§ 26-153. Definitions.

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

Abnormal strength wastewater means any wastewater having a suspended solids, BOD, COD, chlorine demand or total phosphate concentration in excess of that found in normal strength wastewater.

Act means Public Law 92-500, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. as enacted by the United States Congress and known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Clean Water Act.

Approval authority means the regional administrator of the EPA, or the director of a state agency delegated to act on the EPA's behalf with an approved pre-treatment program (eg, director of TCEQ).

Approved methods means analysis performed in accordance with 40 CFR 136, "Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants under the Clean Water Act" and amendments, or with any other test procedures approved by EPA.

Authorized representative of the users means:

(1)

If the user is a corporation:

a.

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

b.

The manager of one or more manufacturing production, or operation facilities employing more than two hundred fifty (250) persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding twenty-five million dollars ($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.

(2)

If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: A general partner or proprietor, respectively.

(3)

If the user is a federal, state or local governmental facility: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.

(4)

The individuals described in paragraphs (1) through (3), above, may designate another authorized representative if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, and the written authorization is submitted to the City of Denton.

BOD means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five (5) days at twenty (20) degrees Celsius, expressed in milligrams per liter.

Building means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy.

Building drain means that part of the piping of a building drainage system which receives the discharge of all soil, waste and other drainage from inside the structure and conveys the drainage to the building service line outside the foundation wall of such building.

Categorical pretreatment standard means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits applicable to a specific category of users as promulgated by the EPA in accordance with section 307(b) and (c) of the Act. (33 U.S.C. § 1317) (40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405—471).

Chlorine demand means the difference between the amount of chlorine added to water, wastewater or industrial wastes and the amount of residual chlorine remaining at the end of a twenty-minute contact period.

COD, denoting chemical oxygen demand, means the measure of the oxygen equivalent of that portion of the organic matter in a sample that is susceptible to oxidation by a strong chemical oxidant. Committee means the environmental appeals committee.

Composite sample means sample that is collected over time, formed either by continuous sampling or by mixing discrete samples. The sample may be composited either as a time composite sample; composed of discrete sample aliquots collected in one container at constant time intervals providing representative samples irrespective of stream flow; or as a flow proportional composite 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.

Control authority means the City of Denton acting by and through its assistant city manager - utilities.

Control manhole means an opening giving access to a service line at some point before the service line discharges to the wastewater system.

Cooling water means the water discharged from any system of condensation such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration.

Daily discharge means the discharge of a pollutant measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that reasonably represents the calendar day for purposes of sampling. For pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the "daily discharge" is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For pollutants with limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the "daily discharge" is calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.

Daily maximum limit means the maximum allowable discharge limit of a pollutant during a calendar day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limits are expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.

Domestic user means a source of the introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any source not regulated under Section 307(b), (c), or (d) of the Act.

Dry closet means an indoor room or an outdoor privy used as a toilet, but lacking water for conveyance of waste.

EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency or its successor agencies.

Assistant city manager-utilities means the chief executive officer of the utilities department of the city or his authorized deputy, agent or representative.

Flow rate means the quantity of wastewater that flows past a particular point in a certain period of time.

Grab sample means a sample which is taken from a wastestream without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.

Indirect discharge or discharge means the introduction of pollutants into the POTW from any nondomestic source.

Industrial/commercial user means any non-domestic source discharging pollutants to the City of Denton POTW which is not a significant industrial user.

Industrial/commercial wastewater discharge permit, referred to in this article as "industrial/commercial discharge permit", means a permit required of a significant industrial user to deposit or discharge waste into any wastewater system under jurisdiction of the city.

Industrial/commercial wastewater surcharge means a charge, as set forth in this Code, levied on industrial/commercial users of the sewage treatment works for the additional costs of treating wastewater discharges of abnormal strength wastewater.

Interfere means inhibition or disruption of the wastewater system which contributes to a violation of any requirement of this article.

Interference means a discharge, which alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and therefore, is a cause of a violation of the City of Denton's NPDES permit or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder, or any more stringent state or local regulations: Section 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); any state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.

May means that the possibility or likelihood of response exists; discretionary action.

mg/l means milligrams per liter.

Monthly average limit 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.

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

New source means:

(1)

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 on a site at which no other source is located; or

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 general type of activity as the existing source, should 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 subsection (1)(b) or (c) above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

(3)

Construction of a new source as defined under this paragraph has commenced if the owner or operator has:

a.

Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous onsite construction program:

i.

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

ii.

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; or

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 paragraph.

Normal strength wastewater means wastewater which, when analyzed by the city, shows by weight a daily average of not more than two thousand eighty-five (2,085) pounds per million gallons (two hundred fifty (250) milligrams per liter) of suspended solids and two thousand eighty-five (2,085) pounds per million gallons (two hundred fifty (250) milligrams per liter) of BOD and two thousand eighty-five (2,085) pounds per million gallons (two hundred fifty (250) milligrams per liter) of COD and not more than seventy-five and one-tenth (75.1) pounds per million gallons (nine (9) milligrams per liter) of chlorine demand and forty-one and seven-tenths (41.7) pounds per million gallons (five (5) milligrams per liter) of phosphorus and which is otherwise acceptable into a public sewer under the terms of this article.

NPDES permit means the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDE'S) permit as issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. 1342).

Objectionable waste means any wastewater that can harm the sewers, wastewater treatment process or equipment, have an adverse effect on the receiving stream or otherwise endanger life, health or property or constitute a nuisance.

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 or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the City of Denton'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. The masculine gender shall include the feminine and the singular shall include the plural except as otherwise indicated by the context.

pH means the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed as the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration in gram equivalents per liter of solution.

Point of discharge means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance or vessel from which wastewater may be discharged into a public waterway or public wastewater system.

Polluted water means any water, liquid or gaseous waste containing any of the following: soluble or insoluble substances of an organic or inorganic nature; settleable solids that may form sludge deposits; grease and oils; floating solids which may cause unsightly appearance; color; phenols and other substances to an extent which would impart any taste or odor to the receiving stream; and toxic or poisonous substances in suspension, colloidal state, solution or gases.

POTW (publicly owned treatment works) means a treatment works as defined by, Section 212 of the Act through which the City of Denton wastewater is collected, stored, treated, recycled or reclaimed. This definition includes all sanitary sewers that convey wastewater to the contracted POTW treatment plants. For the purposes of this chapter, "POTW" shall also include any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW from persons outside the city who are, by contract or agreement with the city, and users of the city's wastewater collection system. The term also means the municipality as defined in Section 502(4) of the Act which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.

Pretreatment means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to, or in lieu of, introducing such pollutants into the POTW. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical, or biological processes; by process changes; or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.

Pretreatment standard, or National Pretreatment Standard or standard: Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Act, which applies to users. This term includes:

(1)

Discharge prohibitions and local limits established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.5; and

(2)

Categorical pretreatment standards established pursuant to 40 CFR 403.6.

Privy means an outhouse or similar type small building used as a toilet where wastes are either buried on site or collected and disposed of elsewhere.

Public nuisance means all sewage, human excreta, wastewater, or other organic wastes deposited, stored, discharged or exposed in such a way as to be a potential instrument or medium in the transmission of disease to or between any person or persons.

Sanitary sewer means a sewer intended to receive domestic wastewater and admissible industrial/commercial wastewater, but to which stormwater, surface water and groundwaters are not intentionally admitted.

Septic tank means any covered watertight tank not connected to the wastewater system and which is designed for the treatment of wastewater.

Service line means that part of the horizontal piping of the building drainage system beginning at the outside foundation wall and terminating at its connection with the wastewater system.

Sewage means water which contains, or which has been in contact with organic and inorganic contaminants such as human or animal wastes, vegetable matter, cooking fats and greases, laundry and dishwashing detergents, and other chemical compounds and waste products.

Sewer means a pipe or conduit for carrying wastewater.

Sewer system means all facilities which are owned by the city for collecting, carrying, treating and disposing of wastewater.

Shall means the obligation or necessity to respond; mandatory action.

Significant industrial user.

(1)

A user subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or

(2)

A user that:

a.

Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling, and boiler blowdown wastewater);

b.

Contributes a process wastestream which makes up five (5) percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or

c.

Is designated as such by the city on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.

(3)

Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in subsection (2) has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the city may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from a user, and in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.

Significant noncompliance means:

(1)

Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which sixty-six (66) percent or more of all of the measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) the daily maximum limit or the average limit for the same pollutant parameter;

(2)

Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which thirty-three (33) percent or more of all of the measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the daily maximum limit or the average limit multiplied by the applicable TRC;

(3)

Any other violation of a pretreatment effluent limit (daily maximum or longer-term average) that the City of Denton determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);

(4)

Any discharge of a pollutant that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW's exercise of its emergency authority under provisions of the City of Denton Code of Ordinance to halt or prevent such a discharge;

(5)

Failure to meet, within ninety (90) days after the scheduled date, a compliance schedule milestone contained in a local control mechanism or enforcement order to starting construction, completing construction, or attaining final compliance;

(6)

Failure to provide, within thirty (30) days after the due date, required reports such as baseline monitoring reports, ninety-day compliance reports, periodic self-monitoring reports, and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;

(7)

Failure to accurately report noncompliance;

(8)

Any other violation or group of violations which the City of Denton determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.

Slug means any discharge of wastewater concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow for any period longer than fifteen (15) minutes, more than five (5) times the average twenty-four-hour concentration or flow of normal operations of the user in question.

Slug load means any pollutant discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of the specific prohibitions under section 26-187 or 40 CFR 403.5(b) to 403.12(f).

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

Standard methods means the latest edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, prepared and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and the Water Pollution Control Federation.

Storm drain or storm sewer means a public drainage pipe which carries stormwater and surface waters and drainage, but is not intended to carry wastewater other than unpolluted cooling water.

Stormwater means rainfall or any other form of excess water which is derived from precipitation.

Suspended solids means solids that either float on the surface of or are in suspension in water, wastewater or other liquids and which are removable by acceptable laboratory procedures as set forth in standard methods.

Total dissolved solids means the material left in the vessel after evaporation of a sample and its subsequent drying in an oven at a defined temperature.

Toxic substance means any substance, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which, when discharged to the sanitary sewer in sufficient concentrations, as determined by the executive assistant city manager - utilities, may be hazardous to sewer maintenance and personnel, 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.

Transport truck discharge (TTD) permit shall mean a permit to deposit or discharge septic tank, cesspool or seepage pit wastes into the wastewater system.

Trap means a device designed to skim, settle or otherwise remove grease, oil, sand, flammable wastes or other harmful substances from wastewater before entering the wastewater system.

User or industrial user means a source of indirect discharge.

User charge means a charge levied on users of the wastewater system for the capital cost, as well as the operation and maintenance of such works, as set forth in this Code.

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

Wastewater means the water-carried wastes which are discharged into the wastewater system.

Water closet means a compartment or room equipped with a toilet that is properly connected to the sanitary sewer and has the means for mechanical discharge.

(Ord. No. 2011-103, § 1, 6-21-11)