The following definitions shall apply throughout this Article:
(1) "Accepted wastewater system" has the same meaning as in G.S. 130A-343.
(1a) "Approved agency for special inspection" means an individual, corporation, company, association, or partnership that is objective, competent, and independent from the contractor who is responsible for the work that is inspected. The agency shall disclose possible conflicts of interest in a manner such that objectivity can be confirmed.
(1b) "Approved special inspector" means a person who demonstrates competence to the satisfaction of the professional engineer who designed the wastewater system for the inspection of the construction or operation subject to special inspection.
(1c) "Construction" means any work at the site of placement done for the purpose of preparing a residence, place of business or place of public assembly for initial occupancy, or subsequent additions or modifications which increase sewage flow.
(1d) "Construction observation" means the visual observation of the construction and installation of the wastewater system for general conformance with the construction documents prepared by the professional engineer who designed the wastewater system. Construction observation that is conducted by the professional engineer who designed the wastewater system does not include or waive the requirement to conduct special inspections.
(1e) "Conventional wastewater system" has the same meaning as in G.S. 130A-343.
(1f) "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services.
(1g) "Engineered option permit" means an on-site wastewater system that is permitted pursuant to the rules adopted by the Commission in accordance with this Article, meets the criteria established by G.S. 130A-336.1, and is designed by a professional engineer who is licensed under Chapter 89C of the General Statutes who has expertise in the design of on-site wastewater systems.
(1h) "Ground absorption system" means a system of tanks, treatment units, nitrification fields, and appurtenances for wastewater collection, treatment, and subsurface disposal.
(2) Repealed by Session Laws 1985, c. 462, s. 18.
(2a) "Industrial process wastewater" means any water-carried waste resulting from any process of industry, manufacture, trade, or business.
(2b) "Licensed geologist" means a person who is licensed as a geologist under the provisions of Chapter 89E of the General Statutes.
(2c) "Licensed soil scientist" has the same meaning as in G.S. 89F-3.
(3) "Location" means the initial placement for occupancy of a residence, place of business or place of public assembly.
(3a) "Maintenance" means normal or routine maintenance including replacement of broken pipes, cleaning, or adjustment to an existing wastewater system.
(4), (5) Repealed by Session Laws 1985, c. 462, s. 18.
(6) "Place of business" means a store, warehouse, manufacturing establishment, place of amusement or recreation, service station, office building or any other place where people work.
(7) "Place of public assembly" means a fairground, auditorium, stadium, church, campground, theater or any other place where people assemble.
(7a) "Plat" means a property survey prepared by a registered land surveyor, drawn to a scale of one inch equals no more than 60 feet, that includes: the specific location of the proposed facility and appurtenances, the site for the proposed wastewater system, and the location of water supplies and surface waters. "Plat" also means, for subdivision lots approved by the local planning authority if a local planning authority exists at the time of application for a permit under this Article, a copy of the subdivision plat that has been recorded with the county register of deeds and is accompanied by a site plan that is drawn to scale.
(7b) "Pretreatment" means any biological, chemical, or physical process or system for improving wastewater quality and reducing wastewater constituents prior to final treatment and disposal in a subsurface wastewater system and includes, but is not limited to aeration, clarification, digestion, disinfection, filtration, separation, and settling.
(7c) "Professional engineer" has the same meaning as in G.S. 89C-3.
(8) "Public or community wastewater system" means a single system of wastewater collection, treatment and disposal owned and operated by a sanitary district, a metropolitan sewage district, a water and sewer authority, a county or municipality or a public utility.
(9) "Relocation" means the displacement of a residence or place of business from one site to another.
(9a) "Repair" means the extension, alteration, replacement, or relocation of existing components of a wastewater system. Replacement of a damaged gravity distribution box by an on-site wastewater contractor certified under Article 5 of Chapter 90A of the General Statutes shall not constitute a repair to a permitted wastewater system.
(10) "Residence" means a private home, dwelling unit in a multiple family structure, hotel, motel, summer camp, labor work camp, manufactured home, institution or any other place where people reside.
(10a) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(11) Repealed by Session Laws 1992, c. 944, s. 3.
(12) "Septic tank system" means a subsurface wastewater system consisting of a settling tank and a subsurface disposal field.
(13) "Sewage" means the liquid and solid human body waste and liquid waste generated by water-using fixtures and appliances, including those associated with foodhandling. The term does not include industrial process wastewater or sewage that is combined with industrial process wastewater.
(13a) "Site plan" means a drawing not necessarily drawn to scale that shows the existing and proposed property lines with dimensions, the location of the facility and appurtenances, the site for the proposed wastewater system, and the location of water supplies and surface waters.
(13b) "Special inspection" means a required inspection of the materials, installation, fabrication, erection, or placement of components and systems that require special expertise to ensure compliance with referenced standards and the construction documents prepared by the professional engineer.
(14) "Wastewater" means any sewage or industrial process wastewater discharged, transmitted, or collected from a residence, place of business, place of public assembly, or other places into a wastewater system.
(14a) "Wastewater dispersal product" means a product approved by the Department for dispersing wastewater effluent within the subsurface dispersal field in a ground absorption system.
(15) "Wastewater system" means a system of wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal in single or multiple components, including a ground absorption system, privy, septic tank system, public or community wastewater system, wastewater reuse or recycle system, mechanical or biological wastewater treatment system, any other similar system, and any chemical toilet used only for human waste. (1973, c. 452, s. 4; 1981, c. 949, s. 3; 1983, c. 891, s. 2; 1985, c. 462, s. 18; c. 487, s. 9; 1987, c. 435; 1991, c. 256, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 944, s. 3; c. 1028, s. 4; 1995, c. 285, s. 1; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 585, s. 1; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, ss. 27.31(a), (b); 1997-443, s. 11A.82; 2011-145, s. 13.3(bbb); 2014-120, s. 40(a); 2015-241, s. 14.30(v); 2015-286, s. 4.14(a); 2017-139, s. 2; 2018-114, ss. 11(a), (b).)