§ 110-254. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Public Law 92-500, known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended, 33 USC 1251 et seq.

Administrator means the EPA Region VI Regional Administrator.

Approval authority means the director in a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) state with an approved state pretreatment program and the appropriate regional administrator in a non-NPDES state or NPDES state without an approved state pretreatment program.

BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions for five days at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l). The laboratory determination shall be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in 40 CFR 136.

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, which begins three feet outside the inner face of the building wall.

Building sewer means the extension from the building drain to the sewer lateral at the property line or other lawful place of disposal (also called house lateral or house connection).

Bypass means the intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of an industrial user's treatment facility.

Categorical standards means the national categorical pretreatment standards found in 40 CFR 405—471, and amendments thereof, or pretreatment standards developed under 33 USC 1317.

City, for the purposes of this division, means the City of McKinney, Texas, and/or the city manager, or their duly authorized representative.

COD (chemical oxygen demand) means the measure of oxygen consuming capacity of inorganic and organic matter present in water or wastewater. It is expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l) as the amount of oxygen consumed from a chemical oxidant in a specific test. It does not differentiate between stable and unstable organic matter and thus does not necessarily correlate with BOD.

Control authority means:

(1)

The owner/operator of the publicly owned treatment works; and

(2)

The person designated by the city to be responsible for the industrial pretreatment program or its duly authorized representative.

Control manhole means a manhole giving access to a building sewer point before the building sewer discharges into the public sewer.

Daily discharge means the discharge of a pollutant measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that reasonably represents a calendar day for purposes of sampling.

Daily maximum means the highest allowable daily discharge during a calendar month.

Director means the chief administrative officer of a state or interstate water pollution control agency with an NPDES permit program approved pursuant to section 402(b) of the act and an approved state pretreatment program.

Disposal means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid or semi-solid waste (i.e., grease trap waste, grit trap wastes, and/or septage) into or on any land or water so that such waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment or be emitted into the air or discharged into any water, including, but not limited to, groundwaters.

Domestic sewage means the water-borne wastes normally discharging into the sanitary conveniences of dwellings (including apartment houses and hotels), office buildings, factories and institutions, free of stormwater and industrial wastes.

Environmental officer means the city manager or his duly authorized representative.

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized officials of said agency.

Flow-proportioned composite sample means a sample collected either as a constant sample volume at time intervals proportional to stream flow, or collected by increasing the volume of each aliquot as the flow increases while maintaining a constant time interval between the aliquots.

Garbage means 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.

Grab sample means an individual sample collected over a period of time not exceeding 15 minutes.

Grease trap means a watertight receptacle designed and constructed to intercept and prevent the passage of greasy, fatty liquid, semiliquid, and/or solid wastes into the sanitary sewer system to which the receptacle is directly or indirectly connected.

Grease trap waste means any greasy, fatty liquid, semi-liquid, and/or solid wastes removed by a grease trap.

Grit/sand trap means a watertight receptacle designed and constructed to intercept and prevent the passage of sand, grit and other heavy solids into the sanitary sewer system to which the receptacle is directly or indirectly connected.

Grit trap waste means any sand, grit and/or other heavy solids removed from a grit trap.

Hazardous waste means any liquid, semi-liquid or solid waste (or combination of wastes), which, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics, may:

(1)

Have any of the following characteristics: toxic, corrosive, an irritant, a strong sensitizer, flammable or combustible, explosive, or otherwise capable of causing substantial personal injury or illness; and

(2)

Pose a substantial hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise improperly managed, and is identified or listed as a hazardous waste as defined by the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act (V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code ch. 361) or defined under 40 CFR 261.3.

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 or discharge means the introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any nondomestic source regulated under section 307(b), (c) or (d) of the act.

Industrial user or user means the source of indirect discharge.

Industrial user wastewater discharge permit means a permit required of an industrial user to discharge waste into any sewer system under the jurisdiction of the city.

Industrial user wastewater surcharge means the additional charge made on those persons or industries who discharge industrial wastes into the sewer system which are amenable to treatment by the POTW treatment processes, but which exceed normal strength sewage.

Industrial waste means the water-borne solids, liquids, or gaseous wastes resulting from and discharged, permitted to flow or escaping from any industrial, manufacturing or food processing operation or process, or from the development of any natural resources, or any mixture of these with water or domestic sewage as distinct from normal domestic sewage.

Interference means a discharge which, either alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:

(1)

Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and

(2)

Is the cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in compliance with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued thereunder (or more stringent state or local regulations): section 405 of the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and including state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to subtitle D of the SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.

Liquid waste means water-borne solids, liquids, and gaseous substances derived from a grease trap, grit trap, chemical/portable toilet and/or septic tank and described as grease trap waste, grit trap waste or septage.

Milligrams per liter (mg/l) means a weight to volume ratio; the milligrams per liter value multiplied by the factor 8.34 is equivalent to pounds per million gallons of water.

Monthly average means the highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.

National categorical pretreatment standard means the standard specifying the quantities or concentrations of pollutants or pollutant properties which may be discharged to a POTW by existing or new industrial users in specific industrial subcategories established as separate regulations under the appropriate subpart of 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N. These standards, unless specifically noted otherwise, shall be in addition to the general prohibitions established in 40 CFR 403.5.

National pretreatment standard, pretreatment standard or standard means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with section 307(b) and (c) of the act which applies to industrial users. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5.

New source.

(1)

The term "new source" means any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed pretreatment standards under section 307(c) of the act which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section; provided that:

a.

The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;

b.

The building, structure, facility or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or

c.

The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant, and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same type of activity as the existing source, will be considered.

(2)

Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility or installation meeting the criteria of subsections (1)b and (1)c of this definition but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to the existing process or production equipment. Construction of a new source as defined has commenced if the owner or operator has:

a.

Begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:

1.

Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or

2.

Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment;

b.

Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies, do not constitute a contractual obligation under this definition.

Normal domestic sewage means the normal sewage for the city, for which the average concentration of total suspended solids is not more than 250 mg/l and BOD is no more than 250 mg/l. Industrial wastes and stormwater are excluded from this term.

Overload means the imposition of organic or hydraulic loading on a treatment facility in excess of its engineered or design capacity.

Owner means any person who owns a facility or any portion of a facility.

Parts per million (ppm) means a weight to weight ratio; the parts per million value multiplied by the factor 8.345 shall be equivalent to pounds per million gallons of water.

Pass through means a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentration which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

Person means 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.

pH means the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration.

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

Polluted water means any water, liquid or gaseous wastes containing any of the following:

(1)

Soluble or insoluble substances of organic or inorganic nature;

(2)

Settleable solids that may form sludge deposits;

(3)

Grease and oils;

(4)

Floating solids that may cause unsightly appearance or color;

(5)

Substances that would impart any taste or odor to the receiving stream; or

(6)

Toxic or poisonous substances.

POTW (publicly owned treatment works) means a treatment works as defined by section 212 of the act (33 USC 1292). This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes lift stations, sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW treatment plant. For the purposes of this division, POTW shall refer to the North Texas Municipal Water District.

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 process changes or by 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.

Priority pollutant means a pollutant found in table II or table III of 40 CFR 122, appendix D.

Properly shredded garbage means the wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of foods that have been shredded to such a degree that all particles shall be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than 0.5 inch in any dimension.

Responsible corporate officer means:

(1)

A president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy-making or decision-making functions for the corporation; or

(2)

The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25,000,000.00 (in second quarter 1980 dollars), if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

Sanitary sewer means a public sewer that conveys domestic wastewater or industrial wastes or a combination of both, and into which stormwater, surface water, groundwater and other unpolluted waters are not intentionally passed.

Septage means wastes removed from a portable toilet, chemical toilet or septic tank.

Severe property damage means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.

Sewage service charge means the charge made on all users of the public sewer system whose wastes do not exceed in strength the concentration values established as representative of normal sewage.

Sewage works/system means all facilities for collection, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage and industrial wastes and would include sewers, as well as the sewage treatment facilities.

Sewer means a pipe or conduit for carrying sanitary sewage.

SIC (standard industrial classification) means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1972, or the latest edition.

Significant industrial user (SIU).

(1)

Except as provided in subsection (2) of this definition, the term shall mean:

a.

All industrial users subject to categorical standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N; and

b.

Any other industrial user that: discharges 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown 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)).

(2)

Upon finding that an industrial user meeting the criteria in subsection (1)b of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the control authority (as defined in 40 CFR 403.12(a)) may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from an industrial user or POTW, and in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such industrial user is not a significant industrial user.

Slug discharge means any discharge of a nonroutine, episodic nature, including, but not limited to, an accidental spill or a noncustomary batch discharge, and/or a discharge which violates any specific prohibitions listed in 40 CFR 403.5(b), and/or could significantly disrupt a POTW's system, and/or threaten human health and safety, and/or could potentially result in violations of the POTW's NPDES permit or sludge requirements.

Spill means the accidental or intentional loss or unauthorized discharge of any waste or raw material.

Storm sewer or storm drain means a sewer which carries stormwater, surface water and drainage but excludes sewage and polluted industrial wastes.

Surcharge means the charge in addition to the sewage service charge which is made on those persons whose wastes are greater in strength than the concentration values established as representative of normal domestic sewage.

Suspended solids means solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquids, and which are removable by a laboratory filtration device. Quantitative determination of suspended solids shall be made in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR 136.

Time composite sample means a sample composed of discrete sample aliquots collected in a single reservoir at constant time intervals irrespective of flow.

TNRCC means the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.

To discharge means to deposit, conduct, drain, emit, throw, run, allow to seep, or otherwise release or dispose of, or to allow, permit or suffer any of these acts or omissions.

Toxic pollutant or toxic substance means any substance, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which, when discharged to the sewer system in sufficient concentrations, as determined by the environmental officer, may be hazardous to sewer maintenance and personnel, or tend to interfere with any wastewater treatment process, or to constitute a hazard to human beings or animals, or to inhibit aquatic life, or to create a hazard to recreation in the receiving waters of the effluent from a wastewater treatment plant; or any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the EPA under the provisions of the Clean Water Act, section 307(a), or other acts.

Trap means a device designed to skim, settle, or otherwise remove oil, grease, sand, flammable wastes or other harmful substances.

Upset means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the control of the industrial user. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventative maintenance, or careless or improper operation.

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

Waste means rejected, unutilized, or superfluous substances in liquid, gaseous or solid form resulting from domestic, agricultural or industrial activities.

Wastewater means the liquid and water-carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions, together with stormwater which 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 1982, § 31-116; Ord. No. 92-07-19, § 1, 7-7-1992)