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AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE USE OF PUBLIC SEWERS AND DRAINS; AND THE DISCHARGE OF WATERS AND WASTES INTO THE PUBLIC SEWER SYSTEM; PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATIONS THEREFORE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, IN THE CITY OF JONESBORO, CRAIGHEAD COUNTY, ARKANSAS
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BE IT ORDAINED AND ENACTED by the Council of the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas, as follows:
ARTICLE 1
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this ordinance shall be as follows:
Section 1: “BOD” (denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) shall mean the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at 20°C., expressed in milligrams per liter.
Section 2: “Building Drain” shall mean 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 five (5) feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
Section 3: “Building Sewer” shall mean the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
Section 4: “Combined Sewer” shall mean a sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
Section 5: “Garbage” shall mean soil wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.
Section 6: “Industrial Wastes” shall mean the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade, or business as distinct from sanitary sewage.
Section 7: “Natural Outlet” shall mean any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or groundwater.
Section 8: “Person” shall mean any individual, firm, company, association, society, corporation or group.
Section 9: “pH” shall mean the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter or solution.
Section 10: “Properly Shredded Garbage” shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half (½) inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
Section 11: “Public Sewer” shall mean a sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights, and is controlled by public authority.
Section 12: “Sanitary Sewer” shall mean a sewer which carries sewage and to which storm, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.
Section 13: “Sewage” shall mean a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions, and industrial establishments, together with such ground, surface and storm waters as may be present.
Section 14: “Sewage Treatment Plant” shall mean any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.
Section 15: “Sewage Works” shall mean all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.
Section 16: “Sewer” shall mean a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
Section 17: “Shall” is mandatory; “May” is permissive.
Section 18: “Slug” shall mean 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 fifteen (15) minutes more than five (5) times the average twenty-four (24) hour concentration or flows during normal operation.
Section 19: “Storm Drain” (sometimes termed “storm sewer”) shall mean a sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.
Section 20: “Manager” shall mean and be the Manager of City Water and Light Plant of the City of Jonesboro. Arkansas, (a separate Municipal Corporation), and the person holding that position is hereby appointed by the City to have the powers and perform to duties herein set out. “Manager” as used herein shall mean such a person on his deputy, agent, or representative.
Section 21: “Suspended Solids” shall mean 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.
Section 22: “Watercourse” shall mean a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
Section 23: “City” shall mean the City of Jonesboro, County of Craighead, in the State of Arkansas, and the City Water and Light Plant of the City of Jonesboro.
Section 24: “Unusual BOD” shall mean excessive amounts of BOD above the normal operations indigenous to each particular type of industry using normal, reasonable and economical practices before discharging their sewage into the City sanitary sewers.
ARTICLE II
Section 1: No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any storm water, surface water, ground water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, uncontaminated cooling water or unpolluted industrial process water to any sanitary sewer.
Section 2: Storm water and all other unpolluted drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designated as combined sewers or storm sewers, or to a natural outlet approved by the Manager and the City Inspector. Industrial cooling water or unpolluted process waters may be discharged, on approval of the Manager and City Inspector, to a storm sewer, combined sewer or natural outlet.
Section 3: 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 inflammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
(b) Any waters or wastes containing toxic or poisonous solids, liquids or gases in sufficient quantity, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, to humans or animals, create a public nuisance or create any hazard in the receiving waters of the sewage treatment plant, including, but not limited to, cyanides in excess of two (2) mg/1 as CN in the wastes as discharged to the public sewer.
(c) Any waters or wastes having a pH lower than 5.5 or having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment, and personnel of the sewage works.
(d) 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, egg shells, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood un-ground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshing, entrails, paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
Section 4: 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 Manager that such wastes can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream, or can otherwise endanger life, limb, public property, or constitute a nuisance. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the Manager 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 treat ability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant, and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited are:
(a) Any liquid or vapor having a temperature higher than one hundred fifty (150) degrees F. (65°C.)
(b) Any water or wastes containing more than one hundred (100) parts per million (833 lbs. per million gallons) of fats, wax, grease or greases if such water or wastes are, in the opinion of the Manager, sufficient to:
(1) Interfere with the biological processes of a sewage treatment plant.
(2) Interfere with proper operation of the sewage works.
(3) Cause obstruction to flow in sewers.
(4) Cause pollution of any area or receiving stream.
(c) Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of three-fourths (3/4) horsepower (0.76 hp metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Manager.
(d) Any waters or wastes containing strong acid pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solution whether neutralized or not.
(e) Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc, and similar objectionable or toxic substances; or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement, to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the Manager for such materials.
(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 Manager 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 radio active wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Manager in compliance with applicable State or Federal regulations.
(h) Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5
(i) Materials which exert or cause:
(1) Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids (such as, but not limited to, fuller’s earth, lime slurries, and lime residues) or of dissolved solids (such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate).
(2) Excessive discoloration (such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions).
(3) Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand, or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.
(4) Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting “slugs” as defined herein.
(j) Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by 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 other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.
Section 5: If any waters wastes are discharged, or are proposed to be discharged, to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics numerated in Section 4 of this Article, and which in the judgment of the Manager may have a 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 Manager 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 sewer charges under the provisions of Section 10 of this Article.
(e) If the Manager permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Manager, and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws, and the Arkansas State Health Department regulations.
Section 6: Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the manager, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients; except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Manager, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
Section 7: Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation by the owner at his expense.
Section 8: When required by the Manager, the owner of any property serviced by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole together with such necessary meters and other appurtenances in the building sewer to facilitate observation, sampling, and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the Manager. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense, and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
Section 9: All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in this ordinance shall be determined in accordance with the latest edition of “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, “published by the American Public Health Association, and shall be determined at the control manhole provided, or upon suitable samples taken at said control manhole. In the event that no special manhole has been required, the control manhole shall be considered to be the nearest downstream manhole in the public sewer to the point at which the building sewer is connected. Sampling shall be carried out by customarily accepted methods to reflect the effect of constituents upon the sewage works and to determine the existence of hazards to life, limb and property. (The particular analyses involved will determine whether a grab sample or samples should be taken. Normally, but not always, BOD and suspended solids analyses are obtained from 24-hour composites of all outfalls whereas, pH’s are determined from periodic grab samples.)
Section 10: No statement contained in this Article shall be constructed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the City and any industrial concern whereby an industrial waste of unusual strength or character may be accepted by the City for treatment, subject to payment therefore, by the industrial concern.
ARTICLE III
Section 1: No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully, or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance, or equipment which is a part of the sewage works, any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge o disorderly conduct.
ARTICLE IV
Section 1: The Manger and other duly authorized employees of the City or of the City Water and Light Plant bearing proper credentials and identifications shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance. The Manager or his representatives shall have no authority to inquire into any processes including metallurgical, chemical, oil, refining, ceramic, paper, or other industries beyond that point having a direct bearing on the kind and source of discharge to the sewers or waterways or facilities for waste treatment.
Section 2: While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in Article IV, Section 1 above, the Manager or duly authorized employees of the City Water and Light Plant shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the City Water and Light Plant employees, against liability claims and demands for personal injury to property damage asserted against the company or by the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions.
Section 3: The Manager and other duly authorized employees of the City Water and Light Plant bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all private properties for the purposes of, but not limited to inspection, observation, measurement, sampling, repair, and maintenance of any portion of the sewage works.
ARTICLE V
Section 1: Any person found to be violating any provision of this ordinance except Article III shall be served y the Manager with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.
Section 2: Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in Article V, Section 1, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount not exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.
Section 3: Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall become liable to the City for any expense, loss, or damager occasioned the City by reason of such violation.
ARTICLE VI
Section 1: The provisions of this ordinance are servable, and if any part of provisions hereof shall be held void or invalid, the remaining parts or provisions hereof shall not be affected or impaired.
Section 2: This ordinance being found to be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public, peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared and the ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its publication.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 6th day of December, 1965.