§ 28-577. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Act and the act mean the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC § 1251 et seq.

Approval authority means the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Authorized representative of the industrial user means as follows:

(1)

If the industrial user is a corporation, an authorized representative means:

a.

The president, secretary, treasurer, or a vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy-making or decision-making functions for the corporation; or

b.

The manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures exceeding $25,000,000.00, in second-quarter 1980 dollars, if authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

(2)

If the industrial user is a partnership, association, or sole proprietorship, an authorized representative means a general partner or the proprietor.

(3)

If the individual user is representing Federal, State or local governments or an agent thereof, an authorized representative means the Director or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility.

The individuals described in Subsections (1) through (3) of this definition may designate another authorized representative if the authorization is in writing; 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 is submitted to the City.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) means the quantity of oxygen utilized during a specific incubation period (under standard laboratory procedure, five days, at 20 degrees Celsius) for the biochemical degradation of organic material and the oxygen used to oxidize inorganic material such as sulfides and ferrous iron, the result expressed in terms of mass and concentration (milligrams per liter (mg/l)), measured by the test procedure specified in 40 CFR 136.

Building sewer means the pipe which receives sanitary sewage from inside the walls of a building and which carries the wastes through the walls to the service connection.

Capacity charge means a charge assessed a new customer, which charge allows the new customer to pay costs associated with existing major wastewater utility assets. The capacity charge is calculated using the rate base of major wastewater utility assets that provide customers with capacity service divided by the dry weather flow capacity of the wastewater treatment plant.

Categorical pretreatment standards means any regulation containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with Section 307(b) and (c) of the Clean Water Act that applies to a specific category of users and that appears in 40 CFR 425—471.

CFR means Code of Federal Regulations.

Clean Water Act (CWA) means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 USC § 1251 et seq.

Combined sewer means a sewer designed to carry both sanitary sewage and stormwater.

Combined sewer connection means a pipe wholly within the public right-of-way or easement conveying either sanitary sewage from a building or facility or stormwater to a combined sewer, not including the physical connection between the pipe within the right-of-way or easement and the pipe on private property.

Combined sewer extension means the construction of a combined sewer main, to be used for the conveyance of both stormwater and sanitary sewage.

Composite sample means a sample resulting from the combination of individual wastewater samples taken at selected intervals based on an increment of either flow or time.

Cooling water means the water discharged from any use, such as air conditioning, cooling or refrigeration, or to which the only pollutant added is heat.

Control authority means the City.

Discharge means any release, spill, leak, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, disposing, or dumping into the municipal wastewater system.

Dwelling unit means a room or rooms in which kitchen facilities are provided, located in a building or structure, used or intended to be used by a family or household as a home, residence or sleeping place of the family or household.

EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

General prohibitions means any pollutant which causes pass through or interference. These prohibitions apply to any user introducing pollutants into the publicly owned treatment works.

Grab sample means a sample which is taken from a wastestream on a one-time basis without regard to flow in the wastestream and without consideration of time.

Half-life means the period in which the rate of radioactive emission by a pure sample falls by a factor of two among known radioactive isotopes. Half-lives range from about ten to seven seconds to 1016 years.

Hazardous substance means any substance classified as a "hazardous substance" pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 USC § 9601 et seq., and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

Hazardous waste means any waste identified in 40 CFR 261 or 9VAC20-60-261.

Household waste means the discharge from any fixture, appliance or appurtenance in connection with a plumbing system.

Interference means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge from other sources, both:

(1)

Inhibits or disrupts the publicly owned treatment works, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, uses or disposal; and therefor

(2)

Is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the City's VPDES permit, including any increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, or of the prevention of sludge disposal in compliance with the applicable State or Federal laws or regulations.

Local limits means technically based limits established by the City to implement general and specific prohibited standards and to protect against pass through and interference.

Medical wastes means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, dialysis wastes, embalming fluids or other waste materials associated with the medical profession.

New source means a facility from which there is or could be a discharge of pollutants, construction of which began after the publication of the proposed pretreatment standards pursuant to Section 307(c) of the Clean Water Act which will apply to the facility if the standards are promulgated.

Noncontact cooling water means water used for cooling which does not come into direct contact with any raw material, intermediate product, waste product, or finished product.

Occupant means a person who is in control or actual possession of or actually occupies a dwelling unit.

Operator means an owner, occupant or agent having charge, care, management or control of real property or of a facility located on real property discharging to the wastewater system.

Owner means a person who holds legal title to real property or a dwelling unit or an agent having charge, care, management, or control of real property or a dwelling unit.

Pass through means a discharge which exits the City's publicly owned treatment works into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the publicly owned treatment works VPDES permit, including any increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation.

Peak flow means the highest instantaneous flow reading for a given time period.

Person means 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 government entities.

pH means the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed in standard units with 7.0 being neutral, measured by the test procedure specified in 40 CFR 136.

Plumbing fixtures means facilities as defined in the plumbing fixture schedule adopted by the City Council.

Pretreatment means 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 publicly owned treatment works. This reduction or alteration can be obtained by:

(1)

Physical, chemical, or biological processes;

(2)

Process changes;

(3)

Waste minimization;

(4)

Pollution prevention; or

(5)

Other means, except by diluting the concentration of the pollutants unless allowed by an applicable pretreatment standard.

Pretreatment standard means any requirement pursuant to this article; regulations of the department; or pretreatment permits, categorical standards and local units.

Prohibited discharge means the discharge into the publicly owned treatment works of a prohibited substance, as defined in this section.

Prohibited substance means any of the following:

(1)

Material which creates or may create a fire or explosion hazard at any point in the City's wastewater system, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed cup flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit or 60 degrees Celsius, using test methods specified in 40 CFR § 261.21.

(2)

Material which has a pH below 5.0, unless specifically approved by the Director based on a finding that the publicly owned treatment works will accommodate such material, or which would or will cause corrosive structural damage to any part of the wastewater system.

(3)

Solid or viscous matter, including, but not limited to, oil and grease, in an amount which may cause obstruction or interference in the wastewater system.

(4)

Material, including oxygen demanding matter, that, by its constituents, character, volume, strength or any combination thereof, may cause or contribute to an interference with the normal operation of the City's wastewater system.

(5)

Heat in an amount that would inhibit biological activity or cause wastewater treatment plant influent temperature to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

(6)

Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in an amount that would cause or could cause interference or pass through.

(7)

Matter that would or could result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes at any point in the wastewater system in a quantity or concentration that could cause worker health and safety problems.

(8)

Radioactive waste or isotopes of such half-life or concentration that does not comply with regulations or permits issued by the appropriate authority having control over their use or which may cause damage or hazard to the wastewater system or personnel operation of the wastewater system or pass through the system into the environment.

(9)

Trucked or hauled matter, except at discharge points designated by the Director.

Publicly owned treatment works means a treatment works, as defined by Section 212 of the CWA (33 USC § 1292), which is owned by the City's wastewater system.

Radioactive materials means materials that possess by some elements, such as uranium, or isotopes, such as carbon 14, the characteristic of spontaneously emitting energetic particles (electrons or alpha particles) by the disintegration of their atomic nuclei.

Sanitary sewage means all waste, refuse, liquids and other material entering a sanitary sewer or combined sewer, exclusive of stormwater.

Sanitary sewer means a pipe designed to receive and convey sanitary sewage, exclusively.

Sanitary sewer connection means a pipe wholly within a public right-of-way or easement conveying waste, refuse liquids and other materials from a building to a sanitary or combined sewer main, but not including the physical connection between the pipe within the right-of-way or easement and the pipe on private property.

Sanitary sewer extension means the construction of a sanitary sewer main, to be used for the conveyance of sanitary sewage exclusively.

Self-monitoring means any sampling, analytical testing, readings, etc., conducted by a user subject to a wastewater discharge permit.

Service charge means the monthly charge billed to a customer, regardless of consumption, which charge shall recover customer service, sewer main maintenance and combined sewer improvement costs.

Service installation charge means a charge assessed a new customer, which charge recovers the City's costs associated with a plan review, inspection and setting up a new customer account.

Sewage means refuse liquids or waste matter carried off by sewers; wastewater.

Sewage disposal system means all City facilities for collecting, pumping, treating and disposing of sewage.

Sewer means facilities designed to carry sewage.

Sewer main means the pipe in a street extending parallel or nearly parallel to the line of property abutting thereon through which wastewater is conveyed for treatment.

Sewer service means the collection, transportation, pumping, treatment and disposal of sewage, as evidenced by any sanitary sewage or wastewater connection from any premises to the sewer system of the City; wastewater system.

Sewer system means the systems owned, maintained or operated by the City for the purpose of collecting and conveying sanitary sewage, or stormwater or any combination thereof; wastewater system.

Sewerage means the removal and disposal of sewage by sewers.

Significant industrial user (SIU) means:

(1)

A user that is subject to categorical pretreatment standards; or

(2)

A user that:

a.

Discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day (gpd) or more of process wastewater, excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling water, and boiler blowdown wastewater;

b.

Contributes a process wastestream making up five percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the publicly owned treatment works treatment plant; or

c.

Is designated as such by the City on the basis that it has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the publicly owned treatment works' operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement.

However, upon finding that a user meeting the criteria in Subsection (2) of this definition has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the publicly owned treatment works' operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement, the City may at any time, on its own initiative or in response to a petition received from the user and in accordance with procedures in 40 CFR § 403.8(f)(6), determine that such user should not be considered a significant industrial user.

Significant noncompliance (SNC) means a pretreatment permit or other noncompliance as defined 40 CFR § 403.8(f)(2)(vii) or 9VAC25-31-800.F.2.g.

Slug load and slug loading mean any discharge at a flow rate or concentration which could cause a violation of this article or the Department's pretreatment rules and regulations.

Soluble biochemical oxygen demand (SBOD) means the result measured by the BOD test procedure specified in 40 CFR 136 after the sample is filtered (vacuum of 25 mmHg) through a 0.45 μm pore size filter.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Storm sewer means a pipe designed to receive and convey stormwater, surface water and subsurface water, exclusively.

Storm sewer connection means a pipe wholly within a public right-of-way or easement conveying stormwater from real property to a storm or combined sewer, not including the physical connection between the pipe within the right-of-way or easement and the pipe on private property.

Stormwater means naturally occurring precipitation, surface water, subsurface water or any combination thereof.

Strong wastewater and strong sewage mean wastes containing more than 275 milligrams per liter of suspended solids or more than 250 milligrams per liter of BOD or other characteristics in concentrations not normally found in sanitary sewage.

Suspended solids (SS) means the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of or is suspended in water, wastewater, or other liquid and which is removable by laboratory filtering, measured by the test procedure specified in 40 CFR 136.

User means the owner or operator of any of the following:

(1)

Any source, within or without the City's corporate limits, that discharges material directly or indirectly to the sewer system.

(2)

Any source that discharges hauled material to the sewer system through receiving facilities designated by the Director.

(3)

Any source that discharges material to the wastewater treatment plant through a dedicated pipe.

UST means underground storage tank.

Violation means any violation of any section of this article, any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this article, any order issued pursuant to this article, or any provision of a pretreatment permit issued pursuant to this article.

Volume charge means the charge assessed a customer to recover all costs associated with the wastewater utility that are not recovered in the service charge.

VPDES means the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program, as administered by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Wastewater means all water-carried and liquid wastes carried from residences, commercial establishments, institutions, industrial establishments, and other premises, together with such stormwaters as may be present.

Wastewater system means the systems owned, maintained or operated by the City for the purpose of collecting and conveying sanitary sewage or stormwater.

(Code 1993, §§ 29-291, 29-325; Code 2004, § 106-531; Ord. No. 2008-98-126, § 2, 5-27-2008; Ord. No. 2014-215-196, § 1, 10-27-2014)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-2.

(Code 1993, §§ 29-291, 29-325; Code 2004, § 106-531; Ord. No. 2008-98-126, § 2, 5-27-2008; Ord. No. 2014-215-196, § 1, 10-27-2014)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.