(A) For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) 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.
(2) APPROVAL AUTHORITY. The Director of the Division of Water Quality of the State of Environment and Natural Resources or his or her designee.
(3) 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 $25,000,000 (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 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 his or her designee.
(d) The individuals described in divisions (a) through (c) of this definition 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 county.
(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 Director prior to or together with any reports to be signed by an AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.
(4) 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 (e.g., mg/l).
(5) BUILDING SEWER. A sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to the POTW.
(6) BYPASS. The intentional diversion of wastestreams from any portion of a user’s treatment facility.
(7) CATEGORICAL STANDARDS. National categorical pretreatment standards or pretreatment standard.
(8) CONTROL AUTHORITY. Refers to Davie County.
(9) COUNTY. Davie County, North Carolina, including the area within the corporate boundaries of the Town of Bermuda Run, but not including areas of the Town of Mocksville served by the Dutchmans Creek POTW.
(10) DEVELOPER. An individual or a group of individuals who seeks to construct new facilities on a property.
(11) DIRECTOR. The Director of Utilities of Davie County, or his or her authorized representative(s).
(12) DOMESTIC SEPTAGE. The liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable toilet or similar treatment works receiving only domestic sewage. DOMESTIC SEWAGE does not include liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, or similar treatment works receiving either commercial wastewater or industrial wastewater and does not include grease removed from a grease trap at a restaurant.
(13) DOMESTIC WASTEWATER. Wastewater from bathrooms, toilet rooms, kitchens and home laundries, including the contents of septic tanks from residential dwellings.
(14) EFFLUENT. Sewage, water or other liquid flowing out of any basin, treatment device, or facility.
(15) 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 said agency.
(16) FEDERAL REGISTER. A federal government periodical dealing with federal legislation, published weekdays by the National Archives and Records Service.
(17) FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS. Any commercial facility discharging kitchen or food preparation wastewater including restaurants, motels, hotels, cafeterias, hospitals, schools, nightclubs, delicatessen, meat cutting-preparation, bakeries, etc. and any other facility which, in the opinion of the Director, would require a grease trap installation by virtue of its operation.
(18) GRAB SAMPLE. A sample which is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the wastestream and over a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes.
(19) GREASE. The accumulation of oils (animal or vegetable), fats, cellulose, starch, proteins, wax, lipids, or grease, whether emulsified or not, in the sanitary sewer system. These are substances that may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32°F and 150°F.
(20) GREASE INTERCEPTOR or GREASE TRAP. A device utilized to effect the separation of grease and oils in wastewater effluent from a food service establishment. Such traps or interceptors may be of the “outdoor” or “underground” type normally of a 1,000-gallon capacity or more, or the “under-the-counter” or “point of use” package units, which are typically less than 100-gallon capacity. For the purpose of this definition, the words TRAP and INTERCEPTOR are used interchangeably.
(21) HAZARDOUS WASTE. Any material that would be identified as hazardous wastes according to 40 C.F.R., Part 261 if not disposed of in a sewer.
(22) HYDROCARBON OIL AND GREASE. Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin.
(23) HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks, including but not limited to such holding tanks as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum- pump tank trucks.
(24) 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 U.S.C. § 1317), into the POTW (including holding tank waste discharged into the system).
(25) INDUSTRIAL USER or USER. Any person which is a source of indirect discharge.
(26) INFLOW/INFILTRATION. Inflow is the result of extraneous water entering into the sewer system. Inflow includes water discharged into service connections and sewer pipes from foundation and roof drains, outdoor paved areas, unpolluted cooling water from air conditioners, and unpolluted discharges from businesses and industries. Infiltration is the entry of water into the sewer system from surrounding soil. Common points of entry include broken pipe and defective joints in the pipe or walls of manholes. Infiltration may result from sewers being laid below the groundwater table or from saturation of the soil by rain or irrigation water.
(27) INFLUENT. Sewage, water or other liquid flowing into any basin, treatment device, or facility.
(28) INTERFERENCE. The inhibition or disruption of the POTW treatment processes, operations, or its sludge process, use, or disposal, which causes or contributes to a violation of any requirement of the POTW’s NPDES 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 U.S.C. § 1345) or any criteria, guidelines, or regulations developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) (42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq.), the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq.), the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.), the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (MPRSA) (16 U.S.C. §§ 1431 et seq. and 33 U.S.C. §§ 1401 et seq.), or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 6941 et seq., Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.
(29) MAY. Is permissive.
(30) 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.
(31) NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRE-TREATMENT STANDARD or CATEGORICAL STANDARD. 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 applies to a specific category of industrial users, and which appears in 40 C.F.R. Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.
(32) NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances; these prohibitions appear in § 53.015 and are developed under the authority of § 307(b) of the Act and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5.
(33) 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;
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 divisions (a)2. or 3. of this definition 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 either:
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 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.
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.
(34) NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to § 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342), or pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1 by the state under delegation from EPA.
(35) 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.
(36) NON-DISCHARGE PERMIT. A disposal system permit issued by the state pursuant to G.S. § 143-215.1.
(37) NORTH CAROLINA PLUMBING CODE. The most recent edition of the North Carolina State Building Code, entitled “plumbing,” published by the North Carolina Building Code Council and the North Carolina Department of Insurance.
(38) OWNER. An individual, person, firm, company, association, society, corporation, trust, or group upon whose property the building or structure containing the food service establishment is located or will be constructed. OWNERS shall also include the owner of a food service establishment who may lease the building, structure, or a portion thereof, containing the food service establishment.
(39) PASS-THROUGH. A discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or with discharges from other sources, causes a violation, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, of the POTW’s NPDES or non-discharge permit, or a downstream water quality standard.
(40) 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.
(41) 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.
(42) 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 discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt; industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste; and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, or odor).
(43) POTW DIRECTOR. The county administrator designated with the responsibility for the pretreatment program and enforcement of this chapter.
(44) POTW TREATMENT PLANT. The portion of the POTW designed to provide treatment to wastewater.
(45) 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 pollution 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.
(46) PRETREATMENT PROGRAM. The program for the control of pollutants introduced into the POTW from non- domestic sources which was developed by the county in compliance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.8 and approved by the approval authority as authorized by G.S. § 143- 215.3(a)(14) in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 403.11.
(47) PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.
(48) PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical standards, and local limits.
(49) PRETREATMENT REQUIREMENTS. Any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.
(50) PRETREATMENT STANDARDS. Prohibited discharge standards, categorical standards, local limits and any other regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the State of North Carolina or local agencies or by EPA in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Act.
(51) PRIVIES. Latrines, outhouses, or any other permanently installed outdoor water closets.
(52) PROPER CONNECTIONS. Those sewer pipe connections made in accordance with the North Carolina Plumbing Code or as stipulated by the director.
(53) PROCESS WASTEWATER FLOW. That portion of the facility discharge that is attributable to the function(s) that define(s) the facilities purpose(s).
(54) PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTW) or PUBLIC WASTEWATER SYSTEM. A treatment works as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292) which is owned in this instance by the county. This definition includes any devices or systems used in the collection, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of public 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 county who are, by contractor agreement with the county, or in any other way, users of the POTW of the county.
(55) RESIDUALS. The solid or semi-solid waste generated from a biological wastewater treatment facility with an NPDES permit which is owned or operated by the commission.
(56) SANITARY SEWER. A pipe or conduit that carries domestic waste and/or industrial wastes and to which storm, surface, ground waters, and unpolluted waters are not intentionally admitted.
(57) SEPTAGE. The sludge produced in individual domestic on-site wastewater disposal systems, such as septic tanks and cesspools.
(58) 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.
(59) SEWAGE. A combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments.
(60) SEWER CONNECTION. A sewer pipeline, normally a four-inch, cast-iron soil pipe, running laterally from a street sewer, an off-street sewer or a trunk sewer to an individual tract, lot or parcel of land to serve one or more houses or other buildings, whether or not connected to any house or building.
(61) SHALL. Is mandatory.
(62) SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER. Any industrial user of the wastewater disposal system who:
(a) Has an average daily process wastewater flow of 25,000 gallons or more;
(b) Contributes more than 5% of any design or treatment capacity (i.e., allowable pollutant load) of the wastewater treatment plant receiving the indirect discharge;
(c) Is required to meet a national categorical pretreatment standard; or
(d) Is found by the county, the Division of Water Quality, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have the potential for impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industrial users, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system’s effluent quality, or compliance with any pretreatment standards or requirements.
(63) SIGNIFICANT NONCOMPLIANCE or SNC. The status of noncompliance of a significant industrial user when one or more of the following criteria are met. Additionally, any industrial user which meets the criteria in divisions (c), (d) or (h) shall also be SNC.
(a) 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 C.F.R. Part 403.3(1);
(b) 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 C.F.R. Part 403.3(1) multiplied by the applicable TRC; (TRC = 1.4 for BOD, TSS, fats, oil and grease, 1.2 for all other pollutants (except flow and pH);
(c) Any other violation of a pretreatment standard or requirement as defined by 40 C.F.R. 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 POTW personnel or the general public);
(d) 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 C.F.R. Part 403.8(f)(l)(vi)(B) and this chapter to halt or prevent such a discharge;
(e) 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;
(f) 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;
(g) Failure to accurately report noncompliance;
(h) 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.
(64) SLUDGE OR BIOSOLIDS. The solid or semi-solid waste resulting from chemical treatment, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, flotation, precipitation, filtration, and/or biological oxidation of water or wastewater.
(65) 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.
(66) STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC). A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987.
(67) STORM WATER. Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural precipitation and resulting therefrom.
(68) SUBMIT. The term SUBMIT, or the terms NOTIFY or REQUEST, when used in the context of a written rather than oral submission, shall mean to place the written report or document into the U.S. Mail, postage prepaid, such that it is postmarked on the date it is required to be submitted under this chapter. For writings not submitted via the U.S. Mail, it shall mean delivery to the Director.
(69) 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.
(70) TOXIC SUBSTANCES. Any substance or mixture, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which, when discharged into the sewer system, may tend to interfere with any wastewater treatment process, constitute a hazard to human beings or animals, inhibit aquatic life, or create a hazard to recreation in the receiving waters of the effluent from the sewage treatment plant.
(71) TRUNK SEWER. A major outfall or intercepting sewer installed along the valley line of a watershed to serve as a collector for street sewers and minor outfall lines serving subdivisions and developed property within an entire watershed.
(72) 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.
(73) USER. Any person, establishment, industry, firm, corporation, company, association, society, or trust who contributes, causes or permits the contribution of wastewater into the POTW.
(74) 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 are contributed into or permitted to enter the POTW.
(76) WATER CLOSETS. Any self- contained toilets, including those in recreational vehicles and portable units.
(77) WATERS OF THE STATE. All streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, water course, 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) This chapter is gender neutral and the masculine gender shall include the feminine and vice-versa.
(C) Shall is mandatory; may is permissive or discretionary.
(D) The use of the singular shall be construed to include the plural and the plural shall include the singular as indicated by the context of its use.
(E) The following abbreviations, when used in this chapter, shall have the designated meanings.
(1) BOD. Biochemical oxygen demand.
(2) C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) COD. Chemical oxygen demand.
(4) EPA. Environment Protection Agency.
(5) G.S. North Carolina General Statutes.
(6) gpd. Gallons per day.
(7) l. Liter.
(8) mg. Milligrams.
(9) mg/l. Milligrams per liter.
(10) I/I. Inflow and infiltration.
(11) IWC. Industrial waste control.
(12) NCGS. North Carolina General Statutes.
(13) NPDES. National pollution discharge elimination system.
(14) O&G. Oil and grease.
(15) O&M. Operation and maintenance.
(16) POTW. Publicly owned treatment works.
(17) RCRA. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
(18) SIC. Standard industrial classification.
(19) SIU. Significant industrial user.
(20) SS. Suspended solids.
(21) SWDA. Solid Waste Disposal Act.
(22) TSS. Total suspended solids.
(23) TKN. Total Kjeldahl nitrogen.
(24) U.S.C. United States Code.
(1996 Code, § 53.002) (Ord. passed 5-7-2007; Ord. passed 9-3-2013; Ord. passed 12-4-2017)