Virginia Administrative Code › Title 9 - ENVIRONMENT › Agency 25 - STATE WATER CONTROL BOARD › Chapter 32 - VIRGINIA POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (VPDES) PERMIT REGULATION › Part I - General › Section 9VAC25-32-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The following
				  words and terms, when used in this chapter and in VPA permits issued under this
				  chapter, shall have the meanings defined in the State Water Control Law, unless
				  the context clearly indicates otherwise and as follows:
"Active sewage sludge unit" means a sewage sludge unit that
					 has not closed.
"Aerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition of
					 organic matter in sewage sludge into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms
					 in the presence of air.
"Agricultural land" means land on which a food crop, a feed
					 crop, or a fiber crop is grown. This includes range land and land used as
					 pasture.
"Agricultural storm water discharge" means a
					 precipitation-related discharge of manure, litter, or process wastewater that
					 has been applied on land areas under the control of an animal feeding operation
					 or under the control of an animal waste end-user in accordance with a nutrient
					 management plan approved by the Virginia Department of Conservation and
					 Recreation and in accordance with site specific nutrient management practices
					 that ensure appropriate agricultural utilization of the nutrients in the
					 manure, litter, or process wastewater.
"Agronomic rate" means, in regard to biosolids, the whole
					 sludge application rate (dry weight basis) designed:
(i) to provide the amount of nitrogen needed
				  by the food crop, feed crop, fiber crop, cover crop, or vegetation grown on the
				  land and
(ii) to minimize the
				  amount of nitrogen in the biosolids that passes below the root zone of the crop
				  or vegetation grown on the land to the groundwater.
"Anaerobic digestion" means the biochemical decomposition
					 of organic matter in sewage sludge or biosolids into methane gas and carbon
					 dioxide by microorganisms in the absence of air.
"Animal feeding operation" means a lot or facility where
					 the following conditions are met:
1.
				  Animals have been, are, 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 operation of the lot or facility.
Two or more animal feeding operations under common
					 ownership are a single animal feeding operation for the purposes of determining
					 the number of animals at an operation if they adjoin each other or if they use
					 a common area or system for the disposal of wastes.
"Animal waste" means liquid, semisolid, and solid animal
					 manure and process wastewater, compost, or sludges associated with animal
					 feeding operations including the final treated wastes generated by a digester
					 or other manure treatment technologies.
"Animal waste end-user" means any recipient of transferred
					 animal waste who stores or who utilizes the waste as fertilizer, fuel,
					 feedstock, livestock feed, or other beneficial use for an operation under his
					 control.
"Animal waste fact sheet" means the document that details
					 the requirements regarding utilization, storage, and management of animal waste
					 by end-users. The fact sheet is approved by the department.
"Annual pollutant loading rate" or "APLR" means the maximum
					 amount of a pollutant that can be applied to a unit area of land during a
					 365-day period.
"Annual whole sludge application rate" or "AWSAR" means the
					 maximum amount of biosolids (dry weight basis) that can be applied to a unit
					 area of land during a 365-day period.
"Apply biosolids" or "biosolids applied to the land" means
					 land application of biosolids.
"Beneficial use" means a use that is of benefit as a
					 substitute for natural or commercial products and does not contribute to
					 adverse effects on health or the environment.
"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.
"Biosolids" means a sewage sludge that has received an
					 established treatment and is managed in a manner to meet the required pathogen
					 control and vector attraction reduction, and contains concentrations of
					 regulated pollutants below the ceiling limits established in 40 CFR Part 503
					 and 9VA C25-32-356, such that it meets the standards established for use of
					 biosolids for land application, marketing, or distribution in accordance with
					 this regulation. Liquid biosolids contains less than 15% dry residue by weight.
					 Dewatered biosolids contains 15% or more dry residue by weight.
"Board" means the 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.
"Bulk biosolids" means biosolids that are not sold or given
					 away in a bag or other container for application to the land.
"Bypass" means intentional diversion of waste streams from
					 any portion of a treatment works.
"Confined animal feeding operation," for the purposes of
					 this regulation, has the same meaning as an "animal feeding operation."
"Confined poultry feeding operation" means any confined
					 animal feeding operation with 200 or more animal units of poultry. This equates
					 to 20,000 chickens or 11,000 turkeys regardless of animal age or sex.
"Controversial permit" means a water permitting action for
					 which a public hearing has been granted pursuant to
					 9VAC25-32-170
					 and 9VAC25-32-175.
"Critical areas" and "critical waters" mean areas and
					 waters in proximity to shellfish waters, a public water supply, or recreation
					 or other waters where health or water quality concerns are identified by the
					 Department of Health.
"Cumulative pollutant loading rate" means the maximum
					 amount of an inorganic pollutant that can be applied to an area of land.
"Density of microorganisms" means the number of
					 microorganisms per unit mass of total solids (dry weight) in the sewage
					 sludge.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental
					 Quality.
"Director" means the Director of the Department of
					 Environmental Quality, or an authorized representative.
"Discharge" means, when used without qualification, a
					 discharge of a pollutant.
"Discharge of a pollutant" means any addition of any
					 pollutant or combination of pollutants to state waters or waters of the
					 contiguous zone or ocean other than discharge from a vessel or other floating
					 craft when being used as a means of transportation.
"Domestic septage" means either liquid or solid material
					 removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable toilet, Type III marine
					 sanitation device, or similar treatment works that receives only domestic
					 sewage. Domestic septage does not include liquid or solid material removed from
					 a septic tank, cesspool, or similar treatment works that receives either
					 commercial wastewater or industrial wastewater and does not include grease
					 removed from a grease trap at a restaurant.
"Domestic sewage" means waste and wastewater from humans or
					 household operations that is discharged to or otherwise enters a treatment
					 works.
"Draft VPA permit" means a document indicating the
					 department's tentative decision to issue, deny, modify, revoke and reissue,
					 terminate or reissue a VPA permit. A notice of intent to terminate a VPA permit
					 and a notice of intent to deny a VPA permit are types of draft VPA permits. A
					 denial of a request for modification, revocation and reissuance or termination
					 is not a draft VPA permit.
"Dry tons" means dry weight established as representative
					 of land applied biosolids or industrial residuals and expressed in units of
					 English tons.
"Dry weight" means the measured weight of a sample of
					 sewage sludge, biosolids, or industrial residuals after all moisture has been
					 removed in accordance with the standard methods of testing and often
					 represented as percent solids.
"Dry weight basis" means calculated on the basis of having
					 been dried at 105°C until reaching a constant mass (i.e., essentially 100%
					 solids content).
"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
					 regulation.
"Facilities" means, in regard to biosolids, processes,
					 equipment, storage devices and dedicated sites, located or operated separately
					 from a treatment works, utilized for sewage sludge management including, but
					 not limited to, handling, treatment, transport, and storage of
					 biosolids.
"Fact sheet" means the document that details the
					 requirements regarding utilization, storage, and management of poultry waste by
					 poultry waste end-users and poultry waste brokers. The fact sheet is approved
					 by the department in consultation with the Department of Conservation and
					 Recreation.
"Feed crops" means crops produced primarily for consumption
					 by animals.
"Fiber crops" means crops produced primarily for the
					 manufacture of textiles, such as flax and cotton.
"Field" means an area of land within a site where land
					 application is proposed or permitted.
"Food crops" means crops produced primarily for consumption
					 by humans. These include, but are not limited to, fruits, vegetables, and
					 tobacco.
"Forest" means a tract of land thick with trees and
					 underbrush.
"General VPA permit" means a VPA permit issued as a
					 regulation adopted by the board authorizing a category of pollutant management
					 activities.
"Generator" means the owner of a sewage treatment works
					 that produces sewage sludge and biosolids.
"Groundwater" means water below the land surface in the
					 saturated zone.
"Industrial residuals" means solid or semisolid industrial
					 waste including solids, residues, and precipitates separated or created by the
					 unit processes of a device or system used to treat industrial wastes.
"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, in regard to sewage, biosolids,
					 and industrial residuals, the distribution of treated wastewater, referred to
					 as "effluent," stabilized sewage sludge, referred to as "biosolids," or
					 industrial residuals by spreading or spraying on the surface of the land,
					 injecting below the surface of the land, or incorporating into the soil with a
					 uniform application rate for the purpose of fertilizing crops or vegetation or
					 conditioning the soil. Sites approved for land application of biosolids in
					 accordance with this regulation are not to be considered to be treatment works.
					 Bulk disposal of stabilized sludge or industrial residuals in a confined area,
					 such as in landfills, is not land application. For the purpose of this
					 regulation, the use of biosolids in agricultural research and the distribution
					 and marketing of exceptional quality biosolids are not land application.
"Land application area" means, in regard to biosolids, the
					 area in the permitted field, excluding the setback areas, where biosolids may
					 be applied.
"Land applier" means someone who land applies biosolids or
					 industrial residuals pursuant to a valid permit from the department as set
					 forth in this regulation.
"Land with a high potential for public exposure" means land
					 that the public uses frequently. This includes, but is not limited to, a public
					 contact site and a reclamation site located in a populated area (e.g., a
					 construction site located in a city).
"Land with a low potential for public exposure" means land
					 that the public uses infrequently. This includes, but is not limited to,
					 agricultural land, forest, and a reclamation site located in an unpopulated
					 area (e.g., a strip mine located in a rural area).
"Limitation" means any restriction imposed on quantities,
					 rates or concentration of pollutants which are managed by pollutant management
					 activities.
"Liner" means soil or synthetic material that has a
					 hydraulic conductivity of 1 X 10-7 centimeters per
					 second or less.
"Local monitor" means a person or persons employed by a
					 local government to perform the duties of monitoring the operations of land
					 appliers pursuant to a local ordinance.
"Local ordinance" means an ordinance adopted by counties,
					 cities, or towns in accordance with § 62.1-44.16 or 62.1-44.19:3 of the
					 Code of Virginia.
"Malodor" means an unusually strong or offensive odor
					 associated with biosolids or sewage sludge as distinguished from odors commonly
					 associated with biosolids or sewage sludge.
"Monitoring report" means forms supplied by the department
					 for use in reporting of self-monitoring results of the permittee.
"Monthly average" means the arithmetic mean of all
					 measurements taken during the month.
"Municipality" means a city, county, town, district
					 association, or other public body (including an intermunicipal agency of two or
					 more of the foregoing entities) created by or under state law; an Indian tribe
					 or an authorized Indian tribal organization having jurisdiction over sewage
					 sludge or biosolids management; or a designated and approved management agency
					 under § 208 of the federal Clean Water Act, as amended. The definition
					 includes a special district created under state law, such as a water district,
					 sewer district, sanitary district, utility district, drainage district, or
					 similar entity; or an integrated waste management facility as defined in §
					 201(e) of the federal Clean Water Act, as amended, that has as one of its
					 principal responsibilities the treatment, transport, use, or disposal of sewage
					 sludge or biosolids.
"Nonpoint source" means a source of pollution, such as a
					 farm or forest land runoff, urban storm water runoff or mine runoff that is not
					 collected or discharged as a point source.
"Odor sensitive receptor" means, in the context of land
					 application of biosolids, any health care facility, such as hospitals,
					 convalescent homes, etc. or a building or outdoor facility regularly used to
					 host or serve large groups of people such as schools, dormitories, or athletic
					 and other recreational facilities.
"Operate" means the act of any person who may have an
					 impact on either the finished water quality at a waterworks or the final
					 effluent at a sewage treatment works, such as to (i) place into or take out of
					 service a unit process or unit processes, (ii) make or cause adjustments in the
					 operation of a unit process or unit processes at a treatment works, or (iii)
					 manage sewage sludge or biosolids.
"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 waterworks or wastewater
					 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 waterworks or wastewater works.
"Other container" means either an open or closed
					 receptacle. This includes, but is not limited to, a bucket, a box, a carton,
					 and a vehicle or trailer with a load capacity of one metric ton or less.
"Overflow" means the unintentional discharge of wastes from
					 any portion of a treatment works.
"Owner" means the Commonwealth or any of its political
					 subdivisions including sanitary districts, sanitation district commissions and
					 authorities; federal agencies; any individual; any group of individuals acting
					 individually or as a group; or any public or private institution, corporation,
					 company, partnership, firm, or association that owns or proposes to own a
					 sewerage system or treatment works as defined in § 62.1-44.3 of the Code
					 of Virginia.
"Pasture" means land on which animals feed directly on feed
					 crops such as legumes, grasses, grain stubble, or stover.
"Pathogenic organisms" means disease-causing organisms.
					 These include, but are not limited to, certain bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and
					 viable helminth ova.
"Permittee" means an owner or operator who has a currently
					 effective VPA permit issued by the department or a general permit issued as a
					 regulation adopted by the board.
"Person who prepares biosolids" means either the person
					 that generates biosolids during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment
					 works or the person that derives the material from sewage sludge.
"pH" means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen
					 ion concentration measured at 25°C or measured at another temperature and
					 then converted to an equivalent value at 25°C.
"Place sewage sludge" or "sewage sludge placed" means
					 disposal of sewage sludge on a surface disposal site.
"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, in regard to wastewater, any substance,
					 radioactive material, or heat which causes or contributes to, or may cause or
					 contribute to, pollution. It does not mean (i) sewage from vessels; or (ii)
					 water, gas, or other material which is injected into a well to facilitate
					 production of oil or 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.
"Pollutant" means, in regard to sewage sludge or biosolids,
					 an organic substance, an inorganic substance, a combination of organic and
					 inorganic substances, or a pathogenic organism that, after discharge and upon
					 exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into an organism either
					 directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through the food
					 chain, could, on the basis of information available to the department, cause
					 death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations,
					 physiological malfunctions (including malfunction in reproduction), or physical
					 deformations in either organisms or offspring of the organisms.
"Pollutant limit" means a numerical value that describes
					 the amount of a pollutant allowed per unit amount of biosolids (e.g.,
					 milligrams per kilogram of total solids), the amount of a pollutant that can be
					 applied to a unit area of land (e.g., kilograms per hectare), or the volume of
					 a material that can be applied to a unit area of land (e.g., gallons per
					 acre).
"Pollutant management activity" means a treatment works
					 with a potential or actual discharge to state waters, but which does not have a
					 point source discharge to surface waters.
"Pollution" means such alteration of the physical,
					 chemical, or biological properties of any state waters or soil as will, or is
					 likely to, create a nuisance or render such waters or soil:
(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
				  despite 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. Such alteration is also deemed to be pollution, if there
				  occurs:
(a) an alteration of the physical,
				  chemical, or biological property of state waters or soil, or a discharge or a
				  deposit of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes to state waters or soil
				  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 or soil by other owners, is sufficient to cause pollution;
(b) the discharge of untreated sewage by any
				  owner into state waters or soil; or
(c) the contravention of standards of air or
				  water quality duly established by the board.
"Poultry grower" or "grower" means any person who owns or
					 operates a confined poultry feeding operation.
"Poultry waste" means dry poultry litter and composted dead
					 poultry.
"Poultry waste broker" or "broker" means a person who
					 possesses or controls poultry waste that is not generated on an animal feeding
					 operation under his operational control and transfers or hauls poultry waste to
					 other persons. If the entity is defined as a broker they cannot be defined as a
					 hauler for the purposes of this regulation.
"Poultry waste end-user" means any recipient of transferred
					 poultry waste who stores or utilizes the waste as fertilizer, fuel, feedstock,
					 livestock feed, or other beneficial end use for an operation under his
					 control.
"Poultry waste hauler" or "hauler" means a person who
					 provides transportation of transferred poultry waste from one entity to another
					 and is not otherwise involved in the transfer or transaction of the waste nor
					 responsible for determining the recipient of the waste. The responsibility of
					 the recordkeeping and reporting remains with the entities to which the service
					 was provided: grower, broker, and end-user.
"Primary sludge" means sewage sludge removed from primary
					 settling tanks that is readily thickened by gravity thickeners.
"Privately owned treatment works (PVOTW)" means any sewage
					 treatment works not publicly owned.
"Process" means a system, or an arrangement of equipment or
					 other devices that remove from waste materials pollutants including, but not
					 limited to, a treatment works or portions thereof.
"Public contact site" means land with a high potential for
					 contact by the public. This includes, but is not limited to, public parks, ball
					 fields, cemeteries, and golf courses.
"Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)" means any sewage
					 treatment works that is owned by a state or municipality. Sewers, pipes, or
					 other conveyances are included in this definition only if they convey
					 wastewater to a POTW providing treatment.
"Public hearing" means a fact-finding proceeding held to
					 afford interested persons an opportunity to submit factual data, views, and
					 arguments to the department.
"Reclamation site" means drastically disturbed land that is
					 reclaimed using biosolids. This includes, but is not limited to, strip mines
					 and construction sites.
"Run-off" means rainwater, leachate, or other liquid that
					 drains overland on any part of a land surface and runs off of the land
					 surface.
"Schedule of compliance" means a schedule of remedial
					 measures including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to
					 compliance with the federal Clean Water Act (33 USC
					 1251 et seq.), the law, and board
					 regulations, standards and policies.
"Setback area" means the area of land between the boundary
					 of the land application area and adjacent features where biosolids or other
					 managed pollutants may not be land applied.
"Sewage" means the water-carried and non-water-carried
					 human excrement, kitchen, laundry, shower, bath, or lavatory wastes, separately
					 or together with such underground, surface, storm, and other water and liquid
					 industrial wastes as may be present from residences, buildings, vehicles,
					 industrial establishments, or other places.
"Sewage sludge" means any solid, semisolid, or liquid
					 residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works.
					 Sewage sludge includes, but is not limited to, domestic septage; scum or solids
					 removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes; and
					 a material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include ash
					 generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator or
					 grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage
					 in a treatment works.
"Sewage sludge unit" means land on which only sewage sludge
					 is placed for final disposal. This does not include land on which sewage sludge
					 is either stored or treated. Land does not include surface waters.
"Sewage sludge use or disposal" means the collection,
					 storage, treatment, transportation, processing, monitoring, use, or disposal of
					 sewage sludge.
"Site" means the area of land within a defined boundary
					 where an activity is proposed or permitted.
"Sludge" means solids, residues, and precipitates separated
					 from or created by the unit processes of a treatment works.
"Sludge management" means the treatment, handling,
					 transportation, storage, use, distribution, or disposal of sewage
					 sludge.
"Specific oxygen uptake rate" or "SOUR" means the mass of
					 oxygen consumed per unit time per mass of total solids (dry weight basis) in
					 the sewage sludge.
"State waters" means all water on the surface or under the
					 ground wholly or partially within or bordering the state or within its
					 jurisdiction.
"State Water Control Law (law)" means Chapter 3.1 (§
					 62.1-44.2 et seq.) of Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Store sewage sludge" or "storage of sewage sludge" means
					 the placement of sewage sludge on land on which the sewage sludge remains for
					 two years or less. This does not include the placement of sewage sludge on land
					 for treatment.
"Substantial compliance" means designs and practices that
					 do not exactly conform to the standards set forth in this chapter as contained
					 in documents submitted pursuant to
					 9VAC25-32-60,
					 but whose construction or implementation will not substantially affect health
					 considerations or performance.
"Supernatant" means a liquid obtained from separation of
					 suspended matter during sludge treatment or storage.
"Surface disposal site" means an area of land that contains
					 one or more active sewage sludge units.
"Surface water" means:
1. All waters which are currently used, were
				  used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign
				  commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the
				  tide;
2. All interstate waters,
				  including interstate "wetlands";
3.
				  All other waters such as inter/intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including
				  intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, "wetlands," sloughs, prairie
				  potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, or natural ponds the use, degradation, or
				  destruction of which would affect or could affect interstate or foreign
				  commerce including any such waters:
a. Which
				  are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or
				  other purposes;
b. From which fish
				  or shellfish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce;
				  or
c. Which are used or could be
				  used for industrial purposes by industries in interstate commerce;
4. All impoundments of waters
				  otherwise defined as surface waters of the United States under this
				  definition;
5. Tributaries of
				  waters identified in subdivisions 1 through 4 of this definition;
6. The territorial sea; and
7. "Wetlands" adjacent to waters, other than
				  waters that are themselves wetlands, identified in subdivisions 1 through 6 of
				  this definition.
"Total solids" means the materials in sewage sludge that
					 remain as residue when the sewage sludge is dried to 103°C to
					 105°C.
"Toxic pollutant" means any pollutant listed as toxic under
					 § 307 (a)(1) of the CWA or, in the case of "sludge use or disposal
					 practices," any pollutant identified in regulations implementing § 405 (d)
					 of the CWA.
"Toxicity" means the inherent potential or capacity of a
					 material to cause adverse effects in a living organism, including acute or
					 chronic effects to aquatic life, detrimental effects on human health, or other
					 adverse environmental effects.
"Treatment facility" means only those mechanical power
					 driven devices necessary for the transmission and treatment of pollutants
					 (e.g., pump stations, unit treatment processes).
"Treat sewage sludge" or "treatment of sewage sludge" means
					 the preparation of sewage sludge for final use or disposal. This includes, but
					 is not limited to, thickening, stabilization, and dewatering of sewage sludge.
					 This does not include storage of sewage sludge.
"Treatment works" means either a federally owned, publicly
					 owned, or privately owned device or system used to treat (including recycle and
					 reclaim) either domestic sewage or a combination of domestic sewage and
					 industrial waste of a liquid nature. Treatment works may include but are not
					 limited to pumping, power, and other equipment and their appurtenances; septic
					 tanks; and any works, including land, that are or will be (i) an integral part
					 of the treatment process or (ii) used for ultimate disposal of residues or
					 effluents resulting from such treatment. "Treatment works" does not include
					 biosolids use on privately owned agricultural land.
"Twenty-five-year, 24-hour storm event" means the maximum
					 24-hour precipitation event with a probable recurrence interval of once in 25
					 years as established by the National Weather Service or appropriate regional or
					 state rainfall probability information.
"Unstabilized solids" means organic materials in sewage
					 sludge that have not been treated in either an aerobic or anaerobic treatment
					 process.
"Upset" means an exceptional incident in which there is
					 unintentional and temporary noncompliance with technology-based permit
					 limitations because of factors beyond the permittee's reasonable control. An
					 upset does not include noncompliance caused by operational error, improperly
					 designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of
					 preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
"Use" means to manage or recycle a processed waste product
					 in a manner so as to derive a measurable benefit as a result of such
					 management.
"Variance" means a conditional approval based on a waiver
					 of specific regulations to a specific owner relative to a specific situation
					 under documented conditions for a specified period of time.
"Vector attraction" means the characteristic of biosolids
					 or sewage sludge that attracts rodents, flies, mosquitoes, or other organisms
					 capable of transporting infectious agents.
"Vegetated buffer" means a permanent strip of dense
					 perennial vegetation established parallel to the contours of and perpendicular
					 to the dominant slope of the field for the purposes of slowing water runoff,
					 enhancing water infiltration, and minimizing the risk of any potential
					 nutrients or pollutants from leaving the field and reaching surface
					 waters.
"Virginia Pollution Abatement (VPA) permit" means a
					 document issued by the department, pursuant to this chapter, authorizing
					 pollutant management activities under prescribed conditions or a general permit
					 issued as a regulation adopted by the board in accordance with
					 9VAC25-32-260.
"Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES)
					 permit" means a document issued by the department pursuant to 9VAC25-31,
					 authorizing, under prescribed conditions, the potential or actual discharge of
					 pollutants from a point source to surface waters or a general permit issued as
					 a regulation adopted by the board in accordance with 9VAC25-31-171.
"Volatile solids" means the amount of the total solids in
					 sewage sludge lost when the sewage sludge is combusted at 550°C in the
					 presence of excess air.
"VPA application" means the standard form or forms approved
					 by the department for applying for a VPA permit.
"Waste storage facility" means a (i) waste holding pond or
					 tank used to store manure prior to land application, (ii) lagoon or treatment
					 facility used to digest or reduce the solids or nutrients, or (iii) structure
					 used to store manure or waste.
"300 animal units" means 300,000 pounds of live animal
					 weight or the following numbers and types of animals:
a. 300 slaughter and feeder cattle;
b. 200 mature dairy cattle (whether milked or
				  dry cows);
c. 750 swine each
				  weighing over 25 kilograms (approximately 55 pounds);
d. 150 horses;
e. 3,000 sheep or lambs;
f. 16,500 turkeys;
g. 30,000 laying hens or broilers.
"Water quality standards" means the narrative statements
					 for general requirements and numeric limits for specific requirements that
					 describe the water quality necessary to meet and maintain reasonable and
					 beneficial uses. Such standards are established by the board under §
					 62.1-44.15 (3a) of the Code of Virginia.