49-961. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. " Disposal" means discharging, depositing, injecting, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing a toxic substance or hazardous waste into or on land or water so that the toxic substance or hazardous waste or any constituent of hazardous waste may enter the environment, be emitted into the air or be released into or commingled with any waters, including groundwater.

2. " Facility" means all buildings, equipment, structures and other stationary items located on a single site or on contiguous or adjacent sites and owned or operated by the same person or by any person who controls, is controlled by or is under common control with any person. Facility does not include a household hazardous waste collection facility or a facility that is primarily engaged in receiving waste from off site and that has a permit issued or plan approved under this title for the storage, treatment or disposal of solid, special or hazardous waste.

3. " Generator" means a person who, by virtue of ownership, management or control, is responsible for causing or allowing to be caused the creation of hazardous waste.

4. " Hazardous waste" means hazardous waste as defined in section 49-921.

5. " Person" means an individual, the United States, this state or a public or private corporation, local government unit, public agency, partnership, association, firm, trust or estate or any other legal entity.

6. " Pollution" means the disposal of a toxic substance or hazardous waste into the air, land, surface water or groundwater.

7. " Pollution prevention" means operational procedures and processes and improvements in housekeeping or management techniques that reduce potential or actual releases of pollutants to the overall environment including all air, water and land resources affected by those pollutants. Pollution prevention includes any of the following:

(a) Toxics use reduction, source reduction, recycling of wastes or secondary materials, waste minimization, reuse, reclamation, conservation and substitution.

(b) Proportionate changes in the total volume, quantity or toxicity of a particular pollutant as prescribed in this subsection as the release of that pollutant changes as a result of production changes or other business changes. For the purposes of this subdivision, " business changes" includes improvements in operating practices, spill and leak prevention measures, inventory control and other changes that proportionately reduce or eliminate the release of pollutants to the overall environment but does not include the transfer or relocation of an operation or process to another facility in this state with no subsequent proportionate reduction in toxics use or the release of pollutants to the overall environment.

(c) On-site or off-site treatment if that treatment can be shown to confer a higher degree of protection to the public health and safety and the environment than other technically and economically practicable waste reduction alternatives.

8. " Recycling" means a reuse, further use, reclamation or extraction through a process or activity that is separate from the process or activity that produced the waste stream but does not include combustion or incineration.

9. " Toxic substance" or " toxics" means a toxic chemical listed pursuant to the pollution prevention act of 1990 (42 United States Code section 13102 (3)).

10. " Treatment" has the same meaning as prescribed in 40 Code of Federal Regulations section 260.10 but does not include recycling.