For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
A.S.T.M. The American Society of Testing Materials.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD). The quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20°C, expressed in milligrams per liter.
BUILDING DRAIN. The part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building and conveys it to the building sewer, beginning five feet (1.5 meters) outside the inner face of the building wall.
BUILDING SEWER. The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal, also called house connection. It shall include septic tank and sewer lead.
COMBINED SEWER. A sewer intended to receive both wastewater and storm or surface water.
CONSTRUCTION COST. The total cost incurred in the construction of sewerage works, consisting of, but not limited to, the sums spent for the following purposes:
(1) Actual sums paid for construction of wastewater treatment facilities and for land acquisition;
(2) Actual engineering fees paid for preliminary engineering studies, plans and specifications, services during construction, construction staking, operation and maintenance manuals and initial operator training;
(3) Actual sums paid for soils investigations, wastewater sampling and materials testing required for the construction;
(4) Actual fees and wages paid for legal, administrative and fiscal services required by construction of wastewater treatment facilities; and
(5) Actual interest paid on the total amount financed by debt obligation for construction of wastewater treatment facilities.
DEBT SERVICE CHARGE. The total charge levied on users for purposes of paying construction costs (principal and associated interest) of obligations incurred to finance acquisition and/or construction of sewerage works.
EASEMENT. An acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.
FLOATABLE OIL. Oil, fat or grease in such a physical state that it will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility. A wastewater shall be considered free of FLOATABLE OIL if it is properly pretreated and the wastewater does not interfere with the operation of the collection system.
GARBAGE. The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES. The solid, liquid or gaseous wastes resulting from the process employed in industrial or manufacturing processes, or from the development of any natural resource.
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT. A permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), setting limits on pollutants that a permittee may legally discharge into navigable waters of the United States pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, §§ 402 and 405, being 33 U.S.C. §§ 1342 and 1345.
NATURAL OUTLET. Any outlet, including storm sewers and combined sewer over flows, into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or groundwater.
NORMAL DOMESTIC STRENGTH WASTES. Wastewater derived from non-industrial sources which contain not more than 200 mg/l biochemical oxygen demand and 250 mg/l suspended solids.
NORMAL STRENGTH DOMESTIC WASTEWATER. Normal strength wastewater for the city in which the average concentration of suspended materials and five-day BOD is established at not greater than 250 parts per million by weight suspended materials and 200 parts per million by weight BOD. The COD of normal domestic wastewater shall not exceed 350 parts per million. The wastewater does not include infiltration and/or inflow, and it is composed of domestic wastewater.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COST. Annual expenditures made by the city in the operation and maintenance of its sewerage works, consisting of, but not limited to, the sums spent for each of the following purposes:
(1) Wages and salaries of all operating, maintenance, administrative and supervisory personnel, together with all premiums paid on the wages and salaries (state worker’s compensation coverage, for example);
(2) Actual sums paid for electricity for light and power used for wastewater collection and treatment facilities;
(3) Actual sums paid for chemicals, fuel and other operating supplies;
(4) Actual sums paid for repairs to and maintenance of wastewater collection and treatment facilities and equipment associated therewith;
(5) Actual sums paid as premiums for hazard insurance carried on sewerage works;
(6) Actual sums paid as premiums for insurance providing coverage against liability imposed by law for the injury to persons and/or property (including death) of any person or persons resulting from the use and maintenance of the sewerage works;
(7) Actual sums paid for replacement of equipment within the useful life of the wastewater treatment facilities, for example the cost to replace an electric motor or pump that fails, or a broken part in a pump; and
(8) Actual sums set aside in a sinking fund established to provide a future capital amount for replacement of sewerage works equipment.
pH. The logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. The concentration is the weight of hydrogen ions, in grams, per liter of solution. Neutral water, for example, has a pH value of 7 and a hydrogen-ion concentration of 10-7.
PROPERLY SHREDDED GARBAGE. The wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food that have been shredded to such a degree, that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers.
PUBLIC SEWER. A common sewer controlled by a governmental agency or public utility.
REPLACEMENT. The expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories or appurtenances which are necessary during the useful life of the treatment works to maintain the capacity and performance for which the facilities were designed and constructed. As noted in the definition above, the term OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE includes REPLACEMENT.
SANITARY SEWER. A sewer that carries liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants and institutions together with minor quantities of ground, storm and surface waters that are not admitted intentionally.
SEPTIC TANK. A structure designed to settle out heavier solids from the wastewater before entering the sewer.
SEWAGE. The spent water of a community. The preferred term is WASTEWATER.
SEWER. A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water.
SEWER SERVICE CHARGE. The total charge levied on users for sewer service. SEWER SERVICE CHARGE is the sum of “user charge” and “debt service charge”.
SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USER. Any industrial user which has a discharge flow:
(1) In excess of 25,000 gallons per average work day;
(2) Has exceeded 5% of the total flow received at the treatment facility;
(3) Whose waste contains a toxic pollutant in toxic amounts pursuant to § 307(a) of the Act, being 33 U.S.C. § 1317(a); or
(4) Whose discharge has a significant effect, either singly or in combination with other industrial wastes, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system’s effluent quality or emissions generated by the treatment system.
SLUG. Any discharge of water or wastewater which in concentration of any given constituent or in quantity of flow exceeds for any period of duration longer than 15 minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration or flows during normal operation and shall adversely affect the collection system and/or performance of the wastewater treatment works.
STATE DISPOSAL SYSTEM (SDS) PERMIT. Any permit including any terms, conditions and requirements thereof issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) pursuant to M.S. § 115.07, as it may be amended from time to time, for a disposal system as defined by M.S. § 115.01, Subd. 8, as it may be amended from time to time.
STORM DRAIN. Sometimes termed STORM SEWER, a drain or sewer for conveying water, groundwater, subsurface water or unpolluted water from any source.
SUPERINTENDENT. The Superintendent of wastewater facilities, and/or of wastewater treatment works, and/or of water pollution control of the city.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. Total suspended matter that either floats on the surface of, or is in suspension in water, wastewater or other liquids, and that is removable by laboratory filtering as prescribed in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, and referred to as nonfilterable residue.
UNPOLLUTED WATER. Water of quality equal to or better than the effluent criteria in effect or water that would not cause violation of receiving water quality standards and would not be benefitted by discharge to the sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment facilities provided.
USER CHARGE. A charge levied on users to recover the cost of operation, maintenance and replacement of sewerage works, pursuant to § 204(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq).
USER CLASS. The division of users by wastewater characteristics or similarities, as follows:
(1) COMMERCIAL USER. Any establishment listed in the 1972 Office of Management and Budget “Standard Industrial Classification Manual (SICM)” as amended, involved in a commercial enterprise, business or service which discharges primarily segregated domestic wastewater or wastewater from sanitary conveniences as determined by the city;
(2) GOVERNMENTAL USER. Any federal, state or local government user of the wastewater treatment facilities;
(3) INDUSTRIAL USER. Any non-governmental user of the wastewater treatment facilities listed in the SICM and supplemented under the following divisions:
(a) Division A - Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing;
(b) Division B - Mining;
(c) Division D - Manufacturing;
(d) Division E - Transportation. Communication, Electric, Gas and Sanitary Services; and
(e) Division I - Services;
(4) INSTITUTIONAL USER. Any establishment listed in the SICM involved in a social, charitable, religious or educational function which discharge primarily domestic strength wastes as determined by the city;
(5) RESIDENTIAL USER. A user whose building or premises is used primarily as a residence for one or more persons, including dwelling units such as detached, semi-detached and row houses, and individual mobile homes. (Multiple unit dwellings such as apartments, mobile home parks with a single common connection to the sanitary sewer system, and transit lodging are considered commercial users.)
WASTEWATER. The spent water of a community. From the standpoint of source, it may be a combination of the liquid and water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions, together with any groundwater, surface water and stormwater that may be present.
WASTEWATER FACILITIES. The structures, equipment and processes required to collect, carry away, and treat domestic and industrial wastes and dispose of the effluent.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS. An arrangement of devices and structures for treating and disposing of wastewater, industrial wastes and sludge. The term is sometimes used synonymously with WASTE TREATMENT PLANT or WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT or WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PLANT.
WATERCOURSE. A natural or artificial channel for the passage of water either continuously or intermittently.
W.P.C.F. The Water Pollution Control Federation.
(1988 Code, § 3.30-1)