Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 150 - Water Resources › Subchapter 10 - Wastewater And Storm Water › Part 1 - Regulations for the Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System › Section 250-RICR-150-10-1.4 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. For the purposes of these rules, the
				  following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
1. "Administration" means the administrator
				  of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or an authorized
				  representative.
2. "Affected
				  person" means a person who has asserted (and not waived or withdrawn) a
				  confidentiality claim covering information submitted to the
				  Department.
3. "Animal feeding
				  operation" means a lot or facility (other than an aquatic animal production
				  facility) where:
1) animals (other than
				  aquatic animals) have been, or will be stabled or confined and fed or
				  maintained for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period, and
2) crops, vegetation, forage,
				  growth or post harvest residues are not sustained in the normal growing season
				  over any portion of the lot or facility. Two or more animal feeding operations
				  under common ownership are considered, for the purposes of these regulations,
				  to be a single animal feeding operation if they adjoin each other or if they
				  use a common area or system for the disposal of pollutants.
4. "Applicable standards and
				  limitations" means all state, interstate, and federal standards and limitations
				  to which a "discharge" or a related activity is subject under the Federal or
				  State Acts including effluent limitations, water quality standards, standards
				  of performance, toxic effluent standards or prohibitions, "best management
				  practices," and pretreatment standards under
				  33 U.S.C. §§
												1311,
				  1312,
				  1313,
				  1314,
				  1316,
				  1317,
				  1318,
				  1343 and
				  1345 (Sections 301, 302, 303, 304,
				  306, 307, 308, 403 and 405 of the Clean Water Act).
5. "Applicant" means a person who applies for
				  a RIPDES permit, or a Departmental approval pursuant to these
				  regulations.
6. "Application" means
				  the EPA standard national 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 of
				  revisions.
7. "Approved program" or
				  "approved State" means a State or interstate program, which has been approved
				  or authorized by EPA under 40 C.F.R. §
												123, incorporated
				  above at §
											1.3(B) of
				  this Part.
8. "Aquaculture project"
				  means a defined managed water area, which uses discharges of pollutants into
				  that designated area for the maintenance or production of harvestable
				  freshwater, estuarine or marine plants and/or animals.
9. "Areawide plan" means any water quality
				  management plan adopted pursuant to 13 U.S.C. § 1288 (Section 208 of the
				  Clean Water Act).
10. "Average
				  monthly discharge limitation" means the highest allowable average of "daily
				  discharges" over a calendar month or any 30 consecutive days, calculated as the
				  sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month or any 30
				  consecutive days, divided by the number of daily discharges measured during
				  that month.
11. "Average weekly
				  discharge limitation" means the highest allowable average of "daily discharges"
				  over a calendar week or any seven consecutive days, calculated as the sum of
				  all daily discharges measured during a calendar week or seven consecutive days,
				  divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that week.
12. "Best management practices" or "BMPs"
				  means 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 site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or
				  waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
13. "Best professional judgment" or "BPJ"
				  means a limitation determined on a case-by-case basis on any pollutant,
				  combination of pollutants or practice(s) which is determined necessary to carry
				  out the provisions of the Clean Water Act and R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-12. BPJ
				  limitations can be used to set Best Available Technology Economically
				  Achievable, Best Conventional Pollutant Control Technology, Best Practicable
				  Control Current Available, or BMP limitations as defined in Clean Water Act
				  either in the absence of an applicable promulgated effluent guideline or where
				  promulgated effluent limitation guidelines only apply to certain aspects of the
				  discharger's operation or to certain pollutants.
14. "Biological monitoring method" means a
				  testing method which utilizes any biological system or any of its parts for
				  assessing the presence or effects of one or more pollutants and/or
				  environmental factors, either alone or in combination. Biomonitoring refers to
				  acute toxic bioassays.
15. "Bypass"
				  means the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a
				  treatment facility.
16. "Census
				  designated places" or "CDPs" means those places that are delineated for the
				  decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places. CDPs
				  are comprised of densely settled concentrations of population that are
				  identifiable by name, but are not legally incorporated places. To qualify as a
				  CDP, an unincorporated community must meet the following criteria:
a. 1,000 or more persons if outside the
				  boundaries of an urbanized area (UA) delineated for the subsequent special
				  census;
b. 2,500 or more persons if
				  inside the boundaries of an urbanized area (UA) delineated for subsequent
				  census;
c. 250 or more persons if
				  outside the boundaries of an urbanized area (UA) delineated for the subsequent
				  special census, and within the official boundaries of an American Indian
				  reservation recognized for the 1990 census.
17. "CFR" means the Code of Federal
				  Regulations.
18. "Clean Water Act"
				  means the Federal law enacted under
				  33 U.S.C. §
												125 et seq. and any amendments
				  thereto.
19. "Concentrated animal
				  feeding operation" means an animal feeding operation which meets the criteria
				  in §
											1.67 of this
				  Part.
20. "Concentrated aquatic
				  animal production facility" means a hatchery, fish farm, or other facility
				  which meets the criteria in §
											1.68 of this
				  Part.
21. "Confidentiality claim"
				  means a claim or allegation that information is entitled to confidential
				  treatment because such information constitutes a trade secret.
22. "Construction" means any placement,
				  assembly or installation of facilities, equipment or treatment works, site
				  preparation work, including clearing, excavation removal, or modification of
				  existing buildings, structures or facilities which is necessary for the
				  placement, assembly or installation of new source facilities, equipment or
				  treatment works, or entering into a binding contractual obligation for the
				  purchase of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in it
				  operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can
				  be terminated or modified without substantial loss and contracts for
				  feasibility, engineering and design studies do not constitute a contractual
				  obligation for the purpose of this definition.
23. "Contiguous zone" means the entire zone
				  established by the United States under Article 24 of the Convention on the
				  Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone.
24. "Continuous discharge" means 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.
25.
				  "Conventional pollutant" means those pollutants designated under the authority
				  of 33 U.S.C. §
												1314 (Section 304(a)(4) of the Clean Water
				  Act).
26. "Co-permittee" means a
				  permittee to a RIPDES permit that is only responsible for permit conditions
				  relating to the discharge for which it is operator.
27. "Daily discharge" means the "discharge of
				  a pollutant" measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that
				  reasonable 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.
28. "Densely Populated Area"
				  or "DPA" means a census designated place(s) as defined by the latest Decennial
				  Census that is located outside the urbanized area and meets all of the
				  following criteria:
a. The population density
				  within the census designated place is equal to or greater than 1,000 people per
				  square mile; and
b. The census
				  designated place has or is part of a block of contiguous census designated
				  places with a total population of at least 10,000 people.
29. "Department" or "DEM" means the Rhode
				  Island Department of Environmental Management.
30. "Designated area" means as used in this
				  definition the portions of the waters of the State within which the permittee
				  or permit applicant plans to confines and/or plans to confine the cultivated
				  species, using a method or plan of operation (including but not limited to,
				  physical confinement), which, on the basis of reliable scientific evidence, is
				  expected to ensure that specific individual organisms comprising an aquaculture
				  crop will enjoy increased growth attributable to the discharge of pollutants,
				  and be harvestable within a defined geographic area.
31. "Direct discharge" means the "discharge
				  of a pollutant."
32. "Director"
				  means the Director of the Department of Environmental Management or any
				  subordinate or subordinates to whom he delegated the powers and duties vested
				  in him by these regulations.
33.
				  "Discharge" means the addition of any pollutant to waters from any point
				  source.
34. "Discharge Monitoring
				  Report" or "DMR" means the EPA uniform national form, including any subsequent
				  additions, revisions or modifications, for the reporting of self-monitoring
				  results by permittees.
35.
				  "Discharge of a pollutant" means any addition of any "pollutant" or combination
				  of pollutants to "waters of the State" from any "point sources".
36. "Discharger" means any person,
				  corporation, municipality, sewerage authority or legal entity, who causes,
				  knows of or should have reason to know of, or allows, any discharge.
37. "District engineer" means the chief
				  administrative official of the New England Division, Corps of Engineers or an
				  authorized representative.
38.
				  "Draft permit" means a document prepared under §
											1.38 of this Part
				  indicating the Department'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 §
											1.37 of this Part are types
				  of "draft permits." A denial of a request for modification, revocation and
				  reissuance, or termination, as discussed in §
											1.37 of this Part is not a
				  "draft permit." A "proposed permit" is not a "draft permit".
39. "Effluent data" means, with reference to
				  any source of discharge of any pollutant:
a.
				  Information necessary to determine the identity, amount, frequency,
				  concentration, temperature, or other characteristics (to the extent related to
				  water quality) of any pollutant which has been discharged by the source (or of
				  any pollutant resulting from any discharge from the source), or any combination
				  of the foregoing;
b. Information
				  necessary to determine the identity, amount, frequency, concentration,
				  temperature, or other characteristics (to the extent related to water quality)
				  of the pollutant which, under an applicable standard or limitation, the source
				  was authorized to discharge (including to the extent necessary for such
				  purpose, a description of the manner or rate of operation of the source);
				  and
c. A general description of the
				  locations and/or nature of the source to the extent necessary to identify the
				  source and to distinguish it from other sources (including, to the extent
				  necessary for such purposes, a description of the device, installation, or
				  operation constituting the source).
(1)
				  Notwithstanding the above, the following information shall be considered to be
				  "effluent data" only to the extent necessary to allow the Department to
				  disclose publicly that a source is (or is not) in compliance with an applicable
				  standard or limitation, or to allow the Department to demonstrate the
				  feasibility, practicability, or attainability (or lack thereof) of an existing
				  or proposed standard or limitation:
(AA)
				  Information concerning research, or the results of research, on any product,
				  method, device, or installation (or any component thereof) which was produced,
				  developed, installed, and used only for research purposes; and
(BB) Information concerning any product,
				  method, device, or installation (or any component thereof) designed and
				  intended to be marketed or used commercially but not yet so marketed or
				  used.
40. "Effluent limitation guidelines" means a
				  regulation published by the Administrator under
				  33 U.S.C. §
												1314(b) (Section 304(b) of
				  the Clean Water Act) to adopt or revise "effluent limitations."
41. "Effluent limitations" means any
				  restriction imposed by the Director on quantities, discharge rates and
				  concentrations of pollutants which are discharged from point sources into
				  waters of Rhode Island, the United States, the contiguous zone or the
				  ocean.
42. "EPA" means the United
				  States Environmental Protection Agency.
43. "Facility" means any point source or any
				  other activity (including land or appurtenances thereto) that is subject to
				  regulation under the RIPDES permit program.
44. "General permit" means a RIPDES permit
				  issued under §
											1.33 of this Part
				  authorizing a category of discharges within a geographic area.
45. "Groundwater" means water below the land
				  surface in a zone of saturation.
46. "Hazardous substance" means any substance
				  designated under 40 C.F.R.
				  §
												116 pursuant to
				  33 U.S.C. §
												1321 (Section 311 of the Clean Water Act (see
				  §
											1.66
				  of this Part)).
47. "Illicit
				  discharge" means any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not
				  composed entirely of storm water except discharges pursuant to a RIPDES permit
				  (other than the RIPDES permit for discharges from the municipal separate storm
				  sewer) and discharges resulting from fire fighting activities.
48. "Impaired waters" means for the purpose
				  of §
											1.32 of this Part, those
				  waters within the State, which do not currently meet Rhode Island Water Quality
				  Standards as identified in Categories 4a and 5 of the latest Integrated Water
				  Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report compiled by the Department.
49. "Incorporated place" means a city, town
				  or other definable place that is incorporated under the laws of the State in
				  which it is located.
50. "Indirect
				  discharge" means the introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any
				  non-domestic source regulated under
				  33 U.S.C. §
												1317(b), (c) or (d) (Section
				  307(b), (c) or (d) of the Clean Water Act).
51. "Interference" means inhibiting or
				  disrupting the operation of a publicly owned treatment works or its treatment
				  process so as to contribute to, or cause a violation of any condition of a
				  State or Federal permit under which the publicly owned treatment works
				  operates; or
a. discharging industrial
				  process wastewater which, in combination with existing domestic flows are of
				  such volume and/or strength as to exceed the domestic treatment process design
				  capacity; or
b. preventing the use
				  or disposal of sludge produced by the publicly owned treatment works in
				  accordance with 33 U.S.C.
				  §
													1345 (Section 405 of the Clean Water
				  Act), and regulations, criteria or guidelines developed pursuant to the Federal
				  Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976,
				  42 U.S.C. §
													3251 et seq. the Federal Clean Air Act,
				  15 U.S.C. §
													7401 et seq. and the Federal Toxic Substances
				  Control Act, 15 U.S.C.
				  §
													2601 et seq. and to the extent
				  practicable, the Rhode Island Rules and Regulations for Sewage Sludge
				  Management, Part 3 of this Subchapter.
52. "Interstate agency" means 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 appropriate Act and
				  regulations.
53. "Large municipal
				  separate storm sewer system" means all municipal separate storm sewers that are
				  either:
a. Located in an incorporated place
				  with a population of 250,000 or more as determined by the 1990 Decennial Census
				  by the Bureau of Census (§
												1.71 of this Part);
				  or
b. Located in the counties
				  listed in §
												1.73 of this Part, except
				  municipal separate storm sewers that are located in the incorporated places,
				  townships or towns within such counties; or
c. Owned or operated by a municipality other
				  than those described in §§
												1.4(A)(54)(c)
				  ((1)) and ((2)) of this Part that are designated by the Director as part of the
				  large or medium municipal separate storm sewer system due to the
				  interrelationship between the discharges of the designated storm sewer and the
				  discharges from municipal separate storm sewers described under §§
												1.4(A)(54)(c)
				  ((1)) and ((2)) of this Part. In making this determination the Director may
				  consider the following factors:
(1) Physical
				  interconnections between the municipal separate storm sewers;
(2) The location of discharges from the
				  designated municipal separate storm sewer relative to discharges from municipal
				  separate storm sewers described in §
													1.4(A)(54)(c)
				  ((1)) of this Part;
(3) The
				  quantity and nature of pollutants discharged to waters of the State;
(4) The nature of the receiving waters;
				  and
(5) Other relevant
				  factors.
d. The Director
				  may, upon petition, designate as a large municipal separate storm sewer system,
				  municipal separate storm sewers located within the boundaries of a region
				  defined by a storm water management regional authority based on a
				  jurisdictional, watershed, or other appropriate basis that includes one or more
				  of the systems described in §§
												1.4(A)(54)(c)
				  ((1)) through ((3)) of this Part.
54. "Log sorting" or "Log storage facilities"
				  means facilities whose discharges result from the holding of unprocessed wood;
				  for example, logs or round-wood with bark or after removal of bark held in
				  self-contained bodies of water (mill ponds or log ponds) or stored on land
				  where water is applied intentionally on the logs (wet decking). (See
				  40 C.F.R. §
												429 Subpart J, incorporated above at §
											1.3(B) of
				  this Part, including the effluent limitations guidelines).
55. "Major facility" means any facility or
				  activity classified as such by the Regional Administrator in conjunction with
				  the Director.
56. "Major municipal
				  separate storm sewer outfall" or "Major outfall" means a municipal separate
				  storm sewer outfall that discharges from a single pipe with an inside diameter
				  of 36 inches or more or its equivalent (discharge from a single conveyance
				  other than circular pipe which is associated with a drainage area of more than
				  50 acres); or for municipal separate storm sewers that receive storm water from
				  lands zoned for industrial activity (based on comprehensive zoning plans or the
				  equivalent), an outfall that discharges from a single pipe with an inside
				  diameter of 12 inches or more or from its equivalent (discharge from other than
				  a circular pipe associated with a drainage area of 2 acres or more).
57. "Major outfall" means a "major municipal
				  separate storm sewer outfall."
58.
				  "Maximum daily discharge limitation" means the highest allowable "daily
				  discharge."
59. "Medium municipal
				  separate storm sewer system" means all municipal separate storm sewers that are
				  either:
a. Located in an incorporated place
				  with a population of 100,000 or more but less than 250,000, as determined by
				  the 1990 Decennial Census by the Bureau of Census (§
												1.71 of this Part);
				  or
b. Located in the counties
				  listed in §
												1.72 of this Part, except
				  municipal separate storm sewers that are located in the incorporated places,
				  townships or towns within such counties; or
c. Owned or operated by a municipality other
				  than those described in §§
												1.4(A)(60) 
				  ((1)) and ((2)) of this Part and that are designated by the Director as part of
				  the large or medium municipal separate storm sewer system due to the
				  interrelationship between the discharges of the designated storm sewer and the
				  discharges from municipal separate storm sewers described in §§
												1.4(A)(60) 
				  ((1)) and ((2)) of this Part. In making this determination the Director may
				  consider the following factors:
(1) Physical
				  interconnections between the municipal separate storm sewers;
(2) The location of discharges from the
				  designated municipal separate storm sewer relative to discharges from municipal
				  separate storm sewers described in §
													1.4(A)(60)(c)
				  ((1)) of this Part;
(3) The
				  quantity and nature of pollutants discharged to waters of the State;
(4) The nature of the receiving waters;
				  or
d. Other relevant
				  factors.
60. "Memorandum
				  of agreement" means the agreement entered into under the Clean Water Act
				  between the Administrator and the Director, governing the relationship, duties,
				  and rights of the parties in operating a State NPDES program
				  (RIPDES).
61. "MGD" means million
				  gallons per day.
62. "Minor
				  facility" means any facility or activity not classified a "major facility" by
				  the Regional Administrator or the Department.
63. "Monitoring report form" means the DEM
				  standard form, including any subsequent additions, revisions or modifications
				  for the reporting of self-monitoring results by permittees.
64. "Municipal separate storm sewer" means a
				  conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems,
				  municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or
				  storm drains):
a. Owned or operated by a city
				  or town or the State, district association, or other public body (created by or
				  pursuant to State law) having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial
				  wastes, storm water, or other wastes, including special districts under State
				  law such as a sewer district, flood control district or drainage district, or
				  similar entity, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization,
				  or a designated and approved management agency under
				  33 U.S.C. §
													1288 (section 208 of the Clean Water Act)
				  that discharges to waters of the State;
b. Designed or used for collecting or
				  conveying storm water;
c. Which is
				  not a combined sewer; and
d. Which
				  is not part of a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) as defined in §
												1.4(A)(87) 
				  of this Part.
65.
				  "Municipal separate storm sewer system" or "MS4" means all separate storm
				  sewers that are defined as "large" or "medium" or "small" municipal separate
				  storm sewer systems pursuant to §§
											1.4(A)(53),
				  1.4(A)(59),
				  or 1.4(A)(105)
				  of this Part.
66. "Municipality"
				  means a city, town, borough, county, parish, district, quasi-governmental
				  corporation, association or other public body created by or under State law and
				  having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other
				  wastes, or a designated and approved management agency under
				  33 U.S.C. §
												1288 (Section 208 of the Clean Water
				  Act).
67. "National Pollutant
				  Discharge Elimination System" or "NPDES" means the national program for
				  issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and
				  enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements, under
				  33 U.S.C. §§
												1317,
				  1342,
				  1328, and
				  1345 (Sections 307, 402, 318, and
				  405 of the Clean Water Act). The term includes any State program which has been
				  approved by the Administrator.
68.
				  "New discharger" means any building, structure, facility, or installation:
a. From which there is or may be a "discharge
				  of pollutants"; and
b. That did not
				  commence the "discharge of pollutants" at a particular "site" prior to August
				  13, 1979; and
c. Which is not a
				  "new source"; and
d. Which has
				  never received a finally effective NPDES 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 development 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 Director in the issuance of a
				  final permit to be an area or biological concern. In determining whether an
				  area is an area of biological concern, the Director shall consider the factors
				  specified in 40 C.F.R.
				  §
													125.122(a)(1) through
				  (10), incorporated above at §
												1.3(B) of
				  this Part. 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.
69. "New source" means any
				  building, structure, facility, site 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 33 U.S.C.
				  §
													1316 (Section 306 of the Clean Water
				  Act) which are applicable to such sources, or
b. after proposal of standards of performance
				  in accordance with 33 U.S.C.
				  §
													1316 (Section 306 of the Clean Water
				  Act) which are applicable to such sources, but only if the standards are
				  promulgated in accordance with Section 306, §1316 within 120 days of their
				  proposal.
70.
				  "Non-contact cooling water" means water used to reduce temperature for the
				  purpose of cooling. Such waters do not come into direct contact with any raw
				  material, intermediate product (other than heat) or finished product.
71. "Non-conventional pollutant" means any
				  pollutant not defined as a conventional pollutant or a toxic pollutant (see
				  §
											1.65
				  of this Part).
72. "Outstanding
				  National Resource Waters" or "ONRWs" means water of National and State Parks,
				  Wildlife Refuges, and other such waters designated as having special
				  recreational or ecological value as defined in the State of Rhode Island Water
				  Quality Regulations.
73. "Outfall"
				  means a point source as defined by §
											1.4(A)(78) 
				  of this Part and includes storm water discharges at the point where a municipal
				  separate storm sewer discharges to waters of the State. It does not include
				  open conveyances connecting two municipal separate storm sewers, or pipes,
				  tunnels or other conveyances which connect segments of the same stream or other
				  waters of the State and are used to convey waters of the State.
74. "Overburden" means any material of any
				  nature, consolidated or unconsolidated, that overlies a mineral deposit,
				  excluding topsoil or similar naturally-occurring surface materials that are not
				  disturbed by mining operations.
75.
				  "Owner" or "Operator" means the owner or operator of any facility or activity
				  subject to these regulations.
76.
				  "Permit" means an authorization, license or equivalent control document issued
				  by the Department to implement the requirements of these regulations and the
				  Clean Water Act, or previously issued by the EPA prior to delegation of the
				  NPDES program to the State of Rhode Island. "Permit" includes a general permit,
				  but does not include any document which has not yet been the subject of final
				  Department action, such as a "draft permit" or "proposed permit."
77. "Person" means an individual, trust,
				  firm, joint stock company, corporation (including a quasi-governmental
				  corporation) partnership, association, syndicate, municipality, municipal or
				  state agency, fire district, club, non-profit agency or any subdivision,
				  commission, department, bureau, agency or department of state or federal
				  government (including quasi-governmental corporation) or of any interstate body
				  and any agent or employee thereof.
78. "Point source" means 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, or vessel, or other floating
				  craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not
				  include return flows from irrigated agriculture.
79. "Pollutant" means any dredged spoil,
				  solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions,
				  chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or
				  discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal or
				  agricultural waste.
80.
				  "Pretreatment requirements" means any limitation or prohibition on quantities,
				  quality, rates, and/or concentrations of pollutants directly or indirectly
				  discharged into or transported by truck or rail or otherwise introduced into a
				  publicly owned treatment works that are imposed by federal or state regulation
				  or by publicly owned treatment works.
81. "Primary industry category" means any
				  industry category listed in §
											1.69 of this Part.
				  Industries may be added to §
											1.69 of this Part by the
				  Director, as he deems appropriate.
82. "Priority pollutant" means those
				  pollutants listed pursuant to
				  33 U.S.C. §
												1317(a)(1) (Section
				  307(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act).
83. "Privately owned treatment works" means
				  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".
84. "Process
				  wastewater" means 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.
85. "Proposed permit"
				  means a RIPDES "permit" which is sent to EPA for review before final issuance
				  by the State. A "proposed permit" is not a "draft permit".
86. "Propriety information" means commercial
				  or financial information which is used in one's business and is of a type of
				  customarily held in strict confidence or regarded as privileged and not
				  disclosed to any member of the public by the person to whom it
				  belongs.
87. "Publicly owned
				  treatment works" or "POTWs" means any facility for the treatment of pollutants
				  owned by the state or any political subdivision thereof, municipality, or other
				  public entity, including quasi-governmental corporation. This definition
				  includes sewers, pipes if they convey wastewater to a POTW as well as any
				  equipment buildings or machinery used in the treatment operation.
88. "Recommencing discharger" means a source
				  which recommences discharge after terminating operations.
89. "Regional administrator" means the
				  Regional Administrator of the appropriate Regional Office of the Environmental
				  Protection Agency or an authorized representative of the Regional
				  Administrator.
90. "Regulated small
				  municipal separate storm sewer system" or "Regulated small MS4" means a small
				  MS4 that meets the requirements of §
											1.32(A)(5)(a)
				  of this Part. Once a small MS4 is designated into the Phase II storm water
				  program based on an urbanized area (UA) calculation for any given census year,
				  the MS4 will remain regulated regardless of the results of subsequent UA area
				  calculations.
91. "Rhode Island
				  Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" or "RIPDES" means the Rhode Island
				  system for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring
				  and enforcing discharge permits and imposing and enforcing pretreatment
				  requirements pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 46-12 and the Clean Water
				  Act.
92. "Rock crushing and gravel
				  washing facilities" means facilities which process crushed and broken stone,
				  gravel, and riprap (see 40
				  C.F.R. §
												436 Subpart B, incorporated
				  above at §
											1.3(B) of
				  this Part, including the effluent limitation guidelines).
93. "Runoff coefficient" means the fraction
				  of total rainfall that will appear at a conveyance as runoff.
94. "Schedule of compliance" means 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 all applicable State and Federal law and
				  regulations.
95. "Secondary
				  industry category" means any industry category which is not a "primary industry
				  category."
96. "Secretary" means
				  the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.
97. "Separate storm sewer" means a conveyance
				  or system of conveyances (including pipes, conduits, ditches, and channels)
				  primarily used for collecting storm water runoff and which is either:
a. Located in an urbanized area as designated
				  by the Bureau of the Census according to the criteria in 39 FR 15202 (May 1,
				  1974); or
b. Not located in an
				  urbanized area but designated by the Director pursuant to §
												1.32 of this
				  Part.
98. "Severe
				  property damage" means substantial physical damage to property, damage to the
				  treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and
				  permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur
				  in the absence of a bypass. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss
				  caused by delays in production.
99.
				  "Sewage from vessels" means 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
				  33 U.S.C. §
												1322 (Section 312 of the Clean Water Act) or
				  under Rhode Island law.
100.
				  "Sewage sludge" means the solids, residues, and precipitate separated from or
				  created in sewage by the processes or a "publicly owned treatment works."
				  Sewage as used in this definition means any wastes, including wastes from human
				  households, commercial establishments, industries and storm water runoff, that
				  are discharged to or otherwise enter a publicly owned treatment
				  works.
101. "Significant materials"
				  includes, but is not limited to: raw materials; fuels; materials such as
				  solvents, detergents, and plastic pellets; finished materials such as metallic
				  products; raw materials used in food processing or production; hazardous
				  substances designated under 42 U.S.C. §
												9601(14) (Section 101(14) of
				  CERCLA); any chemical the facility is required to report pursuant to Section
				  313 of Title III of SARA, 42
				  U.S.C. §
												11001 et seq.; fertilizers;
				  pesticides; and waste products such as ashes, slag and sludge that have the
				  potential to be released with storm water discharges.
102. "Significant spills" means, but is not
				  limited to: releases of oil or hazardous substances in excess of reportable
				  quantities under 40 C.F.R. § 110.10and
				  40 C.F.R. §
												117.21 or
				  40 C.F.R. §
												302.4.
103. "Silvicultural point source" means any
				  discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance related to rock crushing, gravel
				  washing, log sorting, or log storage facilities which are operated in
				  connection with silvicultural activities and from which pollutants are
				  discharged into waters of the State. The term does not include non-point source
				  silvicultural activities such as nursery operations, site preparation,
				  reforestation and subsequent cultural treatment, thinning, prescribed burning,
				  pest and fire control, harvesting operations, surface drainage, or road
				  construction and maintenance from which there is natural runoff. However, some
				  of these activities (such as stream crossing for roads) may involve point
				  source discharges of dredged or fill material which may require a 404 permit
				  pursuant to 33 C.F.R. §§ 209.120and 123 Subpart E.
104. "Site" means the land or water area
				  where any water pollution control facility or activity is physically located or
				  conducted, including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or
				  activity.
105. "Small municipal
				  separate storm sewer system" or "Small MS4" means all separate storm sewers
				  that are:
a. Owned and operated by the United
				  States, state, city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or
				  other public body (created by or pursuant to State law) having jurisdiction
				  over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, storm water, or other wastes,
				  including special districts under State law, such a sewer district, flood
				  control district or drainage district, or similar entity, or a designated and
				  approved management agency under
				  33 U.S.C. §
													1288 (Section 208 of the Clean Water Act)
				  that discharges to waters of the United States.
b. Not defined as "large" or "medium"
				  municipal separate storm sewer systems pursuant to §
												1.3 of this Part.
c. This term includes systems similar to
				  separate storm sewer systems in municipalities, such as systems at military
				  bases, large hospital or prison complexes, and highways and other
				  thoroughfares. The term does not include separate storm sewers in very discrete
				  areas, such as individual buildings.
106. "Special Resource Protection Waters" or
				  "SRPWs" means surface waters identified by the Director as having significant
				  ecological or recreational uses, as defined in the State of Rhode Island Water
				  Quality Regulations.
107. "State"
				  means the State of Rhode Island.
108. "State/EPA agreement" means an agreement
				  between the Regional Administrator and the State which integrates and
				  coordinates EPA and State activities, responsibilities and programs under the
				  Clean Water Act.
109. "Storm sewer"
				  means a sewer intended to carry only storm water.
110. "Storm water" means storm water runoff,
				  snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.
111. "Storm water discharge associated with
				  industrial activity" means the discharge from any conveyance which is used for
				  collecting and conveying storm water to separate storm sewers and/or directly
				  to a water body and which is directly related to manufacturing, processing or
				  raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant. The term does not include
				  discharges from facilities or activities excluded from the RIPDES program under
				  40 C.F.R. §
												122, incorporated above at §
											1.3(B) of
				  this Part. For the categories of industries identified in this section, the
				  term includes, but is not limited to, storm water discharges from industrial
				  plant yards; immediate access roads and rail lines used or traveled by carriers
				  of raw materials, manufactured products, waste material, or by-products used or
				  created by the facility; material handling sites; refuse sites; sites used for
				  the application or disposal of process waste waters (as defined at
				  40 C.F.R. §
												401); sites used for the storage and
				  maintenance of material handling equipment; sites used for residual treatment,
				  storage, or disposal; shipping and receiving areas; manufacturing buildings;
				  storage areas (including tank farms) for raw materials, and intermediate and
				  finished products; and areas where industrial activity has taken place in the
				  past and significant materials remain and are exposed to storm water. For the
				  purposes of this paragraph, material handling activities include the storage,
				  loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material,
				  intermediate product, finished product, by-product or waste product. The term
				  excludes areas located on plant lands separate from the plant's industrial
				  activities, such as office buildings and accompanying parking lots as long as
				  the drainage from the excluded areas is not mixed with storm water drained from
				  the above described areas. Industrial facilities (including industrial
				  facilities that are Federally, State, or municipally owned or operated that
				  meet the description of the facilities listed in §§
											1.4(A)(111)(a) through
				  (k) of this Part) include those facilities
				  designated under the provisions of §
											1.4(A)(112)
				  of this Part. The following categories of facilities are considered to be
				  engaging in "industrial activity" for purposes of this subsection:
a. Facilities subject to storm water effluent
				  limitations guidelines, new source performance standards, or toxic pollutant
				  effluent standards under 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N, incorporated above
				  at §
												1.3(B) of
				  this Part, (except facilities with toxic pollutant effluent standards which are
				  exempted under §
												1.4(A)(111)(k)
				  of this Part;
b. Heavy industry.
				  Facilities classified as Standard Industrial Classifications 24 (except 2434),
				  26 (except 265 and 267), 28 (except 283), 29, 311, 32 (except 323), 33, 3441,
				  373;
c. Mining operations.
				  Facilities classified as Standard Industrial Classifications 10 through 14
				  (mineral industry) including active or inactive mining operations (except for
				  areas of coal mining operations no longer meeting the definition of a
				  reclamation area under 40
				  C.F.R. §
													434.11(1),
				  incorporated above at §
												1.3(B) of
				  this Part, because the performance bond issued to the facility by the
				  appropriate SMCRA authority has been released, or except for areas of non-coal
				  mining operations which have been released from applicable State or Federal
				  reclamation requirements after December 17, 1990) and oil and gas exploration,
				  production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities
				  that discharge storm water contaminated by contact with or that has come into
				  contact with, any overburden, raw material, intermediate products, finished
				  products, byproducts or waste products located on the site of such operations;
				  (inactive mining operations are mining sites that are not being actively mined,
				  but which have an identifiable owner/operator; inactive mining sites do not
				  include sites where mining claims are being maintained prior to disturbances
				  associated with the extraction, beneficiation, or processing of mined
				  materials, nor sites where minimal activities are undertaken for the sole
				  purpose of maintaining a mining claim);
d. Hazardous waste treatment, storage, or
				  disposal facilities, including those that are operating under interim status or
				  a permit under subtitle C of RCRA;
e. Landfills, land application sites, and
				  open dumps that receive or have received any industrial wastes (waste that is
				  received from any of the facilities described under this subsection) including
				  those that are subject to regulation under subtitle D of RCRA;
f. Facilities involved in the recycling of
				  materials, including metal scrap yards, battery reclaimers, salvage yards, and
				  automobile junk yards, including but limited to those classified as Standard
				  Industrial Classification 5015 and 5093;
g. Steam electric power generating
				  facilities, including coal handling sites;
h. Transportation facilities. Transportation
				  facilities classified as Standard Industrial Classifications 40, 41, 42 (except
				  4221-25), 43, 44, 45, and 5171 which have vehicle maintenance shops, equipment
				  cleaning operations, or airport deicing operations. Only those portions of the
				  facility that are either involved in vehicle maintenance (including vehicle
				  rehabilitation, mechanical repairs, painting, fueling, and lubrication),
				  equipment cleaning operations, airport deicing operations, or which are
				  otherwise identified under §§
												1.4(A)(111)(a) through
				  (g) or §§
												1.4(A)(111)(i) through
				  (k) of this Part are associated with
				  industrial activity;
i. Treatment
				  works. Treatment works treating domestic sewage or any other sewage sludge or
				  wastewater treatment device or system, used in the storage treatment,
				  recycling, and reclamation of municipal or domestic sewage, including land
				  dedicated to the disposal of sewage sludge that are located within the confines
				  of the facility, with a design flow of 1.0 MGD or more, or required to have an
				  approved pretreatment program under
				  40 C.F.R. §
													403, incorporated above at §
												1.3(B) of
				  this Part. Not included are farm lands, domestic gardens or lands used for
				  sludge management where sludge is beneficially reused and which are not
				  physically located in the confines of the facility, or areas that are in
				  compliance with 33 U.S.C.
				  §
													1345 (Section 405 of the Clean Water
				  Act).
j. Construction activity.
				  Construction activity including clearing, grading and excavations except:
				  operations that result in the disturbance of less than five acres of total land
				  area. Construction activity also includes the disturbance of less than five
				  acres of total land area that is part of a larger common plan of development or
				  sale if the larger common plan will ultimately disturb five acres or
				  more;
k. Light industry. Facilities
				  under Standard Industrial Classifications 20, 21, 22, 23, 2434, 25, 265, 267,
				  27, 283, 285, 30, 31 (except 311), 323, 34 (except 3441), 35, 36, 37 (except
				  373), 38, 39, 4221-25, (and which are not otherwise included within categories
				  §§
												1.4(A)(111)(b) through
				  (j) of this Part;
112. "Storm water discharge associated with
				  small construction activity" means the discharge of storm water from:
a. Construction activities including
				  clearing, grading, and excavating that result in land disturbance of equal to
				  or greater than one acre and less than five acres. Small construction activity
				  also includes the disturbance of less than one acre of total land area that is
				  part of a larger common plan of development or sale if the larger common plan
				  of development or sale will ultimately disturb equal to or greater than one and
				  less than five acres. Small construction activity does not include routine
				  maintenance that is performed to maintain the original line and grade,
				  hydraulic capacity, or original purpose of the facility.
b. Any other construction activity designated
				  by the Department based on the potential for contribution to a violation of a
				  water quality standard or for significant contribution of pollutants to waters
				  of the United States or through a TMDL in accordance with §§
												1.32(A)(1)(g) and
				  (h) of this Part.
113. "Surface water" means any "waters of the
				  State" which are not "groundwater."
114. "Thermal discharge" means that component
				  of any discharge which is comprised of heat, and which shall be limited in
				  accordance with 33 U.S.C.
				  §§
												1311,
				  1316,
				  1326 (Sections 301, 306, and 316
				  of the Clean Water Act) or when determined necessary by the
				  Department.
115. "Total dissolved
				  solids" means the total dissolved (filterable) solids as determined by use of
				  the method specified in 40
				  C.F.R. §
												136, incorporated above at
				  §
											1.3(B) of
				  this Part.
116. "Total maximum
				  daily load" or "TMDL" means the maximum amount of a particular pollutant that
				  may be discharged into a particular stream segment in one day. TMDLs are
				  required for all water quality limited segments but only for those pollutants
				  which limit water uses.
117. "Toxic
				  pollutant" means those pollutants, or combinations of pollutants, including
				  disease causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion,
				  inhalation, or assimilation into any organism, either directly or indirectly
				  but ingestion through food chains, may, on the basis of information available
				  to the Director cause death, disease, behavioral, abnormalities, cancer,
				  genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions including malfunctions in
				  reproduction, or physical deformation, in such organisms or their offspring.
				  Toxic pollutants shall include but not be limited to those pollutants
				  identified pursuant to 33
				  U.S.C. §
												1317 (Section 307 of the Clean
				  Water Act) (see §§
											1.63 and
				  1.64 of this
				  Part).
118. "Trade secret" means
				  the whole or any portion or phase of any scientific, technical or otherwise
				  "proprietary information," design, process, procedure, formula, or improvement
				  which is used in one's business and is secret when the owner takes measures to
				  prevent it from becoming available to person other than those selected by the
				  owner to have access thereto for limited purposes. A "Trade Secret" shall not
				  apply to "effluent data" "permits" or "permit application forms".
119. "Uncontrolled sanitary landfill" means a
				  landfill or open dump, whether in operation or closed, that does not meet the
				  requirements for run-on or run-off controls established pursuant to subtitle D
				  of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act,
				  42 U.S.C. §
												6901 et seq.
120. "Upset" means 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
				  the operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate
				  treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper
				  operation.
121. "Urbanized areas"
				  or "UAs" means those areas that consist of contiguous, densely settled census
				  block groups, and census blocks, that meet minimum population density
				  requirements, along with adjacent densely settled census blocks that together
				  encompass a population of at least 50,000 people. Minimum population density
				  requirements consist of core census block groups or blocks that have a
				  population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile, and, surrounding
				  census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square
				  mile. The complete criteria are available from the Chief, Geography Division,
				  U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233. For the purposes of these
				  regulations, any subsequent UA calculated area will be added to any previous UA
				  calculated area as shown in §
											1.73 of this
				  Part.
122. "Variance" means any
				  mechanism or provision under 33 U.S.C. §
												1311 or
				  1326 (Sections 301 or 316 of the
				  Clean Water Act) or under 40
				  C.F.R. §
												125, incorporated above at
				  §
											1.3(B) of
				  this Part, or in the applicable "effluent limitation guidelines" which allows
				  modification to or waiver of the generally applicable effluent limitation
				  requirements or time deadlines of the Clean Water Act. This includes provisions
				  which allow the establishment of alternative limitations based on fundamentally
				  different factors or on 33
				  U.S.C. §§
												1311(c),
				  1311(g),
				  1311(h),
				  1311(i) or
				  1326(a) (Section
				  301(c), 301(g), 301(h), 301(i) or 316(a) of the Clean Water Act).
123. "Waste load" means the amount of
				  chemical, physical, or biological matter contained within a waste
				  discharge.
124. "Waste load
				  allocation" means the assignment of maximum waste loads to point-source
				  discharges so as to maintain water quality standards.
125. "Water priority chemical" means a
				  chemical or chemical categories which are:
a.
				  Listed at 40 C.F.R. §
													372.65 pursuant to the "Emergency Planning
				  and Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986,"42 U.S.C. §
													11001 et seq.
b. Present at or above threshold levels at a
				  facility subject to 42
				  U.S.C. §
													11001 reporting requirements;
				  and
c. Meet at least one of the
				  following criteria:
(1) Are listed in
				  appendix D of 40 C.F.R.
				  §
														122, incorporated above at §
													1.3(B) of
				  this Part on either Table II (Organic priority pollutants), Table III (certain
				  metals, cyanides, and phenols), or Table V (certain toxic pollutants and
				  hazardous substances);
(2) Are
				  listed as a hazardous substance pursuant to
				  33 U.S.C. §
														1321(b)(2)(A) (Section
				  311(b)(2)(A) of the Clean Water Act) at
				  40 C.F.R. §
														116.4; or
(3) Are pollutants for which EPA has
				  published acute or chronic water quality criteria.
126. "Water quality criteria"
				  means a designated concentration of a constituent that, when not exceeded, will
				  protect an organism, an organismic community or a prescribed water use or
				  quality.
127. "Water quality
				  standards" means the physical, chemical, biological and esthetic
				  characteristics of a water body as described by State water quality criteria or
				  the water quality which would result from existing discharges under design
				  conditions, whichever is more stringent as determined by the
				  Department.
128. "Waters of the
				  State" or "Water" means all surface water and groundwater of the State of Rhode
				  Island, including all tidewaters, territorial seas, wetlands, land masses
				  partially or wholly submerged in water, and both inter-and intrastate bodies of
				  water which are, have been or will be used in commerce, by industry, for the
				  harvesting of fish and shellfish or for recreational purposes.
129. "Wetlands" means 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.