§ 1176. Definitions. As used or referred to in this title, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context,

1. The term "authority" shall mean the corporation created by section eleven hundred seventy-seven of this title;

2. The term "city" shall mean the city of Buffalo;

3. The term "bonds" shall mean the bonds, notes, interim certificates and other obligations issued by the authority pursuant to this title;

4. The term "board" shall mean the members of the authority;

5. The term "comptroller" shall mean the comptroller of the city;

6. The term "treasurer" shall mean the treasurer of the city;

7. The term "charter" shall mean the charter of the city enacted by the electors of the city at a special election held on the twenty-ninth day of August, nineteen hundred twenty-seven, as amended;

8. The term "project" shall mean a system of trunk, intercepting and connecting, lateral and outlet sewers, storm water drains, pumping and ventilating stations, disposal or treatment plants or works, and other appliances and structures, which in the judgment of the authority will provide an effectual and advantageous means for relieving the Niagara river, Buffalo river and Lake Erie from pollution by the sewage and waste of the city and relieving the city from inadequate sanitary and storm water drainage and for the sanitary disposal or treatment of the sewage thereof, or such sections or parts of such system as the authority may from time to time deem it proper or convenient to construct, consistent with the plan or purpose of this title;

9. The term "existing sewer system" shall mean all sewers, including, without limitation, trunk, intercepting, connecting, lateral and other sewers, storm water drains, pumping stations, disposal or treatment plants or works, structures, appliances, equipment and other adjuncts thereto, comprising the entire system of sewerage owned by the city at the time of the filing with the common council of the city and with the secretary of the state of New York of a certificate of completion of the project as provided in section eleven hundred seventy-nine of this title;

10. The term "facilities" shall include the project and, from and after the filing with the common council of the city and the secretary of state of the state of New York of the certificate of completion of the project, as provided in section eleven hundred seventy-nine of this title, the existing sewer system.

11. The term "attorney general" shall mean the attorney general of the state of New York.

12. The term "general manager" shall mean the general manager of the Buffalo sewer authority.

13. The term "hazardous substance" shall mean any substance which:

a. is identified or listed as a hazardous waste or acute hazardous waste in regulation promulgated pursuant to section 27-0903 of the environmental conservation law and all amendments thereto, regardless of whether at the time of release the substance was actually a waste; or

b. appears on the list of substances hazardous or acutely hazardous to public health, safety or the environment in regulation promulgated pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one of section 37-0103 of the environmental conservation law and all amendments thereto.

14. The term "person" shall mean any individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision, government agency, department or bureau of the state or federal government, municipality, co-partnership, association, firm, trust, estate or any other legal entity whatsoever (including directors, officers or agents thereof), or combination of persons. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context.

15. The term "pollutant" shall mean any liquid, solid or gaseous substance, or combination thereof, which may cause an impairment (reduction) of water quality to a degree that has an adverse effect on any beneficial use of the water, including but not limited to hazardous substances.

16. The term "effluent source" shall mean a source of introduction of any waste into the facilities or any sewer system connected to the facilities.

17. The term "discharge" shall mean any introduction of waste into the facilities from any effluent source.

18. The term "sewer system" shall mean pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, and force mains and all other constructions, devices, and appliances appurtenant thereto, wherever located, used for conducting sewage, industrial waste or other waste into or through the facilities of the authority to a point of ultimate disposal.

19. The term "domestic sewage" shall mean a combination of wastes from the non-commercial preparation, cooking, and handling of food; human bodily wastes and similar matter from sanitary conveniences in dwellings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings and institutions; or any other wastes from non-commercial, non-industrial or non-institutional activities.

20. The term "domestic user" shall mean any user not covered under the definition of "industrial user".

21. The term "industrial user" shall mean a person who discharges industrial waste.

22. The term "industrial waste" shall mean any liquid, solid, or gaseous substance, or combination thereof, resulting from any process of industrial, commercial, governmental and institutional concerns, manufacturing, business, trade, or research, including the development, recovery, or processing of natural resources, or from sources other than those described as domestic sewage. Groundwater and surface runoff may be considered to be industrial waste if contaminated with industrial process chemical constituents.

23. The term "sewage" shall mean any combination of wastes from residences, business buildings, institutions and industrial establishment, together with such ground, surface and stormwaters as may be present.

24. The term "waste" shall mean any liquid, solid or gaseous substance, or combination thereof, that may be introduced into a sewer system.

25. The term "user" shall mean any person who directly or indirectly contributes, causes or permits the contribution of waste into the sewer system and into or through the authority's facilities.