“Accelerated erosion” means erosion caused by development activities that exceeds the natural processes by which the surface of the land is worn away by the action of water, wind, or chemical action.

“Act” or “the Act” means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.

“Administrative order (AO)” means an order for compliance issued by the Utilities Director. May contain compliance schedules and/or fines for additional days of noncompliance. Types of AOs include consent orders, compliance orders, show cause orders and cease and desist orders.

“Applicant” means a person who has requested approval of a subdivision or site plan.

“Appraisal district” means the office of the County Appraiser.

“Approval authority” means the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or, if the pretreatment program has been formally delegated to the State Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), it shall mean the Director of the Division of Environment of KDHE.

“Authorized or duly authorized representative of the user” means:

“Beneficial uses” means uses of the waters of the State that may be protected against quality degradation which include, but are not necessarily limited to, domestic, municipal, agricultural and industrial supply, power generation, recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, navigation and the preservation and enhancement of fish, wildlife and other aquatic resources or reserves, and other uses, both tangible and intangible, as specified by Federal or State law.

“Best management practices (BMPs)” means the schedules of activities, practices, and maintenance procedures which prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to the POTW, MS4 or to the waters of the United States. BMPs can be structural or nonstructural, and also include treatment facilities and requirements, operating and maintenance procedures, and practices to control plant and construction site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage, and such other provisions as the Utilities Director determines appropriate for the control of pollutants.

“Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)” means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures in five days at 20 degrees Celsius, expressed in milligrams per liter, as outlined in Standard Methods 5210 B – 2001 approved in 40 CFR Part 136.

“Bonds” means revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, notes, loans or any other debt obligations issued or incurred to finance the costs of construction.

“Building” means any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls and a roof, designed for the shelter of any person, animal, or property, and occupying more than 150 square feet of area.

“Categorical pretreatment standards” or “categorical standard” means any regulation containing discharge standards promulgated pursuant to the CWA that apply to a specific category of users. Categorical pretreatment standards are found in 40 CFR Parts 401 through 424 and 425 through 471. Categorical pretreatment standards are applicable if the facility discharges process wastewater to a POTW. In the EPA pretreatment categories and standards, the categorical activity is assigned pretreatment limitations, reporting requirements, or both.

“Cease and desist order” means a cease and desist order directing a noncompliant user to cease illegal or authorized discharges immediately or to terminate its discharge altogether.

“Channel” means a natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.

“City” means the City of Topeka, Kansas.

“Clean Water Act” or “the Act” means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.), and any subsequent amendments thereto.

“Clearing” means any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.

Compliance Order. A compliance order directs the user to achieve or restore compliance by a date specified in the order. It is issued unilaterally and its terms need not be discussed with the industry in advance.

“Composite sample” means a combination of individual samples of water or wastewater taken at selected intervals (generally hourly or some similar specified period) to minimize the effect of the variability of the individual sample. Individual samples may have equal volume or may be roughly proportional to the flow at time of sampling.

“Consent order (CO)” means consent order for compliance. Legally enforceable agreement between the City and the industrial violator designed to restore compliance.

“Construction activity” means activities subject to NPDES construction permits. These include construction projects resulting in land disturbance of one acre or more. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.

“Contamination” means an impairment of the quality of the waters of the State by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health. “Contamination” shall include any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of wastewater, whether or not waters of the State are affected.

“Cooling water” means the water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration or to which the only pollutant added is heat.

“Costs of construction” means costs reasonably incurred in connection with providing capital improvements to the system or any portion thereof, including but not limited to the costs of:

“Debt service” means, with respect to any particular fiscal year and any particular series of bonds, an amount equal to the sum of all interest payable on such bonds during such fiscal year, plus any principal installments of such bonds during such fiscal year.

“Dedication” means the deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for general public use.

“Department” means the Utilities Department of the City.

“Detention” means the temporary storage of storm runoff in a stormwater management practice with the goals of controlling peak discharge rates and providing gravity settling of pollutants.

“Detention facility” means a detention basin or alternative structure designed for the purpose of temporary storage of stream flow or surface runoff and gradual release of stored water at controlled rates.

“Developed property” means real property other than undisturbed property.

“Developer” means a person who undertakes land disturbance activities.

“Direct discharge” means the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the State.

“Director” or “Utilities Director” means the Director of the Utilities Department or his or her designee.

“Discharge” means the addition or introduction of any pollutant, wastewater, stormwater, or any other substance into the POTW, MS4 or into waters of the United States.

“Documented waste strength” means the average concentration of the analytes BOD, TSS, and TKN of a set of 12 samples collected, at random, in a two-year period. Twelve samples for liquid waste Class 2 and 12 samples for liquid waste Class 3 will be tested every two years and the results will be averaged to determine the waste strength for billing purposes.

“Domestic septage” means the liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable toilet, type III marine sanitation device, or similar system that receives only liquid domestic waste (household, noncommercial, nonindustrial sewage) as defined by 40 CFR Part 503 regulation.

“Domestic sewage” means sewage originating from residential uses or activities including, but not limited to, kitchen, bathroom, laundry sources, dishwashing, toilets, baths, showers, sinks, garbage units and food preparation.

“Drainage easement” means a legal right granted by a landowner to a grantee allowing the use of private land for stormwater management purposes.

“Drainage fee” means a fee authorized by State law and this title which is established to pay operations and maintenance, extension and replacement and debt service.

“Drainage way” means any channel that conveys surface runoff throughout the site.

“Dwelling unit” means a single unit or apartment providing complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.

“Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)” means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or other duly authorized official of such Agency.

“Equivalent residential unit (ERU)” means the average impervious area of residential developed property per dwelling unit located within the City and as established by ordinance as provided in this chapter.

“Erosion and sediment control plan” means a document which describes the BMPs and activities to be implemented by a person or business to identify sources of pollution or contamination at a site and the actions to eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to stormwater, stormwater conveyance systems and/or receiving waters to the maximum extent practicable.

“ERU rate” means a drainage fee charged on each ERU as established in Chapter 13.05 TMC.

“Exempt property” means public rights-of-way, public streets, alleys, sidewalks and drainage structures.

“Fee in lieu” means a payment of money in place of meeting all or part of the stormwater performance standards required by Chapter 13.35 TMC.

“Final stabilization” means the condition when all soil-disturbing activities at a site have been completed, and a uniform, perennial vegetative cover with a density of 70 percent of the cover for unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures has been established, or equivalent permanent stabilization measures such as the use of riprap, gabions, or geotextiles have been employed.

“Fiscal year” means a 12-month period commencing on January 1st of any year.

“FOG” means fats, oils and grease from animal or vegetable sources.

“Foundation drain” means a perforated pipe or a pipe with open joints or porous material installed either outside exterior foundation walls or inside exterior foundation walls or beneath a basement floor for the purpose of preventing the buildup of water pressure and water capillarity beneath the floor.

“Grab sample” means 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.

“Hazardous substance” means any substance listed in Table 302.4 of 40 CFR Part 302.

“Hazardous waste” means any substance identified or listed as a hazardous waste by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 40 CFR Part 261.

“Hazardous waste treatment, disposal, and recovery facility” means all land and physical structures, other appurtenances and improvements on the land used for the treatment, disposal, or recovery of hazardous waste.

“Holding tank waste” means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump tank trucks.

“Hydrologic soil group (HSG)” means a Natural Resources Conservation Service classification system in which soils are categorized into four runoff potential groups. The groups range from A soils, with high permeability and little runoff production, to D soils, which have low permeability rates and produce much more runoff.

“Illicit connection” means any pipe, conduit, drain or other means of transmitting any substance or waste into the MS4 or municipal sanitary sewer system which is not specifically authorized under Chapters 13.20, 13.25 and 13.30 TMC.

“Illicit discharge” means any direct or indirect discharge to the MS4 or municipal sanitary sewer system, except as specifically permitted under Chapter 13.20, 13.25 or 13.30 TMC.

“Impervious area” means the number of square feet of hard-surfaced areas which either prevent or retard the entry of water into the soil mantle, as it entered under natural conditions as undisturbed property, and/or causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow from that present under natural conditions as undisturbed property, including, but not limited to, roofs, roof extensions, patios, porches, driveways, sidewalks, pavement, graveled areas and athletic courts.

“Indirect discharge” means 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. Section 1317) into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).

“Industrial activity” means activities subject to NPDES industrial permits as defined in 40 CFR Section 122.26(b)(14).

“Industrial user” means any user contributing an indirect discharge into the municipal sewer system.

“Industrial wastes” means the liquid wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade, or business.

“Infiltration” means the process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.

“Interference” means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:

“Jurisdictional wetland” means an area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as hydrophytic vegetation.

“KDHE” means the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

“Land disturbance activity” means any activity that changes the physical conditions of landform, vegetation or hydrology, creates bare soil, or otherwise may cause erosion or sedimentation. Such activities include, but are not limited to, clearing, removal of vegetation, stripping, grading, grubbing, excavating, filling, logging and storing of materials.

“Landowner” means the legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding proprietary rights in the land.

“Liquid waste” means waste which will not pass the paint filter test, is biologically compatible with the wastewater treatment process, and will not pass through or interfere with the wastewater treatment process. Liquid waste meeting the above criteria is further defined by the following categories:

“Liquid waste hauler” means any person, persons, partnership or corporation which transports liquid, nonhazardous waste.

“Local limit” means specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the Utilities Director upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 CFR Sections 403.5(a)(1) and (b).

“Maintenance agreement” means a legally recorded document that acts as a property deed restriction, and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater management practices.

“Mass emission rate” means the weight of material discharged to the sewer system during a given time interval, which, unless otherwise specified, is measured in pounds per day of a particular constituent or combination of constituents.

“Municipal combined sewer” means a sewer owned and operated by the City or other public agency which receives or carries the combination of surface runoff, wastewater, sewage and/or industrial wastes to the POTW.

“Municipal sanitary sewer” means a sewer owned and operated by the City or other public agency which carries wastewater either directly or indirectly to a wastewater treatment plant and to which storm, surface and ground waters are not intentionally admitted.

“Municipal sanitary sewer system” means sanitary sewers, pumping stations, sewage treatment plants, main sewers, interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, and works for the collection, transportation, pumping and treating of wastewater, sewage or industrial waste of the POTW.

“Municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)” or “municipal stormwater system” means a system of conveyances, including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, natural channels or streams, or storm drains maintained by the City and designed for collecting or conveying stormwater, and which is not used for collecting or conveying sewage.

“New source” means 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 such building, structure, facility or installation meets the criteria outlined by 40 CFR Section 403.3(m) of the general pretreatment regulations.

“Nonhazardous waste” means waste not listed under 40 CFR Part 261.

“Nonpoint source pollution” means pollution from any source other than from any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyances, and shall include, but not be limited to, pollutants from agricultural, silvicultural, mining, construction, subsurface disposal and urban runoff sources.

“Nonresidential developed property” means developed property that is classified by the County appraisal for the commercial, industrial or other nonresidential uses.

“Notice of intent (NOI)” means the application supplied by KDHE to apply for a permit to discharge stormwater from either a construction site or industrial site.

“Notice of termination (NOT)” means the application supplied by KDHE submitted by either the construction or industrial site permittee to either designate completion of a project or the termination of permitted stormwater discharges from a site.

“NPDES” means the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

“NPDES construction activity permit for discharges of runoff from construction activities” means the NPDES permit issued to an individual or entity by KDHE for all construction sites which disturb a cumulative total of one acre of land or greater.

“NPDES industrial general permit for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity” or “NPDES industrial general permit” means the industrial general permit including any amendments thereto issued by KDHE which regulates the discharge of stormwater runoff from certain types of industrial activity.

“Offset fee” means a monetary compensation paid to the City of Topeka for failure to meet pollutant load reduction targets.

“Off-site facility” means a stormwater management measure located outside the subject property boundary described in the application for subdivision or site plan approval.

“Owner” or “operator” means the party or parties that either individually or taken together meet the following three criteria: (1) they own the facility; (2) they have operational control over the facility; (3) they have the day-to-day operational control of those activities at the facility necessary to ensure compliance.

“Paint filter test” means a method used to determine the presence of free liquids in a representative sample of waste by placing a sample in a filter to determine whether excess liquids are present.

“Pass-through” means a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources 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).

“Person” means any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity or other legal representatives, agents or assignees.

“pH” means the negative logarithm of the reciprocal concentration of hydrogen ions measured in grams per liter of solution.

“Pollutant” means anything which causes or contributes to pollution including, but not limited to, paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure (including but not limited to sediments, slurries, and concrete rinsates); and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.

“Pollution” means the human-made or human-induced alteration of the quality of waters by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects, or has the potential to unreasonably affect, either the waters for beneficial uses or the facilities which serve these beneficial uses.

“Premises” means any building lot, parcel of land, or portion of land, whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.

“Pretreatment” or “treatment” means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the removal 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 into the sanitary sewer system. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes or process changes by other means, except by dilution as prohibited by Federal regulation.

“Pretreatment requirements” means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a user, other than a pretreatment standard.

“Pretreatment standard” means prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.

“Private service line” means a pipe or enclosed conduit to convey waste or wastewater from the premises of a user to a public sanitary sewer.

“Prohibited discharge standards” or “prohibited standards” means absolute prohibitions against discharge of certain substances set forth in TMC 13.20.280.

“Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)” means a treatment works as defined by Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1292), which is owned by the City, including any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances that convey wastewater to a treatment plant.

“Qualified personnel” means a person who possesses the appropriate skills and ability as demonstrated by sufficient education, training, experience, and/or, when applicable, any required certification or licensing to perform a specific activity in a timely and complete manner consistent with the applicable regulatory requirements and generally accepted industry standards for such activity.

“Recharge” means the replenishment of underground water reserves.

“Redevelopment” means any construction, alteration or improvement in areas where existing land use is commercial, industrial, institutional or multifamily residential, previously developed property.

“Release” means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the municipal sanitary system or MS4 or the waters of the United States.

“Residential developed property” means developed property which is classified by the County appraisal, as amended or supplemented, as used or usable for residential purposes upon which there is located at least one dwelling unit.

“Revenues” means all rates, fees, assessments, rentals or other charges or other income received by the utility, in connection with the management and operation of the system, including amounts received from the investment or deposit of moneys in any fund or account and any amounts contributed by the City, all as calculated in accordance with sound accounting practice.

“Show cause order” means an order requiring an industrial user to appear at a hearing and show cause why a proposed enforcement action should not be taken.

“Significant industrial user” means a user of the municipal sanitary sewer system that meets one or more of the following criteria:

“Silver associated process” means any process, manufacturing or service related business which falls within any of the following standard industrial classifications: 2711, 2721, 2731, 2732, 2741, 2751 to 2754, and 8062 under the most recent edition of the Standard Industrial Classifications set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“Slug” means any discharge of wastewater, sewage or industrial waste which, in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow, exceeds for any 15-minute period more than five times its average 24-hour concentration or flows during normal operation.

“Slug discharge” means any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through, or in any other way violate the POTW’s regulations, local limits or permit conditions.

“Slug load” means any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in TMC 13.20.280.

“Standard industrial classification” or “SIC” means a classification pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Standard Industrial Classification divisions.

“State” means the State of Kansas.

“Stop work order” means an order issued which requires that all construction activity on a site be stopped.

“Storm drainage design criteria” means the storm drainage design criteria chapter found in the current edition of the City of Topeka Design Criteria and Drafting Standards Manual.

“Stormwater” means any water flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation (i.e., rain, snow, or ice) and any surface runoff or drainage resulting therefrom.

“Stormwater discharge associated with industrial activity” means the discharge from any system which is used for collecting and conveying stormwater and which is directly related to manufacturing, processing, or raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant which is within one of the categories of facilities listed in 40 CFR Section 122.26(b)(14), and which is not excluded from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of the same term.

“Stormwater management” means the use of structural or nonstructural practices that are designed to reduce stormwater runoff pollutant loads, discharge volumes, and/or peak flow discharge rates.

“Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP)” means a document which describes the BMP and activities to be implemented by a person or business to identify sources of pollution or contamination at a site and the actions to eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to stormwater, stormwater conveyance systems and/or receiving waters to the maximum extent practicable, prepared under the supervision of an engineer, geologist, architect, landscape architect or a certified professional in erosion and sediment control.

“Stormwater runoff” means flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.

“Stormwater treatment practices (STPs)” means measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined to be the most effective, practical means of preventing or reducing point source or nonpoint source pollution inputs to stormwater runoff and water bodies.

“Stormwater utility” or “utility” means the enterprise fund utility established in Chapter 13.25 TMC to operate, maintain and improve the MS4 and for such other purposes as stated.

“System extension and replacement” means extensions, additions and capital improvements to, or the renewal and replacement of, capital assets of, or purchasing and installing new equipment for, the sanitary sewer system or MS4, or land acquisition for the systems, and any costs related thereto, or paying extraordinary maintenance and repair, including the costs of construction, or any other expenses which are not costs of operation and maintenance or debt service.

“Total suspended solids” means solids that will either float on the surface of or are in suspension with water, sewage or other liquids, and which are removable by filtering in accordance with Standard Methods 2540 D-1997 and approved in 40 CFR Part 136.

“Toxic pollutant” means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the provision of Section 307(a)(1) of the Act.

“Undisturbed property” means real property which has not been altered from its natural state by dredging, filling, removal of trees and vegetation or other activities which have disturbed or altered the topography or soils on the property.

“Unpolluted water” means water to which no pollutant has been added, either intentionally or accidentally, which would render such water unacceptable for disposal to storm or natural drainages or directly to surface waters.

“User” means any person that discharges, directly or indirectly, causes or permits the discharge of wastewater into the municipal sanitary sewer system.

“Waste” means substances, whether liquid or solid, associated with human habitation or of human origin or from any producing, manufacturing or processing operation of whatever nature, whether treated or untreated, discharged into or permitted to enter a municipal sanitary sewer system.

“Wastewater” means waste and water, whether treated or untreated, discharged into or permitted to enter a municipal sanitary sewer system.

“Water quality standard” means the criteria set by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for individual pollutants based on different water uses within the state.

“Watercourse” means a permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water, either natural or manmade, which gathers or carries surface water.

“Waters of the State” means any water, surface or underground, within the boundaries of the State.

“Waters of the United States” means surface watercourses and water bodies as defined at 40 CFR Section 122.2. (Ord. 20089 § 33, 10-17-17.)