§ 19-3. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms expressed in the singular shall be construed to incorporate the plural, and vice versa, unless the context otherwise requires.
A.
"Applicant" shall mean a property owner or the property owner's Authorized Representative.
B.
"Areas of Environmental Concern" shall mean geographical areas designated by Resolution of the Board of Supervisors where additional protective measures are appropriate.
C.
"Authorized Representative" shall mean a person or persons authorized by the property owner to act on the property owner's behalf on matters pertaining to application for permits and services.
D.
"Certified Designer" shall mean a person authorized by the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) to design pressure distribution and supplemental treatment wastewater systems meeting the requirements for certification as specified in this chapter.
E.
"Certified Installer" shall mean a person authorized by the LEA to install on-site wastewater systems meeting the requirements for certification as specified in this chapter.
F.
"Certified Pumper" shall mean a person authorized by the LEA to pump and perform minor repair of septic tanks and pump chambers meeting the requirements for certification as specified in this chapter.
G.
"Certified Operation, Monitoring, and Maintenance (OM&M) Specialist" shall mean a person authorized by the LEA to perform operation, monitoring, and maintenance inspections and routine maintenance, meeting the requirements for certification as specified in this chapter.
H.
"Chico Urban Area" shall mean the area shown by Appendix P of the Nitrate Compliance Plan and identified as County Service Area 114 (Greater Chico Urban Area).
1.
"Septic Tank Area" shall mean the area within the Chico Urban Area not shown on figures 1-3a and 1-3b of the Chico Urban Area Environmental Impact Report as an area to be sewered.
2.
"Planned Sewered Area" shall mean the area within the Chico Urban Area shown on figures 1-3a and 1-3b of the Chico Urban Area Environmental Impact Report as an area to be sewered.
I.
"Chico Urban Area Environmental Impact Report" shall mean the environmental impact report adopted by the Board of Supervisors on September 11, 2001 titled "Environmental Impact Report Chico Urban Area Nitrate Compliance Plan."
J.
"Chico Urban Area Nitrate Compliance Plan" shall mean the plan adopted by the Butte County Board of Supervisors on September 25, 2001 titled "Chico Urban Area Nitrate Compliance Plan."
K.
"Commercial Project" shall mean any project other than those defined as residential. For the purposes of this chapter, the definition of a commercial project shall not include agricultural storage buildings and primitive-type picnic grounds, campsites, and recreation areas.
L.
"Community Wastewater System" shall mean an on-site wastewater system serving two (2) or more residences, parcels, or commercial sources by any method, which meets State and local minimum standards, excepting a system serving a primary and secondary dwelling sharing facilities on the same lot or parcel.
M.
"Disinfection" shall mean the process of destroying pathogenic and other microorganisms in wastewater as specified in the On-Site Wastewater Manual.
N.
"Drain field" shall mean the component of the on-site wastewater system designed to disperse wastewater beneath the surface of the soil.
O.
"Effective Soil" shall mean permeable, unsaturated soil providing sufficient aeration and retention for treatment of wastewater effluent.
P.
"Environmental Health Director" shall mean the Director of the Environmental Health Division of the Butte County Public Health Department.
Q.
"Failing Wastewater System" shall mean any on-site wastewater system that:
1.
Discharges untreated wastewater directly into the ground in a subsurface pit or perforated vessel (cess pools); or
2.
Discharges untreated or inadequately treated wastewater or septic tank effluent directly or indirectly onto the ground surface, into a dwelling, or into surface or groundwater; or
3.
Is not operated in compliance with permit requirements for operation, monitoring and maintenance as specified in this chapter and the On-Site Wastewater Manual; or
4.
Has been retrofitted with unapproved components or been modified from the original approved design; or
5.
Does not meet effluent quality standards as specified in the approved wastewater system design.
R.
"Industrial Waste" shall mean any liquid, gaseous, radioactive, or solid waste substance, or a combination thereof, resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing, trade, or business, or from the development or recovery of any natural resources.
S.
"Land Use Project" shall mean any entitlement process, initiated through the Butte County Department of Development Services, including, but not limited to, tentative maps, parcel maps, use permits, certificates of compliance, and lot line adjustments. The requirements in this chapter apply only to conditions regulated by the LEA. Other County departments have separate processes and requirements.
T.
"Local Enforcement Agency (LEA)" shall mean the Environmental Health Division of the Butte County Public Health Department, which is designated as such by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 43202.
U.
"Minimum Useable Wastewater Area (MUWA)" shall mean the amount of useable ground surface, expressed in square feet, that is required when creating new lots or parcels in the tentative or parcel map process. The amount of land area is based on the percolation rate and the type of leach field distribution method.
V.
"On-Site Wastewater Manual" shall mean the document containing implementing standards and requirements of this chapter, including specific detail on acceptable on-site wastewater treatment and dispersal systems and processes, developed by the LEA and the Wastewater Advisory Committee and adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
W.
"On-Site Wastewater System" shall mean any system of piping, treatment devices or other facilities that convey, store, treat, or dispose of wastewater which is not connected to a public sewer system.
X.
"Operating Permit" shall mean that administrative document issued by the LEA authorizing the initial and/or continued use of an on-site wastewater system, as specified in the On-Site Wastewater Manual.
Y.
"Operation, Monitoring, and Maintenance (OM&M)" shall mean regular inspection, monitoring, and service provided to on-site wastewater systems as delineated in the On-Site Wastewater Manual to insure their long-term viability.
Z.
"Owner" shall mean any person who alone, or jointly, or severally with others:
1.
Has legal title to any single lot, dwelling, dwelling unit, or commercial facility, or an easement sufficient to allow installation and maintenance of a wastewater system; or
2.
Has care, charge, or control of any real property as applicant, executor, executrix, administrator, trustee or guardian of the estate of the holder of legal title.
AA.
"Person" shall mean any owner or authorized representative, corporation, association, firm, organization, partnership, or company.
BB.
"Pressure Distribution" shall mean dispersal of wastewater system utilizing pressurized small diameter distribution lines for equal distribution of effluent.
CC.
"Public Sewer System" shall mean any sewer system constructed, installed, maintained, operated and owned by or for a municipality or public entity established for wastewater treatment and discharge.
DD.
"Site Evaluation" shall mean the process for determining whether a parcel's site conditions meet the minimum requirements of this chapter and the On-Site Wastewater Manual.
EE.
"Standard Gravity System" shall mean an on-site wastewater system comprised of a two (2) compartment septic tank for primary treatment and dispersal in gravel or gravel less chamber trenches. Effluent will flow to the trenches by gravity, or may be pumped to the first distribution box of the trenches.
FF.
"Supplemental Treatment System" shall mean any on-site wastewater system or system component providing enhanced treatment, over that which would be provided by a standard gravity system, and that produces effluent meeting all of the following parameters prior to dispersal in the soil:
1.
Thirty (30) day average Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) concentration not to exceed thirty (30) milligrams per liter (mg/L), or alternately, a Carbonaceous BOD (CBOD) in excess of twenty-five (25) mg/L;
2.
Thirty (30) day average total suspended solids concentration not to exceed thirty (30) mg/L;
3.
Total coliform level not to exceed levels as specified in the On-Site Wastewater Manual based on site characteristics; and
4.
Thirty (30) day average total nitrogen concentration not to exceed ten (10) mg/L as nitrogen (applicable only when the wastewater system is located in an area where the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has identified nitrogen as a water quality concern).
GG.
"Technical Appeals Board" shall mean three (3) members of the Wastewater Advisory Committee comprised of the committee Chair and a Civil Engineer and non-engineer from the committee who are selected annually to sit on the Technical Appeals Board by the Butte County Board of Supervisors.
HH.
"Vertical Separation" shall mean the depth of effective soil that exists beneath the bottom of a dispersal component of the wastewater system and a restrictive or limiting layer or feature including, but not limited to:
1.
Permanent or seasonal water table; or
2.
Consolidated soil with insufficient permeability or porosity to provide wastewater treatment; or
3.
Fractured rock with excessive permeability to provide wastewater treatment; or
4.
Soils outside the range of acceptable texture and percolation as shown in Table One, Section 19-10.
II.
"Wastewater" shall mean sewage that is designated as "black water" and/or "graywater."
1.
"Blackwater" shall mean wastewater contaminated with human wastes, generally originating from toilets. It includes, but is not limited to, wastewater discharges from water closets, toilets, urinals or similar fixtures alone or in combination with other wastewater.
2.
"Graywater" shall mean untreated wastewater that has not been contaminated by any toilet discharge, has not been affected by infectious, contaminated, or unhealthy bodily wastes, and does not present a threat from contamination by unhealthful processing, manufacturing, or operating wastes. The term includes wastewater from bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes washing machines, and laundry tubs, but does not include wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers.
(Ord. No. 4018, § 1, 3-16-10; Ord. No. 4113, § 1, 4-12-16 )