The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this article:
Administration.The director of public works and the director’s authorized representatives are authorized to administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article.
Agricultural Stormwater Runoff.Any stormwater runoff from orchards, cultivated crops, pastures, range lands, and other nonpoint source agricultural activities, but not discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations as defined in 40 CFR §
122.23 or discharges from concentrated aquatic production facilities as defined in 40 CFR §
122.24.
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent the pollution of the MS4 and waters in the state. Best management practices also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage areas.
Cellar Dirt.Construction site waste materials, such as natural rock and soil overburden.
Clean Water Act or CWA.The Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972; legislation which provides statutory authority for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program.
Code of Federal Regulations or CFR.A codification of the general and permanent rules published in the federal register by the executive department and agencies of the federal government.
Commencement of Construction.The initial disturbance of soils associated with clearing, grading or excavation activities, as well as other construction-related activities (e.g. stockpiling of fill material, demolition).
Commercial.Pertaining to any business, trade, industry or other activity engaged in for profit.
Common Plan of Development or Sale.A construction activity that is completed in separate stages, separate phases, or in combination with other construction activities. A common plan of development or sale is identified by the documentation for the construction project that identifies the scope of the project, and may include plats, blueprints, marketing plans, contracts, building permits, a public notice or hearing, zoning requests, or other similar documentation and activities. A common plan of development does not necessarily include all construction projects with the jurisdiction of a public entity (e.g., a city or university). Construction of roads or buildings in different parts of the jurisdiction would be considered separate common plans with only the interconnected parts of a project being considered part of a common plan (e.g., a building and its associated parking lot and driveways, airport runway and associated taxiways, a building complex, etc.). Where discrete construction projects occur within a larger common plan of development or sale but are located one-quarter (1/4) mile or more apart, and the area between the projects is not being disturbed, each individual project can be treated as a separate plan of development or sale, provided that any interconnecting road, pipeline, or utility project that is part of the same common plan is not included in the area to be disturbed.
Construction Activity.Construction activities including clearing, grading, and excavation that are subject to TPDES general construction permits. It does not include routine maintenance that is performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, and original purpose of a ditch, channel, or other similar stormwater conveyance. Additionally, it does not include the routine grading of existing dirt roads, asphalt overlays of existing roads, the routine clearing of existing rights-of-way, and similar maintenance activities.
Construction Permit.The TPDES construction general permit TXR150000, any successor permit, or any alternative TPDES permit for stormwater discharges associated with construction activity (if the activity does not qualify for coverage under general permit TXR150000) or the NPDES permit for oil and gas exploration activities.
Construction Site Operator or Operator.The person or persons associated with a small or large construction activity that meets either of the following criteria:
(1) Primary Operator.The person or persons associated with a large or small construction activity that meets either of the following two criteria:
(A) The person or persons that have operational control over construction plans and specifications, including the ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications; or
The person or persons that have day-to-day operational control of those activities at a construction site that are necessary to ensure compliance with a stormwater pollution prevention plan for the site or other permit conditions (e.g. they have day-to-day responsibility for directing workers at a construction site to carry out activities required by the stormwater pollution prevention plan or comply with other permit conditions).
(2) Secondary Operator.The person whose operational control is limited to the employment of other operators or to the ability to approve or disapprove changes to plans and specifications. A secondary operator is also defined as a primary operator and shall comply with the permit requirements for primary operators if there are no other operators at the construction site.
Any person(s) contracted by the town to conduct the day-to-day operational activities at a site of municipal construction activity shall be considered a primary operator for the purposes of this article. |
Contamination.The presence of or entry into a public water supply system, the MS4 or water in the state, any substance which may be detrimental to the public health and/or the quality of water.
Contractor.For the purposes of this article, the contractor is the person or persons that have day-to-day operational control of those activities at a construction site that are necessary to ensure compliance with local pollution prevention requirements, although they do not qualify as an operator under the construction permit.
Control Authority.The director of public works of the town (or other official designated by the town), or his duly authorized agent or representative. For the purposes of this article, control authority shall be synonymous with MS4 operator.
Conveyance.Curbs, gutters, manmade channels and ditches, drains, pipes, and other constructed features designed or used for flood control or to otherwise transport stormwater runoff.
Discharge.Any addition or introduction of any pollutant, stormwater, or any other substance whatsoever into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4), surface water in the state, or into the waters of the United States. This includes but not limited to, household hazardous waste, used motor vehicle fluids, and collected quantities of grass clippings, leaf litter, and animal waste.
Domestic Sewage.Waterborne human waste and waste from domestic activities, including the use of toilet facilities, washing, bathing, and food preparation.
Erosion.The process of land being diminished or worn away due to wind, water, or glacial ice. Erosion occurs naturally, but can be intensified by land-disturbing activities such as development, farming, road building, timber harvesting, etc.
Facility.Any building, structure, installation, process or activity from which there is or may be a discharge of a pollutant.
Fertilizer.A solid or nonsolid substance or compound that contains an essential plant nutrient element in a form available to plants and is used primarily for its essential plant nutrient element content in promoting or stimulating growth of a plant or improving the quality of a crop, or a mixture of two or more fertilizers. The term does not include the excreta of an animal, plant remains, or a mixture of those substances, for which no claim of essential plant nutrients is made.
Final Stabilization.A construction site status where any of the following conditions are met:
(1) All soil disturbing activities at the construction site have been completed and a uniform (e.g. evenly distributed, without large bare areas) perennial vegetative cover with a density of 70 percent of the native background vegetative cover for the area has been established on all unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures, or equivalent permanent stabilization measures (such as riprap or gabions) have been employed;
For individual lots in a residential construction site, the homebuilder has completed final stabilization on the individual lot(s) as specified in condition (1) above;
For construction activities on land used for agricultural purposes (e.g. pipelines across crop or rangeland), final stabilization may be accomplished by returning the disturbed land to its preconstruction agricultural use. Areas disturbed that were not previously used for agricultural activities, such as buffer strips immediately adjacent to surface water and areas, which are not being returned to their preconstruction agricultural use, shall meet the final stabilization conditions of condition (1) above.
Fire Protection Water.Any water, and any substances or materials contained therein, used by any person other than the fire department to control or extinguish a fire.
Groundwater Infiltration.Groundwater that enters a storm sewer system (including sewer service connections and foundation drains) through such means as defective pipes, pipe joints, connections, or manholes.
Harmful Quantity.The amount of any substance that will cause pollution of water in the state, or that will cause lethal or sub-lethal adverse affects on representative, sensitive aquatic monitoring organisms belonging to the municipality or state, upon their exposure to samples of any discharge into water in the state or the MS4.
Hazardous Waste.Any substance identified or listed as a hazardous waste by the EPA pursuant to 40 CFR Part
261.
A substance or mixture of substances used to destroy a plant or to inhibit plant growth.
Household Hazardous Waste or HHW.Any material generated in a household (including single and multiple residences, hotels and motels, bunk houses, ranger stations, crew quarters, campgrounds, picnic grounds, and day use recreational areas) by a consumer which, except for the exclusion provided in 40 CFR §
261.4(b)(1), would be classified as a hazardous waste under 40 CFR Part
261.
Any manmade conveyance connecting an illicit discharge directly to a municipal separate storm sewer.
Illicit Discharge.Any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not entirely composed of stormwater, except discharges authorized under an NPDES or TPDES permit and discharges resulting from emergency firefighting activities.
Industrial Permit.The TPDES multi-sector general permit TXR050000, any successor permit, or any alternative TPDES permit for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity (if the activity does not qualify for coverage under general permit TXR050000).
Industrial Waste.Any waterborne liquid or solid substance that results from any process of industry, manufacturing, mining, production, trade or business.
Large Construction Activity.Construction activities including clearing, grading, and excavating that result in land disturbances of equal to or greater than five acres. Large construction activity also includes the disturbance of less than five acres of total land area that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale if the larger common plan will ultimately disturb equal to or greater than five (5) acres of land. Large construction activity does not include routine maintenance that is performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, and original purpose of the site (e.g., the routine grading of existing dirt roads, asphalt overlays of existing roads, the routine clearing of existing rights-of-way, and similar maintenance activities).
Maximum Extent Practicable or MEP.The technology-based discharge standard for municipal separate storm sewer systems to reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges that was established by CWA §402(p).
Motor Vehicle Fluid.Any vehicle crankcase oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluid, differential lubricant, gasoline, diesel fuel, gasoline/alcohol blend, and any other fluid used in a motor vehicle.
MS4 Operator.The public entity, and/or the entity contracted by the public entity, responsible for management and operation of the municipal separate storm sewer system.
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System or MS4.The system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, alleys, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, or storm drains) owned and operated by the town and designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, and which is not used for collecting or conveying sewage.
Municipal Solid Waste.Solid waste resulting from or incidental to municipal, community, commercial, institutional, or recreational activities, and includes garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles, and other solid waste other than industrial waste.
Nonpoint Source.Any source of any discharge of a pollutant that is not a point source.
Notice of Change or NOC.A written submission to the executive director of the permitting authority, from a permittee, identifying any incorrect information, changes in information, or relevant facts that were not provided in the notice of intent.
Notice of Intent or NOI.A written submission to the executive director of the permitting authority, from an applicant, requesting coverage under a general permit.
Notice of Termination or NOT.A written submission to the executive director of the permitting authority, from a permittee authorized under a general permit, requesting termination of coverage under such permit.
NPDES Permit.A permit issued by the EPA that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general basis. In the State of Texas, the EPA retains authority for permitting oil and gas exploration activities and Indian Country land.
Oil.Any kind of oil in any form, including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel oil, crude oil or any fraction thereof which is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with waste.
Outfall.A point source at the point where a municipal separate storm sewer discharges to water in the state and does not include open conveyances connecting two municipal separate storm sewers, or pipes, tunnels, or other conveyances that connect segments of the same stream or other waters of the U.S. and are used to convey waters of the U.S.
Owner.For the purposes of this article, the owner is the person or persons that have operational control over construction plans and specifications, including the ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications, although they do not qualify as an operator under the construction permit.
Permit.Either an NPDES or TPDES permit, whichever is applicable.
Permittee.An operator authorized under an NPDES or TPDES permit.
Permitting Authority.For the purposes of this article, the permitting authority for stormwater discharges is the state commission on environmental quality, or any successor agency.
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.
Pesticide.A substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any pest, or any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant (as these terms are defined in Section
76.001 of the Texas Agriculture Code).
(From 40 CFR §
122.22) 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, landfill leachate collection system, vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture or agricultural stormwater runoff.
Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, garbage, sewage, sewage sludge, filter backwash, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water. The term pollutant does not include tail water or runoff water from irrigation or rainwater runoff from cultivated or uncultivated rangeland, pastureland, and farmland.
Pollution.(From Texas Water Code §
26.001(14)) The alteration of the physical, thermal, chemical, or biological quality of, or the contamination of, any water in the state that renders the water harmful, detrimental, or injurious to humans, animal life, vegetation, or property, or to the public health, safety, or welfare, or impairs the usefulness or the public enjoyment of the water for any lawful or reasonable purpose.
Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or water in the state.
Riparian.Any area relating to or located on the bank of a natural watercourse.
Runoff.Drainage or flood discharge that leaves an area as surface flow or as pipeline flow.
Sanitary Sewer.The system of pipes, conduits, and other conveyances which carry industrial waste and domestic sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, to a sewage treatment plant (and to which stormwater, surface water, and groundwater are not intentionally admitted).
Sediment.Soil, sand, and minerals washed from land into water, usually after rain.
Separate Storm Sewer System.A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, outfalls, or storm drains), designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater; which is not a combined sewer, and which is not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) as defined at 40 CFR §
122.2.
Any domestic sewage removed from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
Sewage (or sanitary sewage).The domestic sewage and industrial waste that is discharged into the town sanitary sewer system and passes through the sanitary sewer system to a sewage treatment plant for treatment.
Shall.Wherever used in this article will be interpreted in its mandatory sense; may is permissive.
Site.The land or water area where any facility or activity is physically located or conducted, including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or activity.
Small Construction Activity.Construction activities including clearing, grading, and excavating that result in land disturbances of equal to or greater than one acre and less than five acres of land. Small construction activity also includes the disturbance of less than one acre of total land area that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale if the larger common plan will ultimately disturb equal to or greater than one and less than five acres of land. Small construction activity does not include routine maintenance that is performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, and original purpose of the site (e.g., the routine grading of existing dirt roads, asphalt overlays of existing roads, the routine clearing of existing rights-of-way, and similar maintenance activities).
Storm Drain.An opening leading to an underground pipe or an open ditch for carrying surface runoff.
Stormwater.Any flow occurring during or after any form of natural precipitation, including rainfall runoff, snowmelt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.
Stormwater Associated with Construction Activity.Stormwater runoff from a construction activity where soil disturbing activities (including clearing, grading, and excavating) result in the disturbance of one or more acres of total land area, or are part of a larger common plan of development or sale that will ultimately result in the disturbance of one or more acres of total land area.
Stormwater Associated with Industrial Activity.Stormwater runoff that exits any system that is used for collecting and conveying stormwater that originates from manufacturing, processing, material storage, and waste material disposal areas (and similar areas where stormwater can contact industrial pollutants related to the industrial activity) at an industrial facility described by one or more sectors of the TPDES multi-sector general permit.
Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan or SWPPP.A plan required by a permit to discharge stormwater associated with industrial activity, including construction, and which describes and ensures the implementation of practices that are to be used to reduce the pollutants in stormwater discharges associated with construction or other industrial activity at the facility.
Structural Control (or Practice).A pollution prevention practice that requires the construction of a device, or the use of a device, to capture or prevent pollution in stormwater runoff. Structural controls and practices may include but are not limited to: wet ponds, infiltration basins, stormwater wetlands, silt fences, earthen dikes, drainage swales, sediment traps, check dams, stabilized construction entrances, subsurface drains, storm drain inlet protection, rock outlet protection, reinforced soil retaining systems, gabions, and temporary or permanent sediment basins.
Temporary Stabilization.A condition where exposed soils or disturbed areas are provided a protective cover or other structural control to prevent the migration of pollutants. Temporary stabilization may include temporary seeding, geotextiles, mulches, perimeter controls, and other techniques to reduce or eliminate erosion until either final stabilization can be achieved or until further construction activities take place.
Town.The Town of Double Oak, Texas, or any authorized person acting in its behalf.
TPDES Permit.A permit issued by the state that authorizes discharges of pollutants to water in the state and waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group or general basis.
Used Oil (or Used Motor Oil).Any oil that has been refined from crude oil or synthetic oil that, as a result of use, storage, or handling, has become unsuitable for its original purpose because of impurities or the loss of original properties but that may be suitable for further use and is recyclable in compliance with state and federal law.
Water in the State.Any 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 non-navigable, 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.
Water Quality Standard.The designation of a body or segment of surface water in the state for desirable uses and the narrative and numerical criteria deemed by the state to be necessary to protect those uses, as specified in Title 30, Chapter 307 of the Texas Administrative Code.
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 §
122.2; but not including any waste treatment systems, treatment ponds, or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act.
An area that is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
Yard waste.Leaves, grass clippings, yard and garden debris, and brush that results from landscaping maintenance and land-clearing operations.
(Ordinance 11-03 adopted 4/4/11)