Sec. 47-187. - General provisions.
(a) [Generally.] This article shall apply to all users of the publicly owned treatment works (POTW). This article authorizes the issuance of individual and general wastewater discharge permits; provides for monitoring, compliance, and enforcement activities; establishes administrative review procedures; requires user reporting; and provides for the setting of fees for the equitable distribution of costs resulting from the program established herein.
The discharge of industrial waste to the sanitary sewer system shall be done in strict conformance to this article and this article shall be construed to strictly prohibit the unauthorized discharge of any wastewater stream to the sanitary sewer system, and to grant all powers the control authority needs to fulfill the purposes and objectives of this article, the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.), and the General Pretreatment Regulations (Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations [C.F.R.] Part 403), including disconnecting wastewater services.
(b) Administration. Except as otherwise provided herein, the director shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the director may be delegated by the director to a city employee.
The director shall be authorized to act for the city as control authority of the POTW. The city shall have the legal authority to enforce any and all pretreatment standards as well as pretreatment requirements specified by regulations promulgated by the EPA, including but not limited to the powers enumerated in 40 C.F.R. § 403.8(f)(1), as amended, and same are hereby incorporated herein by this reference. Any industrial user that is subject to pretreatment standards shall file with the director such reports as may be required by pretreatment standards or requirements promulgated by the EPA or the TCEQ. In case of any conflict between a pretreatment standard or requirement promulgated by the EPA or the TCEQ and any standard or requirement imposed elsewhere by this article, the standard or requirement that is more protective of human health and the environment shall apply.
(c) Abbreviations. The following abbreviations, when used in this article and in permits issued or agreements entered into pursuant to this article, shall have the designated meanings:
BOD | — | Biochemical oxygen demand.
BMP | — | Best management practice.
BMR | — | Baseline monitoring report.
C.F.R. | — | Code of Federal Regulations.
CIU | — | Categorical industrial user.
COD | — | Chemical oxygen demand.
EPA | — | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
IU | — | Industrial user.
mg/L | — | Milligrams per liter.
POTW | — | Publicly owned treatment works.
RCRA | — | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6922, et seq., and its implementing regulations.
SIU | — | Significant industrial user.
SNC | — | Significant non-compliance.
TBLL | — | Technically based local limit.
TCEQ | — | Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or its successor agency.
TexTox | — | Texas Toxicity Modeling Program.
TPDES | — | Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
TSS | — | Total suspended solids.
TTO | — | Total toxic organics.
U.S.C. | — | United States Code.
(d) Definitions. Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this article and in permits issued or agreements entered into pursuant to this article, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated.
Act or the Act. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
Approval authority. The State of Texas and the TCEQ.
Authorized or duly authorized representative of the user.
(1) If the user is a corporation:
a. The president, secretary, treasurer, or a vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy or decision-making functions for the corporation; or
b. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiating and directing other comprehensive measures to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for individual or general wastewater discharge permit requirements; and has been assigned or delegated authority to sign documents in accordance with corporate procedures.
(2) If the user is a partnership, limited liability company, or sole proprietorship: a general partner, limited liability company individual member, or proprietor, respectively.
(3) If the user is a federal, state, or local governmental facility: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.
(4) The individuals described in items (1) through (3) of this definition, may designate a duly authorized representative if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted to the director.
Best management practices or BMPs means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the general and specific prohibitions listed in section 47-188(a) of this article and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1) and (b). BMPs include, but are not limited to, treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage. BMPs shall be considered local limits and pretreatment standards for the purposes and objectives of this article and Section 307(d) of the Act.
Biochemical oxygen demand or BOD. The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five days at a temperature of 20° Celsius ("C"), usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/L).
Categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) that apply to a specific category of users and that appear in 40 C.F.R. § Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
Categorical industrial user. An industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard, excluding dental dischargers subject to 40 C.F.R. Part 441.
Chemical oxygen demand or COD. A measure of the oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water.
City. The City of Houston in the State of Texas.
Composite sample. A representative flow- or time-proportioned sample generally collected within a 24-hour period or the operating day of the user and combined according to flow or time, respectively.
Control authority. The City of Houston.
Control manhole. A manhole located outside the property of a user which receives wastewater discharged by a user where that wastewater can be sampled by the city prior to combination with wastewater from other sources.
Daily maximum. The arithmetic average of all effluent samples for a pollutant collected during a 24-hour period.
Daily maximum limit. The maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a 24-hour period. Where a daily maximum limit is expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the sampling period. Where a daily maximum limit is expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken during that 24-hour period. If only one measurement is taken during the 24-hour period, that measurement is the daily discharge.
Dental discharger. A source of wastewater to a POTW from a facility where the practice of dentistry is performed as described in 40 C.F.R. Part 441.
Department. Houston Public Works.
Director. The Director of Houston Public Works or the director's authorized representative.
Domestic wastewater. Wastewater that does not contain industrial waste.
Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, the Regional Administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.
Establishment, plant. Any establishment or plant producing industrial waste that is discharged into the sewer system.
Existing source. Any source of discharge that is not a new source.
Facility. A place, building, or equipment used for a particular purpose or activity. When used in reference to an industrial user, it means all equipment, buildings, and operations contained within the property boundary of the source of an indirect discharge.
General permit. A general permit is an authorization to discharge that covers a group of dischargers with similar qualities. The director may issue a general permit to a category of users if the discharges of a group of users meets any one or more of the following conditions:
a. Involve the same or substantially similar types of operations;
b. Discharge the same types of wastes;
c. Require the same effluent limitations; or
d. Require the same or similar monitoring."
Grab sample. A sample that is taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
Indirect discharge or discharge. The introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any non-domestic source.
Industrial waste. Any waterborne solid, liquid or gaseous waste resulting from any production, industrial, manufacturing, service, or food processing operation or from the development, recovery, or processing of any natural resource including waste that is required to be pretreated by this article or the city's Plumbing Code. Included in this definition is any wastewater stream subject to pretreatment standards or requirements at 40 C.F.R. Parts 405—471.
Instantaneous limit. The maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
Interference. A discharge that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both (1) inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and (2) is a cause of a violation of the city's TPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder, or any more stringent state or local regulations: Section 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); any state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
Local limit. Specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the city upon industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge prohibitions listed in 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1) and (b).
Medical waste. Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.
Monthly average. The sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month.
Monthly average limit or standard. The highest allowable average of "daily discharges" over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month.
New source.
(1) Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is (or may be) a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under section 307(c) of the Act that is applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
a. The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
b. The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
c. The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these sources are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant, and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source, will be considered.
(2) Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of item 1a or 1b above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3) Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:
a. Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite construction program:
1. Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
2. Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or
b. Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this definition.
Noncontact cooling water. Water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
Pass through. A discharge which exits the POTW 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 city's TPDES permit or a TexTox Limit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
Permit. A written document issued by the director which, by its conditions, may authorize the permittee to construct, install, modify, or operate in accordance with stated limitations a specified facility for industrial waste discharge to the POTW.
Permittee, permit holder. Any person who owns, operates, possesses or controls an establishment, plant, or property being operated in accordance with a valid individual or general permit.
Person. Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, or any other legal entity; or their legal representatives, agents, or assigns. This definition includes all federal, state, and local governmental entities.
pH. A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.
Pollutant. Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, septic waste, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
Pretreatment. The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants into the POTW. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes; by process changes; or by other means, except as prohibited by 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(d).
Pretreatment facility. Any device, structure or method that will remove specified pollutants from the wastewater prior to its discharge into the POTW.
Pretreatment requirements. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a user, other than a pretreatment standard.
Pretreatment standards or standards. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act, which applies to industrial users. The term includes prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits. In cases of differing standards or regulations, the most stringent standard shall apply.
Process wastewater means any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product, or waste product.
Prohibited discharge standards or prohibited discharges. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in section 47-188 of this article.
Publicly owned treatment works or POTW. A treatment works, as defined by section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292), which is owned by the city. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances, which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.
Regulated entity. A permittee or a user that does not hold a permit under this article but that is authorized by the director to discharge into the POTW.
Sample well or sampling facility. A physical connection on an industrial user's discharge pipe that is constructed to allow access for sampling and inspection.
Septic tank waste. Any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
Sewage. Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
Significant industrial user or SIU. Except as provided in item (3) of this definition, a significant industrial user is:
(1) A categorical industrial user; or
(2) An industrial user that:
a. Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater);
b. Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or
c. Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
(3) Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in item (2) of this definition 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, and in accordance with procedures in 40 C.F.R. § 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.
Slug load or slug discharge. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration that could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in section 47-187 of this article. A slug discharge is any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a non-customary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the POTW's regulations, local limits or permit conditions.
Source. Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is (or may be) a discharge of pollutants.
Storm water. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
Total suspended solids. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and that is removable by laboratory filtering.
User or industrial user. Any discharger or potential source of indirect discharge, including but not limited to any categorical industrial user, significant industrial user, dental discharger or a non-domestic user that has a sewer connection for domestic wastewater discharge only.
Wastewater. Liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.
Wastewater treatment plant or treatment plant. That portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
(Ord. No. 2020-1024, § 2(Exh. A), 12-2-2020; Ord. No. 2021-1037, § 20(Exh. I.55), 12-1-2021, eff. 4-1-2022)
