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GENERAL PROVISIONS
The purpose and objectives of this chapter are as follows:
(A) To maintain and improve the quality of surface water and ground water within the city, the county and the state;
(B) To prevent the discharge of contaminated storm water runoff from industrial, commercial, residential and construction sites into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) within the city;
(C) To promote public awareness of the hazards involved in the improper discharge of hazardous substances, petroleum products, household hazardous waste, industrial waste, sediment from construction sites, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and other contaminants into the storm sewers and natural waters of the city;
(D) To encourage recycling of used motor oil and safe disposal of other hazardous consumer products;
(E) To facilitate compliance with state and federal standards and permits by owners and operators of industrial and construction sites within the city; and
(F) To enable the city to comply with all federal and state laws and regulations applicable to storm water discharges, under TPDES General Permit No. TXR040024.
(1998 Code, § 50-210) (Ord. 10-05, passed 3-17-2010)
The following abbreviations, when used in this chapter, shall have the designated meanings.
BMP.
Best management practices.
BTEX.
Benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene.
C.F.R.
Code of Federal Regulations.
EPA.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
HHW.
Hazardous household waste.
mg/l.
Milligrams per liter.
MS4.
Municipal separate storm sewer system.
NOI.
Notice of intent.
NOT.
Notice of termination.
ppb.
Parts per billion.
PST.
Petroleum storage tank.
RQ.
Reportable quantity.
SWPPP.
Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan.
TPDES.
Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
TPH.
Total petroleum hydrocarbons.
U.S.C.
United States Code.
(1998 Code, § 50-212) (Ord. 10-05, passed 3-17-2010)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AGRICULTURAL STORM WATER RUNOFF.
Any storm water runoff from orchards, cultivated crops, pastures, range lands and other non-point source agricultural activities, but not discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations as defined in 40 C.F.R. § 122.23 or discharges from concentrated aquatic animal production facilities as defined in 40 C.F.R. § 122.24.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP).
Schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practice to prevent or reduce the pollution of waters of the United States.
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 material storage.
CITY.
The City of Texas City, Texas.
CITY ENGINEER.
The person appointed to the position of City Engineer by the city, or his or her duly authorized representative.
COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION.
The disturbance of soils associated with clearing, grading or excavating activities or other construction activities.
COMMERCIAL.
Any business, trade, industry or other activity engaged in for profit.
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.
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.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE.
Human excrement, gray water (from home clothes washing, bathing, showers, dishwashing and food preparation), other wastewater from household drains, and waterborne waste normally discharged from the sanitary conveniences of dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels), office buildings, factories and institutions, that is free from industrial waste.
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 EPA or such successor agency.
FACILITY.
Any building, structure, installation, process or activity from which there is or may be a discharge of a pollutant.
FINAL STABILIZATION.
The status when all soil disturbing activities at a site have been completed, and a uniform perennial vegetative cover with a density of 70% of the cover for unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures has been established, or equivalent permanent stabilization measures (such as the use of riprap, gabions or geotextiles) have been employed.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The Fire Department of the City of Texas City, or any duly authorized representative thereof.
FIRE PROTECTION WATER.
Any water, and any substances or materials contained therein, used by any person other than the Fire Department to control or extinguish a fire.
GARBAGE.
Putrescible animal and vegetable waste materials from the handling, preparation, cooking, or consumption of food, including waste materials from markets, storage facilities and the handling and sale of produce and other food products.
HAZARDOUS HOUSEHOLD WASTE (HHW).
Any material generated in a household (including single and multiple residences, hotels and motels, bunk houses, ranger stations, crew quarters, camp grounds, picnic grounds and day use recreational areas) by a consumer which, 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.
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.
Any substance listed in Table 302.4 of 40 C.F.R. part 302.
HAZARDOUS WASTE.
Any substance identified or listed as a hazardous waste by the EPA pursuant to 40 C.F.R. part 261.
HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, DISPOSAL AND RECOVERY FACILITY.
All contiguous land and structures, other appurtenances and improvements on the land, used for the treatment, disposal or recovery of hazardous waste.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE.
Any waterborne liquid or solid substance that results from any process of industry, manufacturing, mining, production, trade or business.
MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL.
Any vehicle crankcase oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluid, differential lubricant, gasoline, diesel fuel, gasoline/alcohol blend and any other fluid used in a motor vehicle.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4).
The system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, 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.
NON-POINT SOURCE.
Any source of any discharge of a pollutant that is not a “point source”.
NOTICE OF INTENT (NOI).
The notice of intent that is required by either the industrial general permit or the construction general permit.
NOTICE OF TERMINATION (NOT).
The notice of termination that is required by either the industrial general permit or the construction general permit.
OIL.
Any kind of oil in any form, including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel oil, crude oil or any fraction thereof which is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure, sludge, oil refuse and oil mixed with waste.
OPERATOR.
The person or persons who, either individually or taken together, 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.
PERSON.
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.
PESTICIDE.
A substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pest, or any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant (as these terms are defined in Tex. Agriculture Code § 76.001).
PETROLEUM PRODUCT.
A petroleum product that is obtained from distilling and processing crude oil and that is capable of being used as a fuel for the propulsion of a motor vehicle or aircraft, including motor gasoline, gasohol; other alcohol blended fuels, aviation gasoline, kerosene, distillate fuel oil and #1 and #2 diesel.
POINT SOURCE.
Any discernable, confined and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling 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 waste, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water. The term
POLLUTANT
does not include tail water or runoff water from irrigation or rainwater runoff from cultivated or uncultivated rangeland, pastures land and farmland.
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.
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, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or the waters of the United States.
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 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).
SEPTIC TANK WASTE.
Any domestic sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers and septic tanks.
SERVICE STATION.
Any retail establishment engaged in the business of selling fuel for motor vehicles that is dispensed from stationary storage tanks.
SEWAGE
or
SANITARY SEWAGE.
The domestic sewage and/or industrial waste that are discharged into the city sanitary sewer system and passes through the sanitary sewer system to the city sewage treatment plant for treatment.
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.
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, semi-solid 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, snowmelt runoff and surface runoff and drainage.
STORM WATER DISCHARGE ASSOCIATED WITH INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY.
The discharge from any conveyance which is used for collecting and conveying storm water and which is directly related to manufacturing, processing or raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant which is within one of the categories of facilities listed in 40 C.F.R. § 122.26(b)(14), and which is not excluded from EPA’s definition of the same term.
STORM WATER MANAGER.
The person appointed to the position of Storm Water Manager by the city, or his or her duly authorized representative.
STORM WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP).
A plan required by either the construction general permit or the industrial general permit and which describes and ensures the implementation of practices that are to be used to reduce the pollutants in storm water discharges associated with construction or other industrial activity at the facility.
UNCONTAMINATED.
Not containing a harmful quantity of any substance.
USED OIL
or
USED MOTOR OIL.
Any oil that has been refined from crude oil or 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 in compliance with state and federal law.
WATER IN 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, and 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.
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, Ch. 307.
WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES.
All 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; all interstate waters, including interstate wetlands; all other waters the use, degradation or destruction of which would affect or could affect interstate or foreign commerce; all impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this definition; all tributaries of waters identified in this definition; all wetlands adjacent to waters identified in this definition; and any waters within the federal definition of waters of the United States at 40 C.F.R. § 122.2; but not including any waste treatment systems, treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act.
WETLAND.
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.
YARD WASTE.
Leaves, grass clippings, yard and garden debris, and brush that results from landscaping maintenance and land-clearing operations.
(1998 Code, § 50-213) (Ord. 10-05, passed 3-17-2010)
The city may adopt reasonable fees for reimbursement of costs of constructing, operating and maintaining the city’s MS4, and for reimbursement of costs of implementing its storm water management program as required by EPA or the state, and the cost of implementing this chapter, which costs may include, but not be limited to, the following:
(A) Fees for monitoring, inspection and surveillance procedures, including the cost of collecting and analyzing discharges and reviewing monitoring reports submitted by dischargers;
(B) Fees for spill and release reports and responding to spills and releases of oil, hazardous and extremely hazardous substances, and other pollutants; and
(C) Other fees as the city may deem necessary to carry out the requirements contained in this chapter. 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.
(1998 Code, § 50-321) (Ord. 10-05, passed 3-17-2010)
PROHIBITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
(A) No person shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) any discharge that is not composed entirely of storm water.
(B) It is an affirmative defense to any enforcement action for violation of division (A) above that the discharge was composed entirely of one or more of the following categories of discharges:
(1) A discharge authorized by, and in full compliance with, an TPDES permit (other than the TPDES permit for discharges from the MS4);
(2) A discharge or flow resulting from firefighting by the Fire Department;
(3) Agricultural storm water runoff;
(4) A discharge or flow from water line flushing, but not including a discharge from water line disinfections by super chlorination or other means unless the total residual chlorine (TRC) has been reduced to less than four mg/l;
(5) A discharge or flow from lawn watering, or landscape irrigation, or other irrigation water;
(6) A discharge or flow from a diverted stream flow or natural spring;
(7) A discharge or flow from uncontaminated pumped ground water or rising ground water;
(8) Uncontaminated ground water infiltration (as defined as 40 C.F.R. § 35.2005(20)) to the MS4;
(9) Uncontaminated discharge or flow from a foundation drain, crawl space pump, footing drain or sump pump;
(10) A discharge or flow from a potable water source not containing any harmful substance or material from the cleaning or draining of a storage tank or other container;
(11) A discharge or flow from air conditioning condensation that is unmixed with water from a cooling tower, emissions scrubber, emissions filter or any other source of pollutant;
(12) A discharge or flow from individual residential car washing;
(13) A discharge or flow from a riparian habitat or wetland;
(14) A discharge or flow from water used in street washing that is not contaminated with any soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent, emulsifier, dispersant or any other harmful cleaning substance;
(15) Storm water runoff from a roof that is not contaminated by any runoff or discharge from an emissions scrubber or filter or any other source of pollutant.
(1998 Code, § 50-231) (Ord. 10-05, passed 3-17-2010)
(A) The specific prohibitions and requirements in this section are not inclusive of all the discharges prohibited by the general prohibition in § 158.20 of this chapter.
(B) No person shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the MS4 any discharge that causes or contributes to causing the city to violate their TPDES permit.
(C) No person shall dump, spill, leak, pump, pour, emit, empty, discharge, leach, dispose or otherwise introduce or cause, allow or permit to be introduced any of the following substances into the MS4:
(1) Any used motor oil, antifreeze or any other motor vehicle fluid;
(2) Any industrial waste;
(3) Any hazardous waste, including hazardous household waste;
(4) Any domestic sewage or septic tank waste, grease trap waste or grit trap waste;
(5) Any garbage, rubbish or yard waste;
(6) Any dumpster, or trailer overflow:
(a) All individuals, businesses and/or firms renting dumpsters in the city shall be responsible for:
1. Keeping dumpster(s) covered at all times;
2. Maintaining their dumpster(s) and the area around their dumpster(s) in a clean and sanitary condition; and
3. Providing an adequately sized dumpster with necessary pickups in order to prevent the overflow of refuse.
(b) All individuals, businesses and/or firms utilizing trailers to store or transport household refuse and/or construction debris, shall keep trailers covered with a secured tarp at all times in order to prevent the release of windblown refuse or debris.
(c) Any individual, business and/or firm failing to maintain a dumpster or trailer in accordance with these regulations shall be subject to a fine of up to $250.
(7) Any wastewater from a commercial carwash facility; from any vehicle washing, cleaning or maintenance at any new or used automobile or other vehicle dealership, rental agency, body shop, repair shop or maintenance facility; or from any washing, cleaning or maintenance of any business or commercial or public service vehicle, including a truck, bus or heavy equipment;
(8) Any wastewater from a commercial mobile power washer or from the washing or other cleaning of a building exterior that contains any soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent or any other harmful cleaning substance;
(9) Any wastewater from commercial floor, rug or carpet cleaning;
(10) Any wastewater from the wash down or other cleaning of pavement that contains any harmful quantity of soap, detergent, solvent, degreaser, emulsifier, dispersant or any other harmful cleaning substance; or any wastewater from the wash down or other cleaning of any pavement where any spill, leak or other release of oil, motor fuel or other petroleum or hazardous substance has occurred, unless all harmful quantities of such released material have been previously removed;
(11) Any effluent from a cooling tower, condenser, compressor, emissions scrubber, emissions filter or the blow down from a boiler;
(12) Any ready-mixed concrete, mortar, ceramic or asphalt base material or hydro mulch material, or from the cleaning of vehicles or equipment containing, or used in transporting or applying, such material;
(13) Any filter backwash from a swimming pool, fountain or spa;
(14) Any water from a water curtain in a spray room used for painting vehicles or equipment;
(15) Any contaminated runoff from a vehicle wrecking yard;
(16) Any substance or material that will damage, block or clog the MS4;
(17) Any release from a petroleum storage tank (PST), or any leachate or runoff from soil contaminated by a leaking PST, or any discharge of pumped, confined or treated wastewater from the remediation of any such PST release, unless the discharge satisfies all of the following criteria:
(a) Compliance with all state and federal standards and requirements;
(b) No discharge containing a harmful quantity of any pollutant; and
(c) No discharge containing more than 50 parts per billion of benzene; 500 parts per billion combined total quantities of benzene, toluene, methylbenzene and xylem (BTEX); or 15 mg/l of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH).
(D) No person shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the MS4 any harmful quantity of sediment, silt, earth, soil or other material associated with clearing, grading, excavation or other construction activities, or associated with land filling or other placement or disposal of soil, rock or other earth materials, in excess of what could be retained on site or captured by employing sediment and erosion control measures to the maximum extent practicable.
(E) No person shall connect a line conveying sanitary sewage, domestic or industrial, to the MS4, or allow such a connection to continue.
(F) No person shall cause or allow any pavement wash water from a service station to be discharged into the MS4 unless such wash water has passed through a properly functioning and maintained, grease, oil and sand interceptor before discharge into the MS4.
(G) Regulation of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.
(1) Any sale, distribution, application, labeling, manufacture, transportation, storage or disposal of a pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer must comply fully with all state and federal statutes and regulations including, without limitation, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and all federal regulations promulgated pursuant to FIFRA; Tex. Agriculture Code Ch. 75 and 76 and all state regulations promulgated pursuant thereto; and any other state or federal requirement.
(2) Any license, permit, registration, certification or evidence of financial responsibility required by state or federal law for sale, distribution, application, manufacturer, transportation, storage or disposal of a pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer must be presented to the Storm Water Manager and any city law enforcement officer for examination upon request.
(3) No person shall use or cause to be used any pesticide or herbicide contrary to any directions for use on any labeling required by state or federal statute or regulation.
(4) No person shall use or cause to be used any pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer in any manner that the person knows, or reasonably should know, is likely to cause, or does cause, a harmful quantity of the pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer to enter the MS4 or waters of the United States.
(5) No person shall dispose of, discard, store or transport a pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer, or a pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer container, in a manner that the person knows, or reasonably should know, is likely to cause or does cause, a harmful quantity of the pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer to enter the MS4 or waters of the United States.
(H) Used oil regulation. No person shall:
(1) Discharge motor vehicle oil into the MS4 or a sewer, drainage system, septic tank, surface water, ground water or watercourse;
(2) Knowingly mix or commingle used oil with solid waste that is to be disposed of in a landfill or knowingly directly dispose of used oil on land or in a landfill; and/or
(3) Apply used oil to a road or land for dust suppression, weed abatement or other similar use that introduces used oil into the environment.
(1998 Code, § 50-241) (Ord. 10-05, passed 3-17-2010) Penalty, see § 158.99
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