Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this division, 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.
The director in a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) delegated state with an approved state pretreatment program, as defined in 40 CFR
403.3(c).
(1) If the industrial user is a corporation, a responsible corporate officer shall mean:
(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
The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided, the manager is authorized to make management decisions which govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct 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 control mechanism requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures;
If the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, an authorized representative shall mean a general partner or proprietor, respectively;
If the industrial user is a federal, state or local governmental facility, an authorized representative shall mean a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or his/her designee.
The individuals described above may designate another 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 control authority. The authorization must be submitted to the control authority prior to or accompanying the report for which the designation applies. |
Best management practices (BMP).The term best management practices or BMPs means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in sections
13.07.351 and
13.07.352. BMPs include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage. BMPs also include alternative means (i.e., management plans) of complying with, or in place of certain established categorical pretreatment standards and effluent limits.
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees centigrade expressed in terms of milligrams per liter (mg/l).
Chemical oxygen demand (COD).The measure of the oxygen equivalent of the organic matter content of a sample that is susceptible to oxidation by a strong chemical oxidant present in water or wastewater expressed in mg/l.
City.The City of Sherman.
City manager.The person designated by the city to supervise the POTW and be responsible for water pollution control for the city, and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this division. This term also means a duly authorized representative of the city manager.
Composite sample.The sample resulting from the combination of individual wastewater samples taken at selected intervals based on an increment of either flow or time.
Cooling water.(1) Contact.Water used for cooling purposes which comes in contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product.
(2) Noncontact.Water used for cooling purposes which does not comes into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product.
Daily discharge.The discharge of a pollutant measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that reasonably represents the calendar day for purposes of sampling.
Daily maximum (maximum allowable discharge limit).The maximum allowable discharge of pollutant(s) during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limitations are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limitations are expressed in units of concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
Direct discharge.The discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly or adjacent to the waters of the state.
Enforcement response plan.A plan established by the control authority describing compliance monitoring procedures, and their use and escalation of various enforcement responses, as well as time frames and responsibilities for taking these actions.
Environmental Protection Agency or EPA.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or other duly authorized official of said agency.
Existing source.Any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication of proposed categorical pretreatment standards which will be applicable to such source if the standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with section 307 of the federal Clean Water Act.
FOG.Fats, oils, and greases from animal, vegetable, petroleum and mineral-based oil wastes.
Garbage.Animal and vegetable wastes and residue from preparation, cooking and dispensing of food; and from the handling, processing, storage, and sale of food products and produce.
Grab sample.A sample which is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the wastestream and without consideration of time, for a period not to exceed 15 minutes.
Harmful effects.A discharge which alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources:
(1) Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, the treatment processes or operations of its sludge processes use or disposal but does not meet the definition of interference or pass through found in this section; or
Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes use or disposal and does meet the definition of interference or pass through found this section.
Indirect discharge or discharge.The introduction of (nondomestic) pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source regulated under section 307(b), (c), or (d) of the act.
Industrial user or user.A source of indirect discharge, including any nondomestic user discharging into the city sewer system.
Industrial waste.Any waste resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, trade or business, from the development of any natural resource, or from any mixture of such waste with water or normal domestic wastewater, or distinct from normal domestic wastewater.
Instantaneous limit.The maximum concentration or (maximum or minimum measurement of pH or temperature) allowed in any discreet or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
Interference.A discharge which alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources:
(1) Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and
Therefore is a cause of a violation of the city’s TPDES permit 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 more stringent state or local regulations): section 405 of the Clean Water Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), 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 SWDA; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
Local limits.Where specific prohibitions or limits on pollutants or pollutant parameters are developed by the POTW in accordance with 40 CFR
403.5(c), such limits shall be deemed pretreatment standards for the purposes of section 307(d) of the Act.
Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood byproducts, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, fomites, etiologic agents, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes and dialysis wastes.
Milligrams per liter (mg/l).The same as parts per million since one (1) liter of water weighs one (1) kilogram; therefore, mg/1 is a weight-to-weight ratio, the same as pounds in one million (1,000,000) pounds of water.
Monthly average limit.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. Where only one sample is collected during a calendar month, that one result shall be the daily average concentration for the respective 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 which will be 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;
The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
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 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, should be considered.
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 subsection
(1)(B) or
(C) above, but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
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 on-site construction program:
(i) Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
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
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 paragraph.
Non-significant categorical industrial user (NSCIU).(1) An industrial user subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR
403.6 and
40 CFR chapter
1, subchapter N that never discharges more than 100 gallons per day (gpd) of total categorical wastewater (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater, unless specifically included in the pretreatment standard) and the following conditions are met:
(A) The industrial user, prior to the control authority's finding, has consistently complied with all applicable categorical pretreatment standards and requirements;
The industrial user annually submits the following certification statement required in 40 CFR
403.12(q) together with any additional information necessary to support the certification statement:
A facility determined to be a non-significant categorical industrial user pursuant to 40 CFR § 403.3(v)(2) must annually submit the following certification statement, signed in accordance with the signatory requirements in 40 CFR § 403.12(l). This certification must accompany any alternative report required by the control authority: |
Based on my inquiry of the person or persons directly responsible for managing compliance with the categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR _____, I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief that during the period from _____, to _____, _____ [month, days, year]: |
(i) | The facility described as _____ [facility name] met the definition of a non-significant categorical industrial user as described in § 403.3(v)(2); |
(ii) | The facility complied with all applicable pretreatment standards and requirements during this reporting period; and |
(iii) | The facility never discharged more than 100 gallons of total categorical wastewater on any given day during this reporting period; and |
The industrial user never discharges any untreated concentrated wastewater.
Upon a finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in 40 CFR §
403.3(v)(1)(ii) has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standards or requirement, the control authority may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user or POTW, and in accordance with 40 CFR §
403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a significant industrial user.
Normal domestic wastewater.Wastewater excluding industrial wastewater discharged by a person into sanitary sewers and in which the average concentration of TSS is not more than two hundred fifty (250) mg/l and BOD is not more than two hundred fifty (250) mg/l.
Other substance.Any substance which may be useful or valuable and therefore not ordinarily considered to be a waste, but that will cause pollution if discharged into the waters of the state. This does not include substances associated with the exploration, development, and production of oil or gas or geothermal resources.
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 (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).
Person.Any individual, partnership, copartnership, 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, or local governmental entities.
pH.A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed in standard units.
Pollutant.Any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, industrial wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, agricultural, industrial wastes and municipal wastes, and the characteristics of the wastewater (i.e., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, 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 CFR
403.6(c). Appropriate pretreatment technology includes control equipment, such as equalization tanks or facilities, for protection against surges or slug loading that might interfere with or otherwise be incompatible with the POTW. Where wastewater from a regulated process is mixed in an equalization facility with unregulated wastewater or with wastewater from another regulated process, the effluent from the equalization facility must meet an adjusted pretreatment limit calculated in accordance with 40 CFR
403.6(e).
Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard, imposed on an industrial user.
Pretreatment standards.Pretreatment standards shall mean prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
Process wastewater.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, byproduct, or waste product.
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 state or municipality (as defined by section 502(4) of the Act). This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances which convey wastewater to a treatment plant. The term also means the municipal entity having jurisdiction over the industrial users and responsibility for the operations and maintenance of the treatment works.
A pipe or conduit that carries liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions together with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters.
Significant change.An increase or decrease in the volume of wastewater discharged by more than twenty (20) percent from the data submitted in the permit application, or the deletion or addition of any pollutant regulated by the control authority or by a categorical pretreatment standard. Volumes are those measured by the water service meter, a verifiable estimate, or a permanently installed effluent flow meter approved by the control authority.
Significant industrial user.Shall apply to:
(1) All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or
Any other industrial user that:
(A) Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gallons per day (gpd) or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater);
Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five (5) percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the treatment plant; or
Is designated as significant by the control authority on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
Slug load or slug discharge.Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration, which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in sections
13.07.351 or
13.07.352 of this division. 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 city’s regulations, local limits, or permit conditions.
A drain or sewer for conveying water, groundwater, subsurface water, or unpolluted water from any source into which domestic wastewater or industrial wastewater is not intentionally passed.
Stormwater.Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting therefrom, including snowmelt.
Submission.A request by the POTW to the EPA or state director for approval of a pretreatment program, and/or a request by the POTW to the EPA or state director for authority to revise the discharge limits in categorical pretreatment standards to reflect POTW pollutant removals.
Total suspended solids (TSS).The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and which is removable by laboratory filtering.
Toxic pollutant.One of one hundred twenty-six (126) pollutants, or a combination of those pollutants, listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the EPA under the provision of section 307 (33 U.S.C.
1317) of the act.
The liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
Waters of the state.Shall include:
(1) Both surface and underground waters within the boundaries of this state subject to its jurisdiction, including all ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, public ditches, and public drainage systems within this state, other than those designed and used to collect, convey, or dispose of sanitary sewage; and
The floodplain of free-flowing waters determined by the department of natural resources on the basis of 100-year flood frequency.
(Ordinance 6444 adopted 1/3/22; Ordinance 6716 adopted 5/6/2024)