Conn. Agencies Regs. § 22a-426-1 - Definitions
As used in sections 22a-426-1 to 22a-426-9, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies:
(1) "Acute Toxicity" means adverse effect
such as mortality or debilitation caused by a brief exposure to a toxic
substance.
(2) "Aesthetics" means
the appearance, odor or other characteristics of a surface water which impact
human senses and enjoyment of such surface water.
(3) "Antidegradation Policy" means subsection
(a) of section
22a-426-8 of the Regulations of
Connecticut State Agencies.
(4)
"Atmospheric Deposition" means the delivery of airborne substances of both
natural and human origin to land and water surfaces which can be deposited with
or without rainfall.
(5) "Benthic"
means associated with the bottom of a surface water body.
(6) "Benthic Macroinvertebrates" means
animals which are large enough to be seen by the unaided eye and which can be
retained by a U.S. standard No. 30 sieve (28 meshes per inch, 0.595 mm
openings), and which live at least part of their life cycle within or upon
submerged substrates in a body of water. These animals usually consist of the
aquatic life stages of various insects and arthropods, mollusks, leeches and
worms.
(7) "Best Management
Practices" means those practices which reduce pollution and which have been
determined by the Commissioner to be acceptable based on, but not limited to,
technical, economic and institutional feasibility.
(8) "Bioaccumulation" means the uptake and
retention of substances by an organism from its surrounding medium or from
food.
(9) "Bioconcentration" means
the uptake and retention of substances by an organism from its surrounding
medium.
(10) "Biological Condition
Gradient Model" means a descriptive model that describes how ecological
attributes change in response to increasing levels of stressors.
(11) "Biological Integrity" means the ability
of an aquatic ecosystem to support and maintain a balanced, integrated,
adaptive community of organisms having a species composition, diversity, and
functional organization comparable to that of the natural habitats of a
region.
(12) "Biotic Community
(Aquatic)" means a community or group of interacting organisms in a given water
body, such as benthic macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages.
(13) "Biotic Community Structure" means the
taxonomic composition of the biotic community typically including reference to
the number of organisms present and their ecological function.
(14) "Chronic Toxicity" means an adverse
effect, such as reduced reproductive success or growth or poor survival of
sensitive life stages occurring as a result of exposure to a substance for a
period of time related to the life span of an organism and usually longer than
that which causes acute toxicity.
(15) "Classification" means the designation
of the proposed uses of surface and ground waters with alphabetic characters
which does not signify existing water quality.
(16) "Clean Water" means water which in the
judgment of the Commissioner is of a quality substantially similar to that
occurring naturally in the receiving stream under consideration. Clean water
may include minor cooling waters, residential swimming pool water, and
stormwater.
(17) "Coastal Waters"
has the same meaning as provided in section
22a-93 of the
Connecticut General Statutes.
(18)
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection or
the Commissioner's designated agent.
(19) "Criteria" means components of the
Connecticut Water Quality Standards, expressed in chemical, physical, or
biological parameters and their concentrations, mass loading or levels, or by
narrative statements, representing a quality of water that supports a
particular use.
(20) "Department"
means the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection.
(21) "Designated Use"
means those uses specified in the Connecticut Water Quality Standards for each
surface water or ground water classification, whether or not they are being
attained.
(22) "Discharge" has the
same meaning as provided in section
22a-423
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(23) "Domestic Sewage" means wastewater which
consists of water and human excretions or other waterborne wastes incidental to
the occupancy of a residential building or a non-residential building but does
not include manufacturing process water, cooling water, wastewater from water
softening equipment, commercial laundry wastewater, blowdown from heating or
cooling equipment, water from cellar or floor drains or surface water from
roofs, paved surfaces, or yard drains.
(24) "Dredging Activity" means the
excavation, removal or redistribution of sediment from surface
waters.
(25) "Dredged Material"
means sediment that is excavated or dredged from surface waters.
(26) "Dredged Material Disposal Area" means
an area which has been approved by the Commissioner for disposal of dredged
material, including but not limited to federally designated dredged material
disposal areas in Long Island Sound.
(27) "Ecosystem Function" means the physical,
chemical and biological processes that operate within an ecosystem and that are
essential for the continuing existence of the ecosystem.
(28) "Effluent" means treated waste process
waters or cooling waters discharged from a waste treatment or manufacturing
facility.
(29) "Endangered Species"
means species listed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection pursuant to chapter 495 of the Connecticut General Statutes as
endangered species.
(30) "Existing
uses" means those uses actually attained in a water body on or after November
28, 1975, whether or not they are included in water quality standards as
defined in
40
CFR 131.3.
(31) "Eutrophic" means water highly enriched
with plant nutrients and with high biological productivity characterized by
occasional blooms of algae or extensive areas of dense macrophyte
beds.
(32) "Fill material" means
any material deposited or placed which has the effect of raising the level of
the ground surface, whether such surface is above, at, or below the water
table, or to replace surface waters with dry land. Fill material includes, but
is not limited to consolidated material such as concrete and brick and
unconsolidated material such as sand, gravel and stone.
(33) "Geometric Mean" means a measure of
central tendency calculated by determining the anti-log of the mean of the
logarithms of the values to be averaged.
(34) "Ground Waters" means waters flowing
through earth materials beneath the ground surface.
(35) "Ground Water of Natural Quality" means
ground water which is free from pollution by solid waste, wastewater
discharges, chemical spills or leaks, pesticides or other anthropogenic sources
of water pollution other than acid rain.
(36) "High Quality Waters" means surface
waters where the water quality is better than necessary to meet the minimum
criteria established in the Connecticut Water Quality Standards for the
applicable classification and related designated uses.
(37) "Highly Eutrophic" means water
excessively enriched with plant nutrients and with high biological
productivity, characterized by severe blooms of algae or extensive areas of
dense macrophyte beds.
(38)
"Indicator" means a metric or combination of metrics which provides a measure
or estimate of the physical, chemical or biological condition.
(39) "Indicator bacteria" means a species or
group of microbes which are used to conduct microbiological examinations of
water in order to determine its sanitary quality and provide evidence of recent
fecal contamination from humans or other warm blooded animals.
(40) "Indigenous" means animal or plant life
which naturally occurs in a particular geographic region.
(41) "Invertebrates" means animals lacking a
backbone.
(42) "Marine Sanitation
Device" or "MSD" means a device installed or used on watercraft for the
collection, treatment or disposal of human wastes.
(43) "Mesotrophic" means water moderately
enriched with plant nutrients and with moderate biological productivity
characterized by intermittent blooms of algae or small areas of macrophyte
beds.
(44) "Most Sensitive Use"
means the designated use (drinking, swimming, boating, fish and aquatic life
propagation, irrigation etc.) which is most susceptible to degradation by a
specific pollutant.
(45) "Moving
Average" means the mean of consecutive values in a time series of a specified
duration. For example, a twelve month moving average is calculated by averaging
the monthly values for a parameter for the most recent twelve consecutive
months; thus as time progresses and more new values are available, old values
are dropped resulting in an average value which is always based on the twelve
most recent consecutive monthly values.
(46) "Native" means indigenous to an
area.
(47) "Natural" means the
biological, chemical and physical conditions and communities that occur within
the environment which are unaffected or minimally affected by human
influences.
(48) "Non-point source"
means any unconfined and diffuse source of pollution such as stormwater or
snowmelt runoff, atmospheric deposition, or ground water not conveyed to a
surface water discharge point within a discrete conveyance.
(49) "Oligotrophic" means water low in plant
nutrients and with low biological productivity characterized by the absence of
macrophyte beds.
(50) "Outstanding
National Resource Waters" means High Quality Waters within national and state
parks and wildlife refuges and waters of exceptional recreation or ecological
significance, such as water bodies that are important, unique or sensitive
ecologically.
(51) "Point source"
means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not
limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure,
container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, landfill
leachate collection system, or vessel or other floating craft, from which
pollutants are or may be discharged. Point source does not include agricultural
stormwater discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.
(52) "Recreational use" means active or
passive water-related leisure activities such as fishing, swimming, boating,
and aesthetic appreciation.
(53)
"Sanitary Survey" means an investigation of a particular geographic area to
determine if unlawful or inadequately treated discharges of sewage or other
sources of indicator bacteria are present.
(54) "Sediments" means any natural or
artificial materials which constitute all or part of the banks, bed or bottom
of an intermittent or perennial surface water.
(55) "Sensitive-rare taxa" means taxonomic
groups of organisms that are sensitive to pollution and occur in low numbers in
natural aquatic communities.
(56)
"Sensitive-ubiquitous taxa" means taxonomic groups of organisms that are
sensitive to pollution and are typically common and abundant in natural aquatic
communities.
(57) "Sewage" has the
same meaning as provided in section
22a-423
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
(58) "Significant Natural Communities" means
species listed by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
pursuant to chapter 495 of the Connecticut General Statutes as threatened or
endangered species or species of special concern.
(59) "Special Concern Species" means species
listed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
pursuant to chapter 495 of the Connecticut General Statutes as species of
special concern.
(60) "Surface
Water" means the waters of Long Island Sound, its harbors, embayments, tidal
wetlands and creeks; rivers and streams, brooks, waterways, lakes, ponds,
marshes, swamps, bogs, federal jurisdictional wetlands, and other natural or
artificial, public or private, vernal or intermittent bodies of water. Surface
water does not include ground water.
(61) "Taxon" (pl. Taxa) means a biological
classification category, usually the most specific division attainable in
taxonomy.
(62) "Technically
Practicable" means with respect to ground water remediation, the greatest
degree of remediation that can be achieved using sound engineering and
hydrogeologic practices.
(63)
"Technology - Based Treatment" means a level and type of treatment
required by
33 USC
1311(b) and
33
USC 1314(b), which is based on the particular manufacturing process used and
type of waste generated.
(64)
"Threatened Species" means species listed by Connecticut Department of Energy
and Environmental Protection pursuant to chapter 495 of the Connecticut General
Statutes as threatened.
(65)
"Tolerant Taxa" means taxonomic groups of organisms that are resistant to a
variety of pollution or habitat stressors and typically are the last survivors
in severely polluted waters.
(66)
"Toxic Substance" means any substance which can adversely affect the survival,
growth or reproduction of fish, other forms of aquatic life, other wildlife or
humans exposed thereto either by direct contact or through
consumption.
(67) "Trophic State"
means the level of biological productivity or amount of plant biomass within a
water body at the time of measurement.
(68) "Use Attainability Analysis" means a
structured scientific assessment of the physical, chemical, biological, and
economic factors affecting the ability of a surface water to achieve and
support uses as described in
40 CFR
131.10.
(69) "Water Quality" means the physical,
chemical and biological characteristics of surface or ground waters.
(70) "Wetlands" has the same meaning as
provided in section
22a-29
of the general statutes, section
22a-38 of the general
statutes or as provided in
40
CFR 230.3(t), as amended
from time to time.
(71) "Zone of
Influence" means an area or volume of surface water or ground water within
which some degradation of water quality or inconsistency with water quality
criteria is anticipated as a result of a pollutant discharge and which area is
used to describe an area impacted by thermal, conventional, or toxic pollutants
and allocated in accordance with subsection (l) of section
22a-426-4 of the Regulations of
Connecticut State Agencies for assimilation of such pollutants.
(72) "Zone of Passage" means an area or
volume of flow in surface water within which pollutants, including temperature
will not impede or prohibit the passage of free swimming or drifting aquatic
organisms.
(73) "7Q10" or
"Seven-Day, Ten Year Low Flow" means the lowest seven
consecutive-day mean stream flow with a recurrence interval of ten
years.
Notes
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