Sec.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.

(Effective October 10, 2013)