(a) 
This article sets forth uniform requirements for users of the publicly owned treatment works (POTW) for the city and enables the city to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, including the Clean Water Act (33 United States Code 1251 et seq.) and the General Pretreatment Regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations part 403). The objectives of this article are:
(1) 
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works that will interfere with its operation;
(2) 
To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works that will pass through the publicly owned treatment works, inadequately treated, into receiving waters, or otherwise be incompatible with the publicly owned treatment works;
(3) 
To protect both publicly owned treatment works personnel who may be affected by wastewater and sludge in the course of their employment and the general public;
(4) 
To promote reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludge from the publicly owned treatment works;
(5) 
To enable the city to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit conditions of the City of Dallas, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other federal or state laws to which the publicly owned treatment works is subject.
(b) 
This article shall apply to all users of the publicly owned treatment works. This article authorizes the issuance of wastewater discharge permits; provides for monitoring, compliance, and enforcement activities; establishes administrative review procedures; and requires user reporting.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.901)
Except as otherwise provided herein, the public works director (director) shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this article. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the director may be delegated by the director to other personnel.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.902)
The following abbreviations, when used in this article, shall have the designated meanings:
BOD
Biochemical oxygen demand
CFR
Code of Federal Regulations
COD
Chemical oxygen demand
EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
gpd
Gallons per day
mg/l
Milligrams per liter
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
POTW
Publicly owned treatment works
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
SIC
Standard Industrial Classification
TSS
Total suspended solids
U.S.C.
United States Code
(1996 Code, sec. 11.903)
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.
Approval authority.
The regional administrator of the EPA.
Authorized representative of the user.
(1) 
If the user is a corporation:
(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
(B) 
The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities employing more than two hundred fifty (250) persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding twenty-five (25) million dollars (in second-quarter 1980 dollars), if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(2) 
If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship, a general partner or proprietor, respectively.
(3) 
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.
The individuals described in subsections (1) through (3) 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 city.
Biochemical oxygen demand or BOD.
The quantity of oxygen, expressed in mg/l, utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter [as measured] by standard methods.
Categorical pretreatment standard or categorical standard.
Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1317) which apply to a specific category of users and which appear in 40 CFR chapter 1, subchapter N, parts 405–471.
City.
The City of University Park or the city council of University Park.
Composite sample.
Samples collected during a period of time exceeding fifteen minutes and combined into one sample.
Control authority.
The operator of any part of the POTW if different from the city, e.g., the City of Dallas water utilities.
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 the 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 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 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.
Industrial user.
An industry that discharges wastewater into the wastewater system.
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 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, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal, and therefore is a cause of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder, 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.
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.
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;
(B) 
The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
(C) 
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.
(2) 
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) above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3) 
Construction of a new source as defined under this subsection 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
(ii) 
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
(B) 
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.
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 of pollutants through the city’s system 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, in whole or in part, of a violation of any discharge requirement of the city, 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, and local governmental entities.
pH.
The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution.
Pollutant.
Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, 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).
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.
Pretreatment standards or standards.
Pretreatment standards shall mean pollutant concentration discharge limitation requirements or standards, categorical pretreatment standards, and local limits. National pretreatment standard means any pretreatment regulations containing pollutant discharge limits that have been established or will be established for industrial users by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Prohibited discharge standards or prohibited discharges.
Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in section 13.08.005 of this article.
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 city and/or the control authority. 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.
Septic tank waste.
Any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
Sewage.
Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations, etc.).
Shall and may.
“Shall” is mandatory; “may” is permissive or directory.
Significant industrial user.
(1) 
A user subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or
(2) 
A user that:
(A) 
Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater);
(B) 
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;
(C) 
Is designated as such by the director or the control authority on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement; or
(D) 
Is defined as subject to national categorical pretreatment standards by the United States EPA.
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 and/or the control authority 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.
Slug load or slug.
Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in section 13.08.005 of this article.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code.
A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the United States Office of Management and Budget.
Stormwater.
Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation, including snowmelt.
Superintendent (public works director).
The person designated by the city to supervise the operation of the wastewater collection system, and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this article, or a duly authorized representative.
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.
User or industrial user.
A source of indirect discharge.
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.
Wastewater treatment plant or treatment plant.
That portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.904)
(a) 
General prohibitions.
No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass-through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
(b) 
Specific prohibitions.
No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:
(1) 
Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, waste streams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140° F (60° C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
(2) 
Wastewater having a pH less than 5.5 or more than 10.5;
(3) 
Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference;
(4) 
Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;
(5) 
Wastewater having a temperature greater than 150° F (65° C), or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104° F (40° C);
(6) 
Used motor oil;
(7) 
Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems;
(8) 
Trucked or hauled pollutants, except at discharge points designated by the director and/or control authority in accordance with section 13.08.012 of this article;
(9) 
Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;
(10) 
Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently imparts color to the treatment plant’s effluent, thereby violating the applicable NPDES permit;
(11) 
Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes in a manner that will permit a transient concentration higher than 100 microcuries per liter, except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
(12) 
Stormwater, surface water, groundwater, artesian well water, roof runoff, and subsurface drainage, unless specifically authorized by the director and/or the control authority;
(13) 
Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
(14) 
Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant’s effluent to fail a toxicity test;
(15) 
Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
(16) 
Except where the director and/or the control authority have determined that different limits under an industrial waste permit are appropriate, wastewater exceeding 100 mg/l of oils, fats, and grease of the following types:
(A) 
Floatable grease of any origin;
(B) 
Free or emulsified grease of petroleum or mineral origin, or both, including but not limited to:
(i) 
Cooling or quenching oil;
(ii) 
Lubricating oil;
(iii) 
Non-biodegradable cutting oil; and
(iv) 
Non-saponifiable oil;
(17) 
A discharge of water, normal domestic wastewater, or industrial waste which in quantity of flow exceeds, for a duration of longer than fifteen minutes, more than four times the average twenty-four-hour flow during normal operation;
(18) 
Insecticides and herbicides in concentrations that are not amenable to treatment;
(19) 
Polychlorinated biphenyls;
(20) 
Garbage that is not properly shredded to such an extent that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in wastewater mains, with no particle having greater than a one-half-inch (1/2") cross-sectional dimension;
(21) 
Wastewater or industrial waste generated or produced outside the city, unless approval in writing from the director and the control authority has been given to the person discharging the waste; or
(22) 
Without the approval of the director and/or control authority, a substance or pollutant other than industrial waste, normal domestic wastewater, septic tank waste or chemical toilet waste that is of a toxic or hazardous nature, regardless of whether or not it is amenable to treatment, including but not limited to bulk or packaged chemical products.
(c) 
Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.905)
The categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR chapter 1, subchapter N, parts 405–71, are hereby incorporated.
(1) 
Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the director and/or the control authority may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(c).
(2) 
When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the director and/or the control authority shall impose an alternate limit using the combined waste stream formula in 40 CFR 403.6(e).
(3) 
A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 CFR 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by the EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard.
(4) 
A user may obtain a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 CFR 403.15.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.906)
(a) 
The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass-through and interference. No person shall discharge, or cause or permit to be discharged, wastewater containing in excess of the following instantaneous maximum allowable discharge limits:
(1) 
Metals in the form of compounds or elements in solution or suspension in concentrations exceeding the following:
0.5 mg/l arsenic
1.0 mg/l cadmium
5.0 mg/l chromium
4.0 mg/l copper
1.6 mg/l lead
0.01 mg/l mercury
9.0 mg/l nickel
0.2 mg/l selenium
4.0 mg/l silver
5.0 mg/l zinc
(2) 
Organic chemical substances in concentrations exceeding the following:
21,000.0 mg/l acetone
1.0 mg/l benzene
1.6 mg/l ethyl benzene
26,250.0 mg/l isopropyl alcohol
20,000.0 mg/l methyl alcohol
249.0 mg/l methyl ethyl ketone
21.0 mg/l methylene chloride
149.0 mg/l total phenols
3.0 mg/l toluene
2.0 mg/l xylene
(3) 
1.6 mg/l cyanide or cyanogen compounds.
(4) 
100.0 mg/l oil and grease.
(5) 
10.0 mg/l sulfides.
(6) 
10,000 mg/l BOD5.
(7) 
10,000 mg/l total suspended solids.
(b) 
The above limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. All concentrations for metallic substances are for “total” metal unless indicated otherwise.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.907)
The city reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.908)
No user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation, unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement.
The director may impose mass limitations on users who are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.909)
Users shall provide wastewater treatment as necessary to comply with this article and shall achieve compliance with all categorical pretreatment standards, local limits, and the prohibitions set out in section 13.08.005 of this article within the time limitations specified by the EPA, the state, the control authority, or the director, whichever is more stringent. Any facilities necessary for compliance shall be provided, operated, and maintained at the user’s expense. Detailed plans
describing such facilities and operating procedures shall be submitted to the director for review, and shall be acceptable to the director before such facilities are constructed. The review of such plans and operating procedures shall in no way relieve the user from the responsibility of modifying such facilities as necessary to produce a discharge acceptable to the city under the provisions of this article.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.910)
At least once every two (2) years, the director shall evaluate whether each significant industrial user needs an accidental discharge/slug control plan. The director may require any user to develop, submit for approval, and implement such a plan. Alternatively, the director may develop such a plan for any user. An accidental discharge/slug control plan shall address, at a minimum, the following:
(1) 
Description of discharge practices, including nonroutine batch discharges;
(2) 
Description of stored chemicals;
(3) 
Procedures for immediately notifying the director of any accidental or slug discharge, as required by section 13.08.086 of this article; and
(4) 
Procedures to prevent adverse impact from any accidental or slug discharge. Such procedures include, but are not limited to, inspection and maintenance of storage areas, handling and transfer of materials, loading and unloading operations, control of plant site runoff, worker training, building of containment structures or equipment, measures for containing toxic organic pollutants, including solvents, and/or measures and equipment for emergency response.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.911)
(a) 
Septage waste may be introduced into the Dallas Central Wastewater Treatment Plant in the manner designated by the control authority, and at such times as are established by the control authority. The control authority may require septic tank waste haulers to obtain wastewater discharge permits.
(b) 
Septage waste generators must provide a manifest form for every load. This form shall include, at a minimum, the name and address of the generator, the waste hauler, permit number, truck identification, disposal site and volume and characteristics of waste. The form shall identify the type of industry, known or suspected waste constituents and whether any wastes are RCRA hazardous wastes. The generator shall retain a completed manifest in its business office for three (3) years after disposal.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.912)
When requested by the director, a user must submit information on the nature and characteristics of its wastewater within ten (10) days of the request. The director is authorized to prepare a form for this purpose and may periodically require users to update this information.
(1996 Code, sec. 11.913)