§ 54-89. Definitions

Unless the context specially indicates otherwise, the following terms and phrases, as used in this article, shall have the meanings designated in this section:

Abnormal sewage means any industrial wastewater having flows with TSS in excess of 400 or BOD in excess of 300 content or metals in excess of specific limits as stated on the permit issued by the city which is, in the judgment of the director, significantly in excess of, or below, found in normal sewage.

Act or the Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended 33 USC 1251 et seq.

Approval authority means the executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, or his duly designated representative.

Authorized representative of industrial user means an authorized representative of an industrial user may be a principal executive officer of at least the level of vice-president, if the industrial user is a corporation; a general partner or proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership or proprietorship, respectively; a duly authorized representative of the individual designated in this definition if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the indirect discharge originates.

Biochemical oxygen demand, (BOD) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under laboratory procedures in five days at 20 degrees Celsius, expressed in milligrams per liter by weight. The methodology shall follow EPA approved methods.

Building drain means that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning three feet outside the inner face of the building wall.

Building sewer means the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.

Categorical pretreatment standard or pretreatment standard means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 USC 1317(b), (c)) which applies to a specific category of industrial user.

Categorical standards means national categorical pretreatment standards or pretreatment standard, as referenced by 40 CFR 403.

Chief operator means the chief operator of wastewater treatment of the city or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.

City manager means the city manager of the City of Vernon, Texas, or his authorized agent or representative.

Composite sample means a mixture of grab samples collected at the same sample point at different times. A flow-composite sample takes into account the variation in flow of the sample stream at the different times of collection.

Control authority means the person employed as utilities director for the city or his authorized representative.

Direct discharge means the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the state.

Director means the person employed as utilities director for the city or his authorized representative.

Environmental Protection Agency or EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized official of such agency.

Fats, oils and greases (FOG) means any material including biological and mineral hydrocarbons measured in any EPA approved FOG method. Any FOG sample must be a grab sample.

Garbage means solid wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food, and from the handling, storage or sale of produce.

Grab sample means a sample that is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and without consideration of time.

Holding tank waste means any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.

Indirect discharge means the discharge or the introduction of nondomestic pollutants from any source regulated under section 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 USC 1317(b), (c)), into the POTW, including holding tank waste discharged into the system.

Industrial user means a source of indirect discharge.

Industrial waste means the water-borne solids, liquid or gaseous wastes from industrial manufacturing processes, trade or business as distinguished from sanitary sewage.

Interference means the inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment processes or operations, may contribute to a violation of any requirement of the city's TPDES permit. The term "interference" includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with section 405 of the Act (33 USC 1345) or any criteria, guidelines or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.

Milligrams per liter (mg/l) means the concentration by weight per unit volume of liquid, also parts per million.

National prohibitive discharge standard or prohibitive discharge standard means any regulation developed under the authority of section 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5.

Natural outlet means any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake, or other body of surface water or groundwater.

New source means any source, the construction of which is commenced after the publication of proposed regulations prescribing a section 307(c) (33 USC 1317(c)) categorical pretreatment standard which will be applicable to such source, if such standard is thereafter promulgated. The term "new source" includes the conditions of 40 CFR 403.3(k), as amended.

Normal strength wastewater means wastewater having a maximum BOD of 300 mg/l and TSS of 400 mg/l.

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 from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's TPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

pH means the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions measured in grams per liter of solution. Any pH sample must be a grab sample.

Pollutant means any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.

Pollution means the manmade or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.

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 to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or by process changes and other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR 403 6(d).

Pretreatment requirements means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a national pretreatment standard imposed on an industrial user.

Properly shredded garbage means the waste from the preparation, cooking or 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-inch in any dimension.

Publicly owned treatment works (POTW) means the city's wastewater treatment works designed to provide treatment to wastewater.

Sanitary sewer means a sewer that carries wastewater and to which stormwaters, surface waters and groundwaters are not intentionally admitted.

Sewer means a pipe or conduit for carrying wastewater.

Shall, when used in the context of this article, connotes a mandatory requirement; the term "may," in contrast, is permissive.

Significant industrial user (SIU) means:

(1) All industrial users subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 or 40 CFR 405—471; and

(2) Any other industrial user that discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blow-down wastewater) contributes a process wastestream which makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the control authority as defined in 40 CFR 403.12(a) on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)).

Slug load means any discharge of a nonroutine episodic nature, including but not limited to an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge.

Standard industrial classification (SIC) means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Latest Edition.

State means the State of Texas.

Stormwater means any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.

Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission means the state agency delegated the responsibility of TPDES permitting system and enforcing the Clean Water Act or other acts and regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Texas Pollution Discharge Elimination System or TPDES permit means a permit issued pursuant to section 402 of the Act (33 USC 1342).

Total suspended solids (TSS) means the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of (or is suspended in) water, wastewater or other liquids, and which is removable by laboratory filtering per EPA approved method.

Toxic pollutant means any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the provisions of the Clean Water Act 307(a) or other acts.

User means any person who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the city's POTW.

Waste means anything left over, not needed or superfluous as an excess material or byproduct.

Wastewater means the liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.

Watercourse means a channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

(Code 1969, § 26-89; Ord. No. 1354, § 11, 10-24-2000)