Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-611.200 - Definitions

Terms used in this chapter shall have the meaning specified below. The meaning of any term not defined below, shall be taken from definitions in Chapter 62-600, F.A.C., or in other rules of the Department.

(1) "Approved methods" means sampling and laboratory testing methods approved by the Department, as specified by Section 62-4.246, F.A.C.

(2) "Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)" means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter present in water or wastewater, reported as a five-day value established as determined using approved methods.

(3) "Chloride" means the negatively charged chloride ion (Cl-) in water or wastewater, as determined using approved methods.

(4) "Conductivity" means the standardized numerical expression of the ability of water or wastewater to carry an electric current, as determined using approved methods.

(5) "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.

(6) "Disinfection" means the selective destruction of pathogens in wastewater effluents and sludges.

(7) "District office" means the regional district offices of the Department.

(8) "Domestic wastewater" means wastewater derived principally from dwellings, business buildings, institutions, and the like; sanitary wastewater; sewage. Where wastewater from sources other than typical domestic sources, (e.g., industrial sources) is combined and treated with wastes from domestic sources, the determination of whether or not the wastewater treatment plant is designated as "domestic" shall be made by the Department considering any or all of the following: sludge classification (currently in "reserved" status); whether wastewaters have been pretreated or contain constituents within 50-150%, by concentration, of typical domestic wastewater; and whether the permittee, when not required to provide more stringent or otherwise specific levels of treatment, can provide assurance of facility compliance with domestic wastewater treatment standards contained in this chapter.

(9) "Effluent limitation" means any restriction established by the Department on quantities, rates, or concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, or other constituents which are discharged from sources into the environment of the state.

(10) "Fecal coliform" means members of the coliform group capable of producing gas from lactose at 44.5º C, as determined using approved methods.

(11) "Forage fish" means all species of fish not otherwise defined as rough fish or as sport and commercial fish.

(12) "Herbaceous wetland" means an area within the landward extent of waters of the state where herbaceous ground cover constitutes greater than 30% of the uppermost stratum.

(13) "Holding pond" means a storage tank or artificial impoundment or pond constructed above, on, below, or partly below the ground surface that is designed and maintained to store a specific volume of fluid and minimize fluid losses other than those primarily occurring by evaporation; generally holding ponds are not intended to provide a mechanism for pollutant reduction. When used in conjunction with rapid-rate land application systems or other systems described in Rule 62-610, F.A.C., holding ponds can also provide a mechanism to accomplish nitrogen reduction.

(14) "Hydrologically altered herbaceous wetland" means a herbaceous wetland in which the hydrologic regime has been altered prior to October 1, 1985, by drainage works which have directly resulted in substantial and continuing encroachment by perennial upland species.

(15) "Hydrologically altered woody wetland" means a woody wetland in which the hydrologic regime has been altered prior to October 1, 1985, by drainage works which have directly resulted in substantial and continuing reduction in water levels.

(16) "Importance value" means the sum of the relative density, relative dominance, and relative frequency, converted to a basis of 100 percent.

(17) "Man-made wetland" means a wetland which was created solely as a result of human activity, such as scraping or contouring of uplands or the land application of reclaimed water, that then comes within the landward extent of waters. A man-made treatment wetland does not include a wetland that was created as mitigation pursuant to a Department dredge and fill permit or consent order.

(18) "Milligrams per liter (mg/l)" means the quantity of material present in water or wastewater expressed on the basis of the weight (milligrams) per unit volume of solution (liter).

(19) "Modification" means any alteration, expansion, upgrade, extension, addition, or replacement of an existing wastewater facility for which a construction permit is required from the Department after the effective date of this chapter; modify.

(20) "Nitrate (NO₃)" means the nitrogen content present in water or wastewater attributable to the nitrate (NO₃) ion and expressed as elemental nitrogen, N, as determined using approved methods.

(21) "Nitrite (NO₂)" means the nitrogen content present in water or wastewater attributable to the nitrite (NO₂) ion and expressed as elemental nitrogen, N, as determined using approved methods.

(22) "Permittee" means the person or entity to which a permit for a wastewater facility is issued by the Department. The term "permittee" shall be functionally synonymous with the terms "owner" and "licensee", but shall not include licensed individuals (e.g., operators) unless they are the person(s) to whom a facility permit is issued by the Department. The term shall extend to a permit "applicant" for purposes of this chapter. To the extent that this chapter imposes duties with respect to the construction, operation, maintenance, or monitoring of a facility and for reporting to or securing permits from the Department, ultimate responsibility lies with the owner of the facility. Nevertheless, Chapter 403, F.S., creates joint and several liability for those responsible for violations.

(23) "pH" means the negative common logarithm of the hydrogen-ion activity in moles per liter, as determined using approved methods.

(24) "Pollution" means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere or waters of the state of any substances, contaminants, noise, or man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological integrity of air or water in quantities or levels which are or may be potentially harmful or injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property, including outdoor recreation.

(25) "Receiving wetland" means a wetland within the landward extent of waters of the state used to receive reclaimed water that contain not more, on an annual average basis, than the following concentrations:

1. Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 mg/l;

2. Total Suspended Solids 5 mg/l;

3. Total Nitrogen (as N) 3 mg/l; and,

4. Total Phosphorus (as P) 1 mg/l.

(26) "Reclaimed water" means water that has received at least secondary treatment and is reused after flowing out of a wastewater treatment facility.

(27) "Relative density" means the density for a species divided by the total density for all species, converted to a basis of 100 percent.

(28) "Relative dominance" means the dominance for a species divided by the total dominance for all species, converted to a basis of 100 percent. Dominance shall be determined using basal area or areal coverage measurements.

(29) "Relative frequency" means the frequency value for a species divided by the total of frequency values for all species converted to a basis of 100 percent.

(30) "Rough fish" means all members of the families Castastomidae (the suckers), Cichlidae (the Tilapia and relatives), and Lepisosteidae (the gar); and all members of the species Amia calva (bowfin), Ctenopharyngodon idella (grass carp), Cyprinus carpio (common carp), and Dorosoma cepedianum (gizzard shad).

(31) "Secondary treatment" means wastewater treatment to a level that will achieve the effluent limitations specified in Rule 62-600.420, F.A.C.

(32) "Sport and commercial fish" means all members of the genera Acipenser (the sturgeon), Esox (the pickerel), Ictalurus (the catfish), Micropterus (the bass), and Morone (the white and striped bass and their hybrids); as well as the species Alosa sapidissima (American shad), Anguilla rostrata (American eel), Centrarchus macropterus (flier), Lepomis auritus (redbreast sunfish), Lepomis gulosus (warmouth), Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill sunfish), Lepomis microlophus (redear sunfish), Lepomis punctatus (spotted sunfish), and Pomoxis nigromaculatus (black crappie).

(33) "Surface water" means water upon the surface of the earth, whether contained in bounds created naturally or artificially or diffused. Water from natural springs shall be classified as surface water when it exits from the spring onto the earth's surface.

(34) "Total ammonia" means the sum of nitrogen content present as un-ionized ammonia (NH3) and the nitrogen content present as ammonium (NH₄⁺).

(35) "Total chlorine residual" means the chlorine remaining in water or wastewater at the end of a specific contact period as combined and free chlorine, measured analytically by approved methods as combined chlorine residual.

(36) "Total coliforms" means the group of bacteria, consisting predominantly of Enterobacter, Escherichia and Klebsiella, which are biochemically characterized as aerobic or facultative anaerobic, gram-negative, non-sporeforming rod shaped bacteria that ferment lactose with gas formation within 48 hours at 35º C, as determined using approved methods.

(37) "Total dissolved solids (TDS)" means the amount of dissolved constituents present in water or wastewater, usually expressed in milligrams per liter and analyzed as filtrable residue, as determined using approved methods.

(38) "Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)" means the sum of free ammonia and organic nitrogen compounds in water or wastewater and expressed as elemental nitrogen, N, as determined using approved methods.

(39) "Total nitrogen (TN)" means the total content of the nitrogen species of organic nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite present in water or wastewater and expressed as elemental nitrogen, N, as determined using approved methods.

(40) "Total organic carbon (TOC)" means the carbon content in water or wastewater that is present in the form of organic material, as determined using approved method.

(41) "Total phosphorus (TP)" means the total phosphate content of water or wastewater including all of the orthophosphates and condensed phosphates, both soluble and insoluble, and organic and inorganic species and expressed as elemental phosphorus, P, as determined using approved methods.

(42) "Total suspended solids (TSS)" means solids that either float on the surface of, or are suspended in, water or wastewater; the quantity of material removed from a sample in a laboratory test referred to as nonfiltrable residue, as determined using approved methods.

(43) "Treatment" means any method, technique, or process which changes the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of wastewater and thereby reduces its potential for polluting waters of the state.

(44) "Treatment plant" means any plant or other works used for the purpose of treating, stabilizing, or holding wastes.

(45) "Treatment wetland" means a wetland within the landward extent of waters of the state used to treat reclaimed water that has received secondary treatment with nitrification.

(46) "Turbidity" means a condition in water or wastewater caused by the presence of suspended matter, resulting in the scattering and absorption of light rays, as determined using approved methods.

(47) "Wastes" means sewage, industrial wastes, and all other liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substances which may pollute or tend to pollute any waters of the State.

(48) "Wastewater" means the combination of liquid and water-carried pollutants from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants, and institutions together with any groundwater, surface runoff or leachate that may be present.

(49) "Wastewater facilities" means any or all of the following: the collection/transmission system, the treatment plant, and the disposal system.

(50) "Waters" shall be as defined in Section 403.031(3), F.S.

(51) "Water quality-based effluent limitation (WQBEL)" means an effluent limitation, which may be more stringent than a technology-based effluent limitation, that has been determined necessary by the Department to ensure that water quality standards in a receiving body of water will not be violated.

(52) "Water quality standards" means standards comprised of designated most beneficial uses (classification of waters), the numerical and narrative criteria applied to the specific water use or classification, the Florida anti-degradation policy, and the moderating provisions contained in Rules 62-302 and 62-4, F.A.C.

(53) "Woody wetland" means an area within the landward extent of waters where woody vegetation constitutes equal to or greater than 70% of the uppermost stratum.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-611.200

Rulemaking Authority 403.061, 373.414(4) FS. Law Implemented 403.051, 403.061, 403.085, 403.086, 403.087, 403.088, 373.414(4) FS.

New 11-27-89, Formerly 17-611.200.

New 11-27-89, Formerly 17-611.200.