Explanation
This ordinance amends Title 11, Chapters 1145 Sewer Use Regulations and 1147 Sewer Charges, of the Columbus City Codes to allow for the use of mass-based local limits and to provide additional methods to determine the organic strength of wastewater. These proposed amendments work in coordination with a new Director’s Rule, which establishes new local limits for the Department of Public Utilities, Division of Sewerage and Drainage in accordance with Columbus City Codes Chapters 1145.23 and 1145.11. The new Director’s Rule will replace obsolete Director’s Rule 2018-03.
Last year, the Division of Sewerage and Drainage completed the local limits technical justification as required by both of its wastewater treatment plants’ National Pollutant Discharges Elimination System permits. The process included collection of data for pollutants of concern, identification of limiting criteria, development of maximum allowable headworks loadings, and allocation of available pollutant loadings to industry.
The Division of Sewerage and Drainage submitted the technical justification, including the proposal to use of mass-based limits in addition to the existing use of concentration-based limits, to Ohio EPA for approval in December 2023. The ability to implement mass-based limits provides the Industrial Pretreatment Program with more flexibility to achieve compliance and to protect the wastewater treatment plants.
In accordance with Ohio Administrative Code 3745-3-03(F), Ohio EPA issued a public notice of the proposed local limits as a substantial program modification on March 6, 2024. The public comment period ended on April 12, 2024. On April 15, 2024 Ohio EPA issued approval letters for the local limits program modification.
In coordination with its effort to update the local limits in Chapters 1145 and 1147 of the Columbus City Codes, the Division of Sewerage and Drainage is updating those Chapters to allow the use of additional methods to determine the or...
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