§1362 Definitions

Summary

It gives plain meanings for many words used in the chapter so people know exactly what they mean. State water pollution control agency means the state agency the Governor picked to enforce state pollution laws. Interstate agency means an agency made by two or more States under a Congress‑approved agreement, or another multi‑state agency the Administrator approves, that has big pollution‑control duties. State means a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Municipality means a city, town, county, parish, district, or other public body that handles sewage or waste, and also includes an Indian tribe, an authorized tribal organization, or a management agency approved under section 1288. Person means a person, corporation, partnership, association, State, municipality, commission, political subdivision, or interstate body. Pollutant means many things dumped into water like solid waste, sewage, chemical wastes, heat, radioactive materials, and more, but it does not include (A) sewage from vessels or discharges that are normal for Armed Forces vessels under section 1322, or (B) certain injected or produced waters related to oil or gas when the State approves the well and finds it will not harm ground or surface water. Navigable waters means the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas. Territorial seas means the sea belt measured from the low‑water line that reaches out three miles. Contiguous zone means the zone the United States sets under article 24 of the Convention of the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone. Ocean means any part of the high seas beyond the contiguous zone. Effluent limitation means limits set by a State or the Administrator on how much of various pollutants can be discharged, and can include schedules of compliance. Discharge of a pollutant means adding any pollutant to navigable waters from a point source, or adding pollutants to the contiguous zone or ocean from a point source (except from a vessel). Toxic pollutant means pollutants that, after being released and exposed to organisms, can cause death, disease, behavioral problems, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological or reproductive problems, or physical deformities. Point source means any clear, confined way pollutants can be released, like a pipe, ditch, well, container, vessel, or concentrated animal feeding operation, but not agricultural stormwater or return flows from irrigated agriculture. Biological monitoring means checking how discharges affect aquatic life, including pollutant buildup in tissues, using proper sampling and timing. Discharge used alone includes discharge of a pollutant and discharges of pollutants. Schedule of compliance means a step‑by‑step plan that leads to meeting a discharge limit or standard. Industrial user means industries listed under Division D—Manufacturing in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual (1967) and other big waste producers the Administrator names. Pollution means human‑caused changes that harm the chemical, physical, biological, or radiological quality of water. Medical waste means things like infectious agents, blood, pathological wastes, sharps, body parts, contaminated bedding, surgical and certain lab wastes, dialysis wastes, and other items the Administrator adds by rule. Coastal recreation waters means the Great Lakes and marine coastal waters a State has designated under section 1313(c) for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar activities, but does not include inland waters or waters upstream of a river mouth that still has a natural open‑sea connection. Floatable material means foreign matter that can float or stay suspended, such as plastic, aluminum cans, wood, bottles, and paper. Pathogen indicator means a substance that shows the possible presence of human disease‑causing organisms. Oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations or transmission facilities means all field work tied to oil or gas activities, including site prep and moving drilling gear, whether or not it is considered construction. Recreational vessel means a boat used mainly for pleasure or rented for pleasure, but not Coast Guard‑inspected vessels used commercially or carrying paying passengers. Treatment works has the meaning given in section 1292. Green infrastructure means measures using plants, soil, permeable surfaces, stormwater reuse, or landscaping to hold, soak in, or evaporate stormwater and reduce flows to sewers or surface waters.