(a) This part is intended to supplement other provisions of the Tennessee Code Annotated, and no part thereof shall be construed to repeal any such provisions specifically enacted for the protection of health or the protection of fish and game of the state, except that the administration of any laws pertaining to the pollution of waters as defined in § 69-3-103 shall be in accordance with the general policies and regulations adopted by the board.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 69-3-120

  • Board: means the board of water quality, oil and gas, created in §. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
  • Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation or the commissioner's duly authorized representative and, in the event of the commissioner's absence or a vacancy in the office of commissioner, the deputy commissioner. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
  • Department: means the department of environment and conservation. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
  • discharge: when used without qualification, each refer to the addition of pollutants to waters from a source. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
  • Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Pollution: means such alteration of the physical, chemical, biological, bacteriological, or radiological properties of the waters of this state, including, but not limited to, changes in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters that will:
    (A) Result or will likely result in harm, potential harm or detriment to the public health, safety, or welfare. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
  • Source: means any activity, operation, construction, building, structure, facility, or installation from which there is or may be the discharge of pollutants. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Waters: means any and all water, public or private, on or beneath the surface of the ground, that are contained within, flow through, or border upon Tennessee or any portion thereof, except those bodies of water confined to and retained within the limits of private property in single ownership that do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground waters. See Tennessee Code 69-3-103
(b) All sections in this part shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of its policy and purpose.
(c) All grants of power to the board or commissioner shall be liberally construed.
(d) Any list in this part preceded by “include” or “including” shall not be construed as exhaustive or otherwise limiting unless specifically stated.
(e) All procedures in this part are intended to be in conformity with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. If any provision of this part conflicts with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, then the latter shall govern.
(f) If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or words of this part are for any reason held to be invalid, such decree shall not affect the validity of any remaining portion of this part.
(g) Nothing whatsoever in this part shall be so construed as applying to any agricultural or forestry activity or the activities necessary to the conduct and operations thereof or to any lands devoted to the production of any agricultural or forestry products, unless there is a point source discharge from a discernible, confined, and discrete water conveyance.
(h) The passage of the Water Quality Control Act of 1977 shall grant no new authority over non-point sources to the department, which was not previously established by the Water Quality Control Act of 1971. In all cases of conflict between this part and §§ 68-221-101 – 68-221-108, the Sanitary Engineering Law, this part shall take precedence.