Suffolk County, NY Article V Unlawful Discharges; Prohibited or Limited Wastes

§ 740-23 Unlawful discharges.

A. It shall be unlawful to discharge prohibited wastes into any sewage works.

B. It shall be unlawful to discharge into any sewage works limited wastes with characteristics above the limitations set by the Administrator.

C. It shall be unlawful, without the prior written consent of the Administrator, to mix prohibited, limited or industrial waste with domestic waste.

D. It shall be unlawful for any discharger to 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 any local, state or federal discharge standard.

§ 740-24 Remedies.

[Amended 5-11-2004 by L.L. No. 12-2004]

A. If any such objectionable, prohibited or limited wastes are discharged or proposed to be discharged, the Administrator may:

(1) Reject such wastes.

(2) Require the pretreatment of such wastes to an acceptable condition, standard and level, at the cost and expense of the applicant, prior to discharge into the sewage works.

(3) Require flow equalization by way of control over the quantities and rates of discharge (slug discharge control) as elsewhere provided herein, and, in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(v), the Administrator shall evaluate each SIU to determine if said SIUs require development of a slug discharge control plan. A "slug discharge" for the purposes of this subsection is any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge. A summary of the Administrator's determination for each SIU will be available to the United States Environmental Protection Agency Regional Office or assigned State Pretreatment Program Approval Authority Office upon request.

(4) Require that a suitable surcharge over and above other assessments be paid in lieu of pretreatment for compatible industrial wastes only, and in no event shall a surcharge be applicable in lieu of conformance to federal General Pretreatment Regulations (40 CFR Part 403), federal categorical pretreatment standards for existing and new sources, or Suffolk County sewer discharge concentration limits.

(5) Require that any SP or DC applicant or industrial user operating under an existing DC provide, at his own expense, chemical analyses, treatability studies, engineering reports or other documentation from a licensed professional engineer registered in New York State or consulting laboratories for the purpose of determining the acceptability of a waste for discharge to County sewage works, which information shall be reviewed by the Administrator.

(6) Bring such action and impose such penalties against the violator as may be lawfully permitted.

(7) Do any combination of the above.

B. When pretreatment or flow-equalization facilities are required by the Administrator:

(1) A compliance time schedule and/or order on consent shall be furnished by the Administrator to the industrial user for an SP or DC. Failure to meet the requirements of the compliance schedule shall, in the case of an existing violation, be construed as an additional violation of these rules and regulations and shall be subject to all penalties provided therefor. Said applicant shall retain, at his own cost and expense, a professional engineer, licensed in New York State, to prepare engineering reports and facility designs for the Administrator's review and approval and to certify the compliant construction for the required pretreatment or flow-equalization facilities.

(2) Thereafter, approved facilities shall be maintained by the applicant to ensure effective and continuous operation.

(3) The industrial user issued a DC may be required to regularly collect representative samples of the discharge to a sewage works and to have those samples analyzed to determine compliance with applicable pretreatment standards. In addition, in accordance with 40 CFR 403.12(g)(2), if sampling performed by an industrial user indicates a violation of applicable pretreatment standards, the user shall notify the Administrator within 24 hours of becoming aware of the violation. The user shall also immediately repeat the sampling and analysis and submit the results of the repeated analysis to the Administrator within 30 days of becoming aware of the violation, except the industrial user is not required to resample if:

(a) The Administrator performs sampling at the industrial user at a frequency of at least once per month; or

(b) The Administrator performs sampling at the industrial user between the time when the industrial user performs its initial sampling and the time when the industrial user receives the results of the initial sampling which indicates a violation of applicable pretreatment standards.

(4) The industrial user issued a DC shall, at his own cost and expense, modify, improve or alter, as required, his pretreatment or flow-equalization facility such that the discharge into a County sewage works is in compliance with all applicable pretreatment and flow discharge standards as specified in these rules and regulations.

(5) All chemical analyses, treatability studies, engineering reports, discharge monitoring reports required under conditions contained in a DC shall be accompanied by the following statement and signed as to acknowledgment and understanding by a responsible individual business owner, business partner, association trustee, or public, private or not-for-profit corporate officer or municipal official:

"I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel, professional technical consultants and/or certified wastewater analysis laboratories properly gather and evaluate the information and/or reports submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the waste management/pretreatment system, or those persons, professional technical consultants and/or certified wastewater analysis laboratories directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowingly submitting such false information or failing to respond to any known violation of Suffolk County Code Chapter 740, Sewers, in accordance with the provisions contained in any discharge certification issued pursuant to Chapter 740 or any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to that chapter."

C. All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of wastewaters, discharges or wastes called for under these rules and regulations, when performed by or on behalf of an applicant for an SP or DC or required under the conditions contained in a DC issued to an industrial user, shall be performed in accordance with 40 CFR Part 136, Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants, and with 40 CFR 261.21 for the closed-cup flashpoint test. All analyses must be performed by a New York State certified wastewater laboratory, and all analytical test result forms must clearly state the specific 40 CFR Part 136 or Part 281.21 test method used to determine the analytical results reported.

§ 740-25 Objectionable, prohibited or limited wastes.

[Amended 5-11-2004 by L.L. No. 12-2004]

A. The Administrator may, after notice and hearing, establish and keep current a list of prohibited or limited wastes, including but not limited to a schedule of sewer discharge concentration limits. The Administrator reserves the right to establish more stringent limitations or requirements on discharges as necessary. In the event of conflict between local, state and federal regulations, the most stringent shall prevail.

B. Prohibited, objectionable or limited wastes listed shall include:

(1) Any waste, including business, commercial, industrial, institutional or governmental facility wastes, which exceeds allowable discharge levels as promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 307(b) and (c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and amendments, entitled "Industrial Pretreatment Requirements," for existing and new sources and 40 CFR Part 403 and such other liquids, substances or materials that may be enumerated by the Administrator to be objectionable or toxic. Business, commercial, industrial, institutional or governmental facilities identified as categorical facilities pursuant to federal regulations contained in 40 CFR Part 403 and the National Categorical Standards found in 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471, and as may be amended, which are hereby incorporated into these rules and regulations, must comply with the previously indicated categorical pretreatment standards as promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(2) Any substance, wastewater or compounds described in the definition of "objectionable, prohibited or limited wastes" in § 740-1 hereof.

(3) Any storm drainage, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters.

§ 740-26 Prohibited infiltration, inflow and exfiltration.

A. Any action, lack of action or condition which will result or does result in groundwater infiltration into a sanitary sewer in excess of limitations elsewhere herein specified or which increases or creates inflow or groundwater infiltration into the sanitary sewer is prohibited and unlawful.

B. It shall be unlawful to discharge treated or untreated sewage, industrial wastes or objectionable, prohibited or limited wastes into any natural outlet within the boundaries of a County sewer district. Noncontact cooling water and stormwater runoff shall be discharged into a natural outlet through an adequately sized and maintained separate disposal system, and under no circumstances shall such discharge be made into a public sewer. Dischargers of noncontact cooling water must apply to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for such discharge.