Stormwater Industry Definitions, Abbreviations and Acronyms

Best Management Practices (BMP)
Schedules of activities, practices (and prohibitions of practices), structures, vegetation, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.

Clean Water Act (Water Quality Act)
Formerly the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. Public law 92-500; 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; legislation which provides statutory authority for the NPDES program. Also known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

Control Measure
Refers to any BMP or other method (including effluent limitations) used to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States.

Conveyance
The process of water moving from one place to another.

Director
A Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or an authorized representative.

Discharge
When used without qualification, means the “discharge of a pollutant.”

Discharge of a Pollutant
Any addition of any “pollutant” or combination of pollutants to “waters of the United States” from any “point source,” or any addition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to the waters of the “contiguous zone” or the ocean from any point source other than a vessel or other floating craft which is being used as a means of transportation. This includes additions of pollutants into waters of the United States from: surface runoff which is collected or channeled by man; discharges through pipes, sewers, or other conveyances, leading into privately owned treatment works.

Discharge-Related Activities
Activities which cause, contribute to, or result in stormwater and allowable non-stormwater point source discharges, and measures such as the siting, construction and operation of BMPs to control, reduce, or prevent pollution in the discharges.

Erosion
When land is diminished or worn away due to wind, water, or glacial ice. Often the eroded debris (silt or sediment) becomes a pollutant via stormwater runoff. Erosion occurs naturally but can be intensified by land clearing activities such as farming, development, road-building, and timber harvesting.

Existing Discharger
An operator applying for coverage under this permit for discharges covered previously under an NPDES general or individual permit.

Excavation
The process of removing earth, stone, or other materials from land.

Facility or Activity
Any NPDES “point source” or any other facility or activity (including land or appurtenances thereto) that is subject to regulation under the NPDES program.

Federal Facility
Any buildings, installations, structures, land, public works, equipment, aircraft, vessels, and other vehicles and property, owned by, or constructed or manufactured for the purpose of leasing to, the federal government.

General Permit
A permit issued under the NPDES program to cover a certain class or category of stormwater discharges. These permits reduce the administrative burden of permitting stormwater discharges.

Grading
The cutting and/or filling of the land surface to a desired slope or elevation.

Illicit Connection
Any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of stormwater and is not authorized by an NPDES permit, with some exceptions (e.g., discharges due to fire fighting activities).

Impaired Water
A water is impaired if it does not meet one or more of its designated use(s). For purposes of this permit, ‘impaired’ refers to categories 4 and 5 of the five part categorization approach used for classifying the water quality standards attainment status for water segments under the TMDL program. Impaired waters compilations are also sometimes referred to as “303(d) lists”. Category 5 waters are impaired because at least one designated use is not being supported or is threatened and a TMDL is needed. Category 4 waters indicate that at least one designated use is not being supported but a TMDL is not needed (4a indicates that a TMDL has been approved or established by EPA; 4b indicates other required control measures are expected in result in the attainment of water quality standards in a reasonable period of time; and 4c indicates that the non- attainment of the water quality standard is the result of pollution (e.g. habitat) and is not caused by a pollutant. See USEPA’s 2006 Integrated Report Guidance, July 29, 2005 for more detail on the five part categorization of waters [under EPA National TMDL Guidance http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/policy.html]).

Industrial Activity
The 10 categories of industrial activities included in the definition of “stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity”, as defined in CFR § 122.26(b)(14)(i)-(ix) and (xi).

Industrial Stormwater
Stormwater runoff associated with the definition of “stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity.”

Junction Manhole
For the purposes of this permit, a junction manhole is a manhole or structure with two or more inlets accepting flow from two or more MS4 alignments. Manholes with inlets solely from private storm drains, individual catch basins, or both are not considered junction manholes for these purposes.

Key Junction Manhole
For the purposes of this part, key junction manholes are those junction manholes that can represent one or more junction manholes without compromising adequate implementation of the illicit discharge program. Adequate implementation of the illicit discharge program would not be compromised if the exclusion of a particular junction manhole as a key junction manhole would not affect the permittee’s ability to determine the possible presence of an upstream illicit discharge. A permittee may exclude a junction manhole located upstream from another located in the immediate vicinity or that is serving a drainage alignment with no potential for illicit connections.

Large Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
An MS4 located in an incorporated place or county with a population of 250,000 or more, as determined by the latest U.S. Census. Also refered to as Phase I regulated entities.

Light Manufacturing Facilities
Described under Category (xi) of the definition of “stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity.” [40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(xi)] Under the Phase I NPDES Stormwater Program, these facilities were eligible for exemption from stormwater permitting requirements if certain areas and activities were not exposed to stormwater. As a result of the Phase II Final Rule, these facilities must now certify to a condition of no exposure.

Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP)
A standard for water quality that applies to all MS4 operators regulated under the NPDES Stormwater Program. Since no precise definition of MEP exists, it allows for maximum flexibility on the part of MS4 operators as they develop and implement their programs.

Medium Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
MS4 located in an incorporated place or county with a population of 100,000 or more but less than 250,000, as determined by the latest U.S. Census. Also refered to as Phase I regulated entities.

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
A publically-owned conveyance or system of conveyances that discharges to waters of the U.S. and is designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, is not a combined sewer, and is not part of a publicly-owned treatment works (POTW).

Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP)
An NPDES permit that regulates stormwater discharges from eleven categories of industrial activities. The permitting program has been administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) since 2000 under the TPDES.

New Source
Any building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be a “discharge of pollutants,” the construction of which commenced:
• after promulgation of standards of performance under section 306 of the CWA which are applicable to such source, or
• after proposal of standards of performance in accordance with section 306 of the CWA which are applicable to such source, but only if the standards are promulgated in accordance with section 306 within 120 days of their proposal.

New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)
Technology-based standards for facilities that qualify as new sources under 40 CFR 122.2 and 40 CFR 122.29.

No Exposure
All industrial materials or activities are protected by a storm resistant shelter to prevent exposure to rain, snow, snowmelt, and/or runoff. Industrial materials or activities include, but are not limited to, material handling equipment or activities, industrial machinery, raw materials, intermediate products, by-products, final products, or waste products. Material handling activities include the storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product or waste product.

Non-authorized States
Any State that does not have the authority to regulate the NPDES Stormwater Program.

Non-point Source (NPS) Pollutants
Pollutants from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water.

Notice of Intent (NOI)
An application to notify the permitting authority of a facility’s intention to be covered by a general permit; exempts a facility from having to submit an individual or group application.

NPDES
“National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System” the name of the surface water quality program authorized by Congress as part of the 1987 Clean Water Act. This is EPA’s program to control the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States (see 40 CFR 122.2).

O&M Expenditures
The operating and maintenance costs associated with the continual workings of a project.

Outfall
The point where wastewater or drainage discharges from a sewer pipe, ditch, or other conveyance to a receiving body of water.

Owner or Operator
The owner or operator of any “facility or activity” subject to regulation under the NPDES program.

Permitting Authority (PA)
The NPDES-authorized state agency or EPA regional office that administers the NPDES Stormwater Program. PAs issue permits, provide compliance assistance, and inspect and enforce the program.

Person
An individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, State or Federal agency, or an agent or employee thereof.

Physically interconnected MS4
This means that one MS4 is connected to a second MS4 in such a way that it allows for direct discharges into the second system.

Point Source
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, vessel, or other floating craft from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture or agricultural stormwater runoff.

Point Source Pollutant
Pollutants from a single, identifiable source such as a factory or refinery.

Pollutant
Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water.

Pollutant Loading
The total quantity of pollutants in stormwater runoff.

Pollutant of Concern
A pollutant which causes or contributes to a violation of a water quality standard, including a pollutant which is identified as causing an impairment in a State’s 303(d) list.

Qualifying local program
A local, State or Tribal municipal stormwater management program that imposes, at a minimum, the relevant requirements of one or more of the minimum control measures includes in 122.34(b).

Regulated MS4
Any MS4 covered by the NPDES Stormwater Program (regulated small, medium, or large MS4s).

Reportable Quantity Release
A release of a hazardous substance at or above the established legal threshold that requires emergency notification. Refer to 40 CFR Parts 110, 177, and 302 for complete definitions and reportable quantities for which notification is required.

Retrofit
The modification of stormwater management systems through the construction and/or enhancement of wet ponds, wetland plantings, or other BMPs designed to improve water quality.

Runoff
Drainage or flood discharge that leaves an area as surface flow or as pipeline flow. Has reached a channel or pipeline by either surface or sub-surface routes.

Runoff Coefficient
The fraction of total rainfall that will appear at the conveyance as runoff.

Sanitary Sewer
A system of underground pipes that carries sanitary waste or process wastewater to a treatment plant.

Sediment
Soil, sand, and minerals washed from land into water, usually after rain. Sediment can destroy fish-nesting areas, clog animal habitats, and cloud waters so that sunlight does not reach aquatic plants.

Sheet Flow
The portion of precipitation that moves initially as overland flow in very shallow depths before eventually reaching a stream channel.

Significant materials
Includes, but is not limited to: raw materials; fuels; materials such as solvents, detergents, and plastic pellets; finished materials such as metallic products; raw materials used in food processing or production; hazardous substances designated under section 101(14) of CERCLA; any chemical the facility is required to report pursuant to section 313 of Title III of SARA; fertilizers; pesticides; and waste products such as ashes, slag and sludge that have the potential to be released with stormwater discharges.

Site Plan
A graphical representation of a layout of buildings and facilities on a parcel of land.

Site Runoff
Any drainage or flood discharge that is released from a specified area.

Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
Means all separate storm sewer systems that are (i) owned or operated by the United States, a State, city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body (created by or pursuant to State law) having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, storm water, or other wastes, including special districts under State law such as a sewer district, flood control district, or drainage district, or similar entity or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization or a designated and approved management agency under section 208 of the CWA that discharges to waters of the United States. (ii) Not defined as “large” or “medium” municipal separate storm sewer system pursuant to paragraphs 40 CFR 122.26 (b)(4) and (b)(7), or designated under paragraph 40 126.26(a) (1)(v). (iii) This term includes systems similar to separate storm sewer systems in municipalities, such as systems at military bases, large hospital or prison complexes, and highways and other thoroughfares. This term does not include separate storm sewers in very discrete areas, such as individual buildings.

Small MS4
Means a small municipal separate storm sewer system.

Stakeholder
An entity that holds a special interest in an issue or program — such as the stormwater program — since it is or may be affected by it.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code
A four digit number which is used to identify various types of industries.

Storm Drain
A slotted opening leading to an underground pipe or an open ditch for carrying surface runoff.

Stormwater
Stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.

Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction Activity
A discharge of pollutants in stormwater runoff from areas where soil disturbing activities (e.g., clearing, grading, or excavating), construction materials, or equipment storage or maintenance (e.g., fill piles, borrow areas, concrete truck washout, fueling), or other industrial stormwater directly related to the construction process (e.g., concrete or asphalt batch plants) are located. (See 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(x) and 40 CFR 122.26(b)(15).

Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity
The discharge from any conveyance that is used for collecting and conveying stormwater and that is directly related to manufacturing, processing or raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant. The term does not include discharges from facilities or activities excluded from the NPDES program under Part 122. For the categories of industries identified in this section, the term includes, but is not limited to, stormwater discharges from industrial plant yards; immediate access roads and rail lines used or traveled by carriers of raw materials, manufactured products, waste material, or by-products used or created by the facility; material handling sites; refuse sites; sites used for the application or disposal of process waste waters (as defined at part 401 of this chapter); sites used for the storage and maintenance of material handling equipment; sites used for residual treatment, storage, or disposal; shipping and receiving areas; manufacturing buildings; storage areas (including tank farms) for raw materials, and intermediate and final products; and areas where industrial activity has taken place in the past and significant materials remain and are exposed to stormwater. For the purposes of this paragraph, material handling activities include storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product, by-product or waste product. The term excludes areas located on plant lands separate from the plant’s industrial activities, such as office buildings and accompanying parking lots as long as the drainage from the excluded areas is not mixed with stormwater drained from the above described areas. Industrial facilities include those that are federally, State, or municipally owned or operated that meet the description of the facilities listed in Appendix D of this permit. The term also includes those facilities designated under the provisions of 40 CFR 122.26(a)(1)(v).

Stormwater Management
Functions associated with planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, financing, and regulating the facilities (both constructed and natural) that collect, store, control, and/or convey stormwater.

Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP or SWP3)
A plan to describe a process whereby a facility thoroughly evaluates potential pollutant sources at a site and selects and implements appropriate measures designed to prevent or control the discharge of pollutants in stormwater runoff.

Surface Water
Water that remains on the surface of the ground, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, streams, wetlands, impoundments, seas, estuaries, etc.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant’s sources. A TMDL includes wasteload allocations (WLAs) for point source discharges; load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources and/or natural background, and must include a margin of safety (MOS) and account for seasonal variations. (See section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and 40 CFR §130.2 and §130.7).

Tool Box
A term to describe the activities and materials that EPA plans to perform/produce to facilitate implementation of the stormwater program in an effective and cost-efficient manner. The eight components include: 1)fact sheets; 2) guidance documents; 3) menu of BMPs; 4) compliance assistance; 5) information clearing house; 6) training and outreach efforts; 7) technical research; and 8) support for demonstration projects.

Urbanized Area (UA)
A Bureau of the Census determination of a central place (or places) and the adjacent densely settled surrounding territory that together have a minimum residential population of 50,000 people and a minimum average density of 1,000 people/square mile. This is a simplified definition of a UA, the full definition is very complex.

Urban Runoff
Stormwater from urban areas, which tends to contain heavy concentrations of pollutants from urban activities.

Watershed
That geographical area which drains to a specified point on a water course, usually a confluence of streams or rivers (also known as drainage area, catchment, or river basin).

Wet Weather Flows
Water entering storm drains during rainstorms/wet weather events.

Water Quality Impaired – See ‘Impaired Water’.

Water Quality Standards
A water quality standard defines the water quality goals of a water body, or portion thereof, by designating the use or uses to be made of the water and by setting criteria necessary to protect the uses. States and EPA adopt WQS to protect public health or welfare, enhance the quality of water and serve the purposes of the Clean Water Act (See CWA sections 101(a)2 and 303(c)).

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

BMP – Best Management Practice
BPJ – Best Professional Judgment
CGP – Construction General Permit
CWA – Clean Water Act (or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act)
DCIA – Directly Connected Impervious Area
EPA – U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
ESA – Endangered Species Act
FWS – U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
IA – Impervious Area
IDDE – Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
LA – Load Allocations
MOS – Margin of Safety
MS4 – Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
MSGP – Multi-Sector General Permit
NAICS – North American Industry Classification System
NEPA – National Environmental Policy Act
NHPA – National Historic Preservation Act
NMFS – U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service
NOI – Notice of Intent
NPDES – National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NRC – National Response Center
NRHP – National Register of Historic Places
NSPS – New Source Performance Standard
NTU – Nephelometric Turbidity Unit
OMB – U. S. Office of Management and Budget
ORW – Outstanding Resource Water
PCP – Phosphorus Control Plan
POTW – Publicly Owned Treatment Works
RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RQ – Reportable Quantity
SHPO – State Historic Preservation Officer
SIC – Standard Industrial Classification
SPCC – Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure
SWMP – Stormwater Management Program
SWPPP – Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
TMDL – Total Maximum Daily Load
TSS – Total Suspended Solids
USGS – United States Geological Survey
WLA – Wasteload Allocation
WQRP – Water Quality Response Plan
WQS – Water Quality Standard