Legal Documents of Maryville

1. Purpose and policy. This ordinance sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the City of Maryville, Tennessee, hereinafter known as the city and enables the city to comply with all applicable state and federal laws required by the Clean Water Act of 1977, as amended, and the State of Tennessee's General Pretreatment Regulations, and the Federal Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR, part 403).
   The objectives of this ordinance are:
   1. To protect the public health;
   2. 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 or biosolids;
   3. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the municipal wastewater system which will pass through the system, inadequately treated, into receiving water or the atmosphere or otherwise be incompatible with the system;
   4. To improve the opportunity to recycle and reclaim wastewaters, biosolids and sludges from the system; and

   5. To provide for equitable distribution of the cost of the municipal wastewater system.

      This ordinance 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 enforcement of general requirements for the other users, authorizes monitoring and enforcement activities, requires user reporting, assumes that existing customer's capacity will not be preempted, and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.

      This ordinance shall apply to the City of Maryville and to persons outside the city who are, by contract or agreement with the city, users of the City of Maryville's Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Except as otherwise provided herein, the city manager or his representative shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this ordinance.

2. Definitions. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this ordinance, 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. 1251, et. seq.
   2. "Administrative penalty." A punitive monetary charge unrelated to actual treatment costs which is assessed by the control authority rather than a court of law.
   3. "Administrative order." A document which orders the violator to perform a specific act or refrain from an act. For example, an order may require users to attend a show cause hearing, cease and desist discharging or undertake activities pursuant to a compliance schedule.
   4. "Administrator." The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
   5. "Appeal authority." The local appeal authority shall consist of the current members of the City Council of the City of Maryville, whose chairman shall be the mayor, or any member(s) of the city council or any officer(s) or employee(s) of the city so designated as the appeal authority by the city council. The appeal authority shall conduct hearings concerning appeals of the decisions of the hearing authority.
   6. "Approval authority." The Director of the Division of Water Resources, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). The approval authority is responsible for approval and oversight of the control authority pretreatment programs, including the evaluation of the effectiveness of local enforcement.
   7. "Authorized representative of industrial user."
      1. If the user is a corporation:
         1. 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
         2. The manager of one 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 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 paragraphs (i) through (iii), 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 control authority.
   8. "Best Management Practices (BMPs)." Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in § 18-202(1) [40 CFR 403.5(a)(l) 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.
   9. "Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)." The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five (5) days at twenty degrees Centigrade (20° C) (sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (68° F) expressed in terms of weight [pounds per day (lb/day)] and concentration [milligrams per liter (mg/l)].
   10. "Biosolids." Sludge which complies with the requirements of 40 CFR part 503 and is applied to the land in order to condition the soil or fertilize crops and/or vegetables.
   11. "Building drain." The 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 three (3) feet outside the inner face of the building wall.
   12. "Building sewer." That part of the horizontal piping of a drainage system which extends from the end of the building drain and which receives the discharge of the building drain and conveys it to a POTW, private sewer, individual sewage disposal system or other point of disposal.
   13. "Bypass." The intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion ofa user's treatment facility.
   14. "Categorical standards; categorical pretreatment standards." National categorical pretreatment standards or pretreatment standard.
   15. "Categorical industrial user." An industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards.
   16. "Cease and desist order." An administrative order directing a user to immediately halt illegal or unauthorized discharges.
   17. "Chronic violation." The term used to describe violations of a wastewater discharge permit when the limit for any one parameter listed in the permit is exceeded by any magnitude for sixty-six percent (66%) or more of the total industrial self-monitoring plus control authority compliance monitoring measurements made in a six (6) month period.
   18. "City." The City of Maryville, Tennessee.
   19. "City manager." The person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the POTW and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this section, or his duly authorized representative.
   20. "Compatible pollutant." Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, and fecal coliform bacteria; plus any additional pollutants identified in the publicly owned treatment works NPDES permit, where the publicly owned treatment works is designed to treat such pollutants and, in fact, does treat such pollutants to the degree required by the POTW's NPDES permit.
   21. "Compliance order." An administrative order directing a noncompliant user to achieve or restore compliance by a date specified in the order.
   22. "Compliance schedule." A schedule of required activities (also called milestones) necessary for a user to achieve compliance with all pretreatment program requirements with dates for achieving each milestone.
   23. "Composite sample--twenty-four (24) hour flow proportional composite sample." A sample consisting of several wastewater portions during a twenty-four (24) hour period in which the portions are proportional to the flow and combine to form a representative sample.
   24. "Consent order." An administrative order embodying a legally enforceable agreement between the control authority and the noncompliant user designed to restore the user to compliance status.
   25. "Control authority." The City Manager of the City of Maryville or his designated representative.
   26. "Cooling Water. The water discharge from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
   27. "Criminal prosecution." A criminal charge brought by the control authority against an accused violator. The alleged criminal action may be a misdemeanor or a felony and is defined as willful, negligent, knowing and/or intentional violations. A court trial-by-jury is generally required and, upon conviction, punishment may include a monetary penalty, imprisonment or both.
   28. "Customer." Any individual, partnership, corporation, co-partnership, company, joint stock company, trust, estate, government entity, or any other legal entity or their legal agents or assigns who receives sewer service from the city under either an expressed or implied contract requiring payment to the city for such service. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by context.
   29. "Daily average loading." The average over a three (3) month period of waste constituents found in a twenty-four (24) hour period in the sewage entering the influent of the POTW treatment plant.
   30. "Daily maximum limits." The maximum allowable discharge of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharge over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
   31. "Domestic waste(s)." Liquid wastes (i) from the non-commercial preparation, cooking, and handling of food, or (ii) containing human excrement and similar matter from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions.
   32. "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.
   33. "Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standard" or "Pretreatment Standard." Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1347) which applies to a specific category of industrial users.
   34. "Felony." A crime punishable by imprisonment for greater than one year (depending on state law).
   35. "Fees." A schedule of charges imposed to recover treatment and or administrative costs (not punitive in nature).
   36. "Garbage." Solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
   37. "Grab sample." A grab sample is an individual sample collected from a waste stream, on a one (1) time basis, over a period of time not exceeding fifteen (15) minutes.
   38. "Hearing authority." The administrative board responsible for the administration and enforcement of an approved pretreatment program and the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated, §§ 69-3-123 through 69-3-129. The local hearing authority shall consist of the City Manager of the City of Maryville, and any member(s) of the city council or any officer(s) or employee(s) of the city so designated as the hearing authority by the city manager. The hearing authority shall conduct hearings concerning the pretreatment program in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated, §§ 69-3-123 through 69-9-129.
   39. "Holding tank waste." Any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
   40. "Indirect discharge." The discharge or the introduction of nondomestic pollutants from any source regulated under section 307(b) or (c) of the Act, (33 U.S.C. 1317), into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
   41. "Industrial user." A source of indirect discharge which does not constitute a "discharge of pollutants" under regulations issued pursuant to section 502 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1342).
   42. "Injunction, injunctive relief." A court order which restrains or compels action by the user.
   43. "Instantaneous maximum limit." The maximum allowable concentration of a pollutant determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
   44. "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; or exceeds the design capacity of the treatment works or collection system.
   45. "Jurisdiction." The extent of authority of a governmental entity's power to make and enforce laws.
   46. "Litigation." An enforcement action brought in a judicial (court) forum.
   47. "Misdemeanor." A crime punishable by imprisonment of less than one (1) year (depending on state law).
   48. "Natural outlet." Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or groundwater.
   49. "New source." Any source, the construction of which is commenced after the publication of proposed regulations prescribing a section 307(c) (33 U.S.C. 1317) categorical pretreatment standard which will be applicable to such source, if such standard is thereafter promulgated within one hundred twenty (120) days of proposal in the Federal Register. Where the standard is promulgated later than one hundred twenty (120) days after proposal, a new source means any source, the construction of which is commenced after the date of promulgation of the standard. In order to be considered a new source, the following provisions must be met:
       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.
          1. Construction on the 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 this section but otherwise alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment.
          2. Construction of a new source as defined under this section has commenced if the owner or operator has:
             1. Begun, or caused to begin as a 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 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 section.
   50. "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" or "NPDES" permit. A permit issued pursuant to section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1342).
   51. "Normal sewage." Sewage shall be regarded as normal for the City, if analyses show a daily average loading of not more than three hundred (300) milligrams per liter of BODS; not more than eight hundred (800) milligrams per liter of COD; not more than three hundred (300) milligrams of total suspended solids; not more than thirty (30) milligrams per liter of ammonia-nitrogen; not more than sixty (60) milligrams per liter of total nitrogen; and not more than one hundred (100) milligrams per liter of ether soluble matter (oil and grease).
   52. "Notice of violation." A control authority document notifying a user that it has violated pretreatment standards and requirements. Generally used when the violation is relatively minor and the control authority expects the violation to be corrected within a short period of time.
   53. "Pass-through." Violation of the state issued pass-through limits established for the discharge from the POTW treatment plant.
   54. "Penalty." A monetary or other punitive measure, usually associated with a court action, for a violation of the law.
   55. "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. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicted by the context.
   56. "QH." The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
   57. "Pollution." The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.
   58. "Pollutant." Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.
   59. "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 to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, process changes or other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR section 403.6(d).
   60. "Pretreatment requirements or standards." Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a National Pretreatment Standard imposed on an industrial user, including, but not limited to, discharge limits, sampling requirements, analytical requirements, reporting requirements and compliance schedules.
   61. "Priority pollutants." A list of one hundred twenty-six (126) pollutants established by EPA and considered hazardous to the environment or to humans.
   62. "Properly shredded garbage." The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles are carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers with no particle greater than one-half inch (1/2") in any dimension.
   63. "Public sewer." A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and are controlled by public authority.
   64. "Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW)." 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 sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant, but does not include pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment. For the purposes of this ordinance, "POTW" shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons inside and outside the city who are, by contract or agreement with the city, users of the city's POTW.
   65. "POTW treatment plant." The portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
   66. "Sanitary sewer." A sewer which carries sewage from dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels) office buildings, factories, or institutional buildings and into which storm, surface, and groundwaters are not intentionally admitted.
   67. "Self monitoring." Sampling and analysis of wastewater performed by the user.
   68. "Sewer." A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage and other waste liquids.
   69. "Shall" is mandatory; "May" is permissive.
   70. "Show cause hearing." A formal hearing requiring the user to appear before the local hearing authority and demonstrate why the control authority should not take a proposed enforcement action against the user.
   71. "Significant industrial user." Any industrial user of the City's wastewater disposal system who (i) is subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N; or (ii) has an average discharge flow of twenty-five thousand gallons (25,000) gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW; or (iii) contributes five percent (5%) or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or (iv) is designated as such by the control authority, approval authority or EPA on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
   72. "Significant non-compliance." Criteria used by the control and approval authorities to identify important violations and/or patterns of noncompliance. This criteria is used to establish enforcement priorities and comply with special reporting requirements. An industrial user is in significant noncompliance if its violation(s) meets one (1) or more of the following criteria:
       1. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent ( 66%) or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter taken during a six (6) month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits;
       2. Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three percent (33%) or more of wastewater measurements taken for each pollutant parameter during a six (6) month period equals or exceeds the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits multiplied by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
       3. Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by § 18-202 (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, narrative standard, or best management practices) that the control authority determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through at the POTW, including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general 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;
       5. Failure to meet, within ninety (90) days after the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in the discharge permit or an enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
       6. Failure to provide, within forty-five (45) days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety (90) day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
       7. Failure to accurately report non-compliance;
       8. Any other violation or group of violations which the control authority determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
   73. "Significant violation." A violation which remains uncorrected forty-five (45) days after notification of noncompliance; or which is part of a pattern of noncompliance over a twelve (12) month period; or which involves a failure to accurately report noncompliance; or which results in the POTW exercising its emergency authority under 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(vi)(B) and 403.8(f)(2)(vii).
   74. "Sludge" or "Sewage sludge." The solid, semi-solid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a POTW. Sludge includes, but is not limited to, scum or solids removed in primary, secondary or advanced wastewater treatment processes as well as any material derived from sewage sludge. Sludge does not include grit and/or screenings generated during preliminary treatment.
   75. "Slug discharge." Any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge.
   76. "Slug control plan." A plan to control slug discharges, which shall include, as a minimum, (i) description of discharge practices, including non-routine batch discharges; (ii) description of stored chemicals, (iii) procedures for immediately notifying the POTW of slug discharges, including any discharge that would violate a discharge prohibition under this ordinance, or 40 CFR 403.S(b ), with procedures for follow-up written notification within five (5) days; (iv) if necessary, procedures to prevent adverse impact from accidental spills, including inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site runoff, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants (including solvents) and/or measures and equipment for emergency response.
   77. "State." The State of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
   78. "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, 1972.
   79. "Storm sewer" or "Storm drain." A pipe or conduit which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes; it may, however, carry cooling waters and unpolluted waters, upon approval of the mayor or his representative.
   80. "Storm water." Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting there from.
   81. "Surcharge." A fee charged to users in excess of the normal sewer use charge to cover the additional expenses incurred by the POTW for treatment of compatible pollutants of a higher concentration than the POTW treatment plant was designed to treat, but which do not cause an interference with the POTW.
   82. "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.
   83. "Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violation." The term used to describe violations of a wastewater discharge permit when:
       1. The limit for BOD, total suspended solids, ammonia-nitrogen, or fats, oils and grease is exceeded by forty percent (40%) for thirty-three percent (33%) or more of the total industrial self-monitoring plus control authority compliance monitoring measurements made in a six (6) month period; or
       2. The limit for any other pollutant, except pH, is exceeded by twenty percent (20%) for thirty-three percent (33%) or more of the total industrial self-monitoring plus control authority compliance monitoring measurements made in a six (6) month period.
   84. "Testimony." A solemn declaration made by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or public official which is used as evidence.
   85. "Toxic pollutant." Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the provision of CWA 307(a) or other Acts.
   86. "Unpolluted water or waste." Any water or waste containing no free or emulsified grease or oil; acid or alkali; phenols or other substances imparting taste and odor in receiving water; toxic and poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state or solution; and noxious or odorous gases and/or other polluting materials.
   87. "User." Any customer who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the city's POTW.
   88. "Wastewater." The liquid-and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and storm water that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
   89. "Wastewater discharge permit." As set forth in § 18-205(3) of this ordinance.
3. Abbreviations. The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:
   • BODS - Five (5) day Biochemical Oxygen Demand.
   • CFR - Code of Federal Regulations.
   • COD - Chemical Oxygen Demand.
   • CWA - Clean Water Act.
   • EPA - Environmental Protection Agency.
   • l - Liter.
   • LEL - Lower Explosive Limit
   • mg - Milligrams.
   • mg/l - Milligrams per liter.
   • NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
   • POTW - Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
   • SIC - Standard Industrial Classification.
   • SWDA - Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901, et. seq.
   • TSS - Total Suspended Solids.
   • U.S.C. - United States Code. (Ord. #2021-42, Dec. 2021)

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