§ 25-1. Definitions.

(a)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Except as defined in this section, all other words used in this chapter shall have their customary dictionary definition, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, also known as the Clean Water Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.

Approval authority means the director of the Division of Water Resources of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources or his designee.

Authorized representative means the representative of the POTW user who satisfies subparagraphs (1)a., (1)b., (2), (3), or (4) below and who, prior to or together with any report to be signed by the authorized representative, is identified by the POTW user in a current, accurate written designation that has been submitted to and is on file with the city and has been updated as needed to avoid inaccuracy due to personnel or other changes.

(1)

If the POTW user is a corporation:

a.

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

b.

The manager of one (1) or more manufacturing, production, or operation facilities, provided, the manager is authorized to make management decisions which govern the operation of the regulated facility including having the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiate and direct comprehensive measures to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws and rules; can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather complete and accurate information for control mechanism requirements; and where authority to sign documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.

(2)

If the POTW user is a partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or the proprietor, respectively.

(3)

If the POTW user is a federal, state or local government facility: a director of that government facility or highest official appointed or designated to oversee the operation and performance of the activities of the government facility, or his designee.

(4)

An individual or position other than one (1) identified in paragraphs (1) through (3) above if the individual or position is: (a) responsible for the operation of the facility from which the discharge originates or for environmental matters for the business or government facility; and (b) designated in a written instrument signed and submitted to the city by an individual identified in paragraphs (1) through (3) above.

Backflow means backflow as defined in section 25-137.

Backflow prevention device, approved, means backflow preventers that have been tested and approved by the Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research, University of Southern California.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) means the oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedures for five (5) days at twenty (20) centigrade, usually expressed as a concentration (e.g. mg/l).

Building means a structure as defined in the North Carolina Building Code.

Building sewer means a sewer conveying wastewater from a building to the POTW.

Bypass means the intentional diversion of a waste stream from any portion of a POTW user's treatment facility.

Capital improvements program or CIP means a five-year program of proposed water and sewer capital improvements. This program shall contain major capital facilities projects such as treatment plants, raw water delivery components, sewer outfall and water distribution mains and shall be approved by the city council.

Categorical standard or categorical pretreatment standard or National Categorical Pretreatment Standard means any rule containing pollutant discharge limits promulgated by EPA in accordance with sections 307(b) and (c) of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1317) which applies to a specific category of industrial users, and which appears in 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.

Chemical oxygen demand or COD means the oxygen utilized in the chemical oxidation of organic matter as measured by standard laboratory methods, as set out in this chapter, expressed in milligrams per liter.

Chronic violation means that sixty-six (66) percent or more of the measurements exceed by any magnitude the same daily maximum limit or the same average limit in a six-month period.

Condominium means real estate, portions of which are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of which is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. Real estate is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners.

Connection means that part of the water or sewer service line which runs from the main to the property line, including all appurtenances to make the service complete and ready to use.

Consumer means the person legally or equitably responsible for the payment of charges for water or sewer service to any premises.

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

Cross-connection means cross-connection as defined in section 25-137.

Demand/commodity rate methodology means a rate-setting methodology that recognizes that the cost of serving customers depends not only on the total volume of water used, but also on the demand placed on the systems by a customer as a function of his meter size. This methodology consists of three (3) cost components: customer account costs, customer demand costs, and volumetric consumption costs.

Director or director of utilities means the city's director of the utilities department or his designee.

Division of water resources means the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Resources.

Domestic wastewater means water and wastes produced by traditional domestic uses of the following: sanitary conveniences such as toilets, water fountains, bath tubs, showers, and sinks for hand-washing, at individual private residences, other dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, and institutions; and single-family kitchen and laundry facilities that are not used for business activities and are located at individual private residences.

Environmental Protection Agency or EPA means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or where appropriate the term may also be used as a designation for the administrator or other duly authorized official of the agency.

Flat rate customer means a customer who is charged a set fee for being connected to water or sewer services but who is not charged for usage by volume. This category of customer is subject to elimination by the city council.

Food service establishment means a commercial, industrial, or institutional facility primarily engaged in activities of preparing, serving, or otherwise making food items available for consumption, including but not limited to restaurants, commercial kitchens, caterers, hotels, cafeterias, delicatessens, meat-cutting facilities, bakeries, ice cream parlors, cafes, hospitals, daycares, schools, bars, correctional facilities, and care institutions.

Grab sample means a sample which is taken from a waste stream on a one-time basis without regard to the flow in the waste stream and over a period of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes.

Holding tank waste means any waste from holding tanks, including but not limited to such holding tanks as vessels, chemical toilets, campers, trailers, septic tanks, and vacuum-pump tank trucks.

Industrial user means any POTW user that contributes nondomestic wastewater to the POTW, including any industrial user as defined by 40 CFR 403.3.

Interference means the inhibition or disruption of the POTW or its collection system, treatment processes, operations, sludge process, sludge use, or sludge disposal, which causes or contributes to a violation of any requirement of the city's NPDES permit, collection system permit, or nondischarge permit or prevents sewage sludge use or disposal in compliance with specified applicable state and federal statutes, rules, or permits. The term includes prevention of sewage sludge use or disposal by the POTW in accordance with section 405 of the Act, (33 U.S.C. 1345) or any criteria, guidelines, or rules developed pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA)(42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.), the Clean Air Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuary Act (MPRSA) or more stringent state criteria (including those contained in any state sludge management plan prepared pursuant to Title IV of SWDA) applicable to the method of disposal or use employed by the POTW.

Lateral means that portion of the water or sewer connection which does not include the meter, box or meter setter or connection.

Main means a water or sewer pipe, often laid in a street running parallel to property lines, whose purpose is to distribute water to or collect sewage from individual customers.

Master meter means a single large water or sewer meter that registers water use by or wastewater flow from any one (1) or more than one (1) building of the categories permitted in sections 25-4 and 25-5.

Medical waste means isolation wastes, infectious agents, human blood and blood products, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical wastes, potentially contaminated laboratory wastes, and dialysis wastes.

Municipality means any city, town, county, sanitary district, association, or other public body created under state law or having jurisdiction over the disposal of wastewater.

New source means:

(1)

Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there may be a discharge to the POTW of pollutants, the construction of which commenced after the publication of proposed categorical pretreatment standards under section 307(c) of the Act which will be applicable to such source if such standards are thereafter promulgated in accordance with section 307(c), provided that:

a.

The building, structure, facility, or installation is constructed at a site at which no other source is located; or

b.

The building, structure, facility, or installation totally replaces the process or production equipment that causes the discharge of pollutants at an existing source; or

c.

The production or wastewater generating processes of the building, structure, facility, or installation are substantially independent of an existing source at the same site. In determining whether these are substantially independent, factors such as the extent to which the new facility is integrated with the existing plant, and the extent to which the new facility is engaged in the same general type of activity as the existing source, should be considered.

(2)

Construction on a site at which an existing source is located results in a modification rather than a new source if the construction does not create a new building, structure, facility, or installation meeting the criteria of [subsections] (1)b. or (1)c. above but otherwise alters, replaces, or adds to existing process or production equipment.

(3)

For purposes of this definition, construction of a new source has commenced if the owner or operator has:

a.

Begun, or caused to begin, as part of a continuous on-site construction program:

1.

Any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment; or

2.

Significant site preparation work including clearing, excavation, or removal of existing buildings, structures or facilities which is necessary for the placement, assembly, or installation of new source facilities or equipment; or

b.

Entered into a binding contractual obligation for the purchase of facilities or equipment which are intended to be used in its operation within a reasonable time. Options to purchase or contracts which can be terminated or modified without substantial loss, and contracts for feasibility, engineering, and design studies do not constitute a contractual obligation under this definition.

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.

Nondischarge permit means a permit issued by the state pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1(d) for a waste which is not discharged directly to surface waters of the state or for a wastewater treatment works which does not discharge directly to surface waters of the state.

NPDES or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System means the program for issuing, conditioning and denying permits for the discharge of pollutants from point sources into the navigable waters, the contiguous zone and the oceans pursuant to section 402 of the Clean Water Act.

NPDES permit means a permit issued pursuant to section 402 of the Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342), or pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1 by the state under delegation from EPA.

Occupant means the consumer who is actually in possession or control of any premises.

Owner means the person having legal or equitable title to any premises.

Pass through means a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the state in quantities or concentrations which, alone or with discharges from other sources, causes a violation, including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation, of the city's NPDES permit, collection system permit, or nondischarge permit.

Person means any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, or any other legal entity.

pH means a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, expressed as standard units, and calculated as the logarithm (base 10) of the reciprocal of the concentration of hydrogen ions expressed in milligrams per liter of solution.

Planning area means lands located within the city and that unincorporated portion of the county upon which the city's growth management and urban area development decisions may have a significant impact over the course of the planning period. The boundaries of the planning area are shown in the most current comprehensive land use plan approved by city council.

Planning period means the planning period reflected in the most current comprehensive land use plan approved by city council.

Pollutant means any "waste" as defined in G.S. 143-213(18) and dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, medical wastes, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste and certain characteristics of wastewater (e.g., pH, temperature, TSS, turbidity, color, BOD, COD, toxicity, metals, and odor).

Potable water means potable water as defined in section 25-137.

POTW director means the director of utilities or his designee and is the control authority pursuant to 15A NCAC 2H .0903(b)(5).

POTW treatment plant or wastewater treatment plant means that portion of the POTW which is designed to provide treatment to wastewater.

POTW user means any person that in any manner or by any means contributes into the POTW domestic or nondomestic wastewater, a pollutant, water, or other substance.

Premises means land, buildings or other structures and appurtenances thereto.

Pretreatment or treatment means the reduction of wastewater flow and 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 discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW collection system and/or treatment plant. Reduction or alteration may be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, or process changes or other means, except as prohibited by 40 CFR Part 403.6(d).

Pretreatment program means the city's program for the control of pollutants and flow introduced into the POTW from nondomestic sources and includes the following: federally-mandated and state-mandated program components that are developed by the city in compliance with an NPDES permit for the POTW and with 40 CFR 403.8 and are approved by the Division of Water Resources as authorized by G.S. 143-215.3(a)(14) in accordance with 40 CFR 403.11; and nonmandated components that are not required for city compliance with the NPDES permit for the POTW or with 40 CFR 403.

Pretreatment requirement means any substantive or procedural requirement related to pretreatment, other than a pretreatment standard.

Pretreatment standard means any of the following to the extent they apply to industrial users: prohibited discharge standard under subsection 25-202(a); categorical standard under subsection 25-202(b); or local limit under subsection 25-202(c).

Public potable water system means any publicly or privately owned water system operated as a public utility under a valid health permit to supply water for domestic purposes. This system will include all sources, facilities and appurtenances between the sources and the point of delivery such as valves, pumps, pipes, conduits, tanks, receptacles, fixtures, equipment and appurtenances used to produce, convey, treat or store potable water for public consumption.

Publicly owned treatment works or POTW or municipal wastewater system means any land, devices and systems used in the conveyance, storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of wastewater, including intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power, and other equipment, and their appurtenances possessed by and subject to the full control and sole authority of the city by city ownership or by city agreement with another municipality.

Sanitary sewer means lines, pipes or conduits, whether street mains, collectors or major trunk outfalls intended to receive wastewater.

Self-monitoring means the act of monitoring and reporting to the city by a POTW user as provided in this chapter.

Service connection means service connection as defined in [section] 25-137.

Service line means a water or sewer line which may service a house or a limited number of houses and which may be in the street or on private property.

Sewage means wastewater.

Sewer means sanitary sewer unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Significant industrial user or SIU means an industrial user that satisfies the criteria stated in subparagraphs (1), (2), (3), or (4) below and has not been the subject of a determination pursuant to subparagraphs (5), (6), or (7) below:

(1)

Discharges an average of twenty-five thousand (25,000) gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewaters).

(2)

Contributes process wastewater which makes up five (5) percent or more of the NPDES permitted flow limit or five (5) percent or more of the maximum allowable headworks loading of the POTW treatment plant for any POTW pollutant of concern.

(3)

Is subject to categorical pretreatment standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471.

(4)

Is found by the POTW director, the division of water resources or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have the potential for impact, either singly or in combination with other contributing industrial users, on the wastewater treatment system, the quality of sludge, the system's effluent quality, or compliance with any federally-mandated pretreatment standards or requirements.

(5)

Subject to division of water resources approval under 15A NCAC 02H .0907(b), the POTW director, in his discretion, may determine that an industrial user meeting the criteria in subparagraphs (1) and (2) above has no reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any federally-mandated pretreatment standards or requirement, or for contributing to violations of the POTW's effluent limitations and conditions in its NPDES permit, or for limiting the POTW's sludge disposal options, and thus is not a significant industrial user.

(6)

Subject to division of water resources approval under 15A NCAC 02H .0907(b), the POTW director, in his discretion, may determine that an industrial user meeting the criteria in subparagraph (3) above meets the requirements of 40 CFR 403.3(v)(2) and thus is a nonsignificant categorical industrial user.

(7)

Subject to division of water resources approval under 15A NCAC 02H .0907(b), the POTW director, in his discretion, may determine pursuant to paragraph 25-204(b)(13) that an industrial user meeting the criteria in subparagraph (3) above meets the requirements of 40 CFR Part 403.12(e)(3) and thus is a middle tier significant industrial user.

Slug load or slug discharge means any introduction of wastewater or other substance into the POTW at a flow rate or concentration which has a reasonable potential to cause interference or pass-through, or in any other way violate local limits or permit conditions or otherwise violate this article. This can include but is not limited to spills and other accidental discharges or releases; discharges of a nonroutine, episodic nature; a noncustomary batch discharge; or any discharges that can cause a violation of the prohibited discharge standards or other requirement of subsection 25-202(a).

Standard industrial classification or SIC means a classification pursuant to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987.

Storm sewer or storm drain means a sewer which carries stormwater or surface water and drainage, but excludes sewage and industrial wastes.

Stormwater or stormwater means stormwater as defined in section 25-252.

Suspended solids means the total suspended matter that floats on the surface of or is suspended in water, wastewater, or other liquids, and which is removable by laboratory filtering.

Total Kjeldahl nitrogen or TKN means the sum of the ammonia nitrogen and organic nitrogen as measured by using standard laboratory methods, as set out in this chapter, expressed in milligrams per liter.

Townhouse means an attached single-family residence intended for owner occupancy, with individual residences located on their own individual lots, with the possibility of common ownership of open spaces, parking bays and the like.

Toxicity means a relative measure of adverse impact on biological organisms in an environment as defined by bioassay test procedures approved and required by the state division of water resources.

Upset means an exceptional incident in which there is unintentional and temporary noncompliance with categorical pretreatment standards because of factors beyond the reasonable control of the industrial user. An upset does not include noncompliance to the extent caused by operational error, improperly designed treatment facilities, inadequate treatment facilities, lack of preventive maintenance, or careless or improper operation.

Utility system means the city's water distribution mains, sewer collection mains, stormwater collection lines, and fiber optic lines, including all pipes, valves, manholes, valve boxes, hydrants, fixtures, equipment, and apparatuses connected to and forming a part of the lines, and all appliances necessary and convenient thereto, including all water and sewer treatment facilities, pump stations, elevated tanks and reservoirs and excluding service lines.

Wastewater means liquid and water-carried wastes and other pollutants from dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial facilities, mobile sources, treatment facilities, institutions, local governments, and any other source, together with any groundwater, surface water, and stormwater that may be present, whether treated or untreated.

Wastewater discharge permit means a permit as set forth in section 25-204 of this chapter.

Water emergency means any condition or situation which threatens the safety or supply of either untreated or potable water contained within the water supply, treatment, and distribution system of the city or within the systems of the municipal, commercial and industrial customers. Determination of whether specific situations are considered to be water emergencies shall be made by the city manager or his designee. Water emergency situations shall include but not be limited to drought or periods of insufficient raw water supply, mechanical system failure, system contamination or contamination of raw water supply, and fires of magnitude such that system integrity is threatened.

Waters of the state means all streams, rivers, brooks, swamps, sounds, tidal estuaries, bays, creeks, lakes, waterways, reservoirs and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the state or any portion thereof.

(b)

The following abbreviations when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Except as defined in this section, all other abbreviations used in this chapter shall have their customary dictionary definition, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

BOD — Biochemical oxygen demand

CFR — Code of Federal Regulations

COD — Chemical oxygen demand

EPA — Environmental Protection Agency

gpd — Gallons per day

1 — Liter

mg — Milligrams

mg/l — Milligrams per liter

NCAC — North Carolina Administrative Code

NCGS [or G.S.] — North Carolina General Statutes

NH ₃ -N — Ammonia nitrogen

NPDES — National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

O&M — Operation and maintenance

POTW — Publicly owned treatment works

ppm — Parts per million by weight

RCRA — Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

SIC — Standard industrial classification

SWDA — Solid Waste Disposal Act

TSS — Total suspended solids

TKN — Total Kjeldahl nitrogen

USC — United States Code

(Ord. No. 2013-35, § 1, 8-20-13)