Does a Tempe business need a wastewater discharge permit? City Code 27-32

Subsection (a) says a permit "may be issued to all nondomestic users who fall under the pretreatment program or meet the requirements of this section."

Subsection (b) says the Public Works Director may require those users to complete and submit a notice of intent (NOI) to discharge before discharging directly or indirectly to the sewer. The NOI form lists business name, address, owner, type of business and premise status, plus a statement signed by the owner or operator certifying the user understands the section and has a system in place to meet it.

Subsection (c) sets duties for every user discharging under the section:

• comply with applicable state and federal law, including the Clean Water Act and 40 CFR Part 403;
• avoid pollutants that interfere with the treatment works;
• clean and maintain the private system, including pretreatment devices, under Public Works policies and Section 27-22;
• prevent sewage discharge, and mitigate and sanitize after a sanitary sewer overflow; and
• notify Public Works immediately if an overflow enters the public right-of-way and comply with Section 27-197.

Subsection (d) is the quote above, with an exception for an SIU that filed a timely application. Subsection (e) lets the Director "require other users to obtain a Class II, III, or IV wastewater discharge permits as necessary." Subsection (f) says a permit does not relieve the holder of other federal, state or local requirements.

The rest of the process is in other sections. A user that proposes to begin or recommence discharging "must obtain such permit prior to the beginning or recommencing of such discharge" (27-34). The Director decides within 60 days of a complete application and may deny it or add conditions (27-37). A permit is issued for a specific period not to exceed five years (27-41).

• Nondomestic user. A source of discharge from a nondomestic use. Section 27-4 defines nondomestic discharge as any substance other than human excrement and household gray water from residential family homes.
• Significant industrial user (SIU). Section 27-4 opens its definition "except as provided in (c)" and then names: a user subject to categorical pretreatment standards, or one that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons a day or more of process wastewater (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater), or contributes 5 percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the treatment plant, or is designated an SIU by the Director.
• Class I, II, III, IV. The code names the classes and does not define Classes II through IV in 27-32, so which class applies to a given business is the Director's decision.
• Control manhole. Where required by the Director, 27-176 requires the owner of a property whose building sewer carries industrial wastes to install a manhole or sampling point, accessible and maintained at the owner's expense.

Nondomestic users: manufacturers, plating and finishing shops, laundries, food processors and similar operations clearly, and any business the Public Works Director puts under the program. The text names the Director's discretion, not a list of business types.

It does not cover a household. The nondomestic definition excludes human excrement and household gray water from residential family homes.

A new commissary kitchen. The owner asks whether a permit is needed. The code does not say food service is automatically covered. Whether the kitchen is asked for an NOI or a permit class is for the Director to decide, and the application must be in before discharging starts under 27-34.

A metal finishing shop. It discharges process wastewater. If it is an SIU, 27-32(d) requires the Class I permit first, and the Director may add pretreatment, sampling and spill-control conditions under 27-42.

The edge case: the sale. A buyer closes on a permitted shop and assumes the permit comes with the equipment. Section 27-45 lets a permit transfer only if the permittee gives at least 60 days advance notice and the Director approves, with written certification from the new owner. "Failure to provide advance notice of a transfer renders the wastewater discharge permit void as of the date of facility transfer." Mesa's comparison runs the other way: its Class I and II permit is nontransferable.

An application that stalls. Under 27-35 the Director may require site plans, floor plans, plumbing plans showing every floor drain and point of discharge, hours and raw materials. "Incomplete or inaccurate applications will not be processed and will be returned to the user for revision."

1. 1Ask Tempe's Environmental Services section whether your operation is an SIU or needs an NOI or another class. The city's Wastewater Discharge Permit Application & Questionnaire lists it at 480-350-2678 and pretreatment@tempe.gov.
2. 2Collect the 27-35 information: processes, raw materials, hours, and plumbing plans marking every floor drain and discharge point. The city's questionnaire also asks for your Tempe water account numbers, a process flow diagram and a facility drawing showing floor drains and sumps.
3. 3Have an authorized representative sign. Under 27-36 the signer is personally liable until replaced.
4. 4File before the first discharge, and expect a decision within 60 days of a complete application.
5. 5If you are selling or leasing out the business, send the 27-45 notice at least 60 days before the transfer date.
6. 6Put your calendar on the permit's expiry date. Each permit states one, and none exceeds five years.

• Assuming a permit transfers with the business. Without 60 days notice and approval it is void on the transfer date.
• Assuming every restaurant has a permit. The code gives the Director discretion over who completes an NOI or holds a class.
• Treating a permit as a shield. Subsection (f) says it does not relieve the holder of other requirements.
• Ignoring overflows. Subsection (c) puts cleanup and notice duties on the user, and 27-197 sets the one-hour remediation clock.

The city's code text governs; this page explains it.