General sewer use requirements.
Tulsa Revised Ordinances tit. 11-C, § 1201
in effectSection 1201. - General sewer use requirements.
A. Prohibited Discharge Standards.
1. General Prohibitions. No User shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any Pollutant or Wastewater that causes Pass Through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all Users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards or any other federal, state, or local Pretreatment Standards or requirements.
2. Specific Prohibitions. No User shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following Pollutants, substances, or Wastewater:
a. Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140F° (60°C) using the test methods specified in 40 C.F.R. §261.21;
b. Wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or greater than 11.0, or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW or equipment;
c. Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW or interference;
d. Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding Pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or Pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other Pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;
e. Wastewater or vapor having heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the Treatment Plant or cause Interference, but in no case Wastewater or vapor which causes the temperature at the introduction into the Treatment Plant to exceed 104°F (40°C);
f. Petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause Interference or Pass Through;
g. 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;
h. Trucked or hauled Pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the Director in accordance with Subsection 1201.F. of this chapter;
i. Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;
j. Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant's effluent, thereby violating one (1) of the City's OPDES permits;
k. Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
l. Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, unless specifically authorized by the Director;
m. Sludge, screenings, or other residues from the Pretreatment of industrial wastes;
n. Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the Director in a wastewater discharge permit;
o. Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test;
p. Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW; or
q. The use of hot water, enzymes, chemicals, or other agents or devices causing improperly treated Pollutants such as oil and grease to pass into the POTW, is prohibited.
r. Materials that inhibit UV transmittance as measured at the wastewater treatment plants and impact the ability of the wastewater treatment plants' treatment processes to achieve compliance with disinfection permit requirements.
Pollutants, substances, or Wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
B. National Categorical Pretreatment Standards. The Categorical Pretreatment Standards found in 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405—471, are hereby incorporated.
1. Where a Categorical Pretreatment Standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a Pollutant in Wastewater, the Director may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(c).
2. When the limits in a Categorical Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of mass of Pollutant per unit of production, the Director may convert the limits to equivalent limitations expressed either as mass of Pollutant discharged per day or effluent concentration for purposes of calculating effluent limitations applicable to individual Industrial Users.
3. When Wastewater subject to a Categorical Pretreatment Standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the Director shall impose an alternate limit using the combined wastestream formula in 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(e).
4. A User may obtain a variance from a Categorical Pretreatment Standard if the Users can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 C.F.R. § 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when developing the Categorical Pretreatment Standard.
5. The Director may convert the mass limits of the Categorical Pretreatment Standards of 40 CFR Parts 414, 419, and 455 to concentration limits for purposes of calculating limitations applicable to individual Industrial Users. The conversion is at the discretion of the Director.
6. Once included in its permit, the Industrial User must comply with the equivalent limitations developed in this section in lieu of the promulgated Categorical Standards from which the equivalent limitations were derived.
7. Many Categorical Pretreatment Standards specify one (1) limit for calculating maximum daily discharge limitations and a second limit for calculating maximum monthly average, or four-day average, limitations. Where such Standards are being applied, the same production or flow figure shall be used in calculating both the average and the maximum equivalent limitation.
8. Any Industrial User operating under a permit incorporating equivalent mass or concentration limits calculated from a production-based Standard shall notify the Director within two (2) business days after the User has a reasonable basis to know that the production level will significantly change within the next calendar month. Any User not notifying the Director of such anticipated change will be required to meet the mass or concentration limits in its permit that were based on the original estimate of the long term average production rate.
C. Local Limits. Except as provided for in Subsections 1201.G and 1201.N of this chapter, no person shall discharge Wastewater to the POTW containing in excess of the following instantaneous maximum allowable discharge limits as measured by procedures set out in 40 C.F.R. Part 136:
POLLUTANT | WWTP WHERE WASTEWATER IS PROCESSED PRIOR TO DISCHARGE INTO THE ENVIRONMENT
Southside | Northside | Haikey Creek | Lower Bird Creek
Arsenic | 1.5 mg/l | 0.3 mg/l | 2.0 mg/l | 5.0 mg/l
Cadmium | 0.2 mg/l | 0.09 mg/l | 0.5 mg/l | 0.5 mg/l
Chromium | 5.0 mg/l | 5.0 mg/l | 2.8 mg/l | 5.0 mg/l
Copper | 1.7 mg/l | 1.7 mg/l | 4.0 mg/l | 0.9 mg/l
Cyanide | 3.2 mg/l | 3.2 mg/l | 0.8 mg/l | 0.5 mg/l
Lead | 1.2 mg/l | 1.2 mg/l | 1.5 mg/l | 1.7 mg/l
Mercury | 0.04 mg/l | 0.0002 mg/l | 0.43 mg/l | 0.05 mg/l
Molybdenum | 2.7 mg/l | 2.7 mg/l | 33.8 mg/l | 2.75 mg/l
Nickel | 2.7 mg/l | 2.7 mg/l | 5.0 mg/l | 3.25 mg/l
Silver | 1.6 mg/l | 1.6 mg/l | 0.5 mg/l | 2.1 mg/l
Zinc | 6.0 mg/l | 6.0 mg/l | 5.0 mg/l | 4.1 mg/l
Oil & Grease- polar | 100 mg/l | 100 mg/l | 100 mg/l | 100 mg/l
Oil & Grease-nonpolar | 100 mg/l | 100 mg/l | 100 mg/l | 100 mg/l
Except as set forth by paragraph 1202.B.4.d of this chapter, the above limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. All concentrations for metallic substances are for "total" metal, unless indicated otherwise. Compliance with the cyanide limitation may be demonstrated by measuring for either total cyanide or available cyanide. Compliance with Oil & Grease - polar and Oil & Grease - nonpolar limitations may be demonstrated by measuring for Oil & Grease - Hexane Extractable Materials (HEM).
The Director may impose mass limitations in addition to or in place of the concentration-based limits above.
D. The Director may develop Best Management Practices (BMPs), by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits or general permits, to implement Local Limits and the requirements of Subsection 1201.A.
E. Dilution. No User shall increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation unless expressly authorized by an applicable Pretreatment Standard or requirement. No User shall discharge, without justification, large volumes of non-industrial process Wastewater. The Director may impose mass limitations on Users who commingle Wastewater with different Pollutant or chemical characteristics or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
F. Hauled Wastewater. Hauled Wastewater may be introduced into the POTW only at locations designated by the Director, and at such times as are established by the Director. The Director may require waste haulers to obtain Wastewater discharge permits. The Director may require the waste hauler to provide a representative sample and/or an analysis of any load prior to discharge. Waste haulers must provide a waste-tracking form for every load. This form shall include, at a minimum, the name and address of the waste hauler, permit number, truck identification, names and addresses of sources of waste, date and time the waste hauler received the waste, and volume and characteristics of waste. Waste haulers must comply with all applicable ODEQ licensing requirements. The Director reserves the right to reject any load of hauled waste.
G. Application of Best Management Practices. Upon petition to and approval by the Director, Users may, in lieu of monitoring for one (1) or more Local Limits set forth in Subsection 1201.C, develop and implement a Best Management Practice policy. Once approved by the Director, a facility's BMP becomes a fully enforceable local limit. After approval of a BMP, the Director shall issue the facility a Certificate of BMP Approval. Facilities failing to abide by an approved BMP will be subject to: the Local Limits set forth in Subsection 1201.C; enforcement actions set out in Sections 1209, 1210, and 1211; or obtaining a permit as set forth in Sections 1203 and 1204 of this chapter.
1. BMP Policy Components. The minimum components of an approved BMP include the following:
a. A description of the facility's industrial processes;
b. A detailed description of the facility's Wastewater treatment operations;
c. A list and description of the chemicals used or stored at the facility;
d. Policies and procedures for employee training;
e. A detailed description of the facility's pollution prevention policies and procedures including a description of the methods used for minimizing, to the greatest practical extent, adverse environmental impact; and
f. Other information as required by the Director.
2. Certificate of BMP Approval. Upon approval of a BMP, the Director will issue the facility a Certificate of BMP Approval. Until the issuance of a Certificate of BMP Approval, facilities are subject to the Local Limits set out in Subsection 1201.C. A Certificate of BMP Approval shall be issued for a specified period of time, not to exceed five (5) years from the effective date of the certificate. A Certificate of BMP Approval may be issued for a period less than five (5) years, at the discretion of the Director.
3. Transfer of BMP Approval. A certificate of BMP approval may be transferred to a new owner or operator only after at least thirty-day advance notice is given to the Director. The notice to the Director must include a written certification by the new owner or operator which:
a. States that the new owner and/or operator has no immediate intent to change the facility's operations;
b. Identifies the specific date on which the transfer is to occur; and
c. Acknowledges full responsibility for complying with the existing certificate of BMP approval.
4. Revocation of BMP Approval. The Director may revoke a Certificate of BMP Approval for good cause, including but not limited to the following reasons:
a. A violation of any of the prohibited discharge standards set forth in Subsection 1201.A;
b. Failure to notify the Director of significant changes to the facility or the type of Wastewater discharged from the facility;
c. Misrepresentation or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the request for certificate of BMP approval;
d. Failure to update and revise a facility's BMP as needed, and submit such changes to the Director within thirty (30) days of such change(s);
e. Refusing to allow the Director timely access to the facility premises and records;
f. Failure to comply with an enforcement action;
g. Failure to complete a Wastewater survey;
h. A change in operation or process, which would require the facility to obtain a wastewater discharge permit;
i. Failure to provide advance notice of the transfer of business ownership; or
j. Failure to comply with the provisions and intent of an approved BMP.
H. Approval Required. The Director may require review and acceptance prior to discharge into the POTW of Wastewater with any of the following properties:
1. A BOD concentration greater than two hundred fifty (250) milligrams per liter;
2. A COD concentration greater than five hundred (500) milligrams per liter;
3. A TSS concentration greater than two hundred fifty (250) milligrams per liter; or
4. The potential to be a prohibited discharge.
I. Wastewater with Excessive BOD or Suspended Solids. Users discharging wastewater into the POTW which exhibit none of the characteristics prohibited by this chapter, other than BOD or TSS concentrations in excess of that found in typical domestic wastewater (less than two hundred fifty (250) mg/l for either BOD or TSS or five hundred (500) mg/l for COD), may be subject to the following requirement(s):
1. Pretreat the Wastewater to the BOD, COD and TSS concentrations found in typical domestic Wastewater; or
2. These wastes may be discharged into the POTW provided the following requirements are met:
a. The Wastewater will not cause damage to the POTW.
b. The Wastewater will not impair the Wastewater treatment process.
c. The User possesses an industrial wastewater discharge permit, if required by the Director.
d. The User is assessed a surcharge over and above the published sewer rates, if deemed appropriate by the Director.
J. Jurisdictional and Multi-Jurisdictional Procedures. Any Industrial User desiring to utilize the City of Tulsa sanitary sewer system, whether within or outside the corporate limits of the City, by use of or discharge into the system, shall agree to the provisions set forth in this chapter and shall agree to accept any and all penalty provisions and enforcement actions provided herein.
K. City's Right of Revision. The City reserves the right to establish by ordinance, wastewater discharge permit; or order, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW.
L. Deny or Condition. The Director may deny or condition new or increased contributions of Pollutants, or changes in the nature of Pollutants, to the POTW by Industrial Users where such contributions may not meet applicable Pretreatment Standards or requirements or where such contributions may cause the POTW to violate an OPDES permit.
M. Special Agreement. The Director reserves the right to enter into special agreements with Users setting out special terms under which they may discharge to the POTW. In no case will a special agreement waive compliance with a Categorical Pretreatment Standard or federal Pretreatment requirement.
N. Sapulpa. Users whose wastewater enters the sanitary sewer system owned by the City of Sapulpa, Oklahoma must comply with all applicable discharge restrictions set forth in the City of Sapulpa's sewer use ordinances.
(Ord. Nos. 17419, 19991, 21538; Ord. No. 22851, § 1, 3-28-2013; Ord. No. 23214, § 2, 11-6-2014)
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_CH12SEUS_S1201GESEUSREFetched: 10/28/2026