Memphis Code of Ordinances § 13-4-1 Definitions.
Sec. 13-4-1. - Definitions.
Terms for which definitions are not specifically herein provided shall be interpreted consistent with the intent and substance of this chapter and as otherwise provided by state regulation at 0400-40-14-.03 or EPA regulation at 40 C.F.R. § 403.3. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this chapter shall be as follows:
Act or the Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, and found in 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
Action level means a goal set forth in a permit or other document. In order for a requirement in a permit or other document to be deemed an action level it must specifically be designated as an "action level" in the permit or document, as applicable. An action level may be established as a numerical or other limitation. While an exceedance of an action level is not a violation, it can trigger or otherwise lead to additional requirements being imposed upon the discharger, including, but not limited to, user study of the cause of the action level exceedance and/or the imposition of enforceable discharge limitations.
Additional treatment charge means the portion of the service charge, which is levied on those users whose wastes are greater in strength than the concentration values established as representative of normal sewage or wastewater.
Alkalinity means the mass of a 100 percent sulfuric acid required to reduce the pH of a given volume of wastewater to a pH of 7.0. The value is expressed as pounds of sulfuric acid per day.
Authorized representative of the user means:
(1) A responsible corporate officer if the user is a Corporation. A responsible corporate officer means: (i) a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy- or decision-making functions for the corporation, or (ii) the manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility, including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct other comprehensive measures to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for individual and general discharge permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(2) A general partner or proprietor if the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, respectively.
(3) A duly authorized representative of the individual designated in subsection (1) or (2) if: (i) The authorization is made in writing by the individual described in subsection (1) or (2); (ii) The authorization specifies either an individual or a position having responsibility for the overall operation of the facility from which the industrial discharge originates, such as the position of plant manager, operator of the well, well field superintendent, or a position of equivalent responsibility, or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company; and (iii) the written authorization is submitted to the control authority.
(4) If an authorization under subsection (3) is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility, or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, a new authorization satisfying the requirements of subsection (3) must be submitted to the control authority prior to, or together with, any reports to be signed by an Authorized Representative of the user.
Best management practices ("BMPS") means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in sections 13-24-43 and 13-24-44 of this chapter [See also Tennessee Rule 0400-40-14-.05(1)(a) and (2)]. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
Blowdown means the discharge of water with high concentrations of accumulated solids from boilers to prevent plugging of the boiler tubes or stream lines. In cooling tower, blowdown is discharged to reduce the concentration of dissolved salts in the recirculating cooling water.
BOD (denoting biochemical oxygen demand) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20 degrees centigrade, expressed in milligrams per liter (or pounds upon factoring in flow).
Building sewer means the extension from the building to the public sewer or other place of disposal, also called "house connection."
Calendar day means the 24-hour period from midnight-to-midnight or any other 24-hour period approved by the city for a particular facility that reasonably approximates the midnight-to-midnight time period.
Categorical industrial user ("CIU") means an industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard (except for dental dischargers subject to 40 C.F.R. Part 441).
Categorical standards or categorical pretreatment standard means the national categorical pretreatment standards as found in 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 et seq.
C.F.R. means the Code of Federal Regulations.
City means the City of Memphis, Tennessee.
COD (denoting chemical oxygen demand) means the measure of oxygen-consuming capacity of inorganic and organic matter present in wastewater. It is expressed as the amount of oxygen consumed from a chemical oxidant in a specific test. It is expressed in milligrams per liter (or pounds upon factoring in flow).
Composite sample means a sample composed of individual subsamples taken at regular intervals over a specified period of time. Unless otherwise specified by this chapter or the control authority, subsamples may be proportioned by time interval or size according to flow (i.e., flow-proportioned composite sample), or be of equal size and taken at equal time intervals (i.e., time-proportioned composite sample).
Control authority or approving authority means the City of Memphis, Division of Public Works. The term "Approving Authority" as used herein is differentiated from the term "Approval Authority" as defined in 40 C.F.R. § 403.3(c).
Control mechanism means a permit, order, or similar means of establishing enforceable requirements. This includes SIU discharge permits and other user permits. Failure to comply with the requirements set forth in these documents may result in enforcement actions, which may include, but is not limited to, administrative fines and/or withdrawal of the privilege to use the City of Memphis Wastewater System.
County means Shelby County, Tennessee unless otherwise specified.
Daily discharge means the "discharge of a pollutant" measured using approved methods at the appropriate sampling point during a calendar day, or any 24-hour period that reasonably represents the calendar day, established by the control authority in the control mechanism. For pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the "daily discharge" is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For pollutants with limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the "daily discharge" is calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.
Daily maximum means the arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant (except pH) collected during a calendar day.
Daily maximum limit means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily maximum limit will be determined by the daily discharge, i.e., the total mass discharged over the course of a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements using approved methods at the appropriate sampling point taken that day. This can be based upon the averaging of several grab samples during a calendar day or composite samples (e.g., 8-hour or 24-hour composite samples).
Day, for the purposes of counting when an event must occur (e.g., report within ten days), means, unless otherwise specified, a calendar day, which is a 24-hour period from midnight to midnight. "Days" refers to consecutive calendar days. For the purposes of an effluent limit (e.g., daily maximum limit), "day" or "calendar day" refers to midnight-to-midnight or other 24-hour period that reasonably approximates the midnight-to-midnight time period.
Direct discharge to state waters or direct discharge means the addition of pollutants to waters of the State from a source.
Director means the director of public works except where another position is specifically identified (e.g., EPA Regional Water Protection Division Director).
Discharge or indirect discharge means the introduction of pollutants into the city's POTW including the introduction of pollutants into the sewer system of the POTW as well as the delivery of wastewaters and other pollutants by truck or any other conveyance. "Discharge" or "indirect discharge" does not include a "direct discharge to State water."
Discharge permit means a SIU discharge permit or other user permit.
Discharger means a person who discharges.
Division means the Division of Public Works of the City of Memphis except where another entity is specifically identified (e.g., EPA Regional Water Protection Division).
Domestic source means the waste and wastewater from human or typical household activities including a household kitchen, water closets, lavatories and laundries, or any waste from a similar source and possessing essentially the same characteristics. Commercial facilities such as restaurants, hospitals, institutions (e.g., colleges), cafeterias, bakeries, ground-water remediation sites, and other non-household sources are not considered to be a "domestic source" (except wastewater from their bathroom facilities, segregated from other flows, is considered a "Domestic Source").
Easement means an acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.
Environmental Protection Agency or EPA means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the regional water protection division director, the regional administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.
Existing source means any source of discharge that is not a "new source."
Facility site means the land or water area where any indirect discharge activity that is subject to regulation under this chapter is physically located or conducted, including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or activity (e.g., manholes on the user's owned or occupied property).
Garbage means solid wastes from the domestic and commercial preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage, and sale of produce.
General discharge permit means a discharge permit that can be issued to more than one discharger.
Grab sample means a sample that is taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
Holding-tank waste means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, vaults, pits, sumps, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
Hydrogen ion concentration: see "ph".
Industrial user means a source of indirect discharge.
Industrial wastes means the wastewater from industrial processes, trade, or business, as distinct from domestic sanitary sewage.
Instantaneous limit means the maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete sample (e.g., grab sample) of the discharge. pH may also be regulated by an instantaneous maximum and/or minimum limit. Where a composite sample shows a value higher than an instantaneous limit, such sampling result is deemed to provide conclusive evidence of a violation of an instantaneous limit applicable during that time period.
Interference means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the sewer system, WWTP, treatment processes, or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal, exceeds the design capacity of the treatment works or the collection system, and/or which causes or contributes to a violation of any requirement of the city's NPDES permit or poses a threat to worker health and safety (e.g., chemical fumes). The term includes disruption with the use of biogas generated by a POTW as a fuel or prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with criteria, guidelines, or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act ("SWDA"), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
Legal authority means the rules, regulations and ordinances of the City of Memphis regulating the discharge and treatment of industrial waste.
Local hearing authority means the Memphis Wastewater Hearing Authority. See T.C.A. § 69-3-124.
Local limit means specific discharge limits developed by the control authority to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in Tennessee Rule 0400-40-14-.05(1)(a) and (2).
Medical waste means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.
mg/l means a concentration unit of milligrams per liter of solution.
Monthly average means the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month.
Monthly average limit means the highest allowable average of "daily discharges" over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month.
Municipality means a city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body created by or pursuant to state law and having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, or an Indiantribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a designated and approved management agency under Section 208 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1288).
National pretreatment standards or pretreatment standard or standard means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with the Act, which applies to users. The term includes general and specific prohibitive discharge limits pursuant to sections 13-24-43(A) and (B)(1)-(7), and local limits pursuant to section 13-24-44(C), (D) and (F).
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") means the program for issuing, conditioning, and denying permits for the direct discharge of pollutants from point sources into navigable waters, the contiguous zone, and the oceans pursuant to Section 402 of the Clean Water Act as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1342.
Natural outlet means any outlet, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface, or ground water.
New source means:
(a) Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under Section 307(c) of the Clean Water Act, which will be applicable to such source if such Standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
(1) The building structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
(2) The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
(3) The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plan and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source should be considered.
(b) Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of parts (A)(ii) or (A)(iii) of this definition but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(c) Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:
(1) Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite construction program:
(A) Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
(B) Significant site preparation work including cleaning, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
(2) Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment, which is intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this subsection.
Non-significant categorical industrial user means an industrial user, subject to categorical pretreatment standards, that never discharges more than 100 gallons per day (gpd) of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless specifically included in the pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met:
(a) The industrial user, prior to control authority's finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and pretreatment requirements;
(b) The industrial user annually submits the certification statement required in section 13-24-30(J)(2) of this chapter [see Tennessee Rule 0400-40-14-.12(17)], together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement; and
(c) The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.
Other user permit means an individual control mechanism or general discharge permit issued to a user that is not a significant industrial user. Failure to comply with the requirements set forth in other user permits may result in enforcement actions, which may include, but is not limited to, administrative fines and/or withdrawal of the privilege to use the City of Memphis Wastewater System. The requirements imposed in an other user permit and the manner in which such permits are issued and enforced, and such facilities are monitored or inspected, are subject to the city's sole discretion. Other user permits include, but are not limited to, food establishment wastewater discharge ("FEWD") permits imposing, among other things, requirements pertaining to fats, oils, and grease, waste hauler permits, permits issued to ground water remediation pump and treat facilities (except to the extent the discharger is identified as an SIU), special permits for the disposal of portable toilet wastewater, letters of approval for hauled wastewater, and letters of approval setting forth flow limitations (e.g., limiting use of the sewer system to certain hours) on users or new or expanded development or facilities.
Pass-through means a discharge which exits the wastewater treatment plant ("WWTP") into waters of the State in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the WWTPs' NPDES permits, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
Person means any and all persons, including individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, public or private institutions, state and Federal agencies, municipalities or political subdivisions, or officers thereof, departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, or public or private corporations or officers thereof, organized or existing under the laws of this or any state or country.
pH means the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration (in moles per liter) of a given water, pH = - log 10 [H + ]. Water will dissociate into hydrogen and hydroxyl ions (H 2 O ? H + + OH - ) and the concentration of hydroxyl ion can be expressed as pOH. The pH + pOH always equals 14 in water. pH limits may be established in standard units, based on this relationship and the hydroxide load.
pH maximum limit means a limit imposed on the alkalinity of a discharge. A pH Maximum Limit is distinct from a pH Minimum Limit.
pH minimum limit means a discharge limit imposed on the acidity of a discharge. A pH Minimum Limit is distinct from a pH Maximum Limit.
Pollutant means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
Pollution means the man-made or man induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.
Pretreatment means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants into the POTW. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes, by process changes, or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants, unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
Pretreatment program means the rules, regulations, and/or ordinances of the city regulating the discharge and treatment of industrial and commercial wastewater, the Control Mechanisms issued under chapter 13-24 of title 13 of the Memphis Code and such other provisions as provided for in this chapter, 40 C.F.R. 403.1 et seq., and/or Tennessee Rule 0400-40-14-.01 et seq.
Pretreatment requirement means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment other than a National Pretreatment Standard imposed on a user.
Pretreatment standards or standards means prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
Priority pollutants means any pollutant identified in 40 C.F.R. Part 423, Appendix A.
Process wastewater means any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product, or waste product.
Properly shredded garbage means the wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food that has 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 inch in any dimension.
Publicly owned treatment works ("POTW") means a treatment works as defined by Section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, (33 U.S.C. § 1292) which is owned in this instance by the municipality (as defined by Section 502(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act). This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a WWTP. The term also means the municipality as defined in Section 502(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.
Sanitary sewer means a sewer which carries sewage and/or wastewater. It does not include a storm sewer, which is designed primarily to address storm water, surface, and ground waters.
Service charge means the assessment levied on users of the public sewer system.
Sewage means a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments, together with any groundwater, surface water, and storm water that may be present.
Sewage system or wastewater system means all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage that flows to a city's WWTP.
Significant industrial user ("SIU") means any Industrial user of the City of Memphis Wastewater System, or wastewater systems of other municipalities connected to the City of Memphis Wastewater System, that is subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 C.F.R. § 403.6 and 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N (except for dental dischargers subject to 40 C.F.R. Part 441) and/or has an average discharge flow of 25,000 gallons or more per day of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater); and/or has a discharge of a process wastestream which is greater than or equal to five percent of the average dry weather hydraulic flow and/or organic design capacity of the receiving WWTP; and/or is found by the City of Memphis to have a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation, or for violating any pretreatment standard or pretreatment requirement either singly or in combination with other contributing industries on the City of Memphis' Wastewater System, including, but not limited to, the quality of sludge produced, the wastewater system's effluent quality, groundwater in the area, or air emission generated by the wastewater system. Upon a finding that a non-categorical industrial user meeting the criteria above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation, or for violating any pretreatment standard or pretreatment requirement, the city may, at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user, and in accordance with procedures in Tennessee Rule 0400-40-14-.08(6)(f), determine that such industrial user is not a significant industrial user.
Unless otherwise designated by Memphis subject to its discretion, dental dischargers subject to 40 C.F.R. part 441 are not "significant industrial users" as defined herein and are not "categorical industrial users" or "industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards" as those terms and variations are used herein and in 40 CFR part 403.
SIU discharge permit is a control mechanism issued to a significant industrial user that establish specific parameter limits and other requirements for control and monitoring of the wastewater discharges. Failure to comply with the requirements set forth in an SIU discharge permit may result in enforcement actions, which may include, but is not limited to, administrative fines and/or withdrawal of the privilege to use the City of Memphis wastewater system. Individual SIU discharge permits may be issued to individual industrial/commercial users. Subject to the control authority's discretion, general SIU discharge permits may be issued to a group of facilities.
Slug discharge or slug means any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature (including, but not limited to, an accidental spill) or a batch discharge (including customary and non-customary batch discharges) which has a reasonable potential to cause Interference or Pass-Through, or in any other way violate chapter 13-24 of title 13 of the Memphis Code and/or Local Limits or permit conditions.
Special sewer service area means a sewer service area which shall be subject to unique and separate sewer infrastructure surcharge fees in addition to normal sewer fees described within this chapter, based upon the particular costs associated with providing sewer service in that area.
Standard methods means the analytical procedures set forth in the latest edition of "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" published by the American Public Health Association; and/or "EPA Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes" as per 40 C.F.R. Part 136 and amendments thereto; and/or City of Memphis, Public Works Division's laboratory procedures for certain tests that detail specific requirements that are not addressed elsewhere or are presented as optional.
Storm drain or storm sewer means a sewer which primarily carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but is designed to exclude sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.
Storm water means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
Suspended solids or total suspended solids means total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of, or is in suspension in, water, wastewater, or other liquids, and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed by standard methods.
TOC (denoting total organic carbon) means the measure of the concentration of covalently bonded carbon, which is combustible to carbon dioxide. It is not to be confused with elemental carbon, dissolved carbon dioxide, inorganic carbonates, or bicarbonates.
User means any person (including a waste hauler) that discharges wastewater or otherwise causes or permits wastewater to enter into the city's POTW, including, but not limited to, the sanitary sewer.
Wastewater means liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated.
Wastewater treatment plant ("WWTP") means the city's facilities for treating wastewater and includes that portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
Watercourse means a channel or conduit in which surface water flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
Waters of the state means any and all water, public or private, on or beneath the surface of the ground, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon Tennessee, or any portion thereof, except those bodies of water confined to and retained within the limits of private property in single ownership which do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground waters.
(Code 1985, § 33-16; Ord. No. 4023, § 1, 3-26-1991; Ord. No. 4443, § 1, 11-5-1996; Ord. No. 5793, § 1, 8-17-2021)