§ 1701-030. DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of Title 1700 and all chapters contained therein, the following definitions shall apply:

Air-gap means the physical break between the supply pipe and a receiving vessel.

Applicant means the owner, or the agent of the owner, of property for which a service connection or a specific permit is requested.

Auxiliary Water Supply means any water supply located on or available to a premise other than the public water system.

AWWA Standard means an official standard developed and approved by the American Water Works Association.

Backflow means a flow condition caused by a differential in pressure that causes the flow of other liquids, gases, mixtures, or substances into the distribution lines of a potable water supply from any source or sources other than the public water system supply source.

Backflow Prevention Device means devices which have passed laboratory and field evaluation tests performed by a backflow testing technician certified by the California Department of Health Services.

Best Management Practices or BMPs shall mean schedules of activities, prohibition of practices, general good housekeeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce to the maximum extent practicable the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly into stormwater conveyance systems, receiving waters or to natural surface waters. BMPs shall also include structural controls, treatment practices, source controls, training requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, and drainage from raw materials storage.

Board or Board of Supervisors means the Board of Supervisors of Sutter County.

BOD (Denoting Biochemical Oxygen Demand) means the quantity of oxygen utilized in the biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard laboratory procedure in five days at 20 degrees centigrade, expressed in parts per million by weigh.

Civil Engineer or Registered Engineer means a professional engineer in the branch of civil engineering holding a valid certificate of registration issued by the State of California.

Clearing and Grubbing means moving or removing by manual or mechanical means trees, vegetation and/or the top four inches or greater of soil.

Collection Mains means wastewater lines in streets, highways, alleys, and easements used for public and private wastewater conveyance to the treatment plant.

Commercial Service means the provision of service to premises where the customer primarily is engaged in a business, trade or profession and includes all services not defined as domestic services. The term shall be used interchangeably with "Industrial Service".

Compaction means the act of compacting or consolidating soil and rock material to a specified density, and the resulting compacted state of the material.

Construction Site means any land area on which the activity of clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, or filling is occurring.

Contamination means a degradation of the quality of potable water by any foreign substance which creates a hazard to the public health or which may impair the usefulness or quality of the water.

Cost means the costs of labor, materials, transportation, supervision, administration, engineering, and all other necessary or reasonable expenses.

County means the County of Sutter and its officers, employees, and agents.

County Improvement Standards or County Specifications means any standards, such as design standards, public improvement standards, construction specifications, adopted by the Board of Supervisors regulating development and construction activities in the County.

County Storm Drain System shall mean those public man-made facilities within the unincorporated area of the County that are owned, operated, maintained or controlled by the County by which stormwater may be conveyed to natural surface waters, including, but not limited to, any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, curbs, gutters, catch basins, water quality basins, detention basins, constructed wetlands, artificial channels, aqueducts, ditches, altered drainage channels, reservoirs, sumps, pumping stations, storm drain inlets, and storm drains.

Cross-Connection means any unprotected actual or potential connection between a potable water supply including the public water system and any source or system containing water or any substance that is not or cannot be approved as safe, wholesome, and potable for human consumption.

Customer means the owner, or agent of the owner, tenant, or lessee of the property receiving service, which has applied for and is the account holder for the service. For the purposes of this Title, a tenant (such as a tenant of a master-metered multi-unit building) is not the "customer" if the owner is the account holder.

Development means any man made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials. For the purposes of this Title, the following activities shall not be considered development:

(1)

Normal farming activities;

(2)

Routine maintenance to maintain original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or the original purpose of a drainage or irrigation facility;

(3)

Emergency construction activities (i.e. land disturbances) required to protect public health and safety; or

(4)

Residential or commercial landscape maintenance.

Director means the Development Services Department Director for the County of Sutter or his/her authorized representative.

Discharge shall mean the release, threatened release, or placement of any material into the County storm drain system or natural surface waters, including, but not limited to, stormwater, wastewater, pollutants, solid materials, liquids, hazardous waste, raw materials, debris, litter or any other substance.

Discharger shall mean any person who discharges, or causes to discharge, either directly or indirectly, stormwater or any other material into the County storm drain system or to natural surface waters.

Distribution Mains means water lines in streets, highways, alleys, and easements used for public and private fire protection and for the general distribution of water.

Domestic Service means provision of service for household residential purposes to single-family and multiple-family dwelling units and for potable water service to other premises.

Double Check Valve Assembly means an assembly of at least two independently acting check valves including tightly closing shutoff valves on each side of the check valve assembly and test cocks.

Dwelling means any residence, apartment, habitation, or other structure customarily occupied by a single person or family and which contains water and/or wastewater facilities.

Equipment means any of the component parts of a system used to provide any of the following: flood control; storm water collection and conveyance; water treatment and distribution; and/or wastewater collection and treatment.

Erosion means the transport of the ground surface or soil as a result of the movement of wind or water.

Erosion Control Measures means seeding, mulching, vegetative buffer strips, sod, plastic covering, burlap covering, watering and other measures which restrict and control the movement of the ground surface or soil.

Equivalent Dwelling Unit means a unit of measurement for billing purposes, approximately equivalent to an average residential premise (3.5 persons).

Flat-Rate Service means the provision of water in unmeasured quantities for a fixed periodic charge.

Garbage means solid wastes from the preparation, cooking and dispensing of food and from the handling, storage and sale of produce.

Grading includes the act or result of digging, excavating, transporting, spreading, depositing, filling, compacting, settling, or shaping of land surfaces and slopes, and other operations performed by or controlled by human activity involving the physical movement of rock or soil.

Hazardous Materials shall mean any material, including any substance, waste, or combination thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infections characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

High Strength User means any user discharging wastewater with an average strength of BOD above 250 mg/l and/or total suspended solids (TSS) above 210 mg/l.

Illicit Connection shall mean any physical connection, including but not limited to any drain or conveyance, to the County storm drain system or natural surface waters, which is not expressly authorized by the County.

Illicit Discharge hall mean any direct or indirect non-permitted or non-exempt discharge to the County storm drain system or to the natural surface waters that violates this Title, or a discharge prohibited by federal, state, or local laws, which tend to degrade the quality of natural surface waters.

Indirect Discharge means the introduction of pollutants into a POTW from any non-domestic source.

Industrial Service means provision of service to premises where the customer primarily is engaged in a business, industry, trade, or profession and includes all services, not defined as domestic services. The term shall be used interchangeably with "commercial service".

Industry or Industrial Activity shall mean any service, business, enterprise, or any other activity conducted by any person for the purpose of monetary or other compensation, or in support of or promotion of such activity. This term shall also mean any similar activity conducted by a non-profit corporation as defined by the State of California.

Interference means a discharge which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, inhibits or disrupts the POTW, its treatment processes or operations, or its sludge processes, use or disposal.

Main Extension means the extension of water or wastewater lines for public and private developments established within the County.

Mains means distribution or collection pipelines located in streets, highways, public ways, or private rights-of-way which are used to serve the public.

Material shall mean any substance, including, but not limited to, raw materials, finished products, garbage and debris, lawn clippings, leaves and other vegetation, biological and fecal waste, sediment and sludge, oil and grease, gasoline, paints, solvents, cleaners and any fluid or solid containing chemicals.

Maximum Extent Practicable shall mean a technology-based standard established by Congress in the Clean Water Act § 402(p)(3)(B)(iii) that applies to municipalities regulated by the Small MS4 General Permit. The major focus is on technology-based pollution prevention and source control Best Management Practices as the first line of defense with feasibility, cost, effectiveness, and public acceptance as relevant considerations. As knowledge about controlling pollution of urban runoff continues to evolve, so will what constitutes the Maximum Extent Practicable.

Metered Service means provision of water or wastewater in measured quantities for a periodic charge based upon the quantity delivered.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) means the national program for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements, under sections 307, 402, 318, and 405 of the Clean Water Act.

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit means a permit issued covering a wastewater or stormwater discharge to protect water quality by the Regional Water Quality Control Board including NPDES permits such as General Construction Activity and General Industrial Activity permits issued by the State Water Resources Control Board.

Natural Outlet means any outlet into a watercourse, pond, ditch, lake or other body of surface or ground water.

Natural Surface Waters shall mean creeks, natural ponds or lakes, wetlands, the Sacramento River, Cache Creek, Putah Creek, the Sutter Bypass and shall include any waters of the State and any waters of the United States contained within the boundaries of the State. Natural Surface Waters shall not mean any wet or dry detention basin, constructed wetland, stormwater treatment facility, artificial lake or pond or other man-made body of water.

Non-Stormwater Discharge shall mean any discharge to the County storm drain system or directly to natural surface waters that is not composed entirely of storm water, including discharges that do not originate as surface runoff and drainage from rainstorm events and snow melt, but essentially result partly or entirely from human activities, or materials or processes under a person's control. Non-stormwater discharges include, but are not limited to, discharges of: (1) water that has been used by a person for any purpose such as cleaning, rinsing, cooling, irrigating, aquaculture, recreation, cooking, and industrial purposes; (2) water or wastewater that originates or flows from equipment, valves, piping, hoses, containers, tanks, or other man-made apparatus; or (3) any discharge of materials or wastes other than water.

Owner means the person owning in fee, or the person in whose name the legal title to the property appears, by deed duly recorded in the County Recorder's office, or the person in possession of the property or buildings under claim of, or exercising acts of ownership over the same for himself, or as executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee of the owner.

Pass Through means a discharge which exits the POTW into waters of the United States in quantities or concentrations which, alone or in conjunction with a discharge or discharges from other sources, is a cause of a violation of any requirement of the POTW's NPDES permit (including an increase in the magnitude or duration of a violation).

Permittee means the person in whose name a valid permit is issued, including the person's employees, agents, and designated representatives.

Person means any human being, individual, trust, estate, firm, company, partnership, association, joint venture, private, public, or municipal corporation, the United States of America, the State of California, and any district, political subdivision, governmental agency, and subsidiary thereof.

PH means the logarithm of the reciprocal of the weight of hydrogen ions in grams per liter of solution.

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 and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into water as defined in Title 40 CFR.

Pollution shall mean the human-made or human-induced alteration of the quality of waters by pollutants to a degree which unreasonably affects, or that has the potential to unreasonably affect, either the waters for beneficial uses or the facilities, which serve these beneficial uses. Pollution includes, but is not limited to, the alteration of the quality of waters by pollutants to a degree that that causes or contributes to an exceedance of water quality standards contained in the Statewide Water Quality Control Plan, the California Toxics Rule, or in the applicable Regional Water Quality Control Board Basin Plan.

Premises means a lot or parcel of real property under one ownership, except that any separate structure may be deemed separate premises. Apartment houses, motels, office buildings, and structures of like nature may be classified as single premises.

Pretreatment means the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a POTW. The reduction or alteration may be obtained by physical, chemical or biological processes, process changes or by other means permitted by law.

Private Fire Protection Service means the water service and facilities for building sprinkler systems, hydrants, hose reels, and other facilities installed on private property for fire protection and the water available.

Properly Shredded Garbage means garbage that has been shredded to such a degree that all particles will be carried freely under the flow conditions normally prevailing in public sewers, with no particle greater than one-half inch in any one dimension.

Public Fire Protection Service means the service and facilities of the entire water supply and storage and distribution system of the County, including the fire hydrants affixed thereto and the water available for fire protection, excepting house service connections and appurtenances thereto.

Public Sewer System means the portion of the sanitary sewer/wastewater system owned and operated by the County or other public agency.

Public Stormwater System means the portion of the stormwater drainage system owned and operated by the County of Sutter or another public agency. The definition shall include publicly-owned conveyance channels but not roadside ditches which are considered part of the road system.

Public Water System means the portion of the water system owned and operated by the County or other public agency.

Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) means the wastewater treatment works owned and operated by the County. This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to the county wastewater treatment plant.

Regional Board shall mean the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region.

Regular Water/Wastewater Service means the water/wastewater service and facilities rendered for normal domestic, commercial, and industrial purposes on a permanent basis and the water available.

Resale means any change of ownership by sale, or transfer, of real property as recorded by the Sutter County Recorder, except sale or transfer between members of an immediate family. (Immediate family being limited to husband-wife, brother-sister, or parent-child.)

Sanitary Sewage means a combination of the water-carried wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishments.

Sanitary Sewer means a sewer which carries sanitary sewage.

Septic Tank means a tank in which the settled sewage sludge is in immediate contact with the sewage flowing through the tank, while the organic solids are decomposed by anaerobic bacterial action.

Service Box means the valve box, curb stop, or meter box at the point of connection to the public water system typically located near the curb or behind the sidewalk.

Service Connection means the pipe, valves and other facilities by means of which service is conducted to or from the premises and the public water distribution or public wastewater collection system.

Significant Industrial User except as provided in 40 CFR 403.3 (t)(2), the term Significant Industrial User means all industrial users subject to Categorical Pretreatment Standards under 40 CFR 403.6 and 40 CFR chapter I, subchapter N; and any other industrial user that: discharges an average of 25,000 gallons per day or more of process wastewater to the POTW (excluding sanitary, noncontact cooling and boiler blowdown wastewater); contributes a process wastestream which makes up 5 percent or more of the average dry weather hydraulic or organic capacity of the POTW treatment plant; or is designated as such by the Control Authority as defined in 40 CFR 403.12(a) on the basis that the industrial user has a reasonable potential for adversely affecting the POTW's operation or for violating any pretreatment standard or requirement (in accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(6)).

Storm Sewer or Storm Drain means a sewer which carries storm and surface waters and drainage, but excludes sanitary sewage.

Stormwater shall mean any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water resulting from rainstorm events and snow melt, which has not been polluted as a result of contact with man-made or natural sources of pollutants.

Stormwater Service or Service Connection means the pipeline, gutter, ditch or appurtenant facilities such as manholes, drains, grates, and inlets which are used to extend stormwater drainage water service from a collection main or channel to a premises. Stormwater drainage connections may take the form of structural improvements such as connecting piping or ditching or they may take the form of increases to or the redirection of stormwater runoff flows to the public utility system.

Subject Activities shall mean any activities, operations, or facilities which discharge or have the potential to discharge pollutants into the County storm drain system, natural surface waters, or watercourses. A subject activity may be stationary or mobile, but that generate quantities or concentrations that may cause pollution.

Suspended Solids means solids that either float on the surface of, or are in suspension in water, sewage, or other liquids, and which are removable by laboratory filtering.

System means any constructed or natural structure or facility directly used in the provision of water, wastewater, or storm water services.

Temporary Water/Wastewater Service means the water/wastewater service and facilities rendered for construction work and other uses of limited duration and the water available.

Threatened Prohibited Discharge shall mean any condition or activity that does not currently result in a prohibited discharge but is nevertheless determined by the Director to be a condition which results in a substantial likelihood of a future prohibited discharge.

Utility means the provision of water, wastewater, or stormwater services for a fee.

Utility Structure means any constructed or natural structure directly used in the provision of water, wastewater, or stormwater services.

Wastewater Service or Service Connection means the pipe line and appurtenant facilities, such as step tank, pumps, alarms and floats, electric connections, and meters, if any, used to provide customer wastewater to the conveyance mains.

Watercourse means a lake, river, stream, creek, wash, arroyo, tributary, basin, pond, waterway, swale, channel, or other topographic feature, natural or man-made, including above ground portions of the storm drain system, having a defined bed and banks in which a flow of water occurs, either continuously or intermittently.

Waters of the State shall mean all surface watercourses and water bodies as defined at 40 Code of Federal Regulations §122.2, including all natural waterways and definite channels and depressions in the earth that may carry water, even though such waterways may only carry water during rains and storms and may not carry stormwater at or during all times and seasons.

Waters of the United States shall have the same meaning as set forth in Part 122.2 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations or any successor provisions.

Water Service or Service Connection means the pipe line and appurtenant facilities, such as curb stop, meter, and meter box, if any, all used to extend water service from a distribution main to premises. Where services are divided at the curb or property line to serve several customers, each such branch service shall be deemed a separate service.

Words and Phrases: For the purposes of this Title, words used in the present tense shall include the future tense, all words in the plural number shall include the singular number, and all words in the singular number shall include the plural number.

([1495, 1523, 1527] Ord. 1574, Sec. 2, August 28, 2012; Ord. 1585, Sec. 2, May 28, 2013)