In January of 1996 the City of Glendale consolidated the City’s Industrial Waste Program with the Fire Department’s hazardous materials operations within the functions of the Environmental Management Center.

The objective of the industrial waste program is to prevent hazardous materials from being discharged into the sanitary sewer system. The sanitary sewer is a system of underground pipes that carries sewage from bathrooms, sinks, kitchens, and other plumbing components to a wastewater treatment plant where it is filtered, treated and discharged. It is a different set of pipes than the storm sewer, which is a system designed to carry rainfall runoff to the ocean. Our objective to prevent hazardous materials from entering the sewer systems is accomplished through a comprehensive permitting, inspection and sampling program.

Industrial wastewater is regulated by Section 307 of the Federal Water Pollution Control (also known as the Clean Water Act) and the Glendale Municipal Code.

The wastewater coming from industrial processes and subsequently discharged into the municipal sewer system is known as Industrial Waste. This will include just about anything not coming from domestic (household) sources.

Public Treatment Works (POTW), more commonly known as, the water treatment plant, collect wastewater from homes, commercial buildings and industrial facilities and transport it through the sewer system to the treatment plant. The POTW can then treat the wastewater to remove harmful contaminates from the sewage so it can be safely discharged into receiving waters, like the ocean. Generally, the POTW is designed to only treat domestic sewage. However, the wastewater discharged from the industrial facilities into the municipal sewer will also be received by the POTW.

Federal, State and Local governments regulate the wastewater discharged by the industrial facilities to control pollutants in the wastewater from reaching the POTW. This is called Pre-Treatment.

The goal of Pretreatment is to treat the wastewater at the industrial facility before it enters the municipal sewer system to remove the substances that may cause harm to the POTW or pass through the POTW into the receiving waters.

The type of Pretreatment required depends on the type of processes at the facility and the type of pollutants in the wastewater. For example, a plating shop or automotive repair shop may require a 3-stage clarifier and a restaurant may need a grease trap/interceptor. The exact type and size of the Pretreatment is up to plan review, but they will all need to be permitted by the Glendale Fire Department at the Environmental Management Center.

Industrial Waste Permit Application

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