Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 790 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) PERMIT REGULATION › Part I - Procedural Regulations › Article 1 - Definitions and Terms › Section 9VAC25-790-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
Unless otherwise specified, for the purpose of this
						chapter the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless
						the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Area engineer" means the licensed professional engineer
						at the Department of Environmental Quality responsible for review and approval
						of construction plans and related materials who serves the area where a
						sewerage system or treatment works is located.
"Biosolids" means a sewage sludge that has received an
						established treatment for required pathogen control and is treated or managed
						to reduce vector attraction to a satisfactory level and contains limited levels
						of pollutants, such that it is acceptable for use by land application,
						marketing or distribution in accordance with the Virginia Pollution Abatement
						Permit Regulation (9VAC25-32) and the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination
						System Permit Regulation (9VAC25-31).
"Biosolids use facility" means a type of treatment works
						that specifically treats or stores biosolids.
"Board" means the Virginia State Water Control Board.
						When used outside the context of the promulgation of regulations, including
						regulations to establish general permits, "board" means the Department of
						Environmental Quality.
"CTC" means a Certificate to Construct issued in
						accordance with the provisions of this chapter. This certificate will normally
						be in the form of a letter granting authorization for construction.
"CTO" means a Certificate to Operate issued in accordance
						with the provisions of this chapter. This certificate will normally be in the
						form of a letter granting authorization for operation.
"Critical areas/waters" means areas/waters in proximity
						to shellfish waters, a public water supply, recreation or other waters where
						health or water quality concerns are identified by the Virginia Department of
						Health or the State Water Control Board.
"Conventional design" means the designs for unit
						operations (treatment system component) or specific equipment that has been in
						satisfactory operation for a period of one year or more, for which adequate
						operational information has been submitted to the department to verify that the
						unit operation or equipment is designed in substantial compliance with this
						chapter. Equipment or processes not considered to be conventional may be deemed
						as alternative or nonconventional.
"Department" means the Virginia Department of
						Environmental Quality.
"Director" means the Director of the Department of
						Environmental Quality or an authorized representative.
"Discharge" means (when used without qualification)
						discharge of a pollutant.
"Effluent limitations" means any restrictions imposed by
						the board or department on quantities, discharge rates, and concentrations of
						pollutants that are discharged from point sources into surface waters, the
						waters of the contiguous zone, or the ocean.
"Exceptional quality biosolids" means biosolids that have
						received an established level of treatment for pathogen control and vector
						attraction reduction and contain known levels of pollutants, such that they may
						be marketed or distributed for public use in accordance with this
						chapter.
"Indirect discharger" means a nondomestic discharger
						introducing pollutants to a POTW.
"Industrial wastes" means liquid or other wastes
						resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade or business, or from
						the development of any natural resources.
"Land application" means the distribution of treated
						wastewater of acceptable quality, referred to as effluent, or supernatant from
						biosolids use facilities or stabilized sewage sludge of acceptable quality,
						referred to as biosolids, upon, or insertion into, the land with a uniform
						application rate for the purpose of assimilation, utilization, or pollutant
						removal. Bulk disposal of stabilized sludge in a confined area, such as in
						landfills, is not land application.
"Licensee" means an individual holding a valid license
						issued by the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators.
"Licensed operator" means a licensee in the class of the
						treatment works who is an operator at the treatment works.
"Local review" means a program for obtaining advance
						approval by the director of an owner's general local plans and specifications
						for future connections to, or extensions of, existing sewerage systems and of a
						plan for implementing them, in lieu of obtaining a CTC and CTO for each project
						within the scope of the plan.
"Manual" and "Manual of Practice" means Part III
						(9VAC25-790-310 et
						seq.) of the Sewage Collection and Treatment Regulations.
"Operate" means the act of making a decision on one's own
						volition (i) to place into or take out of service a unit process or unit
						processes or (ii) to make or cause adjustments in the operation of a unit
						process or unit processes at a treatment works.
"Operating staff" means individuals employed or appointed
						by any owner to work at a treatment works. Included in this definition are
						licensees whether or not their license is appropriate for the classification
						and category of the treatment works.
"Operator" means any individual employed or appointed by
						any owner, and who is designated by such owner to be the person in responsible
						charge, such as a supervisor, a shift operator, or a substitute in charge, and
						whose duties include testing or evaluation to control treatment works
						operations. Not included in this definition are superintendents or directors of
						public works, city engineers, or other municipal or industrial officials whose
						duties do not include the actual operation or direct supervision of a treatment
						works.
"Owner" means the Commonwealth or any of its political
						subdivisions, including, but not limited to, sanitation district commissions
						and authorities, and any public or private institution, corporation,
						association, firm or company organized or existing under the laws of this or
						any other state or country, or any officer or agency of the United States, or
						any person or group of persons acting individually or as a group that owns,
						operates, charters, rents, or otherwise exercises control over or is
						responsible for any actual or potential discharge of sewage, industrial wastes,
						or other wastes to state waters, or any facility or operation that has the
						capability to alter the physical, chemical, or biological properties of state
						waters in contravention of § 62.1-44.5 of the State Water Control
						Law.
"Permit" in the context of this chapter means a CTC or a
						CTO. Permits issued under 9VAC25-31 or 9VAC25-32 will be identified
						respectively as VPDES permits or VPA permits.
"Primary sludge" means sewage sludge removed from primary
						settling tanks designed in accordance with this chapter that is readily
						thickened by gravity thickeners designed in accordance with this
						chapter.
"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, landfill leachate collection system, vessel or other
						floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does
						not include return flows from irrigated agriculture or agricultural storm water
						runoff.
"Pollutant" means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator
						residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical
						wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials (except those regulated
						under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 USC
						2011 et seq.)), heat, wrecked or discarded
						equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural
						waste discharged into the water. 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 or gas, or water derived
					 in association with oil and gas production and disposed of in a well, if the
					 well used either to facilitate production or for disposal purposes is approved
					 by the department, and if the department determines that the injection or
					 disposal will not 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 for other reasonable
						uses; provided that:
(a) an alteration
					 of the physical, chemical or biological property of state waters, or either a
					 discharge, or a 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 State Water Control Board are "pollution" for the terms and
					 purposes of this chapter.
"Reliability" means a measure of the ability of a
						component or system to perform its designated function without failure or
						interruption of service.