The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, 33 USC 1251 et seq., as amended.
A legal, independently enforceable order issued directly by the control authority. The order defines the violation, provides evidence of the violation, and requires the recipient to take corrective action within a specified time period. If the recipient violates the order the control authority may take further legal action using additional orders (or the court system) to force compliance with the order directly.
The administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and/or the agency for the state that has authority to administer the program.
The executive director of the state agency that has authority to administer the program.
If the user is a corporation:
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 investments 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 mechanisms requirements; and where if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, a general partner or proprietor, respectively.
If the user is a federal, state, or local governmental facility, a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.
A duly authorized representative of the individual designated in subsection (1) or (2) of this section if:
The authorization is made in writing by the individual described in subsection (1) or (2);
The authorization specifies either an individual or a position having responsibility for the overall operation of the facility from which the industrial discharge originates, such as the position of plant manager, operator of a well, or well field superintendent, or a position of equivalent responsibility, or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company; and
The written authorization is submitted to the control authority.
If an authorization under subsection (4) of this section is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility, or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, a new authorization satisfying the requirements of subsection (4) of this section must be submitted to the control authority prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an authorized representative.
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(a)(1) and (b). BMPs also 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.
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five days at 20 degrees Celsius, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/l).
An intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of an industrial user’s treatment facility.
An industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.
An order issued by the control authority proscribing a user from continuing a particular course of conduct.
The measure of the oxygen-consuming capacity of inorganic and organic matter present in the water or wastewater expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l) as the amount of oxygen consumed from a chemical oxidant in a specific test, but not differentiating between stable and unstable organic matter and thus not necessarily correlating with biochemical oxygen demand.
The City of Wichita Falls, Texas, or any authorized person acting in its behalf.
A measure of the characteristic of the ignitability of a material using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
The sample resulting from the combination of individual samples taken at selected intervals based on an increment of either flow or time, as per the procedure described in 40 CFR 403, appendix E(I).
The utilities operations manager of the public works department or another official designated by the city manager or his duly authorized deputy, agent or representative.
A point of access to a building sewer at some point before the building sewer discharge mixes with other discharges in the public sewer.
A point of access to a course of discharge before the discharge mixes with other discharges in the public sewer, also known as an inspection port and/or control manhole.
The maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
Wastewater normally discharged dwellings, including apartments, houses and hotels; office buildings; factories; and institutions, free from stormwater, surface water and industrial wastes.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for other duly authorized officials, including authorized contractors acting as representatives, of said agency.
Any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication by the Environmental Protection Agency 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 Act.
Primarily fatty acid esters of the alcohol glycerol, also called acylglycerols, neutral fats, natural fats, or glycerides. They are the major components of depot, or storage, fats in plant and animal cells, especially in the adipose or fat cells of vertebrates. The term “fats” may include any synthesized substance of a like nature.
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.
A sample which is taken from a waste stream without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes, as per the procedure described in 40 CFR 403, appendix E(II).
Fats, waxes, free fatty acids, calcium and magnesium soaps, mineral oils and certain other nonfatty material commonly found in wastewater.
A water-tight receptacle designed and constructed to intercept and prevent the passage of grease, greasy and/or fatty liquids, semi-solids, and/or solid wastes generated from commercial operations into the sanitary sewer system to which the receptacle is directly or indirectly connected.
Any substance designated pursuant to 40 CFR 302.
As provided in 40 CFR 261.3.
The introduction of pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works from any non-domestic source regulated under section 307(b), (c) or (d) of the Act.
A source of indirect discharge.
Waste resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, trade or business; from development of any natural resource; from any mixture of the waste with water or normal wastewater; and wastewater containing pollutants in higher concentrations than normal domestic sewage as defined in this section.
The maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
A discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the publicly owned treatment works, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal and, therefore, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the city’s Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued there under or any more stringent state or local regulations: section 405 of the 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 Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.
Specific prohibitions or limits on pollutants or pollutant parameters that are developed by a 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.
The minimum concentration of that compound, as a gas or vapor in air, which will explode or burn in the presence of an ignition source.
The term “may” is permissive or discretionary.
The same as parts per million and is a weight-to-volume ratio. The milligram-per-liter value multiplied by the factor 8.34 shall be equivalent to pounds per million gallons of water.
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.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits program as administered by a state or interstate water pollution control agency as approved pursuant to section 402(b) of the Act.
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:
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 (1)c of this definition but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to the existing process or production equipment.
Construction of a new source has commenced if the owner or operator has:
Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction program, 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 subsection.
A measurement of a parameter that is less than the detection limit of the appropriate analytic technique approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Water used for cooling which does not come into contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product.
Those fats that are liquid at ordinary temperatures.
Decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, refuse, ashes, garbage, offal, oil, tar, chemicals, and all other substances except sewage and industrial wastes.
A discharge which exits the publicly owned treatment works into the 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 publicly owned treatment works’ Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
Any individual, consortium, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, joint venture, commercial entity, governmental entity, or any other legal entity or their legal representatives, agents, or assigns. This definition includes all federal, state, and local governmental entities including the United States government or any state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state or interstate body.
A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a material, liquid or solid, expressed in standard units, specifically the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration represented on a scale of 0 to 14 with 7 being a neutral state, 0 most acidic and 14 most alkaline.
Any discernable, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. The term “point source” does not include agricultural stormwater discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.
Dredged spoil; solid waste; incinerator residue; filter backwash; sewage; garbage; sewage sludge; munitions; medical wastes; chemical wastes; biological materials; radioactive materials except as regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 USC 2011 et seq.); heat; wrecked or discarded equipment; rock; sand; cellar dirt; municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes; and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
The use of materials, processes, or practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants or wastes at the source. It includes, but is not limited to, practices that reduce the use of hazardous and nonhazardous materials, energy, water, or other resources as well as those that protect natural resources through conservation or more efficient use.
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 publicly owned treatment works. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403.6(d); by process changes; or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard, imposed on an industrial user.
Prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits.
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, by-product, or waste product.
A treatment works as defined by section 212 of the Act, which is owned by a state or municipality, as defined by section 504(4) of the Act. This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a publicly owned treatment works. The term also includes the municipality as defined in section 504(4) of the Act, which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.
A reduction in the amount of a pollutant or alteration of the nature of a pollutant during pretreatment or treatment. The reduction or alteration may be obtained by physical, chemical or biological means and may be the result of specifically designed capabilities or may be incidental to the operation of the pretreatment or treatment system. Removal does not mean dilution of a pollutant.
Either of the following:
Any release into the publicly owned treatment works over a 24-hour period which meets any of the following criteria:
A reportable quantity of a hazardous material, as defined under section 311 of the CWA, section 102(b) of the CERCLA, and 40 CFR 302.4.
Ten pounds or more of heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silver, and zinc; or cyanide in solution.
One gallon or more of any toxic substance listed in this article.
All flammable liquids in quantities of more than one gallon.
Any other liquid material determined to have adverse effects on the publicly owned treatment works, including but not limited to alkalies or alkaline substances, oils, foam generating wastes, highly colored wastes, pesticides, organics, vegetable matter, and solvents not listed previously.
Any discharge of water or wastewater with a concentration of any given constituent or a quantity of flow for any period longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration or flow of normal operations of the user shall also be considered a slug load.
Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
Is mandatory.
A user that:
Discharges an average of 25,000 gpd or more of process wastewater to the publicly owned treatment works, excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater;
Contributes a process waste stream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the publicly owned treatment works treatment plant; or
Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the publicly owned treatment works’ operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6).
Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in subsection (2) of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the publicly owned treatment works operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the city may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from a user, and in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.
Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration, which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in this article. A slug discharge is any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or noncustomary batch discharge, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the POTW’s regulations, local limits or permit conditions.
The uniform method for collecting and presenting business data devised by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Each business is given a SIC code based upon its primary activity, which is determined by its predominant business or service. For the purposes of this article, the SIC code of a business is the first four digits of the SIC number of that business as found in the most current edition of the standard industrial classification manual.
Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of or is suspended in water, wastewater, or other liquids, which is removable by laboratory filtering using the method for determining nonfilterable residue in 40 CFR 136.3.
An order issued to a user by the control authority requiring the immediate suspension of all specified discharges to the POTW. It may be issued without prior notice to the user and without a prior hearing.
Any pollutant designated as toxic pursuant to section 307(a)(1) of the Act and listed in 40 CFR 401.15.
Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits program as administered by a state water pollution control agency as approved pursuant to section 402(b) of the Act.
See section 106-961.
The person using the lot, parcel of land, building or premises connected to sewage, industrial wastewater of the city, and who pays or is legally responsible for the payment of water rates or charges made against the lot, parcel of land, building or premises, if connected to the city’s water distribution system, or who would pay or be legally responsible for such payment if so connected.
Liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.
A mechanism used to control the discharge of wastewater to the POTW from an industrial user in order to:
That portion of the publicly owned treatment works which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
(1966 Code, sec. 32-123; 2001 Code, sec. 106-566; Ordinance 25-2002, sec. 1, adopted 4/2/02; Ordinance 20-2020, sec. 1, adopted 4/7/20; Ordinance 12-2021 adopted 4/20/21)