(a) Discharge notification. If for any reason there is a discharge to water in the state, the concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) operator shall notify the appropriate regional office orally within 24 hours of becoming aware of the discharge or by the next business day and in writing within 14 business days of the discharge from the retention control structure or any component of the manure handling or land application system to the Office of Compliance and Enforcement, Enforcement Division. In addition, the operator shall document the following information, keep the information on site, and submit the information to the appropriate regional office within 14 business days of becoming aware of such discharge. The notification must include:
  (1) a description and cause of the discharge, including a description of the flow path to the receiving water body;
  (2) an estimation of the volume discharged;
  (3) the period of discharge, including exact dates and times, and, if not corrected, the anticipated time the discharge is expected to continue, and steps being taken to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the discharge;
  (4) if caused by a precipitation event(s), the date(s) of the event(s) and the rainfall amount(s) recorded from the on-site rain gauge;
  (5) results of analysis as required by subsection (b) of this section; and
  (6) any upset which exceeds any effluent limitation in the permit or authorization.
(b) Discharge monitoring. A permit or authorization will establish requirements for sample collection and analysis, sample type and frequency, and the parameters to be monitored.
  (1) The effluent shall be analyzed by a National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference accredited lab for the following parameters:
    (A) Escherichia coli;
    (B) five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD 5);
    (C) total suspended solids (TSS);
    (D) Ammonia Nitrogen (as N);
    (E) Nitrate (as N);
    (F) total dissolved solids (TDS);
    (G) total phosphorus (as P); and
    (H) any pesticide which the operator has reason to believe could be in the discharge.
  (2) If the operator is unable to collect samples due to climatic conditions that create dangerous conditions for personnel (such as local flooding, high winds, hurricanes, tornadoes, electrical storms, etc.), the operator shall document why discharge samples could not be collected. Once dangerous conditions have passed, the operator shall conduct the required sampling and analyses.
  (3) In the event that a discharge occurs outside of the normal business hours of the testing laboratory, which causes the maximum hold time to lapse, the operator shall collect a secondary sample from the retention control structure, and have it analyzed on the first business day for each parameter where the maximum hold time is exceeded.
(c) Construction notification. After all initial construction activity has been completed, and before beginning operations, an operator of a new CAFO must notify the appropriate regional office orally that the facility is commencing operations.

Source Note: The provisions of this §321.44 adopted to be effective July 9, 1990, 15 TexReg 3639; amended to be effective September 18, 1998, 23 TexReg 9354; amended to be effective July 15, 2004, 29 TexReg 6652; amended to be effective July 31, 2014, 39 TexReg 5786