Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part IX - Water Quality › Subpart 2 - The Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) Program › Chapter 23 - Definitions and General LPDES Program Requirements › Section IX-2313 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. The following
				  definitions apply to LAC 33:IX.Chapters 23-35. Terms not defined in this
				  Section have the meaning given by the CWA.
Administrator
- the administrator of the
					 United States Environmental Protection Agency, or an authorized
					 representative.
Animal Feeding Operation
- a lot or
					 facility (other than an aquatic animal production facility) where the following
					 conditions are met:
a. animals (other than aquatic animals) have been, are, or
					 will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of 45 days or
					 more in any 12-month period; and
b. crops, vegetation forage growth, or post-harvest
					 residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the
					 lot or facility.
Applicable Standards and Limitations
- all
					 state, interstate, and federal standards and limitations to which a discharge,
					 a sewage sludge use or disposal practice, or a related activity is subject
					 under the CWA, including effluent limitations, water quality standards,
					 standards of performance, toxic effluent standards or prohibitions, best
					 management practices, pretreatment standards and standards for sewage sludge
					 use or disposal under Sections 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 403, and 405
					 of the CWA.
Application
- the standard forms for
					 applying for a permit, including any additions, revisions or modifications to
					 the forms; or forms approved by EPA for use in approved states, including any
					 approved modifications or revisions.
Approved Program or Approved State
- a
					 state or interstate program which has been approved or authorized by EPA under
					   40 CFR Part 123.
Aquaculture Project
- a defined managed
					 water area that uses discharges of pollutants into that designated area for the
					 maintenance or production of harvestable freshwater, estuarine, or marine
					 plants or animals.
Average Monthly Discharge Limitation
- the
					 highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar month, calculated
					 as the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by
					 the number of daily discharges measured during that month.
Average Weekly Discharge Limitation
- the
					 highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar week, calculated
					 as the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar week divided by
					 the number of daily discharges measured during that week.
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
-
					 schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and
					 other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of waters of the
					 state. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and
					 practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste
					 disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
BMPs
- best management practices.
Bypass
- the intentional diversion of
					 waste streams from any portion of a treatment facility.
Class I Sludge Management Facility
- any
					 POTW identified under LAC 33:IX.6115.A as being required to have an approved
					 pretreatment program (including such POTWs located in a state that has elected
					 to assume local program responsibilities pursuant to LAC 33:IX.6119.E) and any
					 other treatment works treating domestic sewage classified as a Class I sludge
					 management facility by the EPA regional administrator, or, in the case of
					 approved state programs, the EPA regional administrator, in conjunction with
					 the state administrative authority, because of the potential for its sludge use
					 or disposal practices to adversely affect public health and the
					 environment.
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
- an
					 animal feeding operation that meets the criteria in LAC 33:IX.7103.Appendix B,
					 or that the state administrative authority designates under LAC
					 33:IX.2505.C.
Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production
					 Facility
- a hatchery, fish farm, or other facility that meets the
					 criteria in LAC 33:IX.7105.Appendix C, or that the state administrative
					 authority designates under LAC 33:IX.2507.C.
Contiguous Zone
- the entire zone
					 established by the United States under Article 24 of the Convention on the
					 Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone.
Continuous Discharge
- a discharge which
					 occurs without interruption throughout the operating hours of the facility,
					 except for infrequent shutdowns for maintenance, process changes, or other
					 similar activities.
CWA
- the Clean Water Act (formerly
					 referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Federal Water
					 Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972) Pub. L. 92-500, as amended by Pub. L.
					 95-217, Pub. L. 95-576, Pub. L. 96-483 and Pub. L. 97-117,
					 33 U.S.C.
					 1251 et seq.
CWA and Regulations
- the Clean Water Act
					 (CWA) and applicable regulations promulgated thereunder. In the case of an
					 approved state program, it includes state program requirements.
Daily Discharge
- the discharge of a
					 pollutant measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that reasonably
					 represents the calendar day for purposes of sampling. For pollutants with
					 limitations expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is calculated as
					 the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For pollutants with
					 limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the daily discharge is
					 calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.
Direct Discharge
- the discharge of a
					 pollutant.
Director
- the EPA regional administrator
					 or the state administrative authority, as the context requires, or an
					 authorized representative. When there is no approved state program, and there
					 is an EPA administered program, director means the EPA regional administrator.
					 When there is an approved state program, director normally means the state
					 administrative authority. In some circumstances, however, EPA retains the
					 authority to take certain actions even when there is an approved state program.
					 (For example, when EPA has issued an NPDES permit prior to the approval of a
					 state program, EPA may retain jurisdiction over that permit after program
					 approval, see
					 40 CFR 123.1.)
					 In such cases, the term director means the EPA regional administrator and not
					 the state administrative authority.
Discharge
- when used without
					 qualification means the discharge of a pollutant.
Discharge of a Pollutant
- any addition of
					 any pollutant or combination of pollutants to waters of the state from any
					 point source, or any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to
					 the waters of the contiguous zone or the ocean from any point source other than
					 a vessel or other floating craft which is being used as a means of
					 transportation. This definition includes additions of pollutants into waters of
					 the state from: surface runoff which is 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 treatment works; 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.
Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR)
- the
					 uniform form, including any subsequent additions, revisions, or modifications
					 for the reporting of self-monitoring results by permittees. DMRs must be used
					 by approved states as well as by EPA. EPA will supply DMRs to any approved
					 state upon request. The forms may be modified to substitute the state agency
					 name, address, logo, and other similar information, as appropriate, in place of
					 EPA's.
DMR
- discharge monitoring report.
Draft Permit
- a document prepared under
					 LAC 33:IX.3107 indicating the state administrative authority's tentative
					 decision to issue or deny, modify, revoke and reissue, terminate, or reissue a
					 permit. A notice of intent to terminate a permit, and a notice of intent to
					 deny a permit, as discussed in LAC 33:IX.3105, are types of draft permits. A
					 denial of a request for modification, revocation and reissuance, or
					 termination, as discussed in LAC 33:IX.3105, is not a draft permit. A proposed
					 permit is not a draft permit.
Effluent Limitation
- any restriction
					 imposed by the director on quantities, discharge rates, and concentrations of
					 pollutants which are discharged from point sources into waters of the state,
					 the waters of the contiguous zone, or the ocean.
Effluent Limitations Guidelines
- a
					 regulation published by the administrator under Section 304(b) of the CWA to
					 adopt or revise effluent limitations.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
-
					 the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA
- the United States Environmental
					 Protection Agency.
Facility or Activity
- any LPDES point
					 source or any other facility or activity (including land or appurtenances
					 thereto) that is subject to regulation under the LPDES program.
Federal Indian Reservation
- all land
					 within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the
					 United States government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and
					 including rights-of-way running through the reservation.
General Permit
- an LPDES permit issued
					 under LAC 33:IX.2515 authorizing a category of discharges under the Louisiana
					 Environmental Quality Act (LEQA) within a geographical area.
Hazardous Substance
- any substance
					 designated under  40 CFR Part 116  pursuant to
					 Section
					 311 of the CWA.
Indian Country
-
a. all land within the limits of any Indian reservation
					 under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the
					 issuance of any patent, and including rights-of-way running through the
					 reservation;
b. all dependent Indian communities within the borders of
					 the United States, whether within the originally or subsequently acquired
					 territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state;
					 and
c. all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have
					 not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.
Indian Tribe
- any Indian tribe, band,
					 group, or community recognized by the secretary of the Interior and exercising
					 governmental authority over a federal Indian reservation.
Indirect Discharger
- a nondomestic
					 discharger introducing pollutants to a publicly owned treatment works.
Interstate Agency
- an agency of two or
					 more states established by or under an agreement or compact approved by the
					 Congress, or any other agency of two or more states having substantial powers
					 or duties pertaining to the control of pollution as determined and approved by
					 the Administrator under the CWA and regulations.
Major Facility
- any LPDES facility or
					 activity classified as such by the EPA regional administrator, or, in the case
					 of approved state programs, the EPA regional administrator in conjunction with
					 the state administrative authority.
Maximum Daily Discharge Limitation
- the
					 highest allowable daily discharge.
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
-as
					 defined at LAC 33:IX.2511.B.4 and 7.
Municipality
- a city, town, borough,
					 county, parish, district, association, or other public body created by or under
					 state law and having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes,
					 or other wastes, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal
					 organization, or a designated and approved management agency under Section 208
					 of the CWA.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
					 (NPDES)
- the national program for issuing, modifying, revoking and
					 reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing permits, and imposing and
					 enforcing pretreatment requirements, under Sections 307, 402, 318, and 405 of
					 the CWA.
New Discharger
- any building, structure,
					 facility, or installation:
a. from which there is or may be a discharge of
					 pollutants;
b. that did not commence the discharge of pollutants at a
					 particular site prior to August 13, 1979;
c. which is not a new source; and
d. which has never received a finally effective permit for
					 discharges at that site. This definition includes an indirect discharger which
					 commences discharging into waters of the state after August 13, 1979. It also
					 includes any existing mobile point source (other than an offshore or coastal
					 oil and gas exploratory drilling rig or a coastal oil and gas developmental
					 drilling rig) such as a seafood processing rig, seafood processing vessel, or
					 aggregate plant, that begins discharging at a site for which it does not have a
					 permit; and any offshore or coastal mobile oil and gas exploratory drilling rig
					 or coastal mobile oil and gas developmental drilling rig that commences the
					 discharge of pollutants after August 13, 1979, at a site under EPA's permitting
					 jurisdiction for which it is not covered by an individual or general permit and
					 which is located in an area determined by the EPA regional administrator in the
					 issuance of a final permit to be an area of biological concern. In determining
					 whether an area is an area of biological concern, the state administrative
					 authority shall consider the factors specified in LAC 33:IX.6305.A.1-10. An
					 offshore or coastal mobile exploratory drilling rig or coastal mobile
					 developmental drilling rig will be considered a new discharger only for the
					 duration of its discharge in an area of biological concern.
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
					 Section 306 of the CWA which are applicable to such source; or
b. after proposal of standards of performance in accordance
					 with Section 306 of the CWA which are applicable to such source, but only if
					 the standards are promulgated in accordance with Section 306 within 120 days of
					 their proposal.
NPDES
- National Pollutant Discharge
					 Elimination System.
Owner or Operator
- the owner or operator
					 of any facility or activity subject to regulation under the LPDES
					 program.
Permit
- an authorization, license, or
					 equivalent control document issued by EPA under NPDES or by the state
					 administrative authority under LPDES to implement the requirements of LAC
					 33:IX.Chapters 23-35 and 40 CFR Part 123. Permit includes an NPDES or LPDES
					 general permit (LAC 33:IX.2515). Permit does not include any permit which has
					 not yet been the subject of final agency action, such as a draft permit or a
					 proposed permit.
Person
- an individual, association,
					 partnership, corporation, municipality, state or federal agency, or an agent or
					 employee thereof.
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, landfill leachate collection system, vessel, or other
					 floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does
					 not include return flows from irrigated agriculture or agricultural storm water
					 runoff. (See LAC 33:IX.2315).
Pollutant
- for the purposes of the
					 Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, as defined in the act,
					 dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage,
					 garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials,
					 radioactive materials, except those regulated under the Atomic Energy Act of
					 1954,
					 42 U.S.C.
					 2011 et seq., as amended, heat, wrecked or
					 discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, and
					 agricultural waste discharged into water. For the purposes of the Louisiana
					 Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, as defined in the act,
pollutant
does not mean:
a. water, gas, waste, or other material that is injected
					 into a well for disposal in accordance with a permit approved by the Department
					 of Natural Resources or the Department of Environmental Quality; or
b. water, gas, or other material which is injected into a
					 well to facilitate production of oil or gas, or water derived in association
					 with oil and gas production and disposed of in a well, if the well used either
					 to facilitate production or for disposal purposes is approved by authority of
					 the state in which the well is located, and if the state determines that the
					 injection or disposal will not result in the degradation of ground or surface
					 water resources.
Note: Radioactive materials covered by the Atomic Energy
					 Act are those encompassed in its definition of source, by product, or special
					 nuclear materials. Examples of materials not covered include radium and
					 accelerator-produced isotopes. See Train v. Colorado Public Interest Research
					 Group, Inc., 426 U.S. 1 (1976).
POTW
- publicly owned treatment
					 works.
Primary Industry Category
- any industry
					 category listed in the NRDC settlement agreement (Natural Resources Defense
					 Council et al. v. Train, 8 E.R.C. 2120 (D.D.C. 1976), modified 12 E.R.C. 1833
					 (D.D.C. 1979)); also listed in LAC 33:IX.7101.Appendix A.
Privately Owned Treatment Works
- any
					 device or system which is:
a. used to treat wastes from any facility whose operator is
					 not the operator of the treatment works; and
b. not a POTW.
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, by product, or waste product.
Proposed Permit
- a LPDES permit prepared
					 after the close of the public comment period (and, when applicable, any public
					 hearing and administrative appeals) which is sent to EPA for review before
					 final issuance by the state. A proposed permit is not a draft permit.
Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW)
- a
					 treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the Act, that is owned by a state
					 or municipality (as defined by Section 502(4) of the Act). This definition
					 includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and
					 reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It
					 also includes sewers, pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey
					 wastewater to a POTW treatment plant. The term also means the municipality, as
					 defined in Section 502(4) of the Act, that has jurisdiction over the indirect
					 discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.
Recommencing Discharger
- a source which
					 recommences discharge after terminating operations.
Regional Administrator
- the EPA regional
					 administrator of the appropriate regional office of the Environmental
					 Protection Agency or the authorized representative of the EPA regional
					 administrator.
Schedule of Compliance
- a schedule of
					 remedial measures included in a permit, including an enforceable sequence of
					 interim requirements (for example, actions, operations, or milestone events)
					 leading to compliance with the CWA and regulations.
Secondary Industry Category
- any industry
					 category which is not a primary industry category.
Secretary
- the Secretary of the Army,
					 acting through the chief of engineers.
Septage
- the liquid and solid material
					 pumped from a septic tank, cesspool, or similar domestic sewage treatment
					 system, or a holding tank when the system is cleaned or maintained.
Sewage from Vessels
- human body wastes
					 and the wastes from toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain
					 body wastes that are discharged from vessels and regulated under Section 312 of
					 the CWA.
Sewage Sludge
- any solid, semi-solid, or
					 liquid residue removed during the treatment of municipal wastewater or domestic
					 sewage.
Sewage sludge
includes, but is not limited to, solids
					 removed during primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment, scum,
					 domestic septage, portable toilet pumpings, Type III marine sanitation device
					 pumpings ( 33 CFR Part 159 ), and sewage sludge products.
Sewage
					 sludge
does not include grit or screenings, or ash generated during
					 the incineration of sewage sludge.
Sewage Sludge Use or Disposal Practice
-
					 the collection, storage, treatment, transportation, processing, monitoring,
					 use, or disposal of sewage sludge.
Silvicultural Point Source
-as defined at
					 LAC 33:IX.2513.B.1.
Site
- the land or water area where any
					 facility or activity is physically located or conducted, including adjacent
					 land used in connection with the facility or activity.
Sludge-Only Facility
-any treatment works
					 treating domestic sewage whose methods of sewage sludge use or disposal are
					 subject to regulations promulgated in accordance with Section 405(d) of the
					 CWA, and is required to obtain a permit under LAC 33:IX.2311.A.2.
Standards for Sewage Sludge Use or
					 Disposal
- the regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 405(d) of
					 the CWA which govern minimum requirements for sludge quality, management
					 practices, and monitoring and reporting applicable to sewage sludge or the use
					 or disposal of sewage sludge by any person.
State
- any of the 50 states, the District
					 of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
					 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust
					 Territory of the Pacific Islands, or an Indian tribe as defined in these
					 regulations which meets the requirements of
					 40 CFR
					 123.31 and this Chapter.
State Administrative Authority
- the chief
					 administrative officer of any state or interstate agency operating an approved
					 program, or the delegated representative of the state administrative authority.
					 If responsibility is divided among two or more state or interstate agencies,
					 state administrative authority means the chief administrative officer of the
					 state or interstate agency authorized to perform the particular procedure or
					 function to which reference is made.
State/EPA Agreement
- an agreement between
					 the EPA regional administrator and the state which coordinates EPA and state
					 activities, responsibilities and programs including those under the CWA
					 programs.
Storm Water
- storm water runoff, snow
					 melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.
Storm Water Discharge Associated with Industrial
					 Activity
-as defined at LAC 33:IX.2511.B.14.
Total Dissolved Solids
- the total
					 dissolved (filterable) solids as determined by use of the method specified in
					  40 CFR Part 136  (see LAC 33:IX.4901).
Toxic Pollutant
- any pollutant listed as
					 toxic under Section 307(a)(1), or, in the case of sludge use or disposal
					 practices, any pollutant identified in regulations implementing Section 405(d)
					 of the CWA.
Treatment Works Treating Domestic Sewage
(TWTDS)
- a POTW or any other sewage sludge or wastewater
					 treatment devices or systems, regardless of ownership (including federal
					 facilities), used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of
					 municipal or domestic sewage, including land dedicated for the disposal of
					 sewage sludge. This definition does not include septic tanks or similar
					 devices. For purposes of this definition, domestic sewage includes waste and
					 wastewater from humans or household operations that are discharged to or
					 otherwise enter a treatment works. In states where there is no approved state
					 sludge management program under Section 405(f) of the CWA, the EPA regional
					 administrator may designate any person subject to the standards for sewage
					 sludge use and disposal in  40 CFR Part 503  as a treatment works treating
					 domestic sewage, where he or she finds that there is a potential for adverse
					 effects on public health and the environment from poor sludge quality or poor
					 sludge handling, use or disposal practices, or where he or she finds that such
					 designation is necessary to ensure that such person is in compliance with  40
					 CFR Part 503.
Upset
-an exceptional incident in which
					 there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with technology based permit
					 effluent limitations because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the
					 permittee. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by
					 operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate
					 treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper
					 operation.
Variance
- any mechanism or provision
					 under Section 301 of the
					 CWA or under LAC 33:IX.Chapters 37-47, 51 and 53, or in the applicable effluent
					 limitations guidelines which allows modification to or waiver of the generally
					 applicable effluent limitation requirements or time deadlines of the CWA. This
					 includes provisions which allow the establishment of alternative limitations
					 based on fundamentally different factors or on Sections 301(c), 301(g), 301(h),
					 301(i), or 316(a) of the CWA.
Waters of the State
- for purposes of the
					 Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, all surface waters within the
					 state of Louisiana and, on the coastline of Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico,
					 all surface waters extending therefrom 3 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. For
					 purposes of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, this includes
					 all surface waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, lakes,
					 rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats,
					 wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds,
					 impoundments of waters within the state of Louisiana otherwise defined as
Waters of the United States
in
					 40
					 CFR 122.2, and tributaries of all such
					 waters.
Waters of the State
does not include waste treatment
					 systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements
					 of the Clean Water Act,
					 33 U.S.C.
					 1251 et seq.
Wetlands
- those areas that are inundated
					 or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient
					 to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of
					 vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands
					 generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
Whole Effluent Toxicity
- the aggregate
					 toxic effect of an effluent measured directly by a toxicity
					 test.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
					 Promulgated in accordance with
					 R.S.
					 30:2001 et seq., and in particular Section
					 2074(B)(3) and (B)(4)