Alabama Administrative Code › Title 420 - ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH › Chapter 420-3-1 - ONSITE SEWAGE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL › Section 420-3-1-.04 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1)
ADEM
-- the Alabama Department of Environmental
			 Management.
(2)
ADPH
-- the Alabama Department of Public Health, the administrative arm of the
			 Board, including variations in the name such as State of Alabama Department of
			 Public Health, State Department of Public Health, State Health Department, or
			 Public Health Department.
(3)
Advanced Treatment (Effluent)
-- treatment that results in a
			 minimum level of effluent quality attainable by secondary treatment as defined
			 in 40 C.F.R. §
									133.102 before discharge into the
			 environment. See Secondary Effluent Standard.
(4)
Advanced Treatment System
			 (ATS)
-- a treatment system that is capable of producing secondary
			 treatment as defined by these rules. This term may include advanced treatment
			 units (ATU).
(5)
Agent
-- a legally authorized representative of another person.
(6)
Aggregate or Drain Media
--
			 hard, clean gravel or rock that has been washed with water under pressure over
			 a screen during or after grading to remove fine material, and that has a
			 hardness value of three or greater on Mohs Scale of Hardness (aggregate that
			 can scratch a copper penny without leaving any residual rock material on the
			 coin would have a Mohs hardness of three), or other equivalent ADPH approved
			 media, material, or device used for the subsurface distribution of effluent.
			 Properly sized loose aggregate has a minimum size of one- quarter (1/4) inch
			 and a maximum size of two and one-half (2-1/2) inches. The drain media,
			 material, or device is durable and inert; will maintain its integrity and not
			 collapse or disintegrate with time; will not generate a harmful leachate; and
			 will not be detrimental to the system or the environment.
(7)
ANSI
-- the American
			 National Standards Institute.
(8)
AOWB
-- the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board.
(9)
Approval for Use
-- the
			 authorization issued to the responsible person to operate an 088 or EDS. This
			 is issued by the local health department (LHD) after all conditions of these
			 rules and permits are satisfied.
(10)
ASTM
-- ASTM
			 International.
(11)
Average
			 Seasonal High Extended Saturation (ASHES)
-- a zone or layer 6 or more
			 inches thick that becomes saturated at least once during most years for a
			 significant duration, typically 20 or more consecutive days or 30 or more
			 cumulative days. This zone is restrictive and is approximated by the shallowest
			 occurrence of contemporary redoximorphic features containing 2 percent or more
			 chroma two or less (Munsell or equivalent) colors. See Table 7.
(12)
Bed
-- an EDF infiltrative
			 surface utilizing secondary treatment with no internal trench walls that does
			 not meet the definition of a pad. See Table 11 for sizing.
(13)
Bedrock
-- a general term
			 for the consolidated rock that underlies the soil and other unconsolidated
			 material or that is exposed at the surface. Practical application of the Mohs
			 scale: When hit with a spade, a definite ring indicates a Mohs rating of three
			 or greater. If no ring but more of a thud occurs, it indicates a rating less
			 than three.
Hard bedrock is lmown as a lithic contact and is described as a
				boundary between soil and continuous, coherent, underlying material. The
				underlying material shall be sufficiently coherent to make hand-digging with a
				spade impractical. Typical hardness is three (Mohs scale), and gravel size
				chunks do not disperse with 15 hours shaking in water or sodium
				hexametaphosphate solution.
Soft bedrock is known as a paralithic contact and is similar to
				a lithic contact except that it is softer and can be dug with difficulty with a
				spade. Typical hardness is less than three (Mohs scale), and gravel size chunks
				will partially disperse within 15 hours shaking in water or sodium
				hexametaphosphate solution.
(14)
Board
-- the Alabama State
			 Board of Health, as defined by §
								22-2-1,
Code of Ala.
			 1975
.
(15)
Building Development
-- a change in the characteristics of a lot,
			 tract or parcel of land, or other real property by an action including the sale
			 of or conveyance of any interest in the land that could be expected to lead to
			 human habitation or creation of an establishment. Such change includes, but is
			 not limited to, clearing plant life from property, other than minimal clearing
			 for soil and substrate evaluation; alteration to any degree of the naturally
			 occurring topography of the property; constructing roads; installing surface
			 drainage systems or similar facilities; providing utility services or
			 connections within the lot, tract, or parcel of land; constructing or placing
			 shelters or dwellings, or providing sites for the same; installing or accessing
			 public or private water or public or private sewer systems; planning or
			 constructing individual, or other means of sewage disposal; recording the plat
			 of the property as a large-flow development of lots of any size in the Office
			 of the Probate Judge; recording an easement or covenant relative to an OSS or
			 EDS for an individual lot; filing a plot plan with the LHD; or openly or by
			 implication advertising a lot, tract, or parcel as being for residential,
			 overnight recreational, or establishment uses, or as being part of an existing
			 or planned large-flow development.
(16)
Building Drain
-- the part
			 of the lowest piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from
			 waste drainage pipes inside the walls or under a habitable structure and
			 conveys it to the building sewer, ending 30 inches from the exterior wall of
			 the structure.
(17)
Building
			 Sewer
-- the part of a structure's drainage system which extends from
			 the end of the building drain, and which receives the discharge of a building
			 drain and conveys it to a public or private sewer system.
(18)
Certificate of Economic
			 ViabWty
-- a document issued by the Alabama Public Service Commission
			 (PSC) that certifies the financial viability of a wastewater management entity
			 pursuant to the requirements of §
								22-25B-1 et al.,
Code
			 of Ala. 1975
.
(19)
Cluster Wastewater System
-- see Onsite Sewage Treatment and
			 Disposal System (OSS).
(20)
Combined Treatment and Disposal System (CTD)
-- an ATS comprised
			 of proprietary distribution media and treatment media that is capable of
			 meeting secondary effluent standards as defmed by these rules. See Table 11 for
			 sizing.
(21)
Community
			 Wastewater System
-- see Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System
			 (OSS).
(22)
Composting
			 Toilet
-- a dry toilet that treats human waste within an aerobic, vented
			 environment to cause decomposition of the waste by dehydration and digestion of
			 organic matter, yielding a composted residue that is removed for sanitary
			 disposal.
(23)
Conventional
			 Onsite Sewage System (OSS)
-- a system for treating sewage that involves
			 the use of a septic tank or proprietary advanced treatment unit that has been
			 issued a Product Permit followed by non-pressurized dispersion of effluent in
			 an effluent disposal field (EDF) such that the trench bottom and sidewalls are
			 located completely in unaltered natural soil and the bottom of the trench is at
			 a depth not greater than 60 inches below the unaltered natural ground surface.
			 Such systems do not require an engineer design. A shallow placement system is a
			 Conventional OSS. See also Shallow Placement System.
(24)
Crossover
-- a
			 non-perforated pipe that connects one EDFpipe to another and installed as
			 specified in these rules or in the applicable product manuals.
(25)
Design Flow
-- the flow of
			 sewage to a system dictated by good engineering practices, comparable systems,
			 or literature on which the design is based. This flow is generally considered
			 to be the average daily flow that the treatment system and disposal field will
			 receive with appropriate consideration given to maximum flow periods,
			 equalization, and organic loading.
(26)
Developer
-- a person who
			 engages in building development.
(27)
Drainage System (Surface)
-- a drainage ditch, drainage way, drainage structure, swale, trench, culvert,
			 or any apparatus or method for directing the flow of water over land.
(28)
Drainage Way
-- a general
			 term for a course or channel along which water moves in draining an area. Also,
			 restricted to small, roughly linear, or arcuate depressions that move
			 concentrated water at some time, and either lacks a defined channel (e.g., head
			 slope or swale) or has a small defined channel (e.g., low order stream). See
			 also Gully, Ravine, and Ephemeral Stream.
(29)
Drip Irrigation System
-- a
			 system that relies on advanced treatment and filtration of the treated
			 effluent. Final disposal occurs in the upper limits of the soil horizon and is
			 distributed through small diameter tubes that have emitters that slowly drip
			 the treated water into the soil.
(30)
Dwelling
-- a house,
			 manufactured or mobile home, recreational vehicle, shelter, structure or
			 building, or portion thereof, that is or could be expected to be occupied in
			 whole or in part as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more
			 person(s).
(31)
Effective
			 Liquid Capacity
-- the liquid volume of a tank below the liquid level
			 line (outlet invert).
(32)
Effluent
-- the discharge from a sewage treatment device. See
			 Primary Effluent Standard, Secondary Effluent Standard, and Advanced
			 Treatment.
(33)
Effluent
			 Disposal Field (EDF)
-- a minimum area as calculated per these rules
			 into which sewage treated to at least Primary Effluent Standards is dispersed
			 into the soil.
(34)
Effluent
			 Disposal Field (EDF) Pipe -
perforated pipe or ADPH permitted equivalent
			 placed in the EDF for the purpose of dispersing effluent.
(35)
Effluent Line
-- a
			 watertight pipe in an OSS or EDS that conveys sewage from one component, such
			 as a septic tank or treatment unit, to another, such as an EDF, distribution
			 box, or header line.
(36)
Engineered OSS
-- all systems, other than those meeting the
			 definition of Conventional OSS, that require engineer design. This includes,
			 but is not limited to, controlled fill mound systems, advanced treatment
			 (except proprietary advanced treatment followed by a conventional EDF), drip
			 irrigation, low pressure pipe (LPP), non-proprietary uniform distribution,
			 constructed wetlands, and systems with a septic tank, followed by an EDF where
			 any portion of the EDF protrudes above the unaltered natural soil
			 surface.
(37)
Ephemeral
			 Stream
-- a feature that carries only stormwater in direct response to
			 precipitation with water flowing only during and shortly after large
			 precipitation events. An ephemeral stream may or may not have a well-defined
			 channel, the aquatic bed is always above the water table, and stormwater
			 run-off is the primary source of water. An ephemeral stream typically lacks the
			 biological, hydrological, and physical characteristics commonly associated with
			 the continuous or intermittent conveyance of water. For the purposes of these
			 rules, an ephemeral stream is considered a drainage way. See Gully and
			 Ravine.
(38)
Establishment
-- a facility, other than a dwelling, that generates
			 sewage as defined by these rules.
(39)
Failure
-- a breakage,
			 weakness, or defect that causes a malfunction in the treatment, distribution,
			 disposal, or dispersal of effluent into the EDF, or that causes a wash-out or
			 disruption of the EDF as evidenced by one of the following:
(a) Surfacing or ponding of effiuent (not by
			 design) at, over, or around any component of the OSS or EDS.
(b) Backing up of sewage within a dwelling or
			 establishment as a result of a malfunction of the OSS or EDS.
(c) The contamination of ground or surface
			 waters by an OSS or EDS.