§ 44-131. General sewer use requirements.

(1)

Prohibited discharge standards.

(a)

General prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.

(b)

Specific prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced 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, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21, or be in any other way injurious to persons, the POTW or the operations of the POTW;

2.

Wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or more than 10.0, or other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazards to structures, equipment or personnel of the POTW;

3.

Any clothing, rags, textile, remnants or wastes, cloth, scraps, etc., except fibers, scraps, wipes (flushable or nonflushable), etc., which will pass through a one-quarter-inch mesh screen or its equivalent in screening ability;

4.

Any liquid waste in which the suspended solids exceed 250 ppm unless specifically approved in writing by the control authority.

5.

Any liquid waste having BOD of more than 250 ppm unless specifically approved in writing by the control authority.

6.

Any ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, bones, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, paunch manure, butcher's offal, or any other solid or viscous substances in POTW resulting in Interference;

7.

Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;

8.

Wastewater having a temperature greater than 140° F (71° C), or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104° F (40° C);

9.

Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;

10.

Any waters or waste containing any substance which exceeds the limitations set forth in the categorical pretreatment standards. A toxic pollutant shall include but not be limited to any pollutant identified pursuant to Section 307 (c) of the Federal Clean Water Act;

11.

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;

12.

Any garbage that has not been properly shredded;

13.

Trucked or hauled pollutants;

14.

Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;

15.

Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant's effluent, thereby violating the county's NPDES permit;

16.

Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;

17.

Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted industrial or commercial wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the director;

18.

Storm water and surface drainage shall be admitted to only such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers or storm drains. Unpolluted process and cooling waters may, upon written application and approval by the control authority, be discharged to storm sewers or storm drains;

19.

Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;

20.

Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the director in an individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit;

21.

Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail toxicity test;

22.

Any substance prohibited by this article, or in excess of limits established by permit which will cause the sewage treatment works to violate its NPDES permit;

23.

Any waters or wastes containing suspended solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials in the POTW;

24.

Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances that might cause excessive foaming in the POTW;

25.

Any waters or wastes containing lint in such quantities as to be detrimental to sewer lines, sewage pumps or sewage treatment works;

26.

Any substance which may contaminate or interfere with the processing of or disposal of sludge in accordance with the sludge management method for the facility as approved by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control;

27.

Any substance which may cause the sewage treatment work's effluent or other product such as residues, sludges, or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation, reuse, and disposal;

28.

Fats, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin in concentrations greater than 100 mg/l; and/or

29.

Wastewater causing two readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the POTW, or at any point in the POTW, of more than five percent or any single reading over ten percent of the lower explosive limit of the meter.

(c)

Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.

(d)

The county may protect the POTW by halting or preventing the discharge of any waste in noncompliance with this section or violation of any permit conditions issued to the discharger.

(2)

National categorical pretreatment standards.

(a)

Users must comply with the categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405—471, as amended. Upon the promulgation of the federal categorical pretreatment standards for a particular industrial subcategory, the federal standard, if more stringent than limitations imposed under this division for sources in that subcategory, shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this division.

(b)

Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the director may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with the below sections.

(c)

When the limits in a categorical pretreatment standard are expressed only in terms of mass of pollutant per unit of production, the director may convert the limits to equivalent limitations expressed whether as mass of pollutant discharged per day or equivalent concentration for purposes of calculating effluent limitations applicable to individual industrial users.

(d)

when wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the director shall impose an alternate limit in accordance with SC R. 61-9.403.6(f), as amended.

(e)

The county, at its discretion, may allow a CIU to obtain a net/gross adjustment to a categorical pretreatment standard in accordance with the following paragraphs of this section.

1.

Categorical pretreatment standards may be adjusted to reflect the presence of pollutants in the industrial user's intake water in accordance with this section. Any industrial user wishing to obtain credit for intake pollutants must make application to the county. Upon request of the industrial user, the applicable standard will be calculated on a "net" basis (i.e., adjusted to reflect credit for pollutants in the intake water) if the requirements of subsection 2. of this subsection are met.

2.

Criteria for adjustment shall be either the applicable categorical pretreatment standards contained in 40 CFR subchapter N, as amended, specifically provide that they shall be applied on a net basis; or the Industrial user demonstrates that the control system it proposes or uses to meet applicable categorical pretreatment standards would, if properly installed and operated, meet the standards in the absence of pollutants in the intake waters.

3.

Credit for generic pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and oil and grease should not be granted unless the industrial user demonstrates that the constituents of the generic measure in the user's effluent are substantially similar to the constituents of the generic measure in the intake water or unless appropriate additional limits are placed on process water pollutants either at the outfall or elsewhere.

4.

Credit shall be granted only to the extent necessary to meet the applicable categorical pretreatment standard(s), up to a maximum value equal to the influent value. Additional monitoring may be necessary to determine eligibility for credits and compliance with standard(s) adjusted under this section.

5.

Credit shall be granted only if the user demonstrates that the intake water is drawn from the same body of water as that into which the POTW discharges. The county may waive this requirement if it finds that no environmental degradation will result.

(f)

When a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of pollutant concentrations, an industrial user may request that the county convert the limits to equivalent mass limits. The determination to convert concentration limits to mass limits is within the discretion of the director. The county may establish equivalent mass limits only if the industrial user meets all the conditions set forth in the below sections.

1.

To be eligible for equivalent mass limits, the industrial user must:

(i)

Employ, or demonstrate that it will employ, water conservation technologies that substantially reduce water use during the term of its individual wastewater discharge permit;

(ii)

Currently use control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the applicable categorical pretreatment standard, and not have used dilution as a substitute for treatment;

(iii)

Provide sufficient information to establish the facility's actual average daily flow rate for all wastestreams, based on data from a continuous effluent flow monitoring device, as well as the facility's long-term average rate. Both the actual average daily flow rate and the long-term average production rate must be representative of current operating conditions;

(iv)

Not have daily flow rates, production levels, or pollutant levels that vary so significantly that equivalent mass limits are not appropriate to control the discharge; and

(v)

Have consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards during the period prior to the industrial user's request for equivalent mass limits.

2.

An industrial user subject to equivalent mass limits must:

(i)

Maintain and effectively operate control and treatment technologies adequate to achieve compliance with the equivalent mass limits;

(ii)

Continue to record the facility's flow rates through the use of a continuous effluent flow monitoring device;

(iii)

Continue to record the facility's production rates and notify the director whenever production rates are expected to vary by more than 20 percent from its baseline production rates determined in an above paragraph.

(iv)

Continue to employ the same or comparable water conservation methods and technologies as those implemented pursuant to the above paragraphs of this section so long as it discharges under an equivalent mass limit.

3.

When developing equivalent mass limits, the director of water and sewer:

(i)

Will calculate the equivalent mass limit by multiplying the actual average daily flow rate of the regulated process(es) of the industrial user by the concentration-based daily maximum and monthly average standard for the applicable categorical pretreatment standard and the appropriate unit conversion factor;

(ii)

Upon notification of a revised production rate, will reassess the equivalent mass limit and recalculate the limit as necessary to reflect changed conditions at the facility; and

(iii)

May retain the same equivalent mass limit in subsequent individual wastewater discharger permit terms if the industrial user's actual average daily flow rate was reduced solely as a result of the implementation of water conservation methods and technologies, and the actual average daily flow rates used in the original calculation of the equivalent mass limit were not based on the use of dilution as a substitute for treatment pursuant to subsection 6 of this section. The industrial user must also be in compliance with section 44-142(3) of this division regarding the prohibition of bypass.

(g)

The director may convert mass limits of the categorical pretreatment standards of 40 CFR Parts 414, 419, and 455, as amended, to concentration limits for purposes of calculating limitations applicable to individual industrial users. The conversion is at the discretion of the director.

(h)

Once included in its permit, the industrial user must comply with the equivalent limitations developed in this section in lieu of the promulgated categorical standards from which the equivalent limitations were derived.

(i)

Many categorical pretreatment standards specify one limit for calculating maximum daily discharge limitations and a second limit for calculating maximum monthly average, or four-day average, limitations. Where such standards are being applied, the same production or flow figure shall be used in calculating both the average and the maximum equivalent limitation.

(j)

Any industrial user operating under a permit incorporating equivalent mass or concentration limits calculated from a production-based standard shall notify the director within two business days after the user has a reasonable basis to know that the production level will significantly change within the next calendar month. Any user not notifying the director of such anticipated change will be required to meet the mass or concentration limits in its permit that were based on the original estimate of the long term average production rate.

(3)

State pretreatment standards. Users must comply with State of South Carolina General Pretreatment Regulations for Existing and New Sources of Pollution codified at SC R. 61-9.403, as amended.

(4)

Local Limits. The director is authorized to establish local limits pursuant to SC R.61-9.403.5(c) and (d), as amended.

(a)

The local limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. All concentrations for metallic substances are for total metal unless indicated otherwise. The director may impose mass limitations in addition to concentration-based limitations.

(b)

The director may develop best management practices (BMPs), by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits or general permits, to implement local limits and the requirements of subsection (1) of this section.

(c)

If limits exceed the amount set forth in the pretreatment program, the customer shall be fined a minimum fee as set forth in Appendix A. DCWS may add to the fine the costs of preparing administrative enforcement actions, such as notices and orders. DCWS may recover reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement activities, including sampling and monitoring expenses, and the cost of any actual damages incurred by department.

(5)

County's right of revision. The county reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits or in general permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW consistent with the purpose of this article.

(6)

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 a discharge limitation unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement.

(Ord. No. 12-02, 3-5-2012; Ord. No. 15-11, §§ 4, 5, 4-20-2015 )