The intent of this article is to establish methods for controlling the introduction of pollutants into the Town’s separate storm sewer system and the Town’s surface drain system in order to comply with the requirements of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ’s) Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) permit process.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
The provisions of this article apply: (1) to 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), who or which owns, possesses, is in custody of, or exercises control over premises (as defined below) within the Town; and (2) where water enters the Town’s separate storm sewer system. In this article, said 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), shall be referred to individually and/or collectively as a “owner.”
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this article, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated.
Best management practice (BMP) or control measure.
The schedule of activity, prohibition, maintenance procedures, structural controls, and other management practices meant to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants. BMP’s or control measures also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spills or leaks, waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage areas.
Construction site.
Any clearing, grading, and excavating that result in land disturbance. A construction site also includes but is not limited to any stockpiling or other activity that results in exposed soils. This includes the construction of pools and the construction and maintenance of franchise utilities such as telephone, gas, electric, etc. This excludes the disturbance of soils for emergency activities that are immediately necessary for the protection of life, property, or natural resources.
Contaminated.
Containing a harmful quantity of any substance.
Contamination.
The presence of or entry into the public water supply system, the MS4, waters in the state, or waters of the United States of any substance which may be deleterious to the public health and or the quality of the water.
Facility.
Any facility required by the Federal Clean Water Act to have a permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial activity or construction activity.
Hazardous materials.
Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
Household hazardous waste.
Any solid waste generated in a household by a consumer which, except for the exclusion provided in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 261.4(b)(1), would be classified as a hazardous waste under 40 CFR part 261. The term has the same meaning as “hazardous household waste.” This includes, but is not limited to, products, such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain potentially hazardous ingredients that require special care when you dispose of them.
Illegal discharge.
Any direct or indirect nonstormwater discharge to the Town’s MS4 (as defined below), except as exempted in section 13.07.008 of this article.
Illicit connection.
Either of the following.
(1) 
Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the Town’s MS4 including but not limited to any conveyances which allow any nonstormwater discharge including sewage, process wastewater, and washwater to enter the Town’s MS4 and any connections to the storm drain system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved by the Town and/or an authorized enforcement agency; or
(2) 
Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land use to the storm drain system which has not been documented in plans, maps, or equivalent records and approved by an authorized enforcement agency.
Multi-sector general permit (MSGP).
The Texas Multi-Sector General Permit, TXR050000, its successor, or any other state regulation to control runoff from industrial sites issued by the TCEQ or the state regulatory authority.
Municipal separate storm sewer system (Town’s MS4).
The separate storm sewer system owned and operated by the Town. The Town’s MS4 includes all drainageways, stormwater conveyances, bar ditches, swales, and streets owned and operated by the Town or any private drainageway that drains to or contributes flow to the Town’s public drainage system and conveys stormwater discharges to the surface water of the state.
Nonstormwater discharge.
Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
Operator.
The person or persons who, either individually or taken together, meet either of the following two criteria:
(1) 
Has operational control over the facility specifications (including the ability to make or direct modifications in specifications); or
(2) 
Has day-to-day operational control over those activities at the facility necessary to ensure compliance with pollution prevention requirements and any permit conditions.
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, and local governmental entities.
Pollutant.
Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wasted; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
Premises.
Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
Secondary containment.
A structure designed to capture spills or leaks, as from a container or tank, and has the capacity to hold 110 percent of the original container.
Site.
A parcel of land or a contiguous combination thereof, where activities are performed as a single unified operation.
Stormwater.
Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation.
Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP).
A document which describes the best management practices and activities to be implemented by a person or business to identify sources of pollution or contamination at a site and the actions to eliminate or reduce pollutant discharges to the MS4, and/or receiving waters to the maximum extent practicable.
Texas Surface Water Quality Standards.
The standards set forth in title 30, chapter 307 of the Texas Administrative Code, as amended.
Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES).
The permit program that controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters in the state, delegated to the State by the EPA pursuant to 33 USC section 1342(b).
Town.
The Town of Highland Park, Texas, or the Town Council of Highland Park.
Town Engineer.
The Town Engineer of Highland Park or his/her duly authorized representative.
Water in the State.
Groundwater, percolating or otherwise, lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Gulf of Mexico inside the territorial limits of the State, and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, navigable or nonnavigable, and including the beds and banks of all watercourses and bodies of surface water, that are wholly or partially inside or bordering the state or inside the jurisdiction of the state.
Waters of the United States.
All waters which are currently used, were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide; all interstate waters, including interstate wetlands; all other waters the use, degradation, or destruction of which would affect or could affect interstate or foreign commerce; all impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this definition; all tributaries of waters identified in this definition; all wetlands adjacent to waters identified in this definition; and any waters within the federal definition of “waters of the United States” at 40 CFR section 122.2; but not including any waste treatment systems, treatment ponds, or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge or cause to be discharged into the Town’s MS4 or the Town’s watercourses any materials, including, but not limited to, pollutants or waters containing any pollutants that cause or contribute to a violation of applicable water quality standards, the Town’s NPDES permit, or any state-issued discharge permit for discharges from the Town’s MS4, other than stormwater.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) 
Operate a facility that is subject to stormwater discharge permitting without prior approval from the TCEQ or other approving agency.
(2) 
Introduce or cause to be introduced into the Town’s MS4 any harmful quantity of sediment, silt, earth, soil, or other material associated with clearing, grading, excavation or other construction activities, or associated with landfilling or other placement or disposal of soil, rock, or other earth materials, in excess of what could be retained on site or captured by employing sediment and erosion control measures to the maximum extent practicable under prevailing circumstances.
(3) 
Connect a line conveying sanitary sewage, domestic or industrial, to the Town’s MS4, or allow such a connection to continue.
(4) 
Install or maintain grease or sand traps that discharge to the Town’s MS4 without prior approval from the Town.
(5) 
Permit polluted material, hazardous materials, liquid waste, semi-liquid waste, or chemical waste or like material that would adversely affect water quality to:
(A) 
Discharge to the ground; or
(B) 
Discharge to or create a potential to discharge to the Town’s MS4 through any of the following activities:
(i) 
Discharge of washwater containing the material;
(ii) 
Dump, drain or introduce the material to the Town’s MS4;
(iii) 
Store the material in such a manner that the material is exposed to the elements or runoff; or
(iv) 
Dispose of the material in any area that may drain to the Town’s MS4 or dispose or store the material at any site other than one approved for that purpose.
(6) 
Permit cooling tower, compressor, or boiler blow-down that is not clean or uncontaminated to flow to the Town’s MS4;
(7) 
Permit washwater from any surface containing or having a substance on it that is a pollutant to discharge to the Town’s MS4;
(8) 
Permit unused materials from ready-mix concrete mortar, and asphalt base delivery trucks to be dumped to any area that may drain to the Town’s MS4;
(9) 
Purposefully dump, blow into, sweep into or otherwise dispose of excessive grass clippings, leaves, brush, yard waste or any rubbish or debris to the curb, gutter, storm drain, or watercourse;
(10) 
Permit sewage wastes to flow to any area other than a sanitary sewer or approved septic tank;
(11) 
Dump, spill, leak, pump, pour, emit, empty, discharge, leach, dispose, or otherwise introduce or cause, allow, or permit to be introduced any of the following substances into the Town’s MS4:
(A) 
Any used motor oil, antifreeze, or any other motor vehicle fluid;
(B) 
Any industrial waste;
(C) 
Any hazardous waste, including hazardous household waste;
(D) 
Any grit trap waste;
(E) 
Any garbage, rubbish, or yard waste;
(F) 
Any wastewater from a commercial mobile power washer or from the washing or other cleaning of a building exterior that contains any harmful quantity of soap, detergent, solvent, degreaser, emulsifier, dispersant, or any other harmful cleaning substance;
(G) 
Any wastewater from floor, rug, or carpet cleaning;
(H) 
Any wastewater from the wash down or other cleaning of pavement that contains any harmful quantity of soap, detergent, solvent, degreaser, emulsifier, dispersant, or any other harmful cleaning substance; or any wastewater from the wash down or other cleaning of any pavement where any spill, leak, or other release of oil, motor fuel, or other petroleum or hazardous substance has occurred, unless all harmful quantities of such released material have been previously removed;
(I) 
Any effluent from a condenser, emissions scrubber, or emissions filter;
(J) 
Any ready-mixed concrete, mortar, ceramic, or asphalt base material or hydromulch material, or material from the cleaning of vehicles or equipment containing, or used in transporting or applying, such material;
(K) 
Any asphaltic or concrete slurry caused from cutting or coring activities;
(L) 
Any runoff or wash down water from any animal pen, kennel, or foul or livestock containment area containing more than three animals;
(M) 
Any filter backwash from a swimming pool, fountain, or spa;
(N) 
Any swimming pool water containing any harmful quantity of chlorine, muriatic acid or other chemical used in the treatment or disinfection of the swimming pool water or in pool cleaning;
(O) 
Any discharge from water line disinfection by super chlorination or other means if it contains any harmful quantity of chlorine or any other chemical used in water line disinfection;
(P) 
Any fire protection water containing oil or hazardous substances or materials that the fire code requires to be contained and treated prior to discharge, unless treatment adequate to remove pollutants occurs prior to discharge. (This prohibition does not apply to discharges of flow from firefighting by the fire department);
(Q) 
Any water from a water curtain in a spray room used for painting vehicles or equipment;
(R) 
Any substance or material that will damage, block, or clog the Town’s MS4; and/or
(S) 
Any release from a petroleum storage tank (PST), or any discharge of pumped, confined, or treated wastewater from the remediation of any such PST release, unless the discharge satisfies all of the following criteria:
(i) 
Compliance with all state and federal standards and requirements;
(ii) 
No discharge containing a harmful quantity of any pollutant; and
(iii) 
No discharge containing more than 50 parts per billion of benzene; 500 parts per billion combined total quantities of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX); or 15 mg/l of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH).
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
The person in charge of any vehicle, facility, or other source of any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, escaping, leaching, dumping, disposing, or any other release of any quantities of any of the substances listed in section 13.07.005 above and that may flow, leach, enter, or otherwise be introduced into the Town’s MS4, shall telephone and notify the Town Engineer as soon as practicable, no later than 24 hours, concerning the incident.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) 
Discharge used oil into the Town’s MS4 or a sewer drainage system, septic tank, surface water, groundwater, or watercourse;
(2) 
Knowingly mix or commingle used oil with solid waste that is to be disposed of in a landfill or knowingly directly dispose of used oil on land or in a landfill;
(3) 
Apply used oil to a road or land for dust suppression, weed abatement, or other similar use that introduces used oil into the environment.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
The following activities and/or conditions are allowed and lawful, provided that they do not significantly impact water quality:
(1) 
Water line flushing (excluding discharges of hyper-chlorinated water, unless the water is first dechlorinated and discharges are not expected to adversely affect aquatic life);
(2) 
Runoff or return from landscape irrigation, lawn irrigation, and other irrigation utilizing groundwater or surface water resources (not from potable water system);
(3) 
Discharges from potable water sources;
(4) 
Diverted stream flows;
(5) 
Rising groundwaters and springs;
(6) 
Uncontaminated groundwater infiltration;
(7) 
Uncontaminated pumped groundwater;
(8) 
Foundation and footing drains;
(9) 
Air-conditioner condensation;
(10) 
Water from crawl space pumps;
(11) 
Individual residential vehicle washing;
(12) 
Occasional discharges of vehicle washwater from fundraising events, provided best management practices are used;
(13) 
Flows from wetlands and riparian habitats;
(14) 
Dechlorinated swimming pool discharges;
(15) 
Street washwater;
(16) 
Discharges or flows from firefighting activities;
(17) 
Stormwater discharges authorized by, and in full compliance with, a TPDES permit;
(18) 
Nonstormwater discharges that are specifically listed in the TPDES Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) and the TPDES Construction General Permit (CGP);
(19) 
Other similar occasional, incidental nonstormwater discharges unless the TCEQ develops permits or regulations addressing these discharges; and
(20) 
Other allowable nonstormwater discharges listed in 40 CFR section 122.26(d)(2)(iv)(B)(1).
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
(a) 
Any sale, distribution, application, labeling, manufacture, transportation, storage, or disposal of a pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer must comply fully with all state and federal statutes and regulations including, without limitation, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and all federal regulations promulgated pursuant to FIFRA; chapters 63, 75, and 76 of the Texas Agriculture Code and all state regulations promulgated pursuant to it; and any other state or federal requirement.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to use or to cause to be used any pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer in any manner that the person knows or reasonably should know, is likely to cause, or does cause, a harmful quantity of the pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer to enter the Town’s MS4.
(c) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to dispose of, discard, store, or transport a pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer or a pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer container in a manner that the person knows or reasonably should know is likely to cause or does cause a harmful quantity of the pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer to enter the Town’s MS4.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
Any person owning property through which a watercourse passes, or such person’s lessee, shall keep and maintain that part of the watercourse within the property free of trash, debris, and other obstacles that would pollute, contaminate, or retard the flow of water through the watercourse. In addition, the owner or lessee shall maintain existing privately owned structures within or adjacent to a watercourse, so that such structures will not become a hazard to the use, function, or physical integrity of the watercourse. The property owner, or such person’s lessee, shall provide protection against stream bank erosion by maintaining existing vegetation or other bank stabilization practices adjacent to watercourses.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
It shall be unlawful for any person to construct, use, maintain, or continue the existence of illicit connections to the Town’s MS4.
(1) 
This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of the connection.
(2) 
A person is considered to be in violation of this article if the person connects a line conveying sanitary sewage to the Town’s MS4, or allows such a connection to continue.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to make a false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, or other documentation filed with the Town, or required to be maintained by the Town, pursuant to this article, or any order issued hereunder, or who has falsified, tampered with, or knowingly rendered inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this article.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
The Town Engineer shall be permitted to enter and inspect facilities subject to regulation under this article as often as may be necessary to determine compliance with this article. If a person has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the person shall make the necessary arrangements to allow access to the Town Engineer or his/her authorized representatives as soon as possible.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
If the Town Engineer, or his/her authorized representative, has been refused access to any part of a site from which stormwater is discharged, and he/she is able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a violation of this article or any state or federal discharge permit, limitation, or requirement, or that there is a need to inspect and/or sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program of the Town designed to verify compliance with this article or any order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health, safety, and welfare of the community, then the Town Engineer may seek issuance of a search warrant from any court of competent jurisdiction. For purposes of this section, the Town Administrator, the Director of Town Services, the Town Engineer, and/or any duly authorized representative of the Town’s departmental directors are declared to be “health officers,” as that term is used in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, article 18.05.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
When the Town Engineer finds that any person has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, or any order issued hereunder, the Town Engineer, or his/her authorized representative, may serve upon that person a written warning notice, specifying the particular violation believed to have occurred and requesting the owner or operator to immediately investigate the matter and to seek a resolution whereby any offending discharge will cease. Investigation and/or resolution of the matter in response to the warning notice in no way relieves the alleged violator of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the warning notice. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the Town Engineer to take any action, including emergency action or any other enforcement action.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
When the Town Engineer finds that any person has violated this article, continues to violate this article, failed to meet a requirement of this article, or any order issued hereunder, the Town Engineer, or his/her authorized representative, may order compliance by written notice of violation to the responsible person(s).
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
The remedies provided for in this article are not exclusive of any other remedies that the Town may have under state or federal law or other Town ordinances. The Town may take any, all, or any combination of these actions against a violator. The Town is empowered to take more than one enforcement action against any violator. These actions may be taken concurrently.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
The Town Engineer may, by written notice, order any owner or operator of a source of stormwater discharge associated with construction or industrial activity within the territorial limits of the Town to file a satisfactory performance and/or maintenance bond, payable to the Town, in a sum not to exceed a value determined by the Town Engineer to be necessary to achieve consistent compliance with this article, any order issued hereunder, any required best management practice, and/or any SWPPP provision. The Town may deny approval of any building permit, grading permit, subdivision plat, site development plan, or any other Town permit or approval necessary to commence or continue construction or any industrial activity at the site, or to assume occupancy, until such a performance and/or maintenance bond has been filed.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)
The Town Engineer may, by written notice, order any person or operator of a source of stormwater discharge associated with construction or industrial activity within the territorial limits of the Town to submit proof that it has obtained liability insurance, or other financial assurance, in an amount greater than or equal to a value determined by the Town Engineer, that is sufficient to remediate, restore, and abate any damage to the Town’s MS4, the waters in the state, or any other aspect of the environment that is caused by the discharge.
(Ordinance 1908, sec. 2, adopted 1/28/13)