| (a) A wastewater treatment plant unit may not be located
in the 100-year flood plain unless the plant unit is protected from
inundation and damage that may occur during that flood event.
(b) A wastewater treatment plant unit may not be located
in wetlands. (This prohibition is not applicable to constructed wetlands.)
(c) A wastewater treatment plant unit may not be located
closer than 500 feet from a public water well as provided by §290.41(c)(1)(B)
of this title (relating to Water Sources) nor 250 feet from a private
water well. The following separation distances apply to any facility
used for the storage, processing, or application of domestic wastewater.
Exceptions to these requirements will be considered at the request
of a permit applicant on a case-by-case basis, and alternative provisions
will be established in a permit if the alternative condition provides
adequate protection to potable water sources and supplies.
(1) A wastewater treatment plant unit, or land where
irrigation using wastewater effluent occurs must be located a minimum
horizontal distance of 150 feet from a private water well.
(2) A wastewater treatment plant unit, or land where
irrigation using wastewater effluent occurs, must be located a minimum
horizontal distance of 500 feet from an elevated or ground potable-water
storage tank as provided by §290.43(b)(1) of this title (relating
to Water Storage).
(3) A wastewater treatment plant unit, or land where
irrigation using wastewater effluent occurs, must be located a minimum
horizontal distance of 500 feet from a public water well site as provided
by §290.41(c)(1)(C) of this title, spring, or other similar sources
of public drinking water.
(4) A wet well or pump station at a wastewater treatment
facility must be located a minimum horizontal distance of 300 feet
from a public water well site, spring, or other similar sources of
public drinking water as provided by §290.41(c)(1)(B) of this
title.
(5) A wastewater treatment plant unit, or land where
irrigation using wastewater effluent occurs, must be located a minimum
horizontal distance of 500 feet from a surface water treatment plant
as provided by §290.42(a)(2)(A) of this title (relating to Water
Treatment).
(d) A wastewater treatment facility surface impoundment
may not be located in areas overlying the recharge zones of major
or minor aquifers, as defined by the Texas Water Development Board,
unless the aquifer is separated from the base of the containment structure
by a minimum of three feet of material with a hydraulic conductivity
toward the aquifer not greater than 10-7 cm/sec
or a thicker interval of more permeable material which provides equivalent
or greater retardation of pollutant migration. A synthetic membrane
liner may be substituted with a minimum of 40 mils thickness and an
underground leak detection system with appropriate sampling points.
(e) One of the following alternatives must be met as
a compliance requirement to abate and control a nuisance of odor prior
to construction of a new wastewater treatment plant unit, or substantial
change in the function or use of an existing wastewater treatment
unit.
(1) Lagoons with zones of anaerobic activity (e.g.,
facultative lagoons, un-aerated equalization basins, etc.) may not
be located closer than 500 feet to the nearest property line. All
other wastewater treatment plant units may not be located closer than
150 feet to the nearest property line. Land used to treat primary
effluent is considered a plant unit. Buffer zones for land used to
dispose of treated effluent by irrigation shall be evaluated on a
case-by-case basis. The permittee must hold legal title or have other
sufficient property interest to a contiguous tract of land necessary
to meet the distance requirements specified in this paragraph during
the time effluent is disposed by irrigation.
(2) The applicant must submit a nuisance odor prevention
request for approval by the executive director. A request for nuisance
odor prevention must be in the form of an engineering report, prepared
and sealed by a licensed Texas professional engineer in support of
the request. At a minimum, the engineering report shall address existing
climatological conditions such as wind velocity and atmospheric stability,
surrounding land use which exists or which is anticipated in the future,
wastewater characteristics in affected units pertaining to the area
of the buffer zone, potential odor generating units, and proposed
solutions to prevent nuisance conditions at the edge of the buffer
zone and beyond. Proposed solutions shall be supported by actual test
data or appropriate calculations. The request shall be submitted,
prior to construction, either with a permit application and subject
to review during the permitting process or submitted for executive
director approval after the permitting process is completed.
(3) The permittee must submit sufficient evidence of
legal restrictions prohibiting residential structures within the part
of the buffer zone not owned by the applicant. Sufficient evidence
of legal restriction may, among others, take the form of a suitable
restrictive easement, right-of-way, covenant, deed restriction, deed
recorded, or a private agreement provided as a certified copy of the
original document. The request shall be submitted, prior to construction,
either with a permit application and subject to review during the
permitting process or submitted for executive director approval after
the permitting process is completed.
(f) For a facility for which a permit application,
other than a renewal application, is made after October 8, 1990, if
the facility will not meet the buffer zone requirement by one of the
alternatives described in subsection (e) of this section, the applicant
shall include in the application for the discharge permit a request
for a variance. A variance will be considered on a case-by-case basis
and, if granted by the commission, shall be included as a condition
in the permit. This variance may be granted by the commission, consistent
with the policies set out in Texas Water Code, §26.003.
(g) Any approved alternative for achieving the requirements
of this section must remain in effect as long as the wastewater treatment
plant is permitted by the commission. To comply with this requirement,
the permittee must carry out the nuisance odor prevention plan at
all times, shall ensure sufficient property ownership or interest
and shall maintain easements prohibiting residential structures, as
appropriate.
(h) For a permitted facility undergoing renewal of
an existing permit with plans and specifications approved prior to
March 1, 1990, for which no design change is requested, the facility
will not be required to comply with the requirements of this section.
(i) Facilities for which plans and specifications have
been approved prior to March 1, 1990, are not required to resubmit
revised plans and specifications to meet changed requirements in this
section in obtaining renewal of an existing permit.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §309.13 adopted to be effective March 19, 1990, 15 TexReg 1160; amended to be effective October 8, 1990, 15 TexReg 5500; amended to be effective June 5, 1998, 23 TexReg 5723; amended to be effective January 9, 2020, 45 TexReg 370 |
