For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP). Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of waters of the United States. BMP also includes treatment requirements, operating procedures and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
BOD (BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND). The quantity of oxygen by weight, expressed in mg/l, utilized in the biological oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions for five days at a temperature of 20°C.
CHLORINATED DISCHARGE. Any discharge having a quantity of chlorine (free or total) that exceeds the surface water quality standard of the state.
CITY. The City of Palm Valley, Texas.
COMMERCIAL DUMPSTER WASHING. The washing of commercial garbage or rubbish dumpsters and the immediate area around them in order to remove putrescible animal and vegetable waste material or other debris from said areas and dumpsters.
COMPOSITE. A sample used to determine average loadings or concentrations of pollutants. A COMPOSITE can be developed based on time or flow.
CWA. Clean Water Act, being 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq., (formerly referred to as the federal Water Pollution Control Act or federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972).
DISCHARGE. Any addition or introduction of any pollutant, storm water or any other substance whatsoever into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or into waters of the United States.
DISCHARGE LIMITS. Any limit on discharges set by the local, state or federal governments. These limits may apply to quantity, rate, quality of discharge and concentration or any combination thereof. These are also called EFFLUENT/IMITATIONS.
DISCHARGER. Any person who causes, allows, permits or is otherwise responsible for a discharge including, without limitation, any operator of a construction site or industrial facility.
DO IT YOURSELF (DIY) USED OIL. Used oil that is generated by a person who changes the person’s own automotive oil.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA). The United States Environmental Protection Agency, the regional office thereof, any federal department, agency or commission that may succeed to the authority of the EPA, and any duly authorized official of the EPA or such successor agency.
EXCESSIVE WATER RUNOFF. Discharges deemed by the city to be significant contributors of pollutants to the MS4 or other surface waters.
FACILITY. Any building, structure, installation, process or activity from which there is or may be a discharge of a pollutant.
FUELING/VEHICLE WASHING AREAS. Any commercial location where any type of motor vehicle or piece of heavy equipment is washed, waxed, cleaned or degreased in any manner or any location where any type of motor vehicle is fueled with petroleum products or any other type of fuel.
GARBAGE. Animal and vegetable wastes and residue from preparation, cooking and dispensing of food; and from handling, processing, storage and sale of food products and produce.
HARMFUL/HAZARDOUS QUANTITY. The amount of any substance that will cause pollution of water under state and federal law.
HAZARDOUS WASTE. Any material, substance, byproduct, spent, obsolete or used chemical or chemical compound which meets the standards for classification of a hazardous waste or acutely hazardous waste as those terms are defined in 40 C.F.R. parts 261 et seq. and any appendices thereto.
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE (HHW). Any material generated in a household (including, but not limited to, single and multiple residences, hotels and motels, bunk houses, ranger stations, crew quarters, camp grounds, picnics grounds and day use recreational areas) by a consumer such as, but not limited to, batteries, paint brushes, paint containers, except for the exclusion provided in 40 C.F.R. § 261.4(b)(1), would be classified as a hazardous waste under 40 C.F.R. part 261.
ILLEGAL DUMPING. The act of illegally placing any material in any location including, but not limited to, the MS4, waters of the state, waters of the United States or any location other than the appropriate place of disposal whether the location is public or private.
ILLICIT CONNECTION. Any human-made conveyance connecting an illicit discharge directly to a municipal separate storm sewer or waters of the United States.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE. Liquids or other character of wastes resulting from any commercial, manufacturing or industrial operations or process, excluding normal domestic sanitary sewage unless it exceeds 280 mg/l BOD or 280 ml/L total suspended solids, which waterborne or liquid wastes enter the sewage system, or any portion thereof, of the city.
INLET. An entrance into a ditch, storm sewer or other waterway.
LANDFILL. An area of land or excavation in which wastes are placed for permanent disposal, which is permitted or registered by the state, and which is not a land application unit, surface impoundment, injection well or waste pile.
MOTOR VEHICLE FLUID. Any fluid used in any type of engine including, but not limited to, fuel, oil, transmission fluid, coolant, brake fluid, windshield washing fluid and power steering fluid.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4). The system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, inlets, ditches, human-made channels or storm drains) owned and operated by the city and designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water and which is not used for collecting or conveying sewage or waste water.
NON-COMPLIANCE. Any infraction of the revised code of civil and criminal ordinances of the city, state regulations/laws or federal regulations/laws.
NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION. Pollution contained in storm water runoff from ill-defined, diffuse sources.
NOTIFY. Contacting the appropriate city official in writing in order to request permission to apply or reapply for a specified permit, or to make the official aware of an existing discharge or structure.
NPDES PERMIT. A permit issued by the EPA or by the state that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable to an individual, group or general area-wide basis.
OIL. Any kind of oil in any form, including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel oil, crude oil sludge, oil refuse and oil mixed with waste or any fraction thereof which is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure.
OIL FILTER. An integral part of an oil-flow system, the purpose of which is to remove contaminants from the flowing oil contained within the system.
OIL WATER SEPARATOR/INTERCEPTOR. A device installed, usually at the entrance of an inlet drain, which removes oil and grease from water flows entering either the MS4 or sewer.
OPERATOR. The person or persons who, either individually or in a group, meet the following two criteria:
(1) They have operational control over the facility specifications (including the ability to make modifications in specifications); and
(2) They have the day-to-day operational control over those activities at the facility necessary to ensure compliance with pollution prevention requirements and any permit conditions.
OWNER. The person who owns a facility or part of a facility or his or her assignee.
OXYGEN DEMANDING SUBSTANCE. The chemical and/or microorganism-mediated oxidation of organic matter; and/or the bio-oxidation of nitrogenous material; and/or chemical or biochemical oxidation of chemical reducing agents.
PAVEMENT WASH WATER. Any water used to wash any debris, sediment, fluid or putrescible matter from any paved area of a commercial or public facility.
PERMITTEE. Any person or entity to whom a permit is issued pursuant to this chapter and any authorized representative, agents or designee of such person or entity.
PERSON or ENTITY. An individual, firm, co-partnership, corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, including any trustee, receiver, assignee or similar representative thereof, or government, Indian tribe, agency or instrumentality of any government or Indian tribe, but such term does not include:
(1) The United States Postal Service; or
(2) For the purpose of 49 U.S.C. §§ 5123 and 5124, any agency or instrumentality of the federal government.
PETROLEUM SUBSTANCE. A crude oil or any refined or unrefined fraction or derivative of crude oil which is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure. A PETROLEUM SUBSTANCE shall be limited to one or a combination of the substances or mixtures in the following list, except for any listed substance regulated as a hazardous waste under the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, Subtitle C (42 U.S.C. §§ 6921 et seq.):
(1) Basic petroleum substances - crude oils, crude oil fractions, petroleum feed stocks and petroleum fractions;
(2) Motor fuel - petroleum substance which is typically used for the operation of internal combustion engines (including stationary engines and engines used in transportation vehicles and marine vessels) and which is one of the following types of fuels: leaded or unleaded gasoline, aviation gasoline, Number 1 diesel fuel, Number 2 diesel fuel and any grades of gasohol;
(3) Aviation gasoline - Grade 80, Grade 100 and grade 1 00-LL;
(4) Aviation jet fuels - Jet A, Jet A-1, Jet B, JP-4, JP-5, and JP-8;
(5) Distillate fuel oils - Number 1-D, Number 1, Number 2-D and Number 2;
(6) Residual fuel oils - Number 4-D, Number 4-light, Number 4, Number 5-light, Number 5 heavy and Number 6;
(7) Gas turbine fuel oils - Grade O-CT, Grade 1-GT, Grade 2-GT, Grade 3-GT and Grade 4-GT;
(8) Illuminating oils - kerosene, mineral seal oil, long time burning oils, 300 oil and mineral colza oil;
(9) Solvents - Stoddard solvent, petroleum spirits, mineral spirits, petroleum ether, varnish makers; and painters’ naphthas, petroleum extender oils and commercial hexane;
(10) Lubricants - automotive and industrial lubricants;
(11) Building materials - liquid asphalt and dust-laying oils;
(12) Insulating and waterproofing materials - transformer oils and cable oils;
(13) Used oils - any oil or similar petroleum substance that has been refined from crude oil, used for its designed or intended purposes, and contaminated as a result of such use by physical or chemical impurities; and including spent motor vehicle and aircraft lubricating oils (e.g., compressor, turbine, bearing, hydraulic, metalworking, gear electrical, refrigerator oils and spent industrial process oils); and
(14) Any other petroleum-based material having physical and chemical properties similar to the previously listed materials.
PETROLEUM UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS (PUST). Any underground storage tank system that contains, has contained or will contain a petroleum substance, a mixture of two or more petroleum substances or a mixture of one or more petroleum substances with very small amounts of one or more hazardous substances. In order for a UST system containing a mixture of petroleum substances with small amounts of hazardous substances to be classified as a PUST system, the hazardous substance shall be at such dilute concentration that the overall release detectability, effectiveness of corrective action and toxicity of the basic petroleum substance is not altered to any significant degree.
pH. The logarithm to the base ten of the reciprocal of the concentration in grams per liter of hydrogen ions; a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units. The pH may range from zero to 14, where zero is the most acidic and 14 is the most basic. Examples of substances having a pH lower than 6.0 would be muratic acid, sulfuric acid and acetic acid. Examples of substances having a pH above 10.5 would be drain cleaner (sodium hydroxide), bleach and ammonia.
POINT SOURCE. Any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, roiling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, landfill leachate collection system, vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture or agricultural storm water runoff.
POLLUTANT. Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial municipal, and agricultural wastes discharged into water. The term POLLUTANT does not include tail water or runoff water from irrigation or rainwater runoff from cultivated or uncultivated range land, pasture land and farm land.
POLLUTION. The alteration of the physical, thermal, chemical or biological quality of, or the contamination of, any water in the state that renders the water harmful, detrimental or injurious to humans, animal life, vegetation or property, or to the public health, safety or welfare, or impairs the usefulness or the public enjoyment of the water for any lawful or reasonable purpose.
POLLUTION PREVENTION MEASURES. Prescribed measures to reduce pollutants in discharge through outfalls. These measures include, but are not limited to, treatment, pretreatment, a best management practice or a method to reduce the pollution of projects classified as light construction and land disturbance activities.
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYL (PCBs). A series of technical mixtures consisting of many isomers and compounds that vary from mobile oil liquids to white crystalline solids and hard non-crystalline resins. Technical products include, but are not limited to, Arochlor, Chlophen, Chlorextol, Chloro Biphenyl, Chloro-l,l-Biphenyl, Chlorodiphenylene, Clophen, Kykanol, Fenclor, Inerteen, Kanechlor, Montar, Noflamol, PCB (DOT, USDA), Phenochlor, Pyranol, Santotherm, Sovol and Therminol Fr-1 . PCBs are confirmed carcinogens and tumorigens and are listed on the EPA Extremely Hazardous Substances List.
PUBLIC USED OIL COLLECTION CENTER. A facility which accepts do-it-yourself used oil. Such centers include:
(1) Automotive service facilities that in the course of business accept for recycling, small quantities of used oil from private citizens;
(2) Facilities that store used oil in aboveground tanks, and that in the course of business accept, for recycling, small quantities of used oil from private citizens; and
(3) Publicly sponsored collection facilities that are designated and authorized by the State Department of State Health Services to accept for recycling, small quantities of used oil from private citizens.
QUALIFIED PERSONNEL. Persons who possess the appropriate competence, skills and ability (as demonstrated by sufficient education, training, experience and/or, when applicable, any required certification or licensing) to perform a specific activity in a timely and complete manner consistent with the applicable regulatory requirements and generally-accepted industry standards for such activity.
RELEASE. Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, infecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or the waters of the United States.
REPORTABLE QUANTITY (RQ). The quantity specified in Column 3 of the appendix to 49 C.F.R. § 107.101 for any material identified in Column 1.
RIPARIAN HABITAT. The area of the banks of any river, creek, lake, pond or other waterway where specialized life forms exist.
RUBBISH. Non-putrescible solid waste, excluding ashes, that consist of:
(1) Combustible waste materials, including paper, rags, cartons, wood, excelsior, furniture, rubber, plastics, yard trimmings, leaves and similar materials; and
(2) Non-combustible waste materials, including glass, crockery, tin cans, aluminum cans, metal furniture and similar materials that do not burn at ordinary incinerator temperatures (1,600°F to 1,800°F).
SANITARY SEWER or SEWER. The system of pipes, conduits and other conveyances which carry industrial waste and domestic sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities and institutions, whether treated or untreated, to the city sewage treatment plant (and to which storm water, surface water and ground water are not intentionally admitted).
SEDIMENT. Solid particulate matter, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported or has been moved from its site of origin by water, air, ice or gravity and has come to rest on the earth’s surface either above or below sea level.
SEPTIC TANK WASTE. Any domestic sewage from holding tanks such as from vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers and septic tanks.
SEWAGE or SANITARY SEWAGE. The waste from water closets, urinals, lavatories, sinks, bath tubs, showers, household laundries, basement floor drains, garage floor drains, store rooms, soda fountains, cuspidors, refrigerator drips, fountain and stable floor drains and all other similar fixtures and receptacles that discharge wastes into sewage system.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING. A dwelling unit contained in a freestanding structure designed for occupancy by a single family.
SITE. The land or water area where any facility or activity is physically located or conducted, including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or activity.
SOIL. Naturally occurring superficial deposits overlaying bedrock.
SOLID WASTE. Any garbage, rubbish, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility, and other discarded material, including, solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, municipal, commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community and institutional activities.
STATE. The State of Texas.
STORM WATER. Storm water runoff, snow melt runoff and surface runoff and drainage.
TCEQ. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
TRANSPORTER. Any person who transports or plans to transport over public highways of the state more than 500 gallons of used automotive oil annually.
UNCONTAMINATED. Not containing a harmful quantity of any substance under state and federal law.
UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK. Any one or combination of underground tanks and any connecting underground pipes used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, the volume of which, including the volume of the connecting underground pipes, is 10% or more beneath the surface of the ground.
USED OIL. Any oil that has been refined from crude oil or as a synthetic oil that, as a result of use, storage or handling, has become unsuitable for its original purpose because of impurities or the loss of original properties, but that may be suitable for further use and is recyclable.
UTILITY VAULT. An underground or enclosed structure installed or constructed for the purpose of enclosing utility lines including, but not limited to, electrical transmission lines, telephone connection lines, natural gas conveyance lines, cable television lines, but not water mains, storm sewer or sanitary sewer lines.
WASH WATER. Any water used to wash any structure, parking lot, vehicle or piece of heavy equipment.
WATERBODIES. Any ground water, percolating or otherwise, lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Gulf of Mexico, inside the territorial limits of the state, and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, navigable or non-navigable, including the beds and banks of all watercourses and bodies of surface water that are wholly or partially inside or bordering the state or inside the jurisdiction of the state.
WATERS OF THE STATE or WATER. Any ground water, percolating or otherwise, lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Gulf of Mexico, inside the territorial limits of the state and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, navigable or non-navigable, including the beds and banks of all watercourses and bodies of surface water that are wholly or partially inside or bordering the state or inside the jurisdiction of the state.
WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES.
(1) Waters which are currently used, were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;
(2) All interstate waters, including interstate wetlands;
(3) All other waters such as interstate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes or natural ponds the use, degradation or destruction of which would affect or could affect interstate or foreign commerce including any such water:
(a) Which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes;
(b) From which fish or shell fish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce; or
(c) Which are used or could be used for industrial purpose by industries in interstate commerce.
(4) All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES under this definition;
(5) Tributaries of waters identified in divisions (1) through (4) of this definition;
(6) The territorial sea; and
(7) Wetlands adjacent to waters (other than waters that are themselves wetlands) identified in divisions (1) through (6) of this definition.
WASTE TREATMENT SYSTEMS. Including treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of CWA are not waters of the United States. This exclusion applies only to human-made bodies of water which neither were originally created in waters of the United States (such as disposal areas in wetlands), nor resulted from the impoundment of waters of the United States.
WATER QUALITY STANDARD. The designation of a body or segment of surface water in the state for desirable uses and the narrative and numerical criteria deemed by the state to be necessary to protect those uses, as specified in Tex. Administrative Code Title 31.
WETLANDS. An area that is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. WETLANDS generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
(Ord. passed 7-26-2010)