§ 28-96. Definitions.

For the purposes of this article, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the following respective meanings ascribed to them by this section:

Act shall mean the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the "Clean Water Act," 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

Ammonia nitrogen (NH3) shall mean the production of dissolved oxygen demand which is toxic to aquatic life. Parameters based on seasonal conditions set forth in the NPDES permit.

Approval authority shall mean the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Authorized or duly authorized representative of the user shall mean:

(1)

If the user is a corporation:

a.

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

b.

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 (1) through (3), above, may designate a duly authorized representative if the authorization is in writing, it 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 it is submitted to the city.

Best management practices or BMPs shall mean schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in the prohibited discharge standards of this article. 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.

Biochemical oxygen demand or BOD shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure for five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (milligrams per liter).

Biosolids shall mean sewage sludge that is accepted and beneficial for recycling on land as a soil condition and nutrient source.

Building drain (in accordance with Minnesota Plumbing Code 4715.0100).

Building sewer (in accordance with Minnesota Plumbing Code 4715.0100).

CBOD5 (carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen expressed in parts per million by weight, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions in five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees centigrade (C). The laboratory determinations shall be made in accordance with procedures set forth in "standard methods."

Categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard shall mean any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the 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 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.

Categorical industrial user shall mean an industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.

Chemical oxygen demand or COD means a measure of the oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water.

Daily maximum means the arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant collected during a calendar day.

Daily maximum limit means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of a day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.

Environmental Protection Agency or EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, the Regional Administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.

Existing source means any source of discharge that is not a "new source."

Grab sample means a sample that is taken from a waste stream without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.

Indirect discharge or discharge means the introduction of pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works from any nondomestic source.

Infiltration shall mean the water entering the sanitary sewer system and service connections from the ground, through such means as, but not limited to, defective pipes, pipe joints, connections, or manhole walls. Infiltration does not include, and is distinguished from inflow.

Inflow shall mean the water discharged into the sanitary sewer system from such sources as, but not limited to, roof leaders, cellar, yard, and area drains, foundation drains, cooling water discharges, drains from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers, cross connections to storm sewer catch basins, stormwaters, surface run-off, street wash waters, or drainage. Inflow does not include, and is distinguished from infiltration.

Instantaneous limit means the maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.

Interference shall mean a discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the publicly owned treatment works, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and therefore, is a cause of violation of the city's NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder, or any more stringent state or local regulations: Section 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); any state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; and the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Local limit means specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the city upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 C.F.R. 403.5(a)(1) and (b).

Medical waste means 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.

MPCA means the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, or Minnesota Pollution Control Agency staff as delegated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Monthly average means the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.

Monthly average limit means the highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit NPDES means national pollutant discharge elimination system which is the program for issuing, modifying, revoking, reissuing, terminating, monitoring, and enforcing permits and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements under sections, 307, 318, 402 and 405 of the Clean Water Act, United States Code, title 33, sections 1317,1328, 1342 and 1345.

New source means:

(1)

Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is (or may be) a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under section 307(c) of the Act that will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:

a.

The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or

b.

The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or

c.

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 modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of paragraph (1)b. or c. above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

(3)

Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:

a.

Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite 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

b.

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 paragraph.

Noncontact cooling water means water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.

Normal strength domestic wastewater shall mean normal strength wastewater for the city in which the average concentration of suspended materials and five (5) day CBOD5 is established at not greater than two hundred twenty (220) parts per million each, by weight. The COD of normal domestic wastewater shall not exceed five hundred (500) parts per million. The TSS is established at not greater than two hundred forty (240) parts per million each, by weight. The NH3 is established at not greater than twenty-five (25) parts per million each, by weight. The TP is established at not greater than eight (8) parts per million each, by weight. Such wastewater does not include infiltration and/or inflow, and it is composed of domestic wastewater.

Pass through means a discharge which exits the publicly owned treatment works into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the city's NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.

Person means 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.

Phosphorus, total (TP) shall mean a nutrient for plant growth. Measured in mg/l and determined by mass load.

pH shall mean a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.

Pollutant means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).

Pretreatment shall mean the process of reducing the amount of pollutants, eliminating pollutants, altering the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes; by process changes; or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.

Pretreatment requirements means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a user, other than a pretreatment standard.

Prohibited discharge standards or prohibited discharge means absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in section 28-152 of this article.

Publicly owned treatment works (POTW) shall mean a treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1292), which is owned by the city. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances, which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.

RCRA hazardous waste shall mean waste that appears on one of the four (4) hazardous waste lists (F-list, K-list, P-list, or U-list), or exhibits at least one of four (4) characteristics - ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity.

Septic tank waste means any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.

Sewage means human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).

Significant industrial user (SIU). Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) below of this definition, a significant industrial user is:

(1)

An industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or

(2)

An industrial user that:

a.

Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater);

b.

Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five (5) percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant;

c.

Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.

(3)

The city may determine that an industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards is a nonsignificant categorical industrial user rather than a significant industrial use on a finding that the industrial user never discharges more than one hundred (100) gpd of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless specifically included in the pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met:

a.

The industrial user, prior to the city's finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and requirements;

b.

The industrial user annual submits the certification statement required in subsection 28-148(n) of this article, together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement; and

c.

The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.

(4)

Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in paragraph (2) above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the city may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user, and in accordance with the procedures in 40 C.F.R. 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.

Slug load or slug discharge shall mean any discharge at a flow rate or concentration, which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in section 28-152 of this article. A slug discharge is any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to, an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any way violate the POTW's regulations, local limits, or permit conditions.

Standard methods shall mean the examination and analytical procedures set forth in the latest edition, at the time of the analysis, of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" as prepared, approved and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the Water Environment Federation, and the American Water Works Association. Such "standard methods" shall also conform to federal register reprint 40 CFR 136, "Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for Analysis of Pollutants" (July 1, 2000).

Stormwater shall mean any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.

Total suspended solids or suspended solids shall mean the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and that is removable by laboratory filtering.

User or industrial user shall mean a source of indirect discharge.

Wastewater shall mean liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.

Wastewater treatment plant or treatment plant shall mean that portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.

(Ord. No. 2013-003, § 1, 7-9-13)