HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 2025-22 - Amending Code Chapter 13.24 relating to Industrial Sewer Waste StandardsORDINANCE NO. 20Z,5- 2Z
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GEORGETOWN, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 13.24 OF THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO INDUSTRIAL SEWER WASTE
STANDARDS; REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES AND
RESOLUTIONS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING
FOR PUBLICATION; PROVIDING A PENALTY; AND SETTING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the Texas Council on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") requires the City of
Georgetown (the "City") to develop an Industrial Pretreatment Program ("IPP");
WHEREAS, Chapter 13.24 of the Code of Ordinances governs industrial waste sewer discharges
and contains the City's existing IPP;
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Georgetown wishes to amend the IPP in Chapter
13.24 in its entirety to provide for updates to control industrial wastewater discharges, protect
water quality of streams, and enable the City to appropriately monitor the quality of the sludge
produced at wastewater treatment plants; and
WHEREAS, the amendments to the IPP will protect the public health and safety.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
GEORGETOWN, TEXAS, THAT:
SECTION 1. The meeting at which this ordinance was approved was in all things conducted in
compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551.
SECTION 2. The facts and recitations contained in the preamble of this ordinance are hereby
found and declared to be true and correct and are incorporated by reference herein and expressly
made a part hereof, as if copied verbatim.
SECTION 3. Chapter 13.24 of the Code of Ordinances shall be titled "Industrial Sewer Waste
Standards" and be amended to read as set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated
herein.
SECTION 4. All ordinances and resolutions, or parts of ordinances and resolutions, in conflict
with this ordinance are hereby repealed, and are no longer of any force and effect.
SECTION 5. If any provision of this ordinance or application thereof to any person or
circumstance, shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions, or
Ordinance Number: 2025- ZZ Page 1 of 2
Description: IPP Ordinance
Date Approved:
application thereof, of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are hereby declared to be severable.
SECTION 6. The Mayor is hereby authorized to sign this ordinance and the City Secretary to
attest. This Ordinance shall become effective and be in full force on October 1, 2025 in
accordance with the City Charter of the City of Georgetown.
PASSED AND APPROVED on the Is' reading at regular. meeting of the City Council of
Georgetown, Texas, on this the day of n 92025.
PASSED AND APPROVED on the 2nd and final reading at a regular meeting of the City
Council of Georgetown, Texas on this the &Nay of , 2025.
ATTEST: THE Y OF ORGETOWN:
Robyn ensmore, City Secretary JoL Schroccjcr, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
-fin I
SkyeWasson, City Attorney
Ordinance Number: 2025- Page 2 of 2
Description: IPP Ordinance
Date Approved:
EXHIBIT A
Chapter 13.24 — Industrial Sewer Waste Standards
See. 13.24.010 General Provisions
A. Purpose and Policy. This Chapter sets forth uniform requirements for users of the City of
Georgetown's Publicly Owned Treatment Works ("POTW") 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 (CFR) Part 403). This Chapter adopts by reference, the applicable
regulations of title 40 Code of Federal Regulations, part 403, "General Pretreatment
Regulations for Existing and New Sources of Pollution," and other applicable state and
federal laws, including but not limited to, the Clean Water Act. The objectives of this
Chapter are:
1. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will interfere with its
operation, including Interference with its use or disposal of municipal sludge;
2. To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will pass through the
POTW, inadequately treated, into receiving waters, or otherwise be incompatible with
the POTW;
3. To protect both POTW 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 POTW;
5. To provide for fees for the equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance,
and improvement of the POTW; and,
6. To enable the City to comply with its Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
("TPDES") permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other
Federal or State laws to which the City is subject.
B. Applicability. This Chapter shall apply to all non -domestic users of the City's POTW.
C. Administration. The Director of Water Utilities shall administer, implement, and enforce
the provisions of this Chapter. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the Director
of Water Utilities may be delegated by the Director or the City Manager to other personnel.
See. 13.24.011 Definitions and Abbreviations
Unless a provision explicitly states otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this
Chapter, shall have the meanings hereinafter designated. The meaning of all terms used in this
Ordinance that are not defined below shall be as defined in title 40, Code of Federal Regulations.
A. Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act,
as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.
B. Approval Authority means the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
C. Authorized or Duly Authorized Representative means the person authorized to represent,
sign, and submit documents in accordance with the following criteria:
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 operating facilities,
provided the manager is authorized to make management decisions that govern the
operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of
making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct other
comprehensive measures to assure long-term environmental compliance with
environmental laws and regulations; can ensure that the necessary systems are
established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for
individual wastewater discharge permit requirements; and where authority to sign
documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with
corporate procedures.
2. If the User is a partnership of 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.
4. The individuals described in paragraphs 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 Control
Authority.
D. Biochemical Oxygen Demand or BOD means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the
biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five (5)
days at 200 centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g., mg/I).
E. Best Management Practices or BMPs means schedules of activities, prohibitions of
practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to implement the
prohibitions listed in Section 13.24.012. BMPs also include treatment requirements,
operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or
waste disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
F. Categorical Industrial User or CIU means an Industrial User subject to Categorical
Standards as established by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
G. Categorical Standard or Categorical Pretreatment Standard means any regulation
containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by 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 I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
H. City means the City of Georgetown or the City Council of Georgetown.
I. City Manager means the City Manager of the City of Georgetown, Texas or designee.
J. Chemical Oxygen Demand or COD means a measure of the oxygen required to oxidize all
compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water.
K. Composite Sample means a sampling method consisting of either discrete or continuous
samples collected in equal amounts and over equal time intervals. For discrete sampling,
at least 12 aliquots shall be composited. Where a 24-hour composite sample is not feasible,
four (4) samples may be collected in equal amounts and equal time intervals. All samples
must be representative of normal daily operations.
L. Control Authority means the City of Georgetown, Texas.
M. Daily Maximum Limit means the "discharge of a pollutant" measured during a calendar
day or any 24-hour period that reasonably represents the calendar day for purposes of
sampling. For pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the "daily discharge"
is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For pollutants with
limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the "daily discharge" is calculated as
the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.
N. Dental Amalgam means an allow of elemental mercury and other metal(s) that is used in
the practice of dentistry.
O. Dental discharger means a source of wastewater to the POTW from a facility where the
practice of dentistry is performed as described in 40 CFR Part 441.
P. Discharge Termination means disconnecting a User from the City's Sewer.
Q. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA means the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency or, where appropriate, the Regional Water Management Division Director, the
Regional Administrator, or other duly authorized official of said agency.
R. Existing Source means any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which
commenced prior to the publication by EPA of proposed Categorical Pretreatment
Standards, which will be applicable to such source if the standard is thereafter promulgated
in accordance with the Act.
S. Grab Sample means a sample which is taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow
in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.
T. Indirect Discharge or Discharge means the introduction of Pollutants into the POTW from
any nondomestic source.
U. Industrial User or User means a source of indirect discharge, including but not limited to
any categorical industrial user, significant industrial user, dental discharger or a non -
domestic user that has a sewer connection for domestic wastewater discharge only.
V. Industrial Wastes means any waterborne solid, liquid or gaseous waste resulting from any
production, industrial, manufacturing, service, or food processing operation or from the
development, recovery, or processing of any natural resource including waste that is
required to be pretreated by this Chapter. Included in this definition is any wastewater
stream subject to pretreatment standards or requirements at 40 CFR § 405--471.
W. Instantaneous Limits means 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.
X. Interference means 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 a violation
of the TPDES permit or 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
Y. Local Limit means specific discharge limits developed and enforced by the City upon
industrial or commercial facilities to implement the general and specific discharge
prohibitions listed in 40 CFR § 403.5(a)(1) and (b).
Z. Medical Waste means 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.
AA. Monthly Average Limit means a discharge limit based on the average of the analytical
results of all samples for a parameter taken during a calendar month using approved
methods for both sampling and analysis.
BB. National Pretreatment Standards, Pretreatment Standard, or Standard, (i.e., prohibitive
discharge standards, Categorical Pretreatment Standards, and local limits) means any
regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance
with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act, which applies to Industrial Users. This term includes
prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 CFR § 403.5.
CC. New Source means any of the following:
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; or,
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)(b) or (c) above but
otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
3. Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the
owner or operator has begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite
construction program:
a. Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or,
b. 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.
And/or entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or
equipment which is intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time.
Options to purchase or contacts 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 paragraph.
DD. Noncontact Cooling Water means water used for cooling which does not come into direct
contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
EE. Pass Through means a discharge which exits the POTW 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 of a violation of any requirement of the City's
TPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
FF. Person means 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.
GG. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS means non -polymeric perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances that contain at least two fully fluorinated carbon atoms,
excluding gases and volatile liquids. PFAS includes, among other substances, PFOA,
PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS and HFPO-DA, as defined in 40 CFR § 141 and 142.
HH. pH means a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.
II. Pollutant means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage,
garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, 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).
JJ. Pretreatment or Treatment means 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.
KK. Pretreatment Requirements means any substantive or procedural requirement related to
pretreatment imposed on a User, other than a Pretreatment Standard.
LL. Process Wastewater means any water which, during manufacturing or processing, comes
into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material,
intermediate product, finished product, by product, or waste product.
MM. Prohibited Discharge Standards or Prohibited Discharge means absolute prohibitions
against the discharge of certain substances as further described in Section 13.24.012 of this
Chapter.
NN. Properly shredded garbage shall mean the wastes from the preparation, cooking and
dispensing of food that have been shredded to such degree that all particles will be carried
freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle
greater than one-half (1 /2) inch in any dimension.
00. Publicly Owned Treatment Works or POTW means the treatment works, as defined by
Section 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1292), which are owned/operated by the City of
Georgetown. 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.
PP. Septic tank waste means any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets,
campers, trailers, and septic tanks.
QQ. Sewage means human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing
operations, etc.).
RR. Sewage works means all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.
SS. Sewer means a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage
TT. Shall is mandatory; may is permissive or discretionary.
UU. Significant Industrial User or SIU means a User that:
I. Is subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards; or,
2. Discharges an avenge of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gallons per day or more of
process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling water, and
boiler blowdown wastewater);
3. Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five (5) percent or more of the
average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or,
4. Is designated as such by the City on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for
adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any Pretreatment Standard
or Pretreatment Requirement.
W. Significant Noncompliance means a compliance status assigned to Industrial Users that
meets any of the following:
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 Pretreatment Requirement, including instantaneous limits.
2. Technical Review Criteria violations defined 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 Pretreatment Requirement, including instantaneous limits multiplied by the
applicable TRC (TRC= 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 Pretreatment Requirement (daily
maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative Standard) that the
POTW 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. Failure to provide within forty-five (45) days after the due date, required reports such
as baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, periodic self -monitoring
reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules.
5. Failure to accurately report non-compliance; or any other violation or group of
violations, which may include a violation of BMPs, which the City determines will
adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
WW. Slug Load or Slug Discharge means any discharge of a non -routine, episodic nature,
including but not limited to, an accidental spill or a non -customary batch discharge, which
has reasonable potential to cause Interference or Pass Through, or in any other way violate
the CA's regulations, local limits, or permit conditions.
XX. Standard Industrial Classification or SIC Code means a classification pursuant to the
Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the United States Office of
Management and Budget.
YY. Storm Water means storm water runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.
ZZ. System means all facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and disposing of sewage.
AAA. Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit means a permit issued by
TCEQ to the Control Authority or the City, pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.0
1342) and Chapter 26 of the Texas Water Code that regulates discharges of wastes into
water in the state.
BBB. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) means the State agency of that title,
or where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the director or other
duly authorized official of said agency.
CCC. Total Suspended Solids or Suspended Solids (TSS) means the total suspended matter that
floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater, or other liquid, and that is
removable by laboratory filtering.
DDD. Wastewater means liquid and any 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.
EEE. Wastewater Treatment Plant or Treatment Plant means the portion of the POTW which is
designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
Sec. 13.24.012 Prohibited Discharge Standards
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
Pretreatment Requirements. 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.
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, wastestreams with a closed -cup flashpoint of less than 140°F (60°C) as
determined by using the test methods specified in 40 CFR § 261.21;
2. Wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 10.5 or otherwise causing corrosive
material damage to the POTW or equipment;
3. Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction resulting in
Interference to the flow in the POTW or Interference with the proper operation of the
sewage works;
4. Any pollutant, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.) released in a
Discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which will cause Interference
with the POTW;
5. Wastewater having a temperature greater than 40°C (104°F), or which will inhibit
biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in Interference;
6. Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in
concentrations greater than 100 mg/L;
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 in
accordance with this Chapter;
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 sewer for maintenance;
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 City's
TPDES permit;
11. Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with
applicable State or Federal regulations;
12. Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface
drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, contact cooling water,
and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the City;
13. Any sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes
or from industrial processes;
14. Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the City in an individual
wastewater discharge permit;
15. Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's
effluent to fail a toxicity test;
16. Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive
foaming in the POTW;
17. Fats, oils, or greases of animal or vegetable origin in concentrations greater than 200
mg/l;
18. Any substance which will cause the POTW to violate the City's TPDES;
19. Dental amalgam including, but not limited to, dental amalgam from chair -side traps,
screens, vacuum pump filters, dental tools, cuspidors, or other collection devices.
Sec. 13.24.013 Pretreatment Standards
A. National Categorical Pretreatment Standards. Users must comply with the Categorical
Pretreatment Standards found at 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471 subject
to the following provisions:
1. Where a Categorical Pretreatment Standard is expressed only in terms of either the
mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the City may impose equivalent
concentration or mass limits in accordance with this Section.
2. When the limits in a Categorical Pretreatment Standard are expressed only in terms of
mass of pollutant per unit of production, the Director may convert the limits to
equivalent mass limits expressed either as mass pollutant discharged per day or effluent
limitations applicable to individual Industrial Users. The determination to convert
concentration limits to mass limits is within the sole discretion of the City. To be
eligible for equivalent mass limits, the Industrial Users must meet the requirement set
forth in 40 CFR § 403.6(c)(5).
3. When wastewater subject to a Categorical Pretreatment Standard is mixed with
wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the Director shall impose an alternate
limit by applying the combined wastestream formula in 40 CFR § 403.6(e) or require
the segregation of categorical and noncategorical wastestreams.
4. A Categorical Industrial User may obtain a net/gross adjustment to a Categorical
Pretreatment Standard in accordance with the following:
a. Categorical Pretreatment Standards may be adjusted to reflect the presence of
pollutants in the Industrial User's intake water in accordance with this Section.
Any Industrial User wishing to obtain credit for intake pollutants must make
application to the City. Upon request of the Industrial User, the applicable
Standard will be calculated on a "net" basis (i.e., adjusted to reflect credit for
pollutants in the intake water) if the requirements of paragraph (b) of this Section
are met.
b. Criteria
i. Either (i) The applicable categorical Pretreatment Standards contained
in 40 CFR subchapter N specifically provide that they shall be applied
on a net basis; or (ii) The Industrial User demonstrates that the control
system it proposes or uses to meet applicable categorical Pretreatment
Standards would, if properly installed and operated, meet the
Standards in the absence of pollutants in the intake waters.
ii. Credit for generic pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and oil and grease should not be
granted unless the Industrial User demonstrates that the constituents
of the generic measure in the User's effluent are substantially similar
to the constituents of the generic measure in the intake water or unless
appropriate additional limits are placed on process water pollutants
either at the outfall or elsewhere.
iii. Credit shall be granted only to the extent necessary to meet the
applicable categorical Pretreatment Standard(s), up to a maximum
value equal to the influent value. Additional monitoring may be
necessary to determine eligibility for credits and compliance with
Standard(s) adjusted under this Section.
iv. Credit shall be granted only if the User demonstrates that the intake
water is drawn from the same body of water as that into which the
POTW discharges. The City may waive this requirement if it finds
that no environmental degradation will result.
B. State Pretreatment Standards. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person
must comply with the Pretreatment Standards established by the State of Texas.
C. Local Limits. The following pollutant limits are established pursuant to 40 CFR § 403.5(c)
to protect against Pass Through and Interference. No person shall discharge wastewater
containing concentrations in excess of the following Daily Maximum Limits:
Arsenic
0.14 mg/L
Cadmium
0.05 mg/L
Chromium, Total
2.66 mg/L
Copper
1.59 mg/L
Cyanide, Total
0.33 mg/L
Lead
0.37 mg/L
Mercury
0.001 mg/L
Molybdenum
0.32 mg/L
Nickel
1.79 mg/L
Selenium
0.09 mg/L
Silver
0.18 mg/L
Zinc
1.76 mg/L
1. 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. Where a User is subject to a Categorical Pretreatment Standard, a State
Standard, and a Local Limit for a given pollutant, the more stringent limit or applicable
pretreatment standard shall apply.
2. The City may develop BMPs, by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge
permits, to implement local limits and the requirements of this Ordinance.
D. Right of Revision.
1. The City reserves the right to establish, by ordinance, or in individual wastewater
discharge permits, more stringent Standards or Requirements on discharges to the
POTW consistent with the purpose of this Chapter.
2. The City reserves the right to require monitoring and implementation of source
reduction measures (product substitution, operational controls, pretreatment, etc.)
of any PFAS compounds in an individual wastewater permit or by future ordinance.
3. The City reserves the right to require monitoring of TDS, chloride, and sulfate in
any discharge permit issued to an SIU in lieu of a local limit.
E. Dilution. No User shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to
dilute 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 Pretreatment Requirement. The City may impose mass
limitations on Users who are using dilution to meet applicable Pretreatment Standards or
Pretreatment Requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is
appropriate.
Sec. 13.24.014 Pretreatment of Wastewater
A. Pretreatment Facilities. Users shall provide wastewater treatment as necessary to comply
with this Chapter and shall achieve compliance with all Categorical Pretreatment
Standards, local limits, and the prohibited discharge standards set out in this Chapter within
the time limitations specified by EPA, the State, or the City, 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 City 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 Chapter.
B. Additional Pretreatment Measures
1. Whenever deemed necessary, the City may require Users to restrict their discharge,
designate that certain wastewater be discharged only into specific sewers, relocate
and/or consolidate points of discharge, separate sewage wastestreams from industrial
wastestreams, and such other conditions as may be necessary to protect the POTW and
determine the User's compliance with the requirements of this subchapter.
2. The City may require any person discharging into the POTW to install and maintain,
on their property and at their expense, a suitable storage and flow control facility to
ensure equalization of flow. An individual wastewater discharge permit may be issued
solely for flow equalization.
3. Grease, oil, and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the City,
they are necessary for the proper handling of wastewater containing excessive amounts
of grease and oil, or sand; except that such interceptors shall not be required for
residential users. All interception units shall be of a type and capacity approved by the
City and shall be so located to be easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Such
interceptors shall be inspected, cleaned, and repaired by the User at their expense.
4. Users with the potential to discharge flammable substances may be required to install
and maintain an approved combustible gas detection meter.
C. Accidental Discharge/Slug Control Plans. The City shall evaluate whether each
Industrial User needs an accidental discharge/Slug Discharge control plan or other action
to control Slug Discharges within one year of being designated as a Significant Industrial
User. This determination shall be documented and the results of the determination shall be
available to the approval authority upon request. The City may require any User to develop,
submit for approval, and implement such a plan or take such other action that may be
necessary to control Slug Discharges. An accidental discharge/slug discharge control plan
shall address, at a minimum, the following:
1. Description of discharge practices, including non -routine batch discharges;
2. Description of stored chemicals;
3. Procedures for immediately notifying the City of any accidental or Slug Discharge, as
required by this Chapter; 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.
D. Hauled Wastewater.
1. Septic tank waste may be introduced into the POTW only at locations designated by
the Director to the extent the Director has designated such locations, and at such times
as are established by the Director. Such waste shall not violate any provisions of this
Chapter or any other requirements established by the City. The City may require septic
tank waste haulers to obtain individual wastewater discharge permits.
2. No hauled industrial waste or hazardous waste shall be discharged into the City of
Georgetown's collection systems or POTWs.
Sec. 13.24.015 Individual Wastewater Discharge Permits Application
A. Wastewater Analysis. When requested by the Director, a User must submit information
on the nature and characteristics of its wastewater within sixty (60) days of the request.
The Director is authorized to prepare a form for this purpose and may periodically require
Users to update this information.
B. Permit Requirement.
1. No Significant Industrial User shall discharge wastewater into the POTW without first
obtaining an individual wastewater discharge permit from the City, except that existing
Significant Industrial User that has filed a timely application pursuant to Subsection C
below may continue to discharge for the time period specified therein.
2. The City may require other Users to obtain an individual wastewater discharge permits
as necessary to carry out the purposes of this Chapter.
3. Any violation of the terms and conditions of an individual wastewater discharge permit
shall be deemed a violation of this Chapter and subjects the wastewater discharge
permittee to the sanctions set out in this Chapter. Obtaining an individual wastewater
discharge permit does not relieve a permittee of its obligation to comply with all
Federal and State Pretreatment Standards or Pretreatment Requirements or with any
other requirements of Federal, State, and local law.
C. Existing Connections. Any User required to obtain an individual wastewater discharge
permit who was discharging wastewater into the POTW prior to the effective date of this
Chapter and who wishes to continue such discharges in the future, shall, within sixty (60)
days after said date, submit an application for a wastewater discharge permit in accordance
with this Chapter, and shall not cause or allow discharges to the POTW to continue after
ninety (90) days of the effective date of this Chapter except in accordance with an
individual wastewater discharge permit issued by the City.
D. New Connections. Any User required to obtain an individual wastewater discharge permit
who proposes to begin or recommence discharging into the POTW must obtain such permit
prior to the beginning or recommencing of such discharge. An application for this
individual wastewater discharge permit, in accordance with this Chapter, must be filed at
least ninety (90) days prior to the date upon which any discharge will begin or recommence.
E. Application Contents. All Users required to obtain an individual wastewater discharge
permit must submit a permit application. Incomplete or inaccurate applications will not be
processed and will be returned to the User for revision. The City may require all Users to
submit all or some of the following information, as determined in the City's sole discretion,
as part of a permit application:
1. Identification Information
a. The name and address of the facility, including the name of the operator and owner;
and,
b. Contact information, description of activities, facilities, and plant production
processes on the premises.
2. Environmental Permits. A list of any environmental control permits held by or for the
facility.
3. Description of Operations;
a. A brief description of the nature, average rate of production (including each product
produced by type, amount, processes, and rate of production), and Standard
Industrial Classifications of the operation(s) carried out by such User. This
description should include a schematic process diagram, which indicates points of
discharge to the POTW from the regulated process(es);
b. Number and type of employees, hours of operation, and proposed or actual hours
of operation;
c. Each product produced by type, amount, process or processes, and rate of
production;
d. Type and amount of raw materials processed (avenge and maximum per type); and
e. Site plans, floor plans, mechanical and plumbing plans, and details to show all
sewers, floor drains, and appurtenances by size, location, and elevation, and all
points of discharge.
4. Time and duration of discharges.
5. The location for monitoring all wastes covered by the permit.
6. Flow Measurement. Information showing the measured average daily and maximum
daily flow, in gallons per day, to the POTW from regulated process streams and other
streams, as necessary, to allow use of the combined wastestream formula set out in
Section 13.24.023 A. 3. and 40 CFR § 403.6(e).
7. Measurement of Pollutants, including:
a. The Categorical Pretreatment Standards applicable to each regulated process and
any new categorically regulated process for Existing Sources.
b. The results of sampling and analysis identifying the nature and concentration,
and/or mass, where required by the Standard or by the City, of regulated or
monitored pollutants in the discharge from each regulated process.
c. Sample(s) representative of daily operations and shall be analyzed in accordance
with procedures set out in this Chapter.
d. Sampling must be performed in accordance with procedures set out in this Chapter.
8. Any requests for a monitoring waiver, or a renewal of an approved monitoring waiver,
for a pollutant neither present nor expected to be present in the discharge based on
Section 13.24.017 E. 2.
9. Any other information as may be deemed necessary by the Director to evaluate the
permit application.
F. Application Signatories and Certifications.
1. All wastewater discharge permit applications and Industrial User reports must be
signed by an Authorized or Duly Authorized Representative of the User and contain
the certification statement in Section 13.24.018.
2. If the designation of an Authorized or Duly Authorized Representative is no longer
accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall
operation of the facility or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the
company, a new written authorization satisfying the requirements of this Section
must be submitted to the Director prior to, or together with, any reports to be signed
by an Authorized or Duly Authorized Representative.
Sec. 13.24.016 Wastewater Discharge Permit Issuance
A. Individual Wastewater Discharge Decision. After receipt of a complete wastewater
discharge permit application, the Director will determine whether or not to issue an
individual wastewater discharge permit. The Director may deny any application for an
individual wastewater discharge permit or require additional safeguards, reports, or
information. For Users not meeting the criteria of Significant Industrial Users, the Director
may also waive or defer a permit, or allow discharges in the interim while a permit is being
prepared.
B. Wastewater Discharge Permit Duration. An individual wastewater discharge permit
shall be issued for a specified time period, not to exceed five (5) years from the effective
date of the permit. An individual wastewater discharge permit may be issued for a period
less than five (5) years, at the discretion of the Director. Each individual wastewater
discharge permit will indicate a specific date upon which it will expire.
C. Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Contents. An individual wastewater
discharge permit shall include such conditions as are deemed reasonably necessary by the
City to prevent Pass Through or Interference, protect the quality of the water body
receiving the treatment plant's effluent, protect worker health and safety, facilitate sludge
management and disposal, and protect against damage to the POTW.
1. Individual wastewater discharge permits must contain:
a. A statement that indicates wastewater discharge permit issuance date,
expiration date and effective date;
b. A statement that the wastewater discharge permit is nontransferable
without prior notification to the City in accordance with this Chapter,
and provisions for furnishing the new owner or operator with a copy
of the existing wastewater discharge permit;
c. Effluent limits, including BMPs, based on applicable Pretreatment
Standards;
d. Self -monitoring, sampling, reporting, notification, and record -
keeping requirements (minimum of three (3) year). These
requirements shall include an identification of pollutants to be
monitored, sampling location, sampling frequency, and sample type
based on Federal, State, and local law;
e. The process for seeking a waiver from monitoring for a pollutant
neither present nor expected to be present in the Discharge in
accordance with this Chapter;
f. A statement of applicable civil and criminal penalties for violation of
Pretreatment Standards and Pretreatment Requirements, and any
applicable compliance schedule. Such schedule may not extend the
time for compliance beyond that required by applicable Federal, State,
or local law;
g. Requirement of the development of a compliance schedule, if
applicable, by each existing Industrial User for the installation of
pretreatment technology required to meet applicable Pretreatment
Standards and Pretreatment Requirements;
h. Requirements to control Slug Discharge, if determined by the City to
be necessary, as well as requirements for notification of Slug
Discharges, notification of any sewer use permit violations, and
requirements for resampling and reporting of such;
i. Any grant of the monitoring waiver by the City must be included as a
condition in the User's permit.
2. Individual wastewater discharge permits may contain, but need not be limited to,
the following conditions:
a. Limits on the average and/or maximum rate of discharge, time of
discharge, and/or requirements for flow regulation and equalization;
b. Requirements for the installation of pretreatment technology,
pollution control, or construction of appropriate containment devices,
designed to reduce, eliminate, or prevent the introduction of pollutants
into the treatment works;
c. Requirements for the development and implementation of spill control
plans or other special conditions including management practices
necessary to adequately prevent accidental, unanticipated, or non -
routine discharges;
d. Development and implementation of waste minimization plans to
reduce the amount of pollutants discharged to the POTW;
e. Requirements for installation and maintenance of inspection and
sampling facilities and equipment;
f. A statement that compliance with the individual wastewater discharge
permit does not relieve the permittee of responsibility for compliance
with all applicable Federal and State Pretreatment Standards,
including those which become effective during the term of the
individual wastewater discharge permit; and,
g. Other conditions as deemed appropriate by the City to ensure
compliance with this Chapter, and State and Federal laws, rules, and
regulations.
D. Permit Modification. The City may modify an individual wastewater discharge permit
for good cause, including, but not limited to, the following reasons:
1. To incorporate any new or revised Federal, State, and local Pretreatment Standards or
Pretreatment Requirements;
2. To address significant alterations or additions to the User's operation, processes, or
wastewater volume or character since the time of the individual wastewater discharge
permit issuance;
3. A change in the POTW that requires either a temporary or permanent reduction or
elimination of the authorized discharge;
4. Information indicating that the permitted discharge poses a threat to the POTW, City
personnel, or the receiving waters;
5. Violation of any terms or conditions of the individual wastewater discharge permit;
6. Misrepresentations or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the wastewater
discharge permit application or in any required reporting;
7. Revision of or a grant of variance from Categorical Pretreatment Standards pursuant to
40 CFR § 403.13;
8. To correct typographical or other errors in the wastewater discharge permit; or,
9. To reflect a transfer of the facility ownership or operation to a new owner or operator
where requested in accordance with this Chapter.
E. Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Transfer. Individual wastewater discharge
permits may be transferred to a new owner or operator only if the permittee gives at least
thirty (30) days advance notice to the City, and the Director approves the individual
wastewater discharge permit transfer. The notice to the City must include a written
certification by the new owner or operator that:
1. States that the new owner and/or operator has no immediate intent to change the
facility's operations and processes;
2. Identifies the specific date on which the transfer is to occur; and,
3. Acknowledges full responsibility for complying with the existing individual
wastewater discharge permit.
F. Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Revocation. The Director may revoke an
individual wastewater discharge permit for good cause, including, but not limited to, the
following reasons:
1. Failure to notify the Director of significant changes to the wastewater prior to the
changed discharge;
2. Failure to provide prior notification to the Director of changed conditions pursuant to
Section 13.24.017 F of this Chapter;
3. Misrepresentation or failure to fully disclose all relevant facts in the wastewater
discharge permit application;
4. Falsifying self -monitoring reports;
5. Tampering with monitoring equipment;
6. Refusing to allow the Director timely access to the facility premises and records;
7. Failure to meet effluent limitations;
8. Failure to pay fines;
9. Failure to pay sewer charges;
10. Failure to meet compliance schedules;
11. Failure to complete a wastewater survey or the wastewater discharge permit;
12. Failure to provide advance notice of the transfer of business ownership of a permitted
facility; or
13. Violation of any Pretreatment Standard or Pretreatment Requirement, or any terms of
the wastewater discharge permit or this Chapter.
G. Individual wastewater discharge permits shall be voidable upon cessation of operations or
transfer of business ownership. All wastewater discharge permits issued to a particular User
are void upon the issuance of a new individual wastewater discharge permit to that User.
H. Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit Reissuance. A User with an expiring
individual wastewater discharge permit shall apply for wastewater discharge permit
reissuance by submitting a complete permit application, in accordance with this Chapter, a
minimum of sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the User's existing individual
wastewater discharge permit.
Sec. 13.24.017 Reporting Requirements.
A. Preliminary Industrial Survey.
1. Any User shall be required within 30 days of request from the City to answer and
reply to an Industrial User Survey Questionnaire form as promulgated by the City.
The purposes of the requirement for the form shall be to determine the quality of
the sewer effluent being discharged from any such User into the POTW; to
determine compliance with the provisions of this subchapter; or to determine
whether pretreatment approval should be requested from the City.
2. Should any User fail to reply in a satisfactory fashion to the questionnaire, such
failure to respond shall be considered a violation of the provisions of this Chapter
and subject any such person to the enforcement provisions of this Chapter. The
request to answer such questionnaire shall be evidenced by the deposit of such
questionnaire to the User at its billing address as shown on the records of the public
utility or electronically to the City at the email address noted in the questionnaire.
3. In addition to the enforcement provisions as provided for in this Chapter, the City,
upon failure of any User to satisfactorily answer the questionnaire as provided in
this section, may cause the waste being discharged from such User to be tested and
the costs therefore shall then be payable by the User to the City. Should such User
fail to pay such costs upon 30 days' notice from the City, this shall be considered
as a failure to pay a City utility bill and utility service may be cut off by the City
upon the failure to make such payment.
B. Baseline Monitoring Reports. Within either one hundred eighty (180) days after the
effective date of a new Categorical Pretreatment Standard, or the final administrative
decision on a category determination under 40 CFR § 403.6(a)(4), whichever is later,
existing Categorical Industrial Users currently discharging to or scheduled to discharge to
the POTW shall submit to the Director a report which contains the information listed in
paragraph B, below. At least ninety (90) days prior to commencement of their discharge,
new sources, and sources that become Categorical Industrial Users subsequent to the
promulgation of an applicable categorical standard, shall submit to the Director a report
which contains the information listed below. A New Source shall report the method of
pretreatment it intends to use to meet applicable categorical standards. A New Source also
shall give estimates of its anticipated flow and quantity of pollutants to be discharged.
Users described above shall submit the following information:
1. Identifying Information. The name and address of the facility, including the name of
the operator and owner.
2. Environmental Permits. A list of any environmental control permits held by or for the
facility.
3. Description of Operations. A brief description of the nature, average rate of production,
and Standard Industrial Classifications of the operation(s) carried out by such User.
This description should include a schematic process diagram which indicates points of
discharge to the POTW from the regulated processes.
4. Flow Measurement. Information showing the measured or estimated average daily and
maximum daily flow, in gallons per day, to the POTW from regulated process streams
and other streams. If combined wastestream formula applies, provide sufficient
information to allow combined wastestream formula to be determined set out in 40
CFR § 403.6(e). New Sources must estimate flows.
5. Measurement of pollutants, including the following:
a. The Categorical Pretreatment Standards applicable to each regulated process and
any new categorically regulated processes for Existing Sources.
b. The results of sampling and analysis identifying the nature and concentration,
and/or mass, where required by the standard or by the City, of regulated pollutants
in the discharge from each regulated process. Instantaneous limits, daily maximum
limits, and long-term average concentrations, or mass, where required, shall be
reported. Sampling results submitted shall include the chain -of -custody forms.
c. Sample(s) shall be representative of daily operations and shall be analyzed in
accordance with procedures set out in this Chapter. The frequency of monitoring
for the reports of this section shall be prescribed in the applicable Pretreatment
Standard. New Sources must estimate concentrations. Where the Standard requires
compliance with a BMP or pollution prevention alternative, the User shall submit
documentation as required by the City or the applicable Standards to determine
compliance with the Standard.
d. The User shall take a minimum of one representative sample of daily operations for
compilation of data necessary to comply with the requirements of this paragraph.
e. Samples should be taken immediately downstream from the pretreatment facilities,
if such exist, or immediately downstream from the regulated process, if no
pretreatment exists. If other wastewaters are mixed with the regulated wastewater
prior to pretreatment, the User should measure the flows and concentrations
necessary to allow use of the combined wastestream formula in 40 CFR § 403.6(e)
to evaluate compliance with the Pretreatment Standards.
f. Sampling and analysis shall be performed in accordance with Chapter and 40 CFR
Part 136.
g. The City may allow the submission of a baseline report which utilizes only
historical data so long as the data provides information sufficient to determine the
need for industrial pretreatment measures.
h. The baseline report shall indicate the time, date and place of sampling and methods
of analysis and shall certify that such sampling and analysis is representative of
normal work cycles and expected pollutant discharges to the POTW.
i. The User shall submit documentation to demonstrate compliance with a BMP
where a required BMP or pollution prevention (ini) alternative is part of the
categorical standard.
6. Compliance Certification. A statement, reviewed by the User's Authorized or Duly
Authorized Representative and certified by a qualified professional, indicating whether
Pretreatment Standards are being met on a consistent basis, and, if not, whether
additional operation and maintenance (O&M) and/or additional pretreatment is
required to meet the Pretreatment Standards and Requirements.
7. Compliance Schedule. If additional pretreatment and/or O&M will be required to meet
the Pretreatment Standards, the shortest schedule by which the User will provide such
additional pretreatment and/or O&M must be provided. The completion date in this
schedule shall not be later than the compliance date established for the applicable
Pretreatment Standard. A compliance schedule pursuant to this Section must meet the
requirement set out in below.
8. Signature and Report Certification. All baseline monitoring reports must be certified in
accordance with Section 13.24.018 and signed by an Authorized or Duly Authorized
Representative.
C. Compliance Schedule Progress Reports. The following conditions shall apply to the
compliance schedule required by this Chapter:
1. The schedule shall contain progress increments in the form of dates for the
commencement and completion of major events leading to the construction and
operation of additional pretreatment required for the User to meet the applicable
Pretreatment Standards (such events include, but are not limited to, hiring an engineer,
completing preliminary and final plans, executing contracts for major components,
commencing and completing construction, and beginning and conducting routine
operation);
2. No increment referred to above shall exceed nine (9) months;
3. The User shall submit a progress report to the Director no later than fourteen (14) days
following each date in the schedule and the Final date of compliance including, as a
minimum, whether or not it complied with the increment of progress, the reason for
any delay, and, if appropriate, the steps being taken by the User to return to the
established schedule; and,
4. In no event shall more than nine (9) months elapse between such progress reports to
the Director.
D. Reports on Compliance with Categorical Pretreatment Standard Deadline. Within
ninety (90) days following the date for final compliance with applicable Categorical
Pretreatment Standards, or in the case of a New Source following commencement of the
introduction of wastewater into the POTW, any Industrial User subject to such
Pretreatment Standards and Requirements shall submit to the City a report containing the
information described in Section 13.24.017 B. 4 and B. 5.
1. In cases where the Pretreatment Standard requires compliance with a BMP or
pollution prevention (P2) alternative, the User must submit documentation
required by the City or submit the Pretreatment Standard necessary to determine
the compliance status of the User.
E. Periodic Compliance Reports.
1. All Significant Industrial Users, including noncategorical Significant Industrial
Users, must, at a frequency and/or date determined by the City, submit no less than
twice per year reports indicating the nature, concentration of pollutants in the
discharge which are limited by Pretreatment Standards and the measured or
estimated average and maximum daily flows for the reporting period established
by the City. In cases where the Pretreatment Standard requires compliance with a
BMP or pollution prevention alternative, the User must submit documentation
required by the City or the Pretreatment Standard necessary to determine the
compliance status of the User.
2. The City may authorize an Industrial User subject to a Categorical Pretreatment
Standard to forego sampling of a pollutant regulated by a Categorical Pretreatment
Standard if the Industrial User has demonstrated through sampling and other
technical factors that the pollutant is neither present nor expected to be present in
the discharge or is present only at background levels from intake water and without
any increase in the pollutant due to activities of the Industrial User. This
authorization is subject to the following conditions:
a. The waiver may be authorized where a pollutant is determined to be present
solely due to sanitary wastewater discharged from the facility provided that the
sanitary wastewater is not regulated by an applicable Categorical Standard and
otherwise includes no process wastewater.
b. The monitoring waiver is valid only for the duration of the effective period of
the individual wastewater discharge permit, but in no case longer than five (5)
years. The Industrial User must submit a new request for the waiver before the
waiver can be granted for each subsequent individual wastewater discharge
permit.
c. In making a demonstration that a pollutant is not present, the Industrial User
must provide data from at least one sampling of the facility's process
wastewater that is representative of all wastewater from all processes prior to
any treatment present at the facility.
d. The request for a monitoring waiver must be signed in accordance with by an
Authorized or Duly Authorized Representative and include the certification
statement in Section 13.24.018.
e. Non -detectable sample results may be used only as a demonstration that a
pollutant is not present if the EPA -approved method from 40 CFR Part 136 with
the lowest minimum detection level for that pollutant was used in the analysis.
f. Any grant of the monitoring waiver by the Director must be included as a
condition in the Industrial User's permit. The reasons supporting the waiver and
any information submitted by the Industrial User in its request for the waiver
must be maintained by the Director for three (3) years after expiration of the
waiver.
g. Upon approval of the monitoring waiver and revision of the Industrial User's
permit by the Director, the Industrial User must certify each report with the
certification statement in Section 13.24.018, that there has been no increase in
the pollutant in its wastestream due to activities of the Industrial User.
h. In the event that a waived pollutant is found to be present or is expected to be
present because of changes that occur in the Industrial User's operations, the
Industrial User must immediately: Comply with the monitoring requirements
of Section 13.24.017 E. 1., or other more frequent monitoring requirements
imposed by the Director, and notify the Director.
i. This provision does not supersede certification processes and requirements
established in Categorical Pretreatment Standards, except as otherwise
specified in the Categorical Pretreatment Standard.
3. Noncategorical Significant Industrial Users are required to report data obtained
through appropriate sampling and analysis, as described in Section 13.24.017 L
(Analytical Methods Requirements) and Section 13.24.017 M (Sample Collection)
and performed during the period covered by the report which are representative of
conditions occurring during the reporting period.
4. In addition, the report shall include a record of measured or estimated average and
maximum daily flows and data obtained through appropriate sampling and analysis
performed during the reporting period. At the discretion of the Director and in
consideration of such factors as local high or low flow rates, holidays, budget
cycles, and other relevant factors, the Director may agree to alter the months during
which reports under this subsection are to be submitted.
5. All periodic compliance reports must be signed and certified in accordance with
Section 13.24.018 of this Chapter.
6. All wastewater samples must be representative of the User's discharge. Wastewater
monitoring and flow measurement facilities shall be properly operated, kept clean,
and maintained in good working order at all times. The failure of a User to keep its
monitoring facility in good working order shall not be grounds for the User to claim
sample results are unrepresentative of its discharge.
7. If a User subject to the reporting requirement in this section monitors any regulated
pollutant at the appropriate sampling location more frequently than required by the
Director, using the procedures prescribed in this Chapter, the results of this
monitoring shall be included in the report.
8. Reports may be rejected and returned to the Industrial User if the report is
incomplete or contains errors.
9. Users may send electronic (digital) documents to the City to satisfy the
requirements of this section but will submit an originally signed hardcopy of the
report to the City, unless otherwise instructed.
F. Reports of Changed Condition.
1. Each User must notify the Director of any significant changes to the User's
operations or system which might alter the nature, quality, or volume of its
wastewater at least thirty (30) days before the change.
2. The Director may require the User to submit such information as may be deemed
necessary to evaluate the changed condition, including the submission of a
wastewater discharge permit application pursuant to this Chapter.
3. The Director may issue an individual wastewater discharge permit or modify an
existing individual wastewater discharge permit in response to changed conditions
or anticipated changed conditions.
G. Reports of Potential Problems.
1. In the case of any discharge, including, but not limited to, accidental discharges,
discharges of a non -routine, episodic nature, a non -customary batch discharge, or a
Slug Load, that could cause problems for the POTW, the User shall immediately
notify the Director of the incident. This notification shall include the location of the
discharge, type of waste, concentration, and volume, if known, and corrective
actions taken by the User.
2. Within five (5) days following such discharge, the User shall, unless waived by the
Director, submit a detailed written report describing the cause(s) of the discharge
and the measures to be taken by the User to prevent similar future occurrences.
Such notification shall not relieve the Industrial User of any expense, loss, damage,
or other liability which may be incurred as a result of damage to the POTW, natural
resources, or any other damage to person or property; nor shall such notification
relieve the User of any fines, penalties, or other liability which may be imposed
pursuant to this Chapter.
3. A notice shall be permanently posted in a prominent place advising employees who
to call in the event of a discharge described in paragraph 1, above. Employers shall
ensure that all employees who may cause such a discharge to occur, are advised of
the emergency notification procedure.
4. Significant Industrial Users are required to notify the Director immediately of any
changes at its facility affecting the potential for a Slug Discharge.
H. Dental Discharger Compliance Reports. Within 90 days after the effective date of this
Chapter, existing dental dischargers that are discharging to or scheduled to discharge to the
POTW shall submit to the director a report which contains the information as required at
40 CFR. § 441.50. New sources of Dental Discharge, and existing sources that become
dental dischargers subsequent to the promulgation of the applicable categorical standard,
shall submit to the Director At least 90 days after commencement of their discharge a report
which contains the information as required at 40 CFR. § 441.50. If the dental discharger
transfers ownership of the facility, the new owner must submit a new one-time compliance
report no later than 90 days after the transfer. The Director may require the submittal of
additional information or more frequent reports to assess and assure compliance with 40
CFR Part 441.
I. Notification of Discharge of Hazardous Wastes.
1. The User shall notify the POTW, the EPA Regional Waste Management Division
Director, and State hazardous waste authorities in writing of any discharge into the
POTW of a substance, which, if otherwise disposed of, would be a hazardous waste
under 40 CFR Part 261. Such notification must include the name of the hazardous
waste as set forth in 40 CFR Part 261, the EPA hazardous waste number, and the
type of discharge (continuous, batch, or other). If the Industrial User discharges
more than 100 kilograms of such waste per calendar month to the POTW, the
notification shall also contain the following information to the extent such
information is known and readily available to the Industrial User: An identification
of the hazardous constituents contained in the wastes, an estimation of the mass and
concentration of such constituents in the wastestream discharged during that
calendar month, and an estimation of the mass of constituents in the wastestream
expected to be discharged during the following twelve (12) months. All
notifications must take place no later than one -hundred and eighty (180) days after
the discharge commences. Any notification under this paragraph needs to be
submitted only once for each hazardous waste discharged. However, notifications
of changed discharges must be submitted pursuant to Section 13.24.017 F. The
notification requirement in this section does not apply to pollutants already reported
under the self -monitoring requirements of Sections 13.24.017 of this Chapter.
2. Dischargers are exempt from the requirements of paragraph 1 of this subsection
during a calendar month in which they discharge no more than fifteen kilograms of
hazardous wastes, unless the wastes are acute hazardous wastes as specified in 40
CFR § 261.30(d) and 261.33(e). Discharge of more than fifteen kilograms of non -
acute hazardous wastes in a calendar month, or of any quantity of acute hazardous
wastes as specified in 40 CFR § 261.30(d) and 261.33(e), requires a one-time
notification. Subsequent months during which the Industrial User discharges more
than such quantities of any hazardous waste do not require additional notification.
3. In the case of any new regulations under Section 3001 of RCRA identifying
additional characteristics of hazardous waste or listing any additional substance as
a hazardous waste, the User must notify the POTW, the EPA Regional Waste
Management Waste Division Director, and State hazardous waste authorities of the
discharge of such substance within ninety (90) days of the effective date of such
regulations.
4. In the case of any notification made under paragraph 1 of this subsection, the User
shall certify that it has a program in place to reduce the volume and toxicity of
hazardous wastes generated to the degree it has determined to be economically
practical.
5. This provision does not create a right to discharge any substance not otherwise
permitted to be discharged by this ordinance, a permit issued thereunder, or any
applicable Federal or State law.
J. Reports from Unpermitted Users. All Users not required to obtain an individual
wastewater discharge permit shall provide appropriate reports to the Director as required
by the Director.
K. Notice of Violation/Repeat Sampling and Reporting. If sampling performed by a User
indicates a violation, the User must notify the Director within twenty-four (24) hours of
becoming aware of the violation. The User shall also repeat the sampling and analysis and
submit the results of the repeat analysis to the Director within thirty (30) days after
becoming aware of the violation. Resampling by the User is not required if the City
performs sampling at the User's facility at least once a month, or if the City performs
sampling at the User's facility between the time when the initial sampling was conducted
and the time when the User or the City receives the results of this sampling, or if the City
has performed sampling and analysis in lieu of the User.
L. Analytical Requirements. All pollutant analyses, including sampling techniques, to be
submitted as part of a wastewater discharge permit application or report shall be performed
in accordance with the techniques prescribed in 40 CFR Part 136 and amendments thereto,
unless otherwise specified in an applicable Categorical Pretreatment Standard. If 40 CFR
Part 136 does not contain sampling techniques or analytical techniques are inappropriate
for the pollutant in question, sampling and analyses shall be performed by using validated
analytical methods or any other applicable sampling and analytical procedures.
M. Sample Collection. Samples collected to satisfy reporting requirements in this Chapter
must be based on data obtained through appropriate sampling and analysis performed
during the period covered by the report, based on data that is representative of conditions
occurring during the reporting period.
1. Except as indicated in Section 2 and 3 below, the User must collect wastewater samples
using 24-hour flow proportional composite sampling techniques, unless time -
proportional composite sampling or grab sampling is authorized by the Director. Where
time -proportional composite sampling or grab sampling is authorized by the Director,
the samples must be representative of the discharge. Using protocols specified in 40
CFR Part 136 and appropriate EPA guidance, multiple grab samples collected during a
24-hour period may be composited prior to the analysis as follows: for cyanide, total
phenols, and sulfides the samples may be composited in the laboratory or in the field;
for volatile organics and oil and grease, the samples may be composited in the
laboratory. Composite Samples for other parameters unaffected by the compositing
procedures, as documented in approved EPA methodologies, may be authorized by the
City, as appropriate. In addition, grab samples may be required to show compliance
with Instantaneous Limits.
2. Samples for oil and grease, temperature, pH, cyanide, total phenols, sulfides, and
volatile organic compounds must be obtained using grab collection techniques.
3. For sampling required in support of baseline monitoring and 90-day compliance reports
required in Section 13.24.017, a minimum of four (4) grab samples must be used for
pH, cyanide, total phenols, oil and grease, sulfide and volatile organic compounds for
facilities for which historical sampling data do not exist; for facilities for which
historical sampling data is available, the Director may authorize a lower minimum. For
the reports required by Section 13.24.017 E, the User is required to collect the number
of grab samples necessary to assess and assure compliance by and with applicable
Pretreatment Standards and Pretreatment Requirements.
4. Chain -of -custody forms for samples must be submitted with monitoring data.
N. Date of Receipt of Reports. Written reports will be deemed to have been submitted on
the date postmarked. For reports which are not mailed, postage prepaid, into a mail facility
serviced by the United States Postal Service, the date of receipt of the report shall govern.
O. Record Keeping. Users subject to the reporting requirements of this Chapter shall retain,
and make available for inspection and copying, all records of information obtained
pursuant to any monitoring activities required by this Chapter any additional records of
information obtained pursuant to monitoring activities undertaken by the User independent
of such requirements; and documentation associated with Best Management Practices
established pursuant to this Chapter. Records shall include the date, exact place, method,
and time of sampling, and the name of the person(s) taking the samples; the dates analyses
were performed; who performed the analyses; the analytical techniques or methods used;
and the results of such analyses. These records shall remain available for a period of at
least three (3) years. This period shall be automatically extended for the duration of any
litigation concerning the User or the City, or where the User has been specifically notified
of a longer retention period by the Director.
Sec. 13.24.018 Certification Statements.
1. Certification of Permit Applications, User Reports, and Monitoring Waiver— The
following certification statement is required to be signed and submitted by Users
submitting any of the following: permit applications, baseline monitoring reports,
reports on compliance with the Categorical Pretreatment Standard deadlines, 90-day
reports, periodic compliance reports, and an initial request to forego sampling of a
pollutant. The following certification statement must be signed by an Authorized or
Duly Authorized Representative as defined in this Chapter:
I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments
were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with
a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather
and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the
person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly
responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted
is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and
complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for
submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and
imprisonment for knowing violations.
2. Certification of Pollutants Not Present —Users that have an approved monitoring
waiver based on Section 13.24.017 E. 2. must certify on each report with the following
statement that there has been no increase in the pollutant in its wastestream due to
activities of the User.
Based on my inquiry of the person or persons directly responsible for
managing compliance with the Pretreatment Standard for 40 CFR
[specify applicable National Pretreatment Standard
par(s)], I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, there has
been no increase in the level of
[list of pollutant(s)] in the wastewaters due to the activities at the
facility since filing of the last periodic report under Section 13.24.017.
Sec. 13.24.019 Right of Entry: Inspection and Sampling. The City, or its representative(s),
TCEQ representative(s), other state representative(s) and EPA's 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 Chapter and any individual wastewater discharge permit or order issued
hereunder. Users shall allow the representatives from the City, TCEQ, other state representatives
and/or EPA, 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.
A. Where a User has security measures in force that 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 Director will be permitted
to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.
B. The City, TCEQ, other state representatives and/or EPA 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.
C. The Director 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 Industrial User at its own expense. All devices used to
measure wastewater flow and quality shall be calibrated annually to ensure their accuracy.
D. 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 Director and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be
born by the User.
E. Unreasonable delays in allowing the Director access to the User's premises shall be a
violation of this Chapter.
F. When monitoring facility is constructed in the public right-of-way or easement, in an
unobstructed location, the User shall provide ample room in or near the monitoring facility
to allow accurate sampling and preparation of samples and analysis and whether
constructed on public or private property, the monitoring facilities should be provided in
accordance with the City's requirements and all applicable local construction standards and
specifications, and such facilities shall be constructed and maintained in such manner so as
to enable the Director to perform independent monitoring activities.
Sec. 13.24.020 Search Warrants. If the Director 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 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, the City may seek issuance of a search warrant from the appropriate Court of the
City or State.
Sec. 13.24.021 Confidential Information. Information and data on a User obtained from reports,
surveys, wastewater discharge permit applications, individual wastewater discharge permits, and
monitoring programs, and from the Director's 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 Director, 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 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 Part 2.302 will not
be recognized as confidential information and will be available to the public without restriction.
Sec. 13.24.022 Publications of Users in Significant Noncompliance. The City shall publish
annually, in a newspaper of general circulation that provides meaningful public notice within the
jurisdictions served in the municipality where the POTW is located, a list of the Users which, at
any time during the previous twelve (12) months, were in Significant Noncompliance with
applicable Pretreatment Standards and Pretreatment Requirements.
For purposes of this Section, a Significant Industrial User (or any Industrial User which violates
subsection C, D, or H below) is in significance noncompliance if one or more of the following
criteria:
A. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six
percent (66%) or more of all the measurements taken for each pollutant parameter taken
during a six- (6-) month period exceed by any magnitude, a numeric Pretreatment Standard
or Pretreatment Requirement, including Instantaneous Limits;
B. 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 equals or exceeds the product of the numeric Pretreatment
Standard or Pretreatment Requirement including Instantaneous Limits multiplied by the
applicable criteria (1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oils and grease, and 1.2 for all other pollutants
except pH);
C. Any other violation of a Pretreatment Standard or Pretreatment Requirement including
Daily Maximum, long-term average, Instantaneous Limit, or narrative standard that the
Director determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, Interference
or Pass Through, including endangering the health of the POTW personnel or the general
public;
D. Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to the public or to
the environment, or has resulted in the City's exercise of its emergency authority to halt or
prevent such a discharge;
E. 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;
F. 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;
G. Failure to accurately report noncompliance; or,
H. Any other violation(s), which may include BMPs, which the City determines will adversely
affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
Sec. 13.24.023 Administrative Enforcement.
A. Notification of Violation. The Director may serve a written notice on a person that the
Director determines has violated or is violating this Chapter, the conditions of a permit or
order issued under this Chapter or any other pretreatment standard or requirement. A
Notice of Violation shall describe the violation and instruct the person to take immediate
corrective action to prevent recurrence or continuance of the offense and may provide that
no later than the date specified by the Director, a person must provide the Director a written
explanation of the violation and a plan for the satisfactory correction and prevention
thereof, to include specific required actions. Submission of this plan in no way relieves
the person 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 Director to issue
emergency actions without first issuing a Notice of Violation.
B. Consent Orders. The Director may enter into consent orders, assurances of voluntary
compliance or other similar documents establishing an agreement for voluntary
compliance. Such documents shall describe the violation, describe specific action the
person must take to correct the noncompliance, specify the time period for the person to
complete the specified action; and be signed and dated by the person responsible for
compliance. Such documents shall have the same force and effect as the administrative
orders issued pursuant to this Chapter and shall be judicially enforceable.
C. Show Cause Hearing. The Director may order a person responsible for a violation of this
Chapter, an individual wastewater discharge permit, an order issued hereunder, or any other
Pretreatment Standard or Pretreatment Requirement, to appear before the Director and
show cause why the proposed enforcement action should not be taken. Notice shall be
served specifying the time and place for the meeting, the nature of violation, the proposed
enforcement action, the reasons for such action, and a request that the person 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
three (3) business days prior to the hearing. Such notice may be served on any Authorized
or Duly Authorized Representative of a User. The Director may take immediate
enforcement action following the noticed hearing. The Director is not required to a hold a
show cause hearing prior to taking action against a person for a violation of this Chapter.
Issuance of a notice under this Section does not prevent the Director from pursuing
emergency suspension or other enforcement action under this Chapter.
D. Compliance Orders. If the Director determines that a person has violated or continues to
violate this Chapter, the conditions of a permit or order issued under this Chapter or any
other pretreatment standard or requirement, the Director may issue an order to the person
directing the person come into compliance within a specified time. 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 into the sewer. A compliance order may not extend the deadline for compliance
established for a Pretreatment Standard or Pretreatment Requirement, nor does a
compliance order relieve the person 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. If a person does not comply within the time period
specified, the Director may discontinue and disconnect water or wastewater service to the
non -compliant premises.
E. Cease -and -Desist Orders. If the Director finds that a person is violating this Chapter, an
individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other
Pretreatment Standard or Pretreatment Requirement, or that past violations are likely to
recur, the Director may issue an order to the User directing it to cease -and -desist all such
violations and directing the person to:
1. Immediately cease and desist all violations;
2. Immediately comply with all requirements; and,
3. Take necessary remedial or preventive action as may be needed to properly address
a continuing or threatened violation, including halting operations and/or
terminating the discharge. Issuance of a cease -and -desist order shall not be a bar
against, or a prerequisite for, taking any other action against the User.
F. Emergency Suspensions. The Director 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 Director 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 Director 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 Director may allow the User to recommence its discharge when
the User has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director that the period of
endangerment has passed unless the City initiates termination of discharge
proceedings in accordance with this Chapter 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 Director prior to the date of any show cause hearing or
termination of discharge hearing.
3. Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted as requiring a hearing prior to any
Emergency Suspension under this Section.
G. Termination of Discharge. In addition to the Individual Wastewater Discharge Permit
Revocation provisions of this Chapter, any User who violates the following conditions is
subject to discharge termination:
1. Violation of individual 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 of this Chapter.
Such User will be notified of the proposed termination of its discharge and be offered an
opportunity to show cause pursuant to Section 13.24.021 C why the proposed action should
not be taken. Exercise of the option by the Director shall not be a bar to, or a prerequisite
for, taking any other action against the User.
Sec. 13.24.024 Appeals of Administrative Decisions
A. Appeal Procedure. A person aggrieved by an administrative decision, interpretation or
ruling by the City under this Chapter may appeal by filing a written appeal with the City
Manager no later than the 30th day after the issuance of the decision, interpretation, or
ruling, and delivering a copy of the appeal to the city attorney. An appeal under this section
must include:
1. the name and address of the person making the appeal;
2. a statement of facts;
3. a copy of the disputed ruling or evidence of a refusal to make a ruling; and
4. the reason the ruling should be set aside or, if there was no ruling, the reason a
ruling is required.
B. Informal Hearing on Appeal.
1. No later than the 60th day after receipt of an appeal, the City Manager or designee
shall conduct an informal hearing.
2. No later than seven (7) days prior to the date of the informal hearing, the City
Manager or designee shall notify the person appealing of the time and place of the
hearing and provide the person with a copy of any rules relating to an informal
hearing.
3. At an informal hearing, the City Manager or designee shall:
a. allow the person who filed the appeal to make a presentation of the person's
position and statement of facts; and
b. consider the position and statement of facts presented by Director.
4. The City Manager or designee shall issue a written decision no later than the 30th
after the date of an informal hearing. The decision of the City Manager or designee
is final and is not subject to further administrative appeal.
5. The City Manager or designee may establish rules for conduct of an informal
hearing, except that the director may not require the use of formal adjudicatory
techniques or rules of evidence.
6. An appeal filed under this chapter does not stay an enforcement action pending the
City Manager or designee's decision.
7. The City Manager or designee may not grant a waiver or variance under this chapter
in a ruling on an informal hearing. The City Manager or designee's decision is
limited to affirming or overruling the decision, interpretation, or ruling under
appeal, or the application of a rule to the person who filed the appeal.
Sec. 13.24.025 Injunction Relief. When the City finds that a User has violated, or continues to
violate, any provision of this Chapter, an individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued
hereunder, or any other Pretreatment Standard or Requirement, the City may petition the
Williamson County Court through the City's Attorney for the issuance of a temporary or
permanent injunction, as appropriate, which restrains or compels the specific performance of the
individual wastewater discharge permit, order, or other requirement imposed by this Chapter on
activities of the User. The City 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.
Sec. 13.24.026 Civil Penalties.
A. A person who has violated, or continues to violate, any provision of this Chapter, an
individual wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other
Pretreatment Standard or Pretreatment Requirement shall be liable to the City for a
maximum civil penalty of $5,000 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.
B. The City 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.
C. In determining the amount of civil liability, in addition to the criteria established in Tex.
Loc. Gov't Code § 54.017, 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 violation, any corrective
actions, compliance history, and any other factor as justice requires.
D. Filing a suit for civil penalties shall not be a bar against or a prerequisite for taking any
other action against a person.
Sec. 13.24.027 Criminal Prosecution.
A. A person who willfully or negligently violates any provision of this Chapter, an individual
wastewater discharge permit, or order issued hereunder, or any other Pretreatment Standard
or Pretreatment Requirement shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000 per violation, per day.
B. A person who willfully or negligently introduces any substance into the POTW that causes
personal injury or property damage shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000 per violation, per day. A person who is
convicted will also be subject to prosecution for violation of any other laws, which may be
applicable.
C. A person who knowingly 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 Chapter, individual 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
punished by a fine of not more than $2,000 per violation, per day.
D. In the event of a second conviction, a person shall be punished by a fine of not more than
$2,000 per violation, per day.
Sec. 13.24.028 Remedies Nonexclusive. The remedies provided for in this Chapter are not
exclusive. The City 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 may take other action against any person when the
circumstances warrant. Further, the City is empowered to take more than one enforcement action
against any noncompliant User.
Sec. 13.24.029 Affirmative Defenses to Discharge Violations.
A. Act of God Defense.
1. Act of God defense: The Act of God defense constitutes a statutory affirmative
defense in an action brought in municipal or State court. If a person can establish
that an event that would otherwise be a violation of a pretreatment ordinance, or a
permit issued under the ordinance, was caused solely by an act of God, war, strike,
riot, or other catastrophe, the event is not a violation of the ordinance or permit.
2. A person who wishes to establish the Act of God affirmative defense shall
demonstrate through relevant evidence that:
a. An event that would otherwise be a violation of a pretreatment
ordinance or a permit issued under the ordinance occurred, and the
sole cause of the event was an act of God, war, strike, riot, or other
catastrophe; and,
b. The person has submitted the following information to the City within
twenty-four (24) hours of becoming aware of the event that would
otherwise be a violation of a pretreatment ordinance or permit issued
under the ordinance (if information is provided orally, a written
submission must be provided within five (5) days):
i. A description of the event, and the
nature and cause of the event;
ii. The time period of the event,
including exact dates and times
or, if still continuing, the
anticipated time the event is
expected to continue; and,
iii. Steps being taken or planned to
reduce, eliminate, and prevent
recurrence of the event.
c. Burden of proof. In an enforcement, the person seeking to establish
the Act of God affirmative defense shall have the burden of proving
by a preponderance of the evidence that an event that would otherwise
be a violation of a pretreatment ordinance, or a permit issued under
the ordinance, was caused solely by an act of God, war, strike, riot or
other catastrophe.
B. Bypass.
1. For the purposes 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 Pretreatment 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 paragraphs C and D of this section.
3. Any other bypass must meet the following requirements:
a. If a User knows in advance of the need for a bypass, it shall submit
prior notice to the Director, at least ten (10) days before the date of the
bypass, if possible.
b. A User shall submit oral notice to the Director 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 reoccurrence
of the bypass. The Director may waive the written report on a case -
by -case basis if the report has been received within twenty-four (24)
hours.
4. Bypass is prohibited, and the Director may take an enforcement action against a
User for a bypass, unless:
a. Bypass was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or
severe property damage.
b. 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,
c. The User submitted notices as required under paragraph (C) of this
section.
5. The Director may approve an anticipated bypass, after considering its adverse
effects, if the Director determines that it will meet the three conditions listed in
above.
Sec. 13.24.028 Pretreatment Charges and Fees. The City Council authorizes the Director to
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
such 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. Fees to recover administrative and legal costs associated with the enforcement activity
taken by the Director to address Industrial User noncompliance; and,
6. Other fees as the Director may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained
herein. These fees relate solely to the matters covered by this Chapter and are separate
from all other fees, fines, and penalties chargeable by the City.