Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 140.05

Current through October 28, 2024
Section NR 140.05 - Definitions
(1) "Accuracy" means the closeness of a measured value to its generally accepted value or its value based upon an accepted reference standard.
(1m) "Alternative concentration limit" means the concentration of a substance in groundwater established by the department for a site to replace a preventive action limit or enforcement standard or both, from Table 1 or 2, when an exemption is granted in accordance with s. NR 140.28.
(1s) "Approval" means written acceptance by the department of a plan, report or other document that has been submitted to the department for review.
(1u) "Aquifer storage recovery" or "ASR" means placement of treated drinking water underground through a well for the purpose of storing and later recovering the water through the same well for potable use.

Note: Underground placement of water for the purpose of restoring an aquifer is not included in the definition of "aquifer storage recovery" or "ASR".

(1w) "ASR displacement zone" means the 3-dimensional subsurface region surrounding an aquifer storage recovery well into which treated drinking water is placed for storage and later recovery.
(1y) "ASR system" means all of the ASR wells, ASR monitoring wells and related appurtenances within a municipal well system and any interconnected public water system served by the municipal water system.
(2) "Attain or exceed" means that the concentration of a substance is determined to be equal to or greater than the preventive action limit or enforcement standard for that substance.
(3) "Background water quality" or "background concentration" means groundwater quality at or near a facility, practice or activity which has not been affected by that facility, practice or activity.
(4) "Certified laboratory" means a laboratory which performs tests for hire in connection with a covered program and which receives certification under s. 299.11(7), Stats., or receives reciprocal recognition under s. 299.11(5), Stats.
(5) "Department" means the department of natural resources.
(6) "Design management zone" means a 3-dimensional boundary surrounding each regulated facility, practice or activity established under s. NR 140.22(3).
(7) "Enforcement standard" means a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under s. 160.07, Stats., and s. NR 140.10 or s. 160.09, Stats., and s. NR 140.12.
(8) "Facility, practice or activity" means any source or potential source of a substance which is detected in or has a reasonable probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state.
(9) "Groundwater" means any of the waters of the state, as defined in s. 281.01(18), Stats., occurring in a saturated subsurface geological formation of rock or soil.
(10) "Indicator parameter" means a substance for which a preventive action limit has been established under s. NR 140.20, which is used to indicate the potential for a preventive action limit established under s. NR 140.10 or 140.12 to be attained or exceeded and for which an enforcement standard has not been established under s. NR 140.10 or 140.12.
(10e) "Infiltration" means the underground emplacement of substances or remedial material, or both, into an excavation that is wider than deep so as to percolate or move through unsaturated material to groundwater.
(10s) "Injection" means the underground emplacement of substances or remedial material, or both, into a borehole or other excavation that is deeper than wide so as to percolate or move through unsaturated material to groundwater or to enter ground-water directly.
(11) "Land disposal system" means a facility for disposing of liquid wastes consisting of:
(a) An absorption or seepage pond system,
(b) A ridge and furrow system;
(c) A spray irrigation system,
(d) An overland flow system,
(e) A subsurface field absorption system,
(f) A land spreading system, or
(g) Any other land area receiving liquid waste discharges.
(12) "Limit of detection" means the lowest concentration level that can be determined to be statistically different from a blank.
(13) "Limit of quantitation" means the level above which quantitative results may be obtained with a specified degree of confidence.

Note: The limit of quantitation is established as defined under s. NR 149.48(3).

Note: Pursuant to s. 299.11(4) (c), Stats., sub. (13) (Note) is shown as amended eff. 6-29-21 by CR 17-046. Prior to 6-29-21 it reads:

Note: The limit of quantitation is 10/3 or 3.333 times the limit of detection.

(14) "Monitoring" means all procedures used to collect data on groundwater, surface water or soils.
(14m) "Natural attenuation'' means the reduction in the concentration and mass of a substance and its breakdown products in groundwater, due to naturally occurring physical, chemical, and biological processes without human intervention or enhancement. These processes include, but are not limited to, dispersion, diffusion, sorption and retardation, and degradation processes such as biodegradation, abiotic degradation and radioactive decay.
(15) "Point of standards application" means the specific location, depth or distance from a facility, activity or practice at which the concentration of a substance in groundwater is measured for purposes of determining whether a preventive action limit or an enforcement standard has been attained or exceeded.
(16) "Precision" means the closeness of repeated measurements of the same parameter within a sample.
(17) "Preventive action limit" means a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under s. 160.15, Stats., and s. NR 140.10, 140.12 or 140.20.
(18) "Property boundary" means the boundary of the total contiguous parcel of land owned or leased by a common owner or lessor, regardless of whether public or private roads run through the parcel.
(19) "Registered laboratory" means a laboratory which is registered under s. 299.11(8), Stats., or receives reciprocal recognition under s. 299.11(5), Stats.
(20) "Regulatory agency" means the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, the department of safety and professional services, the department of transportation, the department of natural resources and other state agencies which regulate activities, facilities or practices which are related to substances which have been detected in or have reasonable probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state.
(20h) "Remedial action" means a response which is taken to achieve compliance with groundwater quality standards established under this chapter. This term includes, but is not limited to, actions designed to prevent or minimize the further discharge or release of substances to groundwater and actions designed to renovate or restore groundwater quality.
(20k) "Remedial material" means any solid, liquid, semi-solid or gaseous material, either naturally occurring or manmade, in its original form or as a metabolite or degradation product, or naturally occurring non-pathogenic biological organisms which have not undergone human induced genetic alteration, which enhances the restoration of soil or groundwater quality, or both.
(20m) "Response" means any action taken to respond to an attainment or exceedance of a preventive action limit or enforcement standard as required by s. NR 140.24 or 140.26.

Note: A response may include a remedial action.

(20s) "Specified substance" means one of the following: chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane or bromoform.
(21) "Substance" means any solid, liquid, semisolid, dissolved solid or gaseous material, naturally occurring or man-made chemical, parameter for measurement of water quality or biological organism which, in its original form, or as a metabolite or a degradation or waste product, may decrease the quality of groundwater.
(22) "Wastewater and sludge storage or treatment lagoon" means a natural or man-made containment structure, constructed primarily of earthen materials for the treatment or storage of wastewater or sludge, which is not a land disposal system.

Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 140.05

Cr. Register, September, 1985, No. 357, eff. 10-1-85; cr. (1m), am. (7), (17) and (18), Register, October, 1988, No. 394, eff. 11-1-88; am. (6), cr. (20h) and (20m), Register, March, 1994, No. 459, eff. 4-1-94; cr. (1s), (10e), (10s), (20k), r. and recr. (12), (13), Register, August, 1995, No. 476, eff. 9-1-95; cr. (14m), Register, October, 1996, No. 490, eff. 11-1-96; am. (20), Register, December, 1998, No. 516, eff. 1-1-99; correction in (9) made under s. 13.93(2m) (b) 7, Stats., Register, April, 2001, No. 544; CR 02-134: cr. (1u), (1w), (1y) and (20s) Register June 2003 No. 570, eff. 7-1-03; correction in (20) made under s. 13.92(4) (b) 6, Stats., Register January 2012 No. 673.
Amended by, correction in (13) (Note) made under s. 13.92(4) (b), Stats., Register February 2021 No. 782, eff. 3/1/2021.