Sewer Discharge Permit

Federal regulations require the City to issue a wastewater discharge permit to all sewer users classified as significant industrial users. The following criteria, as defined in the EPA’s General Pretreatment Regulations (US CFR 403) and the City Code Section 925.02 (32), are used to determine if an industry is a significant industrial user as follows:

• Conducts operations that are subject to the EPA’s categorical standards, or
• Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day of process wastewater, or
• Contributes a process wastestream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the wastewater treatment plant, or
• Has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the City’s wastewater treatment plant operations or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.

Discharge permits may also be issued to other sewer users depending upon the characteristics of their wastewater discharges or other unusual circumstances.

Discharge permits follow a standard format designed to provide permittees with complete information as to their discharge limits, sampling and reporting obligations, general conditions and any special requirements. Permits are issued for no more than 5 years. They may be modified and/or reissued more frequently depending on user changes or new wastestream information.