Code of Maine Rules › 06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL › Chapter 526 - COOLING WATER INTAKE STRUCTURES › Section 096-526-4 - Definitions

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
The following terms, as used in this Chapter, have the
				  following meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise. Terms not otherwise
				  defined have the meaning given by Chapter 520, Title 38 M.R.S. § 361-A, or
				  the Federal Clean Water Act. When a defined term appears in a definition, the
				  defined term is sometimes italicized as an aid to readers. [See  40 CFR §
										125.83 and  125.92]
A.
Actual
				intake flow (AIF)
means the average volume of water withdrawn on an
				annual basis by the cooling water intake structures over the previous five
				years. Actual intake flow is measured at a location within the
cooling
				water intake structure
that the Department deems appropriate. The
				calculation of actual intake flow includes days of zero flow. AIF does not
				include flows associated with emergency and fire suppression
				capacity.
B.
All life stages
				of fish and shellfish
means eggs, larvae, juveniles, and adults. It does
				not include members of the infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea
				(barnacles), green mussels (
Perna viridis
), or zebra mussels
				(
Dreissena polymorpha
). The Department may determine that all
				life stages of fish and shellfish does not include other specified nuisance
				species.
C.
Annual mean
				flow
means the average of daily flows over a calendar year. Historical
				data (up to 10 years) must be used where available.
D.
Closed-cycle recirculating
				system
means a system designed and properly operated using minimized
				make-up and blowdown flows withdrawn from a water of the State to support
				contact or non-contact cooling uses within a facility, or a system designed to
				include certain impoundments. A closed-cycle recirculating system passes
				cooling water through a heat exchange system such as a condenser and other
				components of the cooling system and reuses the water for cooling multiple
				times.
(1)
Closed-cycle recirculating
				system
includes wet, dry, or hybrid cooling towers, a system of
				impoundments that are not waters of the State, or any combination thereof. A
				properly operated and maintained closed-cycle recirculating system withdraws
				new source water (make-up water) only to replenish losses that have occurred
				due to blowdown, drift, and evaporation. If waters of the State are withdrawn
				for purposes of replenishing losses to a closed-cycle recirculating system
				other than those due to blowdown, drift, and evaporation from the cooling
				system, the Department may determine a cooling system is a closed-cycle
				recirculating system if the facility demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
				Department that make-up water withdrawals attributed specifically to the
				cooling portion of the cooling system have been minimized.
(2)
Closed-cycle recirculating
				system
also includes a system with impoundments of waters of the State
				where the impoundment was created for the purpose of serving as part of the
				cooling water system as documented in the project purpose statement for any
				required Clean Water Act section 404 permit obtained to construct the
				impoundment. In the case of an impoundment whose construction pre-dated the CWA
				requirement to obtain a section 404 permit, documentation of the project's
				purpose must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Department. This
				documentation could be some other license or permit obtained to lawfully
				construct the impoundment for the purposes of a cooling water system, or other
				such evidence as the Department finds necessary. For impoundments constructed
				in uplands or not in waters of the State, no documentation of a section 404 or
				other permit is required. If waters of the State are withdrawn for purposes of
				replenishing losses to a closed-cycle recirculating system other than those due
				to blowdown, drift, and evaporation from the cooling system, the Department may
				determine a cooling system is a closed-cycle recirculating system if the
				facility demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department that make-up water
				withdrawals attributed specifically to the cooling portion of the cooling
				system have been minimized.