Monitoring and Reporting

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 47, art. XII, div. 4, subpt. B

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-721 Applicability.

Sec. 47-721. - Applicability. This subdivision shall apply to municipal landfills, hazardous waste treatment, disposal and recovery facilities, facilities that are subject to Section 11023 of Title 42 of the United States Code, as it may be amended from time to time, and other municipal waste treatment, storage or disposal facilities (including, but not limited to, POTWs, transfer stations and commercial incinerators). This subdivision shall also apply to high-risk facilities that the Director of Houston Public Works, or city engineer believes have the potential to contribute a pollutant to the MS4. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01; Ord. No. 2016-864, § 18, 11-9-2016; Ord. No. 2018-11, § 49, 1-10-2018)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-722 Designation as a high risk facility.

Sec. 47-722. - Designation as a high risk facility. (a) The city engineer shall promulgate regulations to determine whether a facility is contributing a substantial pollutant loading to the MS4 and so should be designated as a high-risk facility. The city engineer shall consider, but shall not be limited to, such factors as the nature of the activities at the facility and drainage patterns in the area of the facility. The city engineer shall provide the facility with written notice of the facility's designation. (b) The city engineer shall send written notification by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each high-risk facility designated pursuant to subsection (a) of this section informing the operator of that designation. The notice shall specify the parameter or parameters that the facility will have to monitor for pursuant to section 47-723(b)(12) or section 47-723(c)(5), whichever is applicable. The facility operator may appeal the designation pursuant to section 47-608 of this Code. Designation as a high-risk facility shall be effective on the third day following the date notice is deposited in the mail to the facility. (c) The city engineer shall further promulgate regulations for determining whether a facility designated as a high-risk facility pursuant to subsection (a) is no longer contributing a substantial pollutant loading or a pollutant to the MS4 and for terminating the facility's designation as a high-risk facility. Upon terminating the facility's designation as a high-risk facility, the city engineer shall send written notification by certified mail, return receipt requested to the facility informing it of that termination. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01; Ord. No. 06-892, § 20, 8-23-06; Ord. No. 2016-864, § 19, 11-9-2016)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-723 Monitoring required.

Sec. 47-723. - Monitoring required. (a) Every high-risk facility that has storm water discharges associated with industrial activity shall undertake all of the following applicable monitoring: (1) Required by an individual NPDES or TPDES storm water permit if the facility has an individual storm water permit; (2) Required by a general NPDES or TPDES storm water permit, other than TPDES permit number TXR050000 if the facility has coverage under such a permit; or (3) Required by TPDES permit number TXR050000, or any successor permit thereto, if neither (i) or (ii) above apply; as applicable. (b) If a high-risk facility does not have storm water discharges associated with industrial activity, the facility annually shall analytically monitor and analyze storm water discharges from its facility during a representative storm event on an outfall-by-outfall basis for each of the following parameters: (1) Any pollutants limited in an existing NPDES or TPDES permit for the facility; (2) Total oil and grease; (3) Chemical oxygen demand; (4) pH; (5) Biochemical oxygen demand, five-day; (6) Total suspended solids; (7) Total phosphorus; (8) Total Kjeldahl nitrogen; (9) Nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen; (10) Any other discharges required to be monitored under Section 122.21(g)(7)(iii) and (iv) of Title 40 of the CFR; (11) Any pollutants for which effluent limitations are imposed in the city's storm water permit for its MS4; and (12) Any other pollutant that the city has determined the facility is discharging that contributes a substantial pollutant loading to the MS4. (c) If a type 2 facility does not have storm water discharges associated with industrial activity, the facility annually shall analytically monitor and analyze storm water discharges from its facility during a representative storm event on an outfall-by-outfall basis for each of the following parameters: (1) Chemical oxygen demand; (2) Total oil and grease; (3) pH; (4) Any pollutants for which effluent limitations are imposed in the city's storm water permit for its MS4; and (5) Any other pollutant that the city believes the facility may be contributing to the MS4 or waters of the United States. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01; Ord. No. 2016-864, § 20, 11-9-2016)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-724 No exposure certification.

Sec. 47-724. - No exposure certification. In lieu of the monitoring required by section 47-723, a facility may submit once every five years a certification that raw and waste materials, final and intermediate products and by-products, material handling equipment or activities, industrial machinery or operations, or significant materials from past industrial activity are not presently exposed to storm water and are not expected to be exposed to storm water. If the facility is eligible for coverage under TPDES permit number TRX05000, the certification shall be on the form provided by TCEQ pursuant to TPDES permit number TXR05000. If the facility is not eligible for coverage under TPDES permit number TRX05000, the certification shall be on a form provided by the city. A facility that submits a certification pursuant to this section shall notify the city at least 14 days before changing operating or management procedures that would result in exposure of storm water to industrial activities, and upon such a change shall become subject to the monitoring requirements of section 47-723 of this Code. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01; Ord. No. 06-892, §§ 3, 21, 8-23-06)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-725 Establishment of reporting thresholds.

Sec. 47-725. - Establishment of reporting thresholds. The city engineer shall establish a reporting threshold for every parameter for which monitoring is required of high risk facilities that do not have storm water discharges associated with industrial activity under this subdivision, which may be amended from time to time as deemed warranted by the city engineer. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01; Ord. No. 2016-864, § 21, 11-9-2016)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-726 Reporting of monitoring results.

Sec. 47-726. - Reporting of monitoring results. (a) If the results of any monitoring required by this subdivision: (i) Exceed a benchmark or effluent limitation in the NPDES or TPDES storm water permit for a facility that has storm water discharges associated with industrial activity, or (ii) Exceed the threshold established by the city engineer pursuant to section 47-725 for a facility that does not have storm water discharges associated with industrial activity, the owner and operator of the facility shall submit the results in writing to the city engineer within 30 days after conducting the monitoring. Failure to report the results of such monitoring shall constitute a violation of this article. (b) The city engineer may request in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, the results of any other monitoring required by this division. The facility shall then submitted the requested data in writing to the city engineer within 30 days after the date the city engineer's request is deposited in the mail to the facility. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-727 Record retention.

Sec. 47-727. - Record retention. Each high-risk facility shall retain the results of all monitoring required by this division and supporting documentation for three years. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01; Ord. No. 2016-864, § 22, 11-9-2016)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-728 Investigation, corrective measures, and additional monitoring.

Sec. 47-728. - Investigation, corrective measures, and additional monitoring. (a) If the results of any monitoring required by this division: (1) Exceed a benchmark or effluent limitation in an NPDES or TPDES storm water permit for a facility that has storm water discharges associated with industrial activity; or (2) Exceed the thresholds established by the city engineer pursuant to section 47-725 for a facility that does not have storm water discharges associated with industrial activity; the owner and operator of the facility shall investigate the cause of each exceedance and take appropriate corrective measures to eliminate each exceedance as soon as possible. The owner and operator shall notify the city engineer of the corrective measures that will be taken and a schedule for implementation. (b) The city engineer may require additional monitoring at a frequency to be determined by the city engineer to ascertain the effectiveness of any corrective measures taken pursuant to subsection (a). (c) Failure to undertake appropriate corrective measures to eliminate an exceedance within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the city engineer shall constitute a violation of this article. (Ord. No. 01-800, § 3, 8-29-01)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH47WASE_ARTXIISTWADI_DIV4STWADIINHIRIFA_SDBMOREFetched: 10/26/2026