Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Natural Resources › NR 200-299 - Environmental Protection - Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System › Chapter NR 205 - General Provisions › Section NR 205.03 - Definitions

Current through June 24, 2024
The following definitions are applicable to terms used in
				  chs.
				  NR 200 to 299 except as they may
				  be superseded by a more specific definition in a particular chapter or section
				  or in any particular issued permit.
(1) Bioaccumulation" means the uptake and
				retention of one or more substances in living tissue either by direct uptake or
				through uptake in the food chain or both.
(2) Bioassay" means the procedure in which
				the response of captive aquatic organisms are used to detect or measure the
				presence or effect of one or more substances, wastes or environmental factors,
				alone or in combination.
(3)
				Biological monitoring" as defined in ch. 283, Stats., means the determination
				of the effects on aquatic life, including accumulation of pollutants in tissue,
				in receiving waters due to the discharge of pollutants by techniques and
				procedures, including sampling of organisms representative of appropriate
				levels of the food chain appropriate to the volume and the physical, chemical
				and biological characteristic of the effluent and at appropriate frequencies
				and locations.
(3m) Blending" has
				the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				210.03(2e).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  210.03(2e) reads: Blending" means the
				  routing of untreated or partially treated wastewater around a biological
				  treatment process, or a portion of a biological treatment process, within a
				  sewage treatment facility. The routing of untreated or partially treated
				  wastewater around a portion of a biological treatment process is considered to
				  be blending only if the entire wastewater flow has not received biological
				  treatment.
(4) Blowdown"
				means the minimum discharge of recirculating water necessary to prevent the
				buildup of materials in the water above the limits of best engineering
				practice.
(4m) Building backup" has
				the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				210.03(2m).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  210.03(2m) reads: Building backup"
				  means an accumulation of sewage in any public or private building caused by
				  blockage, failure or other hydraulic constraint in the sewage collection system
				  or by blockage or failure of the building sewer or private interceptor main
				  sewer.
(5) Bypass" means
				the intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a sewage
				treatment facility or a wastewater treatment facility. A bypass does not
				include a building back-up or a combined sewer overflow.
(6) Chronic toxicity" means the long term
				effects on aquatic or terrestrial organisms from exposure to a toxic pollutant
				as determined by whole or partial life-cycle tests.
(6e) Combined sewer overflow" has the meaning
				specified under s.
				NR
				210.03(3h).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  210.03(3h) reads: Combined sewer
				  overflow" means a release of wastewater from a combined sewer system directly
				  into a water of the state or to the land surface.
(6m) Combined sewer system" has the meaning
				specified under s.
				NR
				210.03(3p).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  210.03(3p) reads: Combined sewer
				  system" means a wastewater collection system owned by a municipality that
				  conveys domestic, commercial and industrial wastewater and storm water runoff
				  through a single pipe system to a publicly owned treatment works.
(6s) Combined sewer treatment
				facility" has the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				110.03(7s).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  110.03(7s) reads: Combined sewer
				  treatment facility" means all the structures, pipes and other equipment that
				  constitute the various treatment processes and treatment units employed to
				  reduce pollutants in wastewater from combined sewer systems.
(7) Commercial domestic establishment" means
				any establishment which has the capability to collect, treat or dispose of
				domestic wastes including but not limited to restaurants, country clubs, mobile
				home parks, motels and hotels.
(8)
				Construction" as defined in ch. 283, Stats., means any placement, assembly or
				installation of facilities or equipment, including contractual obligations to
				purchase such facilities or equipment, at the premises where such equipment
				will be used, including preparation work at such premises.
(9) Contaminated storm water" means a point
				source discharge of storm water which the department has identified as a
				significant contributor of pollution.
(9g) Continuous discharge" means a facility
				that discharges 24 hours per day on a year-round basis except for temporary
				shutdowns for maintenance or other similar activities.
(9m) Controlled diversion" means the routing
				of untreated or partially treated wastewater around any treatment unit within a
				sewage or wastewater treatment facility which is then recombined with
				undiverted wastewater prior to the effluent sampling location and prior to
				effluent discharge.
Note:
Controlled diversions at a sewage
				  treatment facility do not include blending and may occur only in compliance
				  with s.
				  NR 205.07(1)
				  (v).
(10) Cooling water" means water which has
				been used primarily for cooling but which may be contaminated with process
				waste or airborne material. Examples are the discharge from barometric
				condensers or the blowdown from cooling towers.
(11) Department" means the department of
				natural resources.
(12) Discharge"
				as defined in ch. 283, Stats., when used without qualification includes a
				discharge of any pollutant.
(13)
				Discharge of pollutant" as defined in ch. 283, Stats., means any addition of
				any pollutant to the waters of this state from any point source including the
				land application of sludge.
(14)
				Domestic wastewater" means the type of wastewater normally discharged from
				plumbing facilities in private dwellings or commercial domestic establishments
				and includes, but is not limited to, sanitary, bath, laundry, dishwashing,
				garbage disposal and cleaning wastewaters.
(15) Effluent limitation" as defined in ch.
				283, Stats., means any restriction established by the department, including
				schedules of compliance, on quantities, rate, and concentrations of chemical,
				physical, biological and other constituents which are discharged from point
				sources into waters of the state.
(16) General permit" means a permit for the
				discharge of pollutants issued by the department under s.
				283.35,
				Stats.
(17) Groundwater" means the
				portion of subsurface water which is within the zone of saturation and includes
				but is not limited to perched water tables, shallow regional groundwater
				tables, and aquifers or zones that are seasonally, periodically or permanently
				saturated.
(18) Municipality" as
				defined in ch. 283, Stats., means any city, town, village, county, county
				utility district, town sanitary district, town utility district, school
				district or metropolitan sewage district or any other public entity created
				under law and having authority to collect, treat or dispose of sewage,
				industrial wastes or other wastes.
(19) Municipal wastewater" means the mixture
				of domestic, process and other wastewater tributary to any given municipal
				sanitary sewage or treatment system.
(20) New source" as defined in ch. 283,
				Stats., means any point source the construction of which commenced after the
				effective date of applicable effluent limitations or standards of
				performance.
(21) Noncontact
				cooling water" means water used for cooling which does not come into contact
				with any raw material, intermediate or finished product, or waste and has been
				used in heat exchangers, air or refrigeration compressors, or other cooling
				means where contamination with process waste is not normally
				expected.
(22) Owner or operator"
				as defined in ch. 283, Stats., means any person owning or operating a point
				source of pollution.
(23) Permit"
				as defined in ch. 283, Stats., means a permit for the discharge of pollutants
				issued by the department under ch. 283, Stats.
(24) Permittee" means a municipality,
				industry, public agency or commercial domestic establishment which is issued a
				permit.
(25) Person" as defined in
				ch. 283, Stats., means an individual, owner or operator, corporation,
				partnership, association, municipality, interstate agency, state agency or
				federal agency.
(26) pH excursion"
				means an unintentional and temporary incident in which the pH value of the
				discharge wastewater exceeds the range set forth in the applicable effluent
				limitations as specified in the permit.
(27) Point source as defined in s.
				283.01(12),
				Stats., means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance including but
				not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete
				fissure, container, rolling stock, landfill leachate collection system,
				concentrated animal feeding operation or vessel or other floating craft from
				which pollutants may be discharged either into the waters of this state or into
				a publicly owned treatment works. Point source does not include diffused
				surface drainage or any ditch or channel which serves only to intermittently
				drain excess surface water from rain or melting snow and is not used as a means
				of conveying pollutants into waters of the state. Point source does not include
				uncontrolled discharges composed entirely of storm runoff when these discharges
				are uncontaminated by any industrial or commercial activity, unless the
				particular storm runoff discharge has been identified by the department as a
				significant contributor of pollution.
(28) Pollutant as defined in s.
				283.01(13),
				Stats., means any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage,
				garbage, refuse, oil, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological
				materials, radioactive substance, heat, filter backwash, wrecked or discarded
				equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural
				waste discharged into water.
(29)
				Pollution" as defined in ch. 283, Stats., means man-made or man-induced
				alteration of the chemical, physical, biological or radiological integrity of
				water.
(30) 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, byproduct, or waste product, and is
				likely to contain in solution or suspension various components of such raw
				materials or products.
(31)
				Publicly owned treatment works" has the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				211.03(11).
(31g) Sanitary sewer overflow" has the
				meaning specified under s.
				NR
				210.03(10).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  210.03(10) reads: Sanitary sewer
				  overflow" means a release of wastewater from a sewage collection system or an
				  interceptor sewer directly into a water of the state or to the land
				  surface.
(31r) Satellite
				sewage collection system" means a municipally owned or a privately owned sewage
				collection system that conveys wastewater to another satellite sewage
				collection system or to another sewerage system that provides wastewater
				treatment and discharges under a separate WPDES permit.
(32) Schedule of compliance" as defined in
				ch. 283, Stats., means a schedule of remedial measures including an enforceable
				sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with an effluent
				limitation or other limitation, prohibition or standard.
(33) Secretary" as defined in ch. 283,
				Stats., means the secretary of the department or the secretary's
				designee.
(34) 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. Severe property damage does not mean economic loss
				caused by delays in production.
(35) Sewage" as defined in s.
				299.01, Stats., means
				the water carried wastes created in and to be conducted away from residences,
				industrial establishments, and public buildings as defined in s.
				101.01(12),
				Stats., with such surface or groundwater as may be present.
(35e) Sewage treatment facility" has the
				meaning specified under s.
				NR
				110.03(29).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  110.03(29) reads: Sewage treatment
				  facility" means all the structures, pipes and other equipment that constitute
				  the various treatment processes and treatment units employed to reduce
				  pollutants in sewage.
(35m)
				Sewage treatment facility overflow" has the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				210.03(13).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  210.03(13) Sewage treatment facility
				  overflow" means a release of wastewater from a location within a sewage
				  treatment facility, other than permitted effluent outfall structures, directly
				  to a water of the state or to the land surface. A sewage treatment facility
				  overflow does not include blending, controlled diversions or discharges from
				  permitted combined sewage treatment facility effluent outfall
				  structures.
(35s) Sewerage
				System" has the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				110.03(30).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  110.03(30) reads: Sewerage system"
				  means all structures, conduits and pipes, by which sewage is collected,
				  treated, and disposed of, except plumbing inside and in connection with
				  buildings served, and service pipes, from building to street main.
(36) Sludge" means the accumulated
				solids generated during the biological treatment, chemical treatment,
				coagulation or sedimentation of water or wastewater.
(37) Standard of performance" means any
				restriction established on quantities, rates and concentrations of chemical,
				physical, biological and other constituents of wastewaters which are or may be
				discharged from new sources into the waters of the state.
(38) Storm water" or storm runoff" means
				water resulting from melting snow or rainfall.
(39) Toxic pollutants" as defined in ch. 283,
				Stats., means those pollutants or combinations of pollutants, including
				disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, injection,
				inhalation or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the
				environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will, on the basis
				of information available to the department, cause death, disease, behavioral
				abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutation, physiological malfunctions, including
				malfunctions in reproduction or physical deformations, in such organisms or
				their offspring.
(39g) Treatment
				process" has the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				110.03(32g).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  110.03(32g) Treatment process" means
				  a physical, biological or chemical action that is applied to wastewater to
				  remove or reduce pollutants. A treatment process may consist of multiple
				  individual treatment units. Treatment process" includes screening, chemical
				  treatment, sedimentation, biological treatment, filtration, disinfection and
				  sludge digestion.
(39r)
				Treatment unit" has the meaning specified under s.
				NR
				110.03(32i).
Note:
Section
				  NR
				  110.03(32i) reads: Treatment unit"
				  means individual structures or equipment within a sewage or wastewater
				  treatment facility that are part of a treatment process. Typical treatment
				  units are screens, clarifiers, aeration tanks, filters, digesters and
				  lagoons.
(40) Treatment
				work" as defined in ch. 283, Stats., means any devices and systems used in the
				storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial
				waste of a liquid nature or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most
				economical cost over the estimated life of the work, including intercepting
				sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, cooling towers and ponds,
				pumping, power and other equipment, and their appurtenances, extensions,
				improvements, remodeling, additions, and alterations thereof, elements
				essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units
				and clear well facilities, and any works, including site acquisition of the
				land that will be an integral part of the treatment process or is used for
				ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment. Additionally,
				treatment work means any other method or system for preventing, abating,
				reducing, storing, treating, separating or disposing of municipal waste,
				including storm water runoff, or industrial waste, including waste in combined
				storm water and sanitary sewer systems.
(41) Upset" means an exceptional incident in
				which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with permit effluent
				limitations because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the permittee.
				An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational
				error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment
				facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper
				operation.
(42) Vessel" as defined
				in ch. 283, Stats., means any watercraft or other artificial contrivance used
				or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water.
(43) Wastewater" means cooling water,
				contaminated storm water, noncontact cooling water, process wastewater, sewage
				or any combination of these.
(43m)
				Wastewater treatment facility" means all the structures, pipes, and other
				equipment that constitute the various treatment processes and treatment units
				employed to reduce pollutants in wastewater.
(44) Waters of the state" as defined in ch.
				283, Stats., means those portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior within the
				boundaries of Wisconsin, all lakes, bays, rivers, streams, springs, ponds,
				wells, impounding reservoirs, marshes, water courses, drainage systems and
				other surface or groundwater, natural or artificial, public or private within
				the state or under its jurisdiction, except those waters which are entirely
				confined and retained completely upon the property of a person.