N.M. Admin. Code § 20.7.3.7

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 21, November 5, 2024

Section 20.7.3.7 - DEFINITIONS

As used in 20.7.3 NMAC.

A. Terms starting with the letter 'A' are defined as follows:

(1) "absorption area" means the area in square feet of infiltrative surface in a soil disposal system designated to receive effluent from a treatment unit;

(2) "absorption bed" means a conventional disposal bed greater than three feet in width and where the minimum horizontal dimension is greater than the vertical dimension;

(3) "advanced treatment" means any process of wastewater treatment that removes a greater amount of contaminants than is accomplished through primary treatment; "advanced treatment" may include physical or chemical processes;

(4) "aggregate" means clean washed gravel or crushed rock, having a hardness value of 3 or more on the Mohs scale of hardness, or a synthetic media reviewed by the wastewater technical advisory committee and approved by the department; shall have a minimum size of 3/4 inch and a maximum size of 2 1/2 inches, no greater than 4% fines by weight or volume and provide no less than 35% void space under field conditions; shall be durable, inert, maintain its integrity, not collapse or disintegrate with time, and not be detrimental to the performance of the system or to groundwater quality;

(5) "alternative disposal" means any approved on-site liquid waste disposal method used in lieu of, including modifications to, a conventional disposal method;

(6) "amendment of permit" means a change that does not affect the permitability of a liquid waste system, including a change of ownership or installer, and is not a "modification" as defined in this section;

(7) "applicant" means the owner applying for a permit to install, modify or operate an on-site liquid waste system;

(8) "approved" means:

(a) materials, products or procedures that have been reviewed by the wastewater technical advisory committee, if required, and accepted for use by the department;

(b) a liquid waste system that was permitted and installed in compliance with the standards and requirements of this regulation and received department authorization for use;

(c) a person or entity authorized by the department to design, install, modify or maintain liquid waste systems or a person authorized by the department to perform site or liquid waste system evaluations;

(d) materials, products or procedures that are approved or meet minimum standards certified by the international association of plumbing and mechanical officials (IAPMO), as applicable; and

(9) "arroyo" means a dry wash or draw that flows occasionally in response to precipitation, a watercourse (as a creek or stream) in an arid region or a water carved gully or channel.

B. Terms starting with the letter 'B' are defined as follows:

(1) "bedrock" means the more or less solid, undisturbed rock in place either at the surface or beneath surficial deposits of gravel, sand or soil, or a consolidated rock formation of impervious material that may exhibit jointed, fractured or deteriorated characteristics, or the R horizon of a soil profile as defined in the United States department of agriculture (USDA) soil survey manuals;

(2) "bedroom" means any room within a building that is designated as a sleeping room on drawings submitted to the responsible building permitting authority, manufactured housing authority, or in the case of unpermitted systems, to the department;

(3) "biochemical oxygen demand" or "BOD" means the rate at which organisms use the oxygen in water or wastewater while stabilizing decomposable organic matter under aerobic conditions;

(4) "blackwater" means waste from a liquid flushing toilet, urinal, kitchen sinks, dishwashers or laundry water from the washing of material soiled with human excreta, such as diapers;

(5) "body of water" means all constrained water including water situated wholly or partly within or bordering upon New Mexico, whether surface or subsurface, public or private;

(6) "building drain" means that part of the lowest piping of a drainage system that receives the collective liquid waste discharge from soil, waste and other drainage piping inside a building and conveys it to the building sewer that begins two feet outside the vertical plane of the building wall, residential or commercial unit; and

(7) "building sewer" means that part of the horizontal piping of a drainage system that extends from the end of the building drain located two feet outside the building wall and that receives the liquid waste discharge from the building drain and conveys it to a liquid waste treatment unit or approved point of disposal.

C. Terms starting with the letter 'C' are defined as follows:

(1) "canal" means a man-made ditch or channel that carries water for purposes other than domestic consumption;

(2) "certificate of registration" means a permit to operate an unpermitted liquid waste system installed prior to February 1, 2002 after an evaluation is conducted pursuant to Subsection J of 20.7.3.401 NMAC;

(3) "cesspool" means an excavation or non-water tight unit that receives untreated water-carried liquid waste allowing direct discharge to the soil;

(4) "clay" means:

(a) a soil separate consisting of particles less than 0.002 millimeters in diameter; or

(b) the textural class name of any soil that contains 40% or more clay, less than 45% sand and less than 30% silt;

(5) "clearance" means the vertical thickness of suitable soil between the lowest point of a liquid waste disposal system and the seasonal high groundwater table, bedrock or other limiting layer;

(6) "cluster system" means a wastewater system that serves more than one unit and treats 5,000 gallons per day or less of wastewater;

(7) "coarse sand" means soil comprised of 25% or more of soil particles 0.5 to 2.0 mm in diameter and less than 50% of any other grade of sand;

(8) "commercial unit" means a structure that is not a residential unit but which has sewage producing fixtures such as sinks, baths, showers, toilets, urinals, dish- and clothes-washers or floor drains for receiving liquid waste including but not limited to uses included in Table 201.1;

(9) "conditional approval" means the approval of an on-site treatment or dispersal product that has been reviewed by the wastewater technical advisory committee and granted permission by the department to install the product or products on a limited number of sites for the purpose of verifying performance of the product;

(10) "conventional disposal" means a subsurface soil absorption system with gravity distribution of the effluent, with or without a lift station, constructed in accordance with the standards set forth in this regulation, including trenches, absorption beds and seepage pits;

(11) "conventional treatment" means a septic tank where primary treatment occurs; and

(12) "conventional treatment system" means an on-site liquid waste system utilizing both conventional treatment and conventional disposal, including privies, holding tanks and vaults.

D. Terms starting with the letter 'D' are defined as follows:

(1) "degrade a body of water" means to reduce the physical, chemical or biological qualities of a body of water and includes, but is not limited to, the release of material that could result in the exceeding of standards established by 20.6.4 NMAC, Standards for Interstate and Intrastate Surface Waters, by 20.6.2 NMAC, Ground and Surface Water Protection and by 20.7.10 NMAC, Drinking Water;

(2) "department" means the New Mexico environment department;

(3) "design flow" means the flow rate for which an on-site liquid waste system must be designed in order to assure acceptable system performance, assuming the use of conventional plumbing fixtures;

(4) "disinfected" or "disinfection" means the use of any process designed to effectively kill most micro-organisms contained in liquid waste effluent including essentially all pathogenic (disease causing) organisms, as indicated by the reduction of the E. coli concentration to a specific level; these processes include, but are not limited to, suitable oxidizing agents such as chlorine, ozone and ultraviolet light;

(5) "disposal system" means a generally recognized system for disposing of the discharge from a liquid waste treatment unit and includes, but is not limited to, seepage pits, drainfields, evapotranspiration systems, sand mounds and irrigation systems;

(6) "domestic liquid waste" means wastewater that does not exceed 300 mg/l BOD, 300 mg/l TSS, 80 mg/l total nitrogen or 105 mg/l fats, oils and grease; and

(7) "drainage ditch" means an unlined trench dug for the purpose of draining water from the land or for transporting water for use on the land.

E. Terms starting with the letter 'E' are defined as follows:

(1) "edge of a watercourse, canal or arroyo" means that point of maximum curvature at the upper edge of a definite bank or, if no definite bank exists, the highest point where signs of seasonal high water flow exist;

(2) "effluent" means the discharge from the final treatment unit;

(3) "effluent disposal well" means a prohibited method of disposal consisting of a drilled, driven or bored shaft or dug hole with depth greater than any surface dimension, used for subsurface emplacement of liquid waste, including, but not limited to, abandoned water supply wells, irrigation wells and test holes, but excluding seepage pits used as disposal systems, which conform to the standards in 20.7.3.702 NMAC;

(4) "effluent irrigation" means the use of wastewater effluent to water landscaped areas, fruit trees or nut trees;

(5) "elevated system" means a system installed either partially or completely above grade in a constructed fill area for the purpose of meeting clearance to a limiting layer;

(6) "enclosed system" means a watertight on-site liquid waste system that does not discharge to the soil, including, but not limited to, holding tanks and lined evapotranspiration systems;

(7) "established on-site liquid waste system" means an on-site liquid waste system that has been in active use at any time during the 10 years prior to submission of a permit application and in compliance with any liquid waste disposal regulation in effect at the time of installation, excluding the permitting or registration process, but does not include cesspools installed after September 14, 1973;

(8) "evaluator" or "third party evaluator" means a third party who has the qualifications as set forth in Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of 20.7.3.904 NMAC;

(9) "evapotranspiration system" means a disposal system designed to dispose of effluent through evaporation and plant uptake and transpiration; and

(10) "experimental approval" means the approval of an on-site treatment or dispersal product that has been reviewed by the wastewater technical advisory committee and granted permission by the department to install the product or products on a very limited number of sites for the purpose of verifying performance and obtaining advancement to conditional approval.

F. Terms starting with the letter 'F' are defined as follows:

(1) "failed system" means, without limitation, an on-site liquid waste system that does not operate as permitted, that does not provide a level of treatment at least as effective as that provided by on-site liquid waste systems that meet the requirements of 20.7.3 NMAC or that poses a hazard to public health or degrades a body of water; and

(2) "fixture units" means a quantity of flow as defined in the New Mexico plumbing code upon which plumbing systems are sized.

G. Terms starting with the letter 'G' are defined as follows:

(1) "gravel" means, for purposes of soils classification, a soil separate consisting of particles greater than 2 mm in diameter;

(2) "graywater" means untreated household wastewater that has not come in contact with toilet waste and includes wastewater from bathtubs, showers, washbasins, clothes washing machines and laundry tubs, but does not include wastewater from kitchen sinks, dishwashers or laundry water from the washing of material soiled with human excreta, such as diapers; and

(3) "groundwater" means interstitial water that occurs in saturated earth material and is capable of entering a well in sufficient amounts to be utilized as a water supply.

H. Terms starting with the letter 'H' are defined as follows:

(1) "hazard to public health" means the indicated presence in water or soil of biological, chemical or other contaminants under such conditions that could adversely impact human health, including, but is not limited to, surfacing liquid waste, degradation to a body of water used as, or has the potential to be used as, a domestic water supply source, presence of an open cesspool or tank or exposure of liquid waste or septage in a manner that allows transmission of disease;

(2) "holding tank" means a non-discharging watertight tank designed to receive and retain liquid waste for periodic pumping and disposal off-site;

(3) "homeowner" means a person or persons who owns and occupies, or plans to occupy, a single family home; and

(4) "household hazardous waste" means a wide range of household products that have the characteristics of hazardous waste when discarded, including but not limited to, pesticides and herbicides, oil-based paints and stains, automobile fluids (antifreeze, motor oil, transmission, steering and brake fluids, gasoline), pool chemicals, hobby chemicals and darkroom chemicals.

I. Terms starting with the letter 'I' are defined as follows:

(1) "imminent hazard to public health" means any situation with the potential to immediately and adversely impact or threaten public health or safety;

(2) "impervious formation" means any soil or rock formation with a hydraulic conductivity of 10^-7 cm/sec or less;

(3) "industrial process wastewater" means non-household wastewater, excepting the following: human excreta; used water from showers, washbasins and dishwashers; and food preparation waste; any wastewater generated in a commercial activity that contains the materials prohibited by Subsection A of 20.7.3.304 NMAC is industrial process wastewater;

(4) "inspector" means a person employed by the department who is competent in the physical examination and evaluation of on-site liquid waste systems;

(5) "installer" means any person who holds a valid and appropriate classification of contractor's license issued by the New Mexico construction industries division for the construction of on-site liquid waste systems;

(6) "installer specialist" means a person certified by the department pursuant to Subsection E of 20.7.3.904 NMAC;

(7) "interstitial water" means water in spaces between solid earth particles; and

(8) "invert" means the lowest portion of the internal cross section of a pipe or fitting.

J. Terms starting with the letter 'J' are defined as follows: [RESERVED]

K. Terms starting with the letter 'K' are defined as follows: [RESERVED]

L. Terms starting with the letter 'L' are defined as follows:

(1) "lateral" means a secondary water or wastewater pipeline branching directly from a central supply pipeline or manifold leading to an irrigation site;

(2) "limiting layer" means an impervious formation, bedrock or the seasonal high groundwater table;

(3) "liner" means a manufactured or naturally occurring substance that restricts seepage to no more than 10^-7 cm/sec. over the design service life of the lined unit; manufactured liners must have a minimum single-ply thickness of 20 mils and have no leaks;

(4) "liquid capacity" means the volume of liquid that is contained in a septic tank or treatment unit measured from the invert of the outlet; "liquid capacity" shall be calculated by multiplying the inside length by the inside width by the depth measured from the invert of the outlet to the unit's floor and converting the result of this calculation to gallons;

(5) "liquid waste" means wastewater generated from any residential or commercial unit where the total wastewater received by a liquid waste system is 5,000 gallons per day or less; liquid waste includes without limitation human excreta and water carried waste from plumbing fixtures, including, but not limited to, wastes from toilets, sinks, showers, baths, clothes- and dish-washing machines and floor drains; "liquid waste" also includes non-water carried wastes discharged into holding tanks, privies and vaults; specifically excluded from the definition of "liquid waste" are industrial process wastewaters, roof drainage, mine or mill tailings or wastes;

(6) "liquid waste system" means a liquid waste treatment unit or units and associated disposal systems, or parts thereof, serving a residential or commercial unit; "liquid waste systems" include enclosed systems, holding tanks, vaults and privies but do not include systems or facilities designed to receive or treat mine or mill tailings or wastes;

(7) "liquid waste treatment unit" means a component of the on-site liquid waste system where removal, reduction or alteration of the objectionable contaminants of wastewater is designed to occur; it may include a holding component but does not include soil;

(8) "load" or "loading" means:

(a) in the context of the biological or chemical load received by an on-site liquid waste system, the amount of material applied to an on-site system liquid waste component per unit area or unit volume;

(b) in the context of the structural load applied to an on-site liquid waste structural component, the structural force applied to a liquid waste system component per surface area; and

(9) "lot" means a unified parcel legally recorded or validated by other means, including any contiguous parcel subject to a legally recorded perpetual easement that dedicates the servient parcel for the disposal of liquid waste generated on the dominant parcel.

M. Terms starting with the letter 'M' are defined as follows:

(1) "maintenance contract" means a contract between the system owner and a maintenance service provider in which the maintenance service provider agrees to provide periodic inspections in regards to the operation, maintenance and repair of the system;

(2) "maintenance service provider" means a public entity, company or individual in the business of maintaining liquid waste systems according to manufacturers' specifications;

(3) "manifold" means a part of a water distribution system normally located between the laterals and central supply line; the "manifold" splits the flow into a number of flows, either for distribution or for application to the land;

(4) "may" means discretionary, permissive or allowed; and

(5) "modify" or "modification" of a liquid waste system means:

(a) to change the method of on-site liquid waste treatment or disposal;

(b) to change the design of the on-site liquid waste system;

(c) to increase the design flow or load received by the on-site liquid waste system above the original design flow or load; or

(d) replace or expand the treatment unit or disposal system.

N. Terms starting with the letter 'N' are defined as follows:

(1) "New Mexico plumbing code" means 14.8.2 NMAC; and

(2) "non-discharging system" means a watertight system that allows no discharge of wastewater except through evaporation, transpiration or pumping, including, but not limited to, lined evaporation systems, lined evapotranspiration systems, holding tanks and vaults.

O. Terms starting with the letter 'O' are defined as follows:

(1) "off-site water" means the domestic water supply for the lot is from:

(a) a private water supply source that is neither within the lot nor outside the lot within one hundred (100) feet of the property line of the lot; or

(b) a public water supply source that is not within the lot;

(2) "on-site" means located on or within a lot;

(3) "on-site liquid waste system" means a liquid waste system located on the lot where the liquid waste is generated;

(4) "on-site water" means the domestic water supply for the lot is from:

(a) a private water supply source that is within the lot or within 100 feet of the property line of the lot; or

(b) a public water supply source that is within the boundaries of the lot; and

(5) "owner" means any person or persons who own:

(a) an on-site liquid waste system or any component thereof; or

(b) any lot upon which any on-site liquid waste system or any component thereof is located; in the case of property sold or purchased on a real estate contract, the "owner" of the property is the buyer; if the property sold or purchased is owned collectively by multiple owners, the "owner" of the common property is the entity or governing body specifically designated in governance documents for the common property.

P. Terms starting with the letter 'P' are defined as follows:

(1) "percolation rate" means the rate of entry of water into soil as determined by a standard soil percolation test at the depth and location of the proposed soil disposal system;

(2) "permanently displayed" means, in context of septic tank legends, embossed into the tank surface or a mechanically attached, non-corrosive plate;

(3) "permit" means a written approval from the department to install, modify, or operate an on-site liquid waste system;

(4) "permittee" means any owner of a permitted on-site liquid waste system;

(5) "person" means any individual, partnership, firm, public or private corporation, association, trust, estate, the state or any political subdivision or agency or any other legal entity or their legal representative, agent or assign;

(6) "primary treatment" means a liquid waste treatment process that takes place in a treatment unit and allows those substances in wastewater that readily settle or float to be separated from the water being treated;

(7) "primary treatment standards" means the primary treated wastewater does not exceed 200 mg/l BOD, 100 mg/l TSS, 60 mg/l total nitrogen or 60 mg/l fats, oils and grease;

(8) "private water supply source" means a water supply source such as a well, spring, infiltration gallery or surface water withdrawal point used to provide water to a water supply system, if such system does not have a least 15 service connections and does not serve an average of 25 individuals at least 60 days out of the year;

(9) "privy" or "outhouse" means a receptacle for non-liquid-carried human excreta allowing direct discharge to the soil;

(10) "professional engineer" or "P.E." means a professional engineer licensed under the New Mexico Engineering and Surveying Practice Act; "professional engineer" includes engineers licensed in any state of the United States for engineering related to a product design and manufacture of proprietary products;

(11) "proprietary system" means a system patented, trademarked or otherwise the intellectual property of manufacturers not in the public domain; and

(12) "public water supply source" means a water supply source such as a well, spring, infiltration gallery or surface water intake structure used to provide water to a public water supply system for human consumption if the system served has at least 15 service connections or regularly services an average of 25 individuals at least 60 days out of the year.

Q. Terms starting with the letter 'Q' are defined as follows:

(1) "qualified homeowner" means a person who is the owner residing at the property who has been provided homeowner installation training materials and who has passed an exam administered by the department.

(2) [RESERVED]

R. Terms starting with the letter 'R' are defined as follows:

(1) "real estate contract" means a contractual document creating rights and obligations between a seller and buyer of real property under which the buyer acquires equitable title to the property at the time the parties enter into the real estate contract and the seller agrees to transfer legal title to the property to the buyer at some time in the future upon buyer's fulfillment of all terms and conditions of the real estate contract;

(2) "repair" means servicing or replacing, with like kind, mechanical or electrical parts of an approved liquid waste system, pumping of septage or making minor structural corrections to a tank or distribution box;

(3) "residential unit" means a structure that is primarily used for living quarters but does not include facilities listed in Table 201.1; and

(4) "retention/detention area" means an area on a parcel of property specifically designated and designed to capture and hold water resulting from the runoff of precipitation.

S. Terms starting with the letter 'S' are defined as follows:

(1) "sand" means:

(a) a soil separate consisting of individual rock or mineral fragments that range in diameter from 0.05 to 2.0 millimeters; or

(b) the textural class name of any soil that contains 85% or more sand and not more than 10% clay;

(2) "sand-lined trench" means a combined treatment component and disposal system consisting of 24 inches of sand, meeting the latest version of ASTM C33-03 specifications or equivalent, below a low pressure pipe disposal system;

(3) "seasonal high groundwater table" means the highest level to which the upper surface of groundwater may be expected to rise within 24 consecutive months;

(4) "seasonal high water flow" means the highest level that perennial or intermittent surface waters may be expected to rise as a result of a 25 year, 6-hour storm event;

(5) "secondary treatment" means a reduction of the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations;

(6) "secretary" means the secretary of environment or a designated representative;

(7) "seepage pit" means a type of absorption system that uses a vertical, underground receptacle so constructed as to allow the disposal of effluent by soil absorption through the sidewalls; the maximum horizontal dimension shall not exceed the vertical dimension;

(8) "septage" means the residual wastes and water periodically pumped from a liquid waste treatment unit or from a holding tank;

(9) "septic tank" means a liquid waste treatment unit designed to provide primary treatment and anaerobic treatment prior to disposal;

(10) "setback distance" means the distance measured by a straight horizontal line between the on-site liquid waste system, or portion thereof, and the object being considered;

(11) "shall" means mandatory;

(12) "silt" means:

(a) a soil separate consisting of particles between 0.05 and 0.002 millimeters in diameter; or

(b) the textural class name of any soil that contains 80% or more silt and less than 12% clay;

(13) "soil" means sediment or other unconsolidated accumulations of mineral particles that may or may not contain organic material and that have filtering properties;

(14) "soil replacement" means replacement of existing soil with suitable soil in a new or existing disposal system site to overcome limitations of the existing soil;

(15) "split flow" means a building drain for the conveyance of wastewater that is designed to capture two waste streams, one stream from the toilet and the other stream from all other fixtures including bathtubs, showers washbasins, clothes washing machines, laundry tubs, kitchen sinks and dishwashers, for the purpose of reducing the total nitrogen discharged from the building; a "split flow" system shall consist of a holding tank for the toilet waste only and a disposal system for the remainder of the waste;

(16) "suitable soil" means a soil, whether naturally occurring or introduced, that will treat the primary effluent effectively and act as an effective filter and remove organisms and suspended solids prior to the effluent reaching groundwater, bedrock or a limiting layer, and that will provide adequate transmission to prevent a failed system; suitable soils are classified Table 703.1; and

(17) "surface application" means the application of disinfected effluent to the ground surface where access is restricted by artificial or natural conditions.

T. Terms starting with the letter 'T' are defined as follows:

(1) "tertiary treatment" means additional treatment beyond secondary treatment standards, specifically, the reduction in the total nitrogen concentration;

(2) "test hole" means a hole dug in the proposed disposal field area a minimum of seven feet deep or four feet below the bottom of disposal field, whichever is greater, and a minimum of two feet wide; the "test hole" shall be sufficient to examine the soil visually for type, structure, mottling, impervious layers and other soil characteristics, and to determine the seasonal high water table level; a soil boring may be used to determine the soil characteristics and soil depth;

(3) "total design flow" means the sum of design flows for all on-site liquid waste systems and other wastewater discharges on a lot;

(4) "total nitrogen" or "TN" means the combined organic nitrogen, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate contained in the wastewater or effluent;

(5) "total suspended solids" or "TSS" means the measurable component of solid matter suspended in water or wastewater; and

(6) "transfer" means the transfer of equitable or legal title to a property.

U. Terms starting with the letter 'U' are defined as follows: [RESERVED]

V. Terms starting with the letter 'V' are defined as follows:

(1) "vault" means a non-discharging, watertight tank designed to receive and retain non-liquid carried human excreta for periodic pumping and disposal off-site; and

(2) "variance" means an administrative procedure authorizing the issuance of a permit or use of a system that does not meet the specific requirements of 20.7.3 NMAC but which meet the intent of 20.7.3 NMAC.

W. Terms starting with the letter 'W' are defined as follows:

(1) "wastewater" means blackwater and graywater;

(2) "wastewater technical advisory committee" or "WTAC" means the wastewater technical advisory committee created by NMSA 1978 Section 9-7A-15;

(3) "watercourse" means any perennial, intermittent or ephemeral surface water conveyance channel including but not limited to a river, creek, arroyo, canyon, draw, canal or wash, or any other channel having definite banks and beds with visible evidence of the flow of water;

(4) "water(s) of the state" means surface waters of the state as defined by Paragraph (5), Subsection S of 20.6.4.7 NMAC, or its successor definition;

(5) "watertight" means not allowing water to pass in or out or as otherwise determined in 20.7.3 NMAC; and

(6) "wetlands" means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater 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; constructed wetlands are not included in this definition.

X. Terms starting with the letter 'X' are defined as follows: [RESERVED]

Y. Terms starting with the letter 'Y' are defined as follows: [RESERVED]

Z. Terms starting with the letter 'Z' are defined as follows: [RESERVED]

N.M. Admin. Code § 20.7.3.7

20.7.3.7 NMAC - Rp, 20.7.3.7 NMAC, 9/1/13; A, 9/1/13

Amended, New Mexico Register, Volume XXV, Issue 15, August 15, 2014, eff. 9/15/2014