Individual wastewater discharge and general permit issuance.
Houston Code of Ordinances § 47-191
in effectSec. 47-191. - Individual wastewater discharge and general permit issuance.
(a) Individual wastewater discharge and general permit duration. An individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed five years from the effective date of the permit. An individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit may be issued for a period less than five years, at the discretion of the director. Each individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit will indicate a specific date upon which it will expire.
(b) Individual wastewater discharge permit and general permit contents. An individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit shall include such conditions as are deemed reasonably necessary by the director to prevent pass through or interference, protect the quality of the water body receiving the treatment plant's effluent, protect worker health and safety, facilitate sludge management and disposal, and protect against damage to the POTW.
(1) Individual wastewater discharge permits and general permits must contain:
a. The wastewater discharge permit issuance date, expiration date and effective date;
b. A statement that the wastewater discharge permit is nontransferable without prior notification to the city in accordance with section 47-191(e) of this article, and provisions for furnishing the new owner or operator with a copy of the existing wastewater discharge permit;
c. Effluent limits, including best management practices, based on applicable pretreatment standards;
d. Self-monitoring, sampling, reporting, notification, and record-keeping requirements. These requirements shall include an identification of pollutants (or best management practice) to be monitored, sampling location, sampling frequency, and sample type based on federal, state, and local law, including the site-specific circumstances and alternate sampling (when applicable);
e. A statement of applicable civil and criminal penalties for violation of pretreatment standards and requirements, and any applicable compliance schedule. Such schedule may not extend the time for compliance beyond that required by applicable federal, state, or local law;
f. Requirements to control and report slug discharge, if determined by the director to be necessary;
g. Requirements to provide facility access for sampling and inspection purposes; and
h. A statement of the user's responsibility to give advance notice to the director of any operational change that increases the volume or character of the user's wastewater discharge as represented in user's application for a permit or other authorization, including the addition of any hazardous waste.
(2) Individual wastewater discharge permits and general permits may contain, but need not be limited to, the following conditions:
a. Limits on the average and/or maximum rate of discharge, time of discharge, and/or requirements for flow regulation and equalization;
b. Requirements for the installation of pretreatment technology, pollution control, or construction of appropriate containment devices, designed to reduce, eliminate, or prevent the introduction of pollutants into the treatment works;
c. Requirements for the development and implementation of spill control plans or other special conditions including management practices necessary to adequately prevent accidental, unanticipated, or nonroutine discharges;
d. Development and implementation of waste minimization plans to reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW;
e. The unit charge or schedule of user charges and fees for the management of the wastewater discharged to the POTW;
f. Requirements for installation and maintenance of inspection and sampling facilities and equipment, including flow measurement devices;
g. Notification requirements prior to the release of batch discharges into the sanitary sewer system;
h. A statement that compliance with the individual wastewater discharge permit or the general permit does not relieve the permittee of responsibility for compliance with all applicable federal and state pretreatment standards, including those which become effective during the term of the individual wastewater discharge permit or the general permit; and
i. Other conditions as deemed appropriate by the director to ensure compliance with this article, and state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.
(c) Permit issuance process.
(1) Public notification. If determined to be necessary, the director will publish in an official government publication and/or newspaper(s) of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice within the jurisdiction(s) served by the POTW, or on a web page, a notice to issue a pretreatment permit, at least 30 days prior to issuance. The notice will indicate a location where the draft permit may be reviewed and an address where comments may be submitted by electronic and/or written communication.
(2) Permit appeals. Any person, including the user, may petition the director to reconsider the terms of an individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit within 15 days of notice of its issuance.
a. Failure to submit a timely petition for review shall be deemed to be a waiver of the administrative appeal.
b. In its petition, the appealing party must indicate the individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit provisions objected to, the reasons for this objection, and the alternative condition, if any, it seeks to place in the individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit.
c. The effectiveness of the individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit shall not be stayed pending the appeal.
d. If the director fails to act within 30 days, a request for reconsideration shall be deemed to be denied. Decisions not to reconsider an individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit, not to issue an individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit, or not to modify an individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit shall be considered final administrative actions.
(d) Permit modification.
(1) The director may modify an individual wastewater discharge permit for good cause, including, but not limited to, the following reasons:
a. To incorporate any new or revised federal, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements;
b. To address significant alterations or additions to the user's operation, processes, or wastewater volume or character since the time of the individual wastewater discharge permit issuance;
c. To address a change in the POTW that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the authorized discharge;
d. To address information indicating that the permitted discharge poses a threat to the city's POTW, city personnel, sludge use or disposal, or the receiving waters;
e. User's violation of any terms or conditions of the individual wastewater discharge permit;
f. To address user's misrepresentations or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the wastewater discharge permit application or in any required reporting;
g. To address a revision to a variance previously approved by the director or a request to the director for a new variance from categorical pretreatment standards pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 403.13;
h. To prevent interference or pass through, contamination of sewage sludge, or violation by the city of laws or regulations enacted by the state or federal government;
i. To correct, abate, or prevent a recurrence of a violation of a term or condition of a permit;
j. To incorporate revised conditions, standards, or requirements as consistent with the purposes and objectives of this article;
k. To correct typographical or other errors in the individual wastewater discharge permit; or
l. To reflect a transfer of the facility ownership or operation to a new owner or operator where requested in accordance with section 47-191(e) of this article.
(2) The director may modify a general permit for good cause, including, but not limited to, the following reasons:
a. To incorporate any new or revised federal, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements;
b. A change in the POTW that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or elimination of the authorized discharge;
c. To correct typographical or other errors in the individual wastewater discharge permit; or
d. To reflect a transfer of the facility ownership or operation to a new owner or operator where requested in accordance with section 47-191(e) of this article.
(e) Individual wastewater discharge permit and general permit transfer. Individual wastewater discharge permits or coverage under general permits may be transferred to a new owner or operator only if the permittee gives at least 30 days advance notice to the director and the director approves the individual wastewater discharge permit or the general permit coverage transfer. The notice to the director must include a written certification by the new owner or operator that:
(1) States that the new owner and/or operator has no immediate intent to change the facility's operations and processes;
(2) Identifies the specific date on which the transfer is to occur; and
(3) Acknowledges full responsibility for complying with the existing individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit.
User's failure to provide advance notice of a transfer renders the individual wastewater discharge permit or coverage under the general permit void as of the date of facility transfer.
(f) Individual wastewater discharge permit and general permit revocation. The director may revoke an individual wastewater discharge permit or coverage under a general permit for good cause, including, but not limited to, the following reasons that are based on a user's or permittee's failure of performance as identified below:
(1) Failure to notify the director of any operational change that increases the volume or character of the user's wastewater discharge as represented in user's application for a permit or other authorization, including the addition of any hazardous waste;
(2) Failure to provide prior notification to the director of changed conditions pursuant to section 47-192(e) of this article;
(3) Misrepresentation or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the wastewater discharge permit application;
(4) Submission of false information on self-monitoring reports and certification statements;
(5) Tampering with monitoring equipment;
(6) Refusal to allow the director timely access to the facility premises and records;
(7) Failure to meet effluent limitations;
(8) Failure to pay fines or fees;
(9) Failure to meet compliance schedules;
(10) Failure to complete a wastewater survey or the wastewater discharge permit application;
(11) Failure to provide advance notice of the transfer of business ownership of a permitted facility;
(12) Violation of any pretreatment standard or requirement, or any terms of the wastewater discharge permit or the general permit or this article;
(13) Failure to accurately disclose or report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of any discharge; or
(14) Denial of timely access to the user's premises for the purpose of inspection or sampling.
Individual wastewater discharge permits or coverage under general permits shall be voidable upon cessation of operations or transfer of business ownership. All individual wastewater discharge permits, or general permits issued to a user, are void upon the issuance of a new individual wastewater discharge permit or a general permit to that user.
(g) Individual wastewater discharge permit and general permit reissuance. A user with an expiring individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit shall apply for individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit reissuance by submitting a complete permit application, in accordance with section 47-190(e) of this article, a minimum of 45 days prior to the expiration of the user's existing individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit.
(h) Regulation of waste received from other jurisdictions.
(1) Prior to accepting wastewater from a contributing municipality, the director shall execute an intermunicipal agreement between the City and the contributing municipality that seeks to contribute wastewater to the POTW.
(2) Prior to entering into an agreement required by item (1) above, the director may request the following information from the contributing municipality:
a. A description of the quality and volume of wastewater discharged to the POTW by the contributing municipality;
b. An inventory of all users located within the contributing municipality that are discharging to the POTW; and
c. Such other information as the director may deem necessary.
(3) An intermunicipal agreement, as required by item (1) above, shall contain the following conditions if industrial waste may be discharged in the service area of the contributing jurisdiction:
a. A requirement for the contributing municipality to adopt a sewer use ordinance which is at least as stringent as this article and local limits, including required BMPs which are at least as stringent as those set out in section 47-188(d) of this article. The requirement shall specify that such ordinance and limits must be revised as necessary to reflect changes made to this article or local limits;
b. A requirement for the contributing municipality to submit to the director a revised user inventory on at least an annual basis;
c. A provision specifying which pretreatment implementation activities, including individual wastewater discharge permit or general permit issuance, inspection and sampling, and enforcement, will be conducted by the contributing municipality; which of these activities will be conducted by the director; and which of these activities will be conducted jointly by the contributing municipality and the director;
d. A requirement for the contributing municipality to provide the director with access to all information that the contributing municipality obtains as part of its pretreatment activities;
e. Limits on the nature, quality, and volume of the contributing municipality's wastewater at the point where it discharges to the POTW;
f. Requirements for monitoring the contributing municipality's discharge;
g. A provision ensuring the director access to the facilities of users located within the contributing municipality's jurisdictional boundaries for the purpose of inspection, sampling, and any other duties deemed necessary by the director; and
h. A provision specifying remedies available for breach of the terms of the intermunicipal agreement.
(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_S47-191INWADIGEPEISFetched: 10/26/2026