Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 56 - NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL
Section 11-56-1 - Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
"40 CFR" means the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Protection of Environment, revised as of July 1, 2018 unless otherwise specified.
"Activity" means the performance of functions, assumptions of risks, or use by a party of tangible or intangible property or other resources to create a result.
"Agriculture" means the science or practice of farming, including growing crops and raising animals for the production of food, fiber, fuel, and/or other products.
"Agricultural activity" means an activity primarily involved with agriculture.
"Agricultural land" means land that is used principally for agricultural activities.
"Animal Feeding Operation" or "AFO" means a lot or facility (other than an aquatic animal production facility) where the following conditions are met:
(1) Animals (other than aquatic animals) have been, are, or will be stabled or confined and fed or maintained for a total of forty-five days or more in any twelve-month period; and
(2) Crops, vegetation forage growth, or postharvest residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility.
Animal feeding operations include the animal confinement area, the manure storage area, the raw materials storage area, and the waste containment areas. The animal confinement area includes but is not limited to open lots, housed lots, feedlots, confinement houses, stall barns, free stall barns, milkrooms, milking centers, cowyards, barnyards, medication pens, walkers, animal walkways, and stables. The manure storage area includes but is not limited to lagoons, runoff ponds, storage sheds, stockpiles, under house or pit storages, liquid impoundments, static piles, and composting piles. The raw materials storage area includes but is not limited to feed silos, silage bunkers, and bedding materials. The waste containment area includes but is not limited to settling basins, and areas within berms and diversions which separate uncontaminated storm water. Included in the definition is any egg washing or egg processing facility, and any area used in the storage, handling, treatment, or disposal of mortalities. Two or more animal facilities under common ownership are considered, for the purposes of Appendix A, to be a single animal facility for purposes of determining the number of animals at an operation if they adjoin each other or if they use a common area or system for the disposal of wastes.
"Best management practices" or "BMPs" means schedules of activities, prohibitions or designations of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of state waters. Best management practices also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control plant site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage.
"BLNR" means the board of land and natural resources.
"Buffer area" or "buffer strip" means a designated area around a stream or waterbody, or a strip between a stream or waterbody and an area of disturbance, of sufficient width to control sediment and/or minimize entrance of forestry chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, and fire retardants) into the waterbody.
"Cable yarding" means a system of transporting logs from stump to landing by means of steel cables and winch.
"Channel" means a natural or constructed waterway that continuously or periodically passes water.
"Commercial forestry" means forestry conducted for a commercial purpose.
"Commercial harvesting" means harvesting conducted for a commercial purpose.
"Commercial purpose" means those land uses which entail or comprise the exchange or buying and selling of commodities, or the providing of services, or relating to or connected with trade, traffic in goods and services, or commerce in general. The use of land for regulated public utility purposes shall not be considered a commercial purpose.
"Commercial species" means tree species grown for a commercial purpose.
"Contaminated runoff" means runoff which comes into contact with any raw materials, products, waste, or byproducts such that pollutants are transported within the storm water.
"Department" means the department of health unless explicitly qualified as another state or federal department.
"Developed/Urban" means those areas where the presence of man-made impervious surfaces results in increased peak runoff volumes and pollutant loadings that permanently alter one or more of the following: stream channels, natural drainageways, and in-stream and adjacent riparian habitat, so that predevelopment aquatic flora and fauna are eliminated or reduced to unsustainable levels and predevelopment water quality has been degraded. Increased bank cutting, streambed scouring, siltation damaging to aquatic flora and fauna, increases in water temperature, decreases in dissolved oxygen, changes to the natural structure and flow of the stream or river, and the presence of anthropogenic pollutants that are not generated from agricultural activities, in general, are indications of development and/or urbanization.
"Developed/Urban activity" means an activity located in a developed or urban area or primarily involved with a developed or urban area.
"Director" means the director of health or the director's duly authorized agent.
"Discharge" when used without qualification, means the "discharge of a water pollutant" including, but not limited to, causing or contributing to water pollution of State waters by way of runoff, drainage, seepage, escape, disposal, spilling, leaking, pumping, emitting, emptying, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, or hydrologic modification.
"Disturbed areas" means localized areas within harvest units or road systems where mineral soil is exposed or agitated. Disturbed areas include, but are not limited to, road cuts, fill slopes, landing surfaces, cable corridors, or skid trail ruts.
"DLNR" means the state department of land and natural resources.
"DOFAW" means the DLNR division of forestry and wildlife.
"Drainage ditch" means a manmade structure designed to carry storm water runoff only, not sanitary sewage.
"Dump station" means a type of pumpout facility which receives vessel sewage from portable marine sanitation devices and from which sewage is delivered or transferred to an approved sewage disposal facility.
"eFOTG" means the electronic Field Office Technical Guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Pacific Islands Area Field Office.
"EPA" means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"Erosion" means wearing away of the land surface by water, ice, wind, gravity, or other natural or anthropogenic agents.
"Existing activity" means an activity subject to regulation under this chapter that was in operation as of [JUN 25 2021].
"Existing animal feeding operation" means a facility that meets the definition of "animal feeding operation" in this chapter and that was in operation as of [JUN 25 2021].
"Facility" means any facility, physical operation, collection of buildings, parcel or parcels, of farm operated as a single unit (including land or appurtenances thereto), that is subject to regulation under this chapter.
"Felling" means the process of cutting down standing trees.
"Fertilizer" means any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply elements essential to plant growth.
"Fireline" means a barrier used to stop the spread of fire constructed by removing fuel or rendering fuel inflammable by use of fire retardants.
"Fish waste" means organic materials resulting from commercial or recreational fish cleaning or processing operations. Fish waste may include, but is not limited to, particles of flesh, skin, bones, entrails, or liquid stick water.
"Floodplain" means the area of land flooded at measurable recurrence intervals of ten, fifty, one hundred, or five hundred years or the area of land that is periodically inundated (often annually) by the overflow of rivers or streams.
"Forest" or "forest land" means land at least one hundred twenty feet (thirty-seven meters) wide and at least one acre (0.4 hectare) in size that contains at least ten per cent tree crown cover, or that formerly contained such cover and will be naturally or artificially restored. Forest land does not include land that is predominantly used for agricultural activities or predominantly under urban land use; tree-covered areas in agricultural production settings, such as fruit orchards, or tree-covered areas in urban settings, such as city parks, are not considered forest land.
"Forest product" means any saleable item made from wood that is taken and/or harvested from forest trees.
"Forestry" means the art, science, and practice of managing forests.
"Forestry activity" means an activity primarily involved with forestry.
"General permit" means an NPDES permit issued as a rule or document that authorizes a category of discharges into State waters from a category of sources within a geographical area.
"Groundskidding" means trailing or dragging trees along the ground.
"Habitat" means the place where an organism naturally lives or grows.
"HAR" means Hawaii Administrative Rules.
"Harvesting" means the felling, skidding, processing, loading, and transporting of forest products.
"Harvest unit" means an area of forest vegetation that has been harvested as a cohesive unit and generally has uniform distribution of retained vegetation.
"HRS" means Hawaii Revised Statutes.
"Hull" means the frame or body of a vessel, including its deck, but exclusive of the masts, sails, yards, and rigging.
"Hull maintenance area" means areas whose primary function is to provide a place for boats during the scraping, sanding, and painting of their bottoms.
"Hydromodification" means alteration of the hydrologic characteristics of coastal and non-coastal waters, which in turn could cause degradation of water resources. Any alteration to a stream or coastal waters, whether a diversion, channel, dam, or levee is considered a hydromodification.
"Hydromodification activity" means an activity primarily involved with hydromodification.
"Integrated pest management" or "IPM" means a pest population management system that anticipates and prevents pests from reaching damaging levels by using all suitable tactics including natural enemies, pest-resistant plants, cultural management, and the judicious use of pesticides, leading to an economically and environmentally safe agriculture.
"Intermittent stream" means a stream that carries water most of the time but ceases to flow occasionally because evaporation or seepage into its bed and banks exceed the available streamflow. Intermittent streams may also include ephemeral streams that carry water only after rains and interrupted streams that carry water generally through their length but may have sections with dry streambeds.
"Landing" means a place in or near the forest where logs are gathered for further processing, sorting, or transport. Also known as a log deck.
"Load allocation" means the portion of a receiving water's loading capacity that is attributed either to one of its existing or future nonpoint sources of pollution or to natural background sources. Load allocations are best estimates of the loading, which may range from reasonably accurate estimates to gross allotments, depending on the availability of data and appropriate techniques for predicting the loading. Wherever possible, natural and nonpoint source loads should be distinguished.
"Management measures" means economically achievable measures for control of the addition of pollutants from existing and new categories and classes of nonpoint sources of pollution which reflect the greatest degree of pollutant reduction achievable through the application of the best available nonpoint pollution control practices, technologies, processes, siting criteria, operating methods, or other alternatives.
"Marinas" means facilities and their associated shore-based services that support recreational boats and boats for hire.
"Marine sanitation device" means any equipment for installation on board a vessel which is designed to receive, retain, treat, or discharge sewage, and any process to treat such sewage.
"National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" or "NPDES" means the national program for issuing, modifying, revoking and reissuing, terminating, monitoring and enforcing permits, and imposing and enforcing pretreatment requirements under Sections 307, 402, 318, and 405 of the Clean Water Act.
"New activity" means an activity subject to regulation under this chapter which commenced regulated activities after [25 2021].
"New animal feeding operation" means a facility that meets the definition of "animal feeding operation" in this chapter and that began operation after [JUN 25 2021].
"Nonpoint source pollution" means water pollution that does not originate from a point source. Nonpoint source pollution may include pollution from sources exempt from regulation as point sources, including but not limited to facilities or activities related to agriculture, forestry, developed areas, marinas and recreational boating, hydromodification, and wetlands, riparian areas, and vegetated treatment systems. Nonpoint source pollution may be delivered to State waters through processes including but not limited to discharges, land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage, or hydrologic modification.
"Notice of general permit coverage" or "NGPC" means an authorization issued to the owner or operator by the department to comply with the NPDES general permit.
"NPDES permit" means an authorization, license, or equivalent control document issued by the EPA or the director to implement the requirements of 40 CFR Parts 122, 123, and 124. NPDES permit includes an NPDES general permit according to 40 CFR § 122.28 and a notice of general permit coverage (NGPC), as the context requires. NPDES permit does not include any permit which has not yet been the subject of final agency action, such as a draft permit.
"Party" means each person or agency named as a party or properly entitled to be a party in any agency or court proceeding.
"Pasture" means lands that are primarily used for the production of forage plants for livestock. Pasture includes lands that have been seeded with forage plants for livestock and lands that are intensively managed using agronomy practices for the production or control of livestock.
"Perennial stream" means a stream that carries water all the time.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, federal agency, the State or any of its political subdivisions including the several counties and any public agencies thereof and any legally organized districts therein, trust, estate, or any other legal entity. "Person" includes the plural where appropriate and needed.
"Pesticide" means any substance or mixture of substances used for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.
"Point source" means any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or any other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. Point source does not include agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.
"Pollution" means water pollution.
"Precommercial thinning" means cutting trees from a young stand so that the remaining trees will have more room to grow to marketable size. Trees cut in a precommercial thinning have no commercial value and normally none of the felled trees are removed for utilization. The primary intent is to improve growth potential for the trees left after thinning.
"Privately-owned agricultural land" means agricultural land owned by an individual or nongovernmental, private party.
"Privately-owned entity" means an entity owned by an individual or non-governmental, private party.
"Privately-owned forest land" means land owned by an individual or non-governmental, private party, which is used principally for silvicultural activities.
"Publicly-owned agricultural land" means agricultural land owned by a federal, state, or local government agency, authority, or subdivision.
"Publicly-owned entity" means an entity that is owned by a federal, state or local government including government agencies or departments.
"Publicly-owned forest land" means land owned by a federal, state, or local government agency, authority, or subdivision, which is used principally for silvicultural activities.
"Pumpout" means a mechanical device which is temporarily connected to a vessel for the purpose of removing vessel sewage from its holding tank or head to an approved sewage disposal facility.
"Range" means land that support a cover of herbaceous or shrubby vegetation suitable for grazing or browsing by livestock.
"Regeneration" means the process of replacing older trees removed by harvest or disaster with young trees.
"Riparian areas" means vegetated ecosystems along a waterbody through which energy, materials, and water pass. Riparian areas characteristically have a high water table and are subject to periodic flooding and influence from the adjacent waterbody. These systems encompass wetlands, uplands, or some combination of these two land forms; they will not in all cases have all of the characteristics necessary for them to be classified as wetlands.
"Runoff" means the portion of rainfall, snow melt, or irrigation water that drains off the land into State waters.
"Shoreline" means the upper reaches of the wash of the waves, other than storm and seismic waves, at high tide during the season of the year in which the highest wash of the waves occurs, usually evidenced by the edge of vegetation growth, or the upper limit of debris left by the wash of the waves.
"Shoreline erosion" means erosion that occurs at the shoreline in in the State's domain.
"Silviculture" means the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis. Silviculture includes the theory and practice of planting, thinning, pruning, growing, and harvesting of trees.
"Skid trail" means a temporary, nonstructural pathway over forest soils used to drag felled trees or logs to the landing.
"Solid waste" means garbage, refuse, and other discarded materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, sludge from waste treatment plants and water supply treatment plants, and residues from air pollution control facilities and community activities, but does not include solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, irrigation return flows, or industrial discharges which are subject to permit under chapter 342D.
"State waters" means all waters, fresh, brackish, or salt, around and within the State including, but not limited to, coastal waters, wetlands, streams, rivers, drainage ditches, ponds, reservoirs, canals, groundwaters, lakes, and Hawaiian fishponds (loko i 'a; as defined in § 183B-1, HRS); provided that drainage ditches, canals, ponds, wetlands, and reservoirs required as a part of a water pollution control system or an irrigation system are excluded.
"Storm water" means storm water runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.
"Stream" means any natural water course in which water usually flows in a defined bed or channel. The flow can be constant, uniform, or uninterrupted, regardless of whether the stream has been altered or channelized.
"Streamside Management Zone" or "SMZ" means a designated area that consists of the stream itself and an adjacent area of varying width that mitigates the movement of sediment, nutrients, and other chemicals generated from forestry activities into streams. The SMZ is not an area of exclusion, but an area of closely managed activity.
"Timber land" means forest land that is capable of producing crops of industrial wood and not withdrawn from timber utilization by statute or administrative regulation.
"Total maximum daily load" or "TMDL" is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body 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, load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources and/or natural background, and must include a margin of safety (MOS) and account for seasonal variations.
"Total suspended solids" or "TSS" means the very fine soil particles that remain in suspension in water for a considerable period of time.
"Tree" means a woody plant having a more or less erect perennial stem capable of achieving at least 3 inches (in) (7.6 centimeters [cm]) in diameter at breast height, or 5 in (12.7 cm) diameter at root collar, and a height of 16.4 ft (5 m) at maturity in situ.
"Tree farm" means any publicly-owned or privately-owned forest land that is capable of sustaining commercial tree species.
"Vessel" means every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance being used as a means of transportation on waters of the U.S.
"Waste" means sewage, industrial and agricultural matter, and all other liquid, gaseous, or solid substance, including radioactive substance, whether treated or not, which may pollute or tend to pollute state waters.
"Wastewater" means any liquid waste, including waste-contaminated storm water runoff, whether treated or not, and whether animal, mineral, or vegetable, including agricultural, industrial, and thermal wastes. Specific to Appendix A of this chapter (Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Requirements for Agriculture), "wastewater" means water directly or indirectly used in the operation of the animal feeding operation for any or all of the following: spillage or overflow from animal or poultry watering systems; washing, cleaning, or flushing pens, barns, manure pits, or other associated facilities; direct contact swimming, washing, or spray cooling of animals; or dust control. Wastewater also includes any water which comes into contact with any raw materials, products, or byproducts including manure, litter, feed, milk, eggs or bedding.
"Water pollutant" or "pollutant" means, but is not limited to, dredged spoil, solid refuse, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical waste, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, soil, sediment, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste.
"Water pollution" means:
(1) Such contamination or other alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any State waters, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters, or
(2) Such addition of any liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substances into any State waters, as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters unreasonably harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety, or welfare, including harm, detriment, or injury to public water supplies, fish and aquatic life and wildlife, recreational purposes and agricultural and industrial research and scientific uses of such waters or as will or is likely to violate any water quality standards, effluent standards, treatment and pretreatment standards, or standards of performance for new sources adopted by the department.
"Water pollution control system" means a system designed and constructed specifically for the purpose of collecting, handling, storing, treating, or disposing of domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater, to prevent water pollution.
"Watershed" means a geographically defined land area that drains to a common waterbody, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, or the ocean.
"Watershed plan" means a document developed to guide the implementation of practices and activities in a watershed to protect, maintain, and restore the quality of State waters. A watershed plan provides assessment and management information for a geographically defined watershed, including the analyses, actions, participants, and resources related to development and implementation of the plan.
"Wetland" means land that is transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. A wetland shall have one or more of the following attributes:
(1) At least periodically, the land supports predominantly hydrophytic vegetation;
(2) The substratum is predominantly undrained hydric soil; or
(3) The substratum is nonsoil (gravel or rocks) and is at least periodically saturated with water or covered by shallow water.
Wetlands may be fresh, brackish, or saline and generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and associated ponds and pools, mud flats, isolated seasonal ponds, littoral zones of standing water bodies, and alluvial floodplains.
"Yarding" means a method of transport of felled trees from harvest area to storage landing.
