(a) 
The city manager and/or the control authority to the extent the control authority does not have the authorization to enter the user's premises under any other agreements with the city, TCEQ, or EPA or their designated representative(s) 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 the inspecting or sampling person(s) 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, city, control authority, TCEQ, or EPA personnel will be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.
(c) 
The city manager and/or control authority to the extent the control authority does not have the authorization to enter the user's premises under any other agreements with the city 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 metering of the user's operations. All sampling and analysis performed by the city and/or control authority to monitor compliance shall be at the expense of the industrial user.
(d) 
The city manager 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 city manager and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing the access shall be borne by the user.
(f) 
Unreasonable delays in allowing an 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 significant industrial user a minimum of once per year. If the city elects to perform compliance monitoring for the significant industrial user then the city will monitor the industry a minimum of semiannually.
(h) 
The city shall inspect each NSCIU a minimum of once per year. If the city elects to perform compliance monitoring for the NSCIU then the city will monitor the industry a minimum of one time each permit cycle.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
If the city manager and/or control authority has been refused or denied 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 city manager and/or control authority may seek issuance of a search warrant from an appropriate court or judicial officer.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
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 or control authority, that the release of that 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 the information should be held confidential, the portions of a report which might disclose trade secrets or secret processes shall only be available pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Public Information Act, but shall be made available immediately upon request to governmental agencies for uses related to the NPDES or TPDES 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.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
The city manager shall publish annually, in a newspaper of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice within the jurisdictions served by the POTW, a list of the users which, at any time during the previous twelve (12) months, were in significant noncompliance with applicable pretreatment standards and requirements.
(b) 
The term significant noncompliance shall be applicable to all significant industrial users (or any other industrial user that violates subsections (3), (4), or (8) of this subsection and shall mean:
(1) 
Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six percent (66%) or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits as defined in sections 86-100 through 86-105;
(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-month period equals or exceeds the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined by sections 86-100 through 86-105 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 violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by sections 86-100 through 86-105 (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the city manager determines 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 a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to the public or to the environment, or has resulted in the city manager 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 an individual wastewater discharge permit or enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;
(6) 
Failure to provide within forty-five (45) 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(s), which may include a violation of best management practices, which the city manager determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
When the city manager finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the city manager may serve upon that user a written notice of violation. Within the time frame specified in this notice, an explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention thereof, to include specific required actions, shall be submitted by the user to the city manager. Submission of this plan in no way relieves the user of liability for any violations occurring before or after receipt of the notice of violation. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the city manager to take any action, including emergency actions or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a notice of violation.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
The city manager may enter into a consent order, assurance of compliance, or a similar document establishing an agreement with any user responsible for noncompliance. Such documents shall include specific action to be taken by the user to correct the noncompliance within a time period specified by the document. Such documents shall have the same force and effect as the administrative orders issued pursuant to sections 86-147 and 86-148 of this article and shall be judicially enforceable. Issuance of a consent order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
The city manager may order a user which has violated or continues to violate any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, to appear before the city manager and show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. Notice shall be served on the user specifying the time and place for the meeting, the proposed enforcement action, the reasons for such action, and a request that the user show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. The notice of the meeting shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing. Such notice may be served on any authorized representative of the user. A show cause hearing shall not be a bar against, or prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
When the city manager finds that a user has violated or continues to violate any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the city manager may issue an order to the user responsible for the discharge directing that the user come into compliance within a specified time. If the user does not come into compliance within the time provided, sewer service may be discontinued unless adequate treatment facilities, devices, or other related appurtenances are installed and properly operated. Compliance orders also may contain other requirements to address the noncompliance, including additional self-monitoring and management practices designed to minimize the amount of pollutants discharged to the sewer. A compliance order may not extend the deadline for compliance established for a pretreatment standard or requirement; nor does a compliance order relieve the user of liability for any violation, including any continuing violation. Issuance of a compliance order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
When the city manager finds that a user has violated or continues to violate any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, or that the user's past violations are likely to recur, the city manager may issue an order to the user directing it to cease and desist all such violations and directing the user to:
(1) 
Immediately comply with all requirements; and
(2) 
Take such appropriate remedial or preventive action as may be needed to properly address a continuing or threatened violation, including halting operations and/or terminating the discharge.
(b) 
Issuance of a cease-and-desist order shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
The city manager may immediately suspend a user's discharge, after informal notice to the user, whenever such suspension is necessary to stop an actual or threatened discharge which reasonably appears to present or cause an imminent or substantial endangerment to the health or welfare of persons. The city manager may also immediately suspend a user's discharge, after notice and opportunity to respond, that threatens to interfere with the operation of the POTW, or which presents, or may present, an endangerment to the environment.
(1) 
Any user notified of a suspension of its discharge shall immediately stop or eliminate its contribution. In the event of a user's failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the city manager may take such steps as deemed necessary, including immediate severance of the sewer connection, to prevent or minimize damage to the POTW, its receiving stream, or endangerment to any individuals. The city manager may allow the user to recommence its discharge when the user has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the city manager that the period of endangerment has passed, unless the termination proceedings in section 86-150 of this article are initiated against the user.
(2) 
A user that is responsible, in whole or in part, for any discharge presenting imminent endangerment shall submit a detailed written statement, describing the causes of the harmful contribution and the measures taken to prevent any future occurrence, to the city manager prior to the date of any show cause or termination hearing under sections 86-146 or 86-150 of this article.
(b) 
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as requiring a hearing prior to any emergency suspension under this section.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
In addition to the provisions in section 86-123 of this article, any user who violates the following conditions is subject to discharge termination:
(1) 
Violation of wastewater discharge permit conditions;
(2) 
Failure to accurately report the wastewater constituents and characteristics of its discharge;
(3) 
Failure to report significant changes in operations or wastewater volume, constituents, and characteristics prior to discharge;
(4) 
Refusal of reasonable access to the user's premises for the purpose of inspection, monitoring, or sampling; or
(5) 
Violation of the pretreatment standards in sections 86-100 through 86-105 of this article.
(b) 
Such users will be notified of the proposed termination of its discharge and be offered an opportunity to show cause under section 86-146 of this article why the proposed action should not be taken. Exercise of this option by the city manager shall not be a bar to, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
When the city manager finds that a user has violated or continues to violate any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the city manager may petition a court of competent jurisdiction through the city attorney for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and temporary or permanent injunction, as appropriate, which restrains or compels the specific performance of the wastewater discharge permit, order, or other requirement imposed by this article on activities of the user. The city manager may also seek such other action as is appropriate for legal and/or equitable relief, including a requirement for the user to conduct environmental remediation. A petition for injunctive relief shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
The remedies provided for in this article are not exclusive. The city manager may take any, all, or any combination of these actions against a noncompliant user. Enforcement of pretreatment violations will generally be in accordance with the city's enforcement response plan. However, the city manager may take other action against any user when the circumstances warrant. Further, the city manager is empowered to take more than one enforcement action against any noncompliant user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
More stringent discharge limits.
If national pretreatment standards, categorical or otherwise, more stringent than the discharge limits prescribed in this article are promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for certain industries, the more stringent national pretreatment standards will apply to the affected industrial user. A violation of the more stringent national pretreatment standards will also be considered a violation of this article.
(b) 
Applicability of more stringent discharge limits.
An industrial user within the city who discharges industrial waste ultimately received and treated by another governmental entity pursuant to a wholesale wastewater contract or a reciprocal agreement with the city is subject to the following additional rules:
(1) 
If the governmental entity has more stringent discharge limits than those prescribed by this article, or by a discharge permit issued hereunder, because the United States Environmental Protection Agency requires the more stringent discharge limits as part of the governmental entity's wastewater pretreatment program, the more stringent discharge limits shall prevail.
(2) 
The city manager is authorized to issue a discharge permit to an industrial user affected by subsection (1), to ensure notice of and compliance with the more stringent discharge limits. If the industrial user already has a discharge permit, the city manager may amend the permit to apply and enforce the more stringent discharge limits. An industrial user shall submit to the city manager an expected compliance date and an installation schedule if the more stringent discharge limits necessitate technological or mechanical adjustments to discharge facilities or plant processes.
(3) 
If the city manager chooses not to issue or amend a permit under subsection (2), the city manager shall notify the affected industrial user in writing of the more stringent discharge limits and their effective date. Regardless of whether or not a permit is issued or amended, an industrial user shall be given a reasonable opportunity to comply with the more stringent discharge limits.
(4) 
The more stringent discharge limits cease to apply upon termination of the city's wholesale wastewater contract or reciprocal agreement with the governmental entity, or upon modification or elimination of the limits by the government entity or the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The city manager shall take the appropriate action to notify the affected industrial user of an occurrence under this subsection (4).
(c) 
Variances in compliance dates.
The city manager may grant a variance in compliance dates to an industry when, in the city manager's opinion, such action is necessary to achieve pretreatment or corrective measures. In no case shall the city manager grant a variance in compliance dates to an industry affected by national categorical pretreatment standards beyond the compliance dates established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(d) 
Authority to regulate.
The city manager may establish regulations, not in conflict with this article or other laws, to control the disposal and discharge of industrial waste into the wastewater system and to ensure compliance with the city's pretreatment enforcement program with all applicable pretreatment regulations promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The regulations established shall, where applicable, be made part of any discharge permit issued to an industrial user by the city manager.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
Act of god provision.
(1) 
An event that would otherwise be a violation that is caused solely by an act of God, war, strike, riot, or other catastrophe is not a violation.
(2) 
In an enforcement proceeding, the user seeking to establish the occurrence of an act of God, war, strike, riot, or other catastrophe shall have the burden of proof.
(3) 
In the event that an act of God, war, strike, riot, or other catastrophe has been established, the user shall control production of all discharges to the extent possible until such time as the reduction, loss, or failure of its treatment facility is restored or an alternative method of treatment is provided.
(b) 
Bypass.
(1) 
For the purpose of this section:
a. 
"Bypass" means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user's treatment facility.
b. 
"Severe property damage" means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
(2) 
A user may allow any bypass to occur which does not cause pretreatment standards or requirements to be violated, but only if it also is for essential maintenance to assure efficient operation. These bypasses are not subject to the provision of subsections (3) and (4) of this Subsection.
(3) 
Bypass notifications.
a. 
If a user knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit prior notice to the city manager at least ten (10) days before the date of the bypass, if possible.
b. 
A user shall submit oral notice to the city manager of an unanticipated bypass that exceeds applicable pretreatment standards within twenty-four (24) hours from the time it becomes aware of the bypass. A written submission shall also be provided within five (5) days of the time the user becomes aware of the bypass. The written submission shall contain a description of the bypass and its cause; the duration of the bypass, including exact dates and times, and, if the bypass has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the bypass. The city manager may waive the written report on a case-by-case basis if the oral report has been received within twenty-four (24) hours.
(4) 
Bypass.
a. 
Bypass is prohibited, and the city manager may take an enforcement action against a user for a bypass, unless:
1. 
The bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage;
2. 
There were no feasible alternatives to the bypass, such as the use of auxiliary treatment facilities, retention of untreated wastes, or maintenance during normal periods of equipment downtime. This condition is not satisfied if adequate back-up equipment should have been installed in the exercise of reasonable engineering judgment to prevent a bypass which occurred during normal periods of equipment downtime or preventive maintenance; and
3. 
The user submitted notices as required under subsection (3) of this subsection.
b. 
The city manager may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse effects, if the city manager determines that it will meet the three conditions listed in subsection (4)a. of this subsection.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
The city may adopt reasonable fees for reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the city's pretreatment program, which may include:
(1) 
Fees for wastewater discharge permit applications including the cost of processing the applications;
(2) 
Fees for monitoring, inspection, and surveillance procedures including the cost of collection and analyzing a user's discharge, and reviewing monitoring reports submitted by users;
(3) 
Fees for reviewing and responding to accidental discharge procedures and construction;
(4) 
Fees for filing appeals;
(5) 
Recovery of administrative and legal costs associated with enforcement activity taken by the city manager to address industrial user noncompliance.
(6) 
Other fees as the city may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained herein. These fees relate solely to the matters covered by this article and are separate from all other fees, fines, and penalties chargeable by the city;
(7) 
Fees for treating abnormal strength wastes; and
(8) 
Fees incurred from an upset, bypass, or unauthorized discharge.
(b) 
Surcharge.
(1) 
The city may surcharge industrial users for the treatment of abnormal strength wastes. Water or wastes having:
a. 
A five-day biochemical oxygen demand greater than two hundred fifty (250) parts per million (ppm) by weight, or
b. 
Containing more than two hundred fifty (250) parts per million by weight of total suspended solids, shall be subject to the review and approval of the city manager.
(2) 
Where the city manager has approved the admission of Subsections a. and/or b. above into the POTW, that discharge may be subject to a surcharge as determined by the city manager. In no case shall a discharge be accepted that will prevent the POTW from meeting its NPDES or TPDES limits.
a. 
The surcharge will be assessed according to the following formula each month using the most current pollutant concentration data and the current month's wastewater flow:
Surcharge =
Q
x [a(BOD — x) + b(TSS — y)][8.34]
1,000,000
Where:
Q
=
flow in gallons
8.34
=
weight in pounds of one gallon of water
x
=
normal limits of BOD in domestic wastewater expressed in milligrams per liter
y
=
normal limits of TSS in domestic wastewater expressed in milligrams per liter
a
=
unit cost of treatment per pound of BOD
b
=
unit cost of treatment per pound of TSS
b. 
A surcharge is an additional charge by the POTW for the increased cost of handling discharge of unusual strength and character and shall not serve as a variance to the requirements of this article. Exercise of this provision shall not be a bar to, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
If any provision of this article is invalidated, by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall not be affected and shall continue in full force and effect.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]
(a) 
Civil penalties.
(1) 
A user who has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, shall be liable to the city for a maximum civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per violation, per day. In the case of a monthly or other long-term average discharge limit, penalties shall accrue for each day during the period of the violation.
(2) 
The city manager may recover reasonable attorneys' fees, court costs, and other expenses associated with enforcement activities, including sampling and monitoring expenses, and the cost of any actual damages incurred by the city.
(3) 
In determining the amount of civil liability, the Court shall take into account all relevant circumstances, including, but not limited to, the extent of harm caused by the violation, the magnitude and duration of the violation, any economic benefit gained through the user's violation, corrective actions by the user, the compliance history of the user, and any other factor as justice requires.
(4) 
Filing a suit for civil penalties shall not be a bar against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against a user.
(b) 
Criminal prosecution.
(1) 
A user who violates intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently any provision of this article, a wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per violation, per day.
(2) 
A user who intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently introduces any substance into the POTW which causes personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to the same penalties described in this section 86-157. This penalty shall be in addition to any other cause of action for personal injury or property damage available under state law.
(3) 
A user who makes any false statements, representations, or certifications in any application, record, report, plan, or other documentation filed, or required to be maintained, pursuant to this article, wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or who falsifies, tampers with, or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to the same penalties described in this section 86-157.
(c) 
Criminal responsibility.
A person is criminally responsible for a violation of this article if that person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently:
(1) 
Commits or assists in the commission of a violation, or causes or permits another person to commit a violation, of this article; or
(2) 
Owns or manages the property or facilities determined to be the cause of the illegal discharge under sections 86-104 through 86-106, 86-116, and 86-118.
[Ordinance 2409 adopted 10/8/2024]