Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 314 CMR - DIVISION OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL › Title 314 CMR 3.00 - Surface Water Discharge Permit Program › Section 3.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Administrator
- the Administrator of
				the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or an authorized
				representative.
Best Management Practices
or
BMPs
- schedules of activities, prohibitions of
				practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or
				reduce the pollution of waters of the Commonwealth. BMPs include treatment
				requirements, operating procedures, structures, devices, and/or practices to
				control plant site runoff, spillage, or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or
				drainage from raw material storage.
Biological Monitoring
- any test
				which includes the use of aquatic algal, bacterial, invertebrate, or vertebrate
				species to measure acute or chronic toxicity, and any biological or chemical
				measure of bioaccumulation.
Bypass
- the intentional diversion of
				wastes from any portion of a treatment works.
Coastal Waters
- all waters of the
				Commonwealth assigned SA, SB, or SC classifications in
				314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts
				Surface Water Quality Standards,.
Combined Sewer Overflows or CSO
- any
				intermittent overflow, bypass or other discharge from a municipal combined
				sewer system which results from a flow in excess of the dry weather carrying
				capacity of the system.
Combined Sewer System
- a sewer
				system which, by design, collects and conveys both wastewater and storm water
				runoff.
Commissioner
- the Commissioner of
				the Department.
Contact Cooling Water
- water used to
				reduce temperature which comes into contact with a raw material, intermediate
				product, waste product (other than heat), or finished product.
Contiguous Zone
- the entire zone
				established by the United States under article 24 of the convention of the
				Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone.
Control Measure
- as the term is used
				in connection with general permits issued by the Department pursuant to
				314 CMR 3.06,
				refers to any best management practice, (BMP) or other method, used to prevent
				or reduce the discharge of pollutants to waters of the Commonwealth.
Conventional Pollutant
- biochemical
				oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, fecal coliform, or oil and grease.
Department
- the Massachusetts
				Department of Environmental Protection.
Discharge
or
Discharge of
				Pollutants
- any addition of any pollutant or combination of
				pollutants to waters of the Commonwealth from any source, including but not
				limited to, discharges from surface runoff which are collected or channelled by
				man; discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances owned by a State,
				municipality, or other person, which do not lead to a POTW; and discharges
				through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances, leading into privately owned
				treatment works. This term does not include an addition of pollutants by any
				indirect discharger.
Effluent
- a discharge of pollutants
				into the environment, whether or not treated.
Effluent Limitation
or
Effluent Limit
- any requirement, restriction, or
				standard imposed by the Department on quantities, discharge rates, and
				concentrations of pollutants which are discharged from point sources into
				waters of the Commonwealth or to publicly owned treatment works.
Effluent Limitation Guideline
or
Effluent Standard
- a regulation published by the
				Administrator under
				33 U.S.C.
				1251
								§ 304, 306 or 307 or by the
				Department under M.G.L. c. 21, § 27 which is used as a basis for
				establishing effluent limitations.
Environmental Protection Agency
or
EPA
- the United States Environmental Protection
				Agency.
Hazardous Substance
- any of the
				substances designated under 40 CFR Part 116 pursuant to
				33 U.S.C.
				1251
								§ 311, or any hazardous material as
				defined in M.G.L. c. 21E.
Hazardous Waste
- a hazardous waste
				pursuant to 310 CMR 30.000:
Hazardous Waste
.
Highest and Best Practical Treatment or
				HBPT
- For the purposes of establishing technology based effluent
				limitations pursuant to
				314 CMR
				3.11(5),
				4.04(5)
				 and 405(5)(c), HBPT means the technology
				based standard of "Best Available Technology Economically Achievable ("BAT")
				used by EPA under
				33 U.S.C.
				1251
et seq
., defined as the
				most appropriate means available on a national basis for controlling the direct
				discharge of toxic and non-conventional pollutants to navigable waters and
				which represent the best existing performance technologies for a particular
				pollutant or group of pollutant that are economically achievable.
Illicit Discharge
- any discharge to
				a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) that is not composed entirely of
				storm water, except discharges pursuant to a surface water discharge permit
				pursuant to
				314 CMR 3.00 (other than the
				surface water discharge permit for discharges from the MS4) and discharges
				resulting from fire fighting activities.
Indirect Discharger
- a discharger
				introducing pollutants to a treatment works.
Industrial Waste
- any liquid,
				gaseous, or solid waste substance or a combination thereof resulting from any
				process of industry, manufacturing, trade, or business or from the development
				or recovery of any natural resources.
Massachusetts Water Quality Standards
-
				314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts
				Surface Water Quality Standards and
				314 CMR
				6.00: Ground Water Quality Standards.
NPDES
- the National Pollutant
				Discharge Elimination System permit program established pursuant to
				33 U.S.C.
				1342.
New Discharger
- any building,
				structure, facility, or installation:
(a) from which there is or may be a new or additional discharge
				of pollutants at a site at which on August 13, 1979, it had never discharged
				pollutants;
(b) which has never received a finally effective NPDES permit
				for discharges at that site; and
(c) which is not a "new source".
This definition includes an indirect discharger which commences
				discharging into waters of the Commonwealth after August 13, 1979.
New Source
- any building, structure,
				facility, or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of
				pollutants, the construction of which commenced:
(a) After promulgation of standards of performance under
				33 U.S.C.
				1251 306 which are applicable to such source;
				or
(b) After proposal of standards of performance in accordance
				with
				33 U.S.C.
				1251
								§ 306 Act which are applicable to
				such source, but only if the standards are promulgated in accordance with
				33 U.S.C.
				1251
								§ 306 within 120 days of their
				proposal.
Non-conventional Pollutant
- any
				pollutant other than a toxic pollutant or a conventional pollutant.
Non-contact Cooling Water
- water
				used to reduce temperature which does not come into direct contact with any raw
				material, intermediate product, waste product (other than heat), or finished
				product.
Outlet
- the terminus of a sewer
				system, or the point of emergence of any wastewater or effluent into the waters
				of the Commonwealth or onto the land surface.
Permit
- an authorization issued
				pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21, § 43 and
				314 CMR
				2.00, and
				3.00,
				5.00, or
				7.00, to implement the
				requirements of the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act, M.G.L. c. 21, §§
				26 through 53 and the Clean Water Act,
				33 U.S.C.
				1251
et seq
and the NPDES
				regulations at 40 CFR Part 122 . Depending on the context in
				314 CMR 3.00, the term
				"permit" applies to:
(a) An individual permit that regulates one or more discharges
				by a discharger; and/or
(b) a general permit that regulates one or more categories of
				discharges and covers multiple individual dischargers who have properly applied
				for coverage under the general permit.
Person
- any agency or political
				subdivision of the Commonwealth, the Federal government, any public or private
				corporation or authority, individual, partnership or association, or other
				entity, including any officer of a public or private agency or organization,
				upon whom a duty may be imposed by or pursuant to any provisions of M.G.L. c.
				21, §§ 26 through 53.
Point Source
- any discernible,
				confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch,
				channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock,
				concentrated animal feeding operation, vessel or other floating craft from
				which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include return
				flows from irrigated agriculture.
Pollutant
- any element or property
				of sewage, agricultural, industrial or commercial waste, runoff, leachate,
				heated effluent, or other matter, in whatever form and whether originating at a
				point or major non-point source, which is or may be discharged, drained or
				otherwise introduced into any sewerage system, treatment works or waters of the
				Commonwealth.
Pollutant of Concern
- pollutants
				that include biochemical oxygen demand ("BOD"), sediment or a parameter that
				addresses sediment (such as total suspended solids, turbidity or siltation),
				pathogens, oil and grease, and any pollutant that has been identified as a
				cause of impairment in any water body to which a MS4 discharges.
Pollution
- the presence in the
				environment of pollutants in quantities or characteristics which are or may be
				injurious to human, plant or animal life or to property or which unreasonably
				interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property throughout such
				areas as may be affected thereby.
Pretreatment
- the reduction of the
				amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the
				nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging
				or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW.
Primary Treatment
- a wastewater
				treatment process in which substantially all floating or settleable solids are
				removed by screening and sedimentation.
Process Wastewater
- any water which,
				during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results
				from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished
				product, or waste product.
Public Entity
- any city, town,
				special district, the Metropolitan District Commission or other existing
				governmental unit eligible to receive a grant for the construction of treatment
				works from the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Title
				II of
				33 U.S.C.
				1251.
Publicly Owned Treatment Works
or
POTW
- any device or system used in the treatment
				(including recycling and reclamation) of municipal sewage or industrial wastes
				of a liquid nature which is owned by a public entity. A POTW includes any
				sewers, pipes, or other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW
				providing treatment.
RCRA
- the Solid Waste Disposal Act,
				as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 ( P.L. 94-580,
				as amended by P.L. 95-609,
				42 U.S.C. §
									6901
et seq.
)
RCRA Facility
- a hazardous waste
				management facility as defined in
				314 CMR
				8.03.
Sewage
- the water-carried human or
				animal wastes from residences, buildings, industrial establishments or other
				places, together with such ground water infiltration and surface water as may
				be present.
Sewer System
- pipelines or conduits,
				pumping stations, force mains, and all other structures, devices,
				appurtenances, and facilities used for collecting and conveying wastes to a
				site or works for treatment or disposal.
Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer
				System
or
Small MS4
- all separate storm
				sewers that are:
(a) Owned or operated by the United States, the Commonwealth of
				Massachusetts, a city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or
				other public body (created by or pursuant to state law) having jurisdiction
				over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, storm water, or other wastes,
				including special districts under state law such as a sewer district, flood
				control district or drainage district, or similar entity or an Indian tribe or
				an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a designated and approved
				management agency under
				33 U.S.C. §
									1288 that discharges to waters of the United
				States.
(b) Not defined as a large or medium municipal separate storm
				sewer systems pursuant to
				40
				CFR s. 122.26(b)(4) and
				(b)(7) or designated under
				40
				CFR §
									122.26(a)(1)(v).
(c) This term includes systems similar to separate storm sewer
				systems in municipalities, such as systems at military bases, large hospitals
				or prison complexes, and highways and other thoroughfares. The term does not
				include separate storm sewers in very discrete areas such as individual
				buildings.
Surface Waters
- all waters other
				than ground waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including,
				without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments,
				estuaries, wetlands and coastal waters.
Storm Water
- means storm water
				runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface water runoff and drainage.
Total Maximum Daily Loads
or
TMDLs
- water quality assessments that determine the
				source or sources of pollutants of concern for a particular water body,
				consider the maximum amount of pollutants the waterbody can assimilate, and
				then allocate to each source a set level of pollutants that it is allowed to
				discharge (
i.e.
, a "wasteload allocation").
Toxic Pollutants
- those pollutants
				identified in
				314
				CMR 3.16 or any other pollutants, or
				combination of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which after
				discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any
				organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly through food
				chains, may, on the basis of information available to the Department, cause
				death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, mutations, physiological
				malfunctions, biochemical abnormalities, including malfunctions in
				reproduction, or physical deformations, in such organisms or their
				offspring.
Treatment Works
- any and all
				devices, processes and properties, real or personal, used in the collection,
				pumping, transmission, storage, treatment, disposal, recycling, reclamation or
				reuse of waterborne pollutants, but not including any works receiving a
				hazardous waste from off the site of the works for the purpose of treatment,
				storage or disposal.
Urbanized Area
- a land area
				comprising one or more places - central place(s) - and the adjacent densely
				settled surrounding area - urban fringe - that together have a residential
				population of at least 50,000 and an overall population density of at least
				1,000 people per square mile, as determined by the federal Bureau of the
				Census.
Wastewater
- sewage, industrial
				waste, other wastes or any combination of the three.
Waters of the Commonwealth
- all
				waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including, without
				limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries,
				wetlands, coastal waters, and ground waters.