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This article sets forth uniform requirements for users of the POTW, to enable the city to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, including the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended by the Clean Water Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.) and the general pretreatment regulations (40 C.F.R. Part 403). The objectives of this article are:
(a) To prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW that will interfere with its operation;
(b) 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;
(c) To protect the health and safety of both POTW personnel and the general public;
(d) To promote the reuse and recycling of industrial wastewater and sludge from the POTW;
(e) To provide for fees for the equitable distribution of the cost of operation, maintenance and improvement of the POTW;
(f) To provide for wastewater contracts between the city and other municipalities or extra-jurisdictional users who discharge to the POTW; and
(g) To enable the city to comply with its TPDES permit conditions, sludge use and disposal requirements, and any other federal or state laws to which the POTW is subject.
(Ord. 12274, § 1, passed 11-28-1995; Ord. 17074, § 4, passed 7-25-2006)
(a) The director of the department of water and the director’s authorized representatives are authorized to administer, implement and enforce the provisions of this article. Additionally, the director of the department of environmental management and the director’s authorized representatives are authorized to make inspections pursuant to this article and to take enforcement action against violators.
(b) For the purpose of promoting consistency of enforcement throughout the city’s jurisdiction and service area, the director shall promulgate an enforcement response plan.
(c) The director shall have the authority to promulgate administrative regulations which are consistent with this article and which are necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this article.
(Ord. 12274, § 1, passed 11-28-1995)
(a) The city council shall adopt a schedule of fees for reimbursement of costs of setting up and operating the city’s pretreatment program which may include:
(1) Fees for wastewater discharge permits;
(2) Fees for monitoring, inspection and surveillance procedures including the cost of collecting 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; and
(5) Other fees as the director may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained within this article.
(b) Such fees shall relate solely to the matters covered by this Article VI and are separate from and in addition to all other fees, fines and penalties assessable by the city.
(c) The fee schedule may be amended from time-to-time as the city council deems reasonably necessary.
(Ord. 12274, § 1, passed 11-28-1995; Ord. 17075, § 1, passed 7-25-2006)
All categorical pretreatment standards, sewage pretreatment rules, lists of toxic pollutants, industrial categories, recordkeeping requirements and other applicable regulations promulgated by the EPA or TCEQ, including all future amendments of same, are hereby incorporated into this article.
(Ord. 12274, § 1, passed 11-28-1995; Ord. 15496, § 5, passed 3-25-2003; Ord. 20043-01-2012, § 3, passed 1-10-2012)
(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 regardless of whether they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
(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, waste streams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than 140°F (60°C) using the test methods specified in 40 C.F.R. § 261.21;
(2) Wastewater having a pH less than 5.0 or more than 12.0, or otherwise causing corrosive or structural damage to the POTW or equipment;
(3) Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference but in no case solids greater than one-half inch in any dimension;
(4) Oil and grease.
a. Petroleum oil, non-biodegradable cutting oil or non polar products of mineral oil origin in concentrations greater than 200 mg/l;
b. Visible free floatable polar oils, fats or grease or a concentration greater than 250 mg/l in wastewater discharged from industrial or commercial facilities into the POTW; and
c. In no case shall discharges in amounts that cause interference or operational problems with the POTW be allowed;
(5) Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), 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 the POTW;
(6) 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);
(7) Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;
(8) 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) Industrial waste.
a. Trucked or hauled industrial waste, except as approved in writing by the director; or
b. Trucked or hauled waste from any industrial activities/processes regulated by any specific category listed in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR) Parts 405 - 471 with detectable quantities of PFAS;
(10) 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 sewers for maintenance or repair;
(11) Hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide or nitrous oxide in excess of ten parts per million in water.
(12) Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions;
(13) Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
(14) Stormwater, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the director;
(15) Sludges, screenings or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
(16) Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the director in a wastewater discharge permit;
(17) Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant’s effluent to fail a toxicity test;
(18) Detergents, surface-active agents or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
(19) Swimming pool drainage from private residential pools. Swimming pool drainage from public and semi-public swimming pools may be discharged to the POTW with the prior consent of the director. Swimming pool filter backwash may be discharged to the POTW;
(20) BTEX concentration greater than 1.0 mg/l; or
(21) Any PFAS or PFAS-related substances above baseline collection system concentrations of 25 ng/L without an approved plan of correction, as defined in the dischargers permit, which employs “Best Management Practices” (BMPs) to reduce or eliminate the pollutants within one year of detection/notification.
(c) Categorical pretreatment. The categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471 are hereby incorporated into this article. A user shall not discharge in violation of categorical pretreatment standards.
(1) Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the director may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(c).
(2) 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 in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.6(e).
(3) A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can demonstrate, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 C.F.R. § 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by the EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard.
(4) A user may obtain a net/gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.15.
(d) Local limits.
(1) The following local pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. The limits apply at the point where the wastewater is discharged to the POTW. The director may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, the concentration-based limitations. All concentrations for metallic substances are for total metal unless indicated otherwise.
(2) No person shall discharge wastewater containing the following. Pollutants in the form of compounds or elements with total concentrations exceeding the following:
Pollutant | Maximum Allowable Discharge Limit mg/l |
Pollutant | Maximum Allowable Discharge Limit mg/l |
Arsenic | 0.25 |
Cadmium | 0.15 |
Chromium | 5.0 |
Copper | 4.0 |
Lead | 2.9 |
Mercury | 0.01 |
Nickel | 2.0 |
Silver | 1.0 |
Zinc | 5.0 |
Cyanide or cyanogens compounds (expressed as total CN-) | 1.0 |
(e) The director may develop best management practices by ordinance approved by the city council, or in individual wastewater discharge permits to help implement local limits and other pretreatment standards and the requirements of this section.
(f) A person commits an offense if with criminal negligence the person processes or stores pollutants, substances or wastewater prohibited by this section in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
(Ord. 12274, § 1, passed 11-28-1995; Ord. 15496, § 6, passed 3-25-2003; Ord. 17074, § 5, passed 7-25-2006; Ord. 18428-01-2009, § 1, passed 1-6-2009; Ord. 20043-01-2012, § 4, passed 1-10-2012; Ord. 26888-04-2024, § 2, passed 4-23-2024, eff. 5-3-2024; Ord. 27308-11-2024, § 2, passed 11-19-2024, eff. 11-29-2024)
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