TITLE 39

HEALTH AND SAFETY

CHAPTER 1

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY — HEALTH

39-103.  Definitions. Whenever used or referred to in this chapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1)  "Air contaminant" or "air contamination" means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of any dust, fume, mist, smoke, radionuclide, vapor, gas or other gaseous fluid or particulate substance differing in composition from or exceeding in concentration the natural components of the atmosphere.

(2)  "Air pollution" means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of any contaminant or combination thereof in such quantity of such nature and duration and under such conditions as would be injurious to human health or welfare, to animal or plant life, or to property, or to interfere unreasonably with the enjoyment of life or property.

(3)  "Board" means the board of environmental quality.

(4)  "Cyanidation" means the method of extracting target precious metals from ores by treatment with cyanide solution, which is the primary leaching agent for extraction.

(5)  "Cyanidation facility" means that portion of a new ore processing facility, or a material modification or a material expansion of that portion of an existing ore processing facility that utilizes cyanidation and is intended to contain, treat, or dispose of cyanide containing materials including spent ore, tailings, and process water.

(6)  "Department" means the department of environmental quality.

(7)  "Director" means the director of the department of environmental quality or the director’s designee.

(8)  "Emission" means any controlled or uncontrolled release or discharge into the outdoor atmosphere of any air contaminant or combination thereof. Emission also includes any release or discharge of any air contaminant from a stack, vent or other means into the outdoor atmosphere that originates from an emission unit.

(9)  "Laboratory" means not only facilities for biological, serological, biophysical, cytological and pathological tests, but also facilities for the chemical or other examination of materials from water or other substances.

(10) "Medical waste combustor" means any device, incinerator, furnace, boiler or burner, and any and all appurtenances thereto, which burns or pyrolyzes medical waste consisting of human or animal tissues, medical cultures, human blood or blood products, materials contaminated with human blood or tissues, used or unused surgical wastes, used or unused sharps, including hypodermic needles, suture needles, syringes and scalpel blades.

(11) "Person" means any individual, association, partnership, firm, joint stock company, trust, estate, political subdivision, public or private corporation, state or federal governmental department, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal entity which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.

(12) "Public water supply" or "public drinking water system" means a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances, if such system has at least fifteen (15) service connections, regardless of the number of water sources or configuration of the distribution system, or regularly serves an average of at least twenty-five (25) individuals daily at least sixty (60) days out of the year. Such term includes any collection, treatment, storage and distribution facilities that are under the control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection with such system, and any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control that are used primarily in connection with such system. Such term does not include any special irrigation district.

(13) "Solid waste" means garbage, refuse, radionuclides and other discarded solid materials, including solid waste materials resulting from industrial, commercial and agricultural operations and from community activities but does not include solid or dissolved materials in domestic sewage or other significant pollutants in water resources, such as silt, dissolved or suspended solids in industrial waste water effluents, dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or other common water pollutants.

(14) "Solid waste disposal" means the collection, storage, treatment, utilization, processing or final disposal of solid waste.

(15) "State" means the state of Idaho.

(16) "Substantive" means that which creates, defines or regulates the rights of any person or implements, interprets or prescribes law or policy, but does not include statements concerning only the internal management of the department and not affecting private rights or procedures available to the public.

(17) "Water pollution" is such alteration of the physical, thermal, chemical, biological or radioactive properties of any waters of the state, or such discharge of any contaminant into the waters of the state as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful or detrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare or to domestic, commercial, industrial, recreational, esthetic or other legitimate uses or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life.

(18) "Waters" means all accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural and artificial, public and private or parts thereof which are wholly or partially within, flow through or border upon this state except for private waters as defined in section 42-212, Idaho Code.

History:

[39-103, added 1992, ch. 305, sec. 4, p. 913; am. 1993, ch. 267, sec. 1, p. 900; am. 2000, ch. 132, sec. 5, p. 315; am. 2005, ch. 167, sec. 1, p. 509; am. 2010, ch. 23, sec. 1, p. 41.]