§ 106-131. Compliance monitoring.

(a)

Right of entry; inspection and sampling. The director shall have the right to enter the premises of any user to determine whether the user is complying with all requirements of this division and any individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit or order issued hereunder. Users shall allow the director ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, records examination and copying, and the performance of any additional duties.

(1)

Where a user has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the user shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, the director shall be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.

(2)

The director shall have the right to set up on the user's property, or require installation of, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling and/or metering of the user's operations.

(3)

The director may require the user to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition by the user at its own expense. All devices used to measure wastewater flow and quality shall be calibrated annually to ensure their accuracy.

(4)

Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the user at the written or verbal request of the director and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be borne by the user.

(5)

Unreasonable delays in allowing the director access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this division.

(b)

Sampling manhole. The location of the monitoring facility shall provide ample room in or near the monitoring facility to allow convenient and accurate sampling and preparation of samples and analysis and, whether constructed on public or private property, the monitoring facilities shall be provided in accordance with the director's requirements and all applicable county construction standards and specifications, and such facilities shall be constructed and maintained in such manner so as to enable the director to perform independent monitoring activities. In addition, SIUs shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)

All existing source and new source SIUs shall provide a sampling manhole for accurate sampling and measurement of industrial wastewater. A large sampling manhole shall be provided, at the SIUs expense, on its building sewers conveying industrial wastewater. A large sampling manhole or sampling chamber shall be located outside the plant. If inside the plant fence, there shall be a gate near the sampling manhole with a key furnished to DWR and which allows access from public rights-of-way or easement. In certain sampling manholes where noxious fumes may accumulate, DWR may require a fume exhaust system to protect the life and health of county employees who may be required to enter the sampling manhole. The fume exhaust system should extract the fumes from the bottom of the manhole and provide not less than one air change per minute. The sampling manhole shall include a 120V single phase electrical outlet at or near the installation.

(2)

For new source SIUs, each sampling manhole shall contain a properly installed flow monitoring device such as a parshall flume, palmer-bowlus flume or other similar device approved by the county. Plans of the proposed sampling manhole and monitoring device shall be prepared by a registered engineer and submitted to the county for review and approval. The director may require the industrial user to install additional equipment necessary to measure, record, and total flow. This equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition. Devices used to measure wastewater flow shall be calibrated periodically, but not less frequently than annually, to ensure their accuracy. Records of this calibration must be kept for a period of three years and submitted to DWR upon request.

(c)

Search warrants. If the director has been refused access to a building, structure, or property, or any part thereof, and is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this division, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program of DWR designed to verify compliance with this division or any permit or order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety and welfare of the community, the director may seek issuance of a search warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Code 1994, § 114-97; Ord. No. SWR-2010-001, 11-16-2010)