12.06.050 Individual wastewater discharge permit issuance process

12.06.050 Individual wastewater discharge permit issuance process.

A. Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Duration. An individual wastewater discharge permit shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed five years from the effective date of the permit. An individual wastewater discharge permit may be issued for a period less than five years, at the discretion of the City Engineer. Each individual wastewater discharge permit will indicate a specific date upon which it will expire.

B. Wastewater Discharge Permit Contents. An individual wastewater discharge permit shall include such conditions as are deemed reasonably necessary by the City Engineer to prevent pass through or interference, protect the quality of the water body receiving the treatment plant’s effluent, protect worker health and safety, facilitate sludge management and disposal, and protect against damage to the POTW.

1. Individual wastewater discharge permits must contain:

a. A statement that indicates wastewater discharge permit issuance date, expiration date, effective date and duration, which in no event shall exceed five years;

b. A statement that the wastewater discharge permit is nontransferable without prior notification to the City in accordance with subsection (E) of this section, and provisions for furnishing the new owner or operator with a copy of the existing wastewater discharge permit;

c. Effluent limits, including best management practices, based on applicable pretreatment standards;

d. Self monitoring, sampling, reporting, notification, and record-keeping requirements. These requirements shall include an identification of pollutants (or best management practices) to be monitored, sampling location, sampling frequency, and sample type based on federal, state, and local law;

e. A statement of applicable civil and criminal penalties for violation of pretreatment standards and requirements, and any applicable compliance schedule. Such schedule may not extend the time for compliance beyond that required by applicable federal, state, or local law;

f. Requirements to control slug discharge, if determined by the City Engineer to be necessary.

2. Individual wastewater discharge permits may contain, but need not be limited to, the following conditions:

a. Limits on the average and/or maximum rate of discharge, time of discharge, and/or requirements for flow regulation and equalization;

b. Requirements for the installation of pretreatment technology, pollution control, or construction of appropriate containment devices, designed to reduce, eliminate, or prevent the introduction of pollutants into the treatment works;

c. Requirements for the development and implementation of spill control plans or other special conditions including management practices necessary to adequately prevent accidental, unanticipated, or nonroutine discharges;

d. Development and implementation of waste minimization plans to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW;

e. The unit charge or schedule of user charges and fees for the management of the wastewater discharged to the POTW;

f. Requirements for installation and maintenance of inspection and sampling facilities and equipment, including flow measurement devices;

g. A statement that compliance with the individual wastewater discharge permit does not relieve the permittee of responsibility for compliance with all applicable federal and state pretreatment standards, including those which become effective during the term of the individual wastewater discharge permit; and

h. Other conditions as deemed appropriate by the City Engineer to ensure compliance with this chapter, and state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.

C. Wastewater Discharge Permit Appeals. The City Engineer shall provide public notice of the issuance of an individual wastewater discharge permit. Any person, including the user, may petition the City Engineer to reconsider the terms of an individual wastewater discharge permit within 30 days of notice of its issuance.

1. Failure to submit a timely petition for review shall be deemed to be a waiver of the administrative appeal.

2. In its petition, the appealing party must indicate the individual wastewater discharge permit provisions objected to, the reasons for this objection, and the alternative condition, if any, it seeks to place in the individual wastewater discharge permit.

3. The effectiveness of the individual wastewater discharge permit shall not be stayed pending the appeal.

4. If the City Engineer fails to act within 30 days, a request for reconsideration shall be deemed to be denied. Decisions not to reconsider an individual wastewater discharge permit, not to issue an individual wastewater discharge permit, or not to modify an individual wastewater discharge permit shall be considered final administrative actions for purposes of judicial review.

5. Aggrieved parties seeking judicial review of the final administrative wastewater discharge permit decision must do so by filing a complaint with the Hood River County Circuit Court within 30 days.

1. The City Engineer may modify an individual wastewater discharge permit for good cause, including, but not limited to, the following reasons:

a. To incorporate any new or revised federal, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.

b. To address significant alterations or additions to the user’s operation, processes, or wastewater volume or character since the time of the individual wastewater discharge permit issuance.

c. A change in the POTW that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the authorized discharge.

d. Information indicating that the permitted discharge poses a threat to the POTW, collection or treatment personnel, or the receiving waters.

e. Violation of any terms or conditions of the individual wastewater discharge permit.

f. Misrepresentations or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the wastewater discharge permit application or in any required reporting.

g. Revision of or a grant of variance from categorical pretreatment standards pursuant to 40 CFR 403.13.

h. To correct typographical or other errors in the individual wastewater discharge permit.

i. To reflect a transfer of the facility ownership or operation to a new owner or operator where requested in accordance with subsection (E) of this section.

1. Individual wastewater discharge permits may not be transferred to a new owner or operator unless all of the following conditions are met:

a. The permittee must supply to the new owner a copy of the permit at least 90 days prior to exchange of ownership.

b. The permittee must give at least 60 days’ advanced official notice to the City Engineer. The notice to the City Engineer must include a written certification by the new owner or operator which:

i. States that the new owner and/or operator has no immediate intent to change the facility’s operations and processes;

ii. Identifies the specific date on which the transfer is to occur; and

iii. Acknowledges full responsibility for complying with the existing individual wastewater discharge permit.

c. The City Engineer approves the individual wastewater discharge permit transfer.

2. Failure to meet the conditions of transfer renders the individual wastewater discharge permit void as of the date of facility transfer.

F. Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Revocation. The City Engineer may revoke an individual wastewater discharge permit for good cause, including, but not limited to, the following reasons:

1. Failure to notify the City Engineer of significant changes to the wastewater prior to the changed discharge;

2. Failure to provide prior notification to the City Engineer of changed conditions pursuant to Section 12.06.060(E);

3. Misrepresentation or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the wastewater discharge permit application;

4. Falsifying self-monitoring or other reports and certification statements;

5. Tampering with monitoring equipment;

6. Refusing to allow the City Engineer timely access to the facility premises and records;

7. Failure to meet effluent limitations;

8. Failure to pay fines;

9. Failure to pay sewer charges;

10. Failure to meet compliance schedules;

11. Failure to complete a wastewater survey or the wastewater discharge permit application;

12. Failure to provide advance notice of the transfer of business ownership of a permitted facility; or

13. Violation of any pretreatment standard or requirement, or any terms of the individual wastewater discharge permit or this chapter.

Individual wastewater discharge permits shall be voidable upon cessation of operations or transfer of business ownership. All individual wastewater discharge permits issued to a particular user are void upon the issuance of a new individual wastewater discharge permit to that user.

G. Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Reissuance. A user with an expiring individual wastewater discharge permit shall apply for individual wastewater discharge permit reissuance by submitting a complete permit application, in accordance with HRMC 12.06.040(E), a minimum of 60 days prior to the expiration of the user’s existing individual wastewater discharge permit.

1. If another municipality, or user located within another municipality, contributes wastewater to the POTW, the City Engineer shall enter into an intermunicipal agreement with the contributing municipality.

2. Prior to entering into an agreement required by subsection (H)(1) of this section, the City Engineer shall request the following information from the contributing municipality:

a. A description of the quality and volume of wastewater discharged to the POTW by the contributing municipality;

b. An inventory of all users located within the contributing municipality that are discharging to the POTW; and

c. Such other information as the City Engineer may deem necessary.

3. An intermunicipal agreement, as required by subsection (H)(1) of this section, shall contain the following conditions:

a. A requirement for the contributing municipality to adopt a sewer use ordinance which is at least as stringent as this chapter and local limits, including required baseline monitoring reports (BMRs) which are at least as stringent as those set out in HRMC 12.06.020(D). The requirement shall specify that such ordinance and limits must be revised as necessary to reflect changes made to the City’s ordinance and/or local limits;

b. A requirement for the contributing municipality to submit a revised user inventory on at least an annual basis;

c. A provision specifying which pretreatment implementation activities, including individual wastewater discharge permit issuance, inspection and sampling, and enforcement, will be conducted by the contributing municipality; which of these activities will be conducted by the City Engineer; and which of these activities will be conducted jointly by the contributing municipality and the City Engineer;

d. A requirement for the contributing municipality to provide the City Engineer with access to all information that the contributing municipality obtains as part of its pretreatment activities;

e. Limits on the nature, quality, and volume of the contributing municipality’s wastewater at the point where it discharges to the POTW;

f. Requirements for monitoring the contributing municipality’s discharge;

g. A provision ensuring the City Engineer access to the facilities of users located within the contributing municipality’s jurisdictional boundaries for the purpose of inspection, sampling, and any other duties deemed necessary by the City Engineer; and

h. A provision specifying remedies available for breach of the terms of the intermunicipal agreement. (Ord. 2075 §2 (Exh. A), 2023)