14.09.010 Phosphate Ban

The Council recognizes its authority and responsibility to plan and provide for control of sewerage, surface water, and water supply. The Council hereby finds that phosphorus loading of surface waters is currently a serious pollution problem affecting water quality in the Bear Creek Sub-basin and threatens future water quality in other surface waters of the region. Phosphate detergents contribute significant phosphorus loading to the treated wastewater released to surface water into Bear Creek. Phosphorous loading has become a pollution problem, and state standards will require additional wastewater treatment facilities at public expense beyond primary and secondary treatment facilities. This Ordinance is enacted to reduce phosphorus pollution at its source to maintain existing water quality and to enhance cost-effective wastewater treatment where phosphorus pollution has been identified as a serious pollution problem by the State of Oregon Environmental Quality Commission.

1. “Cleaning agent” means any product, including but not limited to soaps and detergents, containing a surfactant as a wetting or dirt emulsifying agent and used primarily for domestic or commercial cleaning purposes, including, but not limited to the cleansing of fabrics, dishes, food utensils, and household and commercial premises. Cleaning agent shall not mean foods, drugs, cosmetics, insecticides, fungicides and rodenticides, or cleaning agents exempt from this Ordinance.

2. “Phosphorus” means elemental phosphorus.

3. “Person” means any person, firm, partnership or corporation.

B. Prohibition. No person may sell or distribute for sale within the City of Ashland City Limits, any cleaning agents containing more than 0.5 percent phosphorus by weight except cleaning agents used in automatic dishwashing machines shall not exceed 8.7 percent phosphorus by weight.

C. Exemptions. This Ordinance shall not apply to any cleaning agent:

1. Used in dairy, beverage, or food processing equipment.

2. Used as an industrial sanitizer, brightener, acid cleaner or metal conditioner, including phosphoric acid products or trisodium phosphate.

3. Used in hospitals, veterinary hospitals or clinics, or health care facilities.

4. Used in agricultural production and the production of electronic components.

5. Used in a commercial laundry for laundry services provided to hospital or health care facility or for a veterinary hospital or clinic.

6. Used by industry for metal cleaning or conditioning.

7. Used in any laboratory, including a biological laboratory, research facility, chemical, electronics or engineering laboratory.

8. Used for cleaning hard surfaces, including household cleansers for windows, sinks, counters, stoves, tubs or other food preparation surfaces, and plumbing fixtures.

9. Used as a water softening chemical, antiscale chemical or corrosion inhibitor intended for use in closed systems, such as boilers, air conditioners, cooling towers or hot water systems.

10. For which the Council determines that imposition of this Ordinance will either:

a. create a significant hardship on the user; or

b. be unreasonable because of the lack of an adequate substitute cleaning agent.

Severability. The provisions of this Ordinance are severable. If any provision of this Ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or application of this Ordinance which can be given without the invalid provision or application.

Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter is subject to Section 1.08.020 of the Ashland Municipal Code. In addition to other legal and equitable remedies available to the City of Ashland, including restriction or termination of service:

Violation of any section of this chapter AMC 14.09 is a Class II violation. (Ord. 3137, amended, 2017; Ord. 3029, amended, 08/03/2010; Ord. 2623, amended, 1991)