Prohibited discharges

The following prohibitions apply to each industrial user whether or not the user is subject to other pretreatment standards or any national, state, or local pretreatment requirements: 1. General prohibitions. An industrial user may not introduce into a publicly owned treatment works any pollutant which causes passthrough or interference. 2. Affirmative defenses. A user shall have an affirmative defense in any action brought against it alleging a violation of the general prohibitions established in subsection 1 and the specific prohibitions in subdivisions c through g of subsection 3 where the user can demonstrate that: a. The user did not know or have reason to know that its discharge, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, would cause passthrough or interference; and b. (1) A local limit designed to prevent passthrough or interference, or both, as the case may be, was developed in accordance with section 33.1-16-01.1-03 for each pollutant in the user's discharge that caused passthrough or interference, and the user was in compliance with each such local limit directly prior to and during the passthrough or interference; or (2) If a local limit designed to prevent passthrough or interference, or both, as the case may be, has not been developed in accordance with section 33.1-16-01.1-03 for the pollutant that caused the passthrough or interference, the user's discharge directly prior to and during the passthrough or interference did not change substantially in nature or constituents from the user's prior discharge activity when the publicly owned treatment works was regularly in compliance with the publicly owned treatment work's North Dakota pollutant discharge elimination system permit requirements and, in the case of interference, applicable requirements for sewage sludge use or disposal. 3. Specific prohibitions. In addition, the following pollutants may not be introduced into a publicly owned treatment works from any source: a. Pollutants which create a fire or explosion hazard in the publicly owned treatment works, including wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than sixty degrees Celsius [140 degrees Fahrenheit] using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21. b. Pollutants which will cause corrosive structural damage to the publicly owned treatment works, but in no case discharges with pH lower than 5.0, unless the publicly owned treatment works is specifically designed to accommodate such discharges. c. Solid or viscous pollutants in amounts which will cause obstruction to the flow in the publicly owned treatment works resulting in interference. d. Any pollutant released in a discharge at a flow rate or pollutant concentration which will cause interference. e. Heat in amounts which will inhibit biological activity in the publicly owned treatment works resulting in interference, but in no case heat in such quantities that the temperature at the publicly owned treatment works treatment plant exceeds forty degrees Celsius [104 degrees Fahrenheit], unless the department, upon request of the publicly owned treatment works, approves alternate temperature limits. f. Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that will cause interference or passthrough. g. Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the publicly owned treatment works in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems. h. Any trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the publicly owned treatment works.