Pretreatment and monitoring facilities.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-189
in effectSec. 47-189. - Pretreatment and monitoring facilities.
(a) Pretreatment facilities. Users shall provide wastewater treatment as necessary to comply with this article and shall achieve compliance with all categorical pretreatment standards, local limits, and the prohibitions set out in sections 47-188(a) of this article within the time limitations specified by the EPA, the state, or the director, whichever is more stringent. Any facilities necessary for compliance shall be provided, operated, and maintained at the user's expense. Users shall submit detailed plans describing such facilities and operating procedures to the director for review. Users shall not commence or cause to be commenced construction of facilities until the director has approved the submitted detailed plans.
The user shall submit detailed plans showing any proposed new construction, modifications, and significant changes in pretreatment facilities or method of operation to the director for review and approval prior to implementation. The user shall obtain any necessary construction permits before new construction or modifications of an existing facility may commence.
The review of such plans and operating procedures shall in no way relieve the user from the responsibility of modifying such facilities as necessary to produce a discharge acceptable to the city under the provisions of this article.
Within 90 days after the completion of the wastewater pretreatment facility, the permittee shall submit as-built drawings and its procedures for operations and maintenance to the director.
(b) Additional pretreatment measures.
(1) Whenever deemed necessary, the director may require users to restrict their discharge during peak flow periods, designate that certain wastewater be discharged only into specific sewers, relocate and/or consolidate points of discharge, separate sewage wastewater streams from industrial wastestreams, and such other conditions as may be necessary to protect the POTW and determine the user's compliance with the requirements of this article.
(2) The director may require any person discharging into the POTW to install and maintain, on their property and at their expense, a suitable storage and flow-control facility to ensure equalization of flow. An individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit may be issued solely for flow equalization.
(3) The director may require users with potential flammable discharge substances to install and maintain an approved combustible gas detection meter.
(c) Accidental discharge/slug discharge control plans. The director shall evaluate, within one year after a user is designated as a SIU, whether the SIU needs an accidental discharge/slug discharge control plan or other action to control slug discharges. The director may require any user to develop, submit for approval, and implement such a plan or take such other action that may be necessary to control slug discharges. Alternatively, the director may develop such a plan for any user. An accidental discharge/slug discharge control plan shall address, at a minimum, the following:
(1) Description of discharge practices, including nonroutine batch discharges;
(2) Description of stored chemicals;
(3) Procedures for immediately notifying the director of any accidental or slug discharge, as required by section 47-192(f) of this article; and
(4) Procedures to prevent adverse impact from any accidental or slug discharge. Such procedures include, but are not limited to, inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site runoff, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants, including solvents, and/or measures and equipment for emergency response.
Every user shall provide protection from accidental discharge into the POTW of prohibited materials. Such protection shall be provided and maintained at the user's cost and expense.
Users shall control the production of all discharges to the extent necessary to maintain compliance with all applicable regulations upon reduction, loss, or failure of its treatment facility until the facility is restored or an alternative method of treatment is provided. This requirement applies in the situation where, among other things, the primary source of power to the treatment facility is reduced, lost, or fails.
Users shall provide records of the activities associated with slug control evaluation and results available to the director upon director's request.
(d) The director may require a user to install, at the user's expense, suitable monitoring facilities, instrumentation or equipment that allows for the representative sampling and accurate observation of wastewater discharges. At all times and at its own expense, the user shall maintain the sampling and monitoring equipment in a safe and proper operating condition and accessible to city personnel. The user shall ensure all devices used to measure wastewater flow and quality are calibrated at least annually to ensure their accuracy.
(e) The location of the monitoring facility shall provide ample room in or near the monitoring facility to allow accurate sampling and preparation of samples and analysis. The monitoring facilities must be provided in accordance with the director's requirements and all applicable local construction standards and specifications whether constructed on public or private property. The user shall construct and maintain monitoring facilities in such manner so as to enable the director to perform independent and unscheduled monitoring activities.
(f) Multitenant buildings. When more than one user is able to discharge into a common service line, the director may require installation of separate monitoring equipment for each user.
(g) Flow, pH, lower explosive limit, and other appropriate meters and instrumentation. If the director determines that an industrial user needs to measure and report: wastewater flow, discharge process wastewaters necessitating continuous pH measurement, or discharge wastewater that may contain flammable substances, the director may require the user, at the user's expense, to install and maintain approved meters, structures, and equipment.
(h) Hauled wastewater. Only domestic septic tank waste generated within the city may be introduced into the POTW and only at locations designated by the director, and at the times established by the director. Users must comply with section 47-188 of this article and any other requirements established by the city. The director may require waste haulers to obtain individual wastewater discharge permits or general permits.
(Ord. No. 2020-1024, § 2(Exh. A), 12-2-2020)
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_ARTVINWA_S47-189PRMOFAFetched: 10/26/2026