Athens City Code

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

24-hour flow proportional composite sample means a sample consisting of several sample portions collected during a 24-hour period in which the portions of a sample are proportioned to the flow and combined to form a representative sample.

Act or the Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended and found in 33 USC 1251 et seq.

Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Approval authority means the state department of environment and conservation, division of water pollution control.

Authorized or duly authorized representative of industrial user means:

1. (1) If the user is a corporation:
   1. (a) The president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function or any person who performs similar policy- or decision-making functions for the corporation; or
   2. (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 ensure 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. (2) If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or proprietor, respectively.
3. (3) If the user is a federal, state, or local governmental agency: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the governmental facility, or their designee.
4. (4) The individual described in subsections (a) through (c) of this definition may designate a duly authorized representative if the authorization is in writing, the authorization 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 the written authorization is submitted to the city.

Best management practices or BMPs means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices. BMPs also 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 (BOD) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure for five days at 20 degrees centigrade expressed in terms of weight and concentration (milligrams per liter (mg/L)).

Building sewer means a sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the publicly owned sewer collection system.

Categorical standards means the National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or pretreatment standard as found in 40 CFR ch. I, subch. N, pts. 405--471.

Commissioner means the commissioner of environment and conservation or the commissioner's duly authorized representative and, in the event of the commissioner's absence or a vacancy in the office of commissioner, the deputy commissioner.

Compatible pollutant means BOD, suspended solids, pH, fecal coliform bacteria, and such additional pollutants as are now or may in the future be specified and controlled in the city's NPDES permit for its wastewater treatment works where sewer works have been designed and used to reduce or remove such pollutants.

Composite sample means a sample composed of two or more discrete samples. The aggregate sample will reflect the average water quality covering the compositing or sample period.

Control authority means the approval authority, as defined in this section, or the local hearing authority if the city has an approved pretreatment program under the provisions of 40 CFR 403.11.

Cooling water means the water discharge from any use such as air conditioning, cooling, or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.

Customer means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or group who receives sewer service from the city, through the Athens Utilities Board, under either an express or implied contract requiring payment to the Athens Utilities Board for such service.

Daily maximum means the arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant (except pH) collected during a calendar day. The daily maximum for pH is the highest value tested during a 24-hour calendar day.

Daily maximum limit means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where the limit is expressed in units of mass, the limit is the maximum amount of total mass of the pollutant that can be discharged during the calendar day. Where the limit is expressed in concentration, it is the arithmetic average of all concentration measurements taken during the calendar day.

Direct discharge means the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the state.

Domestic wastewater means wastewater that is generated by a single-family, apartment or other dwelling unit or dwelling unit equivalent or commercial establishment containing sanitary facilities for the disposal of wastewater and used for residential or commercial purposes only.

Environmental Protection Agency or EPA means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the term "Environmental Protection Agency" or "EPA" may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized official of the agency.

Garbage means solid wastes generated from any domestic, commercial or industrial source.

Grab sample means a sample which is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the wastestream and is collected over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes. Grab sampling procedure: Where composite sampling is not an appropriate sampling technique, a grab samples shall be taken to obtain influent and effluent operational data. Collection of influent grab samples should precede collection of effluent samples by approximately one detention period. The detention period is to be based on a 24-hour average daily flow value. The average daily flow used will be based upon the average of the daily flows during the same month of the previous year. Grab samples will be required, for example, where the parameters being evaluated are those, such as cyanide and phenol, which may not be held for any extended period because of biological, chemical or physical interactions which take place after sample collection and affect the results.

Grease interceptor means an interceptor whose rated flow is 50 gallons per minute or less and is generally located inside the building.

Grease trap means an interceptor whose rated flow is 50 gallons per minute or more and is located outside the building.

Holding tank waste means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum pump tank trucks.

Incompatible pollutant means any pollutant which is not a compatible pollutant as defined in this section.

Indirect discharge means the introduction of pollutants into the wastewater facility (WWF) from any non-domestic source.

Industrial user means a source of indirect discharge which does not constitute a discharge of pollutants under regulations issued pursuant to section 402 of the Act (33 USC 1342).

Industrial wastes means any liquid, solid, or gaseous substance, or combination thereof, or form of energy, including heat, resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade, food processing or preparation, or business or from the development of any natural resource.

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.

Interceptor means a device designed and installed to separate and retain for removal, by automatic or manual means, deleterious, hazardous or undesirable matter from normal wastes, while permitting normal sewage or waste to discharge into the drainage system by gravity.

Interference means a discharge that, alone or in conjunction with discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the WWF, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal, or exceeds the design capacity of the treatment works or collection system.

Local administrative officer means the general manager of the Athens Utilities Board (AUB) or his duly authorized representative.

Local hearing authority means the city utilities five-member governing board or such person appointed by the board to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and conduct hearings pursuant to ACC 18-35.

NAICS or North American Industrial Classification System means a system of industrial classification jointly agreed upon by Canada, Mexico and the United States. NAICS replaces the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System.

National Categorical Pretreatment Standard or pretreatment standard means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 USC 1347) which applies to a specific category of industrial users.

New source means:

1. (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 Clean Water Act, which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
   1. (a) The building structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
   2. (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
   3. (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 engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source should be considered.
2. (2) Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of subsection (a)(2) or (3) of this definition but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
3. (3) Construction of a new source as defined in this section has commenced if the owner or operator has:
   1. (a) Begun or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:
      1. (i) Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
      2. (ii) Significant site preparation work, including cleaning, 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
   2. (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 subsection.

NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) means the program for issuing, conditioning, and denying permits for the discharge of pollutants from point sources into navigable waters, the contiguous zone, and the oceans pursuant to section 402 of the Clean Water Act, as amended.

Pass-through means a discharge which exits the wastewater facility (WWF) into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the WWF'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.

pH means the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.

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

Pollution means the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.

Pretreatment or treatment means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, biological processes, or process changes or other means, except through dilution as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).

Pretreatment coordinator means the person designated by the local administrative officer or his authorized representative to supervise the operation of the pretreatment program.

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

Pretreatment standards or standards means a prohibited discharge standard, categorical pretreatment standard and local limit.

Publicly owned treatment works (POTW) means a treatment works as defined by section 212 of the Act (33 USC 1292) which is owned in this instance by the municipality (as defined by section 502(4) of the Act). The term "publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. The term "publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW treatment plant. The term "publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" also means the municipality as defined in section 502(4) of the Act, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works. See Wastewater facility (WWF).

Significant industrial user means:

1. (1) All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR ch. I, subch. N; and
2. (2) Any other industrial user that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the WWF (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater), contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant, or is designated as such by the control authority as defined in 40 CFR 403.12(a) on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the WWF's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)).

Significant noncompliance means:

1. (1) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66 percent or more of all of the measurements taken for each parameter taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limit.
2. (2) Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33 percent or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits multiplied by the applicable TRC (TRC equals 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH). TRC calculations for pH are not required.
3. (3) Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement (daily maximum or longer-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the WWF determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through (including endangering the health of WWF personnel or the general public).
4. (4) Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the WWF's exercise of its emergency authority under section 305(1)(b)(i)(D), emergency order, of the Clean Water Act, to halt or prevent such a discharge.
5. (5) Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance.
6. (6) Failure to provide, within 45 days after their due date, required reports, such as baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules.
7. (7) Failure to accurately report noncompliance.
8. (8) Any other violation or group of violations, which may include a violation of best management practices, which the WWF determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

Slug means any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to, an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through, or in any other way violate the WWF's regulations, local limits, or permit conditions.

Standard industrial classification (SIC) means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1972.

Storm sewer or storm drain means a pipe or conduit which carries storm waters and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes.

Stormwater means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.

Superintendent means the local administrative officer or person designated by him to supervise the operation of the publicly owned treatment works and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter, or his duly authorized representative.

Suspended solids means the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquids and that is removable by laboratory filtering.

Toxic pollutant means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations published by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the provision of the Clean Water Act 307(a) or other acts.

User means the owner, tenant or occupant of any lot or parcel of land connected to a sanitary sewer, or for which a sanitary sewer line is available, if a municipality levies a sewer charge on the basis of such availability, as defined in T.C.A. § 68-221-201.

Wastewater means the liquid- and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the WWF.

Wastewater facility (WWF) means any or all of the following: the collection/transmission system, treatment plant, and the reuse or disposal system, which is owned by any person. The term "wastewater facility (WWF)" includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial waste of a liquid nature. The term "wastewater facility (WWF)" also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a WWF treatment plant. The term "wastewater facility (WWF)" also means the municipality as defined in section 502(4) of the Federal Clean Water Act, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works. The term "WWF" was formerly known as a POTW, or publicly owned treatment works.

Waters of the state means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and other bodies of accumulation of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, that are contained within, flow through, or border upon the state or any portion thereof.

(Code 1972, § 13-103; Code 1995, § 18-103; Ord. No. 972, 11-18-2008)