N.M. Admin. Code § 20.6.4.7

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 20.6.4.7 - DEFINITIONS

Terms defined in the New Mexico Water Quality Act, but not defined in this part will have the meaning given in the Water Quality Act.

A.Terms beginning with numerals or the letter "A," and abbreviations for units.

(1)"4Q3" means the critical low flow as determined by the minimum average flow over four consecutive days that occurs with a frequency of once in three years.

(2)"4T3 temperature" means the temperature not to be exceeded for four or more consecutive hours in a 24-hour period on more than three consecutive days.

(3)"6T3 temperature" means the temperature not to be exceeded for six or more consecutive hours in a 24-hour period on more than three consecutive days.

(4)Abbreviations used to indicate units are defined as follows:

(a)"cfu/100 mL" means colony-forming units per 100 milliliters; the results for E. coli may be reported as either colony forming units (CFU) or the most probable number (MPN), depending on the analytical method used;

(b)"cfs" means cubic feet per second;

(c)"µg/L" means micrograms per liter, equivalent to parts per billion when the specific gravity of the solution equals 1.0;

(d)"µS/cm" means microsiemens per centimeter; one µS/cm is equal to one µmho/cm;

(e)"mg/kg" means milligrams per kilogram, equivalent to parts per million;

(f)"mg/L" means milligrams per liter, equivalent to parts per million when the specific gravity of the solution equals 1.0;

(g)"MPN/100 mL" means most probable number per 100 milliliters; the results for E. coli may be reported as either CFU or MPN, depending on the analytical method used;

(h)"NTU" means nephelometric turbidity unit;

(i)"pCi/L" means picocuries per liter;

(j)"pH" means the measure of the acidity or alkalinity and is expressed in standard units (su).

(5)"Acute toxicity" means toxicity involving a stimulus severe enough to induce a response in 96 hours of exposure or less. Acute toxicity is not always measured in terms of lethality, but may include other toxic effects that occur within a short time period.

(6)"Adjusted gross alpha" means the total radioactivity due to alpha particle emission as inferred from measurements on a dry sample, including radium-226, but excluding radon-222 and uranium. Also excluded are source, special nuclear and by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

(7)"Aquatic life" means any plant or animal life that uses surface water as primary habitat for at least a portion of its life cycle, but does not include avian or mammalian species.

(8)"Attainable Use" means a use that is achievable by the imposition of effluent limits required under sections 301(b) and 306 of the federal Clean Water Act and implementation of cost-effective and reasonable best management practices for nonpoint source control. An attainable use may or may not have criteria as stringent as the criteria for the designated use.

B.Terms beginning with the letter "B".

(1)"Best management practices" or "BMPs":

(a) for national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permitting purposes means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of "waters of the United States;" BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal or drainage from raw material storage; or

(b) for nonpoint source pollution control purposes means methods, measures or practices selected by an agency to meet its nonpoint source control needs; BMPs include but are not limited to structural and nonstructural controls and operation and maintenance procedures; BMPS can be applied before, during and after pollution-producing activities to reduce or eliminate the introduction of pollutants into receiving waters; BMPs for nonpoint source pollution control purposes shall not be mandatory except as required by state or federal law.

(2)"Bioaccumulation" refers to the uptake and retention of a substance by an organism from its surrounding medium and food.

(3)"Bioaccumulation factor" is the ratio of a substance's concentration in tissue versus its concentration in ambient water, in situations where the organism and the food chain are exposed.

(4)"Biomonitoring" means the use of living organisms to test the suitability of effluents for discharge into receiving waters or to test the quality of surface waters of the state.

C.Terms beginning with the letter "C".

(1)"CAS number" means an assigned number by chemical abstract service (CAS) to identify a substance. CAS numbers index information published in chemical abstracts by the American chemical society.

(2)"Chronic toxicity" means toxicity involving a stimulus that lingers or continues for a relatively long period relative to the life span of an organism. Chronic effects include, but are not limited to, lethality, growth impairment, behavioral modifications, disease and reduced reproduction.

(3)"Classified water of the state" means a surface water of the state, or reach of a surface water of the state, for which the commission has adopted a segment description and has designated a use or uses and applicable water quality criteria in 20.6.4.101 through 20.6.4.899 NMAC.

(4)"Climate change" refers to any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time, typically decades or longer, and includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns or other weather-related effects.

(5)"Closed basin" is a basin where topography prevents the surface outfow of water and water escapes by evapotranspiration or percolation.

(6)"Coldwater" in reference to an aquatic life use means a surface water of the state where the water temperature and other characteristics are suitable for the support or propagation or both of coldwater aquatic life.

(7)"Coolwater" in reference to an aquatic life use means the water temperature and other characteristics are suitable for the support or propagation of aquatic life whose physiological tolerances are intermediate between and may overlap those of warm and coldwater aquatic life.

(8)"Commission" means the New Mexico water quality control commission.

(9)"Criteria" are elements of state water quality standards, expressed as constituent concentrations, levels or narrative statements, representing a quality of water that supports a use. When criteria are met, water quality will protect the designated use.

D.Terms beginning with the letter "D".

(1)"DDT and derivatives" means 4,4'-DDT (CAS number 50293), 4,4'-DDE (CAS number 72559) and 4,4'-DDD (CAS number 72548).

(2)"Department" means the New Mexico environment department.

(3)"Designated use" means a use specified in 20.6.4.97 through 20.6.4.899 NMAC for a surface water of the state whether or not it is being attained.

(4)"Dissolved" refers to the fraction of a constituent of a water sample that passes through a 0.45-micrometer pore-size filter. The "dissolved" fraction is also termed "filterable residue."

(5)"Domestic water supply" means a surface water of the state that could be used for drinking or culinary purposes after disinfection.

E.Terms beginning with the letter "E".

(1)"E. coli" means the bacteria Escherichia coli.

(2)"Emerging contaminants" refer to water contaminants that may cause significant ecological or human health effects at low concentrations. Emerging contaminants are generally chemical compounds recognized as having deleterious effects at environmental concentrations whose negative impacts have not been fully quantified and may not have regulatory numeric criteria.

(3)"Ephemeral" when used to describe a surface water of the state means the water body contains water briefly only in direct response to precipitation; its bed is always above the water table of the adjacent region.

(4)"Existing use" means a use actually attained in a surface water of the state on or after November 28, 1975, whether or not it is a designated use.

F.Terms beginning with the letter "F".

(1)"Fish culture" means production of coldwater or warmwater fishes in a hatchery or rearing station.

(2)"Fish early life stages" means the egg and larval stages of development of fish ending when the fish has its full complement of fin rays and loses larval characteristics.

G.Terms beginning with the letter "G"

H.Terms beginning with the letter "H".

(1)"Hardness" means the measure of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts in water expressed in units of dissolved calcium carbonate (CaCO3) concentration unless otherwise noted.

(2)"Harmonic mean flow" is the number of daily flow measurements divided by the sum of the reciprocals of the flows; that is, it is the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of reciprocal daily flow measurements consistent with the equations in Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of 20.6.4.11 NMAC.

(3)"High quality coldwater" in reference to an aquatic life use means a perennial surface water of the state in a minimally disturbed condition with considerable aesthetic value and superior coldwater aquatic life habitat. A surface water of the state to be so categorized must have water quality, stream bed characteristics and other attributes of habitat sufficient to protect and maintain a propagating coldwater aquatic life population.

(4)"Human health-organism only" means the health of humans who ingest fish or other aquatic organisms from waters that contain pollutants.

I.Terms beginning with the letter "I".

(1)"Industrial water supply" means the use or storage of water by a facility for process operations unless the water is supplied by a public water system. Industrial water supply does not include irrigation or other agricultural uses.

(2)"Intermittent" when used to describe a surface water of the state means the water body contains water for extended periods only at certain times of the year, such as when it receives seasonal flow from springs or melting snow.

(3)"Interstate waters" means all surface waters of the state that cross or form a part of the border between states.

(4)"Intrastate waters" means all surface waters of the state that are not interstate waters.

(5)"Irrigation" means application of water to land areas to supply the water needs of beneficial plants.

(6)"Irrigation storage" means storage of water to supply the needs of beneficial plants.

J.Terms beginning with the letter "J". [RESERVED]

K.Terms beginning with the letter "K". [RESERVED]

L.Terms beginning with the letter "L".

(1)"LC-50" means the concentration of a substance that is lethal to fifty percent of the test organisms within a defined time period. The length of the time period, which may vary from 24 hours to one week or more, depends on the test method selected to yield the information desired.

(2)"Limited aquatic life" as a designated use, means the surface water is capable of supporting only a limited community of aquatic life. This subcategory includes surface waters that support aquatic species selectively adapted to take advantage of naturally occurring rapid environmental changes, low-flow, high turbidity, fluctuating temperature, low dissolved oxygen content or unique chemical characteristics.

(3)"Livestock watering" means the use of a surface water of the state as a supply of water for consumption by livestock.

M.Terms beginning with the letter "M".

(1)"Marginal coldwater" in reference to an aquatic life use means that natural habitat conditions severely limit maintenance of a coldwater aquatic life population during at least some portion of the year or historical data indicate that the temperature of the surface water of the state may exceed that which could continually support aquatic life adapted to coldwater.

(2)"Marginal warmwater" in reference to an aquatic life use means natural intermittent or low flow or other natural habitat conditions severely limit the ability of the surface water of the state to sustain a natural aquatic life population on a continuous annual basis; or historical data indicate that natural water temperature routinely exceeds 32.2°C (90°F).

(3)"Maximum temperature" means the instantaneous temperature not to be exceeded at any time.

(4)"Minimum quantification level" means the minimum quantification level for a constituent determined by official published documents of the United States environmental protection agency.

N.Terms beginning with the letter "N".

(1)"Natural background" means that portion of a pollutant load in a surface water resulting only from non-anthropogenic sources. Natural background does not include impacts resulting from historic or existing human activities.

(2)"Natural causes" means those causal agents that would affect water quality and the effect is not caused by human activity but is due to naturally occurring conditions.

(3)"Nonpoint source" means any source of pollutants not regulated as a point source that degrades the quality or adversely affects the biological, chemical or physical integrity of surface waters of the state.

O.Terms beginning with the letter "O".

(1)"Organoleptic" means the capability to produce a detectable sensory stimulus such as odor or taste.

(2)"Oversight agency" means a state or federal agency, such as the United States department of agriculture forest service, that is responsible for land use or water quality management decisions affecting nonpoint source discharges where an outstanding national resource water is located.

P.Terms beginning with the letter "P".

(1)"Playa" means a shallow closed basin lake typically found in the high plains and deserts.

(2)"Perennial" when used to describe a surface water of the state means the water body typically contains water throughout the year and rarely experiences dry periods.

(3)"Persistent toxic pollutants" means pollutants, generally organic, that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological and photolytic processes and can bioaccumulate in organisms, causing adverse impacts on human health and aquatic life.

(4)"Point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance from which pollutants are or may be discharged into a surface water of the state, but does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture.

(5)"Practicable" means that which may be done, practiced or accomplished; that which is performable, feasible, possible.

(6)"Primary contact" means any recreational or other water use in which there is prolonged and intimate human contact with the water, such as swimming and water skiing, involving considerable risk of ingesting water in quantities sufficient to pose a significant health hazard. Primary contact also means any use of surface waters of the state for cultural, religious or ceremonial purposes in which there is intimate human contact with the water, including but not limited to ingestion or immersion, that could pose a significant health hazard.

(7)"Public water supply" means the use or storage of water to supply a public water system as defined by New Mexico's Drinking Water Regulations, 20.7.10 NMAC. Water provided by a public water system may need to undergo treatment to achieve drinking water quality.

Q.Terms beginning with the letter "Q". [RESERVED]

R.Terms beginning with the letter "R". [RESERVED]

S.Terms beginning with the letter "S".

(1)"Secondary contact" means any recreational or other water use in which human contact with the water may occur and in which the probability of ingesting appreciable quantities of water is minimal, such as fishing, wading, commercial and recreational boating and any limited seasonal contact.

(2)"Segment" means a classified water of the state described in 20.6.4.101 through 20.6.4.899 NMAC. The water within a segment should have the same uses, similar hydrologic characteristics or flow regimes, and natural physical, chemical and biological characteristics and exhibit similar reactions to external stresses, such as the discharge of pollutants.

(3)"Specific conductance" is a measure of the ability of a water solution to conduct an electrical current.

(4)"State" means the state of New Mexico.

(5)"Surface water(s) of the state"

(a) means all surface waters situated wholly or partly within or bordering upon the state, including the following:

(i) lakes;

(ii) rivers;

(iii) streams (including intermittent and ephemeral streams);

(iv) mudflats;

(v) sandflats;

(vi) wetlands;

(vii) sloughs;

(viii) prairie potholes;

(ix) wet meadows;

(x) playa lakes;

(xi) reservoirs; and

(xii) natural ponds.

(b) also means all tributaries of such waters, including adjacent wetlands, any manmade bodies of water that were originally created in surface waters of the state or resulted in the impoundment of surface waters of the state, and any "waters of the United States" as defined under the Clean Water Act that are not included in the preceding description.

(c) does not include private waters that do not combine with other surface or subsurface water or any water under tribal regulatory jurisdiction pursuant to Section 518 of the Clean Water Act. Waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons designed and actively used to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act (other than cooling ponds as defined in 40 CFR Part 423.11(m) that also meet the criteria of this definition), are not surface waters of the state, unless they were originally created in surface waters of the state or resulted in the impoundment of surface waters of the state.

T.Terms beginning with the letter "T".

(1)"TDS" means total dissolved solids, also termed "total filterable residue."

(2)"Toxic pollutant" means those pollutants, or combination of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, that after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will cause death, shortened life spans, disease, adverse behavioral changes, reproductive or physiological impairment or physical deformations in such organisms or their offspring.

(3)"Tributary" means a perennial, intermittent or ephemeral waterbody that flows into a larger waterbody, and includes a tributary of a tributary.

(4)"Turbidity" is an expression of the optical property in water that causes incident light to be scattered or absorbed rather than transmitted in straight lines.

U.Terms beginning with the letter "U".

(1)"Unclassified waters of the state" means those surface waters of the state not identified in 20.6.4.101 through 20.6.4.899 NMAC.

(2)"Use attainability analysis" means a scientific study conducted for the purpose of assessing the factors affecting the attainment of a use.

V.Terms beginning with the letter "V" [RESERVED]

W.Terms beginning with the letter "W".

(1)"Warmwater" with reference to an aquatic life use means that water temperature and other characteristics are suitable for the support or propagation or both of warmwater aquatic life.

(2)"Water contaminant" means any substance that could alter if discharged or spilled the physical, chemical, biological or radiological qualities of water. "Water contaminant" does not mean source, special nuclear or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, but may include all other radioactive materials, including but not limited to radium and accelerator-produced isotopes.

(3)"Water pollutant" means a water contaminant in such quantity and of such duration as may with reasonable probability injure human health, animal or plant life or property, or to unreasonably interfere with the public welfare or the use of property.

(4)"Wetlands" means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions in New Mexico. Wetlands that are constructed outside of a surface water of the state for the purpose of providing wastewater treatment and that do not impound a surface water of the state are not included in this definition.

(5)"Wildlife habitat" means a surface water of the state used by plants and animals not considered as pathogens, vectors for pathogens or intermediate hosts for pathogens for humans or domesticated livestock and plants.

X.Terms beginning with the letters "X" through "Z". [RESERVED]

N.M. Admin. Code § 20.6.4.7

20.6.4.7 NMAC - Rp 20 NMAC 6.1.1007, 10-12-00; A, 7-19-01; A, 05-23-05; A, 07-17-05; A, 08-01-07; A, 12-01-10; A, 01-14-11, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXVIII, Issue 02, January 31, 2017, eff. 3/2/2017, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXIII, Issue 07, April 5, 2022, eff. 4/23/2022