Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 820 - General Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Watershed Permit Regulation for Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus Discharges and Nutrient Trading in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Virginia › Section 9VAC25-820-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
Except as defined below, the words and terms used in this
				  chapter shall have the meanings defined in the Virginia Pollutant Discharge
				  Elimination System (VPDES) Permit Regulation (9VAC25-31).
"Annual mass load of total nitrogen" (expressed in pounds per
				  year) means the sum of the total monthly loads for all of the months in one
				  calendar year. See Part IE4 of the general permit in
				  9VAC25-820-70
				  for calculating total monthly load.
"Annual mass load of total phosphorus" (expressed in pounds
				  per year) means the sum of the total monthly loads for all of the months in one
				  calendar year. See Part IE4 of the general permit in
				  9VAC25-820-70
				  for calculating total monthly load.
"Association" means the Virginia Nutrient Credit Exchange
				  Association authorized by § 62.1-44.19:17 of the Code of Virginia.
"Attenuation" means the rate at which nutrients are reduced
				  through natural processes during transport in water.
"Board" means the Virginia State Water Control Board or 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.
"Delivered total nitrogen load" means the discharged mass
				  load of total nitrogen from a point source that is adjusted by the delivery
				  factor for that point source.
"Delivered total phosphorus load" means the discharged mass
				  load of total phosphorus from a point source that is adjusted by the delivery
				  factor for that point source.
"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 facility, as determined by the specific geographic location
				  of the facility, to account for attenuation that occurs during riverine
				  transport between the facility and tidal waters. Delivery factors shall be
				  calculated using the Chesapeake Bay Program watershed model. For the purpose of
				  this regulation, delivery factors with a value greater than 1.00 in the
				  Chesapeake Bay Program watershed model shall be considered to be equal to
				  1.00.
"Department" or "DEQ" means the Department of Environmental
				  Quality.
"Director" means the director of the Department of
				  Environmental Quality.
"Eastern Shore trading ratio" means the ratio of pounds of
				  point source credits from another tributary that can be acquired and applied by
				  the owner of a facility in the Eastern Shore Basin for every pound of point
				  source total nitrogen or total phosphorus discharged from the Eastern Shore
				  Basin facility. Trading ratios are expressed in the form "credits supplied:
				  credits received."
"Equivalent load" means:
2,300 pounds per year of total nitrogen or 300 pounds per
				  year of total phosphorus discharged by an industrial facility are considered
				  equivalent to the load discharged from sewage treatment works with a design
				  capacity of 0.04 million gallons per day,
5,700 pounds per year of total nitrogen or 760 pounds per
				  year of total phosphorus discharged by an industrial facility are considered
				  equivalent to the load discharged from sewage treatment works with a design
				  capacity of 0.1 million gallons per day, and
28,500 pounds per year of total nitrogen or 3,800 pounds per
				  year of total phosphorus discharged by an industrial facility are considered
				  equivalent to the load discharged from sewage treatment works with a design
				  capacity of 0.5 million gallons per day.
"Existing facility" means a facility (i) subject to a current
				  individual VPDES permit from which a discharge has commenced or for which its
				  owner has received a Certificate to Construct (for sewage treatment works, or
				  equivalent DEQ approval for discharges from industrial facilities) for the
				  treatment works used to derive its wasteload allocation on or before July 1,
				  2005, or (ii) for which the owner has a wasteload allocation listed in
				  9VAC25-720-50
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-60
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-70
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-110
				  C, and
				  9VAC25-720-120 C
				  of the Water Quality Management Planning Regulation. Existing facility shall
				  also mean and include any facility, not subject to an individual VPDES permit,
				  for which its owner holds a separate wasteload allocation in
				  9VAC25-720-120 C
				  of the Water Quality Management Planning Regulation.
"Expansion" or "expands" means
(i) initiating construction at an existing
				treatment works after July 1, 2005, to increase design flow capacity, except
				that the term does not apply in those cases where a Certificate to Construct
				(for sewage treatment works, or equivalent DEQ approval for discharges from
				industrial facilities) was issued on or before July 1, 2005, or (ii) industrial
				production process changes or the use of new treatment products at industrial
				facilities that increase the annual mass load of total nitrogen or total
				phosphorus above the wasteload allocation.
"Facility" means a point source from which a discharge or
				  proposed discharge of total nitrogen or total phosphorus to the Chesapeake Bay
				  or its tributaries exists. This term does not include confined animal feeding
				  operations, discharges of storm water, return flows from irrigated agriculture,
				  or vessels.
"General permit" means this general permit authorized by
				  § 62.1-44.19:14 of the Code of Virginia.
"Industrial facility" means any facility (as defined above)
				  other than sewage treatment works.
"Local water quality-based limitations" means limitations
				  intended to protect local water quality including applicable total maximum
				  daily load (TMDL) allocations, applicable Virginia Pollution Discharge
				  Elimination System (VPDES) permit limits, applicable limitations set forth in
				  water quality standards established under § 62.1-44.15 (3a) of the Code of
				  Virginia, or other limitations as established by the State Water Control
				  Board.
"New discharge" means any discharge from a facility that did
				  not commence prior to July 1, 2005, except that the term does not apply in
				  those cases where a Certificate to Construct (for sewage treatment works, or
				  equivalent DEQ approval for discharges from industrial facilities) was issued
				  to the facility on or before July 1, 2005.
"Nonsignificant discharger" means
(i) a sewage treatment works discharging to
				the Chesapeake Bay watershed downstream of the fall line with a design capacity
				of less than 0.1 million gallons per day, or less than an equivalent load
				discharged from industrial facilities, or (ii) a sewage treatment works
				discharging to the Chesapeake Bay watershed upstream of the fall line with a
				design capacity of less than 0.5 million gallons per day, or less than an
				equivalent load discharged from industrial facilities.
"Offset" means to acquire an annual wasteload allocation of
				  total nitrogen or total phosphorus for a new or expanding facility to ensure
				  that there is no net increase of nutrients into the affected tributary of the
				  Chesapeake Bay.
"Permitted design capacity" or "permitted capacity" means the
				  allowable load (pounds per year) assigned to an existing facility that is a
				  nonsignificant discharger and that does not have a wasteload allocation listed
				  in
				  9VAC25-720-50
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-60
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-70
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-110
				  C, and
				  9VAC25-720-120 C
				  of the Water Quality Management Planning Regulation. The permitted design
				  capacity is calculated based on the design flow and installed nutrient removal
				  technology (for sewage treatment works, or equivalent discharge from industrial
				  facilities) at a facility that has either commenced discharge, or for which an
				  owner has received a Certificate to Construct (for sewage treatment works, or
				  equivalent DEQ approval for discharges from industrial facilities) prior to
				  July 1, 2005. This mass load is used for (i) determining whether the owner of
				  the expanding facility must offset additional mass loading of nitrogen and
				  phosphorus and (ii) determining whether the owner of the facility must acquire
				  credits at the end of a calendar year. For the purpose of this chapter, owners
				  of facilities that have installed secondary wastewater treatment (intended to
				  achieve BOD and TSS monthly average concentrations equal to or less than 30
				  milligrams per liter) are assumed to achieve an annual average total nitrogen
				  effluent concentration of 18.7 milligrams per liter and an annual average total
				  phosphorus effluent concentration of 2.5 milligrams per liter. Permitted design
				  capacities for facilities that, before July 1, 2005, were required to comply
				  with more stringent nutrient limits shall be calculated using the more
				  stringent values.
"Permitted facility" means a facility whose owner is
				  authorized by this general permit to discharge total nitrogen or total
				  phosphorus. For the sole purpose of generating point source nitrogen credits or
				  point source phosphorus credits, "permitted facility" shall also mean the Blue
				  Plains wastewater treatment facility operated by the District of Columbia Water
				  and Sewer Authority.
"Permittee" means a person authorized by this general permit
				  to discharge total nitrogen or total phosphorus.
"Point source nitrogen credit" means the difference between
				  (i) the wasteload allocation for a permitted facility specified as an annual
				  mass load of total nitrogen and (ii) the monitored annual mass load of total
				  nitrogen discharged from that facility, where clause (ii) is less than clause
				  (i), and where the difference is adjusted by the applicable delivery factor and
				  expressed as pounds per year of delivered total nitrogen load.
"Point source phosphorus credit" means the difference between
				  (i) the wasteload allocation for a permitted facility specified as an annual
				  mass load of total phosphorus and (ii) the monitored annual mass load of total
				  phosphorus discharged from that facility, where clause (ii) is less than clause
				  (i), and where the difference is adjusted by the applicable delivery factor and
				  expressed as pounds per year of delivered total phosphorus load.
"Quantification level" or "QL" means the minimum levels,
				  concentrations, or quantities of a target variable (e.g., target analyte) that
				  can be reported with a specified degree of confidence in accordance with
				  1VAC30-45, Certification for Noncommercial Environmental Laboratories, or
				  1VAC30-46, Accreditation for Commercial Environmental Laboratories.
"Registration list" means a list maintained by the department
				  indicating all facilities that are registered for coverage under this general
				  permit, by tributary, including their wasteload allocations, permitted design
				  capacities, and delivery factors as appropriate.
"Significant discharger" means the owner of (i) a sewage
				  treatment works discharging to the Chesapeake Bay watershed upstream of the
				  fall line with a design capacity of 0.5 million gallons per day or greater, or
				  an equivalent load discharged from industrial facilities; (ii) a sewage
				  treatment works discharging to the Chesapeake Bay watershed downstream of the
				  fall line with a design capacity of 0.1 million gallons per day or greater, or
				  an equivalent load discharged from industrial facilities; (iii) a planned or
				  newly expanding sewage treatment works discharging to the Chesapeake Bay
				  watershed upstream of the fall line that was expected to be in operation by
				  December 31, 2010, with a permitted design of 0.5 million gallons per day or
				  greater, or an equivalent load to be discharged from industrial facilities; or
				  (iv) a planned or newly expanding sewage treatment works discharging to the
				  Chesapeake Bay watershed downstream of the fall line that was expected to be in
				  operation by December 31, 2010, with a design capacity of 0.1 million gallons
				  per day or greater, or an equivalent load to be discharged from industrial
				  facilities.
"State-of-the-art nutrient removal technology" means
(i) technology that will achieve an annual
				average total nitrogen effluent concentration of three milligrams per liter and
				an annual average total phosphorus effluent concentration of 0.3 milligrams per
				liter or (ii) equivalent load reductions in total nitrogen and total phosphorus
				through recycle or reuse of wastewater as determined by the department.
"Tributaries" means those river basins listed in the
				  Chesapeake Bay TMDL and includes the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James
				  River Basins and the Eastern Shore Basin, which encompasses the creeks and
				  rivers of the Eastern Shore of Virginia that are west of Route 13 and drain
				  into the Chesapeake Bay.
"VPDES" means Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination
				  System.
"Wasteload allocation" means the most limiting of (i) the
				  water quality-based annual mass load of total nitrogen or annual mass load of
				  total phosphorus allocated to individual facilities pursuant to
				  9VAC25-720-50
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-60
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-70
				  C,
				  9VAC25-720-110
				  C, and
				  9VAC25-720-120 C
				  of the Water Quality Management Planning Regulation or its successor, or
				  permitted capacity in the case of nonsignificant dischargers; (ii) the water
				  quality-based annual mass load of total nitrogen or annual mass load of total
				  phosphorus acquired pursuant to § 62.1-44.19:15 of the Code of Virginia
				  for new or expanded facilities; or (iii) applicable total nitrogen or total
				  phosphorus wasteload allocations under the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily
				  loads (TMDLs) to restore or protect the water quality and beneficial uses of
				  the Chesapeake Bay or its tidal tributaries.
Statutory Authority: § 62.1-44.15 of the Code of
					 Virginia; § 402 of the Clean Water Act; 40 CFR Parts 122, 123, and
					 124.