Village of Menands, NY Article VI Use of Public Sewers

§ 135-29 Prohibited discharges to sanitary sewers.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process waters to any sanitary sewer.

§ 135-30 Discharge of unpolluted drainage.

[Amended 8-20-1984 by L.L. No. 2-1984]

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 Superintendent. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Superintendent, to a storm sewer or natural outlet. SPDES regulations require that cooling water discharges to waters of the state must apply for SPDES permits, and such discharges are subject to state and federal regulations.

§ 135-31 Prohibited discharges to public sewers.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:

A. Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.

B. Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or higher than 9.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment and personnel of the sewage works.

C. Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size 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, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails, paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.

D. Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to injure or interfere with any sewage treatment process or to constitute a hazard to humans or animals or to create a public nuisance or to create any hazards in the receiving waters of a sewage treatment plant effluent. (See §§ 135-34 and 135-35.)

§ 135-32 Harmful discharges restricted.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters or wastes if it appears likely, in the opinion of the Superintendent and/or Director that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the Superintendent and/or Director will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited in the first instance but subject to review by the Superintendent and/or Director are:

A. Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than 150° F. (65° C.). The discharge of wastewater in such quantity or of such temperature which will result in a temperature exceeding 104° F. (40° C.) at the influent to the POTW treatment plant is prohibited.

[Amended 8-20-1974 by L.L. No. 2-1984]

B. Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 milligrams per liter or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32° F. and 150° F. (0° C. and 65° C.).

C. Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of garbage grinders equipped with a motor of three-fourths horsepower (0.76 horsepower metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Superintendent and/or Director. Not more than 30% of ground garbage on the dry basis shall pass a No. 40 United States Standard sieve.

D. Any waters or wastes containing strong acid metal pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.

E. Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances. (See §§ 135-34 and 135-35.)

F. Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances in such concentration exceeding limits which may be established by the Superintendent and/or Director as necessary, after treatment of the composite sewage to meet the requirements of the state, federal or other public agencies of jurisdiction for such discharge to the receiving waters.

G. Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Superintendent and/or Director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.

H. Materials which exert or cause:

(1) Unusual concentration of inert suspended solids such as, but not limited to, fuller's earth, lime slurries and lime residue, or of dissolved solids such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate.

(2) Excessive discoloration at the treatment plant or in the receiving waters such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.

(3) Unusual BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), COD (chemical oxygen demand) or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works, except as provided for under § 135-36.

(4) Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting slugs, as defined herein.

I. Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction of the sewage treatment processes employed or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.

§ 135-33 Recourse of Director.

If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in § 135-32 of this article and which, in the judgment of the Superintendent and/or Director, may have deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Superintendent and/or Director may:

A. Reject the wastes;

B. Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers;

C. Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge; and/or

D. Require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges.

§ 135-34 Restriction of toxic substances and bacteria.

The following is a partial list of toxic substances and pathogenic bacteria the discharge of which into the public sewerage system is hereby prohibited unless their concentration is reduced by treatment at the source to a point that will meet the general purposes of this Part 1 or come within the applicable standards set forth herein under § 135-35 or will not adversely affect any of the biochemical, chemical or other sewage treatment processes:

A. Antibiotics.

B. Arsenic and arsenicals.

C. Bromine, iodine and chlorine.

D. Copper and copper salts.

E. Cresols or creosotes.

F. Fluorides.

G. Formaldehyde.

H. Mercury and mercurials.

I. Phenolic compounds.

J. Silver and silver compounds.

K. Sulfonamides and toxic dyes (organic or mineral).

L. Zinc compounds.

M. All strong oxidizing agents such as chromates, dichromates, permanganates, peroxides, etc.

N. Chemical compounds producing toxic, flammable or explosive gases, either upon acidification, alkalinization, oxidation or reduction.

O. Strong reducing agents such as nitrites, sulphides, sulphites, thiosulphates, etc.

P. Wastes from industrial processes or hospital procedures containing viable pathogenic organisms.

Q. Chloroform.

[Added 8-20-1984 by L.L. No. 2-1984]

R. Tetrachloroethylene.

[Added 8-20-1984 by L.L. No. 2-1984]

§ 135-35 Concentration limits on toxic substances; authority of federal standards.

[Amended 8-20-1984 by L.L. No. 2-1984]

A. The concentration in sewage of any of the following toxic substances shall not exceed these concentrations judged by the Superintendent and/or Director to be toxic to biological sewage treatment processes or to the biota of the receiving waters and shall not in any case exceed the following limits when such sewage is discharged to a public sewer. These limits may be revised by the Superintendent and/or Director whenever operating experience indicates that this is desirable:

	Toxic Substance	Permissible Concentration (milligrams per liter)
	Cadmium	2.0
	Chromium hexavalent	5.0
	Copper	3.0
	Cyanate	10.0
	Cyanide	1.0
	Mercuric chloride	2.0
	Nickel	10.0
	Silver	0.05
	Zinc	5.0
	Zirconium	10.0
	Bromine, iodine and chlorine	100.0

B. When the volume of a single toxic industrial waste discharge or the combined toxic industrial waste discharges of a group of industries within a single contributory area is so large that an excessive volume of toxic waste will enter a treatment plant, the Superintendent and/or Director may impose lower concentration limits upon the contributors. Conversely, where a toxic industrial waste discharge will be effectively removed by the treatment works or will be rendered innocuous before reaching a treatment plant or the receiving waters, the Superintendent and/or Director may permit toxic industrial waste discharge concentrations greater than those hereinbefore listed, provided that the higher concentration does not constitute a toxicity hazardous to maintenance workers and does not cause any deleterious effects of any kind to the treatment process or receiving waters.

C. No special agreements shall circumvent Federal Categorical Pretreatment Standards.

§ 135-36 Industrial wastes restricted.

A. Whenever any industrial waste is produced in such quantities as will, in the opinion of the Superintendent and/or Director, injure the public sewers into which they may be discharged or adversely affect the treatment of sewage or which does not yield readily to treatment by the processes employed in the sewage treatment works, such discharge will not be permitted into the public sewers without previous consideration as prescribed under applicable sections of this article.

B. The following are some of the industries from which wastes may require pretreatment and/or approval before discharge into public sewers: tanning; metal pickling; metal plating; galvanizing; pulp and papermaking; brewing; distilling; public laundering; laundromats; soak making; glue manufacturing; meat packing; food processing; wool scouring, bleaching and dyeing; munitions manufacturing; oil refining; wool washing; rubber production; salt works; slaughterhouses; dairies; dairy products; sugar refining; fat rendering; manufacture of syrups, jam or jelly; cotton textile manufacture or processing; or any industry producing wastes with strong acid or alkaline reactions or which will form deposits in or cause damage to the sewers or to appurtenances of sewage treatment works.

C. If the Superintendent and/or Director permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flow, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Superintendent and/or Director and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.

§ 135-37 Greater authority of federal standards.

[Amended 8-20-1984 by L.L. No. 2-1984]

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 Part 1 for sources in that subcategory, shall immediately supersede the limitations imposed under this Part 1.