Definitions

Definitions. The terms in this Chapter apply as stated unless otherwise specified for an Individual On-site Wastewater Disposal System (IOWDS): 1. Administrative Fine – a fine imposed by the Department for violation(s) of statute(s), regulation(s) and order(s) of the Department. 2. Affidavit (Exemption) – a sworn statement in writing by a Person to the State of Mississippi attesting that an IOWDS is installed and constructed in compliance with Section 41-67-6(7). 3. Affidavit (Installation) – a sworn statement in writing by a Certified Installer, Certified Professional Evaluator or Licensed Professional Engineer to the State of Mississippi attesting that an IOWDS is installed, constructed, repaired, or replaced and is in compliance with statutes, requirements, regulations, and permit conditions. 4. Affidavit (Maintenance) – a sworn statement in writing by a property owner to the State of Mississippi agreeing to a continuing maintenance agreement on the installed Advanced Treatment System at the end of the required Certified Manufacturer’s maintenance agreement. 5. Applicant – an owner, lessee or developer. 6. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) – a quantitative measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria while stabilizing, digesting, or treating biodegradable organic matter under aerobic conditions over a five (5) day incubation period; expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l). 7. Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD5) – a quantitative measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria while stabilizing, digesting, or treating biodegradable organic matter under aerobic conditions over a five (5) day incubation period while in the presence of a chemical inhibitor to block nitrification; expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l). 8. Commercial Application – notification by an Applicant to the Department prior to construction and submission of all required information, which is used by the Department to initiate the process to evaluate property for the suitability of multiple connections to an IOWDS or multiple IOWDS. 9. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) – an educational course provided through the Department or other entities approved by the Department for the purpose of meeting continuing education. Professional Development Hours (PDH) can be obtained in lieu of the CEU course by performing tasks listed on the PDH table for appropriate certifications. Certified Installers must earn four (4) CEU credits or thirty (30) PDH credits per year and Certified Pumpers must earn four (4) CEU credits or fifteen (15) PDH credits per year. 10. Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System – an IOWDS and/or cluster wastewater disposal system used to treat, disperse, or discharge small volumes of wastewater, generally from dwellings and businesses that are located relatively close together. Decentralized systems in a particular management area or jurisdiction are managed by a common management entity or may be used by a commercial development consisting of fewer than ten (10) lots. 11. Department of Environmental Quality – the Mississippi State Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Pollution Control. 12. Design-based System – an IOWDS designed and installed in accordance with Chapter 5: Design Standards. 13. Developer – a Person who develops real estate for residential or commercial use. 14. Discharge – to pour forth, emit or release treated effluent on the surface of the property of the generator. 15. Division – the Mississippi State Department of Health, Division of On-site Wastewater. 16. Engineer-based System – an IOWDS designed by a Person meeting § 73-13-23(1) and submittal meeting Chapter 2: Certification. 17. Feasibility Study – a written evaluation and analysis of the potential of a proposed project that is based on investigation and research by a Licensed Professional Engineer to give cost comparison between centralized or decentralized treatment and disposal and IOWDS. 18. Fecal Coliform – indicator bacteria common to the digestive systems of warm-blooded animals that is cultured in standard tests to indicate either contamination from sewage or the level of disinfection; generally measured as number of colonies/100 ml or most probable number (MPN). 19. Federal Clean Water Act – federal legislation amended in 1972 to regulate discharges of pollutants into the water of the United States. It gave the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. The Act made it unlawful for any Person to discharge any pollutants from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provision. 20. Functioning – an IOWDS that has no hydraulically overloaded soil conditions, seepage or discharge to the surface of the property of the generator. 21. Failure – breakage, weakness, or defect that causes a malfunction in the treatment, distribution, disposal, or dispersal of effluent into the soil absorption field, or that causes a wash-out or disruption of the effluent disposal field as evidenced by: a. Surfacing or ponding of effluent at, over or around any component. b. Backing up of sewage within the residence or establishment. c. Contamination of ground or surface waters. 22. Individual On-site Wastewater Disposal System – a sewage treatment and effluent disposal system that does not discharge into waters of the state, that serves only one (1) legal tract, that accepts only residential waste and similar waste streams maintained on the property of the generator, and that is designed and installed in accordance with the law and regulations of the Board: a. New – a Design-based IOWDS installed, inspected and documented by Final Approval. b. Operational – an IOWDS that is being utilized on a daily basis, including the day of inspection, with no evidence of treated effluent leaving the property nor partially treated effluent seeping to the surface. c. Non-operational – an IOWDS that is not in daily use, including the day of inspection. d. Repaired – an existing malfunctioning IOWDS that is operational but requires the restoration or installation of either a treatment or disposal portion. 23. Malfunctioning – any IOWDS or component part that fails to operate as intended or not in compliance with regulation or state laws. 24. Performance-based System – an IOWDS designed by a Licensed Professional Engineer to meet standards established to designate a level of treatment of wastewater that an IOWDS must meet, including, but not limited to Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), nutrient reduction and fecal coliform. 25. Portable Toilet (Self-Contained) – a single or multi-unit toilet and holding tank combination system that is required to be collected, removed, transported and disposed by a Certified Pumper. 26. Private Water Well – a deep hole or shaft sunk into the earth to obtain potable water for an individual lot, tract or parcel. 27. Property of the Generator – land owned by or under permanent legal easement or lease to the generator in perpetuity to the generator, duly recorded in the courthouse. 28. Quality Assurance – a program for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of the Department’s on-site wastewater program to ensure that standards of quality, laws and regulations are being met. 29. Revocation – a permanent withdrawal of rights and privileges granted to the certified entity/Person for a minimum of two (2) years. 30. Seeping – wastewater surfacing typically from an underground system as indicated by hydraulically overloaded soil conditions. 31. Soil and Site Evaluation – the evaluation to determine if a property can support an IOWDS by use of a soil auger to a depth of five (5) feet to determine the soil texture, color, mottling and Seasonal High Water Table. 32. Suspension – temporary withdrawal of rights and privileges granted to a certified entity/Person. 33. Total Nitrogen – measure of the complete nitrogen content in wastewater including nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-), ammonia (NH3-), ammonium (NH4+), and organic nitrogen, expressed as mg/l of N; all these forms of nitrogen (as well as nitrogen [N2]), can be biochemically converted from one form to another and are constituents of the nitrogen cycle. 34. Total Phosphorous – sum of all forms of phosphorous in effluent. 35. Total Suspended Solids – measure of all suspended solids in a liquid, typically expressed in mg/l; to measure, a well-mixed sample is filtered through a standard glass fiber filter and the residue retained on the filter is dried to a constant weight at 217 to 221 degrees F (103 to 105 degrees C); the increase in the weight of the filter represents the amount of total suspended solids. 36. Variance – a written agreement between the Department and an Applicant that allows the Applicant to deviate from the rules and regulations of the Board. 37. Violation – an act of defying the statutes, regulations, orders of the Board, permit conditions or certification standards. 38. Wastewater Advisory Council – a group of members who meet with the Department for providing advice on IOWDS. 39. Water – public or private waters used for recreation (swimming, skiing, fishing), shellfish harvesting, potable water intake or other situations where people are likely to come into contact with the water. 40. Watercourse – any natural lake, river, creek, cut, or other natural body of fresh water or channel having definite banks and bed with visible evidence of the flow or occurrence of water, except such lakes without outlet to which only one (1) landowner is riparian.