W. Va. Code R. § 47-10-2

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 47-10-2 - Definitions

The definitions set forth in W. Va. Code '22-11-3 shall apply to this series, along with the following definitions, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

2.1. "Administrator" means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Administrator's authorized representative.

2.2. "Applicable standards and limitations" means all State, interstate, and Federal standards and limitations to which a discharge or a related activity is subject under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the State Act, including effluent limitations, water quality standards, standards of performance, toxic effluent standards or prohibitions, best management practices, and pretreatment standards under ''301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 403 and 405 of the CWA.

2.3. "Application" means the forms prescribed by the Director and approved by EPA for applying for a permit or permit modification, including any additions, revisions or modifications to the forms.

2.4. "Average monthly discharge limitation" means the highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar month, calculated as the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by the number of daily discharges measured during that month.

2.5. "Best management practices" ("BMPs") means schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce pollution of waters of the State. 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.

2.6. "C.F.R." means the Code of Federal Regulations referenced throughout these rules that were effective as of July 1, 2009, unless otherwise noted.

2.7. "Clean Water Act" ("CWA") (formerly referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972) means Public Law 92-500, as amended by Public Law 95-217, Public Law 97-117 and Public Law 95-576 and codified at 33 U.S.C. '1251 et seq.

2.8. "Construction activity" means clearing, grading, and excavation that result in a land disturbance of equal to or greater than one (1) acre in size. Construction activity also includes disturbance of less than one (1) acre total land area that is part of a large common plan of development or sale if the common plan will ultimately disturb equal to or greater than one (1) acre. Construction activity does not include routine maintenance that is performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or original purpose of the facility.

2.9. "Continuous discharge" means any discharge that occurs without interruption throughout the operating hours of the facility, except for infrequent shutdowns for maintenance, process changes, or other similar activities.

2.10. "Daily discharge" means the discharge of a pollutant measured during a calendar day or within any specified period that reasonably represents the calendar day for purposes of sampling. For pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For pollutants with limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the daily discharge is calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the day.

2.11. "Direct discharge" means the discharge of a pollutant.

2.12. "Director" means the director of the division of water and waste management (formerly the office of water resources) as designated by the secretary of the department of environmental protection.

2.13. "Discharge" when used without qualification means the discharge of a pollutant for purposes of this series.

2.14. "Discharge of a pollutant" means:

2.14.a. Any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to waters of the State from any point source; and

2.14.b. This definition includes additions of pollutants into waters of the State from: surface runoff that is collected or channeled by man; storm water discharges from construction activity; storm water discharges from a municipal separate storm sewer system; discharges through pipes, sewers or other conveyances owned by the State, a municipality, or other person that do not lead to a treatment work; and discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances leading into privately owned treatment works. This term does not include an addition of pollutants by any indirect discharger.

2.15. "Discharge Monitoring Report" ("DMR") means the form(s) prescribed by the Director and approved by EPA for the reporting of self-monitoring results by permittees. (See WV/EPA Memorandum of Agreement.)

2.16. "Draft permit" means a document prepared under section 10 of this rule, indicating the Director's tentative decision to issue, modify, revoke and reissue, suspend or revoke a permit.

2.17. "Effluent limitation" means any restriction established under State or Federal law on quantities, discharge rates, concentrations or other specified units of measure of pollutants that are discharged from point sources into waters of the State.

2.18. "Effluent limitations guidelines" means a regulation to adopt or revise effluent limitations published by the Administrator under '304(b) of the CWA.

2.19. "Environmental Protection Agency" ("EPA") means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

2.20. "Facility or activity" means any point source or any other facility or activity (including land or appurtenances thereto) that is subject to regulation under this series.

2.21. "General permit" means a permit authorizing a category of discharges within a geographical area issued under subsection 13.6 of this rule.

2.22. "Hazardous substance" means any substance designated under 40 C.F.R. '116 pursuant to '311 of the CWA.

2.23. "Indirect discharger" means a nondomestic discharger introducing pollutants to a publicly owned treatment works.

2.24. "Interference" means an indirect discharge which, along or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, both:

2.24.a. Inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and

2.24.b. Therefore is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation) or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with applicable statutory provisions, regulations or permits issued thereunder.

2.25. "Interstate agency" means an agency of two (2) or more states, including West Virginia, established by an agreement or compact approved by Congress, or any other agency of two (2) or more states, including West Virginia, having substantial powers or duties pertaining to the control of pollution as determined and approved by the Administrator under the CWA and its regulations.

2.26. "Major facility" means any facility or activity classified as such by the Regional Administrator in conjunction with the Director.

2.27. "Maximum daily discharge limitation" means the highest allowable daily discharge.

2.28. "Municipality" means a city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body created by or under State law and having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes, or a designated and approved management agency under '208 of the CWA.

2.29. "Municipal separate storm sewer system" ("MS4") means:

2.29.a. A conveyance or system of conveyances, including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains; and

2.29.b. Owned or operated by a State, city, town, county, district, association or other public body created pursuant to State law having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, storm water or other wastes; and

2.29.c. Designated or used for collecting or conveying storm water; and

2.29.d. Which is not a combined sewer; and

2.29.e. Which is not a part of a Publicly Owned Treatment Works ("POTW").

2.29.f. The MS4 is determined by the Director to require NPDES permit coverage under the criteria established pursuant to 40 C.F.R. '122.32.

2.30. "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" ("NPDES") means the national program for issuing, denying, modifying, revoking and reissuing, suspending, revoking, monitoring, and enforcing permits and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements under ''307, 318, 402, and 405 of the CWA, including any approved State program.

2.31. "National Pretreatment Standard" means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limitations promulgated by EPA in accordance with ''307(b) and (c) of the Clean Water Act that applies to indirect discharges. This term includes prohibitive discharge limits and local limits established pursuant to 40 C.F.R. '403.5.

2.32. "New discharger" means any building, structure, facility, or installation:

2.32.a. From which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants that did not commence prior to August 13, 1979;

2.32.b. That has never received a finally effective NPDES Permit for discharges at that site; and

2.32.c. That is not a new source.

2.32.d. This definition includes an indirect discharger that commences discharging into waters of the State after August 13, 1979. It also includes any existing mobile point source that begins discharging at a location for which it does not have an existing permit.

2.33. "New source" means any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced:

2.33.a. After promulgation of standards of performance under '306 of the CWA that are applicable to the source; or

2.33.b. After proposal of standards of performance in accordance with '306 of the CWA that are applicable to such source, but only if the standards are promulgated in accordance with '306 of the CWA within one hundred twenty (120) days of their proposal.

2.34. "Owner or operator" means the owner or operator of any facility or activity subject to regulation under this series. "Owner" owns or holds title to the facility. "Operator" is any person, firm or company who has responsibility for the overall operation of a facility or activity subject to regulation, but does not include any employee, agent or independent contractor of the person with responsibility for the overall operation of a facility subject to regulation.

2.35. "Pass-through" means an indirect discharge that exits the POTW into waters of the State in quantities or concentrations that, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

2.36. "Permit" means an authorization issued by the Director to implement the requirements of this series.

2.37. "POTW" means a "Publicly Owned Treatment Works."

2.38. "Point source" means any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, concentrated animal feeding operation, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock or vessel or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged.

2.39. "Primary Industry Category" means any industry category listed in Appendix A of this rule pursuant to '307(a) of the CWA.

2.40. "Privately Owned Treatment Works" means any device or system that is:

2.40.a. Used to treat wastes other than the owner's waste; and

2.40.b. Not a POTW.

2.41. "Process wastewater" means any water that, during manufacturing or processing, comes into direct contact with or results from the production or use of any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product, or waste product.

2.42. "Proposed permit" means a State NPDES permit prepared after the close of the comment period (and, when applicable, any public hearing) that is sent to EPA for review before final issuance by the Director.

2.43. "Publicly Owned Treatment Works" ("POTW") means any treatment works owned by the State or any political subdivision thereof, any municipality or any other public entity for the treatment of pollutants. This definition includes sewers, pipes or other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW providing treatment.

2.44. "Real Time Water Quality Control" means the establishment of an effluent limitation that is based upon a stream-flow-to-discharge-flow ratio, determined by the known characteristics of the stream and the discharge.

2.45. "Recommencing discharger" means a source that recommences discharge after terminating operations.

2.46. "Regional Administrator" means the Regional Administrator of Regional Office (III) of the Environmental Protection Agency or his or her authorized representative.

2.47. "Schedule of compliance" means a schedule of remedial measures in a permit, including an enforceable sequence of interim requirements (for example, actions, operations, or milestone events) leading to compliance with the CWA and the State Act and regulations.

2.48. "Secondary Industry Category" means any industry category that is not a primary industry category.

2.49. "Sewage from vessels" means human body wastes and the wastes from toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain body wastes that are discharged from vessels and regulated under '312 of the CWA.

2.50. "Sewage sludge" means the solids, residues, and precipitate separated from or created in sewage by the unit processes of a treatment works. "Sewage" as used in this definition means any wastes, including wastes from humans, households, commercial establishments, industries, and storm water runoff that are discharged to or otherwise enter a treatment works.

2.51. "Site" means the land or water area where any facility or activity is physically located or conducted, including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or activity.

2.52. "State" means the State of West Virginia.

2.53. "State Act" or "State Law" means the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act, W. Va. Code ''22-11-1, et seq.

2.54. "Storm water" means storm water runoff, snow melt runoff, surface runoff, and drainage.

2.55. "Total dissolved solids" ("TDS") means the total dissolved filterable solids as determined by the use of the method specified in 40 C.F.R. '136.

2.56. "Toxic pollutant" means any pollutant listed as toxic under '307(a)(1) of the CWA.

2.57. "Variance" means any mechanism or provision under ''301 or 316 of the CWA, under 40 C.F.R. '125, or in the applicable effluent limitations guidelines that allow modification to or waiver of the generally applicable effluent limitation requirements or time deadlines of the CWA. This includes provisions that allow the establishment of alternative limitations based on fundamentally different factors or on ''301(c), 301(g), 301(h), 301(I) and 316(a) of the CWA where appropriate.

2.58. "Wetlands" means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

W. Va. Code R. § 47-10-2