Town of Maggie Valley

Sewer Use Ordinance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page #

SECTION 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1 Purpose and Policy 1

1.2 Definitions and Abbreviations 1

SECTION 2 GENERAL SEWER USE REQUIREMENTS

2.1 Prohibited Discharge Standards 7

2.2 State Requirements 9

2.3 Right of Revision 9

2.4 Dilution 9

2.5 Pretreatment of Wastewater 9

2.6 Hauled Wastewater 10

2.7 Use of Public Sewers Required 10

2.8 Construction Requirements 10

2.9 Building Sewers and Connections 10

SECTION 3 FEES

3.1 Purpose 12

3.2 User Charges 12

3.3 Surcharges 12

SECTION 4 WASTEWATER DISCHARGE PERMITS

4.1 Wastewater Dischargers 14

4.2 Wastewater Discharge Permits 14

4.3 Grease Trap/Interceptor Standards and Requirements 14

SECTION 5 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

5.1 Reports from Unpermitted Users 18

5.2 Notification of the Discharge of Hazardous Waste 18

5.3 Timing 19

5.4 Record Keeping 19

SECTION 6 COMPLIANCE MONITORING

6.1 Monitoring Facilities 20

6.2 Inspection and Sampling 20

6.3 Search Warrants 20

SECTION 7 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 21

SECTION 8 ENFORCEMENT 21

8.1 Civil Penalties 21

8.2 Other Available Remedies 22

8.3 Remedies Nonexclusive 22

SECTION 9 SEVERABILITY 23

SECTION 10 CONFLICT 23

SECTION 11 EXTENSION POLICY 23

SECTION 12 EFFECTIVE DATE 23

SECTION I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1 Purpose and Policy

This ordinance sets forth uniform requirements for direct and indirect contributors into the wastewater collection and treatment system for the Town of Maggie Valley, hereafter referred to as the Town, and enables the Town to comply with all applicable State and Federal laws, including the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 United States Code § 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR, Part 403).

The objectives of this ordinance are:

(a) 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;

(b) 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 system;

(c) To protect municipal personnel who may be affected by sewage, sludge, and effluent in the course of their employment, as well as protecting the general public;

(d) To provide for the equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance and improvement of the municipal wastewater system; and

(e) To ensure that the municipality complies with its NPDES or Non-discharge Permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements and any other Federal or State laws to which the municipal wastewater system is subject.

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 and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.

This ordinance shall apply to all users of the Town’s wastewater system either within or outside of the Town limits, as authorized by N.C.G.S. 16OA-312 and/or 153A-275. The Town shall designate an administrator of the Publically Owned Treatment Works (POTW) hereafter referred to as the POTW Director. Except as otherwise provided herein, the POTW Director shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this ordinance. Any powers granted to or imposed upon the POTW Director may be delegated by the POTW Director to other Town personnel.

1.2 Definitions And Abbreviations

(a) 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) Approval Authority. The Director of the Division Of Water Quality in the North Carolina Department of Environment, and Natural Resources or his designee.

(3) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five (5) days at 20 degrees centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g. mg/1).

(4) Building Sewer. A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.

(5) Bypass. The intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a user’s treatment facility.

(6) Direct Discharge: The discharge of wastewater into any waters of the State.

(7) 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.

(8) Food Service Establishment. A facility discharging kitchen or food preparation wastewaters such as restaurants, motels, hotels, cafeterias, delicatessen, meat cutting preparation, bakeries, hospitals, schools, bars, or any other facilitiy which in the Town’s discretion, would require a grease trap installation by virtue of its operation.

(9) Grab Sample. A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.

(10) Grease Interceptor/Grease Trap. A device utilized to effect the separation of grease and oils in wastewater effluent from a Food Service Establishment. Such traps or interceptors may be of the “outdoor” or underground type normally of a 1,000 gallon capacity or more, or the “under-the-counter “ package units which are typically less than 100 gallon capacity. For the purpose of this definition, the words “trap” and “interceptor” are used interchangeably.

(11) Holding Tank Waste. Any waste from holding tanks, including but not limited to such holding tanks as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.

(12) Indirect Discharge or Discharge. The discharge or the introduction from any nondomestic 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).

(13) Interference. The inhibition, or disruption of 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 or Non-discharge 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, ei 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 prepared pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.

(14) 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.

(15) National Prohibitive Discharge Standard or Prohibitive Discharge Standard. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in section 2.1 of this ordinance and are developed under the authority of 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR, section 403.5.

(16) National Categorical Pretreatment Standard or Categorical Standard Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by 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 user.

(17) New Source. Any source, the construction of which is commenced after the publication of proposed regulations prescribing a section 307(c) (33 USC 1317) Categorical Pretreatment Standards which will be applicable to such source, if such standard is thereafter promulgated within 120 days of proposal in the Federal Register. Where the standard is promulgated later than 120 days aftrer proposal, a (A) new source means any source, the construction of which is commenced after the date of promulgation of the standard.

(18) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, Permit. A permit issued pursuant to section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342), or pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-215.1 by the State under delegation from EPA.

(19) Non-discharge Permit. A disposal system permit issued by the State pursuant to N.C.G.S. 143-215.1.

(20) 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.

(21) 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.

(22) 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.

(23) Pollutant. Any “waste” as defined in N.C.G.S. 143-213(18) and dredged spoil, solid incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, 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).

(24) Pollution. The man-made or man induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.

(25) POTW Director. The Town Manager of Maggie Valley is designated with the responsibility for the enforcement of this Sewer Use Ordinance.

(26) POTW Treatment Plant. That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.

(27) 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.

(28) 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 Town. 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 ordinance, "POTW" shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the Town who are, by contract or agreement with the Town, or in any other way, users of the POTW of the Town.

(29) Significant Industrial User. Any industrial user of the wastewater disposal system who has a process wastewater flow of 5% of the treatment plant capacity or .75 MGD or more per day.

(30) Significant Noncompliance or Reportable Noncompliance. A status of noncompliance defined as follows:

(i) Violations of wastewater discharge limits.

A. Any 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.

B. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health/welfare or to the environment and has resulted in the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority to halt or prevent such a discharge.

(ii) Violations of compliance schedule milestones, contained in a pretreatment permit or enforcement order, for starting construction, completing construction, and attaining final compliance by 90 days or more after the schedule date.

(iii) Failure to provide reports for compliance schedule, self-monitoring data, baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, and periodic compliance reports within 30 days from the due date.

(iv) Failure to accurately report noncompliance.

(v) Any other violation or group of violations that the control authority considers to be significant.

(31) Slug Load. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in section 2.1 of this ordinance.

(32) 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.

(33) Storm Water. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.

(34) Director The person designated by the Town to supervise the operation of the publicly owned treatment works and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this ordinance or his duly authorized representative.

(35) Suspended Solids. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater other liquids, and which is removable by laboratory filtering.

(36) Wastewater. The liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, 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.

(37) Wastewater Permit. As set forth in section 4.2 of this ordinance.

(38) Waters of the State. All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, 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.

(b) This ordinance is gender neutral and the masculine gender shall include the feminine and vice-versa.

(d) The use of the singular shall be construed to include the plural and the plural shall include the singular as indicated by the context of its use.

(e) The following abbreviations when used in this ordinance, shall have the designated meanings:

(1) BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand

(2) CFR Code of Federal Regulations

(3) COD Chemical Oxygen Demand

(4) EPA Environmental Protection Agency

(5) gpd Gallons per day

(6) 1 Liter

(7) mg Milligrams

(8) mg/l Milligrams per liter

(9) N.C.G.S. North Carolina General Statutes

(10) NPDES National Pollution Discharge Elimination System

(11) O&M Operation and Maintenance

(12) POTW Publicly-Owned Treatment Works

(13) RCRA Resource Conservation & Recovery Act

(14) SIC Standard Industrial Classification

(15) SWDA Solid Waste Disposal Act

(16) TSS Total Suspended Solids

(17) TKN Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen

(18) U.S.C. United States Code.

SECTION 2 – GENERAL SEWER USE REQUIREMENTS

2.1 Prohibited Discharge Standards

(a) General Prohibitions. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed into the POTW, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which causes interference or pass through. These general prohibitions apply to all users of a POTW whether or not the user is a significant industrial user or subject to any National, State, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.

(b) Specific Prohibitions. No user shall contribute or cause to be contributed into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:

(1) Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, waste streams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 14O degrees F (60 degrees C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21.

(2) Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference but in no case solids greater than one half inch (1/2”) in any dimension.

(3) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through.

(4) Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 10.5 or wastewater having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage to the POTW or equipment.

(5) Any wastewater containing pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants, (BOD, etc) in sufficient quantity, (flow or concentration) either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, to cause interference with the POTW.

(6) Any wastewater having a temperature greater than 150 degrees F (55 degrees C), or which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 1O4 degrees F (40 degrees C).

(7) Any pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.

(8) Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the POTW Director in accordance with section 2.6 of this ordinance.

(9) Any noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, or solids or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair.

(10) Any substance which may cause the POTW’s effluent or any other product of the POTW 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 POTW cause the POTW to be in noncompliance with sludge use or disposal regulations or permits issued under section 405 of the Act; 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 wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, including, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently impart sufficient color to the treatment plant’s effluent to render the waters injurious to public health or secondary recreation or to aquatic life and wildlife, or to adversely affect the palatability of fish or aesthetic quality or impair the receiving waters for any designated uses.

(12) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except as specifically approved by the POTW Director in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations.

(13) Storm water, surface water, ground water. Artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water and noncontact cooling water, unless specifically authorized by the POTW Director.

(14) Fats, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin in concentrations greater than ten (10) mg/l.

(15) Any sludges, screenings or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes.

(16) Any medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the POTW Director in a wastewater discharge permit.

(17) Any material containing ammonia, ammonia salts, or other chelating agents which will produce metallic complexes that interfere with the municipal wastewater system.

(18) Any material that would be identified as hazardous waste according to 40 CFR Part 261 if not disposed of in a sewer except as may be specifically authorized by the POTW Director.

(19) Any wastewater causing the treatment plant effluent to violate State Water Quality Standards for toxic substances as described in 15A NCAC 2B .0200.

(20) Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant’s effluent to fail a toxicity test.

(21) Recognizable portions of the human or animal anatomy.

(22) Any wastes containing detergents, surface active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the municipal wastewater system.

(23) At no time, shall two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter, at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system) be more than five percent (5%) nor any single reading over ten percent (10%) of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter.

(c) Pollutants, substances, wastewater, or other wastes prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the municipal wastewater system.

(d) When the POTW Director determines that a user(s) is contributing to the POTW, any of the above enumerated substances in such amounts which may cause or contribute to interference of POTW operation or pass through, the POTW Director shall:

1) advise the user(s) of the potential impact of the contribution on the POTW.

2) take appropriate actions in accordance with section (4) for such user to protect the POTW from interference or pass through.

2.2 State Requirements

State requirements and limitations on discharges shall apply in any case where they are more stringent than Federal requirements and limitations or those in this ordinance.

2.3 Right of Revision

The Town reserves the right to establish limitations and requirements which are more stringent than those required by either State or Federal regulation if deemed necessary to comply with the objectives presented in section 1.1 of this ordinance or the general and specific prohibitions in section 2.1 of this ordinance, as is allowed by 40 CFR 403A.

2.4 Dilution

No user shall ever increase the use of process water or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with the limitation contained in the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards, unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standards or any other pollutant-specific limitation developed by the Town of Maggie Valley or the State.

2.5 Pretreatment of Wastewater

Users shall provide wastewater treatment as necessary to comply with this ordinance and any wastewater permits issued under section 4.2 of this ordinance.

2.6 Hauled Wastewater

Septic tank waste may be introduced into the POTW only at locations designated by the POTW Director, and at such times as are established by the POTW Director. Such waste shall not violate section (2) of this ordinance or any other requirements established by the Town. The POTW Director may require septic tank waste haulers to obtain wastewater discharge permits.