For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
City health officer.
Without further designation, the person who is performing the duties of the director of the health department of the City of Lubbock. The term shall include his authorized representative when not inconsistent with the context.
Current license.
A license which is current, valid, unsuspended and unrevoked.
Inspector.
An authorized representative of the city health officer.
Jurisdictional limits of this city.
All the area within the corporate limits of the City of Lubbock and all of the territory outside the corporate limits of the city which is within one mile of said corporate limits but exclusive of that part of said territory which lies within the corporate limits of another city, town or village.
Processing.
Any operation or combination of operations whereby dead animals, dead fowl, fish, inedible offal, meat scraps, bones, suet, feathers, unrendered animal fat, waste cooking greases and similar animal matter are prepared for disposal at a rendering establishment, stored or treated for commercial use or disposition other than as food for human consumption.
Processing area.
Any area in which processing is conducted.
Rendering business.
The collection, or rendering, or boiling, or refining, or storing pending further processing or disposal at a rendering establishment of dead animals, dead fowl, fish, inedible offal, meat scraps, bones, suet, feathers, unrendered animal fat, waste cooking greases and such similar animal matter, or the transportation of such matter to and disposal at a rendering establishment, either as a separate business or in connection with any other established business.
Rendering establishment.
Any establishment, plant or premises at or within which dead animals, dead fowl, fish, inedible offal, meat scraps, bones, suet, feathers, unrendered animal fat, waste cooking greases and similar animal matter are rendered, boiled, processed or otherwise prepared to obtain a product for commercial use or disposition other than as food for human consumption.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-61; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-61)
For the purpose of this article the following rules are applicable:
(1) 
Words, phrases and terms defined herein shall be given the defined meaning except where the context indicates clearly a different meaning.
(2) 
Words, phrases and terms not defined herein shall be given their usual and customary meaning except where the context indicates clearly a different meaning.
(3) 
The text of the article shall control captions, titles and similar parts.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-62; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-62)
The basic requirements essential for the operation of rendering businesses are specified in Texas Department of Health, Division of Veterinary Public Health’s “Regulations Governing Rendering Establishments,” on file in the office of the city secretary, and made a part of this section by reference. In their interpretation and application, the provisions of Texas Department of Health, Division of Veterinary Public Health’s “Regulations Governing Rendering Establishments” shall be deemed to be minimal in nature, and whenever the principles, standards or requirements of any other applicable provisions of this code are higher or more restrictive, the latter shall control, but in no instance shall covered vehicles be required.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-73; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-66)
The city health officer is hereby empowered to promulgate and enforce such reasonable rules and regulations as he shall deem necessary and proper to effectively protect the public health, consistent with the provisions of this article.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-74; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-67)
The city health officer or his authorized representative is authorized to enter and inspect all rendering businesses at any reasonable hour or at any hour the business is in operation.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-75; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-68)
Any person being the owner, operator or person in charge at the time of any violation of the provisions of this article shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
(1959 Code, sec. 15-77; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-63; Ordinance 8835, sec. 2, adopted 10/10/1985)
Any one, all or a combination of the following conditions or places within the jurisdictional limits of the city are hereby specifically declared to be a nuisance dangerous to public health punishable as such, and shall be abated:
(1) 
Any condition or place allowed to exist which permits any dangerous, unwholesome, nauseous or offensive odors, gases or fumes to escape into the open air in such amounts as to be substantially offensive, discomfortable and annoying to any community, family or person of ordinary sensibilities, tastes and habits at a distance of more than two hundred (200) feet from the building, premises or processing area whence said odors, gases or fumes emanated;
(2) 
Any condition or place allowed to exist which constitutes a breeding place for flies;
(3) 
Any condition or place allowed to exist where sewage, sewerage, human excreta, wastewater, garbage or any other matter is deposited, stored, discharged or exposed in such a way as to be a potential instrument or medium in the transmission of disease to or between any person or persons;
(4) 
Any condition or place allowed to exist, harboring rats;
(5) 
Any condition or place allowed to exist which may be proven to injuriously affect the public health; or
(6) 
Any collection of water in which mosquitoes are breeding.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-72; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-64)
It shall be unlawful for any person within the jurisdictional limits of this city to operate a rendering business or any phase thereof unless said rendering business or phase thereof shall at all times be so conducted as to create no offense or nuisance.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-71; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-65)
No permit or license for the use, construction, reconstruction or repair of any building or structure used or to be used as a part of a rendering business shall be issued by any department of the city until the plan therefor shall show adequate means for carrying out the provisions of this article and until said plan shall have been approved by the city health officer.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-76; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-69)
All dead animals, dead fowl, dead fish, inedible offal, meat scraps, bones, suet, feathers, unrendered animal fat, waste cooking greases and similar animal matter located within the jurisdictional limits of the city not properly kept under refrigeration, not disposed of as garbage under the provisions of article 22.06 of this code or not disposed of to a rendering establishment as provided in this article, are hereby declared a nuisance and menace to the public health, requiring the prompt collection and disposal thereof under the authority and direction of the city health officer.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-63; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-70)
(a) 
All matter declared a nuisance in section 8.18.010 above, which is derived in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the carcass or carcasses of any cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, hogs or other livestock, domestic animals or domestic fowl which at the time of death had any disease or diseases for which article 7014f-3, Revised Civil Statutes, proscribes or prescribes the manner in which the carcass or carcasses shall be disposed of, shall be disposed of in a manner permitted by said article 7014f-3.
(b) 
All matter declared a nuisance in section 8.18.010 above, not covered by subsection (a) hereof, shall be turned over or delivered by the owner thereof:
(1) 
Directly to a rendering establishment having a current license as provided in this article;
(2) 
To a collector of material for processing, as defined in this article, having a current license as provided in this article; or
(3) 
To a city sanitary landfill designated by the city health officer.
The person having such animals and fowl in his possession and desiring to avail himself of this means of disposal shall contact the department of health for the location of the sanitary landfill, shall have said animals and fowl transported there at his expense, and shall supply sufficient personnel to unload and place same where designated.
Editor’s note–Article 7014f-3, Revised Civil Statutes, referred to in subsection (a) above, was repealed by Acts 1981 of the 67th Legislature.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-64; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-71)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or to cause another to operate a transport vehicle upon the roads, highways, streets, alleys or avenues within the jurisdictional limits of the city for the purpose of collecting, removing or transporting animal matter declared a nuisance in section 8.18.010 above, unless said transport vehicle is covered by a current collector’s license and meets the requirements for such vehicles set forth in this article.
(b) 
All vehicles used in transporting dead animals and/or rendering raw materials to, or from, rendering establishments shall be leakproof and shall be maintained at all times so that no nuisance is created by them.
(c) 
Collection vehicles shall be held to a minimum of brief stops while en route to the establishment with dead animals and/or rendering raw materials.
(d) 
Collection vehicles shall be washed and sanitized at the end of each day’s operations.
(e) 
Any truck bed that has been used for the transport of any dead animals and/or rendering raw materials shall be thoroughly washed and sanitized before use for transport of finished products not intended for human consumption.
(f) 
No truck bed that has been used for the transport of rendering raw materials to a rendering establishment shall ever be used for the transport of any product intended for human consumption.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-68; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-84)
It shall be unlawful for any owner, operator or person in charge at the time to operate a rendering establishment within the jurisdictional limits of the city without having a current rendering establishment license issued pursuant to this article. A separate license is required for each premises.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-66; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-81)
It shall be unlawful for any owner, operator or person in charge at the time to engage in the rendering business by maintaining, operating or causing to be operated any separate premises as a facility where animal matter declared to be a nuisance in section 8.18.010 is collected or stored pending further processing or disposal unless the aforesaid separate premises has a current rendering materials storage facility license issued pursuant to this article or is an integral part of a currently licensed rendering establishment. A separate license is required for each premises requiring a rendering materials storage facility license.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-67; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-82)
It shall be unlawful for any person not having a current collector’s license issued pursuant to this article to use the streets, alleys or avenues of the city for the purpose of collecting, removing or transporting animal matter declared a nuisance in section 8.18.010 above.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-65; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-83)
Every person who is operating or desires to operate a rendering business or any phase thereof shall immediately make application in writing to the city health officer, upon forms prescribed and furnished by such health officer, for all required permits to operate and do business within the jurisdictional limits of the city, and shall pay therefor an annual fee based upon the cost of inspecting the facilities of such rendering business or phase thereof to be computed as prescribed in this division. The annual fee shall include the cost of reinspecting the facilities as a result of failure to keep such facilities in such a manner as to meet the requirements of this article. No license shall be issued for any premises which are in violation of the zoning ordinance of the city.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-69; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-85)
(a) 
The fees under this division shall be computed as follows:
(1) 
Collector’s license:
amount based upon the number of transport vehicles to be inspected, at ten dollars ($10.00) per vehicle per fiscal year.
(2) 
Rendering materials storage facility license:
fifty dollars ($50.00) per fiscal year when such facility is not an integral part of a rendering establishment.
(3) 
Rendering establishment license:
one hundred dollars ($100.00) per fiscal year.
(b) 
All fees listed in subsection (a) of this section, payable to the city, shall accompany the application for the license. Annual fees prescribed herein shall, in instances in which application is made for a license for only a portion of a fiscal year, be prorated in whole months. Such licenses shall, unless revoked or suspended, continue in force for a period of one fiscal year, beginning on the first day of January of each year, and shall be nontransferable and shall be renewed annually upon application and payment of the annual fee, in accordance with the objectives, terms and conditions of this article.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-69; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-86)
Following the receipt of an application for a license under this article and proof that the required annual fee has been paid, the city health officer will conduct such investigation as he deems necessary to determine whether the applicant’s premises, personnel and equipment are proper and adequate for the services proposed or offered. Upon a determination by the city health officer that the applicant has met the requirements of this article, he will issue the applicant the appropriate license. The collector’s rendering materials storage facility and/or rendering establishment license will be displayed upon the wall of the main office located upon the premises for which the license is issued. Should the application for license be denied, three-fourths of the fee will be returned.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-69; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-87)
(a) 
Upon the city health officer or any inspector observing a violation of any of the provisions of this article or the rules and regulations of the city health officer promulgated under the provisions of section 8.18.004 hereof, he shall call the violation to the attention of the person in charge at the time and allow him a reasonable time to correct the violation; upon the failure of the licensee or his employee to do so, the city health officer may suspend the licensee’s license until the violation is corrected. The suspension of the license may be lifted by the city health officer as soon as he deems proper with or without reinspection.
(b) 
For failure to comply with the terms of this article, the city health officer may revoke any license after a hearing before him at which the licensee shall be given an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence relevant to the charge.
(c) 
Any person whose license has been suspended or revoked as provided herein may appeal the action of the city health officer to the permit and license appeal board by filing notice of appeal with the city secretary within fifteen (15) days of such action. Such suspension or revocation shall remain in effect for the duration of such appeal.
(1959 Code, sec. 15-70; Ordinance 5371, sec. 1, adopted 12/21/1967; 1983 Code, sec. 12-88; Ordinance 8558, sec. 1, adopted 3/8/1984)