314 CMR 20.02 - Definitions

As used in 314 CMR 20.00, the following words have the following meaning:

Aquifer - a geological formation, group of formations or part of a formation that is capable of yielding a significant amount of water to a well or spring.

Best Management Practices or BMPs - schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants to waters of the Commonwealth. BMPs include treatment requirements, operating procedures, structures, devices and/or practices to control plant site runoff, spillage, or leaks, sludge or waste disposal or drainage from raw material storage.

Bypass - the diversion of wastes from any portion of a treatment works.

Cross Connection - any actual or potential physical connection or arrangement between a pipe conveying potable water from a public water system and any non-potable water supply piping arrangement or equipment, including, but not limited to, waste pipe, soil pipe, sewer, drain or other sources of potable water not approved by the Department as a source for a public water system. For purposes of 314 CMR 20.00, a cross connection shall also include a physical connection between the reclaimed water system and any interior or exterior pipes conveying reclaimed water and a potable water system and any interior or exterior pipes conveying water for drinking, domestic or culinary purposes including pipes conveying water from a private water supply well.

Department - the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Discharge or Discharge of Pollutants - any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to waters of the Commonwealth from any source, including, but not limited to, discharges from surface runoff which are collected or channeled by man, discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances owned by a state, municipality or other person, which do not lead to POTWs, and discharges through pipes or other conveyances leading into privately owned wastewater treatment facilities. This term does not include an addition of pollutants by any indirect discharger.

Effluent - discharge of pollutants into the environment whether or not treated.

Effluent Limitation or Effluent Limit - any requirement, restriction, or standard imposed by the Department on quantities, discharge rates, and concentrations of pollutants discharged from point sources into waters of the Commonwealth, to a publicly owned treatment works, or to a reclaimed water distribution system so that so that it may be used as reclaimed water in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00.

Environmental Protection Agency or EPA - the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Facility or Facilities - any and all devices, processes and properties real or personal used in the collection, pumping, transmission, storage, treatment, disposal, recycling, reclamation or reuse of water-borne pollutants, but not including any works receiving a hazardous waste from off the site of the works for the purpose of treatment, storage or disposal, or any works for the distribution or use of reclaimed water in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00 and a Service and Use Agreement approved by the Department, that are not located on the same site as the devices and processes used for wastewater treatment and that are not under the direct ownership or control of the permittee.

Federal Act - the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), currently known as the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.

Greywater - Any putrescible wastewater discharged from domestic activities, including, but not limited to, washing machines, sinks, showers, bath tubs, dishwashers, or other source except toilets, urinals and any drains equipped with garbage grinders.

Ground Water - water below the land surface in a saturated zone, including perched ground water.

Ground Water Travel Time or Ground Water Time of Travel - the time it takes a particle of water to flow through an aquifer from one point to another point of lower hydraulic gradient.

Indirect Discharger - a discharger introducing pollutants to a treatment works.

Industrial Waste - any liquid, gaseous, or solid waste substance or a combination thereof resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, trade, or business or from the development or recovery of any natural resources.

Interim Wellhead Protection Area (IWPA) - an interim wellhead protection area as defined in 310 CMR 22.02. Generally this is a ½ mile radius from the well or well field for sources whose approved pumping rate is 100,000 gallons per day or greater. For smaller sources, the radius in feet is determined by multiplying the approved pumping rate in gallons per minute by 32 and adding 400.

Land Uses with Higher Potential Pollutant Loads - the following land uses are land uses with higher potential pollutant loads: land uses identified in 310 CMR 22.20B(2); 310 CMR 22.20C(2)(a) through (k) and (m), 310 CMR 22.21(2)(a)1. through 8., and 310 CMR 22.21(2)(b)1. through 6., areas within a site that are regulated by an individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit or the NPDES Multi-Sector General Permit; auto fueling facilities (gas stations); exterior fleet storage areas; exterior vehicle service and equipment cleaning areas, marinas and boatyards; parking lots with high-intensity use; confined disposal facilities and disposal sites.

Local Government Unit - a town, city, district, commission, agency, authority, board or other instrumentality of the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions including a regional government unit.

Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards - the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards ( 314 CMR 4.00 ).

Milligrams Per Liter or mg/l - the weight in milligrams of any specific substance or substances contained in one liter of solution.

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) - measurement of turbidity as measured by the ratio of intensity of light scattered by the sample to the intensity of incident light as measured by method 2130 B in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.

On-site Subsurface Sewage Disposal System - a system or series of systems for the treatment or disposal of sanitary sewage below the ground in accordance with 310 CMR 15.000.

Permit - an authorization issued pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21, § 43 and 314 CMR 2.00, 3.00, 5.00, 7.00 or 20.00 to implement the requirements of M.G.L. c. 21, §§ 26 through 53, the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. and the NPDES regulations, 40 CFR Part 122.

Person - any agency or political subdivision of the Commonwealth, the Federal government, any public or private corporation or authority, individual, partnership or association, or other entity, including any officer of a public or private agency or organization, upon whom a duty may be imposed by or pursuant to any provisions of M.G.L. c. 21, §§ 26 through 53.

Pollutant - any element or property of sewage, agricultural, industrial or commercial waste, runoff, leachate, heated effluent, or other matter, in whatever form and whether originating at a point or non point source, which is or may be discharged, drained or otherwise introduced into any sewerage system, treatment works or waters of the Commonwealth.

Potable Waters - water from any source that has been approved by the Department for human consumption.

Potable Water System - a system for conveying potable water so that it may be used.

Pretreatment - the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutants' properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW.

Private Water Supply Area - an area that is served by private wells and where in the opinion of the Department it is not reasonable to connect to a public water system or where approval to connect to the public water system cannot be obtained.

Privately Owned Reclaimed Water System - a privately owned treatment works that treats sewage so that it may be reclaimed, recycled or reused in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00. A privately owned reclaimed water system may include a reclaimed water distribution system.

Processed Food Crop - any crop that, prior to sale to the public or others, undergoes chemical or physical commercial processing sufficient to kill pathogens.

Publicly Owned Treatment Works or POTW - any device or system used in the treatment and disposal (including recycling and reclamation) of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature, which is owned by a local government unit. A POTW includes any sewers, pipes, or other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW providing treatment.

Reclaimed Water - wastewater that has been treated so that it is suitable for beneficial reuse in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00.

Reclaimed Water Distribution System - a system that distributes reclaimed water so that it may be reused in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00.

Reclaimed Water System - a treatment works that includes facilities for treating wastewater so that it may be beneficially reused in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00.

Recreational Impoundment - a man-made impoundment of reclaimed water for fishing, boating and other non-body contact recreational uses.

Residential Uses or Residential Developments - apartment buildings, townhouses, condominiums, cooperatives, single family and or multi-family homes including manufactured homes, and rooming and boarding houses. Residential uses do not include the use of property for the activities listed in the following Standard Industrial Classification Codes: 7011, hotels; 7032, sporting and recreational camps; 7033, recreational vehicle parks and camp sites; 7041, organizational hotels and lodging on a membership basis; 8051-8059, nursing and personal care facilities; 8062-8069, hospitals; and 8361, residential care facilities.

Reuse Site - a site where reclaimed water is being used.

Satellite Reclaimed Water System - a system for the distribution, use, sale, offering for distribution, sale, and use of reclaimed water in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00 that does not include any facilities for wastewater treatment.

Sewage - the water-carried human or animal wastes from residences, buildings, industrial establishments or other places together with such ground water infiltration and surface water as may be present.

Sewer System - pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, force mains, and all other structures, devices, appurtenances, and facilities used for collecting and conveying wastes to a site or works for treatment or disposal.

Soil Absorption System - a system of trenches, galleries, chambers, pits, fields or beds or any other disposal area approved in writing by the Department, together with effluent distribution lines and aggregate, which receives effluent from a treatment works.

Stormwater - stormwater runoff, snowmelt runoff, surface runoff, and drainage.

Treatment Works - any and all devices, processes and properties, real or personal, used in the collection, pumping, transmission, storage, treatment, disposal, recycling, reclamation or reuse of waterborne pollutants, but not including any works receiving a hazardous waste for the purpose of treatment, storage or disposal or any works for the distribution or use of reclaimed water in accordance with 314 CMR 20.00 and a Service and Use Agreement approved by the Department, that are not located on the same site as the devices and processes used for wastewater treatment, and are not under the direct ownership or control of the permittee.

Uncontaminated Water - water which does not contain dredge spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, garbage, sewage, sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological waste materials, radioactive materials, wrecked or discarded equipment, cellar dirt, industrial, municipal or agricultural waste, or any other material upon which discharge could cause or contribute to a violation of the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards or interfere with the actual or potential use of ground water as a source of potable water.

Wastewater Sewage, Industrial Waste, Other Wastes or any Combination of the Three. Water from the washing of vehicles, machinery, materials, products, equipment and/or buildings with detergents or other cleaning agents that is part of the ordinary operations of a commercial or industrial enterprise or a local government unit is wastewater.

Waters of the Commonwealth - all waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, ground waters and vernal pools. Wetlands constructed for the sole purpose of wastewater or stormwater management and lined basins constructed for the sole purpose of storing reclaimed water so that it can be reused are not considered to be waters of the Commonwealth.

Zone I - the protective radius required around a public water supply well or wellfield, as defined in 310 CMR 22.02. For public water supply system wells with approved yields of 100,000 gallons per day or greater, the protective radius is 400 feet. Tubular well fields require a 250-foot protective radius. Protective radii for all other public water system wells are determined by the following equation: Zone I radius in feet = [150 x log of pumping rate in gpd] - 350.

Zone A - the land between a surface water source and the upper boundary of the bank as defined in 310 CMR 22.02, to include the land within a 400-foot lateral distance from the upper boundary of a bank of a Class A surface water source as defined in 314 CMR 4.05(3)(a), and the land within a 200- foot lateral distance from the upper boundary of the bank of a tributary or associated surface water body.

Zone II - the area of an aquifer that contributes water to a well under the most severe pumping and recharge conditions that can realistically be anticipated as defined in 310 CMR 22.00.

Notes

314 CMR 20.02