(a)
The DCO and/or the control authority, TCEQ, or USEPA or their designated
representative shall have the right to enter the premises of any user
to determine whether the user is complying with all requirements of
this article and any wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder.
Users shall allow inspecting or sampling persons ready access to all
parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, records
examination and copying, and the performance of any additional duties.
(b)
Where a user has security measures in force which require proper
identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the user
shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that,
upon presentation of suitable identification, the city, the control
authority, TCEQ or USEPA will be permitted to enter without delay
for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.
(c)
The DCO and/or control authority shall have the right to set up on
the user’s property, or require installation of, such devices
as are necessary to conduct sampling and/or metering of the user’s
operations. All sampling and analysis performed by the DCO and/or
control authority to monitor compliance shall be at the expense of
the industrial user.
(d)
The DCO and/or control authority may require the user to install
monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility’s sampling and
monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and
proper operating condition by the user at its own expense. All devices
used to measure wastewater flow and quality shall be calibrated, at
a minimum, annually to ensure their accuracy.
(e)
Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to
the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed
by the user at the written or verbal request of the DCO and/or control
authority and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access
shall be borne by the user.
(f)
Unreasonable delays in allowing the inspecting or sampling person
access to the user’s premises shall be a violation of this article.
(g)
In accordance with 40 CFR 403, the city shall inspect and monitor
each permitted industrial user a minimum of once per year. If the
city elects to perform compliance monitoring for the industry then
the city will monitor the industry a minimum of semi-annually.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.161)
If the DCO and/or control authority has been refused access
to a building, structure, or property, or any part thereof, and is
able to demonstrate probable cause to believe that there may be a
violation of this article, or that there is a need to inspect and/or
sample as part of a routine inspection and sampling program of the
city designed to verify compliance with this article or any permit
or order issued hereunder, or to protect the overall public health,
safety and welfare of the community, then the DCO and/or control authority
may seek issuance of a search warrant from an appropriate court.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.162)
Information and data on a user obtained from reports, surveys,
wastewater discharge permit applications, wastewater discharge permits,
and monitoring programs, and from inspection and sampling activities,
shall be available to the public without restriction, unless the user
specifically requests, and is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction
of the city and/or control authority, that the release of such information
would divulge information, processes, or methods of production entitled
to protection as trade secrets under applicable state law. Any such
request must be asserted at the time of submission of the information
or data. When requested and demonstrated by the user furnishing a
report that such information should be held confidential, the portions
of a report which might disclose trade secrets or secret processes
shall not be made available for inspection by the public, but shall
be made available immediately upon request to governmental agencies
for uses related to the NPDES program or pretreatment program, and
in enforcement proceedings involving the person furnishing the report.
Wastewater constituents and characteristics and other “effluent
data” as defined by 40 CFR 2.302 will not be recognized as confidential
information and will be available to the public without restriction.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.163)
The DCO shall publish annually, in the largest daily newspaper
published in the municipality where the POTW is located, a list of
the users which, during the previous twelve (12) months, were in significant
noncompliance with applicable pretreatment standards and requirements.
The term “significant noncompliance” shall mean:
(1)
Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as
those in which sixty-six percent (66%) or more of wastewater measurements
taken during a six (6) month period exceed the daily maximum limit
or average limit for the same pollutant parameter by any amount;
(2)
Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those
in which thirty-three percent (33%) or more of wastewater measurements
taken for each pollutant parameter during a six (6) month period equal
or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit
multiplied by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils
and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
(3)
Any other discharge violation that the DCO and/or control authority
believes has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges,
interference or pass-through, including endangering the health of
POTW personnel or the general public;
(4)
Any discharge of pollutants that has caused imminent endangerment
to the public or to the environment, or has resulted in the DCO’s
or control authority’s exercise of its emergency authority to
halt or prevent such a discharge;
(5)
Failure to meet, within ninety (90) days of the scheduled date, a
compliance schedule milestone contained in a wastewater discharge
permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing
construction, or attaining final compliance;
(6)
Failure to provide, within thirty (30) days after the due date, any
required reports, including baseline monitoring reports, reports on
compliance with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, periodic
self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance
schedules;
(7)
Failure to accurately report noncompliance; or
(8)
Any other violation (one or more) which the DCO determines will adversely
affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
(2005 Code, sec. 13.4.164)
