Md. Code Regs. 26.08.01.01 - Definitions
A. General.
(1) The following definitions describe the
meaning of terms used in the water quality and water pollution control
regulations of the Department of the Environment (COMAR
26.08.01-26.08.04).
(2) The terms
"discharge", "discharge permit", "disposal system", "effluent limitation",
"industrial user", "national pollutant discharge elimination system", "person",
"pollutant", "pollution", "publicly owned treatment works", and "waters of this
State" are defined in the Environment Article, §§
1-101,
9-101, and
9-301, Annotated Code of
Maryland. The definitions for these terms are provided below as a convenience,
but persons affected by the Department's water quality and water pollution
control regulations should be aware that these definitions are subject to
amendment by the General Assembly.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Acute toxicity" means the capacity or
potential of a substance to cause the onset of deleterious effects in living
organisms over a short-term exposure as determined by the Department.
(2) "Administrative order" means a written
notification issued by the Department under State law and regulations, and
requiring correction of a water pollution condition or compliance with
provisions of pertinent law and regulations.
(3) "Advanced waste treatment" means
treatment of wastes or wastewaters to:
(a)
Reduce the level of specific constituents which are not sufficiently controlled
by best available technology (BAT) for industrial discharges or by secondary
treatment for municipal discharges; or
(b) Reduce organic oxygen demand beyond the
level attainable by BAT or secondary treatment to comply with waste load
allocations in water quality limited waters.
(4) "Affiliate" means a person who wholly or
partially owns a controlling interest in, controls, or operates the applicant,
or who is wholly or partially owned, controlled, or operated by the
applicant.
(5) "Alternate effluent
limitations" means all effluent limitations or standards of performance for the
control of the thermal component of any discharges which are established under
the Environment Article, Title 9, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland, and
COMAR 26.08.03.03.
(5-1) "Animal
feeding operation (AFO)" means a feedlot or facility where:
(a) Non-aquatic animals are confined, fed,
and maintained for at least 45 days in any 12-month period; and
(b) Crops, vegetation, forage growth, or
post-harvest residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any
portion of the lot or facility.
(5-2) Animal Waste.
(a) "Animal waste" means liquid or solid
waste, or both, from animal feeding, milking, holding, or other animal
operations.
(b) "Animal waste"
includes manure, poultry litter, offal, and process wastewater generated by an
AFO.
(6) "Aquifer" means
any formation of soil, sand, rock, gravel, limestone, sandstone, or other
material, or any crevice from which underground water is or may be
produced.
(7) "Average ebb tidal
excursion" means the average velocity (feet/second) of the ebb tide passing
through the cross section of the receiving waters at the point of discharge,
multiplied by the duration of the tide (slack before ebb to slack before
flood). The average velocity shall be determined from measurement of transect
velocities at three neap tides with low fresh water input and three spring
tides with high fresh water input.
(8) "Balanced indigenous community" means a
biotic community typically characterized by diversity, the capacity to sustain
itself through cyclic seasonal changes, presence of necessary food chain
species, and by a lack of domination by pollution-tolerant species. This
community may include historically non-native species introduced in connection
with a program of wildlife management and species whose presence or abundance
results from substantial, irreversible environmental modifications. Normally,
however, this community does not include species whose presence or abundance is
attributable to:
(a) The introduction of
pollutants that will be eliminated by compliance by all sources with effluent
limitations; and
(b) Alternate
effluent limitations imposed under COMAR 26.08.03.03.
(9) "Base flow" means the discharge entering
stream channels from ground water or other delayed sources; that is, stream
flow periods not affected by recent rainfall.
(9-1) "Benthos" means a group of organisms,
often invertebrates that live in or on the bottom in aquatic
habitats.
(10) "Best available
technology (BAT)" means, for discharges from industrial facilities, the best
existing wastewater treatment technology economically achievable within an
industrial category. BAT is equivalent to the EPA effluent limitation
guidelines in the Federal Act for best available technology economically
achievable and best conventional pollutant control technology (BCT). For
discharges from all sewage treatment facilities, BAT means the secondary
treatment levels specified by the Department in discharge permits.
(11) "Biocide residual" means the level
remaining in an effluent of a chemical substance added as part of the treatment
process for the purpose of controlling bacteria, fungi, algae, or other
microorganisms. This term includes chlorine and ozone.
(11-1) "Chesapeake Bay" means all
tidally-influenced waters within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
(11-2) "Chesapeake Bay program segment" means
a segment or segments of the Chesapeake Bay mainstem or its tidal tributaries
the boundaries of which are defined by a set of georeferenced points.
(11-3) "Chlorophyll a" means one of three
green pigments in plant cells, used as a measure of productivity in aquatic
environments. Elevated levels of nutrients are usually reflected in
corresponding elevations in chlorophyll a.
(12) "Chronic toxicity" means the capacity or
potential of a substance to cause deleterious effects in living organisms over
a long-term exposure as determined by the Department.
(12-1) "Coal remining" means a coal mining
operation which begins after January 2, 1995 at a site on which coal mining was
conducted before August 3, 1977, the effective date of the federal Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
(13) "Coliform organisms" means all of the
aerobic and facultative anaerobic, gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped
bacteria that ferment lactose broth with gas formation within 48 hours at 35°C.
(13-1) "Comprehensive nutrient
management plan (CNMP)" means a nutrient management and conservation plan that
is developed in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) planning policy and meets NRCS technical standards.
(13-2) "Concentrated animal feeding operation
(CAFO)" means:
(a) A medium AFO or large AFO,
based upon the size categories established in Table 1 of COMAR
26.08.03.09A,
that discharges or proposes to discharge, as defined by the Federal Act, to
surface waters of this State;
(b) A
small AFO designated a CAFO by the Department in accordance with COMAR
26.08.03.09B;
or
(c) An AFO designated as a CAFO
by the Regional Administrator (RA) of the EPA in accordance with the Federal
Act.
(14) "Control" means
the possession of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management
policies of a person.
(15)
"Criteria" means elements of State water quality standards expressed as
constituent concentrations, levels, or narrative statements representing a
quality of water that supports a particular use.
(16) "Critical periods" means that time of
the year during which sensitive life stages or densities of representative
important species (RIS) are present in the plant intake or receiving
waters.
(17) "Department" means the
Department of the Environment.
(18)
"Design stream flow" means the minimum 7 consecutive day average stream
discharge having a recurrence interval of 10 years.
(19) "Designated use" means those uses
specified in the State's water quality standards for each water body or segment
whether or not the uses are being attained.
(20) "Discharge" means:
(a) The addition, introduction, leaking,
spilling, or emitting of any pollutant to waters of this State; or
(b) The placing of a pollutant in a location
where the pollutant is likely to pollute.
(21) "Discharge permit" means a permit issued
by the Department for the discharge of any pollutant or combination of
pollutants into the waters of this State.
(22) "Disposal system" means a system for
disposing of wastes by surface, above surface, or underground methods. Disposal
system includes a treatment works and a disposal well.
(22-1) "Dissolved oxygen" means gaseous
oxygen that is dissolved in the water.
(23) "Effluent" means the outflow of treated
or untreated waste from an industrial process, holding tank, pond, sewer, or
other point source into the waters of this State.
(24) "Effluent limitation" means any
restriction or prohibition that:
(a) Is
established under federal law or a law of this State;
(b) Specifies quantities, rates or
concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, or other constituents that
are discharged into the waters of this State;
(c) Includes:
(i) Parameters for the discharge of toxic and
nontoxic substances, and
(ii)
Standards of performance for new sources.
(25) "Effluent limited waters" means waters
of this State which the Department has identified as those in which BAT for
industrial discharges and secondary treatment for sewage discharges is
sufficiently stringent to maintain applicable water quality
standards.
(26) "Emergency
conditions" means those circumstances resulting from a permittee's actions, or
lack of actions, which the Department determines constitute a present or
imminent danger to the public health, welfare, or the environment.
(27) "Entrainment" means the incorporation of
organisms into the cooling water flow.
(28) "EPA" means the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, or its successor.
(28-1) "Epifauna" means organisms that live
upon aquatic substrates.
(29)
"Estuary" means a semi-enclosed coastal body of water having a free connection
with the open sea and within which the seawater is measurably diluted with
fresh water deriving from land drainage.
(30) "Eutrophication" or "eutrophic" means:
(a) The excessive enrichment of the waters of
this State by the discharge to or addition of nutrients; or
(b) The degradation of water quality or
undesirable ecological changes as indicated by excessive rooted or dispersed
plant growth, loss of water clarity, or nuisance conditions.
(31) "Existing use" means those
uses actually attained in the water body after November 27, 1975, whether or
not the uses are included in the water quality standards.
(32) "Fecal coliform" means the portion of
the coliform bacteria group which is present in the gut or the feces of
warm-blooded animals. It generally includes organisms which are capable of
producing gas from lactose broth in a suitable culture medium within 24 hours
at 44.5° +=/-0.5°C.
(33) "Federal
Act" means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §
1251 et
seq.), its amendments, and all regulations and rules adopted under the
Act.
(34) "Fish" means any of
numerous cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates of the Superclass Pisces,
characteristically having fins, gills and a streamlined body. Fish includes:
(a) Any of the Class Osteichthyes having a
bony skeleton;
(b) Any of the Class
Chondrichthyes, having a cartilaginous skeleton (sharks, rays, and skates);
and
(c) Any of the Class Agnatha
which lack jaws (lampreys and hagfishes).
(35) "General permit" is a discharge permit
issued to a class of dischargers.
(36) "Ground water" means underground water
in a zone of saturation.
(36-1)
"Hydrodemolition" means a concrete removal technique which utilizes
high-pressure water to remove deteriorated and sound concrete as well as
asphalt and grout.
(37)
"Impingement" means the blocking of larger organisms by a structure in the
cooling water intake system.
(38)
"Includes" or "including" means includes or including by way of illustration
and not by way of limitation.
(39)
"Industrial user" means:
(a) A person who is
engaged in manufacturing, fabricating, or assembling goods; or
(b) A member of any class of significant
producers of pollutants identified under regulations adopted by:
(i) The Department, or
(ii) The Administrator of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.
(40) "Industrial waste" means any liquid,
gaseous, solid, or other waste substance, or combination thereof, resulting
from:
(a) Any process of industry,
manufacturing, trade or business; or
(b) The development of any natural resource,
including agriculture.
(40-1) "Infauna" means organisms that live
within the sediment in aquatic substrates.
(41) "Interference" means:
(a) An inhibition or disruption of a POTW,
its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge generation processes or
utilization which causes a violation of any requirement of the POTW's discharge
permit or which prevents sewage sludge utilization by the POTW in accordance
with the following statutory provisions and regulations or permits issued under
them:
(i) Section 405 of the Clean Water
Act;
(ii) The Solid Waste Disposal
Act (SWDA) (including Title II, more commonly referred to as the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and any State regulations contained in any
State sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Subtitle D of the
SWDA);
(iii) The Clean Air Act;
and
(iv) The Toxic Substances
Control Act.
(b) Damage
to sewer systems and threats to POTW worker and public health, safety, and
comfort.
(42)
"Intermittent stream" means a stream that does not have flowing surface water
during dry periods of the year, but may have groundwater-based surface flow at
other times.
(42-1) "Maryland
animal feeding operation (MAFO)" means an AFO that is not a CAFO and is:
(a) A large AFO according to Table 1 of COMAR
26.08.03.09A;
or
(b) A medium AFO according to
Table 1 of COMAR
26.08.03.09A,
designated a MAFO in accordance with COMAR
26.08.03.09C(2)
(43) "Material balance"
means an inventory accounting system for determining quantities of materials on
hand, used in process, converted to product, lost to the environment, or
contained in waste matter generated, stored, discharged, or otherwise
processed.
(43-1) "Mean low water"
means the average of all the low water heights observed over the National Tidal
Datum Epoch.
(43-2) "Mesohaline"
means tidal waters with salinities from 5 to less than 18 parts per
thousand.
(43-3) "Minimum level"
means the lowest concentration of a substance as determined by the Department
that generally can be quantified within specified limits of interlaboratory
precision and accuracy under routine laboratory operating conditions in the
matrix of concern.
(44) "Mixing
zone" means an area contiguous to a discharge where surface water quality or
ground water quality does not have to meet:
(a) All water quality criteria; or
(b) All requirements otherwise applicable to
the natural water.
(45)
"National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)" means the national
system for issuing permits as designated by the Federal Act.
(46) "National pretreatment requirements"
means any general pretreatment regulation established by EPA in accordance with
the Federal Act.
(47) "National
pretreatment standard" means a pollutant discharge limit that:
(a) Applies to industrial users of publicly
owned treatment works; and
(b) Is
promulgated by EPA under the Federal Act.
(48) "NPDES application" means the current
revised EPA standard national forms for applying for an NPDES permit.
(49) "NPDES permit" means the permit issued
under the Federal Act.
(50)
"Natural" or "naturally occurring", when used to describe water quality, means:
(a) Those water quality values which exist
unaffected by, or unaffected as a consequence of, any water use;
(b) Those water quality values which exist
unaffected by the discharge, or direct or indirect deposit, of any solid,
liquid, or gaseous substance; or
(c) Any other water quality values which
represent conditions which the Department by its regulations defines as
natural. For the purposes of this definition, the following conditions shall be
considered as natural:
(i) Infestations of
water milfoil, myriophyllum spicatum,
(ii) Infestations of water chestnut, trapa
natans,
(iii) The presence of sea
lettuce, ulva lactuca, and
(iv) The
presence of sea nettles, aurelia sp.
(51) "Natural trout waters" means waters
capable of supporting self-sustaining trout populations, including propagation,
and their associated food organisms.
(52) "New source" means any source, the
construction of which is commenced after the publication by the EPA of proposed
regulations prescribing a standard of performance which will be applicable to
the source if the standard is promulgated.
(53) "Nontidal water" means water not subject
to regular and periodic tidal action (generally freshwater).
(53-1) "Nutrient management plan (NMP)" means
a plan written by a nutrient management planner certified by the Maryland
Department of Agriculture (MDA) that meets all requirements of COMAR 15.20.07
and 15.20.08 and any other requirements specified by the Department in a
discharge permit issued pursuant to this subtitle.
(53-2) Offal.
(a) "Offal" means the refuse from slaughtered
or salvageable dead animals, crustaceans, or any other animal form.
(b) "Offal" includes heads, feet, viscera,
hair, blood, feathers, bones, scales, or oils.
(54) "Oil" means any of a number of unctuous
combustible substances which are liquid at ambient temperature and atmospheric
pressure, or easily liquefiable on warming and soluble in ether, and which
include fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oil, other petroleum
products, oil bearing sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with ballast or bilge
water, and oil mixed with wastes.
(54-1) "Oligohaline" means tidal waters with
salinities from 0.5 to less than 5 parts per thousand.
(55) "Operator" means that person or those
persons with responsibility for the management and performance of each
facility.
(55-1) "Opportunistic
species" means an organism that tolerates or thrives in a disturbed
environment, or both, and has a competitive edge in some situations.
(56) "Other aquatic life" means all
organisms, other than fish, which grow in, live in, or frequent
water.
(57) "Other waste" means
garbage, refuse, wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, sand, lime, cinders, ashes,
offal, oil, tar, dyestuffs, acids, chemicals, and all discarded substances
other than sewage or industrial waste.
(58) "Pass through" means discharge of
pollutants through the POTW into waters of the State in quantities or
concentrations which cause a violation of any requirement of the POTW's
discharge permit.
(58-1)
"Percent-light-through-water (PLW)" means the amount of light reaching just
above the canopy of underwater bay grasses, expressed as a fraction of the
light at the water surface.
(59)
"Permeability of an aquifer" means the volume of water at the prevailing
kinematic viscosity that will move in unit time under a unit hydraulic gradient
through a unit area measured at right angle to the direction of flow.
(60) "Permit" means written authorization
issued by the Department under pertinent law and regulations and describing
required performance for specific activities and operations.
(61) "Permittee" means the person holding a
permit issued by the Department.
(62) "Person" means an individual, receiver,
trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, or representative of any
kind, and any partnership, firm, association, corporation or other entity.
Person includes the federal government, this State, any county, municipal
corporation, or other political subdivision of this State or any of their
units.
(63) "Person in charge"
means the person designated by an operator or permittee as the one with direct
supervisory responsibility for an activity or operation at a
facility.
(64) "Point of discharge"
means that location in or adjacent to a body of water at which any liquid,
solid, or gaseous substances are discharged or deposited.
(65) "Point source" means any discernible,
confined and discrete conveyance, including any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel,
conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, large animal feeding
operation, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating
craft, from which pollutants are, or may be, discharged.
(66) "Pollutant" means:
(a) Any waste or wastewater that is
discharged from:
(i) Any publicly owned
treatment works, or
(ii) An
industrial source; or
(b) Any other liquid, gaseous, solid, or
other substances which will pollute any waters of this State.
(67) "Pollution" means any
contamination or other alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological
properties of any waters of this State, including a change in temperature,
taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters or the discharge or deposit of
any organic matter, harmful organism, or liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive,
or other substance into any waters of this State that will render the waters
harmful, or detrimental, to:
(a) Public
health, safety, or welfare;
(b)
Domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other
legitimate beneficial uses;
(c)
Livestock, wild animals, birds; or
(d) Fish or other aquatic life.
(67-1) "Polyhaline" means tidal
waters with salinities from 18 to 30 parts per thousand. These areas are
typically in the lower portion of an estuary, where the ocean and estuary
meet.
(67-2) "Preexisting discharge"
means any discharge which existed at the time of application for a coal
remining discharge permit.
(68)
"Pretreatment" means a reduction in the amount of pollutants, the elimination
of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in a
wastewater before discharging to or otherwise introducing pollutants into a
POTW.
(69) "Pretreatment
requirements" means any:
(a) Federal
pretreatment requirements and federal pretreatment standards;
(b) Pretreatment regulations developed in
accordance with Environment Article, §
9-319(a),
Annotated Code of Maryland;
(c)
Pretreatment requirements listed within the delegation document issued by the
Department approving a pretreatment program developed by owners of a
POTW;
(d) Pretreatment requirements
developed by owners of POTWs in accordance with approved pretreatment programs;
or
(e) Pretreatment requirements
established in a permit or agreement between a POTW and an industrial user
issued in accordance with an approved pretreatment program.
(70) "Propagation" means the
continuance of species by generation of successive production in the natural
environment, as opposed to the maintenance of species by artificial culture and
stocking.
(71) "Publicly owned
treatment works (POTW)" means a facility that is:
(a) Owned by this State or a political
subdivision, municipal corporation, or other public entity; and
(b) Used for the treatment of
pollutants.
(72) "Public
water supply" means any water of this State with the designated use of public
water supply and which is suitable for human consumption when treated to meet
the requirements of COMAR 26.04.01.
(72-1) "Pycnocline" means the portion of the
water column where density changes rapidly because of salinity, temperature, or
both. In an estuary the pycnocline is the zone separating deep, cooler, more
saline waters from the less saline, warmer, surface waters. The upper and lower
boundaries of a pycnocline are defined by a change in density per unit of
depth. The upper pycnocline is the shallowest occurrence of a density gradient
of 0.1 kg/m4 or greater and the lower pycnocline
depth is the deepest occurrence of a density gradient of 0.2
kg/m4.
(73) "Receiving water" means the surface
waters of this State into which waters or wastewaters are or may be
discharged.
(74) "Recreational
trout waters" means cold or warm waters capable of holding or supporting adult
trout for put-and-take fishing, usually seasonal.
(75) "Refuse Act" means § 13 of the River and
Harbor Act of March 3, 1899.
(76)
"Refuse Act application" means the application for a permit under the Refuse
Act.
(77) "Refuse Act permit" means
any permit issued under the Refuse Act.
(78) "Regular or periodic tidal action" means
the rise and fall of the sea produced by the gravitational attraction of the
sun and moon unaffected by wind or any other circumstances.
(78-1) "Remined area" means only that area of
any coal remining operation on which coal mining was conducted before August 3,
1977.
(78-2) "Restoration variance"
means a temporary exception to the water quality standards allowing
nonattainment of designated uses granted in situations where no enforcement
action will be taken if the nonattainment is due to the existence of one or
more of the justifications in
40 CFR §
131.10(g). Restoration
variances will be reviewed every 3 years at a minimum as required by the Clean
Water Act and EPA regulations.
(79)
"Schedule of compliance" means a schedule of remedial measures including an
enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with
effluent limitations or water quality standards as specified by an order or
permit requirement of the Department.
(79-1) "Secchi disk" means a device for
measuring water clarity that consists of a circular weighted disk painted in
flat black and white in alternating quarters that is suspended on an
incremented rope or line.
(79-2)
"Secchi depth" means the depth at which a Secchi disk is just visible when
viewed vertically from a shaded perspective. The measure is taken by lowering
the device to a depth below which it can be seen and then raising it until it
is just visible.
(80) "Secondary
treatment" means the treatment of sewage to produce effluent equal to or better
than the following quality:
(a) Five-day
biochemical oxygen demand:
(i) 30
milligrams/liter-average for a 30-day period,
(ii) 45 milligrams/liter-average for a 7-day
period;
(b) Total
suspended solids:
(i) 30
milligrams/liter-average for a 30-day period,
(ii) 45 milligrams/liter-average for a 7-day
period;
(c) Bacterial
control: As required to meet water quality standards.
(81) "Sewage" means the water-carried
domestic waste from residences, buildings, industrial establishments, or other
places.
(81-1) Sewerage System.
(a) "Sewerage system" means:
(i) The channels used or intended to be used
to collect and dispose of sewage; and
(ii) A structure or appurtenance used or
intended to be used to collect or prepare sewage for discharge into a treatment
works or the waters of the State.
(b) "Sewerage system" includes a sewer of any
size.
(c) "Sewerage system" does
not include the plumbing system inside a building served by the sewerage
system.
(82) "Shellfish
harvesting waters" means waters that are actual or potential areas for the
harvesting of shellfish including oysters, softshell clams, and brackish water
clams.
(83) "Sludge" means the
settleable solids that are:
(a) Naturally
present in waters and wastewaters; or
(b) Derived from nonsettleable matter by
chemical coagulation and precipitation or by biological flocculation and
precipitation.
(83-1)
"Soil conservation and water quality plan (conservation plan)" means a plan
that is developed by a soil conservation district, MDA, a Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) planner, or a technical service provider certified
by the NRCS that addresses the following minimum elements:
(a) Storage for animal manure and litter,
including any need for additional storage or manure transfer;
(b) Stabilized surfaces in heavy use
areas;
(c) Diversion of storm water
away from the production area;
(d)
Maintenance of vegetation around the production area;
(e) Construction and maintenance of filter
strip or strips or water control structures between the production area and
surface water; and
(f) Mortality
management.
(84) "Source"
means any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is,
or may be, a discharge of pollutants.
(85) "Spill (spilling)" means any loss of
control or release of oil or other hazardous substance that moves or is capable
of moving into the aquatic environment.
(86) "Standard of performance" means a
standard for the control of the discharge of pollutants which reflects the
greatest degree of effluent reduction achievable through application of the
best available demonstrated control technology, processes, operating methods,
or other alternatives as established by the State or the Environmental
Protection Agency.
(87) "State"
means the State of Maryland.
(88)
"Stream flow" means the nontidal water movement that occurs in a natural
channel.
(89) "Sub-basin" means one
of the 20 watershed areas delineated by the Department and comprising, in sum
total, the surface waters of the State.
(89-1) "Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV;
underwater bay grass)" means rooted vascular plants that generally grow beneath
the water surface, but may have leaves that extend to, and grow on, the surface
of the water.
(89-2)
"Subpycnocline" means waters that occur below the lower level of the
pycnocline.
(90) "Surface waters"
means all waters of this State which are not ground waters.
(91) "Thermal barrier" means a pattern of
artificially created temperature change and distribution.
(91-1) "Tidal fresh" means tidal waters with
salinities from 0 to less than 0.5 parts per thousand.
(92) "Tidal water" means water subject to
regular or periodic tidal action.
(93) "Toxic substance" means any liquid,
gaseous, or solid substance in a concentration which, when applied to,
discharged to, or deposited in the waters of this State, may, in the judgment
of the Department, exert a detrimental effect on humans or on the propagation,
cultivation, or conservation of terrestrial or aquatic life.
(94) "Transmissivity of an aquifer" means the
rate at which water of the prevailing kinematic viscosity is transmitted
through a unit width of the aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient.
(95) "Treatment works" means any plant or
other works used for the purpose of treating, or stabilizing, wastes.
(95-1) "Use Class" means the
combination of waterbody type (e.g. non-tidal) and designated uses given to
each waterbody.
(96) "Vessel" means
every watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being
used, as a means of transportation on the waters of this State.
(97) "Waste load allocation" means the
identification and allotment by the Department of quantities of residual wastes
which may be discharged from point sources. This allotment shall include:
(a) Limits on the quantities of wastes which
may be discharged;
(b)
Consideration of seasonal variations;
(c) A margin of safety; and
(d) The contribution of non-point
sources.
(98) "Waste"
means industrial waste and all other liquid, gaseous, solid, or other
substances which will pollute any waters of this State.
(99) "Wastewater" means any:
(a) Liquid waste substance derived from
industrial, commercial, municipal, residential, agricultural, recreational, or
other operations or establishments; and
(b) Other liquid waste substance containing
liquid, gaseous, or solid matter and having characteristics which will pollute
any waters of the State.
(100) "Water" means the liquid substance
which is derived from a ground water source, a surface source, or any
combination of these sources, and which will be discharged, without change in
quality, into the waters of this State, with the exception of storm water
runoff.
(100-1) "Water clarity"
means a relative measure of the ability of water to transmit light, expressed
as a percentage of light penetrating the water in terms of expected Secchi
depth for the defined waterbody.
(100-2) "Water quality criteria" means the
numeric threshold or narrative description of a water quality parameter that
would be expected to support and protect a particular designated use.
(101) "Water quality limited waters" means
shellfish waters and other waters of this State for which BAT for industrial
discharges and secondary treatment for sewage discharges is not sufficiently
stringent to maintain applicable water quality standards.
(102) "Watercourse" means a specific body or
channel of water which is part of the waters of this State.
(103) "Waters of this State" includes:
(a) Both surface and underground waters
within the boundaries of this State subject to its jurisdiction, including that
part of the Atlantic Ocean within the boundaries of this State, the Chesapeake
Bay and its tributaries, and all ponds, lake, rivers, streams, tidal and
nontidal wetlands, public ditches, tax ditches, and public drainage systems
within this State, other those designed and used to collect, convey, or dispose
of sanitary sewage;
(b) The flood
plain of free-flowing waters determined by the Department of Natural Resources
on the basis of the 100-year flood frequency.
Notes
Regulation .01 amended effective August 3, 1981 (8:15 Md. R. 1308)
Regulation .01A amended effective January 28, 1985 (12:2 Md. R. 141)
Regulation .01B amended effective December 5, 1974 (1:6 Md. R. 278); April 21, 1978 (5:8 Md. R. 593); May 24, 1982 (9:10 Md. R. 1022); June 6, 1983 (10:11 Md. R. 976); December 19, 1983 (10:25 Md. R. 2269); January 28, 1985 (12:2 Md. R. 141); August 26, 1985 (12:17 Md. R. 1706); February 19, 1990 (17:3 Md. R. 301); April 16, 1990 (17:7 Md. R. 854); June 7, 1993 (20:11 Md. R. 917); January 2, 1995 (21:26 Md. R. 2195); November 6, 1995 (22:22 Md. R. 1670); August 29, 2005 (32:17 Md. R. 1440); January 12, 2009 (36:1 Md. R. 24); April 19, 2010 (37:8 Md. R. 619); April 28, 2014 (41:8 Md. R. 474)
Regulation .01 amended effective 42:23 Md. R. 1435, eff.
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