Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 720 - WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING REGULATION › Section 9VAC25-720-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
				  have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Assimilative capacity" means the greatest amount of loading
				  that a water can receive without violating water quality standards,
				  significantly degrading waters of existing high quality, or interfering with
				  the beneficial use of state waters.
"Best management practices (BMP)" means a schedule of
				  activities, prohibition of practices, maintenance procedures and other
				  management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of state waters. BMPs
				  include treatment requirements, operating and maintenance procedures, schedule
				  of activities, prohibition of activities, and other management practices to
				  control plant site runoff, spillage, leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or
				  drainage from raw material storage.
"Best practicable control technology currently available
				  (BPT)" means control measures required of point source discharges (other than
				  POTWs) as determined by the EPA pursuant to § 304(b)(1) of the CWA
				  (33 USC §
										1251 et seq.) as of 1987.
"Board" means the State Water Control Board (SWCB). When used
				  outside the context of the promulgation of regulations, including regulations
				  to establish general permits, "board" means the Department of Environmental
				  Quality.
"Chesapeake Bay Watershed" means the following Virginia river
				  basins: Potomac River Basin (9VAC25-260-390
				  and
				  9VAC25-260-400),
				  James River Basin (9VAC25-260-410,
				  9VAC25-260-415,
				  9VAC25-260-420,
				  and
				  9VAC25-260-430),
				  Rappahannock River Basin (9VAC25-260-440),
				  Chesapeake Bay and small coastal basins (9VAC25-260-520,
				  Sections 2 through 3g), and the York River Basin (9VAC25-260-530).
"Clean Water Act or Act (CWA)" means
				  33 USC §
										1251 et seq. as amended, as of 1987.
"Delivery factor" means an estimate of the number of pounds
				  of total nitrogen or total phosphorus delivered to tidal waters for every pound
				  discharged from a permitted facility, as determined by the specific geographic
				  location of the permitted facility, to account for attenuation that occurs
				  during riverine transport between the permitted facility and tidal waters.
				  Delivery factors shall be calculated using the Chesapeake Bay Program watershed
				  model.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental
				  Quality.
"Discharge" means when used without qualification, a
				  discharge of a pollutant or any addition of any pollutant or combination of
				  pollutants to state waters or waters of the contiguous zone or ocean or other
				  floating craft when being used for transportation.
"Effluent limitation" means any restriction imposed by the
				  board or the department on quantities, discharge rates or concentrations of
				  pollutants that are discharged from point sources into state waters.
"Effluent limitation guidelines" means a regulation published
				  by EPA under the Act and adopted by the board.
"Effluent limited segment (EL)" means a stream segment where
				  the water quality does and probably will continue to meet state water quality
				  standards after the application of technology-based effluent limitations
				  required by §§ 301(b) and 306 of the CWA (33 USC §
										1251 et seq.) as of 1987.
"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" means the United
				  States Environmental Protection Agency.
"Equivalent load" means 2,300 pounds per year of total
				  nitrogen and 300 pounds per year of total phosphorus at a flow volume of 40,000
				  gallons per day; 5,700 pounds per year of total nitrogen and 760 pounds per
				  year of total phosphorus at a flow volume of 100,000 gallons per day; and
				  28,500 pounds per year of total nitrogen and 3,800 pounds per year of total
				  phosphorus at a flow volume of 500,000 gallons per day.
"Load or loading" means the introduction of an amount of
				  matter or thermal energy into a receiving water. Loading may be either
				  man-caused (pollutant loading) or natural (background loading).
"Load allocation (LA)" means the portion of a receiving
				  water's loading capacity attributable either to one of its existing or future
				  nonpoint sources of pollution or to natural background sources. Load
				  allocations are best estimates of the loading, which may range from accurate
				  estimates to gross allotments, depending on the availability of data and
				  appropriate techniques for predicting the loading. Wherever possible, natural
				  and nonpoint source loads should be distinguished.
"Nonpoint source" means a source of pollution, such as a farm
				  or forest land runoff, urban storm water runoff, mine runoff, or salt water
				  intrusion that is not collected or discharged as a point source.
"Point source" means any discernible, defined and discrete
				  conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel,
				  conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock vessel or other
				  floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does
				  not include return flows from irrigated agricultural land.
"Pollutant" means any substance, radioactive material, or
				  heat that causes or contributes to, or may cause or contribute to, pollution.
				  It does not mean:
1. Sewage from
				vessels; or
2. Water, gas, or other
				material that is injected into a well to facilitate production of oil, dry gas,
				or water derived in association with oil or gas production and disposed of in a
				well, if the well is used either to facilitate production or for disposal
				purposes if approved by the Department of Energy unless the department
				determines that such injection or disposal will result in the degradation of
				ground or surface water resources.
"Pollution" means such alteration of the physical, chemical
				  or biological properties of any state waters as will or is likely to create a
				  nuisance or render such waters (i) harmful or detrimental or injurious to the
				  public health, safety or welfare, or to the health of animals, fish or aquatic
				  life; (ii) unsuitable with reasonable treatment for use as present or possible
				  future sources of public water supply; or (iii) unsuitable for recreational,
				  commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other reasonable uses; provided that:
(a) an alteration of the physical,
				chemical, or biological property of state waters, or a discharge or deposit of
				sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes to state waters by any owner, which
				by itself is not sufficient to cause pollution, but which, in combination with
				such alteration of or discharge or deposit to state waters by other owners is
				sufficient to cause pollution;
(b)
				the discharge of untreated sewage by any owner into state waters; and
(c) contributing to the contravention of
				standards of water quality duly established by the board, are "pollution" for
				the terms and purposes of this water quality management plan.