(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.
(b) Preliminary engineering report.
(1) Definition. The preliminary engineering report
shall form the conceptual basis for the collection, treatment, and/or
disposal system proposed. This document shall bear the signed and
dated seal of the registered professional engineer responsible for
the design.
(A) For projects receiving United States Environmental
Protection Agency construction grants assistance, a facility plan
may serve as the preliminary engineering report.
(B) For all other projects, a preliminary engineering
report proposing processes, methods, or procedures may be submitted
as early in the planning stage as is practical. Submission of a preliminary
engineering report at this point is only necessary to resolve any
potential disagreements between the design engineer and the commission
regarding the essential planning information, design data, population
projections, and other requirements of the commission. Agreement is
desirable to eliminate delays or inconveniences and to avoid the possibility
of having to revise the final plans and specifications.
(C) The preliminary engineering report may be merged
directly with the final engineering report to produce a single engineering
report at the discretion of the sewerage system owner.
(2) General requirements. The following is required
for each project as applicable.
(A) A brief description of the project with maps showing
the area to be served, general location of proposed improvements,
water and wastewater treatment plant sites, existing and proposed
streets, parks, drainage ditches, creeks, streams, and water mains
shall be provided. The drainage area should be defined clearly, either
by contour map or otherwise. Where a contour map is not available
to the community, one should be obtained and the contours should be
shown at intervals of not more than ten feet. The maps and plans shall
be reproduced on paper not larger than 24 inches by 36 inches in size;
however, where variations are necessary, all sheets shall be uniform
in size.
(B) The domestic population of the area to be served
(present and projected) and design population of the project shall
be included.
(C) The names of industries contributing any significant
wastes, types of industry (standard industry codes), volume of wastes,
characteristics and strength of wastes, population equivalent, and
other pertinent information shall be included. It should be emphasized
that if significant amounts of wastes other than normal domestic sewage
are to be treated at the wastewater treatment plant, sufficient data
on such wastes must be presented to allow an evaluation of the effect
on the treatment process. This would include, but not be limited to,
heavy metals and toxic materials such as polychlorinated biphenyls,
organic chemicals, and pesticides.
(D) The preliminary engineering report shall include
the technical information described in §317.10 of this title
(relating to Appendix B--Overland Flow Process) for all overland flow
projects.
(3) Collection system. The following information shall
be provided in the preliminary engineering report if applicable to
the project:
(A) present area served and future areas to be served;
(B) terrain data in sufficient detail to establish
general topographical features of present and future areas to be served;
(C) lift stations existing and/or proposed;
(D) effect of proposed system expansion on existing
system capacity; and
(E) amount of infiltration/inflow existing and anticipated,
and how it is to be addressed in the collection system design.
(4) Treatment plant. The following information is required
in a preliminary engineering report.
(A) Quantity and quality of existing sewage influent
and changes in the characteristics anticipated in the future. If adequate
records are not available, analyses shall be made for the existing
conditions and such information included in the report.
(B) Design and peak flow rates being considered and
the design period. Design flow is defined as the wet weather maximum
30-day average flow. Therefore, when determining design flow rates,
consideration must be given to flows during periods of wet weather
in order to assure consistent compliance with discharge permit volume
and quality limitations. Peak flow is defined as the highest two hour
flow expected to be encountered under any operational conditions,
including times of high rainfall (generally the two-year, 24-hour
storm is assumed) and prolonged periods of wet weather. For new systems,
the peak flow to average annual flow ratio is normally in the range
of three-five to one, although other peaking factors may be warranted.
(C) Type of treatment plant proposed and the effluent
quality expected. The information should include basis of design,
flow, organic loading, infiltration allowance, and efficiency determinations
sufficient to a given level of treatment.
(D) Type of units proposed and their capacities, considering
the criteria contained herein. The information should include detention
times, surface loadings, weir loadings, flow diagram, and other pertinent
information regarding the design of the plant, including sludge processing
units required for the selected ultimate sludge disposal.
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