Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 150 - Water Resources › Subchapter 05 - Water Quality › Part 4 - Groundwater Discharge Rules (Rules for the Discharge of Non-Sanitary Wastewater and Other Fluid to or Below the Ground Surface) (250-RICR-150-05-4) › Section 250-RICR-150-05-4.5 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. For the purposes of these rules, the
				  following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
1. "Abandoned" means a groundwater discharge
				  system for which its use has been permanently discontinued or which is in a
				  state of disrepair such that it cannot be used for its intended purpose.
				  Temporary or intermittent cessation of operation does not constitute
				  abandonment.
2. "Aquifer" means a
				  geologic formation, group of formations or part of a formation that contains
				  sufficient saturated, permeable material to yield significant quantities of
				  water to drinking water wells and springs.
3. "Department" means the Rhode Island
				  Department of Environmental Management.
4. "Director" means the Director of the Rhode
				  Island Department of Environmental Management or any authorized designee to
				  whom the Director has delegated the vested powers and duties pursuant to the
				  R.I. Gen. Laws.
5. "Drywell" means
				  a well, completed above the groundwater table so that its bottom and sides are
				  typically dry except when receiving fluids.
6. "Facility" means any parcel of real estate
				  or a contiguous series of parcels of real estate together with any and all
				  structures, facility components, improvements, fixtures and other appurtenances
				  located therein or thereon which constitutes a distinct geographic
				  unit.
7. "Floor drain" means an
				  opening or intended drainage point in a floor that serves as a point of entry
				  into a groundwater discharge system.
8. "Fluid" means any material or substance
				  that flows or moves whether liquid, gas, semi-solid or any other form or state.
				  Fluids may include, for example, water for beneficial use projects such as
				  aquifer storage or recharge, or wastewater.
9. "Formation" means a body of rock
				  characterized by a degree of lithologic homogeneity which is prevailingly
				  tabular and is mappable on the earth's surface or traceable in the
				  subsurface.
10. "Geologic
				  sequestration" means the process of injecting carbon dioxide (CO2), which has
				  been compressed into a liquid state, into the deep subsurface through an
				  injection well. Geologic sequestration refers to a suite of technologies that
				  may be deployed to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere to help mitigate
				  climate change.
11. "Groundwater"
				  means the water located beneath the ground surface which completely fills the
				  open spaces between particles of sediment and within rock formations.
12. "Groundwater discharge" means the
				  disposal, deposit or placement of non-sanitary wastewater or other fluid below
				  the ground surface or the disposal, deposit or placement of non-sanitary
				  wastewater or other fluid to the ground surface in a manner and location where
				  it may adversely impact the groundwater resources of the State.
13. "Groundwater discharge system" means a
				  discharge system that is piped or otherwise designed, located, constructed,
				  installed and operated so as to infiltrate or inject a groundwater discharge of
				  non-sanitary wastewater or other fluid to or below the ground surface,
				  including a drywell, drainfield, galley, injection well, stormwater discharge
				  system, subsurface fluid distribution system, open-end pipe or other conveyance
				  onto the surface of the ground.
14.
				  "Groundwater table" means the upper surface of the zone of saturation in an
				  unconfined aquifer; includes a perched groundwater table.
15. "Hazardous waste" means any waste or
				  material, either a characteristic waste or a specific listed waste, as defined
				  in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.),
				  40 C.F.R. §
												261.3, Protection of Environment Rule or the
				  Rhode Island Hazardous Waste Management Act, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
				  23-19.1.
16. "Injection well" means
				  a well or subsurface fluid distribution system regulated under the federal
				  Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program and these rules that is used or
				  intended to be used to discharge wastewater or other fluid below the ground
				  surface. Injection wells are groundwater discharge systems.
17. "Motor vehicle waste disposal well" means
				  a well that receives or has received wastewater or other fluid from an area
				  where the repair, maintenance or servicing of motor vehicles occurs or has
				  occurred, including, without limitation, fluid from a motor vehicle engine or
				  body repair shop, a specialty or recreational vehicle repair shop, a new or
				  used car or truck dealership or any other facility that repairs or maintains
				  motor vehicles whether services are offered to the public or not. Motor vehicle
				  waste disposal wells also drain motor vehicle washing areas where the wash bay
				  is not physically separated from a motor vehicle maintenance area or where
				  engine or undercarriage cleaning is performed. Motor vehicles include
				  automobiles, buses, trucks, trains, powerboats, motorcycles, farm machinery,
				  aircraft, lawn care and landscaping equipment, heavy equipment, recreational
				  vehicles such as snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles and jet skis, and any other
				  motorized vehicle.
18. "Operator"
				  means any person or persons having control or legal responsibility for
				  operating or maintaining any facility or site subject to regulation under these
				  rules.
19. "Owner" means the owner
				  and/or operator of any facility subject to regulation under these rules or any
				  person who holds legal title to or has possession or control of any facility
				  subject to regulation under these rules through any agent, executor, executrix,
				  administrator, trustee or guardian of the estate of the holder of legal title.
				  Each such person is bound to comply with the provisions of these
				  rules.
20. "Person" means an
				  individual, trust, estate or firm, a public, quasi-public or private
				  corporation, a partnership, association, non-profit, federal, state or
				  municipal government or any of their agencies or any other legal entity
				  whatsoever.
21. "Pollutant" means a
				  liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive or other substance in any water of the
				  State which may, either by itself or in connection with any other substance,
				  create a public nuisance or which may render such water harmful, detrimental or
				  injurious to public health or the environment or to domestic, commercial,
				  industrial, agricultural, recreational or other legitimate beneficial
				  uses.
22. "RIDEM" means the Rhode
				  Island Department of Environmental Management.
23. "Sanitary wastewater" means any liquid or
				  solid waste originating from human or animal activities, putrescible animal or
				  vegetable matter or garbage and filth, including but not limited to, wastes
				  collected from toilets, showers, wash basins, sinks used for cleaning domestic
				  areas and/or food preparation, clothes washing or floor cleaning operations and
				  sinks or washing machines where food and beverage serving dishes, glasses and
				  utensils are cleaned.
24. "Sink"
				  means a structure such as a basin or washbowl that receives wastewater from
				  hand washing and other uses and serves as a point of entry into a groundwater
				  discharge system.
25. "Site" means
				  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.
26. "Stormwater" means
				  water from precipitation runoff or snow melt.
27. "Stormwater discharge system" means a
				  groundwater discharge system used to infiltrate stormwater.
28. "Subsurface fluid distribution system"
				  means a federal term synonymous with groundwater discharge system.
29. "UIC" means the federal Underground
				  Injection Control Program.
30.
				  "Wastewater" means non-sanitary wastewater.
31. "Well" means a bored, drilled or driven
				  shaft or a dug hole that is deeper than the widest surface dimension and
				  designed to discharge or inject wastewater or other fluid below the ground
				  surface. This includes a subsurface fluid distribution system, holes drilled
				  and cased with pipe, and infiltration systems consisting of one or more
				  vertical pipes leading to an array of horizontal, perforated pipes laid below
				  the ground surface.