(A) For the purpose of this chapter, 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 USC 1251 et seq.
APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Director of the Division of Water Quality of the North Carolina Department of Environment, and Natural Resources or designee.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INDUSTRIAL USER.
(a) If the industrial user is a corporation, AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean:
1. The president, secretary, or a 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 employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25 million (in second quarter 1980 dollars), if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
(b) If the industrial user is a partnership, association, or sole proprietorship, an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean a general partner or the proprietor, respectively.
(c) If the industrial user is a federal, state, or local government facility, an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE shall mean a director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or their designee.
(d) The individuals described in (a) through (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 authorization is submitted to the town.
(e) If the designation of an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE is no longer accurate because a different individual or position has responsibility for the overall operation of the facility, or overall responsibility for environmental matters for the company, a new authorization satisfying the requirements of this section must be submitted to POTW Superintendent prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five days at 20°C, usually expressed as a concentration (milligrams per liter (mg/l)).
BUILDING SEWER. A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
BYPASS. The intentional diversion of waste streams from any portion of a user's treatment facility.
CATEGORICAL STANDARDS. National Categorical Pretreatment Standards or Pretreatment Standard.
CONTROL AUTHORITY. Refers to the POTW organization if the POTW organization's approval has not been withdrawn.
DIRECTOR or DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS. The person designated by the town to manage the operation of the publicly-owned treatment works and the wastewater collection system and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter, or his or her duly authorized representative.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY or EPA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate the term may also be used as a designation for the Administrator or other duly authorized official of that agency.
GRAB SAMPLE. A sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis without 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, including but not limited to such holding tanks as chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.
INDIRECT DISCHARGE or DISCHARGE. The discharge or the introduction from any non-domestic source regulated under § 307(b), (c), or (d) of the Act, (33 USC 1317), into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
INDUSTRIAL USER or USER. Any person which is a source of indirect discharge.
INTERFERENCE. The inhibition, or disruption of the collection system, POTW treatment processes, operations, or its sludge process, use, or disposal, which causes or contributes to a violation of any requirement of the Control Authority's (and/or POTW's if different from the Control Authority) NPDES, collection system, or non-discharge permit or prevents sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with specified applicable state and federal statutes, regulations, or permits. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with § 405 of the Act, (33 USC 1345) or any criteria, guidelines, or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (42 USC 6901 et seq.), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (MPRSA) or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
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 or CATEGORICAL STANDARD. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 USC 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users, and which appears in 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 52.010 of this chapter and are developed under the authority of § 307(b) of the Act and 40 CFR 403.5.
NEW SOURCE.
(a) Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there may be a discharge of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed categorical pretreatment standards under § 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with § 307(c), provided that:
1. The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or
2. The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or
3. The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation 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 plant, and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source, should be considered.
(b) 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 division (a)1. or (a)2. above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.
(c) For purposes of this definition, construction of a new source has commenced if the owner or operator has:
1. Begun, or caused to begin as part of a continuous on-site construction program:
A. Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or
B. Significant site prep- aration 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; or
2. 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 loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this definition.
NON-CONTACT COOLING WATER. Water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.
NON-DISCHARGE PERMIT. A disposal system permit issued by the state pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1.
NPDES PERMIT or NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 USC 1342), or pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1 by the state under delegation from EPA.
PASS-THROUGH. A discharge which exits the Control Authority's (and/or POTW's if different from the Control Authority) into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or with discharges from other sources, causes a violation of the POTW's NPDES, non-discharge permit, or collection system permit.
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. This definition includes all federal, state, and local government entities.
pH. A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed as standard units, and calculated as the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in grams per liter of solution.
POLLUTANT. Any waste as defined in G.S. § 143-213(18) and dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharged equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, metals, BOD, COD, toxicity, and odor).
POTW (PUBLICLY-OWNED TREATMENT WORKS) or MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT or WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY. A treatment works as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 USC 1292), which is owned in this instance by the town. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes, and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to the POTW treatment plant. For the purposes of this chapter, POTW shall also include any sewers that convey wastewaters to the POTW from persons outside the town who are, by contract or agreement with the town, or in any other way, users of the town's POTW.
POTW TREATMENT PLANT. That portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
PRETREATMENT or TREATMENT. The reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater 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 process changes or other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants, unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT PROGRAM. The program for the control of pollutants introduced into the POTW from non-domestic sources which was developed by the town in compliance with 40 CFR 403.8 and approved by the approval authority as authorized by G.S. § 143-215.3(a)(14) in accordance with 40 CFR 403.11.
PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.
PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical standards, or local limits which apply to an industrial user.
SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE. Substantial physical damage to property, damage to the user's treatment facilities which causes them to become inoperable, or substantial and permanent loss of natural resources which can reasonably be expected to occur in the absence of a bypass. SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE does not mean economic loss caused by delays in production.
SIC (STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION). A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987.
SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE (SNC) or REPORTABLE NONCOMPLIANCE (RNC). SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE or SNC is the status of noncompliance of a significant industrial user when one or more of the following criteria are met.
(a) Violations of wastewater discharge limits.
1. Chronic violations of wastewater discharge limits, defined here as those in which 66% or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter (not including flow) during a six-month period exceed (by any magnitude) a numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 CFR Part 403.3(1):
2. Technical Review Criteria (TRC) violations, defined here as those in which 33% or more of all the measurements taken for the same pollutant parameter during a six-month period equal or exceed the product of the numeric pretreatment standard or requirement including instantaneous limits, as defined by 40 CFR 403.3(1) multiplied by the applicable TRC; (TRC= 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, 12. for all other pollutants (except flow and pH));
3. Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 CFR Part 403.3(1) (daily maximum, long term average, instantaneous limit, or narrative standard) that the Control Authority and/or POTW determines has caused, alone or in combination with other discharges, interference or pass through (including endangering the health of town or contracted personnel or the general public);
4. Any discharge of a pollutant or wastewater that has caused imminent endangerment to human health, welfare or to the environment or has resulted in either the Control Authority's or the POTW's, if different from the Control Authority, exercise of its emergency authority under 40 CFR Part 403.8(f)(1)(vi)(B) to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(b) Violations of compliance schedule milestones, contained in a pretreatment permit or enforcement order, for starting construction, completing construction, and attaining final compliance by 90 days or more after the schedule date.
(c) Failure to provide reports for compliance schedule, self-monitoring data, baseline monitoring reports, 90-day compliance reports, and periodic compliance reports within 30 days from the due date.
(d) Failure to accurately report non- compliance.
(e) Any other violation or group of violations that the control authority and/or POTW determines will adversely affect the operation or implementation of the local pretreatment program.
SIU or SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER. An industrial user that discharges wastewater into a publicly owned treatment works and that:
(a) Discharges an average 25,000 gpd or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, non-contact and boiler blowdown wastewaters); or
(b) Contributes process wastewater which makes up 5% or more of the NPDES, non-discharge permit flow limit or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant. In this context the organic capacity refers to BOD, TSS, ammonia, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen; or
(c) Is subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR Part 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471; or
(d) Is designated as such by the Control Authority on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation, or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, or for contributing to violations of the POTW's effluent limitations and conditions in its NPDES or non-discharge permit, or for limiting the POTW's sludge disposal options.
SLUG LOAD or DISCHARGE. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through, or in any other way violates the POTW's regulations, local limits, or industrial user permit conditions. This can include but is not limited to spills and other accidental discharges; discharges of a non-routine, episodic nature; a non-customary batch discharge; or any other discharges that can cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards in § 52.010 of this chapter.
STORM WATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
SUPERINTENDENT (WRF SUPERINTENDENT). The person designated by the town to supervise the operation of the publicly-owned treatment works and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this chapter, or his or her duly authorized representative.
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.
UPSET. An exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the user. An UPSET does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.
WASTEWATER. The liquid and water- carried industrial or domestic wastes from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, mobile sources, treatment facilities and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water, and storm water that may be present, whether treated or untreated, which is contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
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.
(B) The following abbreviations shall have the designated meanings:
(1) BOD: Biochemical oxygen demand.
(2) CFR: Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand.
(4) EPA: Environmental Protection Agency.
(5) gpd: Gallons per day.
(6) G.S.: North Carolina General Statutes (also, NCGS).
(7) l: Liter.
(8) mg: Milligrams.
(9) mg/l: Milligrams per liter.
(10) NPDES: National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
(11) O&M: Operation and Maintenance.
(12) POTW: Publicly-Owned Treatment Works.
(13) RCRA: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
(14) SIC: Standard Industrial Classification.
(15) SIU: Significant Industrial User.
(16) SWDA: Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 USC 6901 et seq.
(17) TSS: Total Suspended Solids.
(18) TKN: Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen.
(19) USC: United States Code.
(Ord. passed 11-8-94; Am. Ord. passed 7-15-96; Am. Ord. 2008-05-02, passed 5-5-08; Am. Ord. 2009-03-02, passed 3-2-09; Am. Ord. 2013-04-01, passed 4-1-13; Am. Ord. 2018-07-07, passed 7-16-18)