§ 15.60.180. Temporary exceptions—Procedure.

A.

Purpose. This section provides a method for industrial users subject to the limitation on wastewater strength parameters listed in Article II of this chapter to apply for and receive a temporary exception to the discharge level for one or more parameters.

B.

Time of application. Applicants for a temporary exception shall apply for same at the time they are required to apply for a wastewater discharge permit or a renewal thereof; however, the director shall allow applications at any time unless the applicant shall have submitted the same or substantially similar application within the preceding year and the same shall have been denied by the authority.

C.

Written applications. All applications for an exception shall be in writing and shall contain sufficient information for evaluation of each of the factors to be considered by the authority pursuant to subsection E. of this section.

D.

Review by director. All applications for an exception shall be reviewed by the director. If the application does not contain sufficient information for complete evaluation, the director shall notify the applicant of the deficiencies and request additional information. The applicant shall have thirty days following notification by the director to correct such deficiencies. This thirty-day period may be extended by the authority upon application and for just cause shown. Upon receipt of a complete application, the director shall evaluate same within thirty days and shall submit his recommendations to the authority at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

E.

Review by authority. The authority shall review and evaluate all applications for an exception and shall take into account the following factors:

1.

The authority shall consider whether or not the applicant is subject to a National Pretreatment Standard containing discharge limitations more stringent than those in Article II and grant an exception only if such exception may be granted within limitations of applicable federal regulations.

2.

The authority shall consider whether or not the exception would apply to discharge of a substance classified as a toxic substance under regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the provisions of Section 307(a) of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1317), and then grant an exception only if such exception may be granted with the limitations of applicable federal regulations.

3.

The authority shall consider whether or not the granting of an exception would create conditions that would reduce the effectiveness of the treatment works, taking into consideration the concentration of said pollutant in the treatment works' influent and the design capability of the treatment works.

4.

The authority shall consider whether or not the granting of an exception might cause the treatment works to violate the limitations in its NPDES permit, taking into consideration the concentration of the pollutant in the treatment works' influent and the demonstrated ability of the treatment works to consistently remove such pollutant.

5.

The authority shall consider whether or not the granting of an exception would cause elements or compounds to be present in the sludge of the treatment works which would prevent sludge use or disposal by Metro or which would cause Metro to violate any regulation promulgated by EPA under the provisions of Section 405 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1345).

6.

The authority may consider the cost of pretreatment or other types of control techniques which would be necessary for the user to achieve effluent reduction, but prohibitive cost alone shall not be the basis for granting an exception.

7.

The authority may consider the age of equipment and industrial facilities involved to the extent that such factors affect the quality or quantity of wastewater discharge.

8.

The authority may consider the process employed by the user and process changes available which would affect the quality or quantity of wastewater discharge.

9.

The authority may consider the engineering aspects of various types of pretreatment or other control techniques available to the user to improve the quality or quantity of wastewater discharge.

10.

The authority may consider an application for an exception based upon the fact that water conservation measures instituted by the user or proposed by the user result in a higher concentration of particular pollutants in the wastewater discharge of the user without increasing the amount of mass of pollutants discharged. To be eligible for an exception under this paragraph, the application must show that except for water conservation measures, the applicant's discharge has been or would be in compliance with the limitations on wastewater strength set forth in Article II; however, no such exception shall be granted if the increased concentration of pollutants in the applicant's wastewater would have a significant adverse impact upon the operation of the POTW.

F.

Good management practices required. The authority shall not grant an exception unless the applicant shall demonstrate to the authority that he is utilizing "good management practices" (GMP) to prevent or reduce his contribution of pollutants to the POTW. GMP's include but are not limited to preventative operating and maintenance procedures, schedule of activities, process changes, prohibiting of activities, and other management practices to reduce the quality or quantity of effluent discharged and to control plant site runoff, spillage, leaks and drainage from raw material storage.

G.

Exception may be granted following review. The authority shall review the application for an exception at the first regularly scheduled meeting following recommendation of the director. It may grant the application for exception with such conditions or limitations as may have been recommended by the director without a hearing provided no person, including the applicant, shall object thereto, and provided further that the authority finds that the granting of the exception with such conditions as have been recommended by the director will be in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

H.

Hearing. In the event that the applicant objects to the recommendations of the director concerning conditions to be imposed upon the applicant, the authority desires a hearing to further investigate the matter, or any interested party granted permission by the authority to intervene objects to the granting of the exception, the authority shall schedule a hearing within ninety days following presentation of the matter by the director to resolve such matters. At such hearing, the applicant, the director and any intervening party shall have the right to present relevant proof by oral or documentary evidence. The procedure set forth in Section 15.60.360 shall be applicable to such a hearing. The applicant shall bear the burden of proof in such hearing.

I.

Additional cost and expense.

1.

The director may require any person discharging substances in strengths greater than those permitted by this chapter to pay any additional costs or expense incurred by Metro for transmission and treatment of such substances.

2.

The treatment system shall be reviewed at the end of each fiscal year and appropriate surcharge rates applied to the wastewater billing.

3.

Such charge for the Biochemical Oxygen Demand ₅ (BOD ₅ ), ammonia, suspended solids, and oil and grease will be computed using the following formula:

Surcharge ($)/P = 8.34 × (F) × (TC) × (Pa-Pm) Surcharge ($) total = Surcharges of BOD ₅ + ammonia + suspended solids and grease.

P—Parameter: BOD ₅ or ammonia or suspended solids or grease.

F—Flow in millions of gallons per day.

TC—Treatment costs for servicing POTW per pound of parameter.

Pa—Parameter, actual.

Pm—Parameter, maximum.

4.

Charges for other pollutants will be computed on a case-by-case basis.

(Ord. BL2010-678 § 2, 2010; Ord. 2001-778 § 1, 2001; prior code § 40-1-187, Part II (a)—(i))