Virginia Law

The words and terms used in this chapter shall have the meanings defined in the State Water Control Law, Chapter 3.1 (§ 62.1-44.2 et seq.) of Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia and the Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permit Regulation (9VAC25-31) unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additionally, for the purposes of this chapter:

"Best management practices" or "BMPs" means schedules of activities, practices, prohibitions of practices, structures, vegetation, maintenance procedures, and other management practices, including both structural and nonstructural practices, to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants to surface waters.

"Board" means the State Water Control Board. When used outside the context of the promulgation of regulations, including regulations to establish general permits, "board" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Control measure" means any best management practice or other method, including effluent limitations, used to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants to surface waters.

"Corrective action" means any action to (i) repair, modify, or replace any stormwater control used at the facility; (ii) clean up and properly dispose of spills, releases, or other deposits at the facility; or (iii) return to compliance with permit requirements.

"Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Industrial activity" means the facilities classified under NAICS 311710 and SIC Code 2091 or 2092.

"Minimize" means reduce or eliminate to the extent achievable using control measures, including best management practices, that are technologically available and economically practicable and achievable in light of best industry practice.

"NAICS" means North American Industry Classification System from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 2017 edition.

"No exposure" means all industrial materials or activities are protected by a storm-resistant shelter to prevent exposure to rain, snow, snowmelt, or runoff.

"Seafood" includes crabs, oysters, hand-shucked clams, scallops, squid, eels, turtles, fish, conchs, and crayfish.

"Seafood processing facility" means any facility that processes or handles seafood intended for human consumption or as bait, except a mechanized clam facility, where the primary purpose is classified under the following NAICS and SIC codes:

1. NAICS Code 311710 – Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging and SIC Code 2091 – Canned and Cured Fish and Seafoods, 2092 – Prepared Fresh or Frozen Fish and Seafoods;

2. NAICS Code 424420 – Packaged Frozen Food Merchant Wholesalers and SIC Code 5142 – Packaged Frozen Foods; and

3. NAICS Code 424460 – Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers and SIC Code 5146 – Fish and Seafoods.

This definition does not include aquaculture facilities (including hatcheries) classified under SIC Code 0272 or 0921 and NAICS Code 112512.

"SIC" means the Standard Industrial Classification from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987 edition.

"Significant materials" includes 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 (except oyster, clam or scallop shells); hazardous substances designated under § 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) (42 USC § 9601); any chemical the facility is required to report pursuant to § 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) (42 USC § 11023); fertilizers; pesticides; and waste products such as ashes, slag, and sludge that have the potential to be released with stormwater discharges.

"Stormwater discharge associated with industrial activity" means 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 VPDES program under 9VAC25-31. For the categories of industries identified in the "industrial activity" definition, the term includes 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 byproducts (except for oyster, clam or scallop shells) used or created by the facility; material handling sites; refuse sites; sites used for the application or disposal of process wastewaters; 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 area (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 definition, material handling activities include the storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product, byproduct, or waste product (except for oyster, clam or scallop shells). 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, including industrial facilities that are federally, state, or municipally owned or operated that meet the description of the facilities listed in the "industrial activity" definition, include those facilities designated under the provisions of 9VAC25-31-120 A 1 c or A 7 a (1) or (2) of the VPDES Permit Regulation.

"Total maximum daily load" or "TMDL" means 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, and load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources or natural background, or both, and must include a margin of safety (MOS) and account for seasonal variations.

"Virginia Environmental Excellence Program" or "VEEP" means a voluntary program established by the department to provide public recognition and regulatory incentives to encourage higher levels of environmental performance for program participants that develop and implement environmental management systems (EMSs). The program is based on the use of EMSs that improve compliance, prevent pollution, and utilize other measures to improve environmental performance.