(A) 
The DCO, TRA, TCEQ, or EPA, or their designated representative(s), shall have the right to enter the premises of any user, or future user during construction, at any time and without delay, to determine whether the user is complying with all requirements of this chapter and any wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, and for inspecting and sampling.
(B) 
Users shall allow sampling person(s) ready 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, photographic or video documentation, maintenance of any portion of the water or sewage system lying within easements, and the performance of any additional duties under this chapter.
(C) 
Where a user has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, or any part of its premises, the user shall make necessary arrangements with its security personnel so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, the city, TRA, TCEQ or EPA, will be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.
(D) 
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, metering and/or documentation 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.
(E) 
The DCO may require the user to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment, including a sampling manhole or port, 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.
(F) 
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 shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing the access shall be borne by the user.
(G) 
Unreasonable delays in allowing the inspecting or sampling person access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this chapter.
(H) 
In accordance with 40 CFR 403, the city shall inspect and monitor each SIU a minimum of once per year. If the city elects to perform compliance monitoring for the user, then the city will monitor the user a minimum of semi-annually.
(I) 
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 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
If the DCO 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 chapter, 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 chapter 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 or judicial officer.
(Ordinance 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
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:
(1) 
The user specifically requests, and is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the city that the release of such information would divulge information, processes, or methods of production entitled to protection as trade secrets under applicable state law; and
(2) 
Any such request of confidentiality of information must be asserted at the time of submission of the information or data.
(B) 
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 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.
(C) 
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 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
The DCO shall publish annually, 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 (SNC) with applicable pretreatment standards and requirements.
(B) 
The term SNC shall be applicable to all SIUs (or any other industrial user that violates subsections (3), (4), or (8) of this subsection (B) and shall mean:
(1) 
Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66% or more of all the wastewater measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter taken during a six (6) month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits as defined in sections 171.04 through 171.10;
(2) 
Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 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 171.04 through 171.10 multiplied by the applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, 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 171.04 through 171.10 (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the DCO 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 DCO'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 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 BMPs, which the DCO determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
(Ordinance 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
When the DCO finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the DCO may serve upon that user a written notice of violation.
(B) 
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 DCO. 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.
(C) 
Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the DCO to take any action, including emergency actions or any other enforcement action, without first issuing a notice of violation.
(Ordinance 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
The DCO 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 171.49 and 171.50 of this chapter 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 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
The DCO may order a user which has violated or continues to violate any provision of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, to appear before the DCO and show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken.
(B) 
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.
(C) 
The notice of the meeting shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) at least 10 days prior to the hearing. Such notice may be served on any authorized representative of the user.
(D) 
A show cause hearing shall not be a bar against, or prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
(Ordinance 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
When the DCO finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, a wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder, or any other pretreatment standard or requirement, the DCO may issue an order to the user responsible for the discharge directing that the user come into compliance within a specified time.
(B) 
If the user does not come into compliance within the time provided, sewer service may be discontinued unless adequate approved treatment facilities, devices, or other related apparatus are installed and properly operated.
(C) 
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.
(D) 
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 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
When the DCO finds that a user has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this chapter, 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 DCO 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 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
The DCO 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 DCO may also immediately suspend a user's discharge, after notice and opportunity to respond, that threatens to interfere with the operation of other users or 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 inability or refusal to receive notice, or a user's failure to immediately comply voluntarily with the suspension order, the DCO may take such steps as deemed necessary, including immediate severance of sewer connections, to prevent or minimize damage to the POTW, its receiving stream or the environment, or endangerment to any individual. The DCO may allow the user to recommence its discharge, when the user has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the DCO, that the period of endangerment has passed, unless the termination proceedings in section 171.52 of this chapter 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 DCO prior to the date of any show cause or termination hearing under section 171.48 or section 171.52 of this chapter.
(B) 
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as requiring a hearing prior to any emergency suspension under this section.
(Ordinance 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)
(A) 
In addition to the provisions in section 171.26 of this chapter, any user who violates any of the following conditions is subject to discharge termination;
(1) 
Violation of wastewater discharge permit conditions, including discharge of wastewater that should be, but is not, under permit;
(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 171.04 to 171.10 of this chapter.
(B) 
Such user will be notified of the proposed termination of its discharge and be offered an opportunity to show cause under section 171.48 of this chapter why the proposed action should not be taken. Exercise of this option by the DCO shall not be a bar to, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the user.
(Ordinance 4229 adopted 9/24/2024)