§ 33-302. Definitions.

For the purpose of this article IV only, the following terms, words and phrases, and their derivations, shall have the meanings set forth below, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Best management practices (BMP) means 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) means the quantity of oxygen by weight, expressed in mg/l, utilized in the biological oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory conditions for five (5) days at a temperature of twenty (20) degrees centigrade.

Chlorinated discharge means any discharge having a quantity of chlorine (free or total) that exceeds the Surface Water Quality Standard of the State of Texas.

City means the City of Laredo, Texas.

City engineer means the person appointed to the position of director of the engineering department or his/her authorized representative.

Commercial dumpster washing means 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 means a sample used to determine average loadings or concentrations of pollutants. A composite can be developed based on time or flow.

CWA means Clean Water Act (formerly referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972).

Discharge means any addition or introduction of any pollutant, stormwater, or any other substance whatsoever into the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or into waters of the United States.

Discharge limits means any limit on discharges set by the city, 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 limitations.

Discharger means 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 means used oil that is generated by a person who changes the person's own automotive oil.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) means 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.

Facility means any building, structure, installation, process, or activity from which there is or may be a discharge of a pollutant.

Fueling/vehicle washing areas means 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 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.

Harmful/hazardous quantity means the amount of any substance that will cause pollution of water under state and federal law.

Hazardous waste means 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 CFR Part 261 et seq. and any appendices thereto.

Household hazardous waste (HHW) means 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 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 261.4(b)(1), would be classified as a hazardous waste under 40 CFR Part 261.

Illegal dumping means 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 means any man made conveyance connecting an illicit discharge directly to a municipal separate storm sewer or waters of the United States.

Industrial waste means liquids or other character of wastes resulting from any commercial, manufacturing or industrial operations or process, excluding normal domestic sanitary sewage unless it exceeds three hundred fifty (350) mg/l BOD or three hundred fifty (350)ml/l total suspended solids, which waterborne or liquid wastes enter the sewage system, or any portion thereof, of the city.

Inlet means an entrance into a ditch, storm sewer, or other waterway.

Landfill means an area of land or excavation in which wastes are placed for permanent disposal, which is permitted or registered by the State of Texas, and which is not a land application unit, surface impoundment, injection well, or waste pile.

Motor vehicle fluid means 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) means the system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, inlets, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains) owned and operated by the city and designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, and which is not used for collecting or conveying sewage or wastewater.

Noncompliance means any infraction of the revised Code of Civil and Criminal Ordinances of the City of Laredo, state regulations/laws or federal regulations/laws.

Nonpoint source pollution shall mean pollution contained in stormwater runoff from ill-defined, diffuse sources.

Notify means 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 shall mean 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 means 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 means 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 means 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 means 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 means the person who owns a facility or part of a facility or his/her assignee.

Oxygen demanding substance means the chemical and/or mircroogranism-mediated oxidation of organic matter; and/or the biooxidation of nitrogenous material; and/or chemical or biochemical oxidation of chemical reducing agents.

Pavement wash water means any water used to wash any debris, sediment, fluid, or putrescible matter from any paved area of a commercial or public facility.

Permittee means any person or entity to whom a permit is issued pursuant to this article and any authorized representative, agents or designee of such person or entity.

Person or entity means an individual, firm, copartnership, 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 USC 5123 and 5124, any agency or instrumentality of the federal government.

Petroleum substance means 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 United States Code § 6921, et seq.):

(a)

Basic petroleum substances—Crude oils, crude oil fractions, petroleum feedstocks, and petroleum fractions;

(b)

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 (1) 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;

(c)

Aviation gasoline—Grade 80, Grade 100, and grade 100-LL;

(d)

Aviation jet fuels—Jet A, Jet A-1, Jet B, JP-4, JP-5, and JP-8;

(e)

Distillate fuel oils—Number 1-D, Number 1, Number 2-D, and Number 2;

(f)

Residual fuel oils—Number 4-D, Number 4-light, Number 4, Number 5-light, Number 5-heavy, and Number 6;

(g)

Gas turbine fuel oils—Grade O-GT, Grade 1-GT, Grade 2-GT, Grade 3-GT, and Grade 4-GT;

(h)

Illuminating oils—Kerosene, mineral seal oil, long time burning oils, 300 oil, and mineral colza oil;

(i)

Solvents—Stoddard solvent, petroleum spirits, mineral spirits, petroleum ether, varnish makers'; and painters' naphthas, petroleum extender oils, and commercial hexane;

(j)

Lubricants—Automotive and industrial lubricants;

(k)

Building materials—Liquid asphalt and dust-laying oils;

(l)

Insulating and waterproofing materials—Transformer oils and cable oils;

(m)

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.

(n)

Any other petroleum based material having physical and chemical properties similar to the previously listed materials.

Petroleum underground storage tanks (PUST) means any underground storage tank system that contains, has contained or will contain a petroleum substance, a mixture of two (2) 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 means the logarithm to the base 10 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 0 to 14, where 0 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 means any discernible, 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 stormwater runoff.

Pollutant means 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 means 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 means 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 (PCB's) mean a series of technical mixtures consisting of many isomers and compounds that vary from mobile oil liquids to white crystalline solids and hard noncrystalline resins. Technical products include but are not limited to Arochlor, Chlophen, Chlorextol, Chloro Biphenyl, Chloro-1, 1-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 means 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 Texas Department of Health to accept for recycling, small quantities of used oil from private citizens.

Qualified personnel means 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 means 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) means the quantity specified in column 3 of the appendix to 49 CFR part 107.101 for any material identified in column 1.

Riparian habitat means the area of the banks of any river, creek, lake, or pond where specialized life forms exist.

Rubbish means nonputrescible solid waste, excluding ashes, that consist of (A) combustible waste materials, including paper, rags, cartons, wood, excelsior, furniture, rubber, plastics, yard trimmings, leaves, and similar materials and (B) noncombustible waste materials, including glass, crockery, tin cans, aluminum cans, metal furniture, and similar materials that do not burn at ordinary incinerator temperatures (one thousand six hundred (1,600) to one thousand eight hundred (1,800) degrees Fahrenheit).

Sanitary sewer (or sewer) means 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 stormwater, surface water, and groundwater are not intentionally admitted).

Sediment shall mean 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 means any domestic sewage from holding tanks such as from vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, and septic tanks.

Sewage (or sanitary sewage) means 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 an all other similar fixtures and receptacles that discharge wastes into sewage system.

Single family dwelling means a dwelling unit contained in a freestanding structure designed for occupancy by a single family.

Site means 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 means naturally occurring superficial deposits overlaying bedrock.

Solid waste means 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 means the State of Texas.

Stormwater means stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.

TNRCC means the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.

Transporter means any person who transports or plans to transport over public highways of this state more than five hundred (500) gallons of used automotive oil annually.

Uncontaminated means not containing a harmful quantity of any substance under state and federal law.

Underground storage tank means any one (1) 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 ten (10) percent or more beneath the surface of the ground.

Used oil means 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 means 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 means any water used to wash any structure, parking lot, vehicle, or piece of heavy equipment.

Water bodies means any groundwater, 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 nonnavigable, including the beds and banks of all water courses 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) means any groundwater, 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 nonnavigable, including the beds and banks of all water courses 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 means:

(a)

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;

(b)

All interstate waters, including interstate wetlands;

(c)

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:

1.

Which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes;

2.

From which fish or shell fish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce; or

3.

Which are used or could be used for industrial purpose by industries in interstate commerce;

(d)

All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this definition;

(e)

Tributaries of waters identified in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this definition;

(f)

The territorial sea; and

(g)

Wetlands adjacent to waters (other than waters that are themselves wetlands) identified in paragraphs (a) through (f) 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 manmade 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 means 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 Chapter 307 of Title 31 of the Texas Administrative Code.

Wetlands means an area that is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater 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. No. 99-243, § 1, 8-23-99)