Carroll County, VA Sewer Use

The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20° C., expressed in parts per million. The laboratory determination shall be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in Standard Methods.

BUILDING DRAIN

That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer beginning three feet outside the inner face of the building wall.

BUILDING SEWER

The extension from the building drain to the sewer or other place for disposal.

DOMESTIC SEWAGE

Waterborne wastes normally discharging from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels), office buildings, factories and institutions, free from storm surface water and industrial wastes.

ENGINEER

The County Engineer or the County's consulting engineer or their duly authorized representative.

GARBAGE

Solid wastes and residue from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of food products and produce.

INDUSTRIAL WASTES

All waterborne solids, liquids or gaseous wastes resulting from any industrial, manufacturing or food-processing operation or process or from the development of any natural resource or any mixture of these with water or domestic sewage, as distinct from normal domestic sewage.

NATURAL OUTLET

Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.

NORMAL DOMESTIC SEWAGE

Normal sewage for the County of Carroll, in which the concentration of suspended materials and five-day, twenty-degree-centigrade BOD is established at 240 parts per million each, by weight, on the basis of the normal daily contribution of 0.20 pound per capita, per 100 gallons.

PARTS PER MILLION

A weight-to-weight ratio; the parts per million value multiplied by the factor 8.345 shall be equivalent to pounds per million gallons of water.

PERMITTEE

That person applying for a permit to construct a sanitary sewer main or to connect to an existing sanitary sewer.

PERSON

Any and all persons, natural or artificial, including any individual, firm, company, industry, municipal or private corporation, association, society, governmental agency or other entity and his or its agents, servants or employees.

The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution. It shall be determined by one of the procedures outlined in Standard Methods.

PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE

The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch in any dimension.

PUBLIC SEWER

Either a sanitary or storm sewer in which all owners of abutting properties shall have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.

SANITARY SEWER

A sewer which carries sewage and to which stormwater, surface water and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.

SEWAGE

A combination of water-carried waste from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with such groundwater, surface water and stormwater as may be present.

SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT

Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.

SEWAGE WORKS

All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

SEWER

A pipe or conduit for carrying sanitary sewage.

SEWERAGE

The system of sewers and appurtenances for the collection, transportation and pumping of sewage and industrial wastes.

SEWER SERVICE CHARGE

The charge made on all users of the public sewerage system whose wastes do not exceed in strength the concentration values established as representative of normal sewage.

SLUG

Any discharge of water, sewage or industrial waste which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or more than five times the average twenty-four-hour flow during normal operation.

STANDARD METHODS

The examination and analytical procedures set forth in the latest edition, at the time of analysis, of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, as prepared, approved and published jointly by the American Water Works Association, the Water Pollution Control Federation and the American Public Health Association.

STORM SEWER or STORM DRAIN

A sewer which carries stormwater and surface water and drainage but excludes sewage and polluted industrial wastes.

STORMWATER RUNOFF

That portion of the rainfall that is drained into the storm sewers.

SURCHARGE

The charge in addition to the published water and sewer rates. The basis for surcharges on industrial wastes is a capital and operating cost for suspended solids, BOD and chlorine demand exceeding normal domestic sewage.

SUSPENDED SOLIDS

Solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering. Quantitative determination of suspended solids shall be made in accordance with procedures set forth in Standard Methods.

UNPOLLUTED WATER OR WASTE

Any water or waste containing none of the following: free or emulsified grease or oil, acid or alkali; phenols or other substances imparting taste and odor in receiving water, toxic poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state or solution; and noxious or odorous gases. The water shall contain not more than 10 parts per million each of suspended solids and BOD. The color shall not exceed 150 jackson turbidity units.

WATERCOURSE

A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

The word "shall," wherever used in this article, will be interpreted in its mandatory sense; "may" is permissive.

§ 190-2 Procedure prior to discharge into sewer.

Approval required. Review and acceptance of the approving authority shall be obtained prior to the discharge into the public sewers of any wastes and waters having the following:

(1)

A five-day twenty-degree-centigrade biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) greater than 240 ppm (parts per million);

(2)

A suspended solids content greater than 240 ppm; or

(3)

A chlorine demand greater than five ppm.

Pretreatment. Where required, in the opinion of the approving authority, to modify or eliminate wastes that are harmful to the structures, process or operation of the sewage disposal works, the person shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment or processing facilities as may be determined necessary to render his wastes acceptable for admission to the public sewer.

Submission of information. Design calculations, plans, specifications and other pertinent information relating to proposed industrial waste pretreatment or processing facilities shall be submitted for approval or disapproval by the approving authority prior to the start of their construction if the effluent from such facilities is to be discharged into the public sewers. The following industrial sewer connection application shall be fully completed and submitted to the approving authority. The permittee shall not connect to the public sewer without prior approval by the approving authority of the permittee's industrial sewer connection application. It shall be the responsibility of the permittee to file an amendment for approval to the permit 30 days prior to the change of any item of information on the permit. Failure to maintain the permit as an accurate representation of the permittee's waste discharges to public sewers shall be cause for penalty.

Preapplication conference. Prior to filing an industrial sewer connection application, the permittee shall consult with the approving authority or his duly authorized representative concerning the types, concentration and volumes of industrial wastes proposed for discharge. Conditional approval as to the general requirements must be obtained from the approving authority prior to preparation of the industrial sewer connection application.

§ 190-3 Prohibited discharges.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, downspouts, yard drains, yard fountains and ponds or lawn sprays into any sanitary sewer. Stormwater and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the approving authority. Unpolluted process water may be discharged, upon prior written approval of the approving authority, to a storm sewer or natural outlet or into the sanitary sewer system by an indirect connection whereby such discharge is cooled, if required, and flows into the sanitary sewer at a rate not in excess of three gallons per minute, provided that the waste does not contain materials or substances in suspension or solution in violation of the limits prescribed by this article. Any person discharging waste of any type into a storm sewer or natural outlet shall first obtain the written permission of the approving authority, who shall designate the point of discharge, whether it be sanitary sewer, storm sewer or natural outlet. In cases where, and in the opinion of the approving authority, the character of the sewage from any manufacturer or industrial plant building or other premises is such that it will damage the system or cannot be treated satisfactorily in the system, the approving authority shall have the right to require such user to dispose of such waste otherwise and prevent it from entering the system.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged, either directly or indirectly, any of the following described substances, materials, waters or waste:

(1)

Any liquid having a temperature higher than 150° F. (65° C.).

(2)

Any water or wastes which contain wax, grease or oil, plastic or other substances that will solidify or become discernibly viscous at temperatures between 32° to 150° F.

(3)

Any solids, liquids or gases which, by themselves or by interaction with other substances, may cause fire or explosion hazards or in any other way be injurious to persons, property or the operator of the sewage works.

(4)

Any solids, slurries or viscous substances of such character as to be capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works, such as but not limited to ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails, lime slurry, lime residues, slops, chemical residues, paint residues or bulk solids.

(5)

Any garbage that has not been properly comminuted or shredded.

(6)

Any noxious or malodorous substance which is capable of causing objectionable odors or hazard to life or forms solids or creates any other conditions deleterious to structures or treatment processes or requires unusual provisions, alteration or expense to handle such materials.

(7)

Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than 9.0 or having any corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazards to the structures, equipment, personnel or biological population of the sewage works.

(8)

Any wastes or waters containing suspended or dissolved solids of such character and quantity that unusual attention or expense is required to handle such materials at the sewage treatment plant or in the public sewage works.

(9)

Any waters or wastes containing a toxic or poisonous substance, such as, but not limited to, plating or heat-treating wastes in sufficient quantity to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process, to constitute a hazard to humans or animals or to create any hazard in the receiving waters or the sewage treatment plant.

(10)

Any cyanide greater than 1.0 part per million, as CN.

(11)

Any hexavalent chromium greater than 2.0 parts per million.

(12)

Any mercury greater than 0.005 part per million.

(13)

Any trivalent chromium greater than 5.0 parts per million.

(14)

Any manganese greater than 1.0 part per million.

(15)

Any copper greater than 1.0 part per million.

(16)

Any boron greater than 1.0 part per million.

(17)

Any nickel greater than 1.0 part per million.

(18)

Any cadmium greater than 0.02 part per million.

(19)

Any arsenic greater than 0.005 part per million.

(20)

Any zinc greater than 1.0 part per million.

(21)

Any phenols greater than 0.2 part per million.

(22)

Any iron greater than 2.0 parts per million.

(23)

Any tin greater than 1.0 part per million.

(24)

Any barium greater than 0.1 part per million.

(25)

Any lead greater than 0.1 part per million.

(26)

Any silver greater than 0.10 part per million.

(27)

Any selenium greater than 0.02 part per million.

(28)

Any chlorides greater than 250.0 parts per million.

(29)

Any radioactivity as radium 226 and strontium 90 greater than three ppc per liter and 10 ppc per liter, respectively. In the known absence of strontium 90 and alpha emitters, the concentration shall not be greater than 1,000 ppc per liter.

(30)

Any antimony greater than 0.0 part per million.

(31)

Any bismuth greater than 0.0 part per million.

(32)

Any cobalt greater than 0.0 part per million.

(33)

Any molybdenum greater than 0.0 part per million.

(34)

Any rhenium greater than 0.0 part per million.

(35)

Any tellurium greater than 0.0 part per million.

(36)

Any uranyl ion greater than 0.0 part per million.

Except in quantities or concentrations or with provisions as stipulated herein, it shall be unlawful for any person, corporation or individual to discharge waters or wastes to the sanitary sewer containing the following:

(1)

Free or emulsified oil and grease exceeding on analysis an average of 100 parts per million (833 pounds per million gallons) of either or both or combinations of free or emulsified oil and grease if, in the opinion of the approving authority, it appears probable that such wastes:

(a)

May deposit grease or oil in the sewer lines in such a manner as to clog the sewers.

(b)

May overload skimming and grease-handling equipment.

(c)

Are not amenable to bacterial action and will, therefore, pass.

(2)

Any radioactive wastes greater than the allowable stipulated in Subsection B(29) above.

(3)

Cyanides or cyanogen compounds capable of liberating hydrocyanic gas on acidification in excess of 0.5 part per million by weight as CN in the wastes from any outlet into the public sewers.

(4)

Material which exerts or causes the following:

(a)

Unusual concentrations of solids or composition, as, for example, in total suspended solids of inert nature (such as fuller's earth) and/or in total dissolved solids (such as sodium chloride or sodium sulfate);

(b)

Excessive discoloration;

(c)

Unusual biochemical oxygen demand;

(d)

High hydrogen sulfide content; or

(e)

Unusual flow and concentration, unless such material shall be pretreated to a concentration acceptable to the Board of Supervisors if such wastes can cause damage to collection facilities, impair the processes, incur treatment costs exceeding those of normal sewage or render the water unfit for stream disposal. Where discharge of such wastes to the sanitary sewer is not properly pretreated or otherwise corrected, the approving authority shall reject the wastes or terminate the service of water and/or sanitary sewer.

§ 190-4 Control of admissible wastes.

Within 60 days from the date of passage of this article, any person desiring to deposit or discharge any industrial waste into the public sewers or natural outlets of the County of Carroll or any sewer connected therewith, or who is now so doing, shall make application to the approving authority for a permit therefor upon application forms to be obtained from the County office.

Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand and other harmful ingredients, except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwellings. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the approving authority and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for easy cleaning and inspection. Grease and oil interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature. They shall be substantially constructed, watertight and equipped with easily removable covers which, when bolted in place, shall be gastight and watertight. Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be maintained by the permittee, at his expense, in continuously efficient operation at all times.

Within 60 days from the date of passage of this article, any person discharging or desiring to discharge an industrial waste mixture into the public sewers or natural outlets of the County or any sewer connected therewith shall provide and maintain in a suitable accessible position on the permittee's premises, or such premises occupied by him, an inspection chamber or a manhole near the outlet of each sewer, drain, pipe, channel or connection which communicates with the sewer or sewer works of the County or any sewer connected therewith. Each such manhole or inspection chamber shall be of such design and construction which will prevent infiltration by groundwater and surface water and be filtered by screens with a maximum opening of one inch but of sufficient fineness to prevent the entrance of objectionable slugs of solids to the sanitary sewer system and shall be so maintained by the person discharging wastes so that any authorized representative or employee of the County may readily and safely measure the volume and obtain samples of the flow at all times. Plans for construction of the control manholes or inspection chambers, including such flow-measuring devices as may be required, shall be included with the industrial sewer connection application.

Sampling of the effluent of waste discharges may be accomplished manually or by the use of mechanical equipment to obtain a composite sample which would be representative of the total effluent. Samples shall be taken at six-month intervals to establish the BOD, suspended solids and chlorine demand of the industrial waste for billing purposes or at such intervals as determined by the approving authority as necessary to maintain a control over the discharges from the permittee. The method used in the examination of all industrial wastes to determine BOD, suspended solids, chlorine demand and prohibited wastes shall be as set forth in Standard Methods.

§ 190-5 Damaging or tampering with equipment.

No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined in accordance with the penalty provisions set out under § 190-10 herein.

§ 190-6 Powers and responsibilities of approving authority.

The approving authority, and other duly authorized employees of the authority acting as its duly authorized agents and bearing credentials and identification, shall be permitted to gain access to such properties as may be necessary for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing, in accordance with the provisions of this article. The approving authority or his representative shall have no authority to inquire into any process beyond that point having direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewer.

While performing the necessary work on private properties described in Subsection A above, the approving authority or duly authorized employee of the County shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company.

Any person found to be violating any provision of this article shall be served by the County with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for satisfactory correction thereof. Any person who shall continue any violation of his industrial sewer connection application shall be disconnected from the sanitary sewer and/or water service. Such disconnection and reconnection shall be at the total expense of the industry or sewer user.

Where wastes, acids, chemicals or other deleterious substances are released to the sewer causing rapid deterioration of these structures or interfering with the proper treatment of sewage, the approving authority is authorized to immediately terminate services by such measures as are necessary to protect the facilities.

§ 190-7 Pretreatment required; industrial waste surcharge; notice of violation.

Persons discharging industrial wastes which exhibit none of the characteristics of wastes prohibited previously, other than excessive BOD or suspended solids, but having a concentration for a duration of 15 minutes greater than four times that of normal sewage as measured by suspended solids and BOD and/or an average concentration during a normal working day of the permittee's industry of suspended solids or BOD content in excess of normal sewage, as defined in § 190-1 as "normal domestic sewage," shall be required to pretreat the industrial wastes to meet the requirements of normal sewage; however, such wastes may be accepted for treatment if the following requirements are met:

(1)

The waste will not cause damage to the collection and treatment facilities.

(2)

The waste will not impair the treatment process.

(3)

The person who discharges such waste enters into an industrial sewer connection application and agrees to pay the sewer service charge and industrial waste surcharge.

The person who discharges such wastes shall enter into an industrial sewer connection application with the County providing for a surcharge over and above published water and sewer rates. The basis for surcharge on industrial wastes is a capital and operating cost of $0.23 per part per million gallons for the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) and a capital and operating cost of $0.26 per part per million gallons for the suspended solids exceeding normal sewage. The cost of the chlorination is based on the County's contract cost of chlorine per pound per million gallons for each part exceeding the five parts of normal sewage. These rates shall continue until changed by action of the Board of Supervisors. The surcharge shall be calculated for billing purposes with the following formula:

SC	=	V 0.23 (BOD -240) + 0.26 (SS₁ -240)
SC	=	Surcharge in dollars for time related to volume
V	=	Volume in million gallons based on metered water
BOD	=	BOD — 5 days @ 20° C. of industrial waste (ppm)
SS₁	=	Suspended solids of industrial waste (ppm)

Any person who refuses to comply with or who resists or willfully discharges wastes prohibited from discharge into public sewers or who refuses to comply with the provisions of this section shall be served by the approving authority with a written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for satisfactory correction thereof. Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit shall be guilty of violation of his industrial sewer connection application and shall be summarily disconnected from the sanitary and/or water service, such disconnection and reconnection to be of total expense to the customer. Where acids or chemicals damaging to sewer lines or treatment processes are released to the sewer and cause rapid deterioration of these structures or interfere with the proper treatment of sewage, the approving authority is authorized to immediately terminate service by such measures as are necessary to protect the facilities.

§ 190-8 Billing of industrial waste surcharge.

The industrial waste surcharge provided for in this article shall be included as a separate item on the regular bill for water and sewer charges and shall be paid at the same time that the water, sewer and sanitation charges of the person become due, and payment for water and sanitation services shall not be accepted without payment also of the sewer service charges and industrial waste surcharges.

§ 190-9 Failure to pay bills; repeated discharge of prohibited waste.

Failure to pay monthly bills for water and/or sewer service and/or garbage charges when due or failure to pay the established sewer surcharge for industrial waste when due or repeated discharge of prohibited waste to the sanitary sewer shall be sufficient cause to disconnect any and all services from the water and/or sanitary sewer mains of the County, and the same penalties and charges now or hereafter provided for by the ordinances of the County of Carroll for failure to pay the bill for water and sewer service when due shall be applicable in like manner in cases of failure to pay the established surcharge for industrial waste discharged to the sanitary sewer main as established herein.

§ 190-10 Violations and penalties; additional remedies.

Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provisions of this article or who shall fail to comply with any provision hereof shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, and each day that such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punished accordingly.

[Amended 11-14-2013]

The penalty provided herein shall be cumulative of other remedies provided by state law, and the power of injunction as provided by applicable statutes may be exercised in enforcing this article, whether or not there has been a criminal complaint filed.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable to the County for any expense, loss or damage occasioned by the County by reason of such violation.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting any property owner who is damaged or affected by a violation of the terms of this article from bringing suit in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such remedies as may be available at law or in equity for the protection of the rights of such property owner.