(A) Prohibited discharge standards. No industrial user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes or contributes to pass through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all industrial users of the POTW whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other federal, state or local pretreatment standards or requirement. Furthermore, no industrial user may contribute the following pollutants, substances or wastewater to the POTW:
(1) Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the municipal wastewater collection and POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140°F (60°C) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21.
(2) Any wastewater having a pH less than 5.5 or more than 11.0, or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW or equipment, or endangering city personnel.
(3) Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference with proper operation of the POTW, such as, but not limited to, ashes, cinders, sand, mud, straw, shavings, sawdust, metal, glass, glue, rags, feathers, tar, plastics, wood, whole blood, paunch manure, hair and fleshings, entrails, lime slurry, lime residues, slops, chemical residues, paint residues, bulk solids, and paper products, either whole or ground by garbage grinder.
(4) Any wastewater containing pollutants, including oxygen demanding pollutants (BOD and the like), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with either the POTW or any wastewater treatment or sludge process, or which will constitute a hazard to humans or animals.
(5) Any wastewater having a temperature greater than 150°F (65°C), or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed 104°F (40°C).
(6) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, products of mineral oil origin, gasoline, benzene, fuel oil, or other flammable or explosive liquid, solid or gas, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through.
(7) Any 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.
(9) Any 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, a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance and repair.
(10) Any garbage that has not been properly comminuted or shredded. If properly comminuted or shredded, then it may be accepted under provisions established in § 51.072(A) under the definition of “properly shredded garbage”.
(11) Any wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except as specifically approved by the Superintendent in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations.
(12) Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted industrial wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the Superintendent.
(13) Any sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes.
(14) Any medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the Superintendent in a wastewater discharge permit.
(15) Any wastewater causing the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test, violate its NPDES, TPDES, or TCEQ permit or create a hazard in the receiving waters.
(16) Any wastes containing detergents, surface active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW or in discharges from the POTW.
(17) Any 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.
(18) Any wastes or wastewater that may deposit grease or oil in the sewer lines in such a manner as to clog the sewers, overload skimming and grease handling equipment, pass to the receiving waters without being effectively treated by normal wastewater treatment processes due to the nonamenability of the substances to bacterial action, or deleteriously affect the POTW treatment processes.
(19) Any waste or wastes not identified in the city's application for a wastewater discharge permit that the city has not specifically authorized for discharge.
(B) Discharge prohibited. Wastes prohibited by division (A) of this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW. All floor drains located in process or materials storage areas must discharge to the industrial user's pretreatment facility before connecting with the POTW.
(C) National categorical pretreatment standards. The national categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405 through 471 are hereby incorporated by reference and shall be treated as if set forth in full herein.
(1) Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the Superintendent may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(c).
(2) When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the Superintendent shall impose an alternate limit using the combined waste stream formula in 40 CFR 403.6(e).
(D) State pretreatment standards. TCEQ's pretreatment regulations for existing and new sources of pollution, found at 30 TAC Chapter 315, which adopt by reference certain portions of 40 CFR 403, are hereby incorporated by reference and shall be treated as if set forth in full herein.
(E) Specific pollutant limitations or local limits.
(1) The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. No person shall discharge wastewater containing in excess of the following instantaneous maximum allowable discharge limits:
Pollutants Limits, mg/l
Arsenic 0.059
Oil and Grease 200
Cadmium 0.056
Chromium (Hex) 0.146
Copper 1.770
Cyanide (Total) 0.117
Lead 0.307
Mercury 0.001
Nickel 0.438
Pollutants Limits, mg/l
pH 5.5-11 standard units
Silver 0.131
Zinc 0.719
(2) The city will set limits on a permit by permit basis for Chromium (total). These limits are provided in Subpart F of the Standard Operating Procedures and Table 2 and 10 of the most current local limits. The city will provide notice and an opportunity to comment on local limits to industrial users and the public, pursuant to 40 CFR 403.11.
(3) The city will set limits on a permit by permit basis for TDS. These limits are provided in Subpart F of the Standard Operating Procedures and Table 6 of the most current local limits. The city will provide notice and an opportunity to comment on local limits for TDS to industrial users and the public, pursuant to 40 CFR 403.11.
(4) Concentrations apply at the point where the industrial waste is discharged to the POTW (end of pipe).
(5) Mass limitations for SIUs. The Superintendent may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, the concentration-based limitations above. When the limits in a categorical pretreatment standard are expressed only in terms of pollutant concentrations, an industrial user may request that the city convert the limits to equivalent mass limits. The determination to convert concentration limits to mass limits shall be determined with the discretion of the city. The city may establish equivalent mass limits only if the industrial user meets all the following conditions in 40 CFR § 403.6 (c)(5)(i) and is subject to the conditions described on (c)(5)(ii) of the same section.
(6) Concentration limits for categorical SIUs. The city may convert the mass limits of the categorical pretreatment standards at 40 CFR parts 414, 419, and 455 to concentration limits for purposes of calculating limitations applicable to individual industrial users under the conditions described in 40 CFR § 403.6(c)(6). When converting such limits to concentration limits, the city shall use the concentrations listed in the applicable subparts of 40 CFR parts 414, 419, and 455 and document that dilution is not being substituted for treatment as prohibited by 40 CFR § 403.6 (d).
(F) City's right of revision. The city reserves the right to establish, by ordinance or in wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW if deemed necessary to comply with the objectives presented in § 51.070 or the general and specific prohibitions in divisions (A) and (B) of this section.
(G) Special agreement.
(1) The city reserves the right to enter into special agreements with industrial users setting out special terms under which they may discharge to the POTW. In no case will a special agreement waive compliance with a pretreatment standard or requirement. However, the industrial user may request a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 CFR 403.15. They may also request a variance from the categorical pretreatment standard from EPA.
(2) Such a request will be approved only if the industrial user can prove that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by EPA when establishing that pretreatment standard. An industrial user requesting a fundamentally different factor variance must comply with the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 CFR 403.13.
(H) Dilution. No industrial user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, unless expressly authorized by the city pursuant to an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement. The Superintendent may impose mass limitations on industrial users which are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(I) Best management practices. The city may develop best management practices (BMPs), by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits, to implement Local Limits and the requirements of section § 51.073(A). BMPs that are enforceable pretreatment standards are required to include the following: categorical standards that have BMPs (or pollution prevention alternative) and/or local limits and/or other pretreatment standards, if applicable. The city shall notify and submit a request to modify its approved program to the Approval Authority, any new BMPs prior to implementation.
(J) Non-significant categorical industrial user. City may develop and issue permits for NSCIUs.
(Ord. 12-1994-59, passed 12-13-94; Am. Ord. 08-2003-32, passed 4-26-03; Am. Ord. 02-2006-16, passed 2-28-06; Am. Ord. 04-2020-24, passed 4-14-20)