Determination of industrial user waste charge.
Tulsa Revised Ordinances tit. 11-C, § 704
in effectSection 704. - Determination of industrial user waste charge.
A. Persons, establishments or owners discharging industrial wastes which exhibit none of the characteristics of wastes prohibited in Chapter 5 of this title, other than excessive B.O.D. or suspended solids, and which have, during a twenty-four (24) hour period, an average concentration of B.O.D. or suspended solids content in excess of normal domestic sewage, shall be required to pretreat the industrial wastes to meet the requirements of normal domestic sewage, provided, however, that such wastes may be accepted for treatment if all the following requirements are met:
1. The wastes will not cause damage to the collection system;
2. The wastes will not impair the treatment process; and
3. The discharger of the wastes enters into a contract with the City of Tulsa providing for an industrial user waste charge rate.
B. The volume of wastes shall be determined by the same methods used to calculate the regular sewer service charge. For establishments discharging less than twenty thousand (20,000) gallons per day, the B.O.D. and suspended solids values may be determined from standard values for various industries established by the Director. As a minimum, industrial user waste charges shall be established utilizing B.O.D. and suspended solids concentrations of normal domestic waste, unless otherwise approved. In cases where the discharger desires to determine accurate values of B.O.D. and suspended solids, the discharger shall install, at his own expense, a sampling point at a location near the outlet of each building drain or connection with any sanitary sewer of the City, as approved by the Director. B.O.D. and suspended solids values, determined from samples collected from any establishment, shall be established by certification of an independent testing laboratory employed by the discharger and approved by the Director. Such report shall contain a statement that the samples collected and values determined are based on a twenty-four (24) hour composite sample which is representative of the establishment's flow. Each sampling point shall be installed and shall be maintained by the discharger so that any authorized representative of the City may readily and safely obtain samples of the flow at any time.
C. All flow rates, B.O.D. and suspended solids values used in determination of the industrial user waste charge shall be reevaluated on an annual basis; provided however, that if there is a major change in the operation to cause changes in value, the values may be increased or decreased based on a study of changes or actual measurements. The basis for determining the charge shall be reviewed annually and shall be adjusted to reflect any increase or decrease in wastewater treatment costs based on the previous year's experience. Each industrial user is subject to being monitored annually, at a minimum, and subsequently assessed a monitoring charge.
D. Each user which discharges any toxic pollutants which cause an increase in the cost of managing the effluent, the sludge or the City's treatment works shall pay for such increased cost and shall become liable to the City for any expense, loss or damage experienced by the City by reason of such discharge.
Source: City of Tulsa, Revised Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ok/tulsa/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_TIT11-CWASE_CH7SASEUSCHSY_S704DEINUSWACHFetched: 10/28/2026