Ariz. Admin. Code § R18-9-C305 - 2.05 General Permit: Capacity, Management, Operation, and Maintenance of a Sewage Collection System

A. Definition. For purposes of this Section, "imminent and substantial threat to public health or the environment" means when:

1. The volume of a release is more than 2000 gallons; or

2. The volume of a release is more than 50 gallons but less than 2000 gallons and any one of the following apply:

a. The release entered onto a recognized public area and members of the public were present during the release or before the release was mitigated;

b. The release occurred on a public or private street and pedestrians were at risk of being splashed by vehicles during the release or before the release was mitigated;

c. The release entered a perennial stream, an intermittent stream during a time of flow, a waterbody other than an ephemeral stream, a normally dry detention or sedimentation basin, or a drywell;

d. The release occurred within an occupied building due to a condition in the permitted sewage collection system; or

e. The release occurred within 100 feet of a school or a public or private drinking water supply well.

B. A 2.05 General Permit allows a permittee to manage, operate, and maintain a sewage collection system under the terms of a CMOM Plan that complies with subsection (D). The Department considers a sewage collection system operating in compliance with an AZPDES permit that incorporates provisions for capacity, management, operation, and maintenance of the system to comply with the provisions of the 2.05 General Permit regardless of whether a Notice of Intent to Discharge for the system was submitted to the Department.

C. Notice of Intent to Discharge. In addition to the Notice of Intent to Discharge requirements specified in R18-9-A301(B), an applicant shall submit:

1. The name and ownership of any downstream sewage collection system and sewage treatment facility that receives sewage from the applicant's sewage collection system;

2. A map of the service area for which general permit coverage is sought, showing streets and sewage service boundaries for the sewage collection system;

3. A statement indicating that the CMOM Plan is in effect and the principal officer or ranking elected official of the sewage collection system has approved the plan; and

4. A statement indicating whether a local ordinance requires an on-site wastewater treatment facility to hookup to the sewage collection system.

D. CMOM Plan.

1. A permittee shall continuously implement a CMOM Plan for the sewage collection system under the permittee's ownership, management, or operational control. The CMOM Plan shall include information to comply with subsection (E)(1) and instructions on:

a. How to properly manage, operate, and maintain all parts of the sewage collection system that are owned or managed by the permittee or under the permittee's operational control, to meet the performance requirements in R18-9-E301(B);

b. How to maintain sufficient capacity to convey the base flows and peak wet weather flow of a 10-year, 24-hour storm event for all parts of the collection system owned or managed by the permittee or under the permittee's operational control;

c. All reasonable and prudent steps to minimize infiltration to the sewage collection system;

d. All reasonable and prudent steps to stop all releases from the collection system owned or managed by the permittee or under the permittee's operational control; and

e. The procedure for reporting releases described in subsection (F).

2. The permittee shall maintain and update the CMOM Plan for the duration of this general permit and make it available for Department and public review.

3. If the Department requests the CMOM Plan and upon review finds that the CMOM Plan is deficient, the Department shall:

a. Notify the permittee in writing of the specific deficiency and the reason for the deficiency, and

b. Establish a deadline of at least 60 days to allow the permittee to correct the deficiency and submit the amended provision to the Department for approval.

E. Sewage release response determination. If the sewage collection system releases sewage, the Director shall consider any of the following factors in determining compliance:

1. Sufficiency of the CMOM Plan.

a. The level of detail provided by the CMOM Plan is appropriate for the size, complexity, and age of the system;

b. The level of detail provided by the CMOM Plan is appropriate considering geographic, climatic, and hydrological factors that may influence the sewage collection system;

c. The CMOM Plan provides schedules for the periodic preventative maintenance of the sewage collection system, including cleaning of all reaches of the sewage collection system below a specified pipe diameter.

i. The CMOM Plan may allow inspection of sewer lines by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and postponement of cleaning to the next scheduled cleaning cycle if the CCTV inspection indicated that cleaning of a reach of the sewer is not needed.

ii. The CMOM Plan may specify inspection and cleaning schedules that differ according to pipe diameter or other characteristics of the sewer;

d. The CMOM Plan identifies components of the sewage collection system that have insufficient capacity to convey, when properly maintained, the peak wet weather flow of a 10-year, 24-hour storm event. For those identified components, a capital improvement plan exists for achieving sufficient wet weather flow capacity within ten years of the effective date of permit coverage;

e. The CMOM Plan includes an overflow emergency response plan appropriate to the size, complexity, and age of the sewage collection system considering geographic, climatic, and hydrological factors that may influence the system;

f. The CMOM Plan establishes a procedure to investigate and enforce against any commercial or industrial entity whose flows to the sewage collection system have caused or contributed to a release;

g. The CMOM Plan adequately addresses management of flows from upstream sewage collection systems not under the ownership, management, or operational control of the permittee; or

h. Any other factor necessary to determine if the CMOM Plan is sufficient;

2. Compliance with the CMOM Plan.

a. The permittee's response to releases as established in the overflow emergency response plan, including whether:

i. Maintenance staff responds to and arrive at the release within the time period specified in the plan;

ii. Maintenance staff follow all written procedures to remove the cause of the release;

iii. Maintenance staff contain, recover, clean up, disinfect, and otherwise mitigate the release of sewage; and

iv. Required notifications to the Department, public health agencies, drinking water suppliers, and the public are provided;

b. The permittee's activities and timeliness in:

i. Implementing specified periodic preventative maintenance measures;

ii. Implementing the capital improvement plan; and

iii. Investigating and enforcing against an upstream sewage collection system, not under the ownership and operational control of the permittee, if those systems are impediments to the proper management of flows in the permittee's sewage collection system; or

c. Any other factor necessary to determine CMOM Plan compliance;

3. Compliance with the reporting requirements in subsection (F) and the public notice requirements in subsection (G); or

4. The release substantially endangers public health or the environment.

F. Reporting requirements.

1. Sewage releases.

a. A permittee shall report to the Department, by telephone, facsimile, or on the applicable notification form on the Department's Internet web site, any release that is an imminent and substantial threat to public health or the environment as soon as practical, but no later than 24 hours of becoming aware of the release.

b. A permittee shall submit a report to the Department within five business days after becoming aware of a release that is an imminent and substantial threat to public health or the environment. The report shall include:

i. The location of the release;

ii. The sewage collection system component from which the release occurred;

iii. The date and time the release began, was stopped, and when mitigation efforts were completed;

iv. The estimated number of persons exposed to the release, the estimated volume of sewage released, the reason the release is considered an imminent and substantial threat to public health or the environment if the volume is 2000 gallons or less, and where the release flowed;

v. The efforts made by the permittee to stop, contain, and clean up the released material;

vi. The amount and type of disinfectant applied to mitigate any associated public health or environmental risk; and

vii. The cause of the release or effort made to determine the cause and any effort made to help prevent a future reoccurrence.

2. Annual report. The permittee shall:

a. Submit an annual report to the Department postmarked no later than March 1. The report shall:

i. Tabulate all releases of more than 50 gallons from the permitted sewage collection system;

ii. Provide the date of any release that is an imminent and substantial threat to public health or the environment; and

iii. For other reportable releases under subsection (F)(2)(a)(i), provide the information in subsection (F)(1)(b);

b. Provide an amended map of the service area boundaries if, during the calendar year, any area was removed from the service area or if any area was added to the service area that the permittee wishes to include under the 2.05 General Permit and associated CMOM Plan.

G. Public notice. The permittee shall:

1. Post a notice, in a format approved by the Department, at any location where there were more than three reportable releases under subsection (F)(2)(a) from the sewage collection system during any 12-month period,

2. Include within the notice a warning that identified the releases or potential releases at the location and potential health hazards from any release,

3. Post the notice at a place where the public is likely to come in contact with the release, and

4. Maintain the postings until no releases from the location are reported for at least 12 months from the last release and the permittee followed all actions specified in the CMOM Plan to prevent releases at that location during the period.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R18-9-C305

New Section made by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 4544, effective November 12, 2005 (05-3).