Sec. 28-11.1. Pretreatment treatment—Bypass.
A. For the purposes of this section, severe property damage means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the pretreatment systems, devices, or facility that causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources that can reasonably be expected to occur if bypass does not take place. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
B. An industrial user may allow a bypass to occur that does not cause pretreatment standards or requirements to be violated only if the bypass is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation of the pretreatment systems, devices, or facility. These allowed bypasses are not subject to the provision of subsections C, D, and E of this section.
C. Industrial users must notify the Department of a bypass.
1. If an industrial user knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it must submit prior notice to the Department at least ten days before the date of the anticipated bypass if practicable.
2. An industrial user must provide verbal notice to the Department of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards within 24 hours of learning the bypass occurred.
3. An industrial user must provide written documentation to the Department within five days of learning a bypass occurred. The written documentation must contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times; and, if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the bypass.
D. Other than those allowed in subsection B of this section, bypass is prohibited and the Director may take enforcement action against an industrial user for a bypass, unless:
1. The bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage;
2. There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime; this condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass that occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance; and
3. The industrial user submitted notice as required under subsection C of this section.
E. The Director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its potential impact on the POTW, if the Director determines that the bypass will meet the three conditions listed in subsection D of this section. (Ord. No. G-6740, § 1, 2020)