Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 317 - DESIGN CRITERIA PRIOR TO 2008 › Section 317.1 - General Provisions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				Applicability and Purpose. This chapter applies to any wastewater collection
				system or wastewater treatment facility that collects, transports, treats, or
				disposes of wastewater, with final plans and technical specifications submitted
				on or before August 28, 2008, that is not subject to the requirements of
				Chapter 217 of this title (relating to Design Criteria for Domestic Wastewater
				Systems). Wastewater collection systems and wastewater treatment facilities
				that are subject to this chapter shall meet all requirements of these rules no
				later than 120 days after the effective date of this chapter. These design
				criteria are minimum requirements to be used for the comprehensive
				consideration of domestic sewage collection, treatment, or disposal systems and
				establish the minimum design criteria pursuant to existing state statutes
				pertaining to effluent quality necessary to meet state water quality standards.
				These criteria are intended to promote the design of facilities in accordance
				with good public health and water quality engineering practices. These criteria
				include the minimum requirements for a preliminary engineering report which
				provides the general engineering concepts underlying the proposed project as
				well as the final engineering report detailing the fully developed project
				along with related plans and specifications. All wastewater treatment
				facilities, treatment units, collection systems, and collection system units
				must be installed, operated, and maintained: to ensure the safety of the public
				and all individuals authorized to be in or around a wastewater treatment
				facility, treatment unit, collection system, or collection system unit; to
				function as described in the engineering report and the associated plans and
				specifications approved by the executive director; and to ensure continuous
				compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
(1) Authority for requirement. The Texas
				Water Code (TWC) prescribes the duties of the commission relating to the
				control of pollution including the review and approval of plans and
				specifications for sewage disposal systems. This authority is found in TWC,
				§§5.013, 12.081 - 12.083, 15.104, 15.114, 26.023, 26.034, 49.181 -
				49.182, 54.024, and 51.333.
(2)
				Review of plans and specifications. Plans and specifications shall meet the
				design criteria and the operation, maintenance, and safety requirements for the
				proposed project as provided by this chapter. Approval given by the executive
				director, or a participating municipality with review authority as provided for
				in paragraphs (5) and (6) of this subsection, shall not relieve the sewerage
				system owner or the design engineer of any liabilities or responsibilities with
				respect to the proper design, construction, or authorized operation of the
				project in accordance with applicable commission rules.
(3) Submittal requirements.
(A) "Sanitary sewer collection system
				projects," which will be constructed within the jurisdiction of a municipality
				which performs technical reviews of sanitary sewer collection system projects
				under TWC, §26.034, and which are not prepared by the staff of a
				municipality, need not be submitted to the agency for review.
(B) "Sanitary sewer collection system
				projects," which are prepared by the staff of a municipality, which will be
				constructed within the jurisdiction of a municipality which performs technical
				reviews of sanitary sewer collection system projects under TWC, §26.034,
				and where the entire project falls into one or more of the categories outlined
				in clauses (i) - (iii) of this subparagraph, need not be submitted to the
				agency for review.
(i) Any conventional
				gravity sewer collection system lines less than 1,500 linear feet in length
				which are extensions to existing systems where the existing system has been
				completed and in operation at least six months;
(ii) Any duplex lift stations which have a
				firm pumping capacity of less than 100 gallons per minute; and
(iii) Any conventional gravity sewer piping
				less than 12 inches in diameter.
(C) "Domestic wastewater projects" which
				receive a technical review and approval from a state agency other than the
				commission need not be submitted to the agency for review, if:
(i) the review is performed under the
				supervision of a professional engineer registered in the State of Texas, the
				review ensures that the project complies with this chapter, and the state
				agency has requested that the commission not perform technical reviews of a
				wastewater project or category of projects; or
(ii) the state agency has been granted review
				authority in lieu of the commission under state law.
(D) A summary transmittal letter shall be
				submitted, by certified mail, to the Wastewater Permits Section, and to the
				appropriate commission regional office, for all wastewater projects constructed
				in the State of Texas, which are not exempted from the commission's submittal
				requirements as detailed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph. If
				the executive director does not notify the person who submitted the summary
				that a review will occur, under subparagraph (E) of this paragraph, the project
				is deemed approved. The information in the summary shall be signed, dated, and
				sealed by a professional engineer registered in the State of Texas. All
				summaries shall include, at a minimum:
(i)
				the name and address of the design firm;
(ii) the name, phone number, and facsimile
				number of the design engineer;
(iii) the county(s) in which the project will
				be located with an identifying name for the project;
(iv) the name of the entity which proposes to
				own, operate, and maintain the project through its design life;
(v) the permit name and permit number of the
				relevant wastewater treatment facility;
(vi) a statement verifying that the plans and
				specifications are in substantial compliance with all the requirements of this
				chapter and which states that any deviations from the requirements are based on
				the best professional judgement of the registered professional engineer who
				prepared the project plans and specifications and final engineering design
				report; and
(vii) a brief
				description of the project scope which includes the specifics of the project, a
				description of deviations from the requirements of this chapter, including the
				use of nonconforming or innovative technology, and an explanation of the
				reasons for such deviations.
(E) Any project, for which a summary is
				submitted, is subject to review by the executive director. Factors to be used
				to determine whether a review will be performed include, but are not limited
				to, whether or not a non-conforming or innovative technology is being proposed,
				the stream segment in which the project is located, and the applicant's
				compliance record. If the executive director chooses to review a project, the
				design engineer will be notified in writing or by facsimile of the executive
				director's intent to review the project, within ten days of receipt of the
				summary. Upon receipt of the notification of intent to review, the design
				engineer shall submit to the executive director a complete set of plans and
				specifications and a complete final engineering design report. These submitted
				materials shall be sufficient to satisfy the executive director that the
				project is in compliance with this chapter. If the executive director reviews a
				project, any approval may be granted under paragraph (4) of this subsection.
				Construction may not commence until approval has been obtained.
(F) A complete set of plans and
				specifications, the final version of such plans and specifications with
				engineer's certification, a complete engineering design report, all change
				orders and test results, a copy of the written summary submitted to the
				executive director, and any written approvals granted by the executive
				director, a municipality, or another state agency, shall be maintained and kept
				by the permittee, or for collection system projects, person(s) responsible for
				management of the collection system, for at least three years from the date the
				engineer certifies to the executive director that the project is complete.
				These materials shall be submitted to the executive director, another state
				agency, or municipality upon request. Such materials must be readily available
				for inspection by the executive director's staff upon request during regular
				business hours.
(4)
				Types of approval. Regardless of the type of approval, constructed facilities
				when in operation are required to produce the quality of effluent specified in
				their discharge permit(s). The types of approvals described in subparagraphs
				(A) - (C) of this paragraph will be utilized by the commission or any other
				review authority.
(A) Standard approval.
				Plans and specifications found to comply with all applicable parts of these
				criteria and to conform to commonly accepted sanitary engineering design
				practices shall be approved for construction.
(B) Approvals of innovative and nonconforming
				technologies.
(i) Technologies considered to
				be nonconforming or innovative include ones not conforming to or addressed in
				the design criteria of this chapter.
(ii) If an approval for nonconforming or
				innovative technologies is requested, engineering proposals for processes,
				equipment, or construction materials not covered in these criteria shall be
				fully described in the submitted planning materials and the reasons for their
				selection clearly outlined. Processes considered to be nonconforming or
				innovative should also be supported by results of pilot or demonstration
				studies. Where similarly designed full scale processes exist and are known to
				have operated for a reasonable period of time under conditions similar to those
				suggested for the proposed design, performance data from these existing full
				scale facilities shall be required to be submitted to the executive director in
				addition to, or in lieu of, pilot or small scale demonstration studies. Any
				warranties or performance bond agreements offered by the process, equipment, or
				material manufacturers shall be fully described in the request.
(iii) Approvals of processes, equipment, or
				construction materials which are considered to be innovative or nonconforming
				will be granted only in cases where the commission or review authority
				determines, after an engineering evaluation of the supporting information
				provided in the submitting engineer's design report, that the technology will
				not result in a threat to public health or the environment.
(iv) The executive director or review
				authority may require the manufacturer or supplier to obtain and furnish
				evidence of an acceptable two-year performance bond from an approved surety
				which insures the performance of the innovative or nonconforming technology.
				The performance bond shall cover the cost of removal or abandonment of the
				innovative or nonconforming facility and equipment, replacement with previously
				agreed upon facilities or equipment, and all associated engineering fees
				necessary for the removal and replacement.
(v) Approval of innovative and nonconforming
				technologies may include a condition which states that after some predetermined
				period of time after the installation and startup of the innovative or
				nonconforming technology, requiring an engineering report to be submitted after
				start-up, detailing the performance of the nonconforming or innovative
				technology. The engineering report shall include unbiased calculations and data
				supporting the technology's performance; and written submittals from the design
				engineer and permittee which state that the nonconforming or innovative
				technology has satisfied its manufacturer's claims.
(C) Conditional approval. The executive
				director or review authority may grant approvals which contain detailed
				conditions, stipulations, or restrictions. Examples of such conditions and
				stipulations include, but are not limited to, testing requirements, reporting
				requirements, operational requirements, and additional installation and design
				requirements which may be necessary to ensure compliance with this chapter. Any
				conditional approval granted may be issued for a specific set of flow
				situations, wastewater characteristics, and/or required effluent quality. If a
				conditional approval is granted, both the sewage system owner and design
				engineer, as appropriate, shall be responsible for ensuring that the approval
				conditions outlined by the commission or review authority have been
				met.
(5) Municipalities
				performing technical reviews of sanitary sewer collection systems under TWC,
				§26.034, within 90 days of the effective date of this rule and/or within
				90 days of a boundaries change, shall submit maps to the agency's Wastewater
				Permits Section detailing the boundaries of the review authority. If a
				municipality decides to perform technical reviews of sanitary sewer collection
				systems after the effective date of this rule, the municipality shall submit
				maps detailing the boundaries of the review authority, within the 30 days
				before starting these reviews. If at any time a municipality, which has chosen
				to implement this review authority, decides to cease review of sanitary sewer
				collection system plans and specifications, the municipality shall notify the
				executive director within 30 days of the date on which the final plans and
				specifications review is expected to be performed. In order to meet the
				standards specified in TWC, §26.034, municipalities shall incorporate the
				items detailed in subparagraphs (A) - (E) of this paragraph into their review
				programs:
(A) The municipality's review and
				approval process shall ensure compliance with the rules of this
				chapter.
(B) All reviews performed
				by an employee of the municipality shall be conducted by a professional
				engineer, registered in the State of Texas, or the employee conducting the
				review shall be under the direct supervision of a professional engineer,
				registered in the State of Texas, who is ultimately responsible for the review
				and approval of each collection system submitted and installed in the
				municipality's jurisdiction.
(C)
				The responsible review engineer shall be either an employee of the reviewing
				municipality, or a consultant to the municipality, separate from the private
				consulting firm charged with the design work under review. For purposes of this
				section, the term "separate" means that the responsible review engineer is not
				employed by and does not receive compensation from the private consulting firm
				and from any of its parent companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates charged with
				the design. The municipality shall provide on request documentation of its
				agreements with private consultants sufficient to allow the agency to audit its
				compliance with this subsection.
(D) A participating municipality may review
				and approve engineering reports, plans, and specifications only for projects
				which transport primarily domestic waste within the boundaries of jurisdiction
				of that municipality. For each project approved for construction, the
				municipality shall issue an approval letter or other indication of the approval
				which clearly details the project being approved.
(E) The municipality shall maintain complete
				files of all review and approval activities carried out under its authority and
				shall make any existing project files available to the commission upon request
				and/or during audits performed in accordance with paragraph (6) of this
				subsection.
(6) The
				executive director may perform periodic audits of the review and approval
				process of municipalities which perform technical reviews of sanitary sewer
				collection systems in lieu of the commission, to ensure that the projects
				approved by the municipalities are in compliance with this chapter. If the
				executive director decides to perform an audit of a municipality's review and
				approval process, the executive director will provide the municipality with a
				minimum of five working days advance notice of the pending audit. The executive
				director may, for auditing purposes only, review specific projects which have
				previously been approved by the review authority. The municipality shall
				provide to the executive director, on request, documentation of all agreements
				between the private consultants and the municipality, which relate to the
				wastewater collection system review program. If the executive director finds
				through reviews of specific projects or through audits of the municipality's
				review and approval process that a municipality's review and approval process
				does not provide for compliance with the minimum design and installation
				requirements detailed in this chapter, the review and approval authority shall
				address these findings within a time established by the executive director. If
				compliance cannot be achieved, the review authority shall be voided for that
				municipality. If such authority is voided for a municipality, the executive
				director shall notify the municipality in writing and shall include the
				justification for voiding the authority of the municipality. If the authority
				of a municipality is voided, all new projects proposed to be constructed within
				that municipality's jurisdiction shall be submitted to the executive director
				in accordance with paragraph (3)(D) of this subsection.