Wastewater discharge prohibitions and limitations.
North Las Vegas Municipal Code § 13.28.04
in effect13.28.04 - Wastewater discharge prohibitions and limitations.
A. General Prohibitions. No industrial user shall contribute or cause to be contributed, directly or indirectly, any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass through or interference. These general prohibitions and the specific prohibitions in subsection B., below, apply to all industrial users of the POTW whether or not the industrial users are subject to other pretreatment standards or requirements.
B. Specific Prohibitions. No industrial user shall contribute the following pollutants into the POTW:
1. Any liquids, solids or gases which, by reason of their nature or quantity, are or may be sufficient, either alone or by interaction with other substances, to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the wastewater facilities, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than sixty (60) degrees Celsius) or one hundred forty (140) degrees Fahrenheit using the test methods specified in 40 CFR Section 261.21. The director may require industrial users with the potential to discharge flammable, combustible or explosive substances to install and maintain an approved combustible gas detection meter or explosion hazard meter. No two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge shall be more than five percent (5%), nor any one reading more than ten percent (10%), of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter
2. Solid or viscous substances which may cause obstruction to the flow in the POTW resulting in interference.
3. Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or higher than 12.0, or wastewater having any other corrosive property capable of causing damage or hazard to structures, equipment or personnel of the wastewater facilities.
4. Any pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference with the POTW;
5. Heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the POTW treatment plant exceeds forty (40) degrees Celsius or one-hundred and four (104) degrees Fahrenheit unless EPA, upon request of the POTW, approves alternate temperature limits;
6. Any petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of and mineral origin in amounts that will cause pass through or interference. The city may include sampling and reporting requirements in a permit or require compliance with permit specific limits or best management practices where the concentration has the reasonable potential to exceed one hundred (100) mg/L.
7. Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems or pollutants which singly or cumulatively or by interaction with other wastes are sufficient to create a public nuisance or hazard to life or are sufficient to prevent or interfere with entry into the sewers for their maintenance and repair.
8. Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the director;
9. It shall be prohibited for rainwater, storm water, groundwater, street drainage, subsurface drainage, roof drainage, yard drainage, pools, water from yard fountains or water features, ponds or lawn sprays or other non-potable water as determined by the city to be discharged to the publicly owned treatment works without written authorization of the director. The director may approve the discharge of such water only when, in the opinion of the city, there is no other reasonable method of disposal available. If authorization is granted for the discharge of such water into the publicly owned treatment works, the user shall pay an applicable user charge, fees and meet all conditions as required. No discharge of wastewater or stormwater in any form, as defined in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), shall be made into the storm water system or waters of the State of Nevada that would cause a violation of the NPDES storm water permit.
10. Any substance which may cause the wastewater facilities' effluent, or any other product of the wastewater facilities, such as residues, sludges or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process.
11. Any substance which will cause the city to violate its NPDES permit or applicable water quality standards.
12. Any wastewater with objectionable color not removed in the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
13. A slug discharge as defined in 13.28.28.E.
14. Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the director or other regulations set forth by the State of Nevada or that violates any applicable local, state or federal regulation.
15. Bulk, expired, outdated or concentrated prescription or non-prescription drugs.
16. Wastewater or pollutants discharged directly into a manhole or other opening to the POTW unless specifically authorized by the director or as otherwise permitted under this chapter. Prohibited is the opening of a manhole or discharging into any opening in violation of this chapter.
17. No chemicals, materials, or substances, including but not limited to, paints, solvents, boiler or water treatment chemicals, sludges, chemicals, or wastes shall be stored in proximity to a floor drain or other sewer openings unless secondary containment is provided.
18. Wastewater contaminated as a result of discharge from aboveground and/or underground gasoline, diesel fuels, fuel oil, kerosene, and jet fuel tanks, tank accessories, and/or pipelines without applying for and obtaining a permit prior to discharge.
19. Liquid wastes from chemical toilets, and trailers, campers or other recreational vehicles which have been collected and/or held in tanks or other containers shall not be discharged into the POTW except at locations authorized by the city to collect such wastes.
20. Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the treatment of industrial wastes.
21. Medical wastes that cause or contribute to pass through or interference.
22. Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the POTW effluent to fail a whole effluent toxicity (WET) test.
23. Detergents, surfactants and other surface-active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW or cause or contribute to pass through or interference.
24. Discharge of Nonylphenol from the use of bulk or concentrated Nonylphenol containing detergents as employed by some industrial or commercial laundries, car washes or asphalt manufacturers or other industrial users.
25. Wastewater which contains grease or oil or any other substances that will solidify or become discernibly viscous at temperatures between thirty-two (32) degrees Fahrenheit (zero (0) degrees Celsius) and one hundred fifty (150) degrees Fahrenheit (65.5 degrees Celsius).
26. Wastewater containing free or floating oil and grease, or any discharge containing animal fat or grease by-product in excess of two hundred and fifty milligrams per liter (250 mg/L). This limit will not apply if the industrial user has installed and is properly operating and maintaining a gravity grease interceptor and implementing all required BMPs as specified in Section 13.28.30.
27. Wastewater generated as a result of wastes pumped from gravity grease interceptors, hydromechanical grease interceptors or grease traps, sand-oil separators or other storage tanks or treatment units back into the POTW, either directly or indirectly, without approval of the director.
28. Discharge of any wastewater containing perchloroethylene (PCE) (also known as tetrachloroethene and tetrachloroethylene) from any industrial user involved in the dry cleaning business.
29. Wastewater of domestic origin or associated with any industrial activities shall not be discharged to the city stormwater sewer system unless permitted by the state and approved by the city in writing.
30. Any pesticides, herbicides or fungicides that cause or contribute to pass through, interference or other problems at the treatment works or in the receiving waters. In no case shall an industrial user discharge wastewater that is generated from the rinsing of any container that contains or contained any concentrated or formulated pesticide, herbicide or fungicide.
C. Specific Discharge Limitations.
1. No class I significant industrial user (SIU) or other designated non-SIU shall discharge or cause to be discharged wastewater that exceeds the following limits:
Pollutant (a) | Daily Maximum Discharge Limit (mg/L)
Arsenic | 0.44
Cadmium | 0.035
Chromium | 5.02
Copper | 2.35
Lead | 0.33
Mercury | 0.058
Nickel | 1.99
Selenium | 0.21
Silver | 1.53
Zinc | 6.3
5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD 5 ) (b)(c) | 12,300 lbs./day
Total suspended solids (TSS) (b)(c) | 11,300 lbs./day
Phosphorus (b) | 879 lbs./day
(a) All pollutants as total and in mg/L unless otherwise specified.
(b) These limits are the total mass in pounds per day (lbs./day) that are available to allocate to all permitted industrial users. Allocations are at the sole discretion of the city.
(c) Discharges containing BOD 5 or TSS concentrations over that of normal domestic strength wastewater may be surcharged.
2. The city may, at its sole discretion, implement local limits through allocation of the maximum allowable industrial load (MAIL) to significant industrial users and correspond to the uniform concentration local limits shown in the table above. The MAILs that correspond to the daily maximum discharge limits are hereby incorporated by reference.
3. The following limits shall apply to wastewaters that are discharged from the groundwater cleanup of petroleum or gasoline underground storage tanks or other remediation wastewaters containing these pollutants or where these pollutants are appropriate surrogates. It shall be unlawful for any industrial user to discharge or cause to be discharged any waste or wastewater that exceeds the following limits, as applicable.
Pollutant (a)(c) | Daily Maximum Limit (mg/L)
Benzene | 0.050
BTEX (b) | 0.750
(a) All pollutants shown in the table are total.
(b) BTEX shall be measured as the sum of Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Toluene and Xylenes.
(c) These limits are based upon installation of air stripping technology as described in the EPA document: "Model NPDES Permit for Discharges Resulting from the Cleanup of Gasoline Released from Underground Storage Tanks. June 1989."
D. Salinity Controls.
1. A class I industrial user who introduces wastewater into the POTW may be required to submit a salinity control plan if monitoring of the industrial user's discharge shows it exceeds one thousand two hundred (1,200) mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS). This plan shall contain a description of the chemicals and materials used that contribute to the TDS concentration and the source control measures that will be implemented to reduce the TDS concentration in the discharge to less than one thousand two hundred (1,200) mg/L or to a level specified by the director that prevents discharges that cause or contribute to pass through or interference. The director may prohibit discharge of wastewater exceeding 1,200 mg/L TDS from any industrial user. Monitoring requirements for TDS shall be specified in the industrial wastewater discharge permit.
2. Class I industrial users shall submit this control plan within one hundred and eighty (180) days of permit issuance. If the class I industrial user reports a change in operations or discharge as required in Section 13.28.28.J. the industrial user shall update the control plan required in paragraph D.1. above and resubmit to the city within thirty (30) days of the change in discharge notice.
3. Any industrial user may be required to monitor for TDS and develop a control plan at the director's discretion.
E. The director may establish more stringent pollutant limits, additional site-specific pollutant limits, best management practices, or additional pretreatment requirements when, in the judgment of the director, such limitations are necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.
F. Dilution is prohibited as a substitute for treatment and shall be a violation of this chapter. Except where expressly authorized to do so by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement, no industrial user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any other way attempt to dilute a discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a pretreatment standard or requirement. The city may impose mass limitations on industrial users which are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements or in other cases where the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
G. State requirements and limitations on discharges shall apply in any case where they are more stringent than federal pretreatment standards and requirements or those in this chapter.
(Ord. No. 2771, § 1, 10-5-2016)
Source: City of North Las Vegas, Nevada, Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nv/north_las_vegas/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT13PUSE_CH13.28REINUSINPRPR_13.28.04WADIPRLIFetched: 11/1/2026