WAC 173-95A-020   Definitions.  For the purposes of this chapter:

     (1) Activities see water pollution control activities.

     (2) Applicant means a public body that has applied for funding.

     (3) Best management practices (BMP) means physical, structural, and/or managerial practices approved by the department that prevent or reduce pollutant discharges.

     (4) Cash match means moneys used to match the state share of a grant.

     (5) Ceiling amount means the highest level of financial assistance the department can provide to a recipient for an individual project.

     (6) Centennial means the centennial clean water program.

     (7) Commercial, industrial, and institutional flows mean the portion of the total flows to a facility that originate from large commercial establishments, industrial facilities, or institutional sources such as state schools, hospitals, and prisons.

     (8) Competitive funding means moneys available for projects through a statewide evaluation process.

     (9) Completion date or expiration date means the date indicated in the funding agreement in which all milestones and objectives associated with the goals of the project are met.

     (10) Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) means:

     (a) An animal livestock feeding operation that discharges animal waste to the waters of Washington state more frequently than the twenty-five-year, twenty-four-hour storm event; or

     (b) An operation that is under a department administrative order, notice of violation, a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit; or

     (c) An operation that will be required to have a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit coverage in the near future; or

     (d) An operation designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as polluting the waters of Washington state.

     (11) Conservation easement means a recorded legal agreement between a landowner and a public body to allow or restrict certain activities and uses that may take place on his or her property.

     (12) Conservation plan means a document that outlines how a project site will be managed using best management practices to avoid potential negative environmental impacts.

     (13) Construction means to erect, install, expand, or improve water pollution control facilities or activities. Construction includes construction phase engineering and preparation of the operation and maintenance manual.

     (14) Cost-effective alternative means the option selected in an approved facilities plan that meets the requirements of the project, recognizes environmental and other nonmonetary impacts, and offers the lowest cost over the life of the project (i.e., lowest present worth or equivalent annual value).

     (15) Department means the Washington state department of ecology.

     (16) Design means the preparation of the plans and specifications used for construction of water pollution control facilities or activities.

     (17) Director means the director of the Washington state department of ecology or his or her authorized designee.

     (18) Draft offer and applicant list means a catalog of all applications for financial assistance considered and those proposed for funding, based on estimates of state and federal budgets.

     (19) Easement means a recorded legal agreement between a public body and a landowner that allows the public body to have access to the landowner's property at any time to inspect, maintain, or repair loan-or-grant-funded activities or facilities.

     (20) Effective date means the date the loan or grant agreement is signed by the department's water quality program manager.

     (21) Eligible cost means the portion of a facilities or activities project that can be funded based on program eligibility as defined in WAC 173-98-100 and in the most recently updated edition of the Water Quality Financial Assistance Guidelines (publication #10-10-049).

     (22) Enforcement order means an administrative requirement issued by the department under the authority of RCW 90.48.120 that directs a public body to complete a specified course of action within an explicit period to achieve compliance with the provisions of chapter 90.48 RCW.

     (23) Engineering report means a document that includes an evaluation of engineering and other alternatives that meet the requirements in chapter 173-240 WAC, Submission of plans and reports for construction of wastewater facilities.

     (24) Environmental degradation means the reduced capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives and needs.

     (25) Environmental emergency means a problem that a public body and the department agree poses a serious, immediate threat to the environment or to the health or safety of a community and requires immediate corrective action.

     (26) Equivalent residential unit (ERU) means a unit of measurement used to express the average sewage loading discharged from a typical full-time single-family dwelling unit.

     (27) Estimated construction cost means the expected amount for labor, materials, equipment, and other related work necessary to construct the proposed project.

     (28) Existing need means water pollution control facility's capacity reserved for all users, at the time of application.

     (29) Existing residential need means that portion of a water pollution control facility's capacity reserved for residential structures that:

     (a) Exists within the project service area at the time of application;

     (b) Is connected to the facility or is scheduled to be connected to the facility in an approved engineering report; and

     (c) Will bear the financial burden of paying for the new facility.

     (30) Extended grant payments means cash disbursements for eligible project costs made with equal annual payments as established in RCW 70.146.075.

     (31) Facilities see water pollution control facility.

     (32) Facilities plan means an engineering report that includes all the elements required by the state environmental review process (SERP), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as appropriate, other federal statutes, and planning requirements under chapter 173-240 WAC.

     (33) Final offer and applicant list means a catalog of all applications for financial assistance considered and those offered funding, based on adopted state and federal budgets.

     (34) Force account means loan or grant project work performed using labor, materials, or equipment of a public body.

     (35) Funding cycle means the events related to the competitive process used to allocate moneys from the water pollution control revolving fund, centennial clean water program, and the Clean Water Act section 319 nonpoint source program for a state fiscal year.

     (36) Grant agreement means a contractual arrangement between a public body and the department.

     (37) Growth means the portion of the flows to a facility reserved for future residential, commercial, industrial, or institutional flows.

     (38) Indirect cost means costs that benefit more than one activity of the recipient and not directly assigned to a particular project objective.

     (39) In-kind contributions means the value of noncash contributions provided for a project.

     (40) Interlocal agreement means a written arrangement between a grant recipient and another public body to provide eligible grant match contributions to a project. Interlocal agreements are subject to chapter 39.34 RCW, Interlocal Cooperation Act.

     (41) Interlocal costs means the value of goods or services provided to a project by a public body under the terms of an interlocal agreement. Interlocal contributions satisfy cash matching requirements.

     (42) Infiltration and inflow means water, other than wastewater, that enters a sewer system.

     (43) Infiltration and inflow correction means the cost-effective alternative or alternatives identified in an approved facilities plan or engineering report for eliminating or reducing the infiltration and inflow to an existing sewer system.

     (44) Landowner agreement means a written arrangement between a public body and a landowner that allows the public body to have access to the property to inspect project-related components.

     (45) Loan agreement means a contractual arrangement between a public body and the department that involves a disbursement of moneys that must be repaid.

     (46) Loan default means failure to make a loan repayment to the department within sixty days after the payment was due.

     (47) Match means the recipient share of eligible project costs.

     (48) Nonpoint source water pollution means pollution that enters any waters from widespread water-based or land-use activities. Nonpoint source water pollution includes, but is not limited to atmospheric deposition; surface water runoff from agricultural lands, urban areas, and forest lands; subsurface or underground sources; and discharges from boats or other marine vessels.

     (49) Plans and specifications means the construction contract documents and supporting engineering documents prepared in sufficient detail to allow contractors to bid on and construct water pollution control facilities. "Plans and specifications" and "design" may be used interchangeably.

     (50) Preliminary project priority list means a catalog of all applications for financial assistance considered for funding and submitted to the Washington state legislature for its consideration during budget development.

     (51) Project means a water quality improvement effort funded with a grant or loan.

     (52) Project completion or expiration means the date indicated in the funding agreement in which all milestones and objectives associated with the goals are met.

     (53) Public body means a state of Washington county, city or town, conservation district, other political subdivision, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, those Indian tribes recognized by the federal government, or institutions of higher education when the proposed project is not part of the school's statutory responsibility.

     (54) Public health emergency means a situation declared by the Washington state department of health in which illness or exposure known to cause illness is occurring or is imminent.

     (55) Recipient means a public body that has an effective loan or grant agreement with the department.

     (56) Residential means the portion of the total flows to a facility that originates from single family houses, apartments, mobile home parks, small commercial facilities, and community facilities such as local K-12 public schools, libraries, and fire stations.

     (57) Revolving fund means Washington state's water pollution control revolving fund.

     (58) Riparian buffer or zone means a swath of vegetation along a channel bank that provides protection from the erosive forces of water along the channel margins and external nonpoint sources of pollution.

     (59) Scope of work means a detailed description of project tasks, milestones, and measurable objectives.

     (60) Service area population means the number of people served in the area of the project.

     (61) Severe public health hazard means a situation declared by the Washington state department of health in which the potential for illness exists, but illness is not occurring or imminent.

     (62) Sewer means the pipe and related pump stations located on public property or on public rights of way and easements that convey wastewater from buildings.

     (63) Side sewer means a sanitary sewer service extension from the point five feet outside the building foundation to the publicly owned collection sewer.

     (64) State environmental review process (SERP) means the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)-like environmental review process adopted to comply with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's Code of Regulations (40 CFR § 35.3140). SERP combines the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review with additional elements to comply with federal requirements.

     (65) Total eligible project cost means the sum of all expenses associated with a water quality project that are eligible for funding.

     (66) Total project cost means the sum of all expenses associated with a water quality project.

     (67) Water pollution means contamination or other alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any waters of the state, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor; or any discharge of a liquid, gas, solid, radioactive substance, or other substance into any waters of the state that creates a nuisance or renders the waters harmful, detrimental, or injurious to the public, to beneficial uses, or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish, or other aquatic life.

     (68) Water pollution control activities or activities means actions taken by a public body for the following purposes:

     (a) To prevent or mitigate pollution of underground water;

     (b) To control nonpoint sources of water pollution;

     (c) To restore the water quality of freshwater lakes; and

     (d) To maintain or improve water quality through the use of water pollution control facilities or other means.

     (69) Water pollution control facility or facilities means any facilities or systems for the control, collection, storage, treatment, disposal, or recycling of wastewater, including, but not limited to, sanitary sewage, storm water, residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural wastes. Facilities include all necessary equipment, utilities, structures, real property, and interests in and improvements on real property.

     (70) Water resource inventory area (WRIA) means one of the watersheds in the state of Washington, each composed of the drainage areas of a stream or streams, as established in the Water Resources Management Act of 1971 (chapter 173-500 WAC).



[Statutory Authority: Chapter 90.50A RCW, RCW 90.48.035, and 43.21A.080. 11-20-036 (Order 10-14), § 173-95A-020, filed 9/27/11, effective 10/28/11. Statutory Authority: RCW 90.48.035. 07-14-096 (Order 05-16), § 173-95A-020, filed 6/29/07, effective 7/30/07. Statutory Authority: Chapter 70.146 RCW. 01-01-042 (Order 00-10), § 173-95A-020, filed 12/8/00, effective 1/8/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.146.070 and 36.70A.040. 97-24-096 (Order 97-31), § 173-95A-020, filed 12/3/97, effective 1/3/98.]