[Amended 12-13-1988]
A. 
Definitions. Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings of the following words and phrases used in this Part 2 shall be as follows:
ACT or THE ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the "Clean Water Act," as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
APPLICANT
Any person requesting approval to discharge wastewaters into the municipal facilities or a new connection to the wastewater works.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY
The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for Region 2.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE or SIGNATURE AUTHORITY
[Amended 5-31-1994]
(1) 
If the industrial user is a corporation:
(a) 
The president, secretary, treasurer, or a vice president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function or any other person who performs similar policy or decision making functions for the corporation.
(b) 
The manager of one or more manufacturing, production or operation facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25 million, if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedure.
(2) 
If the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, a general partner or proprietor, respectfully.
(3) 
If the industrial user is a federal, state or local governmental facility, a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility or his/her designee.
(4) 
The individuals described in Subsections (1) through (3) above may designate another authorized representative if the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for the environmental matters for the company and the written authorization is submitted to the Executive Director.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Practices such as preventive maintenance, scheduling of activities, or process alterations which enable the user to comply with the provisions of this Part 2 or any applicable state and/or federal guidelines.
BOD (denoting "biochemical oxygen demand")
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20° C., expressed in milligrams per liter.
BUILDING DRAIN
That part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning 10 feet (three meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
BUILDING SEWER
The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
BYPASS
The intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of an industrial user's treatment facility.
[Added 8-13-1991]
CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD
Any regulation containing pollutant limitations promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5 and those found in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 to 471.[1]
[Added 5-31-1994]
CITY
The City of Lowell, Massachusetts.
COMBINED SEWER
A sewer receiving both surface runoff and sewage.
COMPATIBLE POLLUTANTS
Wastewater constituents for which the POTW was designed or is operated to adequately treat.
COOLING WATER
The water discharge from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
CONTROL AUTHORITY
Upon acceptance of the pretreatment program by the EPA, the control authority will be the Executive Director of the Lowell Regional Water and Wastewater Utilities. Until the program has gained acceptance, the control authority shall be synonymous with the approval authority.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
DAILY AVERAGE IN MILLIGRAMS PER LITER
The average concentration of grab samples collected over a normal operating day.
DAILY MAXIMUM IN MILLIGRAMS PER LITER
The highest single value obtained for a particular parameter over a normal operating day.
DISCHARGE DOCUMENT
Either the previously negotiated agreements or a wastewater discharge permit, and shall include the criteria for discharge to the POTW.
DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
The wastewater derived principally from dwellings, business buildings, institutions and the like.
EXCESSIVE
Amounts or concentrations of a constituent of a wastewater which in the judgment of the Executive Director will cause damage to any City facility; will be harmful to a wastewater treatment process; cannot be removed in the City treatment works to the degree required to meet the limiting stream classification standards of the Merrimack River and/or EPA and state effluent standards; can otherwise endanger life, limb, or public property; or can constitute a nuisance.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Executive Director of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility or his duly authorized representative.
FACILITIES
Structures and conduits for the purpose of collecting, treating, neutralizing, stabilizing, or disposing of domestic wastewater and/or industrial or other wastewaters as are disposed of by means of such structures and conduits, including treatment and disposal works, necessary intercepting, outfall, and outlet sewers, and pumping stations integral to such facilities, with sewers, equipment, furnishings thereof and other appurtenances connected therewith.
GARBAGE
The animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, and serving of food. It is composed largely of putrescible organic matter and its natural moisture content.
GRAB SAMPLE
A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.
HOLDING TANK WASTE
Any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE
The discharge or the introduction of nondomestic pollutants from any source regulated under Section 307(b) or (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
INDUSTRIAL DISCHARGE PERMIT
The permit required to be obtained from the City by significant industrial users to discharge to the City's POTW, as set forth in § 272-53 of this Part 2.
INDUSTRIAL USER
A source of indirect discharge.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER
All water-carried wastes and wastewater, excluding domestic wastewater and unpolluted water. Includes all wastewater from any producing, manufacturing, processing, testing, institutional, commercial, agricultural, or other operations where the wastewater discharged includes nondomestic wastes.
INTERFERENCE
A discharge by an industrial user which, alone or in conjunction with discharges by other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal and which is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): Section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) [including Title II, more commonly referred to as the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)," and including state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA], the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substance Control Act, and the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act.
LOCAL LIMITS
Specific effluent pollutant concentrations developed by the POTW for an industrial user(s) in order to prevent any interference and/or pass-through of the POTW as mandated by 40 CFR 403.5(c).
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT or NPDES PERMIT
A permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342).
NATIONAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD or CATEGORICAL STANDARD
The term "national pretreatment standard," "pretreatment standard" or "standard" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act which applies to industrial users. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5 and those found in 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 to 471.[2]
[Amended 5-31-1994]
NATURAL OUTLET
Any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface water or groundwater.
NEW SOURCE
[Added 8-13-1991; amended 5-31-1994]
(1) 
Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under Section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
(a) 
The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;
(b) 
The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
(c) 
The production or wastewater-generating processes of the building, structure, facility or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source should be considered.
(2) 
Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility or installation meeting the criteria of Subsection (1)(b) or (c) of this definition but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3) 
Construction of a new source as defined under this definition has commenced if the owner or operator has:
(a) 
Begun or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment or significant site preparation work, including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities, which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
(b) 
Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which is intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this subsection.
NON-CONTACT COOLING WATER
Cooling water which does not come in contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
[Added 5-31-1994]
NORMAL OPERATING DAY
A twenty-four-hour day in which the standard and routine operations and work of the facility are conducted. It would include, but is not limited to, daily cleaning, routine maintenance, and production. It would not include work stoppages, scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns, holiday schedules, major cleanups and the like.
OIL AND GREASE
Any material (animal, vegetable or hydrocarbon) which is extractable from an acidified sample of a waste by freon or other designated solvent and as determined by the appropriate standard procedure.
PASS-THROUGH
The discharge of pollutants through the POTW into the waters of the United States in quantities or concentration which, alone or in conjunction with discharges from other sources, is cause of a violation of any requirements of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of the violation).
[Amended 5-31-1994]
PERSON
Any individual, firm, company, association, society, partnership, corporation, municipality, government entity, or similar organization, agency or group.
[Added 8-13-1991]
pH
A measure of the alkalinity or acidity of a substance, expressed in standard units.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
POLLUTANT
Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, or industrial, municipal or agricultural waste discharged into water.
POLLUTION
The man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT
That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
PRETREATMENT or TREATMENT
The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutants or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants to the POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes other than the above means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d).
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS
Any substantive or procedural requirements related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard, imposed on an industrial user.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE
The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than 1/2 inch (1.27 centimeters) in any dimension.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS or POTW
The City-owned treatment works, as defined in Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292). This definition includes any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant but does not include pipes, sewers, or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment. For the purposes of this Part 2, "POTW" shall also include any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW from persons outside the City who are, by agreement with the City, users of the City's POTW.
PUBLIC SEWER
A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights and which is controlled by public authority.
RECEIVING WATERS
Any watercourse, river, pond, ditch, lake, aquifer, or other body of surface or ground water receiving discharge of wastewaters.
SANITARY SEWER
A sewer which carries sewage and to which stormwater, surface water and groundwater are not intentionally admitted.
SEPTAGE
The sludge produced in individual domestic on-site wastewater disposal systems, such as septic tanks and cesspools.
SEWAGE
A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments together with such groundwater, surface water and stormwater as may be present.
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
Any arrangement of devices and structures used for treating sewage.
SEWER
A pipe or conduit for carrying sewage.
SEWERAGE WORKS
All facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.
SEWER CONNECTION
A sewer pipeline running laterally from a street sewer, an off-street sewer or a trunk sewer to an individual tract, lot, or parcel of land to serve one or more houses or other buildings, whether or not connected to any house or building.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER or SIGNIFICANT USER
[Amended 5-31-1994]
(1) 
Except as provided in Subsection (2) of this definition:
(a) 
All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N; and
(b) 
Any other industrial user that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the control authority as defined in 40 CFR 403.12(a) on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement [in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)].
(2) 
Upon a finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in Subsection (1)(b) of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the control authority [as defined in 40 CFR 403.12(a)] may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user or POTW and in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a significant industrial user.
SLUG LOAD
Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the prohibitive discharge standards in §§ 272-44 and 272-45 of this Part 2 or any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC)
A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1972.
STANDARD LABORATORY PROCEDURES
Those methods outlined in the most recent edition of the EPA manual Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes and/or the APHA, AWWA and WPCF publication Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater or in 40 CFR 136.
STATE
The Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control.
STORM DRAIN or STORM SEWER
A sewer which carries stormwater and surface water and drainage but excludes sewage and industrial wastes, other than unpolluted cooling water.
STORMWATER
Any flow occurring during, or following any form of, natural precipitation and resulting therefrom, including snowmelt. This flow shall not include any industrial or domestic wastewater.[3]
[Added 5-31-1994]
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
Solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in, water, sewage or other liquids and which are removable by laboratory filtering.
TOXIC POLLUTANT
One of the pollutants or a combination of those pollutants which are listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the EPA under provisions of Section 307 of the Act.
[Added 5-31-1994]
TOXIC SUBSTANCE
Any substance or mixture, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which, when discharged into the sewer system, may tend to interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to human beings or animals, inhibit aquatic life, or create a hazard to recreation in the receiving waters of the effluent from the POTW.
UPSET
An incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards or the provisions of this Part 2 because of factors beyond the control of the industrial user. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
USER
Any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the City's POTW.
WASTES
Substances in liquid, solid or gaseous form that can be carried in water.
WASTEWATER
The spent water of a community, which may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions together with any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present.
WATERCOURSE
A channel in which a flow of water occurs either continuously or intermittently.
[1]
Editor's Note: The definition of "categorical pretreatment standards or national categorical pretreatment standard" which immediately followed this definition was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[2]
Editor's Note: The definition of "national prohibitive discharge standard or prohibitive discharge standard" which immediately followed this definition was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[3]
Editor's Note: The definition of "Superintendent" which immediately followed this definition was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
B. 
Abbreviations. The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:
[Amended 5-31-1994]
BOD
Biochemical oxygen demand
COD
Chemical oxygen demand
CFR
Code of Federal Regulations
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
gpd
Gallons per day
mgd
Million gallons per day
mg/l
Milligrams per liter
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
O & G
Oil and grease
POTW
Publicly owned treatment works
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
SIC
Standard Industrial Classification
TTO
Total toxic organics
TSS
Total suspended solids
USC
United States Code
The City Council shall order, lay, make and maintain, of such materials and dimensions as it deems proper, all such main drain and common sewers as it shall adjudge to be necessary for the public convenience or the public health, through the public streets, or through the lands of any persons or corporations, and may repair the same from time to time whenever repair thereof shall be necessary. All main drains or common sewers so laid shall be the property of the City.
When any lands or real estate of any person shall be taken for the purpose named in § 272-20, the proceedings shall be the same as are provided in this Code or other ordinances of this City for the laying out of highways or streets, except as provided in this Part 2.
All persons suffering damage in their property by reason of the laying of any main drains or common sewers shall have the same rights and remedies for ascertaining and recovering the amount of such damages as in the case of the laying out of highways or streets, except as provided in this Part 2.
One-half of the expense of constructing any main drains or common sewers, also the whole cost of all manholes and catch basins, shall be paid by the City, the other 1/2 thereof, or any portion less than 1/2, shall be assessed by the City Council upon every person who enters his particular drain into such main drain or common sewer or who, by more remote means, receives benefit thereby for draining his cellar or land.
A. 
The City Council shall first proceed and determine the amount of each lot of land or part of a lot benefited by any main drain or common sewer, and then the assessment shall be made and apportioned among the different owners of the land so benefited according to the value of the land benefited, independently of buildings and improvements.
B. 
When such assessments are made and apportioned, they shall be certified and signed by the City Council and notice of this assessment and the amount thereof shall be given to the party to be charged or to his tenant or lessee.
The City Council shall have power in all cases where there is any common sewer in any street, highway, passageway or alley to cause every owner of land adjoining such street, highway, passageway or alley, his agent or tenant to make a sufficient drain from his house, yard or lot, whenever in its opinion the same shall be necessary, and shall, upon ordering such drain, give notice in writing to such owner, agent or tenant, specifying the time within which such drain shall be completed, and in case such owner, agent or tenant shall neglect to complete the same within the time specified, the City Council shall cause the same to be done, and the expense thereof shall be paid by the party benefited thereby.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
A. 
Every private drain connecting with a main drain or common sewer in the City shall be provided with a suitable stench trap, which shall be located outside of all house connections.
B. 
Every person having a drain already connected with a main drain and having no such trap shall provide the same after the expiration of three days' notice from the Executive Director of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility, and every person who shall hereafter make such connection shall provide such trap at the time of making such connection.
[Amended 12-13-1988; 12-23-2008; 5-7-2024]
A. 
Generally.
(1) 
No person shall make or cause to be made any entrance into any main drain, common sewer or water main unless she or he shall have been licensed to do so by the Commissioner of Public Works and shall have given a bond in the sum of not less than $25,000 for the faithful performance of his or her work, satisfactory to the City Engineer, that:
(a) 
He or she will properly make the openings into all common sewers opened by him or her;
(b) 
He or she will construct or repair the drains to be connected by him or her with the common sewers or with other drains in a thorough and workmanlike manner;
(c) 
He or she will leave no material or obstruction of any description in the sewer which he or she may open, or in any drain leading into any sewer; and
(d) 
He or she will properly close up the excavation, and restore the earth and pavement taken up, and regrade and repave the street, and put it in good and proper condition, and remove all superfluous material, all to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Public Works.
(2) 
Licenses will be authorized through the Department of Public Works, City Engineer's Office. Each license shall be granted for one calendar year from January 1 to December 31. All licenses shall expire on December 31 regardless of the date of application. Fees are not prorated. Early renewal for the next calendar year starts December 1. These values may be amended per the most recent Drain Layer Regulations. The required bond and insurance shall be coterminous with the license. Such license may be suspended for cause by the City Engineer or Commissioner of Public Works. Every application for a drain layer's license shall first be submitted to the City Engineer, who shall endorse thereon her or his recommendation for approval or disapproval and the reason therefor.
B. 
Corporations. Every corporation shall submit with its application a copy of its current annual certificate of condition and a copy of any subsequent certificate of change of corporate officers on file with the Secretary of State as required by MGL c. 156, §§ 24 and 47.
C. 
Fee. The fee for an application for a drain layer's license and the yearly license fee shall be as provided in Chapter 150, Fees, of the City Code. Application fee of $250 for first time and reinstating Drain Layer applicants and $100 for annually renewing applicants. These values may be amended per the most recent Drain Layer Regulations.
D. 
The drain layer license name shall not be used by or for another person, either for the purpose of obtaining permits or doing any work under such license. Any drain layer that allows the use of the drain layer's license by another shall be issued a written warning notifying the drain layer of the violation of this section. Subsequent offenses will result in the forfeiture of the drain layer's license and/or fines.
E. 
Violations and forfeit of license. The City Engineer's Office reserves the right to suspend or revoke a contractor's license. The City Engineer's Office may suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue a license if, in the opinion, of the City Engineer or Commissioner of Public Works, the contractor or the drain layer are not adequately skilled or competent to undertake work under this license. Any drain layer violating any provisions of these Regulations shall be notified of such violation by means of a written violation letter. The order and magnitude of these violations may be amended per the most recent Drain Layer License Manual.
F. 
Penalties for continued violation. Violation fines are $300 per day the violation exists. This amount is based on the current version of the City of Lowell Code of Ordinances.
G. 
Compliance. Drain layers will comply with the City of Lowell Drain Layer License Manual, City of Lowell Code of Ordinances, City of Lowell Department of Public Works Permit Manul, City of Lowell Zoning Book, City of Lowell Standard Specifications and Details, City of Lowell Trench, Roadway, and Sidewalk Repair Requirements, and all applicable state and federal regulations which may be at any time in force in relation to sewers, drains and streets, and with such orders and regulations as the City Council have adopted, or may from time to time adopt, for the government of persons licensed to construct or repair private drains, or open or dig in the street for that purpose.
H. 
Indemnification. Drain layers will indemnify and save harmless the City from all damages, costs and expenses which it may incur or sustain, by reason of any kind, all injuries resulting to anyone in person or property, from the neglect or carelessness of himself or herself or his or her servants in opening, closing, making or repairing any sewer or drain, in performing work connected therewith or in properly fencing, or in lighting by night, any excavation or obstruction caused or made by him or her or his or her servants, or which the City may incur or sustain in any other manner by reason of the excavation or construction of any sewer or drain by him or her or his or her servants or agents, or any work or acts performed or done by him or her or them connected therewith.
I. 
Survival. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, word, or other portion of this section is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional or invalid, in whole, or in part, by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed severable, and such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section, which remaining portions shall continue in full force and effect.
[Amended 12-13-1988; 12-23-2008]
A. 
No unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Executive Director of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility.
B. 
Any person proposing a new discharge into the system or a substantial change in the volume or character of pollutants that are being discharged into the system shall notify the Executive Director of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility and the City Council at least 45 days prior to the proposed change or connection.
[Amended 8-23-1988]
A. 
There shall be two classes of building sewer permits: for residential and commercial service and for service to establishments producing industrial wastes. In either case, the owner or his agent shall make application on a special form furnished by the City. The permit application shall be supplemented by any plans, specifications or other information considered pertinent in the judgment of the Executive Director. The application forms furnished by the City will be secured from the City Engineer.
B. 
A permit and inspection fee for a residential, commercial, or industrial building sewer permit shall be paid to the City at the time the application is filed.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
All assessments and fees shall be paid before a permit can be given under this Part 2. All costs and expense incident to the installation and connection, with the Executive Director's approval, of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner. The owner shall indemnify the City from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer.
A separate or independent building sewer shall be provided for every building, except that where one building stands at the rear of another on an interior lot and no private sewer is available or can be constructed to the rear building through an adjoining alley, court, yard or driveway, the building sewer from the front building may be extended to the rear building and the whole considered as one building sewer, under jurisdiction of the Board of Health.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
Old building sewers may be used in connection with new buildings only when they are found, on examination and test by the Executive Director, to meet all requirements of this Part 2.
The size, slope, alignment and materials for construction of a building sewer, and the methods to be used in excavating, placing of the pipe, jointing, testing and backfilling the trench, shall all conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the City. In the absence of code provisions or in amplification thereof, the materials and procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9 shall apply.
Whenever possible, the building sewer shall be brought to the building at an elevation below the basement floor. In all buildings in which any building drain is too low to permit gravity flow to the public sewer, sanitary sewage carried by such building drain shall be lifted by an approved means and discharged to the building sewer within the building.
No person shall make connection of roof downspouts, exterior foundation drains, areaway drains, or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer or building drain which in turn is connected directly or indirectly to a public sanitary sewer.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
The connection of the building sewer into the public sewer shall conform to the requirements of the building and plumbing codes or other applicable rules and regulations of the City or the procedures set forth in appropriate specifications of the ASTM and the WPCF Manual of Practice No. 9. All such connections shall be made gastight and watertight. Any deviation from the prescribed procedures and materials must be approved by the Executive Director before installation.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
An applicant for a building sewer permit shall notify the Executive Director when the building sewer is ready for inspection and connection to the public sewer. The connection shall be made under the supervision of the Executive Director or his representative.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, and uncontaminated cooling water to any sanitary sewer without expressed permission by the Executive Director of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
Stormwater and all other surface drainage shall be discharged to such sewers as are specifically designed as combined sewers or storm sewers or to a natural outlet approved by the Executive Director. Industrial cooling water may be discharged, on approval by the Executive Director, to a storm sewer, combined sewer or a natural outlet. Nothing in this section may be construed to permit any discharge without all appropriate state, federal and local permits.
A. 
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any of the following described waters or wastes to any public sewers:
(1) 
Any gasoline, benzene, naphtha, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas.
(2) 
Any liquids, solids or gases which by reason of their nature or quantity are, or may be, sufficient either alone or by interaction with other substances to cause fire or explosion or be injurious in any other way to the POTW or the operation of the POTW. At no time shall two successive readings on an explosion hazard meter at the point of discharge into the system (or at any point in the system) be more than 5% nor any single reading over 10% of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the meter. Prohibited materials include, but are not limited to, gasoline, fuel oil, kerosene, naphtha, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethers, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, peroxides, chlorates, perchlorates, bromates, carbides, hydrides and sulfides and any other substance which is a fire hazard or a hazard to the system.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
(3) 
Pollutants which will cause corrosive structural damage to the POTW, but in no case discharges with pH lower than 5.0, unless the works are specifically designed to accommodate such discharges.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
(4) 
Solid or viscous substances in quantities or of such size capable of causing obstruction to the flow in sewers or other interference with the proper operation of the sewage works, such as, but not limited to, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, unground garbage, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails, paper dishes, cups, milk containers, etc., either whole or ground by garbage grinders.
(5) 
Heat in the amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the POTW resulting in interference but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the POTW treatment plant exceeds 40° C. (104° F.).
(6) 
Any substance which may cause the POTW's effluent or any other product of the POTW, such as residues, sludges, or scums, to be unsuitable for reclamation and reuse or to interfere with the reclamation process. In no case shall any substance discharged to the POTW cause the POTW to violate its NPDES and/or state disposal system permit or the receiving water quality standards.
(7) 
Any trucked or hauled pollutants except at discharge points designated by the Executive Director.
[Added 5-31-1994]
(8) 
Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass-through.
[Added 5-31-1994]
(9) 
Any pollutant that results in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems.
[Added 5-31-1994]
(10) 
Any sludges screenings or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes.
[Added 5-31-1994]
(11) 
Any wastewater causing the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test.
[Added 5-31-1994]
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge into the sewer system or cause to be discharged into the sewer system the sludge resulting from pretreatment of waters or wastewaters.
C. 
Except where expressly authorized to do so by an applicable federal categorical pretreatment standard, no user, whether subjugated to categorical requirements or not, shall ever increase the use of process water or in any other way attempt to dilute the discharge as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a categorical standard. The control authority may impose mass limitations on the user where the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
D. 
Wastes prohibited by this section shall not be stored or processed in such a manner that they could possibly be discharged to the POTW. All floor drains in the process areas or storage areas must be piped through the pretreatment system prior to discharge to the POTW.
[Added 5-31-1994]
[Amended 5-31-1994]
A. 
A user may not introduce into a POTW any pollutant(s) which may cause pass-through or interference. These general prohibitions and the specific prohibitions below apply to each user introducing pollutants into a POTW, whether or not the user is subject to national pretreatment standards or any national, state, or local pretreatment requirements.
B. 
No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged the following described substances, materials, waters, or wastes which can harm either the sewers, sewage treatment process or equipment, collection system, or treatment plant headworks, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream or can otherwise endanger life, limb, or public property or be considered a nuisance. The following discharges are prohibited from entering the waste stream without the explicit, written approval of the Executive Director or his designee. In forming his opinion as to the acceptability of these wastes, the Executive Director will give consideration to such factors as the quantities of subject wastes in relation to flows and velocities in the sewers, materials of construction of the sewers, nature of the sewage treatment process, capacity of the sewage treatment plant, degree of treatability of wastes in the sewage treatment plant and other pertinent factors. The substances prohibited are:
(1) 
Any water or waste containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 milligrams per liter or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32° and 150° F. (0° to 65° C.).
(2) 
Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder equipped with a motor of 3/4 horsepower (0.76 horsepower metric) or greater shall be subject to the review and approval of the Executive Director.
(3) 
Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not.
(4) 
Any waters or wastes containing iron, chromium, copper, zinc and similar objectionable or toxic substances or wastes exerting an excessive chlorine requirement to such degree that any such material received in the composite sewage at the sewage treatment works exceeds the limits established by the Executive Director for such materials.
(5) 
Any waters or wastes containing phenols or other taste- or odor-producing substances in such concentrations exceeding limits which may he established by the Executive Director as necessary after treatment of the composite sewage to meet the requirements of state, federal or other public agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.
(6) 
Any radioactive wastes or isotopes of such half-life or concentration as may exceed limits established by the Executive Director in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(7) 
Any waters or wastes having a pH in excess of 9.5.
(8) 
Materials which exert or cause:
(a) 
Unusual concentrations of inert suspended solids, such as, but not limited to, fuller's earth, lime slurries and lime residues, or of dissolved solids, such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate.
(b) 
Excessive discoloration, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions.
(c) 
Unusual BOD, chemical oxygen demand or chlorine requirements in such quantities as to constitute a significant load on the sewage treatment works.
(d) 
Unusual volume of flow or concentration of wastes constituting slugs.
(9) 
Waters or wastes containing substances which are not amenable to treatment or reduction by the sewage treatment processes employed or are amenable to treatment only to such degree that the sewage treatment plant effluent cannot meet the requirements of other agencies having jurisdiction over discharge to the receiving waters.
(10) 
Pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the POTW, including but not limited to waste streams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140° F. or 60° C. using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
(11) 
Any pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause interference with the POTW.
(12) 
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.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
A. 
If any waters or wastes are discharged or are proposed to be discharged to the public sewers, which waters contain the substances or possess the characteristics enumerated in § 272-45 and which in the judgment of the Executive Director may have a deleterious effect upon the sewage works, processes, equipment or receiving waters, or which otherwise create a hazard to life or constitute a public nuisance, the Executive Director may act in any or all of the following ways. He may:
(1) 
Reject the wastes.
(2) 
Require pretreatment to an acceptable condition for discharge to the public sewers.
(3) 
Require control over the quantities and rates of discharge.
(4) 
Require payment to cover the added costs of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing taxes or sewer charges under the provisions of § 272-49.
B. 
If the Executive Director permits the pretreatment or equalization of waste flows, the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the Executive Director and subject to the requirements of all applicable codes, ordinances and laws.
C. 
Under no circumstance shall the decision of the Executive Director exempt a user from a federally mandated prohibition or the surcharge of a user for violations of the federal prohibitions.
[Added 5-31-1994]
[Amended 12-13-1988]
Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the Executive Director, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the Executive Director and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.
[Amended 5-31-1994]
The Executive Director reserves the right to enter into special agreements with industrial users setting out special terms under which they may discharge to the POTW. In no case shall a special agreement waive compliance with a pretreatment standard or requirement. However, the industrial user may request a net gross adjustment to a categorical pretreatment standard in accordance with 40 CFR 403.15. An industrial user may also request a variance from the categorical pretreatment standard from the EPA. Such a request will be approved only if the industrial user can prove that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by the EPA when promulgating the standard. An industrial user requesting a fundamentally different pretreatment factor variance must comply with the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 CFR 403.13.
No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.
[Amended 12-13-1988]
The Executive Director and other duly authorized employees of the City bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purpose of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this Part 2.
While performing the necessary work on private properties referred to in § 272-51, the Executive Director or duly authorized employees of the City shall observe all safety rules applicable to the premises established by the company, and the company shall be held harmless for injury or death to the City employees, and the City shall indemnify the company against loss or damage to its property by City employees and against liability claims and demands for personal injury or property damage asserted against the company and growing out of the gauging and sampling operation, except as such may be caused by negligence or failure of the company to maintain safe conditions.