Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 69 > Chapter 3 - Water Pollution Control

• Administrator: means the administrator, or head by whatever name, of the United States environmental protection agency. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Agriculture: means :
  (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Animal feeding operation: means a lot or facility, other than an aquatic animal production facility, where the following conditions are met:
  (A) Animals, other than aquatic animals, have been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of forty-five (45) days or more in any twelve-month period. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Board: means the board of water quality, oil and gas, created in §. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Boat: means any vessel or watercraft moved by oars, paddles, sails or other power mechanism, inboard or outboard, or any vessel or structure floating upon the water whether or not capable of self-locomotion, including, but not limited to, houseboats, barges, docks, and similar floating objects. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation or the commissioner's duly authorized representative and, in the event of the commissioner's absence or a vacancy in the office of commissioner, the deputy commissioner. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Construction: means any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or equipment, including contractual obligations to purchase such facilities or equipment, at the premises where such equipment will be used, including preparation work at such premises. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the department of environment and conservation. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the director of the division of water management of the department. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• discharge: when used without qualification, each refer to the addition of pollutants to waters from a source. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Division: means the division of water management. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Effluent limitation: means any restriction, established by the board or the commissioner, on quantities, rates and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, and other constituents that are discharged into waters or adjacent to waters. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Forestry best management practices: means those land and water resource conservation measures that prevent, limit, or eliminate water pollution for forest resource management purposes, as provided in rules promulgated in this part in accordance with §. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Industrial user: means those industries identified in the standard industrial classification manual, bureau of the budget, 1967, as amended and supplemented, under the category "Division D - Manufacturing" and such other classes of significant waste producers as the board or commissioner deems appropriate. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Industrial wastes: means any liquid, solid, or gaseous substance, or combination thereof, or form of energy including heat, resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade, or business or from the development of any natural resource. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liquid waste management system: means a waste management system that collects, stores, or land applies manure in a liquid, flowable form. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Local administrative officer: means the chief administrative officer of a pretreatment agency that has adopted and implemented an approved pretreatment program pursuant to this part and 33 U. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Local hearing authority: means the administrative board created pursuant to an approved pretreatment program that is responsible for the administration and enforcement of that program and §. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Member: means a member of the board of water quality, oil and gas. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Municipal separate storm sewer system: means a municipal separate storm sewer system as defined in the Clean Water Act (33 U. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Obligate lotic aquatic organisms: means organisms that require flowing water for all or almost all of the aquatic phase of their life cycles. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• Other wastes: means any and all other substances or forms of energy, with the exception of sewage and industrial wastes, including, but not limited to, decayed wood, sand, garbage, silt, municipal refuse, sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, ashes, offal, oil, hazardous materials, tar, sludge, or other petroleum byproducts, radioactive material, chemicals, heated substances, dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage sludge, munitions, biological materials, wrecked and discarded equipment, rock, and cellar dirt. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner or operator: means any person who owns, leases, operates, controls, or supervises a source. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Person: means any and all persons, including individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, public or private institutions, state and federal agencies, municipalities or political subdivisions, or officers thereof, departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, or public or private corporations or officers thereof, organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pollutant: means sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Pollution: means such alteration of the physical, chemical, biological, bacteriological, or radiological properties of the waters of this state, including, but not limited to, changes in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters that will:
  (A) Result or will likely result in harm, potential harm or detriment to the public health, safety, or welfare. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Pretreatment agency: means the owner of a publicly owned treatment works permitted pursuant to this part that is required by its permit to adopt and enforce an approved pretreatment program that complies with this part and 33 U. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Pretreatment program: means the rules, regulations, and/or ordinances of a pretreatment agency regulating the discharge and treatment of industrial waste that complies with this part and 33 U. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Qualified local program: means a municipal separate storm sewer system that has been approved as such by the department pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Regional administrator: means the regional administrator of the United States environmental protection agency whose region includes Tennessee, or any person succeeding to the duties of this official. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Schedules of compliance: means a schedule of remedial measures including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with an effluent limitation, condition of a permit, other limitation, prohibition, standard, or regulation. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Sewage: means water-carried waste or discharges from human beings or animals, from residences, public or private buildings, or industrial establishments, or boats, together with such other wastes and ground, surface, storm, or other water as may be present. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Sewerage system: means the conduits, sewers, and all devices and appurtenances by means of which sewage and other waste is collected, pumped, treated, or disposed. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Silvicultural activities: means those forest management activities associated with the harvesting of timber and including, without limitation, the construction of roads and trails. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Smoking: means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or other lighted tobacco product in any manner or in any form. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1802
• Source: means any activity, operation, construction, building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be the discharge of pollutants. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Standard of performance: means a standard for the control of the discharge of pollutants that reflects the greatest degree of effluent reduction that the commissioner determines to be achievable through application of the best available demonstrated control technology, processes, operating methods, or other alternatives, including, where practicable, a standard permitting no discharge of pollutants. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Stop work order: means an order issued by the commissioner of environment and conservation requiring the operator to immediately cease part or all silvicultural activities. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Stream: means a surface water that is not a wet weather conveyance. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• stream mapping: means the collection and analysis of water samples along streams that normally exhibit water flow at least six (6) consecutive months per year within a given area. See Tennessee Code 69-3-202
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Variance: means an authorization issued to a person by the commissioner that would allow that person to cause a water quality standard to be exceeded for a limited time period without changing the standard. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Waters: means any and all water, public or private, on or beneath the surface of the ground, that are contained within, flow through, or border upon Tennessee or any portion thereof, except those bodies of water confined to and retained within the limits of private property in single ownership that do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground waters. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Wet weather conveyance: means , notwithstanding any other law or rule to the contrary, man-made or natural watercourses, including natural watercourses that have been modified by channelization:
  (A) That flow only in direct response to precipitation runoff in their immediate locality. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105