Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 314 CMR - DIVISION OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL › Title 314 CMR 5.00 - GROUND WATER DISCHARGE PERMIT PROGRAM › Section 5.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used in
				314 CMR 5.00, the following
				words have the following meaning:
Agricultural Byproducts
- secondary
				organic materials produced from the raising of animals and crops as part of
				agronomic, horticultural, silvicultural, or livestock operations including, but
				not limited to, animal manure, liquid manure, bedding materials, plant stalks,
				leaves, and other vegetative matter and byproducts from the on-farm processing
				of fruits, vegetables, dairy and other food products.
Agricultural Land
- land used for
				agriculture or farming as defined in M.G.L. c. 128, § 1A.
Agricultural Operation
- a business
				engaged in agriculture or farming as defined in M.G.L. c. 128, § 1A. An
				Agricultural Operation shall include all operations, whether conducted on one
				or more parcels of land within the Commonwealth, which are owned or operated by
				the same Person.
Agricultural Process Water
- process
				water that is generated as a byproduct from Agricultural Operation activities
				and processing of agricultural products.
Agricultural Process
				Water
includes, but is not limited to, water generated as a
				byproduct in a milking parlor, milkhouse, or bottling operation.
Aquifer
- a geological formation,
				group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of yielding a
				significant amount of water to a well or spring.
Best Management Practices or BMP
-
				schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and
				other management practices designed to prevent or reduce the discharge of
				pollutants to waters of the Commonwealth. BMPs include treatment requirements,
				operating procedures, structures, devices and 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.
Boiler Blowdown
- wastewater that
				results from the periodic or continuous bleed off of water from a boiler during
				operation for the purpose of eliminating excess solids from the boiler water.
				This wastewater may include steam condensate from boiler operations.
Boiler Blowdown
does not include the wastewater and
				waste alkaline cleaning solution generated by the use of acidic cleaning
				solutions to remove scale or other contaminants from a boiler or the hot
				alkaline cleaning solution used to remove oil and grease, protective coatings
				or soil from a new boiler operation.
Bypass
- the diversion of wastes from
				any portion of a treatment works.
Closed-loop Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP)
				Well
- a ground source heat pump well that uses a closed-loop
				fluid system to prevent the discharge or escape of its fluid into the
				subsurface.
Commissioner
- the Commissioner of the
				Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
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.
Continuous Monitoring
- monitoring and
				recording that occurs without interruption through the use of automated
				instrumentation.
Department
- the Massachusetts
				Department of Environmental Protection.
Direct Exchange GSHP (DX) Well
- a
				ground source heat pump well that circulates a refrigerant through a
				closed-loop fluid/vapor system to prevent the discharge or escape of its
				contents into the subsurface. DX well systems are also commonly referred to as
				direct expansion systems.
Discharge or Discharge of Pollutants
-
				any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to waters of the
				Commonwealth from any source.
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 that are discharged from point sources into waters
				of the Commonwealth, to publicly or privately owned treatment works or to a
				reclaimed water distribution system so that the effluent may be beneficially
				reused as reclaimed water in accordance with
				314 CMR 20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
.
Effluent Limitation Guideline
or
Effluent Standard
- a regulation published by the EPA
				Administrator under The Federal Act § 304, 306, or 307, 33 U.S.C. §
				1314, 1316, or 1317, or by the Department under M.G.L. c. 21, § 27 that is
				used as a basis for establishing effluent limitations.
Enhanced Secondary Treatment
-
				secondary treatment that includes disinfection to ensure that the effluent is
				capable of meeting an effluent limitation of no more than 200 fecal coliform
				organisms per 100 ml, and additional processes capable of meeting an effluent
				limitation of 10 mg/l of nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen.
Environmental Protection Agency
or
EPA
- the United States Environmental Protection
				Agency.
Facility
or
Facilities
- any and all devices, processes, and
				properties real or personal used in the collection, pumping, transmission,
				storage, treatment, disposal, recycling, reclamation or reuse of water-borne
				pollutants. A facility does not include any works receiving a hazardous waste
				from off the site of the works for the purpose of treatment, storage or
				disposal; or any works constructed for the distribution or use of reclaimed
				water in accordance with
				314 CMR 20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
and a Service and
				Use Agreement approved by the Department that are not located on the same site
				as the devices and processes used for wastewater treatment and are not under
				the direct ownership or control of the permittee.
Federal Act
- the Federal Water
				Pollution Control Act commonly known as the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §
				1251
et seq
.
Filtered Water
- an oxidized,
				coagulated wastewater which has been passed through filter media so that the
				turbidity as determined by an approved laboratory method does not exceed an
				operating turbidity of two nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) in any 24-hour
				period, nor exceed five NTU more than 5% of the time, and does not exceed ten
				NTU at any time.
Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) Well
-
				an excavation by any method for the purpose of transferring heat to or from the
				earth for heating or cooling purposes in which the ambient ground temperature
				is 90 E F or less.
Ground Water
- water below the land
				surface in a saturated zone, including perched ground water.
Ground Water Travel Time
or
Ground Water Time of Travel
- the time it takes a
				particle of water to flow through an aquifer from one point to another point of
				lower hydraulic gradient.
Hazardous Substance
- any of the
				substances designated under 40 CFR Part 116 pursuant to § 311 of the
				Federal Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1321, 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
.
Health Advisory
- the level of a
				pollutant in water that, with a margin of safety, would not be anticipated to
				cause adverse health effects, as determined by the Department or EPA.
Indirect Discharger
- a discharger
				introducing pollutants to a treatment works.
Industrial Plant Associated Areas
-
				industrial plant yards, immediate access roads, drainage ponds, refuse piles,
				storage piles or areas, and material or product loading and unloading areas.
				The term excludes areas located on plant lands separated from the plant's
				industrial activities, such as office buildings and accompanying parking
				lots.
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.
Industrial Wastewater
- waste in
				liquid form resulting from any process of industry, trade or business,
				regardless of volume or pollutant content.
Industrial
				Wastewater
includes, but is not limited to, wastewater from the
				activities under the Standard Industrial Classification Codes listed in
				310 CMR
				15.004(5). Notwithstanding
				the foregoing, wastewater consisting only of sewage is not industrial
				wastewater.
Infiltration
- water other than
				wastewater that enters a sewer system (including sewer service connections and
				foundation drains) from the ground through means that include, but are not
				limited to, defective pipes, pipe joints, connections or manholes.
Infiltration
does not include and is distinguished
				from inflow.
Inflow
- water other than sanitary
				flow that enters a sewer system (including sewer service connections) from
				sources that include, but are not limited to, roof leaders, cellar drains, yard
				drains, area drains, drains from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers,
				connections between storm and sanitary sewers, catch basins, cooling towers,
				stormwater, surface runoff or street drainage.
Inflow
does not include and is distinguished from infiltration.
Interim Wellhead Protection Area or
				IWPA
- an area established by the Department for public water
				systems using wells or wellfields that lack a Department approved Zone II. The
				IWPA is a ½ mile radius measured from the well or wellfield for sources
				with an approved pumping rate of 100,000 gallons per day or greater. For wells
				or wellfields that pump less than 100,000 gallons per day the IWPA radius is
				proportional to the approved pumping rate, which may be calculated according to
				the follow equation: IWPA radius in feet = (32 x pumping rate in gallons per
				minute) + 400. A default IWPA radius or an IWPA radius otherwise computed and
				determined by the Department shall be applied to Transient Non-community Water
				System (TNC) and Non-transient Non-community Water System (NTNC) wells when
				there is no metered rate of withdrawal or no approved pumping rate.
Leachate
- any liquid, including any
				suspended or dissolved components in the liquid, that has percolated through or
				drained from a landfill or other solid waste disposal site.
Local Government Unit
- a town, city,
				district, commission, agency, authority, board or other instrumentality of the
				Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions including a regional
				government unit.
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality
				Standards
-
				314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
.
Milligrams Per Liter-or mg/l
- the
				weight in milligrams of any specific substance or substances contained in one
				liter of solution.
Monitoring Well
- a well that is
				specifically designed, constructed, emplaced, and located to measure the impact
				of a discharge of pollutants on ground water quality and quantity.
Natural Background Conditions
- the
				chemical, physical or biological characteristics of surface or ground waters
				unaltered by human activity.
Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU)
-
				measurement of the ratio of the intensity of light scattered by a sample to the
				intensity of light scattered by a standard reference suspension under the same
				conditions, as measured by Method 2130B in
Standard Methods for the
				Examination of Water and Wastewater
, 22nd
				edition, published by the American Public Health Association, American Water
				Works Association, and the Water Environment Federation, 2016.
Nitrogen Sensitive Area
- an area of
				land and/or natural resource area so designated by the Department in accordance
				with
				310 CMR
				15.215:
Designation of Nitrogen
				Sensitive Areas
.
Non-contact Cooling Water
-
				uncontaminated 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.
On-site Subsurface Sewage Disposal
				System
- a system or series of systems for the treatment or
				disposal of sanitary sewage below the ground as defined in
				310 CMR 15.002:
Definitions
.
Open-loop Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP)
				Well
- a ground source heat pump well that withdraws ground water
				and discharges it back to an aquifer.
Open-loop GSHP
				Wells
include wells that pump and discharge into the same well
				(standing column well) and wells that are only used to discharge water that is
				pumped from other supply wells.
Open Sand Bed
- a system for the
				disposal of wastewater in which effluent is spread onto the surface of a sand
				media so that it may percolate through that media prior to discharge through
				the soil and the unsaturated zone to the ground water.
Other Wastes
- all liquid discarded
				matter other than sewage or industrial waste which may cause or contribute to a
				violation of
				314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
or interfere
				with the use of the ground water as an actual or potential source of potable
				water.
Outlet
- the terminus of a sewer
				system, or the point of emergence of any water-borne sewage, industrial waste,
				other wastes, or the effluent therefrom, 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:
Permit Procedures
, 3.00:
Surface Water Discharge Permit Program
, 5.00, 7.00:
Sewer System Extension and Connection Permit Program
, or
				20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
, to
				implement the requirements of the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act, M.G.L. c. 21,
				§§ 26 through 53, the Federal Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251
et seq
., and the NPDES regulations, 40 CFR Part 122. Depending
				on the context in
				314 CMR 5.00,
Permit
applies to an individual permit that regulates
				one or more discharges by a discharger, or a general permit that regulates one
				or more categories of discharges and covers multiple dischargers who have
				properly applied for and obtained 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.
Plant Nutrient
- a substance that
				contains one or more of the primary nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, or
				potassium, or any recognized Plant Nutrient, including but not limited to,
				animal manure, fertilizer, organic compost natural organic fertilizer,
				Agricultural Byproducts, digestate, biosolids or combinations thereof. Terms
				used in
Plant Nutrient
that are not defined in 314 CMR
				5.02 shall be defined as set forth in
				330 CMR 31.02:
Definitions
.
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.
Point
				Source
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 non-point source, which is or may be discharged, drained or otherwise
				introduced into any sewer system, treatment works or waters of the
				Commonwealth.
Pollution
- the presence in the
				environment of pollutants in quantities or with characteristics which are or
				may be injurious to human, plant or animal life, or to property, or that
				unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property
				throughout such areas as may be affected thereby.
Potable Water
- water from any source
				that has been approved by the Department for human consumption under
				310 CMR
				22.00:
Drinking Water
.
Potentially Productive Aquifer
.
(a) all aquifers delineated by the U.S. Geological Survey
				(USGS) as a high or medium yield aquifer; and
(b) all aquifers located east of the Cape Cod Canal, on the
				Elizabeth Islands, on Martha's Vineyard, or on Nantucket.
Pretreatment
- the reduction of the
				amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the
				nature of pollutants' properties in wastewater prior to or in
lieu
of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW or
				PWTF.
Primary Treatment
- the process or
				group of processes capable of removing from sewage a minimum of 25% of the five
				day biochemical oxygen demand, 55% of the suspended solids, and 85% of the
				floating and settleable solids.
Privately Owned Wastewater Treatment Facility or
				PWTF
- any device or system owned by a private entity that is used
				for the treatment and disposal (including recycling and reclamation) of sewage
				or industrial wastewater.
Privately Owned Wastewater Treatment
				Facility
includes the sewers, pipes, pump stations, or other
				conveyances that carry the wastewater to the treatment facility and the
				discharge location.
Private Water Supply Area
- an area
				that is served by private wells and where, in the opinion of the Department, it
				is not reasonable to connect to a public water system or where approval to
				connect to the public water system cannot be obtained.
Publicly Owned Treatment Works or POTW
- any device or system used in the treatment (including recycling and
				reclamation) and disposal of municipal sewage or industrial wastewater which is
				owned by a local government unit. A POTW includes any sewers, pipes, pump
				stations, or other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW
				providing treatment, or to the location where the treated wastewater is
				discharged.
RCRA
- the Solid Waste Disposal Act,
				commonly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. §
				6901
et seq
.
RCRA Facility
- a hazardous waste
				management facility as defined in
				314 CMR
				8.03:
RCRA Facilities Subject to
				314 CMR 8.00
.
Reclaimed Water
- wastewater that is
				treated so that it is suitable for beneficial reuse in accordance with
				314 CMR 20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
.
Reclaimed Water Distribution System
-
				a system that distributes reclaimed water so that it may be reused in
				accordance with
				314 CMR 20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
.
Reclaimed Water System
- a treatment
				works that includes a system for treating wastewater so that it may be
				beneficially reused in accordance with
				314 CMR 20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
.
Reject Water from a Reverse Osmosis
				Facility
- sidestream wastewater from reverse osmosis treatment
				units.
Residential Uses
- apartment
				buildings, townhouses, condominiums, cooperatives, single-family and
				multi-family homes, including without limitation manufactured homes, and
				rooming and boarding houses. Residential uses do not include the use of
				property for the activities listed in the following Standard Industrial
				Classification Codes: 7011, hotels; 7032, sporting and recreational camps;
				7033, recreational vehicle parks and camp sites; 7041, organizational hotels
				and lodging on a membership basis; 8051 through 8059, nursing and personal care
				facilities; 8062 through 8069, hospitals; and 8361, residential care
				facilities.
Satellite Reclaimed Water System
- a
				system for the distribution, use, sale or offering for use, sale or
				distribution of reclaimed water in accordance with
				314 CMR 20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
that does not
				include wastewater treatment.
Saturated Zone
- any portion of the
				earth below the land surface where every available opening (pore, fissure,
				joint, or solution cavity) is filled with water.
Seasonal Wastewater Treatment Facility
- a facility that discharges liquid effluent as a result of the treatment of
				sewage only, and that is in operation no more than six months of the
				year.
Secondary Treatment
- the process or
				group of processes capable of removing from untreated wastewater a minimum of
				85% of the five day biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids, and
				virtually all floating and settleable solids, followed by disinfection.
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.
Stormwater
- stormwater runoff,
				snowmelt runoff, surface runoff, and drainage.
Total Dissolved Solids
- the total
				dissolved (filterable) solids as determined by use of the method specified in
				40 CFR Part 136, or other method approved by the Department.
Total Maximum Daily Load
- the sum of
				a receiving surface water's individual waste load allocations, load
				allocations, and natural background that, together with a margin of safety that
				accounts for any lack of knowledge concerning the relationship between effluent
				limitations and surface water quality, represents the maximum amount of a
				pollutant that a surface water body can receive and still meet
				314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
in all
				seasons.
Total Organic Carbon
- the oxidizable
				organic carbon present in treated sewage as measured by a Massachusetts
				certified laboratory.
Toxic Pollutants
- any pollutant or
				combination of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, that are capable
				of producing an adverse effect in an organism or its offspring, including,
				without limitation, food chain effects according to information available to
				the Department. The effect may be the result of direct or indirect exposure,
				and may injure structure, function, or cause death of the organism. These
				pollutants include, but are not limited to, those identified in
				314 CMR
				3.17:
Appendix B - Toxic
				Pollutants
.
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
				water-borne pollutants.
Treatment Works
does not
				include any works receiving a hazardous waste from off the site of the works
				for the purpose of treatment, storage or disposal or any works for the
				distribution or use of reclaimed water in accordance with
				314 CMR 20.00:
Reclaimed Water Permit Program and Standards
and a Service and
				Use Agreement approved by the Department that are not located on the same site
				as the devices and processes used for wastewater treatment and are not under
				the direct ownership or control of the permittee.
Uncontaminated Water
- water that does
				not contain dredge spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash,
				sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological waste
				materials, radioactive materials, wrecked or discarded equipment, cellar dirt,
				industrial, municipal or agricultural waste or any other pollutant upon
				discharge, could cause or contribute to a violation of
				314 CMR 4.00:
Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards
or interfere
				with the actual or potential use of ground water as a source of potable
				water.
Underground Source of Drinking Water
-
				an aquifer, or any portion thereof that supplies a public water system or that
				contains a sufficient quantity of ground water to supply a public water system,
				and either currently supplies drinking water for human consumption or contains
				less than 3000 mg/l total suspended solids. Every aquifer shall be presumed to
				be an underground source of drinking water unless otherwise determined by the
				Department in accordance with
				314 CMR
				5.10(9)(c).
Unsaturated Zone
- the portion of the
				earth's crust that does not contain sufficient water to fill all interconnected
				voids or pore spaces. Perched water bodies may exist within the unsaturated
				zone.
Wastewater
- sewage, industrial waste,
				other wastes or any combination of the three. Water used to wash vehicles,
				machinery, materials, products, equipment, or buildings with detergents or
				other cleaning agents as part of the ordinary operations of a commercial or
				industrial enterprise, or a local government unit, is wastewater.
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, ground waters, and vernal pools. Wetlands constructed
				for the sole purpose of stormwater management on or after January 2, 2008 are
				not waters of the Commonwealth. Wetlands constructed for the sole purpose of
				wastewater management and lined basins constructed for the sole purpose of
				water supply treatment works residuals treatment, or for storing reclaimed
				water so that it may be reused are not waters of the Commonwealth provided they
				are constructed on or after March 20, 2009.
Well
- a bored, drilled, or driven
				shaft, or a dug hole with a depth greater than its largest surface
				dimension.
Zone A
- the land area between a
				surface water source and the upper boundary of the bank as defined in
				310 CMR 22.02:
Definitions
, the land area within a 400 foot lateral distance
				from the upper boundary of a bank of a Class A surface water source as defined
				in
				314 CMR
				4.05(3)(a): Class A; and the
				land area within a 200 foot lateral distance from the upper boundary of the
				bank of a tributary or associated surface water body.
Zone I
- the protective radius around
				a public water supply well or wellfield as defined in
				310 CMR 22.02:
Definitions
. For public water system wells with approved
				yields of 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) or greater, the protective radius is
				400 feet. Wellfields and infiltration galleries with approved yields of 10,000
				gpd or greater require a protective radius of 250 feet. The protective radii
				for all other public water system wells , wellfields and infiltration galleries
				are determined by the following equation: Zone I radius in feet = (150x log of
				pumping rate in gpd) -350. This equation is equivalent to the chart in the
Guidelines and Policies for Public Water Systems
. A default
				Zone I radius or a Zone 1 radius otherwise computed and determined by the
				Department shall be applied to Transient Non-community (TNC) and Non-transient,
				Non-community (NTNC) water system wells when there is no metered rate of
				withdrawal and no approved pumping rate. In no case shall the Zone I radius be
				less than 100 feet.
Zone II
- the area of an aquifer that
				contributes water to a well under the most severe pumping and recharge
				conditions that can realistically be anticipated (180 days of pumping at
				approved yield, with no recharge from precipitation), as defined in
				310 CMR 22.02:
Definitions
. It is bounded by the ground water divides that
				result from pumping the well and by the contact of the aquifer with less
				permeable materials such as till or bedrock. In some cases, streams or lakes
				may act as recharge boundaries. In all cases, the Zone II shall extend
				upgradient to its point of intersection with prevailing hydrogeologic
				boundaries (a ground water flow divide, a contact with till or bedrock, or a
				recharge boundary). The Zone II must include the entire Zone I area. For
				springs, the Zone II is that area of an aquifer that contributes water to the
				spring under naturally flowing conditions.