Legal Documents of Jefferson City

Purpose and policy. This policy sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the City of Jefferson City (city) and enables the city to comply with applicable state and federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (33 United States Code § 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR, part 403).

The objectives of this policy are:

1. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system which will interfere with the operation of the system or contaminate the resulting sludge.
2. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into any waters of the state or otherwise be incompatible with the wastewater treatment system;
3. To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludges from the municipal system;
4. To protect both municipal personnel who may be affected by sewage, sludge and effluent in the course of their employment and the general public;
5. To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance and improvement of the municipal wastewater system; and
6. To ensure that the city complies with its NPDES conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements and any other federal or state laws to which the municipal wastewater system is subject.

This policy provides for the regulation of direct and indirect contributors to the municipal wastewater system through the issuance of permits to certain non-domestic users and through the enforcement of general requirements for the other users, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires user reporting and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.

This policy shall apply to all users of the municipal wastewater system as operated by the City of Jefferson City. Except as otherwise provided herein, the public works director shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this policy. By discharging wastewater into the municipal wastewater system, industrial users located outside the city limits agree to comply with the terms and conditions established in this policy, as well as with any permits, enforcement actions, or orders issued hereunder.

Definitions and abbreviations. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this policy, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated:

 

1. "Act" or "the Act." The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 251, et seq.
2. "Approval authority." The Director of the Division of Water Resources for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) or his/her representative.
3. An authorized representative o f the industrial user may be:
   1. A principle executive officer of, at least the level of vice president, if the industrial user is a corporation.
   2. A general partner or proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership o r proprietorship, respectively.
   3. A duly authorized representative of the individual designated above or his designated representative, if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities, from which the discharge to the POTW originates.
   4. A director or the highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or his designee, if the industrial user is a federal, state or local facility.
   5. If the designation of an authorized representative is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility, or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, a new authorization satisfying the requirements of this section must be submitted to the public works director prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an authorized representative.
4. "Best Management Practices or BMPs." BMP means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in section 2 .1 [Tennessee Rule 0400-40-14-.05(1)(a) and (2)]. 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 [Note: BMPs also include alternative means (i.e., management plans) of complying with, or in place of certain established categorical pretreatment standards and effluent limits.]
5. "Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)." The quantity of oxygen used in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five (5) days at twenty degrees centigrade (20° C), usually expressed as a concentration (e.g. mg/l)
6. "Building sewer." A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
7. "Bypass." The intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a user's treatment facility.
8. "Categorical industrial user." An industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.
9. "Categorical pretreatment 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.
10. "Control authority." The City of Jefferson City.
11. "Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized official of said agency.
12. "Grab sample." A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one (1) time basis, without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.
13. "Hauled wastewater." Any waste transported by a moving vehicle, such as a septic tank hauler, to a disposal site.
14. "Holding tank waste." Any waste from holding tanks, including but not limited to such holding tanks as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, wailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
15. "Indirect discharge or discharge." The discharge or the introduction of waste from any non-domestic source regulated under section 307)(b), (c), or (d) of the Act, (33 U.S.C. 1317 ), into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).

16. "Industrial user or user." Any user that contributes an indirect discharge to a publicly owned treatment works, as identified in the U.S. "Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1972," or latest revision under the following divisions:

    Division A - Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing.

    Division B - Mining.

    Division C - Construction.

    Division D - Manufacturing.

    Division E - Transportation, Communication, Electric, Gas, and Sanitary Services.

    Division F - Wholesale Trade

    Division G - Retail Trade

    Division H - Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate.

    Division I - Services.

    Division J - Public Administration.

    Division K - Non-classifiable Establishments.

17. "Interference." The inhibition or disruption o f the POTW treatment processes, operations or its sludge process, use, or disposal, which causes or contributes to a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit or prevents sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with specified applicable state and federal statutes, regulations, or permits. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with section 405 of the Act, (33 U.S.C. 1345) or any criteria, guidelines, or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (42 U.S.C. § 6901, et seq.), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (MPRSA) or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
18. "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.
19. "National 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. § 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users, and which appears in 40 CFR chapter 1 , subchapter N, parts 405-471.
20. National prohibitive discharge standard or prohibitive discharge standard." Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 18-602(1) of this policy and are developed under the authority of 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR, section 403.5.
21. "New source." (1) Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of Which commenced after the publication of proposed categorical 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 section 307(c), provided that:
    1. Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of Which commenced after the publication of proposed categorical 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 section 307(c), provided that:
       
        
       
       1. The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
       2. The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
       3. 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 (u)(1)(B) or (C) above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production, equipment.
    3. For purposes of this definition, construction of a new source has commenced if the owner or operator has:
       
        
       
       1. Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site 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
       2. 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 definition.
22. "Non-contact cooling water." Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
23. "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permit." A permit issued pursuant to section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342), or pursuant to the state under delegation from EPA.
24. "Non-discharge permit." A disposal system permit issued by the state.
25. "Pass-through." A discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or with discharges from other sources, causes a violation, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, of the POTW's NPDES or non-discharge permit, or a downstream water quality standard.
26. (skipped)
27. "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 government entities.
28. "pH." A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed as standard units, and calculated as the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
29. "Pollutant." Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
30. "POTW treatment plant." That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
31. "Pretreatment or treatment." 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 discharging or otherwise introducing such pollution into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes or other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
32. "Public works director." The person designated with the responsibility for the pretreatment program and enforcement of the provisions herein. The public work director may also designate an individual or individuals to be their duly appointed representative.
33. Pretreatment program. The program for the control of pollutants introduced into the POTW from non-domestic sources, which was developed by the city in compliance with 40 CFR 403.8.
34. "Pretreatment requirements." Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.
35. "Pretreatment standards." Prohibited discharge standards, categorical standards, and local limits.
36. "Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) or municipal wastewater system." A treatment works as defined by section 212 of the Act, (33 U.S.C. §1292) which is owned in this instance by the city. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant. For the purposes of this policy," POTW" shall also include any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW from persons outside the city who are, by contract or agreement with the city, or in any other way, users of the city's POTW.
37. "Sewage." The liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, mobile sources, treatment facilities and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and storm water that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
38. "Severe property damage." Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the user's treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
39. "Significant industrial user." The definition of such a user:
    1. Has an average daily process wastewater flow of twenty five thousand (25,000) gallons or more, or
    2. Contributes more than five percent (5%) of any design or treatment capacity (i.e., allowable pollutant load) of the wastewater treatment plant receiving the indirect discharge, or
    3. Is required to meet a national categorical pretreatment standard, or
    4. Is found by the city, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) to have the potential for impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industrial users, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system's effluent quality, or compliance with any pretreatment standards or requirements.
40. " Significant non-compliance or reportable non-compliance. A status of non-compliance defined as follows:
    1. Violations of wastewater discharge limits:
       
        
       
       1. Chronic violations. Sixty-six percent (66%) or more of the measurements exceed (by any magnitude) the same daily maximum limit or the same average limit in a six (6) month period.
       2. Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations. Thirty-three percent (33%) or more of the measurements are equal to or greater than the TRC times the limit (maximum or average) in a six (6) month period. There are two (20 groups of TRC's: For conventional pollutants BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease TRC -- 1.4; for all other pollutants TRC -- 1.2
       3. Any other violation(s) of an effluent limit (average or daily maximum) that the control authority believes has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through; or endangered the health of the sewage treatment plant personnel or the public.
       4. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health/welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge.
    2. Violations of compliance schedule milestones, contained in a pretreatment permit or enforcement order, for starting construction, completing construction, and attaining final compliance by ninety (90) days or more after the schedule date.
    3. Failure to provide reports for compliance schedule, self-monitoring data, baseline monitoring reports, ninety (90) day compliance reports, and periodic compliance reports within thirty (30) days from the due date.
    4. Failure to accurately report non-compliance.
    5. Any other violation or group of violations that the control authority considers to be significant.
41. "Slug load or discharge." Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through, or in any other way violates the POTW's regulations, local limits, or industrial user permit conditions. This can include but is not limited to spills and other accidental discharges; discharges of a non-routine, episodic nature; a noncustomary batch discharge; or any other discharges that can cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in § 18-602(1) of this policy.
42. "Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)." A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987.
43. "Storm water." Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting there from.
44. "Superintendent." The person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the publicly owned treatment works and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this policy, or his duly authorized representative.
45. "Suspended solids." The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater or other liquids, and which is removable by laboratory filtering.
46. "Upset." An exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the user. An upset does not include non-compliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
47. "Wastewater." The liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, mobile sources, treatment facilities and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and storm water that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
48. "Wastewater permit." As set forth in § 18-604(2) of this policy.
49. "Waters of the state." All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourse, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage systems and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the state or any portion thereof.

The following abbreviations when used in this policy, shall have the designated meanings:

BOD - Biochemical Oxygen Demand

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations

COD - Chemical Oxygen Demand

EPA -Environmental Protection Agency

gpd - Gallons per day

l - Liter

mg- Milligrams

mg/l - Milligrams per liter

NPDES - National Pollution Discharge Elimination System

O&M - Operation and Maintenance

POTW - Publicly-Owned Treatment Works

RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

SIC - Standard Industrial Classification

SWDA - Solid Waste Disposal Act

TSS - Total Suspended Solids

TKN - Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen

U.S.C. - United States Code.

(as added by Ord. #2024-08, Sept. 2024 Ch18_1-5-26)