Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-6-5-.02

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024

Section 335-6-5-.02 - Definitions

Whenever used in this Chapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context or unless a different meaning is stated in a definition applicable to only a portion of this Chapter, the following shall mean:

(a) "application" means forms, applicable permit fees, and additional information required by this Chapter to be submitted when applying for a SID Permit.

(b) "average monthly discharge limitation" means the highest allowable average of "daily discharges" over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar month divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that month. Zero discharge days shall not be included in the number of "daily discharges" measured. When an EPA approved method having a detection limit lower than the permit limitation or when the EPA approved method having the lowest detection limit for a substance is used by the permittee, a value of less than detectable shall be considered zero for purposes of calculating the average monthly discharge of the substance.

(c) "average weekly discharge limitation" means the highest allowable average of "daily discharges" over a calendar week, calculated as the sum of all "daily discharges" measured during a calendar week divided by the number of "daily discharges" measured during that week (zero discharge days shall not be included in the number of "daily discharges" measured). When an EPA approved method having a detection limit lower than the permit limitation or when the EPA approved method having the lowest detection limit for a substance is used by the permittee, a value of less than detectable shall be considered zero for purposes of calculating the average weekly discharge of the substance.

(d) "baseline report" means information required by 40 CFR Section 403.12(b) (1994) to be submitted by an industrial user subject to a categorical pretreatment standard.

(e) "best management practices plan" ("BMP") means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of "waters of the state." BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material or product storage.

(f) "bypass" means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of an industrial user's wastewater treatment facility.

(g) "categorical industrial user" means any "industrial user" to which a "categorical pretreatment standard" applies.

(h) "categorical pretreatment standard" or "pretreatment standard" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the FWPCA, which applies to industrial users.

(i) "commencement of construction" means that the owner or operator has:

1. begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:

(i) any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment or

(ii) significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures, or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or

2. entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purpose of placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under the paragraph.

(j) "commercial centralized waste treatment facility" or "CWT" means a facility, other than a landfill or incinerator, which treats or stores aqueous wastes generated by facilities not located on the site of the CWT and which disposes of these wastes by introducing them into a publicly owned treatment works.

(k) "daily discharge" means the discharge of a pollutant measured during any consecutive 24 hour period in accordance with the sample type and analytical methodology specified by the discharge permit.

(l) "Department" means the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, established by the Alabama Environmental Management Act, Code of Alabama 1975, §§ 22-22A-1 to 22-22A-16.

(m) "Director" means the Director of the "Department" or an authorized representative.

(n) "discharge limitation" means any restriction imposed by the Director on quantities, discharge rates, concentrations or other characteristics of "pollutants" or volumes or flow rates of wastewater which are "discharged" into a "publicly or privately owned treatment works."

(o) "discharge monitoring report" or "(DMR)" means the form approved by the Director to accomplish the reporting requirements of a SID Permit.

(p) "domestic discharger" means a "discharger" which discharges only "domestic wastewater."

(q) "domestic wastewater" means wastewater from residences and other wastewaters of similar composition and strength and does not mean wastewater generated by industrial processes.

(r) "draft permit" means a document indicating the Director's tentative decision to issue or deny, modify, revoke and reissue, terminate, or reissue a "SID Permit."

(s) "general prohibitions" means those promulgated restrictions and standards published in 40 CFR Section 403.5(1994) and applicable to all industrial discharges.

(t) "indirect discharge" or "discharge" means the addition, introduction, leaking, spilling, or emitting of non-domestic pollutants from any source, including but not limited to those regulated under Section 307(b) or (c) of the FWPCA, into a "publicly owned treatment works" or the introduction of non-domestic pollutants into a "privately owned treatment works" by a person other than the operator of the "privately owned treatment works."

(u) "indirect discharger" or "discharger" means a non-domestic discharger who discharges "pollutants" to a "publicly owned treatment works" or a "privately owned treatment facility" operated by a person other than the indirect discharger.

(v) "industrial user" means a source of "indirect discharge."

(w) "interference" means inhibition or disruption of the treatment processes or operations of a "publicly or privately owned treatment works" which contributes to a violation of any requirement of its "NPDES" permit or causes damage to any part of the collection, treatment, and disposal system; and includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by a "publicly owned treatment works" in accordance with Section 405 of the FWPCA, or any criteria, guidelines, or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the "publicly owned treatment works."

(x) "maximum daily discharge limitation" means the highest allowable "daily discharge."

(y) "municipal wastewater" means any wastewater discharged to a "publicly owned treatment works" and includes domestic and industrial wastewater.

(z) "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" or "NPDES" means the national program for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing permits for the discharge of pollutants into waters of the state.

(aa) "new discharger" means any "significant indirect discharger", to whom the "Department" has not issued a "SID Permit", or any potential "significant industrial discharger."

(bb) "new source" means:

1. any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, for which the "commencement of construction" occurred:

(i) after promulgation of "categorical pretreatment standards" under Section 307(c) of FWPCA which are applicable to such source; or

(ii) after proposal of "categorical pretreatment standards" in accordance with Section 307(c) of the FWPCA which are applicable to such source, but only if the standards are promulgated in accordance with Section 307(c) within 120 days of their proposal.

(cc) "NPDES Permit" means a permit issued to the "privately or publicly owned treatment works" pursuant to Section 402 of the FWPCA.

(dd) "pass through" means that a pollutant(s) introduced into a "publicly or privately owned treatment works" by an "industrial discharger" exits into a "water of the state" in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with one or more other discharges, is a cause of a violation of the "NPDES Permit" issued to the treatment works or is a cause of a violation of a state water quality standard or is a cause of an increase in the duration or magnitude of a violation of the permit or water quality standard.

(ee) "permittee" means a person to whom a permit has been issued under this Chapter.

(ff) "person" means any and all persons, natural or artificial, including, but not limited to, any individual, partnership, association, society, joint stock company, firm, company, corporation, institution, trust, other legal entity, business organization or any governmental entity and any successor, representative, responsible corporate officer, agent or agency of the foregoing.

(gg) "pollutant" includes but is not limited to dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water. It does not mean:

1. sewage from vessels or

2. water, gas, or other material which is injected into a well to facilitate production of oil or gas, or water derived in association with oil and gas production and disposed of in a well, if the well used either to facilitate production or for disposal purposes is approved by authority of the state and if the Department determines that the injection or disposal will not result in the degradation of ground or surface water resources.

(hh) "pretreatment" means the reduction of the amount of a "pollutant(s)," the elimination of "pollutant(s)," or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a "publicly or privately owned treatment works." The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, process changes or by other means, except as prohibited by Rule 335-6-5-.06.

(ii) "privately owned treatment works" means any device or system which is used to treat wastes from any facility whose operator is not the operator of the treatment works, and which is not a "publicly owned treatment works."

(jj) "publicly owned treatment works" means a treatment works as defined by Section 212 of the FWPCA, which is owned by the state, a municipality, a regional entity composed of two or more municipalities, or another entity created by state or local authority for the purpose of collecting and treating municipal wastewater. This definition does not include pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment. The term also means the municipality as defined in Section 502(4) of the FWPCA, which has jurisdiction over the "indirect discharges" to and the discharges from such a treatment works.

(kk) "Regional Administrator" means the Regional Administrator of the appropriate regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency or the authorized representative of the Regional Administrator.

(ll) "schedule of compliance" means a schedule of remedial measures, included in a permit, including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with any permit requirement or water quality standard.

(mm) "severe property damage" means substantial physical damage to property, damage to waste treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.

(nn) "sewage" means water carried human wastes from residences, buildings, industrial establishments or other places, together with such ground, surface, storm or other waters as may be present.

(oo) "significant industrial discharger" or "significant industrial user" means any of the following:

1. All "industrial users" subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards under 40 CFR 403.6(1994) and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N (1994);

2. All "industrial users" that "discharge" an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater (excluding sanitary wastewater, noncontact cooling water, and boiler blowdown) to a "publicly owned treatment works";

3. All "industrial users" that "discharge" an average quantity of process wastewater (excluding sanitary wastewater, noncontact cooling water, and boiler blowdown) that makes up five percent or more of the average dry weather organic or hydraulic capacity of the "publicly owned treatment works";

4. All "industrial users" that "discharge" an average organic loading that makes up five percent or more of the design capacity of the "publicly owned treatment works";

5. All "industrial users" that "discharge" to a "privately owned treatment works"; or

6. Any "industrial user" that is determined by the "Director" to have a reasonable potential to adversely affect the operation of the "publicly owned treatment works" or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6) (1994);

(pp) "sludge" means any solid, semi-solid, or viscous material or other residue resulting from treatment of wastewater or produced as a result of wastewater management;

(qq) "State Indirect Discharge Permit" or "SID Permit" means a permit issued to an "industrial user";

(rr) "submission" when referring to the rendering of reports, applications, or other documents required to be submitted to the Department, means that the complete document(s) is received by the Department;

(ss) "toxic pollutant" means a "pollutant" or combination of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any organisms, either directly from the environment or indirectly through food chains, will, on the basis of information available to the Department or Director cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions, including malfunctions in reproduction, or physical deformations, in such organisms or their offspring. This shall include but not be limited to pollutants listed as toxic under Section 307(a)(1) of the FWPCA.

(tt) "trade secret" includes but is not limited to, any formula, plan, pattern, process, tool, mechanism, compound or procedure, as well as production data or compilation of information, financial and marketing data, which is not patented, which is known only to certain individuals within a commercial concern who are using it to fabricate, produce or compound an article of trade or a service having commercial value, and which gives its user an opportunity to obtain a business advantage over competitors who do not know of it.

(uu) "upset" means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with SID Permit effluent limitations because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the permittee. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.

(vv) "waste treatment facility" means any devices or systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling or reclamation of municipal sewage, industrial waste, any pollutant, or other waste, including but not limited to, interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems; associated pumping power and other equipment and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions or alterations thereof. In addition, "waste treatment facility" shall mean any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating, or disposing of municipal waste, industrial waste, pollutant, or other waste which flows into waters of the state, either directly or indirectly by passing through a publicly or privately owned treatment works.

(ww) "waters of the state" means all waters of any river, stream, watercourse, pond, lake, coastal, ground or surface water, wholly or partially within the state, natural or artificial. This does not include waters which are entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single individual, partnership or corporation unless such waters are used in interstate commerce.

Author: John Poole.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-6-5-.02

April 29, 1991. Amended: July 12, 1995.

Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 22-22-9, 22-22A-5, 22-22A-6, 22-22A-8.