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Fort Smith |
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Code of Ordinances |
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FORT SMITH MUNICIPAL CODE |
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Chapter 25. UTILITIES |
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Article VI. SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL |
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Division 1. GENERALLY |
§ 25-181. Abbreviations and definitions.
(a)
The following abbreviations, when used in this division, shall have the designated meanings:
BOD - Biochemical oxygen demand BMP - Best management practice CFR - Code of Federal Regulations CIU - Categorical industrial user COD - Chemical oxygen demand EPA - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gpd - Gallons per day mg/l - Milligrams per liter NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System POTW - Publicly owned treatment works RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act SIU - Significant industrial user SIC - Standard industrial classification TSS - Total suspended solids U.S.C. - United States Code (b)
Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this division, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:
Act or "The Act". The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.
Approval authority. Refers to the Director of Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) or a delegated representative.
Authorized representative of the user.
(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 (1) or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures to assure long term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for individual wastewater discharge permit [or general permit {optional}] requirements; and where 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 their designee.
(4)
The individuals described in subsections (1) through (3) above may designate a duly 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 of Fort Smith.
Biochemical oxygen demand or BOD. The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures in five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/L).
Best management practices or BMPs means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in Section 2.1 A and B [40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b)]. BMPs include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
Building drain. That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five (5) feet outside the building wall.
Building sewer. The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
Categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. section 1317) that apply to a specific category of Users and that appear in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405—471.
Categorical industrial user. An industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.
COD (denoting chemical oxygen demand). The measure of the oxygen consuming capacity of inorganic and organic matter present in the wastewater expressed in mg/L as the amount of oxygen consumed from a chemical oxidant in a specific test, but not differentiating between stable and unstable organic matter and thus not necessarily correlating with biochemical oxygen demand.
Collector building sewer. A sewer on private property, privately maintained, which serves more than one (1) building sewer. Collector building sewers shall be constructed with manholes at grade changes, changes in alignment and at termini, and with a diameter of at least six (6) inches, and such sewers shall be located outside building walls and footings.
Composite method (sample). A composite sample may be obtained through 24-hour flow proportional composite samples. Sampling may be done manually or automatically, and discretely or continuously. If discrete sampling is employed, at least twelve (12) aliquots should be composited. Discrete sampling may be flow proportioned either by varying the time interval between each aliquot or the volume of each aliquot.
Control authority. Refers to the city administrator or his or her designated agent.
Daily maximum limit. The maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the regional water management division director, the regional administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.
Existing source. Any source of discharge that is not a "new source."
Garbage. Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
Grab sample. A sample that is taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.
Indirect discharge or discharge. The introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source.
Industrial user. A source of indirect discharge, which does not constitute a "discharge of pollutants" under regulations issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1342).
Industrial wastes. The liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade or business, as distinct from sanitary sewage.
Inspector. The person or persons duly authorized by the control authority to inspect and approve the installation of the building sewers and their connections to the public sewer system.
Interference. A discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and, therefore, is a cause of a violation of the city's NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued there under, or any more stringent State or local regulations: Section 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); any state regulations contained in any State sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
Medical waste. 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.
National Categorical Pretreatment Standard (NCPS). Any regulation developed under the authority of 307 (b) of the Act and 40 CFR, Section 403.6 or the latest revision thereof.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit. A permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1342) as issued by the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology.
Natural outlet. Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface or groundwater.
New source.
(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 proposed pretreatment standards under section 307(c) of the Act that will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, 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 (1)b. or c. above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3)
Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:
a.
Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite construction program:
1.
Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
2.
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 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.
Noncontact cooling water. Water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
Owner. The "person" or "persons" who possess any interest in the structure or property to which such ownership relates.
Pass-through. A discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, are a cause of a violation of any requirement of the city's NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
Person. Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, 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, and local governmental entities.
pH. The logarithm of the reciprocal of the gram ionic hydrogen equivalents per liter of solution.
Pollutant. Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
Pretreatment. 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.
Pretreatment requirements. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a user, other than a pretreatment standard.
Pretreatment standards or standards. Pretreatment standards shall mean prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
Prohibited discharge standards or prohibited discharges. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in division 2 of this article.
Properly shredded garbage. The wastes from the preparation, cooking, dispensing of food that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half (½) inch in dimension.
Public sewer. A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have substantially equal right and which is controlled by the city.
Publicly owned treatment works or POTW. A treatment works, as defined by section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. section 1292), which is owned by [the city]. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances, which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.
Sanitary sewer. A sewer in which sewage is carried, and to which storm, surface and groundwaters are not intentionally admitted.
Septic tank waste. Any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
Sewage. A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industries, i.e., human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
Sewage treatment plant. Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.
Sewage works. All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.
Sewer. A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
Shall is mandatory; may is permissive.
Significant industrial user (SIU). A significant industrial user is:
(1)
An industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or
(2)
An industrial user that:
a.
Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater);
b.
Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five (5) 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 control authority on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
Slug load or slug discharge. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration, which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in division 2 of this article. A slug discharge is any discharge of a non routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a non customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through, or in any other way violate the POTW's regulations, local limits or permit conditions.
Storm drain (sometimes termed "storm sewer"). A sewer, which carries storm and surface water and drainage, but excludes sewage and untreated industrial wastes, other than noncontact cooling water.
Stormwater. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
Total suspended solids or suspended solids. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and that is removable by laboratory filtering.
Toxic pollutant. Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the administrator of the EPA under the provisions of the Clean Water Act, Section 307 (a) or other acts.
User. Any person or entity, who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the city's POTWs.
Wastewater. Liquid and water carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.
Wastewater treatment plant or treatment plant. That portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
Wastewater contribution permit. A permit to discharge to the city's wastewater treatment systems as outlined in division 2 of this article.
Watercourse. A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
(Ord. No. 80-11, § 1, 10-4-11)