Groundwater means all water, which is below the surface of the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil.
Water well means an excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, augered, washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed for the purpose of exploring for groundwater, monitoring groundwater, utilizing the geothermal properties of the ground, or extracting water from or injecting water into the aquifer. “Water well” does not include an open ditch or drain tiles or an excavation made for obtaining or prospecting for oil, natural gas, minerals, or products mined or quarried.
Soil means all unconsolidated mineral and organic material of any origin.
Subsurface tracer study means the release of a substance tagged with radioactive material for the purpose of tracing the movement or position of the tagged substance in the well-bore or adjacent formation.
Subsurface Borings and Testing means borings, probings and subsurface explorations, laboratory tests and inspections of samples, materials and equipment; appropriate professional interpretations of all the foregoing.
Surface waters means water on the surface of the ground where water does not usually accumulate in ordinary watercourses, lakes, or ponds. This includes any waterborne objects.
Surface impoundment or "impoundment" means a facility or part of a facility which is a natural topographic depression, man-made excavation, or diked area formed primarily of earthen materials, although it may be lined with man-made materials, which is designed to hold an accumulation of liquid wastes or wastes containing free liquids, and which is not an injection well. Examples of surface impoundments are holding, storage, settling, and aeration pits, ponds, and lagoons.
Surface water means all water which is open to the atmosphere and subject to surface runoff.
Underground mining means all methods of mining other than surface mining.
Sediment means solid material, mineral or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water or gravity as a product of erosion.
Water Surface Elevation (WSE means the height, in relation to NAVD 1988, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of riverine areas.
Water surface elevation means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD) of 1988, or other datum, where specified, of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of riverine areas.
Underground storage tank or “UST” means any one or combination of tanks (including underground pipes connected thereto) that is used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, and the volume of which (including the volume of underground pipes connected thereto) is 10 percent or more beneath the surface of the ground. This term does not include any:
Underground area means an underground room, such as a basement, cellar, shaft or vault, providing enough space for physical inspection of the exterior of the tank situated on or above the surface of the floor.
Underground tank means a device meeting the definition of tank whose entire surface area is totally below the surface of and covered by the ground.
Wetlands or “wetland” means an area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as hydrophytic vegetation.
Vegetation means trees, shrubs, nursery stock and other vegetation and includes the limbs or growth of any Vegetation.
Contaminated soil means soil that meets all of the following criteria:
Underground injection means the subsurface emplacement of fluids through a bored, drilled or driven well; or through a dug well, where the depth of the dug well is greater than the largest surface dimension. (See also “injection well”.)
Contamination means the presence of, or Release on, under, from or to the environment of any Hazardous Substance, except the routine storage and use of Hazardous Substances from time to time in the ordinary course of business, in compliance with Environmental Laws and with good commercial practice.
Contaminate means the addition of sediment, any other pollutant or waste, or any illicit or prohibited discharge.
Invasive plant species means species of plants not historically found in California that spread outside cultivated areas and can damage environmental or economic resources. Invasive species may be regulated by county agricultural agencies as noxious species. Lists of invasive plants are maintained at the California Invasive Plant Inventory and USDA invasive and noxious weeds database.
Geologically hazardous areas means areas that because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or other geological events, are not suited to the siting of commercial, residential, or industrial development consistent with public health or safety concerns.
Underground storage tank system means an underground storage tank and the connected underground piping, underground ancillary equipment, and containment system, if any.
Underground storage means storage of gas in a subsurface stratum or formation of the earth.
Tanks has the meaning set forth in Section 4.12(b).