Group Permit for Food Processing

(1) No Person shall discharge or cause or allow to be discharged, directly or indirectly, into the Authority Sewerage System, any Industrial Waste required to be covered by the Group Permit for Food Processing, unless such discharge complies with such Group Permit issued to the discharger. This includes Industrial Waste that is hauled for discharge to a Sanitary Sewer System within the Authority Sewerage District. (2) For purposes of 360 CMR 10.063, Food Processing shall be defined as preparing food for wholesale commercial distribution and sale including, without being limited to: operations which involve washing, cooking, baking, or curing food or food products including, but not limited to: beverage making and bottling; candy making; cereal making; condiment making; dairy product processing; fish cutting, processing and cooking; frozen food making; jams, jellies and fruit filling making; meat processing and packing; nut and nut product processing; pasta making; prepared food making; and vegetable and other produce washing and processing. Food Processing does not include: preparing meals or snacks for immediate consumption on the premises, or for take-out; transport and distribution operations which consist solely of packaging for transport and distribution without generating wastewater from the packaging process; and warehousing or other storage solely for transport, distribution, or sale. (3) A Person performing Food Processing is covered by the Group Permit for Food Processing if its discharge of Industrial Waste to a Sanitary Sewer in the Authority Sewerage District (or to a holding tank whose contents are hauled for discharge to a Sanitary Sewer in the Authority Sewerage District) consists solely of the Food Processing wastes it generates, and if it is not exempted from coverage by 360 CMR 10.063(4) or (5). (4) A person is not required to be covered by the Group Permit for Food Processing, if its only industrial sewer discharge is from its Food Processing operations and it applies for and is covered by 360 CMR 10.062. (5) Notwithstanding 360 CMR 10.063(3), a Person discharging Food Processing waste to the Sewer is not covered by the Group Permit for Food Processing, but requires a Sewer Use Discharge Permit to discharge Industrial Waste to the Sewer if it is not exempted by 360 CMR 10.007(3) and it: (a) Discharges other Industrial Wastewater in addition to Food Processing wastes; (b) Has a total industrial wastewater sewer discharge that averages 25,000 gallons per day or more, or is notified by the Authority that it otherwise is a Significant Industrial User as defined in 360 CMR 10.004; (c) Uses a pretreatment system other than passive pretreatment (e.g., a settling tank, grease trap, or a limestone chip tank); or (d) Does not or is unable to meet Authority discharge requirements, 360 CMR 10.021 through 10.026, by following the operations and management practices required by the Group Permit for Food Processing, and upon notice from the Authority. (6) A person who would be covered by the Group Permit for Food Processing, but has other discharges that are subject to a General Permit, shall be covered by and hold the Group Permit for Food Processing and be subject to the requirements of the General Permit for its other discharges. (7) Before commencing a Discharge required to be covered by the Group Permit, the Person that will be discharging shall file with the Authority and the appropriate Municipality a Notice of Intent to Discharge, on a form available from the Authority, and shall not begin discharging until it is issued the Group Permit by the Authority and Municipality. A Person with a Sewer Use Discharge Permit on the effective date of the Group Permit for Food Processing that is required to be covered by the Group Permit for Food Processing shall submit a Notice of Intent to Discharge to the Authority and the appropriate Municipality within 90 days of the effective date of 360 CMR 10.063, and may continue to discharge subject to its Sewer Use Discharge Permit until the Authority and Municipality act on the Notice of Intent. (8) A Person issued the Group Permit shall comply with the terms and conditions of the Group Permit. The Permit shall contain standard terms and conditions for all Persons it covers. Those terms and conditions shall describe which facilities it covers, required submissions, general conditions to be met, required operations and management practices, and recordkeeping requirements. It may include information on required monetary charges that must be paid, enforcement information, and other requirements and information that the Authority deems necessary or appropriate to ensure compliance with 360 CMR 10.000 and/or with local, state, and federal laws and regulations. (9) Any new facility that will be covered by the Group Permit, or substantial change to an existing facility that is covered by the Group Permit, must include plumbing to assure that a representative sample of the discharge of all Food Processing wastes may be taken at a safe and accessible location at the end of the pretreatment process line, or at the end of the process line if there is no pretreatment, and prior to combining with any other streams. (10) Unless specifically modified by the Group Permit, a Person issued a Group Permit shall comply with 360 CMR 10.000 and is subject to enforcement pursuant to 360 CMR 2.00: Enforcement and Administrative Penalties, and St. 1984, c. 372 and St. 1987, c. 307. (11) A Person issued the Group Permit shall post a copy of the Group Permit on its applicable facility's bulletin board or such other conspicuous location as the Authority shall allow and shall post with the Group Permit the names of the individuals at the facility responsible for compliance with the Group Permit and names of the individuals at the facility to be notified in the event of an Upset or other episode requiring notice to the Authority. (12) The Group Permit for Food Processing does not preclude the Authority from requiring specific compliance measures at individual facilities including, but not limited to, installation of grease traps at specific location and more frequent maintenance. The Authority may determine that a facility requiring more frequent grease trap maintenance requires an individual Sewer Use Discharge Permit. (13) The Authority may approve maintenance schedules, compliance schedules, or both, for specific facilities including, but not limited to, schedules that modify the grease trap maintenance requirements of the Group Permit. A Person seeking such a modification must submit a request in writing with supporting documentation. Modifications that allow longer intervals in the grease trap maintenance schedule shall not be approved, unless the Authority and the appropriate Municipality are satisfied that such modification will not contribute to nuisance conditions, or an adverse impact on the Sewerage System, Receiving Waters, or the Authority’s Wastewater Residuals program. Approval for such modification is not effective until issued by the Authority in writing. (14) The Group Permit for Food Processing does not preclude the Municipality from imposing more stringent requirements.