7.04.510 Industrial Discharge Permit System | Santa Cruz County Sanitation District Code

7.04.510 Industrial Discharge Permit System.

A. Wastewater Discharge Permits Required. All users proposing to discharge into District sewer lines, other than residential, or into any part of the wastewater treatment system must first obtain a discharge permit therefor. All existing users, other than residential, connected or discharging to any part of the waste treatment system must obtain a wastewater discharge permit within ninety days from and after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

B. Permit Application. Users seeking a wastewater discharge permit shall complete and file with the District an application in the form prescribed by the District and accompanied by the applicable fee.

1. In support of this application, the user shall submit the following information:

a. Name, address, assessor’s parcel number, and standard industrial classifications number of applicant;

b. Volume of wastewater to be discharged;

c. Wastewater constituents and characteristics including, but not limited to, those set forth in Section 7.04.310, as determined by a reliable analytical laboratory;

d. Time and duration of discharge;

e. Average peak wastewater flow rates, including daily, monthly and seasonal variations, if any;

f. Site plans, floor plans, mechanical and plumbing plans, and details to show all sewers and appurtenances by size, location, and elevation;

g. Description of activities, facilities and plant processes on the premises, including all materials and types of materials which are, or could be, discharged;

h. Each product produced by type, amount and rate of production;

i. Number and type of employees, and hours of work; and

j. Any other information as may be deemed by the District to be necessary to evaluate the permit applications.

2. The permit application shall be signed by an authorized representative of the industrial user.

3. Permit fees shall not be used for the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, maintenance, or operation of the District’s wastewater treatment system, nor for any other purposes or expenses incurred by the District other than to defray the cost incurred in issuing such wastewater discharge permits and inspecting for accuracy and compliance with such permits.

4. Delinquent Fees. Any person who does not file an application for a wastewater discharge permit within the time specified in this section shall be assessed a penalty for delinquent filing as follows:

a. Up to and including thirty days delinquency, the penalty shall be fifty percent of the permit fee.

b. More than thirty days but less than one-year delinquency, the penalty shall be one hundred percent of the permit fee.

c. More than one-year delinquency, the penalty shall be one thousand percent of the permit fee.

1. Within seventy-two hours of application, excluding weekends and holidays, the District shall notify the City of potential categorical users who apply for connection to the District’s sewer, and in addition the District shall forward a copy of an updated list of all new and existing industrial users every ninety days.

2. The District will evaluate the data furnished by the user and may require additional information. After evaluation and acceptance of the data furnished, the District may issue a wastewater discharge permit subject to terms and conditions provided herein.

D. Permit Conditions. Wastewater discharge permits shall be expressly subject to all provisions of this chapter and all other regulations, user charges and fees established by the District. The conditions of wastewater discharge permits shall be uniformly enforced in accordance with this chapter, and applicable State and Federal regulations.

1. Permit conditions will include the following whenever applicable:

a. The unit charge or schedule of user charges and fees for the wastewater to be discharged to the system;

b. The average and maximum wastewater constituents and characteristics;

c. Limits on rate and time of discharge or requirements for flow regulation and equalization;

d. Requirements for installation of inspection and sampling facilities, and specifications for monitoring programs, and the sampling location(s) of regulated waste streams;

e. Requirements for maintaining and submitting technical reports and plant records relating to wastewater discharges;

f. Daily average and daily maximum discharge rates, or other appropriate conditions when pollutants subject to limitations and prohibitions are proposed or present in the user’s wastewater discharge;

g. Compliance schedules;

h. Requirements for the installation of any technology required to meet applicable pretreatment standards and requirements; and

i. Other conditions to ensure compliance with this ordinance.

2. The District shall have the authority to deny or condition new or increased contributions of pollutants or changes in the nature of pollutants when such contributions do not meet applicable pretreatment standards and requirements or where such contributions would cause the treatment facilities to violate its Federal or State permits. The discharger shall reapply for a permit to cover those changes.

3. The District shall require compliance with applicable pretreatment standards. A noncompliant industrial user may be placed on a compliance schedule in order to meet pretreatment standards.

4. The District shall control the contribution to the wastewater treatment plant by each industrial user to ensure compliance with the applicable national categorical standards and requirements.

E. Duration of Permits. Permits shall be issued for a specified time period not to exceed three years. A permit may be issued for a period of less than one year or may be stated to expire on a specific date. If the user is not notified by the District thirty days prior to the expiration of the permit, the permit shall automatically be extended for six months. The terms and conditions of the permit may be subject to modification and change by the District during the life of the permit, as limitations and requirements as identified in Section 7.04.310 are modified or changed. The user shall be informed of any proposed changes in their permit at least thirty days prior to the effective date of change. Any changes or new conditions in the permit shall include a reasonable time schedule for compliance.

F. Transfer of a Permit. Wastewater discharge permits are issued to a specific user for a specific operation. A wastewater discharge permit shall not be reassigned or transferred or sold to a new owner, new user, different premises, or a new or changed operation.

G. Revocation of Permit. Any user who violates the following conditions of his/her permit or of this code, or of applicable State and Federal regulations, is subject to having his/her permit revoked:

1. Failure to accurately report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of his/her discharge;

2. Failure to report, in advance, increases for (a) volume of wastewater discharged, or (b) concentration of any pollutant discharged.

H. Refusal to Issue Permit. The District Engineer may refuse to issue a wastewater discharge permit if any one or more of the following conditions exist:

1. The application is not accompanied by the appropriate permit application fee;

2. The application for a permit contains false or misleading information;

3. The issuance of the permit would result in the discharge of industrial wastes of such quantity or strength that violates regulations set forth in this code;

4. The issuance of the permit would cause the City’s wastewater treatment plant to violate any NPDES permit conditions, laws or regulations of the State and/or Federal government; or

5. The applicant has not provided plans for secondary containment protection from accidental discharges to the land, storm drain system and sanitary sewer system, in accordance with the requirement of the California Code of Regulation Chapter 30 of Division 4 of Title 22 and the County of Santa Cruz’s hazardous materials ordinance and amendments thereto (for both documents).

If the District Engineer refuses to issue a permit, a written notice explaining the grounds for refusal shall be sent to the permit applicant. The permit application fee shall not be returned to the applicant, unless the District Engineer has ascertained that a permit is not required to discharge the wastewater for which the permit application is made.

Such penalties shall be in addition to any penalties or fines levied under Sections 7.04.530 and 7.04.540 or any other section of the District’s code.

I. Confidentiality. Any information submitted to the District may be claimed as confidential by the submitter; however, the claim must be asserted at the time of submission by stamping the words “confidential business information” on each page containing such information. Information and data provided to the District which is effluent data shall be available to the public without restriction. Confidential information will be available to EPA and the State Water Quality Board, but these agencies will be advised of required confidential treatment of such information.

J. Required Best Management Practices for Businesses. All business activities shall implement required best management practices (BMPs) as detailed in the latest BMP pamphlet specific to that business published by the SCCSD. New employees shall be trained in best management practices before beginning work and annually thereafter, using the BMP pamphlet as a reference. All facilities that utilize and store hazardous materials and/or hazardous waste must have spill response materials and must have employees present on all shifts that are trained to respond to spills. All hazardous materials and waste must be secondarily contained.

a. Food Service facilities will meet the requirements of Section 7.04.340, Preliminary treatment facilities, of this code regarding grease interceptors.

b. Garbage grinders shall not be connected to the sanitary sewer.

c. Floor mats must be cleaned in an area where 1) wastewater emanating from the floor mat cleaning will drain to the grease interceptor prior to being discharged to the sanitary sewer; and 2) drain screens are present to retain particles larger than one-half inch which shall not be discharged to the interceptor nor the sanitary sewer.

a. Oils, greases, fuels, solvents, aqueous cleaners, or radiator fluids (including radiator flushing wastewater) shall not be discharged to the sanitary sewer.

b. No wastes, including rinse water, from any engine or parts cleaning may be discharged to the sanitary sewer. Wastewater from engine and parts cleaning must be either recycled in a closed-loop system or hauled off-site for proper disposal.

c. Exterior vehicle washing using detergents or cleansers must be conducted in a District approved wash pad area. The wash pad area must be sloped and bermed to prevent discharge to the storm drain and to prevent excess stormwater from running to the pad area drain. The wash pad must be covered unless exempted by the Director. All wash water must be routed through a District-approved clarifier (3-stage, 1,500-gallon minimum) to remove solids, oil and grease.

d. Service bays will be cleaned using dry clean-up methods wherever possible or mopped using a mop and bucket. Mop water may be discharged to the sanitary sewer. Service bays may not be hosed down unless the rinse water is collected and routed to a clarifier.

e. Clarifiers must be completely cleaned out once every three hundred sixty-five days or more frequently if deemed necessary by the District Engineer. Clarifier sludge must be disposed of according to 40 CFR 261 subtitles C and D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

f. Waste disposal records, including hazardous waste manifests, must be kept on-site for three years and shall be made available to District inspectors upon request.

g. All drainage ditches or sumps on private property will be cleaned out each year between September 1st and October 31st.

h. Floor drains in work areas for existing vehicle service facilities, including service bays, are strictly prohibited unless they are connected to a District-approved clarifier. Floor drains are strictly prohibited for new and remodeled vehicle service facilities. Clarifiers will only be approved for new and remodeled vehicle service facilities if located exterior to the building and used exclusively for washing the exterior of vehicles. (Ord. 123 §6, 2010)

a. Perchloroethylene and any other dry-cleaning chemical is strictly forbidden from being discharged to the sanitary sewer.

b. Separator water must be disposed of as a regulated hazardous waste according to 40 CFR 261 subtitles C and D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Under no circumstances may separator water be discharged to the sanitary sewer. Separator water shall not be added to boilers or cooling towers. This will result in perchloroethylene entering the sewer.

c. All secondary containment must be impermeable to perchloreoethylene. Brick and cement are permeable and therefore require additional lining.

d. Floor drains are not permitted in dry cleaning facilities.

a. Floor drains in work areas are prohibited.

b. Rags and/or wipes are prohibited from being discharged to the sanitary sewer. These wastes must be laundered by an approved off-site facility or disposed of according to 40 CFR 261 subtitles C and D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

c. Hazardous materials including waste oil, solvents, glues, adhesives, and inks containing metals are strictly forbidden from discharge to the sanitary sewer.

d. Silver-bearing waste must either be treated or hauled away for treatment according to 40 CFR 261 subtitles C and D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. On-site treatment requires a special discharge permit from the District. Treatment must meet removal efficiency standards set by the District Engineer.

a. Silver-bearing waste must either be treated or hauled away for treatment according to 40 CFR 261 subtitles C and D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. On-site treatment requires a wastewater discharge permit from the District. Onsite treatment requires a special discharge permit from the District. Treatment must meet removal efficiency standards set by the District Engineer.

a. Hazardous materials including waste oil, waste coolant, solvents, chlorinated organics, wastewater containing metals other than aluminum, sediment containing metals at concentrations that render the sediment a hazardous material, glues, and adhesives are strictly forbidden from discharge to the sanitary sewer.

b. Floor drains are not permitted in machine shops. (Ord. 116 §3, 2006; Ord. 111 §5; Ord. 103 §8, 2002; Ord. 72 §1, 1991; Ord. 64 §3; Ord. 37 §3, 1983; Ord. 3 §6.11, 1973)