Section 222.5 - DefinitionsThe definitions contained in Texas Water Code, §§ 26.001, 27.002, 28.001, and 32.003 apply to this chapter. The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings.
(1) Aquifer--As defined or amended under Chapter 331 of this title (relating to Underground Injection Control).(2) Beneficial reuse credit--As defined by Chapter 309, Subchapter D of this title (relating to Beneficial Reuse Credit).(3) Buffer zone--The area between a subsurface area drip dispersal system boundary and surface water in the state, public and private water wells, and springs.(4) Crop requirement--The amount of nutrients that must be present in order to ensure that the crop nutrient needs are met, while accounting for nutrients that may become unavailable to the crop due to absorption to soil particles or other natural causes.(5) Domestic wastewater --Waste and wastewater from humans and household operations that are discharged to a wastewater collection system or otherwise enters a treatment facility. This includes waterborne human waste and waste from domestic activities such as washing, bathing, and food preparation, including graywater (as defined or amended in § 210.82 of this title (relating to Definitions and General Requirements)) and blackwater.(6) Emitter--A device designed to discharge into the soil, a small uniform flow of water at a constant rate.(7) Evapotranspiration--The water lost from an area through the combined effects of evaporation from the ground surface and transpiration from the vegetation.(8) Facility--All land and fixtures, structures, or appurtenances used for storing, processing, treating, or disposing of wastewater, or for injection activities. A facility may consist of several storage, processing, treatment, disposal, or injection operational units.(9) Floodway--A channel of a river or watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the surface elevation more than one foot. Federal Emergency Management Agency maps are prima facie evidence of floodway locations.(10) Fresh water--As defined or amended under Texas Water Code, § 27.002.(11) Groundwater--Subsurface water occurring in soils and geologic formations that are fully saturated year-round, seasonally, or intermittently.(12) Hazardous waste--Any solid waste identified or listed as a hazardous waste by the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 United States Code, §§ 6901et seq., as amended.(13) Hydrologic connection--The connection and exchange between surface water and groundwater.(14) Industrial wastewater --Wastewater generated in a commercial or industrial process.(15) Infiltration--The passage of water through the soil surface into the soil profile.(16) Licensed professional engineer--An individual licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers to engage in the practice of engineering in the state of Texas.(17) Licensed professional geoscientist--An individual licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists in accordance with its requirement for professional practice in the state of Texas.(18) Local government--An incorporated city, county, river authority, groundwater conservation district, or a water district or authority acting under Texas Constitution, Article III, §52 or Article XVI, §59.(19) Owner--The person, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity that owns or partially owns a facility or part of a facility, or that owns or partially owns the land on which a facility or part of a facility is located.(20) Public contact--Contact with the soil over the dispersal zone by persons engaged in activities not associated with wastewater disposal.(21) Recharge feature--Those natural or artificial features either on or beneath the ground surface at the site that provide or create a significant hydrologic connection between the ground surface and the underlying groundwater within an aquifer. Significant artificial features include, but are not limited to, wells and excavation or material pits. Significant natural hydrologic connections include, but are not limited to: faults, fractures, karst features, or other macro pores that allow direct surface infiltration; a permeable or shallow soil material that overlies an aquifer; exposed geologic formations that are identified as an aquifer; or a water course bisecting an aquifer.(22) Soil--The upper layer of the surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of plants.(23) Subsurface area drip dispersal systems--A wastewater disposal system that injects processed commercial, industrial, or municipal wastewater into the ground at a depth of not more than 48 inches and spreads the wastewater over a large enough area that the soil hydrologic absorption rate and crop/plant root absorption rate are not exceeded.(24) Surface water in the state--Water in the state as defined in Texas Water Code, § 26.001(5), except that "groundwater, percolating or otherwise," is specifically excluded.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 222.5
The provisions of this §222.5 adopted to be effective July 5, 2006, 31 TexReg 5308; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 45, Number 02, January 10, 2020, TexReg 367, eff. 1/9/2020