Subtitle 1 – Definitions; General Provisions
Current through 2026-07-17. Source: City of Balt., Md., Ord. 26-129. Published by the Baltimore City Department of Legislative Reference.
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-1 (2026)
§ 1-1 Definitions.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
Whenever the following words or phrases appear in <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite>, they shall have the following meanings.
(b)Biochemical oxygen demand; BOD.
“Biochemical oxygen demand” or “BOD” means the quantity of oxygen, expressed in mg/l or ppm, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter during incubation at 20° C. for a period of 5 days. The test shall be made in accordance with "Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants", 40 CFR Part 136.
(c)Bypass.
“Bypass” means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of an industrial user’s treatment facility.
(d)City.
“City” means the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore acting as the legal entity known as the City of Baltimore.
(e)Combined sewer.
“Combined sewer” means a pipe or sewer the purpose of which is to carry both:
(1)
sanitary wastewater or mixtures of sanitary and industrial wastewaters; and
(2)
storm and surface waters, ground drainage, and street washings.
(f)Director.
“Director” or “Director of Public Works” means the Director of Public Works of the City of Baltimore or his delegated representative.
(g)Environmental Protection Agency.
“Environmental Protection Agency” (“EPA”) means:
(1)
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or its successor agency; or
(2)
where appropriate, the administrator or other duly authorized official of that agency.
(h)Industrial wastewater.
“Industrial wastewater” means all water-carried solid, liquid, or gaseous wastes or a combination thereof, resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, trade, or business or from the development or recovery of any natural resource.
(i)Interference.
“Interference” means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:
(1)
inhibits or disrupts the publicly owned treatment works, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use, or disposal; and
(2)
therefore is a cause of:
(i)
a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation); or
(ii)
the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations):
(A)
§ 405 of the Clean Water Act;
(B)
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (“SWDA”) (including Title II, commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), and including state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the SWDA);
(C)
the Clean Air Act;
(D)
the Toxic Substances Control Act; and
(E)
the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
(j)mg/l.
“mg/l” means milligrams per liter, sometimes referred to as parts per million (“ppm”).
(k)Pass-through.
“Pass-through” means a discharge which exits the treatment plant into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the treatment plant’s NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
(l)Person, etc.
(1)In general.
“Person”, “establishment”, “user”, “industrial user” (“IU”), “commercial user”, “discharger”, or “owner” means any “person”, as defined in <cite data-path="|general|1|1|1-107">§ 1-107 </cite>of the City Code’s <cite data-path="|general">General Provisions Article</cite>, that discharges wastewaters to the municipal sanitary sewerage system.
(2)Inclusions.
When used in any clause imposing a penalty, the term “person”:
(i)
as applied to a partnership or association, includes the partners or members thereof; and
(ii)
as applied to a corporation, includes the officers thereof.
(m)Pretreatment.
(1)
“Pretreatment” means the reduction of the amount of pollutant, the elimination of pollutants, or the attenuation of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing these pollutants into the system.
(2)
The reduction or alteration can be obtained by any means except as prohibited by federal, state, or local law.
(n)Private sewer; private drain.
“Private sewer” or “private drain” means a sewer or drain, either on public or private property, not owned by the City.
(o)Public sewer; public drain.
“Public sewer” or “public drain” means a sewer or drain owned and controlled by the City.
(p)Publicly owned treatment works or POTW; wastewater treatment plant.
“Publicly owned treatment works” (“POTW”) or “wastewater treatment plant” means any arrangement of structures and devices for:
(1)
treating wastewaters or industrial wastewater; and
(2)
handling the sludge resulting from such treatment.
(q)Sanitary sewer.
“Sanitary sewer” means a sewer or drain the specific purpose of which is to carry sanitary wastewater or mixtures of sanitary and industrial wastewaters, as herein defined.
(r)Sanitary wastewater.
“Sanitary wastewater” means a combination of water-carried wastes:
(1)
discharged from the sanitary conveniences of:
(i)
dwellings, including apartment houses and hotels;
(ii)
business buildings;
(iii)
institutions; and
(iv)
industrial establishments; and
(2)
free from stormwater, surface water, and industrial wastewater.
(s)Sewer system.
(1)
“Sewer system” means the combination of the City’s sewers, pumping stations, force mains, and appurtenant structures or devices used for collecting wastewater.
(2)
“Sewer system” includes the wastewater treatment plant.
(t)Significant industrial user.
(1)
“Significant industrial user” (“SIU”) shall mean:
(i)
any industrial user who, except as provided by paragraph (2) of this subsection:
(A)
is subject to federal categorical pretreatment standards;
(B)
discharges an average of 25,000 gallons or more per average work day of process wastewater (excluding non-contact cooling water, boiler blowdown, and sanitary wastestreams); or
(C)
has a flow greater than 5% of the average dry weather flow or organic capacity of the POTW; or
(ii)
any user who is found by the Director of Public Works, the State, or EPA to have significant impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industries to the POTW, the quality of the sludge, the treatment plant’s effluent quality, or air emissions generated by the system.
(2)
Upon finding that any non-categorical industrial user meeting the criteria in paragraph (1) of this subsection has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the City may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user or POTW, and in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a significant industrial user.
(u)Storm sewer; storm drain.
(1)
“Storm sewer” or “storm drain” means a pipe or sewer the purpose of which is to carry storm and surface waters, ground drainage, and street washings.
(2)
It may, however, carry cooling waters, water condensates, unpolluted waters from any source, or wastewater permitted under the national pollutant discharge elimination system.
(v)Stormwater.
“Stormwater” means the excess water running off from the surface of a drainage area during and immediately following rain or as a result of other precipitation.
(w)Suspended solids; SS.
“Suspended solids” or “SS” means the laboratory determination of the dry weight, expressed in mg/l, of solids that either float on the surface or are in suspension and which can be removed from the wastewater in accordance with procedures given in 40 CFR 136, “Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants”.
(x)Total phosphorus; TP.
“Total phosphorus” (“TP”) means the sum of the concentrations of various forms of phosphorus classified as orthophosphates, condensed phosphates, and organophosphates, expressed in mg/l, as determined by laboratory tests performed in accordance with 40 CFR Part 136, “Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants”.
(y)Toxic substance.
“Toxic substance” means any substance, gaseous, liquid, or solid, which when discharged to a sewer or drain, may tend to:
(1)
interfere with any waste treatment process;
(2)
constitute a hazard to human beings or animals;
(3)
inhibit aquatic life; or
(4)
create a hazard to recreation,
in the receiving water of the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant or from the storm sewer into which wastes are discharged.
(z)Upset.
(1)
“Upset” means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards or local limits because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the industrial user.
(2)
“Upset” does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
(aa)Wastewater.
“Wastewater” means any combination of sanitary and industrial wastewaters and such ground water and surface water as may be present.
History: Ord. 75-914
History: Ord. 91-775
History: Ord. 99-526
History: Ord. 22-125
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-2 (2026)
§ 1-2 Rules and regulations.LinkCopy Citation
In order to properly carry out and enforce the provisions of <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite>, the Director of Public Works is hereby authorized, subject to Title 4 {“Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations”} of the <cite data-path="|general">City General Provisions Article</cite>, to make, adopt, promulgate, and amend from time to time rules and regulations and operating procedures as he may deem necessary or proper to carry out and enforce the provisions of <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite> and which are not inconsistent therewith.
History: Ord. 91-775
History: Text Conformed 02/23/21
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-3 (2026)
§ 1-3 Authorized representatives; certifications.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
All applications, reports, or other information submitted to the Director shall be signed by an authorized representative.
(b)Permitted representatives.
(1)
“Authorized representative” means:
(i){for a corporation:}
(A)
a responsible corporate officer such as a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function;
(B)
any other person who performs similar policy- or decision- making functions for the corporation; or
(C)
the manager of 1 or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25-million, if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures;
(ii)
a general partner or proprietor, if the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, respectively; or
(iii)
by a duly authorized representative of the individual designated in paragraph (i) or (ii) above if:
(A)
the authorization is made in writing by the individual described in paragraph (i) or (ii);
(B)
the authorization specifies either an individual or a position having:
1.
responsibility for the overall operation of the facility from which the industrial discharge originates, such as the position of plant manager, operator of a well, or a position of equivalent responsibility; or
2.
overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company; and
(C)
the written authorization is submitted to the Director.
(2)
If authorization under item (iii) is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility, a new authorization must be submitted to the Director prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an authorized representative.
(c)Required certifications.
With each submittal, the industrial user must provide to the Director, a certification statement:
“I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my action or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations.”
History: Ord. 91-775
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-4 (2026)
§ 1-4 Falsifying information.LinkCopy Citation
Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, record, report, plan, or other document filed with the Director of Public Works, or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite> shall be subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both as provided in § 23-4.
History: Ord. 84-129
History: Ord. 91-775
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-5 (2026)
§ 1-5LinkCopy Citation
Reserved
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-6 (2026)
§ 1-6 Revision of article.LinkCopy Citation
The City reserves the right to amend <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite> in any manner and to establish more stringent limitations or regulations where deemed necessary to comply with the objectives of <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite>.
History: Ord. 84-129
History: Ord. 91-775
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-7 (2026)
§ 1-7 Repeal of inconsistent provisions.LinkCopy Citation
<cite data-path="|25">This article</cite> regulating sewer construction, sewer use, wastewater discharges, and waste haulers shall supersede all previous regulations and policies of the City governing items covered in <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite>. All other articles and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent or conflicting with any part of <cite data-path="|25">this article</cite> are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency or conflict.
History: Ord. 84-129
History: Ord. 91-775
Balt., Md., Code art. 25, § 1-8 (2026)
§ 1-8LinkCopy Citation
Reserved