§ 423.11 - Specialized definitions.

§ 423.11 Specialized definitions.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 40293, May 9, 2024.

In addition to the definitions set forth in 40 CFR part 401, the following definitions apply to this part:

(a) The term total residual chlorine (or total residual oxidants for intake water with bromides) means the value obtained using any of the “chlorine—total residual” methods in Table IB in 40 CFR 136.3(a), or other methods approved by the permitting authority.

(b) The term low volume waste sources means, taken collectively as if from one source, wastewater from all sources except those for which specific limitations or standards are otherwise established in this part. Low volume waste sources include, but are not limited to, the following: Wastewaters from ion exchange water treatment systems, water treatment evaporator blowdown, laboratory and sampling streams, boiler blowdown, floor drains, cooling tower basin cleaning wastes, recirculating house service water systems, and wet scrubber air pollution control systems whose primary purpose is particulate removal. Sanitary wastes, air conditioning wastes, and wastewater from carbon capture or sequestration systems are not included in this definition.

(c) The term chemical metal cleaning waste means any wastewater resulting from the cleaning of any metal process equipment with chemical compounds, including, but not limited to, boiler tube cleaning.

(d) The term metal cleaning waste means any wastewater resulting from cleaning [with or without chemical cleaning compounds] any metal process equipment including, but not limited to, boiler tube cleaning, boiler fireside cleaning, and air preheater cleaning.

(e) The term fly ash means the ash that is carried out of the furnace by a gas stream and collected by a capture device such as a mechanical precipitator, electrostatic precipitator, or fabric filter. Economizer ash is included in this definition when it is collected with fly ash. Ash is not included in this definition when it is collected in wet scrubber air pollution control systems whose primary purpose is particulate removal.

(f) The term bottom ash means the ash, including boiler slag, which settles in the furnace or is dislodged from furnace walls. Economizer ash is included in this definition when it is collected with bottom ash.

(g) The term once through cooling water means water passed through the main cooling condensers in one or two passes for the purpose of removing waste heat.

(h) The term recirculated cooling water means water which is passed through the main condensers for the purpose of removing waste heat, passed through a cooling device for the purpose of removing such heat from the water and then passed again, except for blowdown, through the main condenser.

(i) The term 10 year, 24/hour rainfall event means a rainfall event with a probable recurrence interval of once in ten years as defined by the National Weather Service in Technical Paper No. 40. Rainfall Frequency Atlas of the United States, May 1961 or equivalent regional rainfall probability information developed therefrom.

(j) The term blowdown means the minimum discharge of recirculating water for the purpose of discharging materials contained in the water, the further buildup of which would cause concentration in amounts exceeding limits established by best engineering practices.

(k) The term average concentration as it relates to chlorine discharge means the average of analyses made over a single period of chlorine release which does not exceed two hours.

(l) The term free available chlorine means the value obtained using any of the “chlorine—free available” methods in Table IB in 40 CFR 136.3(a) where the method has the capability of measuring free available chlorine, or other methods approved by the permitting authority.

(m) The term coal pile runoff means the rainfall runoff from or through any coal storage pile.

(n) The term flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater means any wastewater generated specifically from the wet flue gas desulfurization scrubber system that comes into contact with the flue gas or the FGD solids, including but not limited to, the blowdown from the FGD scrubber system, overflow or underflow from the solids separation process, FGD solids wash water, and the filtrate from the solids dewatering process. Wastewater generated from cleaning the FGD scrubber, cleaning FGD solids separation equipment, cleaning FGD solids dewatering equipment, ; FGD paste equipment cleaning water, ; treated FGD wastewater permeate or distillate used as boiler makeup water, or ; water that is collected in floor drains in the FGD process area; wastewater removed from FGD wastewater treatment equipment within the first 120 days of decommissioning the equipment, or wastewater generated by a 10-year, 24-hour or longer duration storm event when meeting the certification requirements in § 423.19(o) is not considered FGD wastewater.

(o) The term flue gas mercury control wastewater means any wastewater generated from an air pollution control system installed or operated for the purpose of removing mercury from flue gas. This includes fly ash collection systems when the particulate control system follows sorbent injection or other controls to remove mercury from flue gas. FGD wastewater generated at plants using oxidizing agents to remove mercury in the FGD system and not in a separate FGMC system is not included in this definition.

(p) The term transport water means any wastewater that is used to convey fly ash, bottom ash, or economizer ash from the ash collection or storage equipment, or boiler, and has direct contact with the ash. Transport water does not include low volume, short duration discharges of wastewater from minor leaks (e.g., leaks from valve packing, pipe flanges, or piping), minor maintenance events (e.g., replacement of valves or pipe sections), FGD paste equipment cleaning water, or bottom ash purge water, wastewater removed from ash handling equipment within the first 120 days of decommissioning the equipment, or wastewater generated by a 10-year, 24-hour or longer duration storm event when meeting the certification requirements in § 423.19(o).

(q) The term gasification wastewater means any wastewater generated at an integrated gasification combined cycle operation from the gasifier or the syngas cleaning, combustion, and cooling processes. Gasification wastewater includes, but is not limited to the following: Sour/grey water; CO₂/steam stripper wastewater; sulfur recovery unit blowdown, and wastewater resulting from slag handling or fly ash handling, particulate removal, halogen removal, or trace organic removal. Air separation unit blowdown, noncontact cooling water, and runoff from fuel and/or byproduct piles are not considered gasification wastewater. Wastewater that is collected intermittently in floor drains in the gasification process area from leaks, spills, and cleaning occurring during normal operation of the gasification operation is not considered gasification wastewater.

(r) The term combustion residual leachate means leachate from landfills or surface impoundments containing combustion residuals. Leachate is composed of liquid, including any suspended or dissolved constituents in the liquid, that has percolated through waste or other materials emplaced in a landfill, or that passes through the surface impoundment's containment structure (e.g., bottom, dikes, berms). Combustion residual leachate includes seepage and/or leakage from a combustion residual landfill or impoundment unit. Combustion residual leachate includes wastewater from landfills and surface impoundments located on non-adjoining property when under the operational control of the permitted facility. Combustion residual leachate does not include wastewater generated by a 10-year, 24-hour or longer duration storm event when meeting the certification requirements in § 423.19(o).

(s) The term oil-fired unit means a generating unit that uses oil as the primary or secondary fuel source and does not use a gasification process or any coal or petroleum coke as a fuel source. This definition does not include units that use oil only for start up or flame-stabilization purposes.

(t) The phrase “as soon as possible” means November 1, 2018 (except for purposes of § 423.13(g)(1)(i) and (k)(1)(i), in which case it means October 13, 2021), unless the permitting authority establishes a later date, after receiving site-relevant information from the discharger, which reflects a consideration of the following factors:

(1) Time to expeditiously plan (including to raise capital), design, procure, and install equipment to comply with the requirements of this part.

(2) Changes being made or planned at the plant in response to:

(i) New source performance standards for greenhouse gases from new fossil fuel-fired electric generating units, under sections 111, 301, 302, and 307(d)(1)(C) of the Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7411, 7601, 7602, 7607(d)(1)(C);

(ii) Emission guidelines for greenhouse gases from existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units, under sections 111, 301, 302, and 307(d) of the Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7411, 7601, 7602, 7607(d); or

(iii) Regulations that address the disposal of coal combustion residuals as solid waste, under sections 1006(b), 1008(a), 2002(a), 3001, 4004, and 4005(a) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1970, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984, 42 U.S.C. 6906(b), 6907(a), 6912(a), 6944, and 6945(a).

(3) For FGD wastewater requirements only, an initial commissioning period for the treatment system to optimize the installed equipment.

(4) Other factors as appropriate.

(u) The term “FGD paste” means any combination of FGD wastewater treated with fly ash, lime, Portland cement, and/or other pozzolanic material prior to being landfilled, and which is engineered to form a solid through pozzolanic reactions.

(v) The term “FGD paste equipment cleaning water” means any wastewater generated from the cleaning of pugmills, piping, or other equipment used to make, process, or transport FGD paste from its point of generation to a landfill.

(w) The term “permanent permanent cessation of coal combustion” combustion means the owner or operator certifies under § 423.19(fg) or (h) that an electric generating unit will cease combustion of coal no later than December 31, 2028, or December 31, 2034.

(x) The term “high FGD flow” means the maximum daily volume of FGD wastewater that could be discharged by a facility is above 4 million gallons per day after accounting for that facility's ability to recycle the wastewater to the maximum limits for the FGD system materials of construction.

(y) The term “capacity utilization rating” means the total MWh production of an electric generating unit over a calendar year divided by the product of the number of hours in that year times the nameplate capacity.

(z) The term “low low utilization electric generating unit” unit means any electric generating unit for which the facility owner certifies, and annually recertifies, under § 423.19(ef) that the two-year average annual capacity utilization rating is less than 10 percent.

(aa) The term “primary active wetted bottom ash system volume” means the maximum volumetric capacity of bottom ash transport water in all non-redundant piping (including recirculation piping) and primary bottom ash collection and recirculation loop tanks (e.g., bins, troughs, clarifiers, and hoppers) of a wet bottom ash system, excluding the volumes of surface impoundments, secondary bottom ash system equipment (e.g., installed spares, redundancies, and maintenance tanks), and non-bottom ash transport systems that may direct process water to the bottom ash.

(bb) The term “tank” tank means a stationary device, designed to contain an accumulation of wastewater which is constructed primarily of non-earthen materials (e.g., wood, concrete, steel, plastic) which provide structural support and which is not a coal combustion residual surface impoundment.

(cc) The term “bottom ash purge water” means any water being discharged subject to § 423.13(k)(2)(i) or 423.16(g)(2)(i).

(dd) The term “30-day rolling average” means the series of averages using the measured values of the preceding 30 days for each average in the series.

(ee) The term coal combustion residual surface impoundment means a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area, which is designed to hold an accumulation of coal combustion residuals and liquids, and the unit treats, stores, or disposes of coal combustion residuals.

(ff) The term unmanaged combustion residual leachate means combustion residual leachate which either:

(1) Is determined by the permitting authority to be the functional equivalent of a direct discharge to waters of the United States (WOTUS) through groundwater; or

(2) Has leached from a waste management unit into the subsurface and mixed with groundwater prior to being captured and pumped to the surface for discharge directly to WOTUS.

[47 FR 52304, Nov. 19, 1982, as amended at 77 FR 29834, May 18, 2012; 80 FR 67893, Nov. 3, 2015; 82 FR 43500, Sept. 18, 2017; 85 FR 64716, Oct. 13, 2020; 89 FR 40293, May 9, 2024]