Guidelines to Statutory Order on the Licensing of Waste Water Discharges

2. Definitions

2.1 Terminology
2.1.1 Waste water
2.1.2 Domestic waste water
2.1.3 Surface run-off
2.1.4 Human waste
2.1.5 Population equivalent
2.1.6 Holding tank
2.1.7 Waste water system
2.1.8 Capacity
2.1.9 Public waste water system
2.1.10 Private waste water system
2.1.11 Best available techniques

2.1 Terminology

Section 4 defines the terminology used in the Statutory Order and in the Environmental Protection Act.

2.1.1 Waste water

Definition of ‘waste water’

Basically, the term ‘waste water’ as defined in section 4(1) of the Statutory Order covers water discharged from residential, commercial, industrial or other buildings and surface run-off, i.e. domestic waste water, effluent from industrial and commercial enterprises, including cooling water and filter backwash as well as surface run-off from roofs and other areas impervious to water.

’Areas impervious to water’

‘Areas impervious to water’ are areas that, due to their use as, for example, roads, parts of buildings, etc., are wholly or partly impervious to water. This may include gravel areas and grass areas. Generally, water from perimeter drains around sewered buildings is also classified as waste water, as is dstorm water from cemeteries and landfill percolate, whereas other types of dstorm water are not normally covered by this definition.

‘Water comparable to waste water’

The competent authority pursuant to section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act can also license the discharge of water not covered by the definition of waste water. Such water is comparable to waste water for the purposes of the Statutory Order, provided that its composition does not deviate significantly from that of water covered by the definition of waste water.

When dealing with applications for a licence to discharge water in this category, the competent authority must proceed on a case-by-case basis, and if it decides to grant a given application, the necessary terms and conditions, e.g. in respect of treatment measures and point of discharge, must be stipulated in the licence.

’Water from "emergency pumping" operations’

Water from "emergency pumping" operations is comparable to waste water, provided that its content of the pollutant(s) concerned is not highly concentrated or has been intentionally diluted, but has ended up in the ground water by diffusion. If the pumped water is highly contaminated, it may be necessary to collect the water or treat it in situ. This may be the case, for example, in connection with pumping out water from an oil-contaminated site.

’Water deriving from a lowering of the ground water table’

Basically, water from a lowering of the ground water table brought about by building and civil engineering works is not comparable to waste water, but must be disposed of in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Water Supply Act ("Vandforsyningsloven"). In the exceptional cases where such water has to be discharged to a waste water treatment plant, a separate connection licence must be issued.

Prohibition of the disharge of liguid and semiliguid manure and silage effluent

Section 27 of the Environmental Protection Act contains a general prohibition on the discharge of pollutants into watercourses, lakes or the sea. This prohibition applies to liquid and semi-liquid manure, silage and manure effluent, since such substances do not come within the definition of waste water.

2.1.2 Domestic waste water

Definition of ‘domestic waste water’

According to section 4(2) of the Statutory Order, domestic waste water is waste water discharged from households, including from water closets. Sanitary sewage from commercial and industrial enterprises, i.e. waste water from bathrooms, toilets and kitchens, is also included in this definition.

These Guidelines also use the concepts ‘black’ and ‘grey’ waste water. Black waste water means waste water from water closets exclusively, while grey waste water is waste water from bathrooms, kitchens, cleaning and laundering and sanitary sewage other than black waste water.

2.1.3 Surface run-off

Definition of ’surface run-off’

According to section 4(3) of the Statutory Order, surface run-off is understood as storm water from roofs, paved and other wholly or partly impervious areas, including railways. Surface run-off must not contain substances other than those usually added to storm water running off roads, parking spaces, etc., or have a materially different composition.

Thus water from washing and cleaning plants, storage sites and the like does not come within the definition, since substances other than those present in run-off from roads and parking grounds are added to the water. Nor does storm water run-off from storage sites for materials containing heavy metals fall under the definition, since the concentration of heavy metals may be higher than in road run-off.

2.1.4 Human waste

According to section 4(4) of the Statutory Order, ’human waste’ comprises urine and faecal matter. Human waste is discharged from waterless or low-water sanitary systems. Examples are humus toilets or urine separation toilets, i.e. appliances in which urine and faecal matter are collected in one container, as well as appliances for separate collection of urine and/or faecal matter.

2.1.5 Population equivalent

Definition of ’1 p.e’

According to section 4(5) of the Statutory Order, 1 p.e. (population equivalent) is the waste water load having a five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) of 21.9 kilograms oxygen per year, 4.4 kilograms total nitrogen per year or 1.0 kilograms total phosphorus per year.

Waste water effluents of up to 30 p.e.

Any determination of whether a waste water effluent corresponds to 30 p.e. or less must be based on an assessment of all three parameters used in the definition of one population equivalent: organic substances, nitrogen and phosphorus. The load capacity of a waste water effluent may be determined as 30 p.e. or less, provided that the level of all three parameters corresponds to 30 p.e. or less.

In terms of the delimitation of powers to license waste water effluents defined in section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act, waste water must not contain substances other than those usually present in domestic waste water, nor have a significantly different composition, cf. section 11 and section 4 of the Statutory Order. This also applies to the discharge of waste water into the ground by percolation under section 28(1) of the Statutory Order.

Waste water effluents containing substances other than those usually present in domestic waste water or having a significantly different composition are thus never comparable to domestic waste water effluents representing 30 p.e. or less, not even in cases where the value of all three parameters may be below the level corresponding to 30 p.e.

Nor is waste water of increased temperature, such as cooling water, comparable to domestic waste water.

In determining the capacity in p.e., cf. section 2.1.8 below, for a given waste water effluent, no load distribution may be made. This means that effluent loads expressed in, say, kilograms/day discharged only for a certain number of days per year may not be distributed over the entire year.

Definition of ’holding tank’

As defined in section 4(6) of the Statutory Order, a holding tank is a watertight container that is either type-approved according to the Statutory Order on supervision of oil-storage facilities, or may be approved for the storage of waste water by the licensing authority under the rules set out in Part 14 of the Statutory Order.

2.1.7 Waste water system

Definition of ‘waste water system’

According to section 4(7) of the Statutory Order, waste water systems comprise both open and closed conduits and other installations for draining off and/or treat waste water before it is discharged into watercourses, lakes, the sea, the ground or disposed of by other means. Thus, the processes taking place in a waste water system do not necessarily comprise both drainage and treatment of waste water.

Boundary line between waste water systems and watercourses

The boundary line between waste water systems and watercourses depends on the point of discharge, which should be specified in the discharge licence. The possibility cannot be excluded, therefore, that a few sections of a minor tributary may be classified as part of a waste water system. In cases where no discharge licence has been granted, and therefore no point of discharge has been defined, this point must be defined by the licensing authority. However, all waste water systems located in a municipality must be listed in the municipal waste water plan, cf. section 32 of the Environmental Protection Act and section 5 of the Statutory Order.

The local council is empowered to define a section of a watercourse as a waste water system in the waste water plan. Watercourses reclassified as waste water systems are no longer governed by the Watercourse Act ("Vandløbsloven"), but by the provisions on waste water laid down in the Environmental Protection Act.

Pursuant to the Watercourse Act, the opinion of the regional council shall be obtained in connection with plans to reclassify a watercourse, in cases where the said watercourse is comprised by the water quality objectives set in the regional plan. This is to ensure that site owners are not unintentionally deprived of their right under the Watercourse Act to discharge dstorm water from their land.

Drain pipes

For administrative purposes, drain pipes are regarded as watercourses as defined in the Watercourse Act, unless they are specifically classified as part of the waste water system.

2.1.8 Capacity

Definition of ’capacity’

As defined in section 4(8) of the Statutory Order, the capacity or approved capacity of a waste water system is the amount of waste water with its content of pollutants expressed in population equivalents (p.e.) that may be discharged under a licence issued under Parts 3, 4 or 5 of the Environmental Protection Act from one or more properties within the catchment area identified for the waste water system concerned. When issuing a discharge licence for a municipal waste water treatment plant, the regional council must therefore determine the plant’s capacity in p.e., cf. section 17 of the Statutory Order, and define its catchment area.

Capacity as an administrative concept

The concept of capacity is used particularly in distinguishing between the licensing competence of the regional council and the local council, respectively, cf. section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act (see section 2.1.5 above), and in identifying the municipal waste water systems that are encompassed by the national emission standards, cf. section 19 of the Statutory Order. Thus, the approved capacity is not necessarily equal to the plant’s design capacity and is, basically, not a measurable, but an administrative quantity, which may differ from the physical capacity of the installation.

2.1.9 Public waste water system

Definition of ‘public waste water system’

As defined in section 4(9) of the Statutory Order, a public collecting system is one whose operation and/or maintenance is the responsibility of one or more local councils. However, this definition does not include installations established under section 7a of the Act on payment rules for waste water installations etc. Such installations continue to be private, although they are established, operated and maintained by the local council.

Outsourcing

Although a local council may have outsourced the operation of a public waste water treatment plant, it continues to be responsible for its operation, and thus for ensuring compliance with the discharge licence. Legal action may therefore be brought against the local council, for example, in the event of non-compliance with the discharge licence applying to the waste water treatment plant.

2.1.10 Private waste water system

Definition of ‘private waste water system’

According to the definition in section 4(10), a private waste water system is one that is not defined as a public waste water system. Waste water systems that come within the central government’s scope of responsibility therefore have status as private installations.

Distinction between public and private waste water systems

It is not clear from the definition of a public waste water system in which cases the local council is responsible for maintaining and operating the installation, but this should be indicated in the waste water plan, cf. section 5(1)(ii) of the Statutory Order. Thus, the definition should be interpreted in terms of the boundaries of the sewage catchment areas identified in the waste water plan and other information regarding systems established, operated and maintained by the local council in its capacity as sewage service provider.

According to section 28(4) of the Environmental Protection Act, landowners are required to connect their waste water systems to a public collecting system if a service sewer is available at the site boundary. The local council must lay a service sewer up to the boundary of the individual property or to the boundary of the catchment area of a private waste water system that is under an obligation to connect to a public waste water system.

Waste water conduits laid across private properties

A waste water conduit laid across one property in order to serve another in the same a public sewage catchment area must therefore be assumed to be a public conduit, unless the title register or other documents shows it to be private, or else the local council cannot be said to have fulfilled its obligation as service provider.

Unless it appears from the title register or other documents that the waste water system concerned is private, a conduit that runs across another landowner’s land forms part of the public waste water system. This means that the local council is responsible for maintaining and operating the installation.

The local council cannot without the prior consent of the owner establish a waste water conduit on a private property for the purpose of serving one or more properties located behind the said property. If the owner refuses to give his consent, the local council will have to obtain the necessary land by compulsory acquisition, cf. section 58 of the Environmental Protection Act.

Alternatively, the local council must lay a new service sewer up to the site boundary of the property/properties located behind the property in question and order these properties to connect to the new service sewer pursuant to section 30 of the Environmental Protection Act.

2.1.11 Best available techniques

Definition of ‘best available techniques’

According to section 4(11) of the Statutory Order, the ‘best available techniques’ (BAT) means the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation that allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector. It includes the technology used and the way in which the installations are designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned, and that the techniques can be used in the relevant sector under economically and technically viable conditions, and that they provide the highest possible protection level. This calls for a comparative assessment of the order of priority in which environmental considerations, the principle of pollution control and the proportionality principle should be ranked.

Compliance with the BAT principle should not be stipulated as a requirement to use any specific technique, but as a requirement with regard to the pollution level (emission limit values or similar parameters, supplemented by appropriate pollution control measures) that can be achieved using the best available means. In principle, it is up to the enterprise to decide how to meet the requirements.

Prevention or treatment?

The two different approaches to pollution control, viz. by preventive measures, using resources to reduce unnecessary waste, and by treating the waste at a later stage, are not mutually exclusive: The BAT principle cannot replace treatment, and treatment supplements prevention.

However, preventive measures should be given higher priority than conventional treatment. This means that measures at source should be used as the first step. If this does not provide a sufficiently high degree of environmental protection, the pollution level should subsequently be reduced by measures of treatment.

Information sources

The following information material may be useful to enterprises examining their possibilities of using the best available techniques:

	Information from Danish EPA to trade & industry ("Miljøstyrelsens brancheorienteringer")
	The computer-based information system operated by The Danish Council for Recycling and Cleaner Technology ("Rådet for genanvendelse og mindre forurenende teknlogi")
	Information from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency ("Orientering fra Miljøstyrelsen") No. 3, 1994 - List of references.