New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 9A - STANDARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL SUBSURFACE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS › Subchapter 2 - DEFINITIONS › Section 7:9A-2.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
				  shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise.
"A-horizon" means the uppermost mineral horizon in a normal
				  soil profile. The upper part of the A-horizon is characterized by maximum
				  accumulation of finely divided, dark colored organic residues, known as humus,
				  which are intimately mixed with the mineral particles of the soil.
"Administrative authority" means the board of health having
				  jurisdiction or its authorized agent acting on its behalf.
"Advanced wastewater pretreatment device" means an NSF
				  International (NSF) Standard 40 or Standard 245 certified technology, which may
				  be incorporated as a part of an onsite wastewater treatment system, which bears
				  the NSF mark and is designed, installed, operated, monitored and maintained in
				  accordance with that certification and this chapter. This definition also
				  includes those technologies that are authorized for use in the Pinelands Area
				  through the Pinelands Advanced Wastewater Treatment Systems Pilot Program at
				  7:50-10.23.
"Age-restricted unit" means a housing unit designed to meet
				  the needs of, and exclusively for, the residents of an age-restricted segment
				  of the population where the head of the household is a minimum age of either 62
				  years, or 55 years and meets the provisions of the
				  42 U.S.C. §§
										3601 et seq., except that due to death, a
				  remaining spouse of less than 55 years of age shall be permitted to continue to
				  reside.
"Alteration" means any change in the physical configuration
				  of an existing individual subsurface sewage disposal system or any of its
				  component parts, including replacement, modification, addition or removal of
				  system components such that there will be a change in the location, design,
				  construction, installation, size, capacity, type or number of one or more
				  components. The term "alter" shall be construed accordingly.
"Applicant" means the person who signs and submits an
				  application to construct, install or alter an individual subsurface sewage
				  disposal system.
"Approved" means accepted or acceptable under applicable
				  specifications stated or cited in this chapter, or accepted as suitable for the
				  proposed use under the procedures of this chapter. The word "approval" shall be
				  construed accordingly.
"Approved engineering design" means the engineering plans and
				  specifications for construction, installation or alteration of the individual
				  subsurface sewage disposal system which have been reviewed and approved by the
				  administrative authority.
"Artesian zone of saturation" means a zone of saturation
				  which exists immediately below a hydraulically restrictive horizon, and which
				  has an upper surface which is at a pressure greater than atmospheric, either
				  seasonally or throughout the year.
"Authorized agent" means a licensed health officer, licensed
				  professional engineer or first-grade sanitarian who is delegated to function
				  within specified limits as the agent of the administrative authority.
"Authorized installer" means an individual who has completed
				  all training requirements of a manufacturer of a product that is listed by the
				  Department in accordance with
				  7:9A-8.3 or 9.8 and/or a listed
				  system integrator of a drip dispersal system designed and installed in
				  accordance with
				  7:9A-10.8, and who installs those
				  advanced wastewater pretreatment devices, products used in lieu of
				  laterals/filter material and/or drip dispersal systems, as applicable.
"Authorized service provider" means an individual who
				  maintains an advanced wastewater pretreatment device and/or drip dispersal
				  system in accordance with
				  7:9A-12.3, who monitors the system
				  remotely and who responds appropriately to alarm conditions. This individual
				  must either hold an S2 or greater license pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:10A; or have
				  completed all training required by a manufacturer of an advanced wastewater
				  pretreatment device that is listed by the Department in accordance with
				  N.J.A.C. 7:9A-8.3; and/or be a listed system integrator of a drip dispersal
				  system in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9A-10.8.
"Bedrock" means any solid body of rock, with or without
				  fractures, which is not underlain by soil or unconsolidated rock
				  material.
"Bedroom" means any room within a dwelling unit, finished or
				  unfinished, which may reasonably be expected to serve primarily as a bedroom or
				  dormitory. The term bedroom shall be considered to include any room or rooms
				  within an expansion attic.
"Blackwater" means any sanitary sewage generated within a
				  residential, commercial or institutional facility which includes discharges
				  from water closets, toilets, urinals or similar fixtures alone or in
				  combination with other wastewater. Blackwater generally does not include
				  laundry or kitchen wastewater.
"Building sewer" means the pipe extending from the outer wall
				  of the building, or as defined in the State Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C.
				  5:23, to the septic tank or approved place of disposal other than a public
				  sewer.
"Certificate of compliance" means a formal determination in
				  writing by the administrative authority or its authorized agent that an
				  individual subsurface sewage disposal system has been constructed, installed or
				  altered in conformance with the requirements set forth in this chapter as well
				  as any other applicable local ordinances.
"Cesspool" means a covered pit with open-jointed lining into
				  which untreated sewage is discharged, the liquid portion of which is disposed
				  of by leaching into the surrounding soil, the solids or sludge being retained
				  within the pit.
"Chroma" means the relative purity or strength of a color, a
				  quantity which decreases with increasing grayness. Chroma is one of the three
				  variables of soil color as defined in the Munsell system of
				  classification.
"Clay" means a particle size category consisting of mineral
				  particles which are smaller than 0.002 millimeters in equivalent spherical
				  diameter. Also, a soil textural class having more than 40 percent clay, less
				  than 45 percent sand, and less than 40 percent silt, as shown in Figure 3 of
				  Appendix A.
"Clay loam" means a soil textural class having 27 to 40
				  percent clay and 20 to 45 percent sand, as shown in Figure 3 of Appendix
				  A.
"Coarse fragment" means a rock fragment contained within the
				  soil which is greater than two millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter or
				  which is retained on a two millimeter sieve.
"Cobble" means a coarse fragment which is rounded or
				  subrounded in shape and which is between 76 millimeters (three inches) and 254
				  millimeters (10 inches) in diameter.
"Commercial food service activity" means any food service
				  activity that includes the preparation of food for sale to any individual who
				  or group that does not work at the facility where the food is prepared. This
				  includes, but is not limited to, supermarkets, restaurants (including fast
				  food), mini markets, bakeries, delis, bodegas and caterers. This does not
				  include food service activities at cafeterias such as those at offices,
				  schools, religious centers or employee eating areas that serve only the
				  individuals that are employed by or attend the facility as part of normal
				  operating functions. This definition shall not be construed to exempt any
				  facility discharging large quantities of grease from the requirements in
				  7:9A-8.1.
"Commercial unit" means one or more buildings, or one or more
				  rooms within a building, which will be occupied by a single individual,
				  corporation, company, association, society, firm, partnership or joint stock
				  company, and used for non-residential purposes. Within a commercial building,
				  each room or suite of rooms having its own separate sanitary facilities as well
				  as a separate entrance to the outside, or to a hallway, lobby, foyer or other
				  common area, shall be considered to be a separate realty improvement, as
				  defined in this section.
"Commercial use activities" means those activities that are
				  related to the buying or selling of goods or services, and commonly occur at
				  facilities such as offices, wholesale or retail stores, industrial buildings,
				  factories, and shopping centers.
"Common plan of development or sale" means a contiguous area
				  where multiple separate and distinct development activities have occurred, are
				  occurring, or are proposed to occur under one plan. The "plan" in a common plan
				  of development is broadly defined as any announcement or piece of documentation
				  (including, but not limited to, a sign, public notice or hearing,
				  advertisement, drawing, permit application, zoning request) or physical
				  demarcation (including, but not limited to, boundary signs, lot stakes,
				  surveyor markings).
"Component" means any device and/or structure that functions
				  as a part of any system regulated by this chapter.
"Congregate living activities" means those activities at
				  structures such as dormitories, motels, nursing/rest homes, group homes,
				  assisted living facilities and boarding houses. These structures typically have
				  one or more amenities and/or activities that service the establishment and not
				  typically an individual unit, such as common bathrooms, kitchens, dining areas
				  and/or laundry facilities.
"Construct" means to build, install, fabricate or put
				  together on-site one or more components of an individual subsurface sewage
				  disposal system.
"Conventional disposal field installation" means a type of
				  disposal field installation described in
				  7:9A-10.1(b)1.
"County soil survey report" means a report prepared by the
				  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service which includes maps
				  showing the distribution of soil mapping units throughout a particular county
				  together with narrative descriptions of the soil series shown and other
				  information relating to the uses and properties of the various soil
				  series.
"D-box" means a distribution box.
"Delineated stream" or "delineated floodplain" means a stream
				  or flood plain for which the flood hazard areas have been officially specified
				  by the State of New Jersey.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental
				  Protection.
"Design permeability" means the permeability or percolation
				  rate measured at the level of infiltration, as prescribed in N.J.A.C. 7:9A-6.
				  For the purpose of this chapter, a percolation rate measured at the level of
				  infiltration, though not a true measurement of permeability, may be considered
				  to be a form of design permeability.
"Direct supervision" means control over and direction of work
				  carried out by others with full knowledge of and responsibility for such
				  work.
"Disposal bed" means an individual subsurface sewage disposal
				  system component consisting of a closed excavation made within soil or fill
				  material to contain filter material in which two or more distribution laterals
				  have been placed for the disposal of septic tank effluent.
"Disposal field" means a disposal bed, a group of one or more
				  disposal trenches, a drip dispersal area designed in accordance with N.J.A.C.
				  7:9A-10.8, or a seepage pit designed in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9A-11 or a
				  seepage pit previously approved for sanitary sewage disposal. The perimeter of
				  the disposal field corresponds to the perimeter of the disposal bed, or the
				  outermost extent of fill material in a fill enclosed system, and the extent of
				  the lateral fill extension in a mounded system, a line circumscribing the
				  outermost edges of the outermost disposal trenches and including the area
				  between the disposal trenches, or the outermost layer of filter material
				  surrounding a seepage pit.
"Disposal trench" means an individual subsurface sewage
				  disposal system component of a covered excavation made within soil or fill
				  material to contain filter material in which a single distribution lateral has
				  been placed for the disposal of septic tank effluent.
"Distribution box" means a water-tight structure which
				  receives sanitary sewage effluent from a septic tank and distributes such
				  sewage effluent in equal portions to two or more pipelines leading to the
				  disposal field.
"Distribution lateral" means a perforated pipe or one of
				  several perforated pipes used to carry and distribute septic tank effluent
				  throughout the disposal field. The term "distribution line" is equivalent in
				  meaning.
"Distribution network" means two or more inter-connected
				  distribution laterals.
"Disturbed ground" means any site or portion of a site which
				  has been modified in its suitability for absorption or disposal of septic tank
				  effluent, or its ability to physically support the system components, as a
				  result of activities carried out by man other than those specified in the
				  approved engineering design. Except for artificial drainage, ground disturbed
				  only for cultivation or related agricultural activities, shall not be
				  considered disturbed ground. Disturbed ground includes those conditions set
				  forth in 7:9A-5.10(b).
"Dosing tank" means a water-tight receptacle located between
				  the septic tank and the disposal field, equipped with a siphon or pump, and
				  designed to store and deliver doses of septic tank effluent to the disposal
				  field.
"Drip dispersal" means a high pressure, low volume,
				  subsurface method of disposing sanitary sewage in a manner that does not create
				  saturated subsurface conditions below the ground surface and which is preceded
				  by an advanced wastewater pretreatment device. A drip dispersal system includes
				  all associated tanks, pumps, control panels, and piping that is designed,
				  installed, operated and maintained in accordance with the requirements of the
				  system integrator and this chapter.
"Drip emitter" or "emitter" means an engineered, pressure
				  compensating flow control device which is typically attached to the inside wall
				  of a dripperline over each orifice, that is wastewater rated and discharges
				  wastewater out of the orifice at a constant rate over a range of operating
				  pressures.
"Dripperline" or "drip tubing" means the wastewater rated
				  polyethylene tubing that has uniformly spaced drip emitters along its length,
				  which are attached to the inside wall of the tubing.
"Dry well" means a covered pit with open-jointed lining
				  through which drainage from roofs, basement floors or areaways may seep into
				  the surrounding soil.
"Dwelling unit" means any building or portion of a building,
				  permanent or temporary in nature, used or proposed to be used as a residence
				  either seasonally or throughout the year.
"Education/child care" means, for the purposes of estimating
				  volumes of sanitary wastewater at facilities using onsite wastewater treatment
				  and disposal systems, any activity associated with educating or providing for
				  activities to individuals under instructor or supervisory care, but provides
				  for no overnight accommodations. These include, but are not limited to, all
				  levels of schools, colleges, vocational training centers, day care facilities
				  and day camps.
"Encroachment line" means a line encompassing the channel of
				  a natural stream and portions of the 100-year flood plain adjoining the channel
				  which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the flood water or flood
				  flow of any natural stream. It is approximately equal to the floodway line
				  along delineated streams.
"Equivalent spherical diameter" of a particle means the
				  diameter of a sphere which has a volume equal to the volume of the
				  particle.
"Excessively coarse horizon" means a horizon of limited
				  thickness within the soil profile which provides inadequate treatment of septic
				  tank effluent due to a high coarse fragment content, excessively coarse texture
				  and/or excessively rapid permeability.
"Excessively coarse substratum" means a substratum below the
				  soil profile which extends beyond the depth of soil profile pits and borings
				  and which provides inadequate treatment of septic tank effluent due to a high
				  coarse fragment content, excessively coarse texture and/or excessively rapid
				  permeability.
"Existing ground surface" means the level of the ground
				  surface prior to any manmade modification or disturbance.
"Expansion attic" means that part of a dwelling unit left
				  unfinished but which is capable of being finished as a bedroom or bedrooms and
				  which is accessible by permanent stairways or designed so that stairways can be
				  installed.
"Experimental system" means an individual subsurface sewage
				  disposal system which does not conform in location, design, construction or
				  installation to standard engineering practice as set forth in this
				  chapter.
"Extremely firm consistence" means a type of soil consistence
				  which is described in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Failing system" means a system that is malfunctioning in
				  accordance with
				  7:9A-3.4.
"Fill material" or "fill" means any naturally occurring soil
				  or rock based material that has not been physically altered, which meets or can
				  be sorted to meet a specific grain size requirement and is placed within an
				  excavation or over the existing ground surface.
"Filter material" means washed gravel or crushed stone, free
				  of fines such as dust, ashes or clay, and meeting the size requirements of
				  7:9A-10.3(e)2  or
				  10.7(f).
"Finished grade" means the surface of the ground after
				  completion of final grading.
"Firm consistence" means a type of soil consistence which is
				  described in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Flood fringe" means that portion of the flood hazard area
				  not designated as the floodway. See N.J.A.C. 7:13.
"Flood hazard area" means the floodway and the flood fringe
				  area of a delineated stream. See also N.J.A.C. 7:13.
"Floodway" means the channel of a natural stream and portions
				  of the flood hazard area adjoining the channel which are reasonably required to
				  carry and discharge the flood water or flood flow of any natural stream. See
				  also N.J.A.C. 7:13.
"Flushing" means, for the purposes of drip dispersal design
				  and operation, the process by which the entire piping network, including
				  dripperlines, is hydraulically cleansed to prevent emitter clogging by
				  increasing the velocity of water flow through the dripperlines to scour and
				  transport solid materials that may have accumulated in or on the interior
				  surfaces of the piping in a drip dispersal system.
"Food service activities" means those activities associated
				  with the handling, preparing or serving of food that will result in the
				  generation of wastewater. These activities are typically characterized by the
				  use of heating, cooling, cooking or cleaning equipment including walk-in
				  refrigeration units, stoves, fryers, ovens, warmers, steamers, dishwashers and
				  sinks typically used for food or dish washing.
"Footing drain" means a subsurface drain installed below the
				  foundation of a building to prevent the accumulation of surface and ground
				  water below the foundation of the building.
"Fractured rock substratum" means a rock substratum which
				  contains an adequate number of open and inter-connected fractures to allow
				  unimpeded absorption of applied wastewater and transmission of this wastewater
				  away from the disposal area.
"Fueling position" means the location at any automotive
				  service station that can dispense any type of fuel to one vehicle at any one
				  time. There may be multiple hoses or nozzles located at a single fueling
				  dispenser. However, if only one vehicle can fuel at the dispenser at one time,
				  the dispenser has only one fueling position.
"Gal/day" or "gpd" means U.S. gallons per day, which is a
				  measure of rate of flow or hydraulic loading.
"General assembly activities" means those activities which
				  provide areas of fixed or movable seating that may be used for gatherings of
				  individuals. The type of facilities in which these activities could occur
				  include, but are not limited to, religious facilities, all purpose rooms,
				  stadiums, indoor or outdoor theatres, assembly halls, and airports.
"Gravel" means a rounded or subrounded coarse fragment which
				  is between two millimeters (0.1 inches) and 76 millimeters (three inches) in
				  diameter.
"Gravity dosing" means a type of effluent distribution which
				  is defined in
				  7:9A-9.1(a)2.
"Gravity flow" means a type of effluent distribution which is
				  defined in 7:9A-9.1(a)1.
"Grease trap" means a device in which the grease present in
				  sanitary sewage is intercepted, congealed by cooling, accumulated and stored
				  for pump-out and disposal.
"Greywater" means that portion of the sanitary sewage
				  generated within a residential, commercial or institutional facility which does
				  not include discharges from water closets or urinals.
"Ground water" means water below the land surface in a zone
				  of saturation.
"Hard consistence" means a type of soil consistence which is
				  described in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Health Officer" means an individual licensed as such
				  pursuant to
				  26:1A-41.
"High strength wastewater pretreatment component" means a
				  sanitary sewage pretreatment device designed to actively remove fats, oils and
				  grease, as well as reduce total suspended solids, biochemical and chemical
				  oxygen demand, and is incorporated into septic system design by a septic system
				  designer and takes into consideration the existing or anticipated sanitary
				  wastewater strength and the required removal capabilities identified in
				  7:9A-8.1(i).
"Holding tank" means a closed water-tight structure designed
				  and operated in such a manner as to receive and store sanitary sewage or septic
				  tank effluent but not to discharge sanitary sewage or septic tank effluent to
				  the surface or ground water or onto the surface of the land.
"Hue" means the dominant spectral color, one of the three
				  variables of soil color defined within the Munsell system of
				  classification.
"Hydraulically restrictive horizon" means a horizon within
				  the soil profile which slows or prevents the downward or lateral movement of
				  water and which is underlain by permeable soil horizons or substrata. Any soil
				  horizon which has a saturated permeability less than 0.2 inch per hour or a
				  percolation rate slower than 60 minutes per inch is hydraulically
				  restrictive.
"Hydraulically restrictive substratum" means a substratum
				  below the soil profile which slows or prevents the downward or lateral movement
				  of water and which extends beyond the depth of profile pits or borings or to a
				  massive substratum. A substratum which has a saturated permeability less than
				  0.2 inch per hour or a percolation rate slower than 60 minutes per inch is
				  hydraulically restrictive.
"Individual subsurface sewage disposal system" or "ISSDS"
				  means a collection of components for disposal of sanitary sewage into the
				  ground which is designed and constructed in conformance with this chapter to
				  treat sanitary sewage in a manner that will retain most of the settleable
				  solids in a septic tank or may incorporate an advanced wastewater pretreatment
				  device and discharges liquid effluent of typical domestic strength to a
				  disposal field. An ISSDS may include advanced wastewater pretreatment. The
				  terms "onsite wastewater treatment system" and "system" are equivalent in
				  meaning.
"Industrial wastes" means solid or liquid wastes resulting
				  from processes employed in industrial establishments or in any commercial
				  establishment engaged in processes which use or generate any of the pollutants
				  or any substance containing any of the pollutants regulated under section
				  307(a), (b), or (c) of the Federal Clean Water Act of 1977,
				  33 U.S.C.
				  §§
										1251 et seq., and the
				  regulations promulgated pursuant thereto and any amendments thereto.
"Infiltrative surface" means the interface or contact between
				  the filter material and the soil or fill at the bottom and sidewalls of the
				  disposal bed or each individual disposal trench.
"Install" means to assemble, put in place or connect
				  components of an individual subsurface sewage disposal system in a manner that
				  will permit their use by the occupants of the realty improvement served.
"Interceptor drain" means a subsurface drain designed and
				  constructed to intercept laterally moving perched ground water.
"Invert" means the floor, bottom or lowest portion of the
				  internal cross-section of a closed conduit, used with reference to pipes or
				  fittings conveying sanitary sewage.
"Level of infiltration" means the elevation of the horizontal
				  interface or contact between the filter material and the soil or fill material
				  at the bottom of the filter material.
"Limiting zone" means any horizon or combination of horizons
				  within the soil profile, or any substratum or combination of substrata below
				  the soil profile, which limits the ability of the soil to provide treatment
				  and/or disposal of septic tank effluent. Limiting zones include rock substrata,
				  hydraulically restrictive horizons and substrata, excessively coarse horizons
				  and substrata, perched and regional zones of saturation. Criteria for
				  recognition of limiting zones are given in
				  7:9A-5.5 through 5.9.
"Loamy sand" means a soil textural class, as shown in Figure
				  3 of Appendix A, that has a maximum of 85 to 90 percent sand with a percentage
				  of silt plus 1.5 times the percentage of clay not in excess of 15; or a minimum
				  of 70 to 85 percent sand with a percentage of silt plus 1.5 times the
				  percentage of clay not in excess of 30.
"Lower plastic limit" means the moisture content
				  corresponding to the transition between the plastic and semi-solid states of
				  soil consistency. This corresponds to the lowest soil moisture content at which
				  the soil can be molded in the fingers to form a rod or wire, one-eighth of an
				  inch in thickness, without crumbling.
"Malfunctioning system" means an individual sewage disposal
				  system which pollutes ground or surface waters or which creates a nuisance or
				  hazard to public health or safety or the environment and includes, but is not
				  limited to, the situations described in N.J.A.C. 7:9A-3.4.
"Manufacturer" means the company which holds proprietary
				  rights to a system component or technology.
"Massive rock substratum" means a rock substratum which does
				  not contain an adequate number of open and inter-connected fractures to allow
				  unimpeded absorption of applied wastewater and transmission of this wastewater
				  away from the disposal area.
"Massive structure" means one of the soil structural classes
				  which is described in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Minimum drip dose volume" means the volume of water
				  discharged during a dosing event that is necessary to pressurize the entire
				  drip dispersal system and sustain that pressure over a sufficient period to
				  achieve the desired uniformity of discharges between all orifices.
"Mottling" means a color pattern observed in soil consisting
				  of blotches or spots of contrasting color. The term "mottle" refers to an
				  individual blotch or spot. Mottling is an indication of seasonal or periodic
				  and recurrent saturation.
"Mounded disposal field installation" means a type of
				  disposal field installation which is described at
				  7:9A-10.1(b)4.
"Mounded soil replacement disposal field installation" means
				  a type of disposal field installation which is described at
				  7:9A-10.1(b)5.
"Munsell system" means a system of classifying soil color
				  consisting of an alpha-numeric designation for hue, value and chroma, such as
				  "7.5 YR 6/2", together with a descriptive color name, such as "strong
				  brown".
"NJPDES permit" means a permit issued by the Department
				  pursuant to the authority of the Water Pollution Control Act,
				  58:10A-1 et seq., and N.J.A.C.
				  7:14A for a discharge of pollutants.
"NJPDES" means the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination
				  System as set forth in
				  58:10A-1 et seq. and in N.J.A.C.
				  7:14A.
"NTU" or "nepholometric turbidity units" is measure of water
				  clarity.
"O-horizon" means a surface horizon, occurring above the
				  A-horizon in some soils, which is composed primarily of undecomposed or
				  partially decomposed plant remains which have not been incorporated into the
				  mineral soil.
"One hundred year flood plain" means the area inundated by
				  the 100-year flood. A 100-year flood is estimated to have a one percent chance,
				  or one chance in 100, of being equalled or exceeded in any one year. See also
				  N.J.A.C. 7:13.
"Onsite wastewater treatment system" or "OWTS" means an
				  individual subsurface sewage disposal system.
"Operate" means to use or convey a building or facility
				  served by an individual subsurface sewage disposal system or to own a building
				  or facility where such use or occupation exists.
"Perched zone of saturation" means a zone of saturation which
				  occurs immediately above a hydraulically restrictive horizon and which is
				  underlain by permeable horizons or substrata which are not permanently or
				  seasonally saturated.
"Percolation rate" means the rate of fall of water measured
				  in a test hole as prescribed in
				  7:9A-6.4
"Permeability" means the rate at which water moves through a
				  unit area of soil or rock material at hydraulic gradient of one, determined as
				  prescribed in
				  7:9A-6.2, 6.3, 6.5 or 6.6.
"Permeable" means having a permeability of 0.2 inches per
				  hour or faster or a percolation rate of 60 minutes per inch or faster. The
				  terms "permeable soil", "permeable rock" and "permeable fill" shall be
				  construed accordingly.
"Permit" means a written approval issued by the
				  administrative authority or the Department for the construction, installation,
				  alteration or operation of an individual subsurface sewage disposal
				  system.
"Person" means an individual, corporation, company,
				  association, society, firm, partnership and joint stock company as well as the
				  State and any political subdivision thereof.
"Piezometer" means a device consisting of a length of metal
				  or plastic pipe, open at the bottom or perforated within a specified interval,
				  and used for the determination of depth to water, permeability or hydraulic
				  head within a specific soil horizon or substratum.
"Platy structure" means one of the soil structural classes
				  described in
				  7:9A-5.3(g).
"Practice of engineering" means any professional service or
				  creative work requiring engineering education, training, and experience and the
				  application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical and engineering
				  sciences to such professional services or creative work as consultation,
				  investigation, evaluation, planning, design or general supervision of
				  construction or operation for the purpose of assuring compliance with plans,
				  specification and design in connection with any public or private engineering
				  or industrial project.
"Pressure dosing" means a type of effluent distribution which
				  is described in N.J.A.C. 7:9A-9.1.
"Pre-treatment unit" means a septic tank or a grease
				  trap.
"Private access restroom activities" means sanitary sewage
				  generating activities (not associated with shower/bathing activity) that occur
				  at facilities where the typical user of the establishment including the
				  restroom is present in the establishment for more than one hour. These include
				  restroom activities at bathhouses, bowling alleys, day camps, religious
				  institutions, day schools, schools and swimming pools.
"Professional engineer" means a person licensed to practice
				  professional engineering in this State pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:8-27 et
				  seq.
"Property" means:
1. A single lot as defined by municipal lot and block or
				  right of way (unless paragraph 2 below applies); or
2. The combined area contained within the legal boundaries of
				  two or more contiguous lots where, for any part of each of those lots, there is
				  a shared pecuniary, possessory or other substantial common interest by one or
				  more persons (such as common ownership and/or operation or a common plan of
				  development or sale).
"Public access restroom activities" means sanitary sewage
				  generating activities that occur at establishments where the typical user of
				  the facility is present for one hour or less. These include, but are not
				  limited to, restroom activities at highway rest areas, roadside comfort
				  stations, visitor centers and restaurants (for customers and/or
				  non-customers).
"Real property transfer" means a conveyance of real property
				  from one party to another.
"Realty improvement" means any proposed new residence,
				  commercial building or other premises (including, but not limited to,
				  condominiums, garden apartments, town houses, mobile homes, stores, office
				  buildings, restaurants, hotels and so forth) not served by an approved water
				  supply and approved sewerage system, the useful occupancy of which will require
				  the installation or erection of a water supply system or sewerage facilities.
				  Each dwelling unit in a proposed multiple-family dwelling or each commercial
				  unit in a commercial building shall be construed to be a separate realty
				  improvement.
"Regional zone of saturation" means a zone of saturation
				  which extends vertically without interruption below the depth of soil borings
				  and profile pits.
"Registered Environmental Health Specialist" means an
				  individual licensed as such pursuant to
				  26:1A-41.
"Re-grading" means modification of a land slope by cutting
				  and filling with the native soil or re-distribution of the native soil which is
				  present at the site.
"Repair" means to fix, refurbish or replace one or more
				  components of an individual subsurface sewage disposal system in a manner that
				  will restore, preserve and not change the original location, design,
				  construction and installation, size, capacity, type, or number of the
				  components of the system.
"Replicate" means one of two or more soil samples or tests
				  taken at the same location (within five feet of each other), and depth, within
				  the same soil horizon or substratum. In the case of fill material, replicate
				  tests are tests performed on sub-samples of the same bulk sample packed to the
				  same bulk density.
"Reservoir" means a surface water body used to store a public
				  drinking water supply or any portion of a tributary water course within one
				  mile upstream of such a surface water body.
"Restricted chemical material" means any chemical material
				  which contains concentrations in excess of one part per hundred, by weight of
				  any halogenated hydrocarbon chemical, aliphatic or aromatic, including, but not
				  limited to, trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, methylene
				  chloride, halogenated benzenes and carbon tetrachloride; any aromatic
				  hydrocarbon chemical, including, but not limited to, benzene, toluene and
				  naphthalene; any phenol derivative in which a hydroxy group and two or more
				  halogen atoms are bonded directly to a six-carbon aromatic ring, including, but
				  not limited to, trichlorophenol or pentachlorophenol; or acrolein,
				  acrylonitrile, or benzidine. Restricted chemical material does not, however,
				  include any chemical material which is biodegradable and not a significant
				  source of contamination of the ground waters of the State.
"Return manifold" means the pipe to which the distal ends of
				  each lateral in a drip dispersal zone are connected.
"Rock substratum" means a solid and continuous body of rock,
				  with or without fractures, or a weathered or broken body of rock fragments
				  overlying a solid body of rock, where more than 50 percent by volume of the
				  rock fragments are greater than two millimeters in diameter or large enough to
				  be retained on a two millimeter sieve.
"Sand" means a particle size category consisting of mineral
				  particles which are between 0.05 and 2.0 millimeters in equivalent spherical
				  diameter. Also, a soil textural class having 85 percent or more of sand and a
				  content of silt and clay such that the percentage of silt plus 1.5 times the
				  percentage of clay does not exceed 15, as shown in Figure 3 of Appendix
				  A.
"Sandy clay" means a soil textural class having 35 percent or
				  more of clay and 45 percent or more of sand, as shown in Figure 3 of Appendix
				  A.
"Sanitary sewage" means any liquid waste containing animal or
				  vegetable matter in suspension or solution, or the water carried wastes
				  resulting from the discharge of water closets, laundry tubs, washing machines,
				  sinks, dishwashers, or any other source of water carried wastes of human origin
				  or containing putrescible material. This term specifically excludes industrial,
				  hazardous or toxic wastes and materials.
"Scum" means a mass of sewage solids floating at the surface
				  of sewage and buoyed up by entrained gas, grease, or other substances. The term
				  "scum layer" shall be construed accordingly.
"Seasonally high water table" means the upper limit of the
				  shallowest zone of saturation which occurs in the soil, identified as
				  prescribed in
				  7:9A-5.8.
"Seepage pit" means a covered pit with open-jointed lining
				  through which septic tank effluent may seep into the surrounding soil.
"Septic system designer" means a New Jersey licensed
				  professional engineer who prepares engineering plans and specifications for the
				  construction or alteration of individual subsurface sewage disposal
				  systems.
"Septic system enforcement officer" means a New Jersey
				  licensed professional engineer, licensed health officer or registered
				  environmental health specialist, acting as the authorized agent for the
				  administrative authority, who approves, permits, certifies or licenses the
				  construction, installation, alteration, repair or operation of individual
				  subsurface sewage disposal systems or who reviews engineering plans; witnesses
				  site evaluation and testing; and inspects construction or makes determinations
				  that might be used for the granting of such approvals, permits, certifications
				  or licenses.
"Septic system inspector" means a person who performs
				  inspections of systems in accordance with
				  7:9A-12.6 for inspections during
				  real property transfers.
"Septic system installer" means a person who constructs,
				  installs or alters individual subsurface sewage disposal systems in accordance
				  with approved engineering plans and specifications or who repairs systems in
				  accordance with
				  7:9A-3.3.
"Septic tank" means a water-tight receptacle which receives
				  the discharge of sanitary sewage from a building sewer or part thereof, and is
				  designed and constructed so as to permit settling of settleable solids from the
				  liquid, partial digestion of the organic matter, and discharge of the liquid
				  portion into a disposal field or seepage pit.
"Septic tank effluent" means the primary treated wastewater
				  or sewage discharged through the outlet of a septic tank. The term "effluent"
				  is equivalent in meaning.
"Serial distribution" means a method of distributing septic
				  tank effluent between a series of disposal trenches so that each successive
				  trench receives effluent only after the preceding trenches have become full to
				  overflowing.
"Service contract" means a legal, written agreement between a
				  property owner and an authorized service provider to perform all system
				  startup, maintenance and monitoring requirements identified in this chapter for
				  any system that includes an advanced wastewater pretreatment device, which
				  includes all drip dispersal systems. The agreement must be fully transferable
				  to subsequent owners of the property and renewable.
"Sewage system cleaner" means any solid or liquid material
				  intended or used primarily for the purpose of cleaning, treating, degreasing,
				  unclogging, disinfecting or deodorizing any part of a sewage system but
				  excluding those liquid or solid products intended or used primarily for manual
				  cleaning, scouring, treating, deodorizing or disinfecting the surface of common
				  plumbing fixtures.
"Sewage system" means any part of a wastewater disposal
				  system, including but not limited to all toilets, piping, drains, sewers,
				  septic tanks, grease traps, distribution boxes, dosing tanks, disposal tanks,
				  disposal fields, seepage pits, cesspools or dry wells.
"Silt" means a particle size category consisting of mineral
				  particles which are between 0.002 and 0.05 millimeters in equivalent spherical
				  diameter. It also means a soil textural class having 80 percent or more of silt
				  and 12 percent or less of clay, as shown in Figure 3 of Appendix A.
"Silty clay" means a soil textural class having 40 percent or
				  more of clay and 40 percent or more of silt, as shown in Figure 3 of Appendix
				  A.
"Silty clay loam" means a soil textural class having 27 to 40
				  percent of clay and less than 20 percent of sand, as shown in Figure 3 of
				  Appendix A.
"Silt loam" means a soil textural class having 50 percent or
				  more of silt and 12 to 27 percent of clay; or 50 to 80 percent of silt and less
				  than 12 percent of clay, as shown in Figure 3 of Appendix A.
"Single grain structure" means one of the soil structural
				  classes which are described in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Single residential occupancy activities" means those
				  activities that are associated with an individual private residence, such as,
				  but not limited to, a single family home, apartment, condominium, townhouse
				  and/or a duplex home.
"Sink hole" means a topographic depression the origin of
				  which may be attributed to the dissolution and collapse of underlying limestone
				  or dolomite bedrock.
"Sink station activities" means sanitary sewage generating
				  activities associated with, but not limited to, hair styling at beauty salons
				  and parlors.
"Site evaluator" means a New Jersey licensed professional
				  engineer, licensed health officer, registered environmental health specialist
				  or soil scientist who performs site evaluation, soil evaluation or soil testing
				  as prescribed in N.J.A.C. 7:9A-4, 5 and 6.
"Sludge" means a relatively dense suspension of sewage solids
				  which settle to the bottom of a septic tank, are relatively resistant to
				  biological decomposition, and which collect in the septic tank over a period of
				  time. The term "sludge layer" shall be construed accordingly.
"Soil" means any naturally occurring unconsolidated body of
				  mineral and organic particles derived from the weathering in place of
				  consolidated rock or unconsolidated mineral deposits and the decay of living
				  organisms.
"Soil aggregate" means a naturally occurring unit of soil
				  structure consisting of particles of sand, silt, clay, organic matter, and
				  coarse fragments held together by the natural cohesion of the soil.
"Soil color" means the soil color name and Munsell color
				  designation determined by comparison of the moist soil with color chips
				  contained in a Munsell soil color book.
"Soil consistence" means the resistance of a soil aggregate
				  or clod to being crushed between the fingers or broken by the hands. Terms for
				  describing soil consistence described are in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Soil horizon" means a layer within a soil profile differing
				  from layers of soil above and below it in one or more of the soil morphological
				  characteristics including color, texture, coarse fragment content, structure,
				  consistence and mottling.
"Soil log" means a description of the soil profile which
				  includes the depth, thickness, color, texture, coarse fragment content,
				  mottling, structure and consistence of each soil horizon or substratum.
"Soil mapping unit" means an area outlined on a map in a
				  County Soil Survey Report and marked with a letter symbol designating a soil
				  phase, a complex of two or more soil phases, or some other descriptive term
				  where no soil type has been identified.
"Soil material" means soil as well as any naturally occurring
				  unconsolidated mineral deposit which is not a rock substratum.
"Soil phase" means a specific type of soil which is mapped by
				  the Soil Conservation Service and which belongs to a soil series described
				  within the County Soil Survey Report.
"Soil profile" means a vertical cross-section of undisturbed
				  soil showing the characteristic horizontal layers or horizons of the soil which
				  have formed as a result of the combined effects of parent material, topography,
				  climate, biological activity and time.
"Soil profile pit" means an excavation made for the purpose
				  of exposing a soil profile which is to be described.
"Soil replacement disposal field installation" means a
				  disposal field installed as prescribed in
				  7:9A-10.1(b)2  and
				  3.
"Soil series" means a grouping of soil types possessing a
				  specific range of soil profile characteristics which are described within the
				  County Soil Survey Report. Each soil series may consist of several "soil
				  phases" which may differ in slope, texture of the surface horizon or
				  stoniness.
"Soil structural class" means one of the shape classes of
				  soil structure described in
				  7:9A-5.3(g).
"Soil structure" means the naturally occurring arrangement,
				  within a soil horizon, of sand, silt and clay particles, coarse fragments and
				  organic matter, which are held together in clusters or aggregates of similar
				  shape and size.
"Soil suitability class" means one of the classes of soil
				  suitability with regard to the installation of an individual subsurface sewage
				  disposal system which are defined based upon the type and depth of limiting
				  zones present, as prescribed in
				  7:9A-5.4.
"Soil texture" means the relative proportions of sand, silt
				  and clay in that portion of the soil which passes through a sieve with two
				  millimeter openings.
"Soil textural class" means one of the classes of soil
				  texture defined within the USDA system of classification. (Soil Survey Manual,
				  Agricultural Handbook No. 18, U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service 1962.)
"Special ordinance" means an ordinance which sets
				  requirements for the location, design, construction, alteration or use of
				  individual subsurface sewage disposal systems which differ from the
				  requirements of this chapter.
"Static water level" means the depth below the ground surface
				  or the elevation with respect to some reference level, of the water level
				  observed within a soil profile pit or boring, or within a piezometer, after
				  this level has stabilized or become relatively constant with the passage of
				  time.
"Stone" means a coarse fragment which is rounded or
				  subrounded in shape and greater than 254 millimeters (10 inches) in
				  diameter.
"Structure" means the same as the definition of the same term
				  under the Realty Improvement Sewerage and Facilities Act (1954) at
				  58:11-25a.
"Subsurface drain" means any open pipe, layer of gravel,
				  stone or coarse sand, or any combination of these elements placed below the
				  surface of the ground and designed or constructed in such a manner as to allow
				  movement of ground water into any surface water body, water course or onto the
				  surface of the ground.
"Substratum" means a layer of soil or rock material present
				  below the soil profile and extending beyond the depth of soil borings or
				  profile pits.
"Suitable fill" means fill material which meets the
				  requirements of
				  7:9A-10.1(f).
"Suitable soil" means unsaturated soil, above the seasonally
				  high water table, which contains less than 50 percent by volume of coarse
				  fragments and which has a permeability between 0.2 and 20 inches per hour or a
				  percolation rate between three and 60 minutes per inch.
"Supply manifold" means the pipe to which the proximal ends
				  of the laterals of a drip dispersal zone are connected to supply water to the
				  dripperline during dosing events.
"Surface water" means any waters of the State which are not
				  ground water.
"System" is an abbreviated designation for "individual
				  subsurface sewage disposal system" and is equivalent in meaning. Cesspools,
				  privies, latrines, pit toilets, outhouses, composting or waterless toilets,
				  direct discharges to the ground surface or water courses, and illegally
				  constructed or altered treatment or disposal mechanisms are not systems.
"System integrator" means a company or individual authorized
				  by an original equipment manufacturer of drip tubing that pre-engineers drip
				  dispersal systems, the required advanced wastewater pretreatment and other
				  necessary parts of a drip dispersal system and authorizes installers and
				  service providers for those systems.
"Test replicate" means one of two or more soil tests
				  performed using the same procedure on each of several soil samples taken within
				  the same soil horizon and at the same location within the proposed disposal
				  field. The term "replicate sample" shall be construed accordingly.
"Textural analysis" means the determination of soil texture
				  by means of a hydrometer analysis and a sieve analysis.
"Treatment works approval" means an approval issued pursuant
				  to 58:10A-6 and N.J.A.C. 7:14A-22, or
				  pursuant to former N.J.S.A. 58:12-3 (repealed by P.L. 1977, c. 74, Section 14
				  effective July 24, 1977).
"Undisturbed soil sample" means a soil sample in which the
				  natural soil structure, porosity and cohesion are preserved intact, and in
				  which the only cracks or planes of separation evident are those occurring
				  naturally between soil aggregates.
"Value" means the relative lightness or intensity of a color,
				  one of the three variables of soil color defined within the Munsell system of
				  classification.
"Very firm consistence" means a type of soil consistence
				  which is described in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Very hard consistence" means a type of soil consistence
				  which is described in
				  7:9A-5.3(h).
"Volume of sanitary sewage" means the maximum volume of
				  sanitary sewage which may reasonably be expected to be discharged from a
				  residential, commercial or institutional facility on any day of operation,
				  determined as prescribed in
				  7:9A-7.4 and expressed as gallons
				  or, for the purpose of this chapter, in gallons per day. The volume of sanitary
				  sewage shall not be considered as an average daily flow, but shall incorporate
				  a factor of safety over and above the average daily flow which is adequate to
				  accommodate peak sanitary sewage flows or facilities which discharge greater
				  than the average volumes of sanitary sewage either occasionally or on a regular
				  basis. The use of water saving devices shall not be used as a basis for
				  reducing estimates of the volume of sanitary sewage.
"Water course" means any stream or surface water body, or any
				  ditch or subsurface drain that will permit drainage into a surface water body.
				  This term does not include swales or roadside ditches which convey only direct
				  runoff from storms or snow melting, and storm sewers designed and constructed
				  in a manner that will prevent infiltration of ground water into the pipe or
				  lateral movement of ground water through the excavation in which the pipe has
				  been laid. Water course includes all wetlands and subsurface drains with an
				  above-ground or surface water outlet.
"Water service line" means any underground conduit to convey
				  potable or non-potable water.
"Water table" means the upper surface of a zone of
				  saturation.
"Waters of the State" means the ocean and its estuaries, all
				  springs, streams, wetlands and bodies of surface and ground water, whether
				  natural or artificial, within the boundaries of this State or subject to its
				  jurisdiction.
"Well" means a bored, drilled or driven shaft, or a dug hole,
				  which extends below the seasonally high water table and which has a depth which
				  is greater than its largest surface dimension.
"Wetland" means any area inundated or saturated by surface or
				  ground water at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and which under
				  normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted
				  for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as hydrophytic
				  vegetation. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar
				  areas.
"U.S.D.A. system of classification" means the system of
				  classifying soil texture used by the United States Department of Agriculture
				  which defines 12 soil textural classes based upon the weight percentages of
				  sand, silt and clay in that portion of the soil which passes through a sieve
				  with two millimeter openings. The soil textural classes are shown graphically
				  on the soil textural triangle, Figure 3 of Appendix A.
"Zone of disposal" means the permeable layers of soil or rock
				  material below the zone of treatment which permit downward movement of the
				  septic tank effluent and lateral movement of this effluent away from the area
				  of the disposal field.
"Zone of treatment" means the upper four feet of suitable
				  soil or fill material, below the level of infiltration, which remove pollutants
				  from the septic tank effluent by processes which include physical filtration of
				  bacteria, adsorption of viruses and bacteria by clay and organic matter,
				  biological destruction of pathogens by soil microorganisms, chemical fixation
				  or precipitation of phosphorous, bio-chemical transformations of nitrogen
				  compounds and biological assimilation of phosphorous and nitrogen.
"Zone of saturation" means a layer within or below the soil
				  profile which is saturated with ground water either seasonally or throughout
				  the year.