HomeMy WebLinkAbout353 ORDINANCE NO. 353
AN ORDINANCE OF
THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS
TO AMEND TITLE 6 (SANITATION AND HEALTH)
CHAPTER 4 (SEWAGE) ARTICLE 4 (SEWER USE)
AND ARTICLE 5 (GREASE DISPOSAL)
OF THE LOS ALTOS HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE
WHEREAS, the Town wants to conform Title 6, Chapter 4,
Article 4 (Sewer Usage) to the provisions of the City of Palo
Alto Sewer Use Ordinance and to incorporate Article 5 (Grease
- Disposal) into Article 4 (Sewer Usage) ;
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos
Hills does ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Section 6-4.401
(Definitions) and subsections (c) - (bb) of Section 6-4.401 of
Chapter 4, Article 4 of Title 6 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal
Code are hereby amended to read in relevant part as follows:
6-4.401 Definitions.
The following words and phrases, whenever used in this
chapter, shall be as defined herein. Terminology for
analytical testing shall be that contained in "Guidelines
Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of
Pollutants" , published at Title 40 Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 136.
(d) "City Engineer" means the City Engineer for the
Town of Los Altos Hills .
(e) "Discharger" means any person who discharges,
causes or permits the discharge of industrial waste into a
city sewer or storm drain.
(f) "Domestic waste" means the liquid and waterborne
wastes derived from ordinary living processes, free from
industrial wastes and of such character as to permit
satisfactory disposal, without special treatment, into the
city' s sewer system.
(g) "EPA" means the United States Environmental
Protection Agency.
(h) "Exceptional wastes" means aqueous wastes that
may include but are not limited to (i) construction site
dewatering where soil or groundwater contamination is
present, (ii) groundwater contaminated with organic solvents
generated as a result of pump tests in preparation for a
groundwater cleanup or water generated during sampling
events, (iii) aqueous wastes generated by either permanent
or mobile hazardous waste treatment units used to treat
hazardous waste at the generator' s site, (iv) and aqueous
wastes generated as a result of site cleanup activities.
(i) "Food service facility" means any establishment
that uses or generates grease when preparing food. "Food
service facility" does not mean any facility that prepares
food for off-site cooking and consumption, or any facility
that does not use or generate grease in cooking or preparing
food.
(j ) "Grease" means, and includes, fats, oils, waxes,
or other related constituents. Grease may be of vegetable
or animal origin, including butter, lard, margarine,
vegetable fats and oils and fats in meats, cereals, seeds,
nuts and certain fruits. Grease also be of mineral
u ts. G eas may
origin, including kerosenes, lubricating oil and road oil .
Grease in the wastewater collection system is generally
present as, but need not be, a floatable solid, a liquid, a
. colloid, an emulsion or in a solution.
k "Grease removal device" means an 'interce for or
( ) p
other mechanical device designed, constructed and intended
to remove, hold or otherwise prevent the passage of grease
to the sanitary sewer.
(1) "Hazardous material" means any material that
because of its quantity, concentration or physical or
chemical characteristics, poses a significant present or
potential hazard to human health and safety or to the
environment if released into the workplace or the .
environment. "Hazardous materials" include, but are not
limited to, hazardous substances, hazardous wastes and any
materials which a handler has a reasonable basis for
believing would be injurious to the health and safety or
harmful to the environment if released into the workplace
or the environment. For purposes of this title,
chlorofluorocarbons (CFO' s) shall be considered hazardous
materials.
(m) "Industrial waste" means the waste and wastewater
from any production, manufacturing or processing operation
of whatever nature including institutional and commercial
operations where wastewater is used for the removal of
significant quantities of waste other than domestic waste
from premises connected to the city' s sanitary sewers.
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"Instantaneous Instantaneous maximumn means the highest
concentration or other measure of pollutant magnitude taken
at any discrete point in time.
(o) "Instantaneous minimum" means" the lowest
concentration or other measure of pollutant magnitude taken
at any discrete point in. time.
(p) "Interceptor" means a receptacle or trap designed
and constructed to intercept, separate, and prevent the
passage of prohibited substances into the sewer system.
(q) sources"
New shall mean sources of industrial
waste that commence discharging subsequent to the effective
date of this section.
(r) "Organic solvent" means any solvent which
contains carbon in its molecular structure.
(s) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm,
association, corporation or public agency.
(t) "Plant" means the Palo Alto Regional Water
Quality Control Plant.
(u) "Point of discharge" means the point or points
designated as such in the permit. Where. no designation is
made it shall mean the point where the private sewer joins a
public sewer.
(v) "Pretreatment system" means a treatment system at
an industrial or commercial facility that is designed to
treat water prior to entering the City' s sewer system.
(w) "Sanitary sewage" means water-carried wastes from
residences, business property, institutions and industrial
property excluding ground, surface, and storm waters and
industrial wastes.
(x) "Secondary containment" means the level of
containment external to and separate from the primary
containment.
(y) "Seepage pit" means a device comprised of one or
more pits extending into porous strata, lined with open-
jointed masonry or similar walls, capped and provided with a
means of access such as a manhole cover and into which
wastewater disposal system effluent is discharged.
(z) "Sewage treatment plant" means any arrangement of
devices and structures used for treating sanitary sewage and
industrial wastes.
3 -
j (aa) "Sewer" means a pipe or conduit for carrying
sewage.
(bb) "Sewer system" or "sanitary sewer system" means
. all sewers, treatment plants and other facilities owned or
operated by the City or by the City of Palo Alto, with whom
the City is a partner, for carrying, collecting, treating,
and disposing of sanitary sewage and industrial wastes.
-(cc) "Storm drains" means the system of pipes and
channels used to convey storm water.
(dd) "Unpolluted water" means water to which no
constituent has been added, either intentionally or
accidentally, that would render such water unacceptable for
disposal to storm or natural drainage or directly to surface
waters. '
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Subsection (f) ,
Section 6-4.403, Chapter 4, Article 4 of Title 6 of the Los Altos
Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 6-4.403 Industrial waste discharge permit.
(f) Any person or organization desiring to
change the quantity or quality of waste discharged to
the sewer system or to discharge wastes or use
facilities which are not in conformance with their
industrial waste permit shall apply for and obtain an
amended permit prior to any such discharge or use. An
application for an amended permit must be filed with
the City Engineer sixty (60) days in advance of the
proposed commencement of such discharge or use of such
facilities.
SECTION 3 . AMENDMENT OF CODE. Subsections (d) , (e) and (g)
of Section 6-4 .415 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code are
hereby amended to read as follows:
6-4.415 Character of Wastes.
(d) Explosives. No solids, liquids, or gases
which by themselves or by interaction with other
substances may create fire or explosion hazards,
including wastestreams with a close cup flashpoint of' .
less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius)
shall be discharged. Discharge of any explosive
substance shall be unlawful. Flammable substances
including, but not limited to, acetone, alcohols,
benzene, gasoline, xylene, hexade and naphtha, shall
4 -
not be discharged into the sewer system except where
present ,in contaminated groundwater discharges being
discharged under an exceptional waste permit issued by
the City. Where groundwater discharges contain such
contaminants, the discharger shall monitor the sewer
atmosphere for explosivity and flammability using a
properly calibrated meter designed for the purpose.
The frequency of such monitoring shall be defined in
the permit. Whenever a lower explosive level is
threatened to be exceeded, the discharger shall
immediately notify the City Engineer of the potential
hazard in the sewer within fifteen minutes of making
the determination of threatened explosivity. The
discharger shall follow verbal notification with a
written explanation of the cause of the explosive
hazard within five working days, with corrective
actions taken to alleviate the situation and measures
taken to prevent a reoccurrence. The discharger shall
not recommence discharges without prior written
approval of the City Engineer or his designated
representative. Where flammable substances are used in
processes,' separate collection and disposal outside the
sewer system shall be provided.
(e) Grease and Oil . Grease and/or oil shall not
be discharged into the sewer system if the average
concentration of floatable oil and/or grease (defined
as that which is subject to gravity separation at a
temperature of twenty degrees Celsius and at a pH of
4.5) exceeds twenty mg/liter; nor shall the total
and/or grease concentration exceed two hundred
mg/liter. In addition, the discharge of petroleum oil,
nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral
origin in amounts that cause interference or pass
through, as defined by EPA regulations, shall be
prohibited.
(g) Noxious, Hazardous or Malodorous Substances.
No industrial waste shall be discharged which alone or
in combination with other wastes may create a public
nuisance, hazard, make human entry into the sewers
abnormally hazardous, or which constitutes a discharge
of hazardous substances as defined by Title 22, Part II
of the California Code of Regulations; or statutes of
the United States government.
Dischargers shall be required to certify at least
every six months that their waste does not constitute a
hazardous waste, as defined by EPA regulations, and
that during the previous six months no discharge of
hazardous substances or waste has occurred. Should any
discharge of a hazardous waste occur, the discharger
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shall verbally notify the EPA, the Regional Water
Quality Control Board and the City Engineer as soon as
possible, but in no event later than 24 hours after
such discharge.
Appropriate records of hazardous waste disposal
manifests, inventories of stored virgin and used
hazardous materials and other documentation as required
by state or federal law shall be kept and made
available for inspection and/or copying at the request
of the City.
Mercaptans and dissolved sulfides shall not be discharged in
concentrations exceeding 0 .1 mg/liter.
SECTION 4. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Section 6-4 .420 of the Los
Altos Hills Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
6-4.420 Construction requirements.
The owner of every new commercial and industrial
building or portion thereof for which a building permit
is issued on or after July 1, 1992 must cause such
building to be constructed so that industrial waste is
segregated, by means of separate plumbing, from
domestic waste prior to converging with other
wastestreams in the sanitary sewer system. For the
purposes of this section only, the term "new" shall
mean and apply to all of the .following: newly
constructed buildings; building additions that require
plumbing for industrial waste; and remodeling of
existing buildings to accommodate expansion of or
change to a use that requires plumbing for industrial
waste.
SECTION S. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Section 6-4.423 (Copper-
Based Root Control Systems) is hereby added to Chapter 4,
Article 4 of Title 6 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code to
read as follows:
Sec. 6.423 Copper-based root control chemicals.
No person shall discharge, dispose of or add to the
sanitary sewer system or to the storm sewer any substance
containing greater than five percent copper by weight, to
control roots or for any other purpose.
SECTION 6. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Section 6-4.424 of
Chapter 4, Article 4 of Title 6 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal
Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 6-4.424 Grease Disposal Prohibited.
6 -
No person shall dispose of any grease, or cause any
grease to be disposed, by discharge into any drainage
piping, by discharge into any public or private sanitary
sewer, by discharge into any storm drainage system or by
discharge to any land, street, public way, river, stream or
other waterway.
SECTION 7 . AMENDMENT OF CODE. Section 6-4 .424 is hereby
added to Chapter 4, Article 4 of Title 6 of the Los Altos Hills
Municipal Code to read as follows:
6-4.425 Grease Removal Device Required.
(a) The owner of every newly constructed,
remodeled or converted commercial or industrial
facility with one or more grease generating activities,
including Food Service Facilities with new or
replacement kitchens, for which a building permit is
issued on or after January 1, 1992, shall install or
cause to be installed a grease interceptor for each
grease generating activity, of a size equal to or
greater than the minimum size meeting the definition of
"grease interceptor" , as set forth in section 108 of
the then currently adopted edition of the Uniform
Plumbing Code.
(b) The owner of every commercial or industrial
generator of grease, including food service facilities,
serviced by a sewer collection line found to have a
grease blockage, a history of grease blockage or
accelerated line maintenance resulting from grease
disposal shall install or cause to be installed, upon
notification by the City Engineer, a grease removal
device.
(c) The owner of every commercial or industrial
generator of grease, including food service facilities,
for which installation of grease removal devices is not
required pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this
section, shall install or cause to be installed a
grease removal device for each grease generating
activity on or before January 1, 1997.
(d) All grease removal device (s) shall be
installed on the premises where grease is used or
generated and shall be sized in conformance with
Chapter 7 of the then currently adopted edition of the
Uniform Plumbing Code. The contents of .all grease
removal devices shall be removed periodically as
necessary to prevent violations of this chapter. At a
minimum, the contents shall be removed every six
months. All grease removal devices shall be kept in
good repair, and shall be maintained in continuous
operation. A log of all grease removal activities
7 -
shall be maintained at the facility showing the date of
removal, the amount removed and the disposition of the
removed contents. The log shall be retained for a
period of three (3) years, and shall be available for
inspection by the City Engineer upon request.
SECTION 8. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Section 6-4.426 is hereby
added to the Chapter 4, Article 4, of Title 6 of Los Altos Hills
Municipal Code to read as follows:
Sec. 6-4.426 Requirements for vehicle service facilities.
(a) Definitions. For the purposes of this
section the following words and phrases shall be as
defined herein.
(1) "Commercial vehicle washing facility"
means a commercial facility where vehicle washing is a
primary business activity. Commercial vehicle washing
facilities include, but are not limited to, mobile
washing rigs.
(2) "Fleet washing facility" means a
facility for washing vehicles, at a location where a
business maintains six or more vehicles.
(3) "Ground surfaces" means and includes
dirt, gravel or other unpaved surfaces.
(4) "Vehicle" means a mode of transporting
people or things. Vehicles include, but are not
limited to, automobiles, trucks, recreational vehicles,
tractors, airplanes and boats.
(5) "Vehicles fluid" means a liquid used in
or drained from a motor vehicle. Vehicle fluids
include, but are not limited to, gasoline, diesel. fuel,
motor oil, brake fluid, radiator fluid, hydraulic
fluid, transmission fluid and coolant. .
(6) "Vehicle service facility" means a
commercial or industrial facility that conducts one or
more of the following operations with respect to
vehicles or components of vehicles: vehicle repair, r
fuel dispensing, vehicle fluid replacement, engine and
parts cleaning, body repair, vehicle salvage and
wrecking or vehicle washing.
(b) On and after October 1, 1992, all vehicle
service facilities shall be operated in accordance with
the following standards:
(1) No person shall dispose of, nor permit
the disposal, directly or indirectly, of vehicle
8 -
•
fluids, hazardous materials or rinsewater from parts
cleaning operations into storm drains.
(2) All owners and operators of vehicle
service facilities shall ensure that any vehicle fluid,
hazardous material or rinsewater from parts cleaning
operations that comes into contact with any floor,
pavement or ground surface is cleaned up. immediately
from such surface.
(3) No person shall dispose of vehicle
fluids or rinsewater from parts cleaning operations
into the sanitary sewer system except pursuant to an
industrial waste discharge permit obtained in
accordance with this chapter.
(4) No vehicle service facilities shall
contain floor drains, excepting only such floor drains
as are connected to wastewater pretreatment systems for
which an industrial waste discharge permit has been
obtained in accordance with this chapter.
(5) No tanks, containers or sinks used for
parts cleaning or rinsing shall be connected to the
storm drain system, or to the sanitary sewer system
except pursuant to an industrial waste discharge permit
obtained in accordance with this chapter.
(6) No person shall perform vehicle fluid
removal outside a building, or on asphalt or ground
surfaces, whether inside or outside a building, except
in such a manner as to ensure that any spilled fluid
will be in an area of secondary containment.
(7) Leaking vehicle fluids shall be
contained or drained immediately.
(8) No person shall leave unattended drip
pans or other open containers containing vehicle fluid,
unless such containers are in use or in an area of
secondary containment.
(9) No person shall discharge wastewater
from vehicle washing operations or wash racks to the
sanitary sewer system except pursuant to an industrial
waste discharge permit obtained in accordance with this
chapter. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed
to prohibit the proper reuse of wastewater.
(10) No person shall discharge into the
storm drain water from vehicle washing operations,
except from rinsing of vehicle exterior surfaces, with
water only, for appearance purposes. This exception
- 9 -
does not apply to commercial vehicle washing facilities
or fleet washing facilities.
(11) Vehicle service facilities shall be
cleaned using only those methods of cleaning that
ensure that no materials are discharged to the storm
drain or to the sanitary sewer system, except for
wastewater which is discharged to the sanitary sewer
system pursuant to an industrial waste discharge permit
obtained in accordance with this chapter; provided,
however, that a permit shall not be required for
facilities that use the following three-step sequence
for cleaning floors:
(i) Clean up spills with rags or other
absorbent materials.
(ii) Sweep floor using dry absorbent
material .
(iii) Mop floor. Mop water must be discharged
to the sanitary sewer via. a toilet or
sink.
(12) All owners and operators of vehicle
service facilities shall ensure that spill prevention
and clean-up equipment and absorbent materials are kept
in stock at all times and are readily available for
use.
(13) No acid-containing batteries shall be
stored except within secondary containment.
(14) All owners and operators of vehicle
service facilities shall ensure that all employees of
such facilities are trained, upon hiring and annually
thereafter, regarding best management practices in
. accordance with guidelines issued and published by the
Superintendent.
(15) All owners and operators of vehicle
service facilities shall post or cause to be posted-
signs on all storm drains located on the property of
the facility notifying persons that the discharge of
wastes into the storm drain is illegal.
In the case of any conflict between the provisions of this
section and other provisions of this chapter, this section
will apply.
SECTION 9 . AMENDMENT OF CODE. Section 6-4 .426 (Storage of
Hazardous Materials Above Sinks) is hereby added to Chapter 4,
Article 4, of Title 6 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code to
read as follows:
r
- 10 -
Sec. 6-4.427 Storage of hazardous materials above sinks.
No person shall store hazardous materials above a sink
in a commercial or industrial facility.
Y
SECTION 10. AMENDMENT OF CODE. Article 5 (Grease Disposal)
of Chapter 4 of Title 6 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code is
hereby repealed.
SECTION 11. SEVERABILITY. If any part of this ordinance is
held to be invalid or inapplicable to any situation by a court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance or the
applicability of this ordinance to other situations.
SECTION 12 . ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. Pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act, the Council finds that this
ordinance is categorically exempt (Class S) from environmental
review.
SECTION 13 . EFFECTIVE DATE; POSTING. This ordinance shall
become effective thirty (30) days from the date of its passage,
and shall be posted within the Town of Los Altos Hills in three
(3) public places.
INTRODUCED: May 6, 1992
PASSED: May 20, 1992
AYES: Mayor Hubbard and Councilmembers Casey, Johnson and Siegel
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None
ABSENT: Mayor-'Pro'.Tem .Tryon
By:
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Cler
APPROVED AS TO F RM:
C# Attorney
PB\PMG\149490BI.002
04/30/92
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