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Table of Contents » Title 18 Water and Sewers » Chapter 1 General Wastewater Regulations » § 18-109 Discharge regulations.
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18
Title 18
18-1
Title 18, Chapter 1
18-101
§ 18-101
Sweetwater
Title 18 : Water and Sewers
Chapter 1 : General Wastewater Regulations

18-109 : Discharge regulations.

  1. General discharge prohibitions. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which will pass-through or interfere with the operation and performance of the WWF. These general prohibitions apply to all such users of a WWF whether or not the user is subject to national categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements. Violations of these general and specific prohibitions or the provisions of this section may result in the issuance of an industrial pretreatment permit, surcharges, discontinuance of water and/or sewer service and other fines and provisions of §§ 18-110 or 18-205. A user may not contribute the following substances to any WWF:
    1. Any liquids, solids, or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the WWF or to the operation of the WWF. Prohibited flammable materials including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flash point of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit (140○ F) or sixty degrees Centigrade (60○ C) using the test methods specified in 40 C.F.R. 261.21. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketone, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromate, carbides, hydrides and sulfides and any other substances which the city, the state or EPA has notified the user is a fire hazard or a hazard to the system.
    2. Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.5 or higher than 9.5 or wastewater having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and/or personnel of the WWF.
    3. Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer or other interference with the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities including, but not limited to: grease, garbage with particles greater than one-half inch (1/2") in any dimension, waste from animal slaughter, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, waste paper, wood, plastics, mud, or glass grinding or polishing wastes.
    4. Any pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference to the WWF.
    5. Any wastewater having a temperature which will inhibit biological activity in the WWF treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater with a temperature at the introduction into the WWF which exceeds forty degrees Centigrade (40○ C), one hundred four degrees Fahrenheit (104○ F) unless approved by the State of Tennessee.
    6. Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or pass-through.
    7. Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the WWF in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.
    8. Any wastewater containing any toxic pollutants, chemical elements, or compounds in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to injure or interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to humans, including wastewater plant and collection system operators, or animals, create a toxic effect in the receiving waters of the WWF, or to exceed the limitation set forth in a categorical pretreatment standard. A toxic pollutant shall include but not be limited to any pollutant identified pursuant to section 307(a) of the Act.
    9. Any trucked or hauled pollutants except at discharge points designated by the WWF.
    10. Any substance which may cause the WWF's effluent or any other product of the WWF such as residues, sludges, or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case, shall a substance discharged to the WWF cause the WWF to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal criteria, 40 C.F.R. 503, guidelines, or regulations developed under section 405 of the Act; any criteria, guidelines, or regulations affecting sludge use or disposal developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or state criteria applicable to the sludge management method being used.
    11. Any substances which will cause the WWF to violate its NPDES permit or the receiving water quality standards.

    12. Any wastewater causing discoloration of the wastewater treatment plant effluent to the extent that the receiving stream water quality requirements would be:

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  4. Fats, oils and grease traps and interceptors.
    1. Fat, Oil, and Grease (FOG), waste food, and sand interceptors. FOG, waste food and sand interceptors shall be installed when, in the opinion of the superintendent, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing fats, oils, and grease, any flammable wastes, ground food waste, sand, soil, and solids, or other harmful ingredients in excessive amount which impact the wastewater collection system. Such interceptors shall not be required for single family residences, but may be required on multiple family residences. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the superintendent, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
    2. Fat, oil, grease, and food waste.
      1. New construction and renovation. Upon construction and renovation, all restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, motels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, grocery stores, prisons, jails, churches, camps, caterers, manufacturing plants and any other sewer users who discharge applicable waste shall submit a FOG and food waste control plan that will effectively control the discharge of FOG and food waste.
      2. Existing structures. All existing restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, motels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, grocery stores, prisons, jails, churches, camps, caterers, manufacturing plants and any other sewer users who discharge applicable waste shall be required to submit a plan for control of FOG and food waste, if and when the superintendent determines that FOG and food waste are causing excessive loading, plugging, damage or potential problems to structures or equipment in the public sewer system.
      3. Implementation of plan. After approval of the FOG plan by the superintendent the sewer user must:
        1. Implement the plan within a reasonable amount of time;
        2. Service and maintain the equipment in order to prevent impact upon the sewer collection system and treatment facility. If in the opinion of the superintendent the user continues to impact the collection system and treatment plan, additional pretreatment may be required, including a requirement to meet numeric limits and have surcharges applied.
    3. Sand, soil, and oil interceptors. All car washes, truck, washes, garages, service stations and other sources of sand, soil, and oil shall install effective sand, soil, and oil interceptors. These interceptors shall be sized to effectively remove sand, soil, and oil at the expected flow rates. The interceptors shall be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent impact upon the wastewater collection and treatment system. Owners whose interceptors are deemed to be ineffective by the superintendent may be asked to change the cleaning frequency or to increase the size of the interceptors. Owners or operators of washing facilities will prevent the inflow of rainwater into the sanitary sewers.
    4. Laundries. Commercial laundries shall be equipped with an interceptor with a wire basket or similar device, removable for cleaning, that prevents passage into the sewer system of solids one-half inch (1/2") or larger in size such as strings, rags, buttons, or other solids detrimental to the system.
    5. Control equipment. The equipment of facilities installed to control FOG, food waste, sand and soil, must be designed in accordance with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation engineering standards or applicable city guidelines. Underground equipment shall be tightly sealed to prevent inflow of rainwater and easily accessible to allow regular maintenance. Control equipment shall be maintained by the owner or operator of the facility so as to prevent a stoppage of the public sewer, and the accumulation of FOG in the lines, pump stations and treatment plant. If the city is required to clean out the public sewer lines as a result of a stoppage resulting from poorly maintained control equipment, the property owner shall be required to refund the labor, equipment, materials and overhead costs to the city. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit or restrict any other remedy the city has under this chapter, or state or federal law. The city retains the right to inspect and approve installation of control equipment.
    6. Solvents prohibited. The use of degreasing or line cleaning products containing petroleum based solvents is prohibited. The use of other products for the purpose of keeping FOG dissolved or suspended until it has traveled into the collection system of the city is prohibited.
    7. The superintendent may use industrial wastewater discharge permits under § 18-202 to regulate the discharge of fat, oil and grease. (as replaced by Ord. #883, July 2012)
Date Last Updated: 08/05/2024
Codification Date: 03/01/2004

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Doyle F. Lowe
Vice Mayor - Sam Moser
Commissioner - Lamar Hughes
Commissioner - Johanna Jinks
Commissioner - Alan Richeson
Commissioner - James A. Stutts
Recorder - Sonya Crush
City Attorney - John Cleveland
 

Date Last Updated: 08/05/2024
Codification Date: 03/01/2004

Officials at Date of Last Codification:

Mayor - Doyle F. Lowe
Vice Mayor - Sam Moser
Commissioner - Lamar Hughes
Commissioner - Johanna Jinks
Commissioner - Alan Richeson
Commissioner - James A. Stutts
Recorder - Sonya Crush
City Attorney - John Cleveland