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.
APPLICABLE PRETREATMENT STANDARD. Any pretreatment limit or prohibitive standard (federal and/or local) contained in this subchapter deemed to be the most restrictive with non-domestic users will be required to comply with.
AMMONIA-NITROGEN. The form of nitrogen which is present in domestic wastes, primarily from urea and is regulated by NPDES permit.
AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF INDUSTRIAL AND/OR COMMERCIAL USER. May be: a principal executive officer of at least the level of Vice President, if the industrial user is a corporation; a general partner or proprietor if the industrial user is a partnership or proprietorship, respectively; or a duly authorized representative of the individual designate above if such representative is responsible for the overall operation of the facilities from which the indirect discharge originates.
AVERAGE MONTHLY DISCHARGE LIMITATION. 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.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND or 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).
BUILDING (OR HOUSE DRAIN), SANITARY. The extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal.
BUILDING DRAIN, STORM. A building sewer which conveys stormwater or other clear water drainage, but no sanitary or industrial sewage.
CATEGORICAL STANDARDS. National categorical pretreatment standards or pretreatment standard.
COMBINED SEWER. A sewer receiving both water from surface run-off, sump pumps and the like, and sewage. COMBINED SEWERS are strictly prohibited.
COMPATIBLE POLLUTANTS. Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH and fecal coliform bacteria, plus additional pollutants if the treatment works was designed to treat such pollutants, and in fact does remove such pollutants to a substantial degree.
COMPOSITE SAMPLE. A composite sample should contain a minimum of four discrete samples taken at equal time intervals over the compositing period or proportional to the flow rate over the compositing period. More than the minimum number of discrete samples will be required where the wastewater loading is highly variable.
DAILY DISCHARGE. Discharge of a pollutant measured during a calendar day or any 24-hour period that reasonably represents the calendar for purposes of sampling.
DOMESTIC SEWAGE. Wastewater from typical residential users and having pollutant characteristics of not greater than 200 mg/l TBOD, 250 mg/l TSS, and 25 mg/l NH3-N.
EASEMENT. An acquired legal right of the specific use of land owned by others.
EFFLUENT. Water, together with any wastes that may be present, flowing out of a drain, sewer, receptacle or outlet.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (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.
FECAL COLIFORM. Any of a number of organisms common to the intestinal tract of humans and animals whose presence in sanitary sewage is an indicator of pollution.
FLOATABLE OIL. Oil, fat or grease in a physical state, such that will separate by gravity from wastewater by treatment in an approved pretreatment facility.
GARBAGE. Any solid wastes from the preparation, cooking or dispensing of food and from handling, storage or sale of produce.
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 without consideration of time.
GREASE AND OIL. A group of substances including hydrocarbons, fatty acids, soaps, fats, waxes, oils or any other material that is extracted by a solvent from an acidified sample and that is not volatilized during the laboratory test procedures. GREASES AND OILS may be of animal and vegetable origin (more biodegradable) and of mineral origin (less biodegradable).
HOLDING TANK WASTE. Any waste from holding tanks, such as chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, vacuum pump trucks and the like.
INCOMPATIBLE POLLUTANT. Any pollutant that is not defined as a compatible pollutant, including non-biodegradable dissolved solids and further defined in 40 C.F.R. Part 403.
INDUSTRIAL USER. Any industrial or commercial establishment manufacturing or processing facility that discharges industrial waste to a publicly owned treatment works.
INDUSTRIAL WASTES. Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance or form of energy discharged, permitted to flow or escape from an industrial, manufacturing, commercial or business process or from the development, recovery or processing or any natural resource carried on by a person and shall further mean any waste from an industrial user.
INFILTRATION. The water entering a sewer system, including sewer service connection, from the ground through such means as, but not limited to, defective pipes, pipe joints, connections or manhole walls.
INFILTRATION/INFLOW. The total quantity of water from both infiltration and inflow without distinguishing the source.
INFLOW. The water discharged into a sewer system, including service connections from such sources as, but not limited to, roof leaders, cellar, yard and area drains, foundation drains, cistern overflows, cooling water discharges, drains from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers, cross connections from storm sewers and combined sewers, catch basins, stormwater, surface run-off, street wash waters or drainage. INFLOW does not include and is distinguished from infiltration.
INFLUENT. The water, together with any wastes that may be present, flowing into a drain, sewer, receptacle or outlet.
INSPECTOR. The person or persons duly authorized by the town, through its Town Council, to inspect and approve the installation of building sewers and their connection to the public sewer system.
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 composite 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, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations or its sludge processes, use or disposal; and therefore, is a cause of a violation of the town’s NPDES permit 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. §§ 7401 et seq.; the Clean Air Act; the Substances Control Act; and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1401 et seq.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR. A contributor that has: a flow of more than 25,000 gallons per average workday; has in its waste a toxic pollutant in toxic amounts as defined in § 307 of the Federal Act; has a flow greater than 5% of the flow carried by the municipal system receiving the waste; or is found by the town, state or the EPA to have significant impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industries, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system’s effluent quality, or air emissions generated by the system.
MAXIMUM DAILY DISCHARGE LIMITATIONS. Highest allowable daily discharge.
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.
NATURAL OUTLET. Any outlet into a watercourse, pond lake or other body of surface or groundwater.
NATIONAL CATEGORICAL PRETREATMENT STANDARD or PRETREATMENT 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. § 1347) which applies to a specific category (SIC No.) of industrial users and specifies quantities or concentrations of pollutants which may be discharged.
NATIONAL PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARDS or PROHIBITIVE DISCHARGE STANDARD. Any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the EPA in accordance with § 307(b) of the Act and 40 C.F.R. § 403.5 and includes specific prohibitions or limits as developed by a POTW, either as a requirement of an approved POTW pretreatment program or an NPDES Permit.
NON-CONTACT COOLING WATER. Water used for cooling that does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product or finished product.
NPDES PERMIT. National pollutant discharge elimination system permit, setting forth conditions for the discharge of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to the navigable waters of the United States pursuant to § 402 of the Act.
NUISANCE. Anything which is injurious to health of offensive to the senses or an obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfort of enjoyment of life or property.
PASS THROUGH. A discharge that exits the POTW into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the town’s NPDES permit, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.
PERSON. Any individual, partnership, copartnership, 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 governmental entities.
pH. A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, expressed in standard units.
POLLUTANT. Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes, and certain characteristics of wastewater, e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity or odor.
POLLUTION. An alteration of the quality of the waters of the state by waste to a degree which unreasonably affects such waters for beneficial uses or facilities which serve such beneficial uses. The human-made or human-induced alteration for the chemical, physical biological, and radiological integrity of water.
PREMISES. A parcel of real estate including any single improvement thereon which is determined by the Board to be a single user for purposes of receiving, using and payment for service. Any additional improvement on the same parcel of real estate which is determined by the Council to be a user shall be separately connected to the sewerage for the purpose of receiving, using and payment for service.
PRETREATMENT. 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, introducing such pollutants into the POTW. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes; by process changes; 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 inposed on a user, other than a pretreatment standard.
PROHIBITED DISCHARGE STANDARDS or PROHIBITED DISCHARGES. Absolute prohibitions against the discharge of certain substances.
PROPER OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE. Procedures executed in a prudent, cost-effective and workmanlike manner which achieve the highest and/or required effluent quality of industrial discharge attainable in conformance with the best available technology and practices. PROPER OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE requirements include avoidance of operational error, adherence to manual instruction, preventive maintenance, avoidance of careless or improper operation, neat accurate sampling, analysis and records retention; storage of process chemicals, lubricants, solvents and the like, in a safe and organized manner, avoidance of accidental spillage, keeping operating logs and any other activities which produce the desired effluent quality.
PUBLIC SEWER. A sewer in which all owners of abutting properties have equal rights, and is controlled by public authority.
PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS or POTW. A “treatment works,” as defined by § 212 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1292) that is owned by the town. 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 that convey wastewater to a treatment plant.
RECEIVING STREAM. The watercourse, stream or body of water receiving the waters finally discharged from the wastewater treatment plant.
SANITARY BUILDING DRAIN. The lowest horizontal piping of the sanitary drainage system inside the walls of any building, which receives the discharge from soil or waste stacks and branches and conveys the same to a point three feet outside the building walls where it connects with its respective building sewer.
SANITARY SEWAGE. The waste from water closets, urinals, lavatories, sinks, bathtubs, showers, basement drains, household laundries, garage floor drains, bars, soda fountains, cuspidors, refrigerator drips, drinking fountains and all other water-carried wastes except industrial wastes.
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).
SEWAGE WORKS. Sewers, wastewater treatment plant, sewerage system and any associated structures or equipment. Also known as POTW.
SLUG LOAD or SLUG. Any discharge at a flow rate or concentration that could cause a violation of the prohibited discharges as presented in this subchapter, including 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 five minutes more than five times the average 24-hour concentration of flow during the normal operation and shall adversely affect the sewage works.
STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CODE (SIC). A classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1972.
STANDARD METHODS. The laboratory procedures set forth in the latest edition, at the time of analysis, of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, prepared and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation.
STORMWATER. Water resulting from rain, melting or melted snow, hail or sleet.
SUPERINTENDENT. The person designated by the town to supervise the operation of the POTW, and who is charged with certain duties and responsibilities by this subchapter, or a duly authorized representative.
SUSPENDED SOLIDS. The total suspended matter that floats on the surface of, or is suspended in, water, wastewater or other liquid, and that is removable by laboratory filtering.
USER. Any person that discharges, causes or permits the discharge of wastewater into the sewerage system.
WATERCOURSE. A channel in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.
WASTEWATER. Liquid and water-carried industrial wastes and sewage from residential dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial and manufacturing facilities, and institutions, whether treated or untreated, which are contributed to the POTW.
WASTEWATER CONSTITUENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS. The individual chemical, physical, bacteriological and radiological parameters, including volume, flow rate and such other parameters that serve to define, classify or measure the contents, quality, quantity and strength of wastewater.
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT or TREATMENT PLANT. The portion of the POTW that is designed to provide treatment of municipal sewage and industrial waste.
(Ord. 624, passed 9-3-1996)