15A NCAC 02L .0102      DEFINITIONS

The definition of any word or phrase used in the Rules in this Subchapter shall be the same as given in G.S. 143‑212 and G.S. 143‑213 except that the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

(1)           "Active remediation" means corrective action that includes active physical, biological, or chemical manipulation of groundwater or of the rock or soil media for the purpose of reducing the amount of contamination or minimizing the spread of contamination.

(2)           "Anthropogenic" means of, relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature.

(3)           "Background threshold values" mean statistically derived values of the concentrations of substances in environmental media not affected by site conditions, actions, or activities for use as a basis for compliance with the rules in this Subchapter.

(4)           "Bedrock" means any consolidated rock encountered in the place in which it was formed or deposited and which cannot be readily excavated without the use of explosives or power equipment.

(5)           "Chief administrative officer" shall be, for the purposes of this Rule, the mayor, chairman of the county commissioners, the county manager, or the city manager who is responsible for environmental issues in their jurisdiction.

(6)           "Compliance boundary" means a boundary around the waste disposal area of a disposal system at and beyond which standards may not be exceeded and applies to facilities which have received an individual permit issued under the authority of G.S. 143-215.1, Article 9 of G.S. 130A, or Article 11 of G.S. 130A.

(7)           "Compliance zone" means the area encompassed within the compliance boundary.

(8)           "Constituent of interest" means any substance that is manmade or naturally occurring that is associated with or influenced by site activities or actions and that is of interest to the protection of public health or the environment.

(9)           "Contaminant" means any substance that occurs in groundwater as a result of anthropogenic sources or activities in concentrations which exceed the standards.

(10)         "Control" means the ability to physically, mechanically, or chemically influence sources of contamination and contaminant distribution.

(11)         "Corrective action plan" means a plan for controlling or eliminating sources of groundwater contamination or for restoring groundwater quality.

(12)         "Director" means Director of the Division of Water Resources or Waste Management or their delegate.

(13)         "Division" means the Division of Water Resources or Waste Management.

(14)         "Exposure pathway" means a course taken by a contaminant by way of a transport medium after its release to the environment.

(15)         "Free product" means a non‑aqueous phase liquid which may be present within the saturated zone or in surface water.

(16)         "Fresh waters" means those groundwaters having a chloride concentration equal to or less than 250 milligrams per liter.

(17)         "Groundwaters" means waters occurring in the subsurface under saturated conditions.

(18)         "Hazardous substance" means any substance as defined by 42 U.S.C. 9601(14).

(19)         "Licensed geologist" means a person who has been licensed as a geologist in accordance with the requirements of G.S. 89E.

(20)         "Licensed soil scientist" means a person who has been licensed as a soil scientist in accordance with the requirements of G.S. 89F.

(21)         "Natural attenuation" means those natural processes acting to restore groundwater quality, including dilution, filtration, sorption, ion‑exchange, chemical transformation, and biodegradation.

(22)         "Natural conditions or naturally occurring" means the physical, biological, chemical, and radiological conditions which occur naturally and are not a result of anthropogenic sources or activities.

(23)         "Person" shall be as defined in G.S. 130A-290(22).

(24)         "Potable waters" means those waters suitable for drinking by humans.

(25)         "Practical Quantitation Limit" means the lowest concentration of a given material that can be reliably achieved by a particular analytical technique operated within specified parameters of a given analytical method during routine laboratory analysis while following all applicable state or federal quality assurance and quality control requirements.

(26)         "Professional Engineer" means a person who has been registered and licensed as a professional engineer in accordance with the requirements of G.S. 89C.

(27)         "Receptor" is as defined in G.S. 130A-309.201 and, for the purposes of this Rule, shall also include waters of the State as defined in G.S. 143-212(6).

(28)         "Review boundary" means a boundary around a permitted waste disposal area midway between a waste boundary and a compliance boundary at which groundwater monitoring may be required.

(29)         "Saturated zone" means that part of the subsurface below the water table in which all the interconnected voids are filled with water under pressure at or greater than atmospheric. It does not include the capillary fringe.

(30)         "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality or his or her delegate.

(31)         "Standard" or "standards" means groundwater quality standards as specified in Rule .0202 of this Subchapter and any interim maximum allowable concentrations established by the Director per Rule .0202(c) of this Subchapter.

(32)         "Suitable for drinking" means a quality of water that does not contain substances in concentrations which, either singularly or in combination, if ingested into the human body, may cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, congenital defects, genetic mutations, or result in an incremental lifetime cancer risk in excess of 1x10‑6, or result in adverse effects to the consumer due to aesthetic qualities, including taste, odor, or appearance.

(33)         "Waste boundary" means the perimeter of the permitted waste disposal area.

(34)         "Waste disposal area" means that portion of a disposal system permitted under authority of G.S 143-215.1, Article 9 of G.S. 130A, or Article 11 of G.S. 130A whose purpose is the temporary or permanent disposal of waste.

(35)         "Water table" means the surface of the saturated zone below which all interconnected voids are filled with water and at which the pressure is atmospheric.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 143‑214.1; 143‑215; 143B‑282;

Eff. June 10, 1979.

Amended Eff. October 1, 1993; August 1, 1989; July 1, 1988; March 1, 1985;

Readopted Eff. June 1, 2022.