§ 28-130. Prohibitions and limitations on discharges into the public sanitary sewerage system.
(a)
Policy statement.
(1)
The public sanitary sewerage system exists to provide for and allow the collection and/or removal of polluted wastewater compatible with normal domestic sewage treatment practices and procedures from public and private property. It is in the public interest that reasonable rules and regulations be applied to discharges into the public sanitary sewerage system so as to prevent the system from being unnecessarily burdened or excessively burdened, and so as enable the city to ensure that effluent from the public sanitary sewerage system will comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
(2)
Proper operation of the public sanitary sewerage system requires, among other things, the prohibition of any discharge components which would not be compatible with, or which would be harmful to or would interfere with the system. Proper operation of the system also requires that the system not be burdened with stormwater runoff and similar wastewater which should be discharged through the storm drainage system. Safe operation of the system also requires that discharge of toxic substances and other harmful materials into the system is regulated.
(b)
General prohibitions and limitations. No person shall discharge or deposit or cause or permit to be discharged or deposited to the public sanitary sewerage system any wastewater containing any pollutant or other material of such character or quality that will:
(1)
Not be susceptible to or compatible with treatment by the system, or interfere with or damage the system or the efficient operation of the system.
(2)
Constitute a hazard to human life, or to the stream or watercourse receiving the effluent of the system.
(3)
Violate any pretreatment standard or effluent limitation as defined in this section.
(4)
Cause the system to violate any applicable NPDES permit or any applicable receiving water quality standard.
(5)
Violate any of the specific prohibitions or limitations established by this division.
(c)
Specific prohibitions and limitations. No person shall discharge or deposit or cause or permit to be discharged or deposited to the public sanitary sewerage system any wastewater which at the point of connection to the system has or contains any of the following:
(1)
Unpolluted water. Any unpolluted water including, but not limited to, stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, or nonchemically treated cooling water. These waters shall be discharged into the public storm drainage system, pursuant to applicable city requirements.
(2)
Oils, grease and wax.
a.
More than 20 pounds per day of wax, grease or oil or at a concentration of more than 100 mg/l, whether emulsified or not, or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32 degrees and 150 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees and 65 degrees Celsius) at the point of discharge into the system.
b.
Any oil, wax or grease, whether emulsified or not, which will or may:
1.
Deposit oil, grease or wax in the sewer lines in such manner as to clog the sewers or impede the flow;
2.
Overload the sewage treatment facility's skimming and grease handling equipment;
3.
Not be amenable to biological oxidation and may therefore pass to the receiving stream without being affected by the normal sewage treatment process; or
4.
Have any other deleterious effect on the sewage treatment process due to excessive quantities or concentrations.
c.
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when they are necessary for the proper handling of wastewater containing free or emulsified oil and/or grease exceeding 100 mg/l, or any flammable wastes, or other harmful ingredient except that such interceptors shall not be required for dwelling units smaller than a four-plex. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the city and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
d.
1.
Any person who violates the provision of this subsection shall be served with written notice stating the nature of the violation and a time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof.
2.
Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit stated in the notice shall be administratively fined not less than $50.00 and not more than $500.00 per violation per day. Additionally, the certificate of occupancy for the premises may be revoked until the violation is corrected.
3.
Any person who violates any provision of this subsection may be charged for any costs incurred by the city in maintaining or repairing its wastewater treatment system resulting from the violation.
4.
Any person fined pursuant to this subsection shall, within five days of the fine, be entitled to an informal conference with the director of public operations to ascertain the appropriateness of the fine.
5.
Appeals from the decision of the director of public operations shall be first to the city's chief administrative officer and then to the Slidell City Court. Appeals to the chief administrative officer must be taken within five days of the director's decision. Appeals to Slidell City Court must be taken within ten days of the chief administrative officer's decision.
(3)
Explosive mixtures. 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 sewage disposal facilities or to the operation of the system). At no time shall two successive readings on a U.S. Bureau of Mines approved explosion hazard meter, at the point of discharge into the sewer system, be more than five percent nor any single reading over ten percent of the Lower Explosive Limit (L.E.L.) of the meter. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides.
(4)
Noxious material. Noxious or malodorous solids, liquids or gases, which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are capable of creating a public nuisance or hazard to human life, or are or may be sufficient to prevent entry into a sewer for its maintenance and repair. In no event shall any waste be discharged containing phenols at a concentration greater than 0.05 mg/l or other taste-producing or odor-producing substances in such concentrations as to affect the taste and odor of the receiving stream after passage through the sewage treatment process.
(5)
Color. Wastes causing discoloration not readily removable by the normal sewage treatment process.
(6)
Improperly shredded garbage. Garbage that has not been ground or comminuted to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely in suspension under flow conditions normally prevailing in the public sewers, with no particle greater than one-fourth inch in any dimension.
(7)
Radioactive wastes. Radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentrations that they do not comply with regulations or orders issued by the appropriate authority having control over their use or which exceed the standards of the state and/or the United States of America, or which will or may cause damage or hazards to the system, to personnel operating the system, or to receiving waters or the animal life therein.
(8)
Solid or viscous wastes. Solid or viscous wastes which will or may cause obstruction to the flow in a sewer, or otherwise interfere with the proper operation of the wastewater treatment system. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, grease, improperly comminuted garbage, animal guts or tissues, paunch manure, bones, hair, hides or fleshings, entrails, whole blood, feathers, ashes, cinders, sand, spent lime, stone or marble dust, metal, glass, straw, shavings, grass clippings, rags, spent grains, spent hops, wastepaper, wood, plastic, tar, asphalt residues, cutback asphalts, residues from refining or processing of fuel or lubricating oil, and similar substances.
(9)
Excessive discharge rate. Any waters or wastes with unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting slugs.
(10)
Toxic substances. Any toxic and/or poisonous substance in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with the existing sewage treatment process or with the biological processes or efficiency of such processes.
(11)
Incompatible or corrosive wastes.
a.
Any waste containing any incompatible pollutant or any substance which may cause corrosion or deterioration of the treatment system. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, acids, sulfides, concentrated halogen compounds and substances which will react with water to form acidic products.
b.
Substances which are not amenable to such treatment but do not have deleterious effects on the treatment system only to such degree, that the effluent of the system cannot meet the requirements of applicable federal and state laws and regulations or the requirements of any applicable NPDES permit.
c.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit discharge of components of domestic waste in amounts which are normal for residential discharges of domestic waste and insignificant in relation to their effect upon the effluent of the system.
(12)
pH. A pH of less than 6.0 or greater than 9.0.
(13)
Temperature. A temperature of greater than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius).
(14)
Suspended and dissolved solids. Total suspended solids (TSS) at a concentration greater than 250 mg/l.
(15)
BOD. BOD at a concentration greater than 230 mg/l.
(16)
Heavy metals. Any of the following elements at concentrations greater than those indicated opposite the element:
Heavy Metals mg/l Arsenic 0.05 Barium 3.0 Boron 0.5 Cadmium 0.002 Chromium (total) 1.0 Cobalt 0.15 Copper 0.5 Iron 100.0 Lead 0.1 Manganese 1.0 Mercury 0.005 Nickel 0.5 Selenium 0.02 Silver 0.1 Tin 1.0 Zinc 1.0 The following metals are not permitted above their detectible levels: Antimony; Bismuth; Strontium; Beryllium; Molybdenum; Rhenium; Tellurium; Uranyl ion.
(17)
Other elements and substances.
a.
Cyanides or cyanogen compounds capable of liberating hydrocyanic acid gas on acidification in excess of one mg/l as CN in the discharged waters or wastes.
b.
Any other agent, material, element or thing which either alone or by combination or interaction with other substances, will be harmful to the system, or to human or aquatic life, or to the receiving waters.
(18)
Portable human waste disposal facilities. Waste from any portable human waste disposal facilities commonly known as port-o-lets, port-o-johns or the like.
(d)
Pretreatment. In any case where pretreatment is required or is used to meet the requirements of this division with respect to a particular discharge, the pretreatment methods and systems used shall comply with this division and must be approved by the city in the permit issued to the discharger pursuant to this division.
(e)
Provisional discharges. Notwithstanding the limitations of subsection (c) of this section, wastewater having BOD greater than 230 mg/l, having total suspended solids (TSS) greater than 250 mg/l, or having any combination thereof, may be allowed to be discharged into the public sanitary sewerage system, provided that the following special conditions and requirements are met:
(1)
The wastewater must be shown and must continue to show amenability to treatment by the treatment plant processing the waste. Such evidence as required by the city must be provided when required at intervals of not less than every six months or when there is reason to believe that a significant change in the discharge has occurred.
(2)
Discharges pursuant to this subsection shall be called "provisional discharges," and may be made only pursuant to special permission of the city granted in a permit issued pursuant to this division and it is expressly understood that the holder of the permit has no vested interest or right in such provisional discharge permit.
(3)
The permission of the city for a provisional discharge may be revoked at any time the city determines that such revocation is necessary to protect the sanitary sewerage system, the sewage treatment process, the receiving stream thereof, or the public health and welfare, or to fulfill any other requirement of this division and/or any applicable federal or state law or regulation.
(4)
Any permit issued pursuant to this division which permits a provisional discharge within the meaning of this subsection shall remain in effect for a period of not more than one year, during which time the discharger may be required to construct at his expense adequate pretreatment facilities to reduce BOD and/or TSS to those levels established by this division.
(f)
Grease trap/interceptor maintenance and record requirements. Grease traps/interceptors shall be cleaned on a regular basis to ensure efficient operation. The necessary frequencies of cleaning will vary depending on the nature of the facility. Factors that may affect cleaning frequency are types of food, cooking methods, cleaning techniques, carry-out verses dine-in, and the volume of grease discharged. Facilities with high grease loading may need to clean their traps/interceptors as often as monthly. Facilities with undersized interceptors, especially under-the-counter units, shall clean their interceptors weekly or even daily if necessary.
To properly clean a grease trap/interceptor, the entire contents (liquids and solids) need to be pumped out. Leaving accumulated solids in the bottom of grease traps/interceptors can lead to short-circuiting and reduce retention times, as well as, producing unpleasant odors.
Maintenance of external large grease traps/interceptors shall be performed by qualified grease or septic haulers. These services shall empty the entire contents with a pumper truck and haul the grease to an approved site.
Inspections and record keeping. The city inspectors shall inspect all traps/interceptors and review all cleaning records. Customers who fail to contact city inspectors after an attempt has been made by such inspector shall be subject to the penalties under this section. Maintenance and cleaning records shall be kept on file and accessible by the customer for the city inspectors review upon request. Receipts or manifests from private pumping septic and grease haulers should indicate destination of hauled material. The records shall be made available to the City of Slidell upon request. Maintenance records should contain the following information.
Date of maintenance
Item removed
Approximate amount removed
Disposal location
Authorized signature or initials for verificationCustomers who fail to comply with grease trap/inceptor maintenance and record requirements shall be subject to penalties under subsections 28-131(m)(1) and (2) of this division.
(Code 1966, § 14-46; Ord. No. 3017, 7-10-2001; Ord. No. 3614, 5-24-2011; Ord. No. 3817, 6-14-16; Ord. No. 3823, 7-12-16)