For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACT or THE ACT. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Regional Administrator of the EPA.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF INDUSTRIAL USER.
(1) Includes:
(a) If the user is a corporation:
1. The president, secretary, treasurer or vice president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function or any other person who performs similar policy or decision making functions for the corporation; or
2. The manager of one or more manufacturing, production or operation facilities, if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(b) If the user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or proprietor, respectively; and
(c) If the user is a federal, state or local governmental facility: a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility or its designee.
(2) The individuals described in divisions (1)(a), (1)(b) and (1)(c) above may designate another AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE if the authorization is in writing, the authorization specifies the individual or position responsible for the overall operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or having overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company and the written authorization is submitted to the authority.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. Schedules of activities, prohibition of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to implement the prohibitions listed in 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1) and (b). 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 materials storage. The control authority, at its sole discretion, may develop BMPs to comply with 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(c)(1) and (2). Such BMPs shall be considered local limits and pretreatment standards for the purposes of 40 C.F.R. part 403 and § 307(d) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq. The control authority, at its sole discretion, may allow a user to implement BMPs to meet the prohibitions listed in 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(a)(1) and (b). Noncompliance with BMPs shall be considered exceeding permit limits and enforcement will be implemented in accordance with the steps shown for discharge limit violations in the summary of enforcement response procedures.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure, for five days at 20°C expressed in terms of concentration (milligrams per liter (mg/l)).
BUILDING SEWER. A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
CATEGORICAL STANDARDS or CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. National categorical pretreatment standards, being any regulation heretofore or hereafter adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, being any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) which apply to a specific category of users and which now appear or hereafter appear in 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N.
CONTRIBUTING JURISDICTION. Bedminster Township.
CONTROL AUTHORITY. Bedminster municipal authority.
COOLING WATER. The water discharged from any use such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration or to which the only pollutant added is heat.
DIRECT DISCHARGE. The discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly to the waters of the state.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or EPA. The United States Environmental Protection Agency or, where appropriate, the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or other duly authorized official of said agency, including the Regional Water Management Division Director.
EXISTING SOURCE. Any source of discharge, the construction or operation of which commenced prior to the publication by EPA of proposed categorical pretreatment standards, which will be applicable to such source if the standard is thereafter promulgated in accordance with § 307 of the Act.
GRAB SAMPLE. A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis with no regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE or DISCHARGE. The discharge or the introduction of pollution from any nondomestic source regulated under § 307(b), (c) or (d) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharge into the system).
INDUSTRIAL USER. A source of indirect discharge which does not constitute a “discharge of pollutants” under regulations issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act. In addition, INDUSTRIAL USER shall also be defined as an establishment which discharges or introduces industrial wastes into the POTW.
INDUSTRIAL WASTE. The meaning ascribed to it in the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as the Clean Stream Law. See 35 P.S. §§ 691.1 et seq. and the regulations adopted thereunder.
INSTANTANEOUS MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE DISCHARGE LIMIT. The maximum concentration of a pollutant allowed to be discharged at any time, determined from the analysis of any discrete or composited sample collected, independent of the industrial flow rate and the duration of the sampling event.
INTERFERENCE. A discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, causes the inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment process or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and therefore is the cause of a violation of the authority’s POTW’s NPDES permits or of the prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with any of the following statutory/regulatory provisions or permits issued thereunder or any more stringent state or local regulations: § 405 of the Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act, including Title II commonly referred to as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq.; any state regulations contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; the Clean Air Act; 42 U.S.C. §§ 7651 et seq., the Toxic Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act.
MAY. Permissive.
MEDICAL WASTE. Isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes and dialysis wastes.
NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD. Any regulation heretofore or hereafter adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency containing any pollutant discharge limits heretofore or hereafter promulgated by the EPA in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users, as set forth in 40 C.F.R. Chapter I, Subchapter N.
NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM or NPDES PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342).
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Any regulation developed under the authority of § 307(b) of the Act and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5.
NEW SOURCE.
(1) Any building, structure, facility or installation from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of the proposed pretreatment standards pursuant to the § 307(c) of the Act, which will be applicable to such source if the standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with that section, provided that:
(a) The building, structure, facility or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located;
(b) The process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source is totally replaced; or
(c) The production or wastewater generating processes are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plan and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source should be considered.
(2) Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility or installation meeting the criteria of divisions (1)(b) or (1)(c) above, but otherwise alters, replaces or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(3) Construction of a NEW SOURCE, as defined under this section, has commenced if the owner or operator has:
(a) Begun or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction program:
1. Any placement, assembly or installation of facilities or equipment; or
2. Significant site preparation work, including clearing, excavation or removal of existing buildings, structures or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly or installation of new source facilities or equipment.
(b) Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial losses and contracts for feasibility, engineering and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this definition.
NONCONTACT COOLING WATER. Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product.
PASS-THROUGH. A discharge which exits the POTW into the waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of the authority’s POTW’s national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
PERSON. Any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint-stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity or any other legal entity or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.
pH. The logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution; a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.
POLLUTANT. Any dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, industrial, municipal and agricultural wastes and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity or odor).
POLLUTION. The human-made or human-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and radiological integrity of water.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT. The portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
PRETREATMENT. The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater to a less harmful state prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes or by other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard, imposed on a user. Any substantive or procedural provision of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (62 Stat. 115, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.) or the Act of June 22, 1937 (P.L. 1987, No. 394), known as the Clean Streams Law. See 35 P.S. §§ 691.1 et seq. or any rule or regulation, ordinance or term or condition of a permit or order adopted or issued by the commonwealth or a POTW for the implementation or enforcement of an industrial waste pretreatment program established under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Clean Streams Law.
PRETREATMENT STANDARD. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical pretreatment standards and local limits.
PROHIBITED DISCHARGE STANDARDS or PROHIBITED DISCHARGES. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 51.005.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW). A treatment works, as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292), which is operated by the authority. This definition includes any sewers that convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plan but does not include pipes, sewers or other conveyances not connected to a facility providing treatment. For the purposes of this subchapter, POTW shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the township who are, by contract or agreement with the authority, users of the authority’s POTW. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature and any conveyances which convey wastewater to a treatment plant.
SEPTIC TANK WASTE. Any sewage from holding tanks such as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers and septic tanks.
SEWAGE. Human excrement and gray water (household showers, dishwashing operations and the like).
SHALL. Mandatory.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER.
(1) A user subject to categorical pretreatment standards;
(2) A user that:
(a) Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day (gpd) or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater);
(b) Contributes a process waste stream which makes up 5% or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or
(c) Is designated as such by the control authority on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.
(3) Upon a finding that a user meeting the criteria in division (2) above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW’s operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the authority may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from a user and in accordance with procedures in 40 C.F.R. § 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE. An industrial user is in SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE if its violation meets one or more of the specific criteria set forth in 40 C.F.R. § 403.8(f)(2)(viii). For purposes of this definition, and industrial user is in SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE if its violation meets one or more of the following criteria:
(1) Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66% or more of all of wastewater measurements taken during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 403.3(1);
(2) Technical review criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33% or more of all of wastewater measurements for each pollutant parameter taken during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement, including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 403.3(1) multiplied by the applicable criterion (1.4 for BOD, CBOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease and 1.2 for all other pollutants except pH);
(3) Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 403.3(1) (daily maximum, long-term average, instantaneous limit or narrative standard) that the control authority determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass-through (including endangering the health of POTW personnel or the general public);
(4) Any discharge of pollutants that has caused imminent endangerment to the public health and welfare or to the environment or has resulted in the POTW’s exercise of its emergency authority under of this subchapter to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(5) Failure to meet, within 90 days after the schedule date, a compliance schedule milestone contained wastewater discharge permit or in an enforcement order for starting construction, completing construction or attaining final compliance;
(6) Failure to provide, within 45 days after the due date, any required reports including baseline monitoring reports, reports on compliance with categorical pretreatment standard deadlines, periodic self-monitoring reports and reports on compliance with compliance schedules;
(7) Failure to accurately report noncompliance; and
(8) Any other violation or group of violations, which may include violation of best management practices, which the POTW determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
SLUG DISCHARGE. Any pollutant release in a discharge at a flow rate or concentration which will cause a violation of the specific discharge prohibitions in 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b) and/or any discharge of non-routine nature, episodic nature, including, but not limited to, accidental spills or non-customary batch discharges, which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass through, or in any other way violate the POTW’s regulations, prohibited discharge standards in this subchapter, local limits or NPDES permit conditions.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC). A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the United States Office of Management and Budget.
STATE. The State of Pennsylvania.
STORMWATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom, including snow melt.
SUPERINTENDENT. The person designated by the authority to supervise the operation of the publicly owned treatment works.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of or is suspended in water, wastewater or other liquids and which is removable by laboratory filtering.
TOWNSHIP. Bedminster Township or the Board of Supervisors of Bedminster Township.
TOXIC POLLUTANT. Any pollutant or combination of pollutants listed as toxic in regulations promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the provision of CWA § 307(a) or other Acts.
USER or INDUSTRIAL USER. Any person who contributes, causes or permits the indirect discharge of wastewater into the authority’s POTWs.
WASTEWATER. The liquid and water-carried industrial and domestic wastes and sewage from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the authority’s POTWs.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT or TREATMENT PLANT. The portion of the authority’s POTW which is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
WATERS OF THE STATE. All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems, drainage systems and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through or border upon the state or any portion thereof.
(Ord. 199, passed 10-13-2010)