310 CMR 32.05 - Definitions

As used throughout 310 CMR 32.00, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Aquifer means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation capable of yielding a significant amount of ground water from wells or springs.

Beneficial purpose means to provide nutrients to growing vegetation or to improve the quality of soil for the purpose of growing vegetation.

Cation exchange capacity means the sum of the exchangeable cations which a soil can adsorb, as determined by sampling the soil to the depth of cultivation or of sludge or septage land application, whichever depth is greater.

Chroma means the relative purity or strength of the spectral color, which increases with decreasing grayness.

Class A Water means inland surface water which is classified from time to time as Class A pursuant to 314 CMR 4.00.

Coarse Sand means sand of which less than 15% passes sieve no. 270 (0.05 mm) and more than 25% is retained on sieve no. 35 (0.5 mm), and which contains less than 50% of any other one grade of sand. See Soil Survey Manual, U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook No. 18, dated 1951, written by the "Soil Survey Staff", published by the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Department means the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Digestion means the biological process by which microorganisms break down and use organic matter. There are three types of digestive organisms: aerobic microorganisms, which function only in the presence of free oxygen; anaerobic microorganisms, which function only in the absence of free oxygen; and facultative microorganisms, which can function with or without free oxygen.

Dry weight means the weight of a substance not including its moisture content.

EPA means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Facility means a site or works for the treatment or storage of water, wastewater, septage or sludge.

Food-chain crop means tobacco, any crop grown for human consumption, or any crop grown for consumption by animals which are to be consumed by humans.

Groundwater means water below the land surface in a zone of saturation.

Groundwater table means the top of the saturated zone in the soil, as indicated by the level at which water stands in an open borehole after adequate time is allowed for the establishment of a stable water level.

Industrial discharge means discharge of wastewater consisting in whole or in part of industrial process waste.

Land application means fertilizing or amending soil by:

(a) applying to the surface of soil by spreading, spraying, or other similar means, and/or

(b) mixing or working into the soil or beneath the surface of the soil within the root zone of the crop by harrowing, plowing, rototilling, injecting, or other similar means.

Land Apply means to engage in land application.

Matrix means the interior portion of soil aggregate.

Maximum high groundwater table means the height of the ground water table when it is at its maximum annual level or elevation. This level is usually reached sometime during the months of December through April.

Mottle means contrasting color patches that vary in number and size and are usually associated with excess moisture in soil during parts of the year.

Munsell color notation means the standardized system of color charts produced by Munsell Color Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland.

Operator means the person responsible for the overall operation of:

(a) in the case of sludge, any drinking water treatment facility or any wastewater treatment facililty, including, without limitation, any sewage treatment plant or industrial pretreatment plant that generates sludge, and

(b) in the case of septage, any facility for the receipt, storage, or disposal of the contents of privies, cesspools, or septic tanks.

Owner means any person who has effective control or legal ownership of:

(a) in the case of sludge, any drinking water treatment facility or any wastewater treatment facility, including, without limitation, any sewage treatment plant or industrial pretreatment plant that generates sludge, and

(b) in the case of septage, any facility for the receipt, storage, or disposal of the contents of privies, cesspools, or septic tanks.

The term owner does not include persons who hold bare legal title for the purpose of providing security for a financial agreement.

Pasture land means land which is or is intended to be grazed by animals intended for human consumption, or whose milk is intended for human consumption, or land on which one or more forage crops are or are intended to be grown.

PCBs means polychlorinated biphenyls.

Person means any agency or political subdivision of the Commonwealth, public or private corporation or authority, individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, partnership, association, or other entity, and any officer, employee or agent of said person, and any group of said persons.

pH means the measure of acidity or alkalinity as the logarithm of the reciprocal of the molar hydrogen ion concentration of a solution.

Potential groundwater public water supply means:

(a) a groundwater source which has capability of sustaining a yield of 100 gallons or more per minute of drinking water, as designated by the United States Geological Survey Hydrological Atlas, and which has less than 10,000 ppm total dissolved solids, or

(b) groundwater within land procured by a body politic for the purpose of supplying drinking water.

The term potential groundwater public water supply does not include an aquifer which is not an underground source of drinking water pursuant to 310 CMR 27.00: Underground Water Source Protection.

Private drinking water supply well means a well used as a source of drinking water, supplying a non-public water system with any volume of groundwater from any source.

Public water supply means a source of drinking water supplying a public water system.

Public water system means a public water system as defined in 310 CMR 22.02, as may be amended from time to time.

Putrescible means decaying and foul-smelling.

Septage means the liquid, solid, and semi-solid contents of privies, chemical toilets, cesspools, holding tanks, or other sewage waste receptacles. For purposes of 310 CMR 32.00, the term septage does not include any material which is hazardous waste pursuant to 310 CMR 30.000. (The land application of hazardous waste is not authorized by 310 CMR 32.00 and is subject to 310 CMR 30.000.)

Sludge means the solid, semi-solid, and liquid residue that results from a process of wastewater treatment or drinking water treatment. This residue does not include grit, screening, or grease and oil which are removed at the headworks of a facility. For the purpose of 310 CMR 32.00, the term "sewage" as used in M.G.L. c. 111, § 150A and 310 CMR 19.00 includes wastewater treatment plant sludge which is not hazardous waste pursuant to 310 CMR 30.000.

Storage means containment or stockpiling prior to or during selling or distributing or reuse, or offering for sale, distribution, or use.

Surface soil means the soil ordinarily moved in tillage or its equivalent in uncultivated soil, ranging in depth from four to ten inches below the surface, and frequently designated as the "plow layer" or the "Ap horizon".

Surface water means water that is visible on the ground surface, including, without limitation, streams, brooks, rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands.

USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture.

Use means land application or to land apply.

Notes

310 CMR 32.05