Delaware Code
Subchapter II. Powers and Duties of Secretary and Department
§ 6002. Definitions.

The following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) “Activity” means construction, or operation, or use of any facility, property, or device.
(2) “Air contaminant” means particulate matter, dust, fumes, gas, mist, smoke or vapor or any combination thereof, exclusive of uncombined water.
(3) “Air pollution” means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of 1 or more air contaminants in sufficient quantities and of such characteristics and duration as to be injurious to human, plant or animal life or to property, or which unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life and property within the jurisdiction of this State, excluding all aspects of employer-employee relationships as to health and safety hazards.
(4) “At cost” means the expense to the government to conduct tests and analyses. No added service fee, or other fees and charges, may be included in this cost.
(5) “Board” means the Environmental Appeals Board.
(6) “Boat docking facility” shall mean a place where vessels may be secured to a fixed or floating structure or to the shoreline or shoreline structure.
(7) “Borrow pit” means any excavation into the subsurface for the purpose of extraction of earth products with the exception of excavation for utility or road construction, agricultural or highway drainage, or dredging operations under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
(8) “Categorical pretreatment standard” means a pretreatment standard which applies to industrial users in a specific industrial subcategory.
(9) “Commercial landfill” means a waste disposal facility available for use by the general public and which accepts waste for disposal for profit.
(10) “Debris disposal area” means an excavation, pit or depression into which land clearing debris, along with small amounts of construction or demolition waste incidental to construction, has been placed and which is not a permitted or approved waste management facility.
(11) “Dedicated pumpout facility” means a semi-permanent connection made to a vessel for the purpose of removing sewage from the vessel on a continuous basis or automatic intermittent basis to an approved disposal facility.
(12) “Delineation” shall mean the process of defining and/or mapping a boundary that approximates the areas that contribute water to a particular water source used as a public water supply.
(13) “Department” means the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
(14) “Direct vessel sewage pumpout connection” shall mean a semipermanent connection made to a vessel for the purpose of removing vessel sewage from the vessel holding tank or head on a continuous or automatic intermittent basis to an approved sewage disposal facility.
(15) “Discharge or indirect discharge” means the discharge or the introduction of pollutants from any nondomestic source into a POTW.
(16) “Domestic wastewater” means the liquid and water-borne human and/or household type waste derived from residential, industrial, institutional or commercial sources.
(17) “Dump station” means a type of pumpout facility that receives vessel sewage from portable marine sanitation devices and delivers that sewage to an approved sewage disposal facility.
(18) “Earth products” means any solid material, aggregate or substance of commercial value, whether consolidated or loose, found in natural deposits on or in the earth, including, but not limited to clay, silt, diatomaceous earth, sand, gravel, stone, metallic ores, shale and soil.
(19) “Environmental release” means any spillage, leakage, emission, discharge or delivery into the air or waters or on or into the lands of this State of any sewage of 10,000 gallons or more oil, industrial waste, liquid waste, hydrocarbon chemical, hazardous substance, hazardous waste, restricted chemical material, vessel discharge, air contaminant, pollutant, regulated biological substance or other wastes reportable pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 [42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.], as amended, or regulations enacted pursuant to § 6028 of this title.
(20) “Excellent ground-water recharge potential area” shall mean any area where soils and sedimentary deposits of the most coarse grained nature have the best ability to transmit water vertically through the unsaturated zone to the water table as mapped by the methods described in the Delaware Geological Survey Open File Report No. 34, “Methodology For Mapping Ground-Water Recharge Areas in Delaware's Coastal Plain” (August 1991), and as depicted on a series of maps prepared by the Delaware Geological Survey. An excellent ground-water recharge potential area shall constitute a critical area as defined under Chapter 92 of Title 29.
(21) “Garbage” shall mean any putrescible solid and semisolid animal and/or vegetable wastes resulting from the production, handling, preparation, cooking, serving or consumption of food or food materials.
(22) “Graywater” means galley, bath and shower water.
(23) “Ground water” means any water naturally found under the surface of the earth.
(24) “Hydrocarbon chemical” means any compound composed of carbon and hydrogen.
(25) “Incinerator,” “incinerator structure or facility,” and “waste incinerator” include any structure or facility operated for the combustion (oxidation) of solid waste, even if the by-products of the operation include useful products such as steam and electricity. “Incinerator” shall not include:

a. Crematoriums;
b. The disposal of the bodies of animals through incineration;
c. The burning of poultry waste or poultry manure at the same site where the waste or manure was generated, which shall include the burning of poultry waste or poultry manure generated upon an adjacent farm;
d. The disposal of all materials used in the discovery, development, and manufacture of veterinary products, medicines and vaccines; or
e. The disposition of mortalities from poultry operations in facilities approved by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control which comply with United States Department of Agricultural Natural Resources Conservation Service Interim Conservation Practice Standard Incinerator 769 or any successor standard.
(26) “Industrial landfill” means a landsite at which industrial waste is deposited on or into the land as fill for the purpose of permanent disposal. “Industrial landfill” does not mean a facility approved for any of the following:

a. The disposal of hazardous waste under § 6307 of this title.
b. A sanitary landfill under § 6010 of this title.
(27) “Industrial user” means a source of indirect discharge. The term “industrial user” shall include, but not be limited to, the original source of the indirect discharge as well as the owners or operators of any intervening connections, other than those owned or operated by the receiving POTW, which convey the indirect discharge to the POTW.
(28) “Industrial waste” means any water-borne liquid, gaseous, solid or other waste substance or a combination thereof resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, trade or business, or from the development of any agricultural or natural resource.
(29) “Liquid waste” means any industrial waste or sewage or other wastes or any combination thereof which may potentially alter the chemical, physical or biological integrity of water from its natural state.
(30) “Liquid waste hauler” means any person who engages in the removal of liquid wastes from septic tanks, cesspools, seepage pits, holding tanks or other such devices and conveys such liquid waste to a location removed from the point of acceptance.
(31) “Liquid waste treatment plant operator” means any person who has direct responsibility for the operation of a liquid waste treatment plant.
(32) “Live-aboard vessel” shall mean:

a. A vessel used principally as a residence;
b. A vessel used as a place of business, professional or other commercial enterprise and, if used as a means of transportation, said transportation use is a secondary or subsidiary use; this definition shall not include commercial fishing boats which do not fall under paragraph (32)a. of this section; or
c. Any other floating structure used for the purposes stated under paragraph (32)a. or b. of this section.
(33) “Marinas” are those facilities adjacent to the water which provide for mooring, berthing, or storage of boats, and which include any or all of the related ancillary structures and functions of marinas, such as docks, piers, boat storage areas, boat ramps, anchorages, breakwaters, channels, moorings, basins, boat repair services, boat sales, sales of supplies which are normally associated with boating such as fuel, bait and tackle, boat rentals and parking areas for users of the marina.
(34) “Marine Sanitation Device (MSD)” includes any equipment on board a vessel which is designed to receive, retain, treat or discharge sewage, and any process to treat such sewage. Marine sanitation devices are classified as:

a. “Type I marine sanitation device” means a device that produces an effluent having a fecal coliform bacteria count not greater than 1,000 per 100 milliliters and no visible floating solids.
b. “Type II marine sanitation device” means a device that produces an effluent having a fecal coliform bacteria count of not greater than 200 per 100 milliliters and suspended solids not greater than 150 milligrams per liter.
c. “Type III marine sanitation device” means a device that is certified to a no-discharge standard. Type III devices include recirculating and incinerating MSDs and holding tanks.
(35) “Oil” means oil of any kind and in any form, including but not limited to, petroleum products, sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with other wastes and all other liquid hydrocarbons regardless of specific gravity.
(36) “Open dump” means any facility or site where solid waste is disposed which is not a sanitary landfill and which is not a facility for disposal for hazardous waste.
(37) “Other wastes” means garbage, refuse, decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, sand, lime cinders, ashes, offal, oil, tar, dye-stuffs, acids, chemicals and all discarded substances other than sewage or industrial wastes.
(38) “Persons” means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, federal agency, partnership, corporation (including a government corporation), association, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state or any interstate body.
(39) “Pollutant” means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, hydrocarbons, oil, and product chemicals, and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.
(40) “POTW pretreatment program” means a program administered by a POTW for the purpose of enforcing pretreatment standards in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(41) “Pretreatment standard” means any pollutant discharge limit promulgated by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with § 307(b) and (c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. § 1317(b) and (c), or by the Secretary, which applies to industrial users.
(42) “Public drinking water system” shall mean a community, noncommunity or non-transient non-community water system which provides piped water to the public for human consumption. The system must have at least 15 service connections or regularly serve at least 25 individuals daily for at least 60 days.
(43) “Publicly owned treatment works” or “POTW” means either:

a. A treatment works which is owned by a city, town, county, district or other public body created by or pursuant to the laws of the State; or
b. Any such public body which has jurisdiction over the discharges to such treatment works.
(44) “Pumpout facility” means a mechanical device which is temporarily connected to a vessel for the purpose of removing sewage from a vessel to an approved sewage disposal facility.
(45) “Refuse” means any putrescible or nonputrescible solid waste, except human excreta, but including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, offal and solid agricultural, commercial, industrial, hazardous and institutional wastes and construction wastes resulting from the operation of a contractor.
(46) “Restricted chemical material” means:

a. Any halogenated hydrocarbon chemical (aliphatic or aromatic) including but not limited to trichloroethane, tetrachloroethylene, methylene chloride, halogenated benzenes and carbon tetrachloride; or
b. Any aromatic hydrocarbon chemical including, but not limited to, benzene, toluene and naphthalene; or
c. Any halogenated phenol derivative in which a hydroxide group and 2 or more halogen atoms are substituted onto aromatic carbons of a benzene ring including, but not limited to, trichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol; or
d. Similar materials including but not limited to acrolein, acrylonitrile or benzidene.
(47) “Rubbish” means any nonputrescible solid waste, excluding ashes, such as cardboard, paper, plastic, metal or glass food containers, rags, waste metal, yard clippings, small pieces of wood, excelsior, rubber, leather, crockery and other waste materials.
(48) “Sanitary landfill” means a facility for the disposal of solid waste which meets the criteria promulgated under § 6010(g)(1) of this title.
(49) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control or the Secretary's duly authorized designee.
(50) “Sewage” means water-carried human or animal wastes from septic tanks, water closets, residences, buildings, industrial establishments, or other places, together with such ground water infiltration, subsurface water, admixtures of industrial wastes or other wastes as may be present.
(51) “Sewage system” means any part of a wastewater disposal system including, but not limited to, all toilets, urinals, piping, drains, sewers, septic tanks, distribution boxes, absorption fields, seepage pits, cesspools and dry wells.
(52) “Sewage system cleanser” means:

(53) “Slip” means a place where a boat may be secured to a fixed or floating structure, including, but not limited to a dock, pier, mooring or anchorage. Slips may be wet (in the water) or dry (in a rack or other device on land).
(54) “Solid waste” means any garbage, refuse, refuse-derived fuel, demolition and construction waste wood, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under this chapter, as amended, or source, special nuclear or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 [42 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq.], as amended. By-products of a uniform and known composition produced as a result of a production process are not solid wastes when incinerated onsite. All incinerators under state permit as of March 1, 2000, and renewal permit applications for these incinerators shall not come under the provisions of this section and § 6003 of this title.
(55) “Source water” shall mean any aquifer or surface water body from which water is taken either periodically or continuously by a public drinking water system for drinking or food-processing purposes.
(56) “Source water assessment” shall mean the identification and evaluation of the sources of water within the State that are used by public drinking water systems in an effort to determine the susceptibility of those sources to contamination.
(57) “Source water assessment area” shall mean the delineated area which contributes water to a public water supply system. This is called a wellhead protection area for a well and a watershed or basin for a surface water intake. A source water assessment area shall constitute a critical area as defined under Chapter 92 of Title 29.
(58) “Source water assessment plan” shall mean the October 1999 U.S. EPA-approved plan for evaluating the sources of public drinking water in Delaware for their vulnerability and susceptibility to contamination.
(59) “Source Water Protection Citizens Technical Advisory Committee” shall mean a group to advise the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, including, but not limited to, representatives of the following organizations or municipalities:

(60) “Surface water” means water occurring generally on the surface of the earth.
(61) “Treatment works” means any device and system used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage, or industrial wastes of a liquid nature, or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most economical cost over the estimated life of the works, including intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power and other equipment, and their appurtenances, extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities and improvements to exclude or minimize inflow and infiltration.
(62) “Variance” means a permitted deviation from an established rule or regulation, or plan, or standard or procedure.
(63) “Vessel” shall mean and include every description of watercraft, boat, houseboat or other form of artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, whether or not capable of self-propulsion, for navigation on the waters of the State.
(64) “Vessel discharge” includes, but is not limited to, any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping.
(65) “Vessel sewage” shall mean human body wastes and wastes from toilets and other receptacles intended to receive or retain human body wastes.
(66) “Vessel sewage pumpout station” shall mean a mechanical device which is temporarily connected to a vessel for the purpose of removing vessel sewage from its holding tank or head to an approved sewage disposal facility.
(67) “Water facility” means any well, dam, reservoir, surface water intake or waterway obstruction.
(68) “Water pollution” means the human-made or human-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological or radiological integrity of water.
(69) “Water supply system” means all plants, systems, facilities or properties used or useful, or having the present capacity for future use, in connection with the supply or distribution of water, and any integral part thereof, including water distribution systems, mains, laterals, pumping stations, stand pipes, filtration plants, purification plants, hydrants, meters, valves and equipment, appurtenances and all properties, rights, easements and franchises relating thereto and deemed necessary or convenient by the authority for the operation thereof. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the term “water supply system” shall not mean a dam, reservoir, surface water intake, water obstruction or well.
(70) “Water utility” shall mean any person or entity operating within this State any water service, system, plant or equipment for public use.
(71) “Water well contractor” means any person engaged in the business of contracting for the construction of water wells and/or installation of pumping equipment in or for wells.
(72) “Well” means any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted or otherwise constructed when the intended use of such excavation is for the location, testing, acquisition or artificial recharge of underground water, and where the depth is greater than the diameter or width.
(73) “Wellhead protection area” shall mean the surface and subsurface area surrounding a water well or wellfield supplying a public water system through which contaminants are likely to reach such a well or wellfield. A Wellhead Protection Area shall constitute a critical area as defined under Chapter 92 of Title 29.
(74) “Wellhead protection plan” shall mean the March 1990 U.S. EPA-approved plan for protecting the quality of drinking water derived from public water supply wells in Delaware.

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