as defined in 40 CFR 2.302 may not be granted confidentiality protection.
D. In ruling on confidentiality requests, the director, with the advice of the city attorney, may consider the practices of federal and state agencies and the purposes of the program. A determination of confidentiality may be revoked upon reasonable notice to the person who submitted the confidential data. (Ord. 3481 § 2, 2010).