Chapter 14.05 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter 14.05
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sections:

14.05.010 Purpose and policy.

A. This title sets forth uniform requirements for users of the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) operated by the city of Edmonds and/or King County, and enables the City to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR Part 403). The objectives of this title are:

1. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will interfere with the operation of the POTW;

2. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which will pass through the POTW, inadequately treated, into receiving waters or otherwise be incompatible with the POTW;

3. To ensure that the quality of POTW sludge is maintained at a level which allows its use and disposal in compliance with applicable statutes and regulations;

4. To protect POTW personnel who may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment and to protect the general public;

5. To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewater and biosolids from the POTW; and

6. To promote strategies that reduce the amounts of pollution generated by users, thereby reducing the associated hazards to the POTW and receiving waters.

B. This title shall apply to all users of the Mountlake Terrace sewer system and/or the POTW. This title defines certain prohibited discharges; sets forth local limits for use by state agencies in the issuance of wastewater discharge permits; authorizes monitoring, compliance, and enforcement activities; establishes administrative review procedures; requires user reporting; and provides for the recovery of liquidated damages and collection of penalties. (Ord. 2381 § 1, 2005).

14.05.020 Administration.

Except as otherwise provided herein, the Director shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this title. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the Director may be delegated by the Director to other City personnel or entity through an interlocal agreement. (Ord. 2381 § 1, 2005).

14.05.030 Definitions.

Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this title, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

A. “Accessible,” when applied to required pretreatment monitoring or treatment equipment, shall mean direct access without the necessity of removing any panel, door, vehicle, equipment, materials, or other similar obstruction.

B. “Act” or “the Act” means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1251 et seq., as now exists or may hereafter be amended.

C. “Administrative penalty (fine)” means a punitive monetary charge unrelated to treatment cost, which is assessed by the Director rather than by a court.

D. “AKART” is an acronym for “all known, available, and reasonable technology (prevention, control, and treatment) to prevent and control pollution of the waters of the state of Washington.” AKART shall represent the most current methodology that can be reasonably required for preventing, controlling, or abating the pollutants associated with a discharge. AKART shall be applied by all users of the POTW. AKART includes best management practices and may be required by the Director for any discharge to the POTW.

E. “Applicable pretreatment standards” means, for any specified pollutant, the more stringent of the City’s prohibitive standards, the City’s specific pretreatment standards, the city of Edmonds’ or King County’s prohibitive standards, or the city of Edmonds’ or King County’s specific pretreatment standards, the state of Washington’s pretreatment standards, or applicable national categorical pretreatment standards.

F. “Approval authority” means the state of Washington Department of Ecology.

G. “Authorized representative of the user” means:

1. If the user is a corporation:

a. The president, secretary, treasurer, 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

b. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities, if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures;

2. If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, a general partner or proprietor, respectively;

3. If the user is a federal, state or local governmental facility, a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or his/her authorized designee;

4. The individuals described in subsections (G)(1) through (3) of this section 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 written authorization is submitted to the City.

H. “Average daily flow” shall be defined as the arithmetical mean of the total process wastewater flow over a one-year period. This mean shall be calculated based on days when a discharge occurs.

I. “Best management practices (BMPs)” means the schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of “waters of the United States.” BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.

J. “Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)” means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter amenable to measurement by the methods described in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (current edition); under standard laboratory procedures for five days at 20 degrees centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration [milligrams per liter (mg/L)].

K. “Bypass” means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user’s treatment facility.

L. “Categorical pretreatment standard” or “categorical standard” means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the U.S. EPA in accordance with Sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 USC 1317) which apply to a specific category of users and which appear in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471.

M. “Categorical user” means a user covered by one or more of the EPA’s categorical pretreatment standards.

N. “City” means the City of Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

O. “Color” means the optical density at the visual wavelength of maximum absorption, relative to distilled water. One hundred percent transmittance is equivalent to zero optical density.

P. “Composite sample” means the sample resulting from the combination of individual wastewater samples taken at selected intervals based on an increment of either flow or time.

Q. “Cooling water/noncontact cooling water” means water used for cooling purposes which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product. Cooling water may be generated from any use, such as air conditioning, heat exchangers, cooling or refrigeration, to which the only pollutant added is heat.

R. “Day” shall be defined as a calendar day.

S. “Department, the” means the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) or authorized representatives thereof. (DOE is also the definition of the approval authority.)

T. “Director” means the Director of the City of Mountlake Terrace Public Works Department, or his duly authorized representative or designee. The Director’s designee may include appropriate pretreatment personnel from the city of Edmonds or King County.

U. “Domestic sewage” means the liquid and waterborne wastes derived from ordinary living processes, free from industrial wastewaters, and of such character to permit satisfactory disposal, without special treatment, into the POTW.

V. “Domestic user (residential user)” means any person who contributes, causes, or allows the contribution of wastewater into the City’s sewer system and/or the POTW that is of a similar volume and/or chemical make-up as that from a residential dwelling unit. Discharges from a residential dwelling unit typically include up to 100 gallons per capita per day at 250 mg/L of BOD and TSS.

W. “Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)” means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, or other duly authorized official of said agency.

X. Existing Source. For a categorical user, an “existing source” is any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication by EPA of proposed categorical pretreatment standards, which will be applicable to such source if the standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with Section 307 of the Act.

Y. Existing User. For noncategorical users, an “existing user” is defined as any user which is discharging wastewater prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title.

Z. Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG). The term “fats, oils, and grease” shall mean those components of wastewater amenable to measurement by the methods described in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (current edition). The term “fats, oils and grease” shall include polar and nonpolar fats, oils, and grease and other components extracted from wastewater by these methods.

AA. “Food service facility” means any facility which prepares and/or packages food for sale or consumption, on- or off-site, with the exception of private residences. Food service facilities shall include, but are not limited to, food manufacturers, food packagers, restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, lounges, hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, churches, schools, and all other food service facilities not listed above.

AB. “Grab sample” means a sample which is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the wastestream and without consideration of time.

AC. “Grease interceptor” means a device located underground and outside of a food service facility designed to collect, contain or remove food wastes and grease from the wastestream while allowing the balance of the liquid waste to discharge to the sewer system.

AD. “Grease trap” means a device located in a food service facility or under a sink designed to collect, contain or remove food wastes and grease from the wastestream while allowing the balance of the liquid waste to discharge to the sewer system.

AE. “High strength waste” means any waters or wastewater having a concentration of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) or total suspended solids (TSS) in excess of 250 mg/L.

AF. “Indirect discharge” or “discharge” means the introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source regulated under Section 307(b), (c), or (d) of the Act. The discharge into the POTW is normally by means of pipes, conduits, pumping stations, force mains, constructed drainage ditches, surface water intercepting ditches, and all constructed devices and appliances appurtenant thereto.

AG. “Industrial wastewater” means water or liquid-carried waste from any industry, manufacturing operation, trade, or business which includes any combination of process wastewater, cooling water, contaminated stormwater, contaminated leachates, or other waters such that the combined effluent differs in some way from purely domestic sewage, or is subject to regulation under federal categorical pretreatment standards, the state waste discharge permit program, or this title.

AH. “Interceptor” means a device designed and installed so as to separate and retain deleterious or undesirable matter from normal wastes and permit normal liquid wastes to discharge to the sewer system.

AI. “Interference” means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, either:

1. Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations;

2. Inhibits or disrupts its sludge processes, use or disposal; or

3. Is a cause of a violation of the city of Edmonds’ NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory or regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder:

a. Section 405 of the Clean Water Act;

b. The Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), including Title II, commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA);

c. The Code of Federal Regulations Title 40 Part 503, Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge;

d. Any state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA;

e. The Clean Air Act;

f. The Toxic Substances Control Act; and

g. The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.

AJ. “Lateral, service” means the sewer pipe portion that extends from a street main to the property line, there to be connected with a side sewer pipe to serve buildings or residences on property abutting the street.

AK. “Liquid waste” is the discharge from any appliance, appurtenance, or other fixture in connection with a plumbing system that does not receive fecal matter.

AL. “Maximum allowable discharge limit” means the maximum concentration (or loading) of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time.

AM. “May” means a permissive or discretionary directive.

AN. “Medical wastes” means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.

AO. “New source” means:

1. 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 applicable categorical standards; provided, that:

a. The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or

b. The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or

c. 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.

2. 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 subsection (AO)(1)(b) or (c) of this section but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

3. Construction of a new source as defined under this subsection has commenced if the owner or operator has:

a. Begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:

i. Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or

ii. 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

b. Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment that 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 subsection.

AP. New User. A “new user” is not necessarily a “new source” and is defined as a user that applies to the City for a new building permit or any person who occupies an existing building and plans to discharge wastewater to the City’s collection system after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title. Any person that buys an existing facility that is discharging nondomestic wastewater will be considered an “existing user” if no significant changes are made in the operation.

AQ. “Pass through” means a condition occurring when discharges from users (singly or in combination) exit the POTW in quantities or concentrations which either: (1) cause a violation of any requirement of a City NPDES or state waste discharge permit; (2) cause an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation; or (3) cause a violation of any water quality standard for waters of the state promulgated under state regulations including Chapter 173-201A WAC.

AR. “Permittee” means a person or user issued a wastewater discharge permit or discharge authorization.

AS. “Person” means any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents, or assigns. This definition includes all federal, state, or local governmental entities.

AT. “pH” means a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed in standard units. (Technically defined as the logarithm of the reciprocal of the mass of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.)

AU. “Pollutant” means any substance discharged into a POTW or its collection system which, if discharged directly, would alter the chemical, physical, biological or radiological properties of waters of the state of Washington, including pH, temperature, taste, color, turbidity, oxygen demand, toxicity or odor. This includes any discharge likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to any beneficial uses, terrestrial or aquatic life, or to public health, safety or welfare.

AV. “Pretreatment” means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to (or in lieu of) introducing such pollutants into the POTW. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes; by process changes; or by other means (except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants, unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard).

AW. “Pretreatment requirements” means any substantive or procedural local, state, or federal requirement related to pretreatment developed under Chapter 90.48 RCW and/or Sections 307 and 402 of the Clean Water Act.

AX. “Pretreatment standards” or “standards” means any pollutant discharge limitations including categorical standards, state standards, and limits of MTMC 14.10.040 applicable to the discharge of nondomestic wastes to the POTW. The term shall also include the prohibited discharge standards of this title, WAC 173-216-060, and 40 CFR Part 403.5.

AY. “Process wastewater” means industrial wastewater minus cooling water/noncontact cooling water.

AZ. “Prohibited discharge standards” or “prohibited discharges” means absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in MTMC 14.10.010(A) and (B).

BA. “Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)” means a “treatment works,” as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 USC 1292). This definition includes all devices, facilities, or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastewaters of a liquid nature and any conveyances that convey wastewater to a treatment plant. The term also means the city of Edmonds wastewater treatment plant. Further, the term also means those conveyances and treatment facilities that receive or treat wastewater flows from the City.

BB. Sanitary Flow. See “Sewage.”

BC. “Septic tank waste” means any domestic and/or residential sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.

BD. “Sewage” means water-carried human wastes or a combination of water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, food preparation, etc.) as may be present.

BE. “Sewer” means any pipe, conduit, ditch, or other device used to collect and transport sewage from the generating source.

BF. “Shall” means a mandatory directive.

BG. “Side sewer” means the sewer pipe which runs from the building whence sewage is taken to the property line and connection with the lateral, service sewer.

BH. “Significant industrial user (SIU)” means:

1. A user subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or

2. A user that:

a. Discharges an average daily flow of 25,000 GPD or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater); or

b. Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or

c. Is designated as such by the Department with input from the City on the basis that it, alone or in conjunction with other sources, has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement;

3. Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in subsection (BI)(2) of this section has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any applicable pretreatment standard or requirement, the Department may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from a user or the City (and in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.

BI. “Significant noncompliance (SNC)” shall refer to a violation or pattern of violation of one of the following natures:

1. “Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits,” defined here as those in which 66 percent or more of all wastewater measurements taken during a six-month period exceed the daily maximum limit or average limit for the same pollutant parameter by any amount;

2. “Technical review criteria (TRC) violations,” defined here as those in which 33 percent or more of all wastewater measurements taken for each pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied by the applicable TRC (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);

3. Any other discharge violation that the City believes has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of City personnel or the general public);

4. Any discharge of pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment, or has resulted in the City’s exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge;

5. Failure to meet, within 90 days after the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;

6. Failure to provide, within 30 days after the due date, any required reports, including baseline monitoring reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;

7. Failure to accurately report noncompliance; or

8. Any other violation(s) that the Director determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

BJ. “Slug load” means any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the discharge standards in MTMC 14.10.010 through 14.10.040 or any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to, an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge, or any discharge greater than or equal to five times the amount or concentration allowed by permit or this title.

BK. “Standard industrial classification (SIC) code” means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the United States Office of Management and Budget, as now exists or as may hereafter be amended.

BL. “State” means the state of Washington.

BM. “Stormwater” means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.

BN. Title, This. As used in Chapters 14.05 through 14.65 MTMC, “this title” shall mean the provisions of Chapters 14.05 through 14.65 MTMC.

BO. “Total suspended solids (TSS)” means the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and which is removable by laboratory filtering and is amenable to measurement by the methods described in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (current edition).

BP. “Toxic pollutant” means one of the pollutants, or combination of those pollutants, listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by EPA under Section 307 (33 USC 1317) of the Act, or other pollutants as may be promulgated.

BQ. “Treatment plant effluent” means the discharge from the POTW.

BR. “Upset” means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with applicable pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the user.

BS. “User” or “industrial user” means a source of indirect discharge. The source shall not include “domestic user” as defined herein.

BT. “Wastewater” means liquid and water-carried industrial wastewaters and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.

BU. “Wastewater discharge permit (industrial wastewater discharge permit, discharge permit, discharge authorization)” means an authorization or equivalent control document issued by the Department to users discharging wastewater to the POTW. The permit may contain appropriate pretreatment standards and requirements as set forth in this title.

BV. “Wastewater treatment plant” or “treatment plant” or “pollution control facility” means that portion of the POTW that is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial wastewater.

BW. “Zero discharge permit” means a permit for a categorical user that operates its processes so that no industrial wastewater is discharged to the POTW. (Ord. 2381 § 1, 2005).

14.05.040 Abbreviations.

The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:

AKART	All known available and reasonable technology
ASPP	Accidental spill prevention plan
BMPs	Best management practices
BOD	Biochemical oxygen demand
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations
COD	Chemical oxygen demand
EPA	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
FOG	Fats, oils, and grease
gpd	Gallons per day
l	Liter
LEL	Lower explosive limit
mg	Milligrams
mg/L	Milligrams per liter
MSDS	Material safety and data sheet
NOV	Notice of violation
NPDES	National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
O&M	Operation and maintenance
OSHA	Occupational Safety and Health Administration
POTW	Publicly owned treatment works
RCRA	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 USC 6901 et seq.
RCW	Revised Code of Washington
SIC	Standard industrial classifications
SIU	Significant industrial user
SNC	Significant noncompliance
SWDA	Solid Waste Disposal Act, Chapter 70.95 RCW
TSS	Total suspended solids
UPC	Uniform Plumbing Code
USC	United States Code
WAC	Washington Administrative Code

With regards to abbreviations contained in this chapter, the use of the singular shall be construed to include the plural and the plural shall include the singular as indicated by the context of its use. (Ord. 2381 § 1, 2005).