Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7965 ..w x° INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7965 pRTEq November 21, 1995 o, To the Mayor and Members of the City Council ,la rF a Subject: COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL, PROTECTION '873 AND COMPLIANCE ORDINANCE In 1993 the City of Fort Worth began the task of preparing and setting up a comprehensive Environmental Protection and Compliance Ordinance. The purpose of the proposed ordinance is not to create additional bureaucracy for business and private communities, but rather to create a more "user friendly" document within the City Code. The Environmental Protection and Compliance Ordinance assembled all the sections within the current City Code that are environmentally related and placed them into one chapter. Consequently, instead of having to review several chapters of the current code for anmappropriate reference, all environmentally related aspects of City operations will ba,available in one chapter. The result is a document that protects the City's inhabioms and their air, land, and water resources while being "user friendly." A first draft of the proposed code was submitted to department heads and City staff for review. So many comments concerning format, inappropriateness of codes and the revision of outdated code language were received that a complete rewrite was necessary. Additionally, with the implementation of the amendments to the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, complete rewrites of the related sections were required. Early in 1995, an updated draft was submitted to the department heads most directly affected by the ordinance. Following several additional minor revisions, the ordinance was released for public comment from May 22, 1995 through August 5, 1995. During this time, the proposed ordinance was presented to the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and its members for reviewed comment. At the request of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and other businesses, the comment period was extended until September 5, 1995. A public hearing was held on August 7, 1995 to accept oral comments. Comments, both written and oral, received from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, industry, business, and citizens were addressed and responded to on October 2, 1995. The proposed comprehensive Environmental Protection and Compliance Ordinance is formatted as follows: ;` FIN AJM'dfIiMAPNBUIwMM-011a(�aa�x'w ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7965 RTEp� November 21, 1995 p� To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 2 of 3 u�gi x ``p�.a°f# Subject: COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 187 AND COMPLIANCE ORDINANCE Article I of the Code contains general provisions, including definitions. It also does the following: 1) formally establishes the Department of Environmental Management; 2) defines the enforcement options that are available to the departments of Environmental Management, City Services and Water; and 3) provides for the installation.of monitor wells in City right-of-way by adjacent property owners to monitor the migration of contaminants from their land. Article H regulates air quality by..adopting the state's air quality regulations and empowering the Department of .F-nvironmental Management to enforce the Texas Clean Air Act. Article III, which regulates the quality of stormwater runoff, is administered and enforced by the Department of Environmental Management. Once the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater permit to the City for the discharge of stormwaters to the waters of the United States, the City will be required to enact and enforce additional regulations. This article also establishes requirements for power washers that previously have not been included in the City's Code. Article IV protects groundwater and surface water by authorizing the Department of Environmental Management to inspect discharges according to the Texas Water Quality Control Act. -• Article V protects the quality of the City's drinking water through regulations for Lake Worth and cross connections. This article is administered and enforced by both the Departments of Water and of Environmental Management. The cross connection regulations, required by state law, represent a major update of current City regulations. Article VI regulates the discharge of industrial wastewater into the City's sewer system. This heavily rewritten portion is based largely on the EPA's model industrial wastewater regulations, and is required by the City's NPDES permit to ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER - FORT WORTH,TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7965 GN�T�� November 21, 1995 0 ofrr To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 3 of 3 '�°z5 Subject: COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 1979 AND COMPLIANCE ORDINANCE discharge effluent from its wastewater treatment plants into the waters of the United States. This article will be administered by the Water Department and is geared to protect the City's system of sewer pipes and wastewater treatment plants, and the receiving waters. Article VII regulates the transportation of grease trap, grit trap, septic tank, and portable toilet waste. Persons who pump waste from these tanks and transport the waste for disposal are required to,be permitted by the Water Department, and to complete "trip tickets" to documfht that the waste was properly disposed. The disposal of solid waste inthe City is regulated by Article VIII, which will be administered and enforced by the Department of City Services. � It is the intention of City staff to submit the proposed ordinance to the Council for approval on November 21, 1995. For further information concerning the Environmental Protection and Compliance Ordinance, please contact either Kathryn Hansen, Assistant City Attorney (871-7616) or Dr. Edward Sierra, Director of Environmental Management (871-8085). Bob Terrell City Manager — ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS