Section 160.01. Definitions.

  As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1)  “Department," when used without qualification, means the department of natural resources.

(2)  “Enforcement standard" means a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under ss. 160.07 and 160.09 .

(3)  “Federal number" means a numerical expression of the concentration of a substance in water, established as:

(a) A drinking water standard or maximum contaminant level, by the federal environmental protection agency;

(b) A suggested no-adverse-response level, by the federal environmental protection agency; or

(c) For oncogenic substances, a concentration based on a risk level determination by the federal environmental protection agency or a concentration based on a probability of risk model determined by the national academy of sciences.

(4)  “Groundwater" means any of the waters of the state, as defined in s. 281.01 (18) , occurring in a saturated subsurface geological formation of rock or soil.

(5)  “Point of standards application" means the specific location, depth or distance from a facility, activity or practice at which the concentration of a substance in groundwater is measured for purposes of determining whether a preventive action limit or an enforcement standard has been attained or exceeded.

(6)  “Preventive action limit" means a numerical value expressing the concentration of a substance in groundwater which is adopted under s. 160.15 .

(6m)  “Property boundary" means the boundary of the total contiguous parcel of land owned by a common owner, regardless of whether public or private roads run through the parcel.

(7)  “Regulatory agency" means the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, the department of safety and professional services, the department of transportation, the department of natural resources and other state agencies which regulate activities, facilities or practices which are related to substances which have been detected in or have a reasonable probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state.

(8)  “Substance" means any solid, liquid, semisolid, dissolved solid or gaseous material, naturally occurring or man-made chemical, parameter for measurement of water quality or biological organism which, in its original form, or as a metabolite or a degradation or waste product, may decrease the quality of groundwater.

1983 a. 410 ; 1995 a. 27 ss. 4441 , 9116 (5) ; 1995 a. 227 ; 2011 a. 32 ; 2015 a. 196 .