Adoption of this Ordinance will amend Chapter 12A (Sewer Pretreatment) of the Goodyear City Code to update definitions, change permit classifications, and update the local limits related to the pretreatment program.

1. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2023-2338 DECLARING A PUBLIC RECORD THAT CERTAIN DOCUMENT FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK AND TITLED “AMENDING CHAPTER 12A (SEWER PRETREATMENT) OF THE GOODYEAR CITY CODE.” 

2. ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 2023-1584 AMENDING CHAPTER 12A (SEWER PRETREATMENT) OF THE GOODYEAR CITY CODE TO AMEND AND REPLACE IN ITS ENTIRETY; PROVIDING FOR CORRECTIONS; SEVERABILITY; PENALTIES AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (Todd Carpenter, Deputy Water Services Director and Barbara Chappell, Water Services Director)

The amendment will allow for the creation of two new Wastewater Discharge Permit classifications to collect appropriate fees for the type of business. The fee will be used to fund inspections, sampling, and compliance with applicable Pretreatment Regulations. The amendment will also reduce the financial impact on certain Industrial Users that would otherwise be required to have a higher-class permit, reducing the required annual permit fee from $2,500 to either $800 or $550 depending on class 2 or 3 permits.

It is anticipated that new and revised permit fees will be brought back for council action by the end of the year.

On March 03, 2014, Mayor and Council adopted Chapter 12A Sewer Use Ordinance 14-1290. On April 20, 2017, Goodyear received a Notice of Violation (NOV) from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) that resulted in a Consent Order for failure to fully implement the programmatic functions of the pretreatment program as provided in 40 CFR Part 403.8(f)(2). As a result of the consent order, the Water Services Department hired Pretreatment Consultant John E. Watson dba JW Environmental Consulting, LLC (JWEC) to implement the required functions for 40 CFR 403. Part of the contract with JWEC was to modify the current Chapter 12A Sewer Use Ordinance. On March 15, 2022, the City of Goodyear’s 157th Ave Water Reclamation Facility received a new Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (AZPDES) which required Goodyear to perform a Local Limits Evaluation. In anticipation of the new AZPDES Permit requirement, the Water Services Department hired Brown and Caldwell on January 13, 2022 to perform the Local Limits Evaluation. The evaluation was completed in late December 2022, and approved by ADEQ on June 27, 2023 to modify the Local Limits established in Chapter 12A. With the combined efforts from JWEC, Brown and Caldwell, Legal, and Pretreatment staff, the Water Services Department suggests the revisions and edits to the current Ordinance Chapter 12A be modified to include the Local Limits modification, EPA Streamlining Rule change, updated regulatory definitions and current Federal, State and Local Pretreatment Program Requirements.

As the current Ordinance is written, the financial burden to inspect unpermitted industries falls on the taxpayers and residents of Goodyear. The proposed modification will allow the inspections, sampling, and compliance to be fully funded by the industrial users that require the proposed permits, thus eliminating the financial impact on residents. The definitions, legal responsibilities, and enforcement response provide a consistent and clear direction for pretreatment staff to take with implementing the Pretreatment Program.

The advantage of these changes to the city is that the Pretreatment Program can be deployed in a consistent and reliable fashion to protect the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) from interference and or pass-through protecting our water resources now and in the future. The additional permit systems allow for oversight of those industries that currently have none, as well as reducing the oversight for those that require less.