Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this article, 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. section
1251 et seq.
The executive director of the state commission on environmental quality (TCEQ) shall be the approval authority.
Authorized representative.(1) A responsible corporate officer if the industrial user is a corporation. For the purpose of this paragraph, a responsible corporate officer means:
(A) A president, secretary, treasurer, or 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 operation facilities, provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that 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 individual wastewater discharge permit requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
A general partner or proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, 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 subsections
(1) through
(3) above if:
(A) The authorization is made in writing by the individual describe in subsections (1) through (3);
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) above 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 requirement of subsection
(4) above must be submitted to the control authority prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an authorized representative.
Best management practice or BMP.The schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in section
13.05.031(a) and
(b) [40 CFR
403.5(a)(1) and
(b)]. 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.
The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five (5) days at 20° centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/l).
City.The City of Lufkin, Texas.
City manager.The person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the POTW, and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this article, or a duly authorized representative.
Composite sample.A sample made up of a minimum of four portions collected in a continuous 24-hour period or during the period of daily discharge if less than 24 hours; or a sample continuously collected, proportioned to flow, in a continuous 24-hour period or during the period of daily discharge if less than 24 hours.
Control authority.The term “control authority” shall refer to the city, the city manager or duly appointed authorized representative.
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. For pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the “daily discharge” is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For pollutants with limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the “daily discharge” is calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.
Environmental Protection Agency or EPA.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division director, 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 by EPA 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.
Grab sample.A sample that is taken from a waste stream without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.
Indirect discharge or discharge.The introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source regulated under section 307(b), (c), or (d) of the act.
Instantaneous maximum allowable discharge limit.The maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composite 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, 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 there under, or any more stringent state or local regulations; section 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 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.
Local limits.Specific numeric criteria that industrial users discharging into the city’s collection system shall comply with. Local limits are based on safety issues, quantity and quality of sewer discharges, treatment plant removal capacity, water quality standards, biosolids criteria, and the protection of treatment processes.
May.Is permissive or discretionary.
Medical waste.Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.
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.
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 section (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 onsite 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.
Noncontact cooling water.Water used for cooling, which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
Pass through.A discharge that 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, co-partnership, 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.
pH.A measure of the intensity factor of acidity, expressed in standard units. pH is the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
Pollutant.Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, 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).
Pollution prevention.The practice of eliminating the pollutant before it is generated. Pollution prevention is also known as source reduction. Examples of pollution prevention practices are:
(1) Substituting raw materials that are less hazardous for process chemicals that generate waste;
Modifying processes or incorporating new technologies to increase efficiency and reduce or eliminate the amount of waste generated; and
Promoting good operating practices that reduce waste.
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 by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
Pretreatment requirements.Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment imposed on a user, other than a pretreatment standard.
Process wastewater.Any water that, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results from production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, or waste product.
Publicly owned treatment works or POTW.A “treatment works,” as defined by section 212 of the act (33 U.S.C. section
1292) which is owned by the city. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances, which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.
Any sewage from holding tanks, such as vessels, chemical toilets, on-site sewage facilities, and septic tanks.
Sewage.Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
Significant industrial user.(1) A user subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or
A user that:
(A) Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, non-contact cooling, and boiler blow down wastewater);
Contributes a process waste stream which makes up five (5) percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or
Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in subsection
(2) has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s 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 CER 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.
Slug load or slug.Any discharge of a non-routine, episodic nature, including but not limited to 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.
Storm water.Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
Suspended solids.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.
Wastewater.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.
(Ordinance 4845 adopted 1/19/2021)