CAA Clean Air
Act. The
primary federal law governing the regulation of emissions into the atmosphere.
Originally passed in 1963, it has been amended several times with major changes
occurring in 1970 and 1990. In 1970, primary responsibility for administering
the CAA was given to the newly created Environmental Protection Agency. This
act required promulgation and ongoing enforcement of National Ambient Air
Quality Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air pollutants,
which limit the maximum local concentrations of various air pollutants. In
addition, the act limits the amount of various pollutants that vehicles may
emit. The 1990 amendments set stricter provisions for motor vehicle emissions,
attainment of the national ambient air quality standards, and specific
restrictions on use or emissions of chlorofluorocarbons, NOx, and
sulfur dioxide (SO2). The SO2 restrictions involve a
system of tradable emissions allowances.
Calcium Carbonate CaCO3 A white precipitate that forms in water lines, water heaters and
boilers in hard water areas; also known as scale.
Call Center A place where workers use the telephone and
other telecommunications tools to make sales calls, take orders, and/or provide
customer services, such as a telemarketing or contact center.
Calorie
Amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1
degree Celsius.
Candidate Communities Locations that have met the preliminary project
requirements and the critical project requirements and are worthy of more
in-depth analysis and investigation.
Capacitor An electrical device that maintains or
increases voltage in power lines and improves the efficiency of the electrical
system by compensating for inductive losses that produce wasted energy.
Capacity Charge An element in a two-part pricing method used in capacity
transactions (energy charge is the other element). The capacity charge, sometimes called Demand Charge, is assessed
on the amount of capacity being purchased.
Capital Funds or anything that can be converted to
money-in-hand as an available resource for gaining wealth (accumulating wealth)
or comprising the wealth itself (accumulated wealth).
Capital Assets All the property and money owned by an
individual or enterprise that is available as leverage to obtain loaned or
invested capital.
Capital
Investment Directing funds toward the acquisition of
assets. Amount used during a
particular period to acquire or improve long-term assets such as property,
plant, or equipment.
Capillary Zone Soil area above the water table where water can rise up slightly
through the cohesive force of capillary action.
Cap Rate Capitalization
rate,
which is the percentage selected for use in the income approach to valuation of
improved property. It is a financial measure that indicates whether a real
estate investment will yield an acceptable return. It is determined by dividing
the projected income stream of the upcoming year by investment dollars.
Career
Pathways See
Occupational Clusters
Carbon Monoxide EPA
uses six "criteria pollutants" as indicators of air quality and has
established for each of them a maximum concentration above which the air is
considered to be polluted. Carbon
monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless and poisonous gas produced by incomplete
burning of carbon in fuels. See Attainment
Carrier
Any
person or entity who, in a contract of carriage, undertakes to perform or to
procure the performance of carriage by rail, road, sea, air, or inland waterway
or by a combination of such modes.
Cartage Charge made for local hauling by dray or
truck.
Casing A
tubular structure intended to be watertight installed in the excavated or
drilled hole to maintain the well opening and, along with cementing, to confine
the ground waters to their zones of origin and prevent the entrance of surface
pollutants.
Catch Basin An
entryway to the storm drain system, usually located at street corners.
Census An official, usually periodic (every 10 years),
count of population and recording of economic status, age, sex, etc. A complete enumeration, usually of a
population but also of businesses and commercial establishments, farms,
governments, and so forth.
Census
(decennial) The
census of population and housing, taken by the Census Bureau in years ending in
0 (zero). Article I of the Constitution requires that a census be taken every
ten years for the purpose of reapportioning the U.S. House of Representatives.
Central Office See C.O.
CERCLA Comprehensive Environment Response Compensation and
Liability Act. Also known as SUPERFUND. The Act gave EPA the authority to clean
up abandoned, leaky hazardous waste sites.
Certificate of
Public Convenience and Necessity A special permit commonly issued by a state
commission that authorizes a utility to engage in business, construct
facilities, or perform some other service.
CFU Colony forming units. A
measure used in evaluating wastewater from wastewater treatment plants.
Channel
Depth Navigable waterway
draft or clearance depth maintained by the Corps of Engineers.
Charter Schools Charter Schools are
self-managed public schools that are approved by local school districts. They
are created and controlled by parents, teachers, community leaders, and
colleges or universities. Charter schools operate free from many educational
mandates, except for those concerning nondiscrimination, health and safety, and
accountability. Charter Schools offer alternatives in education using
strategies that may save money and improve student performance.
Chemical
Breakdown of Water See Water Quality
Chlorination The adding of chlorine to water or sewage for the purpose of
disinfection or other biological or chemical results.
Chlorine Demand The difference between the amount of chlorine added to water,
sewage, or industrial wastes and the amount of residual chlorine remaining at
the end of a specific contact period.
Chute Spillway The overall structure that allows water to drop rapidly through
an open channel without causing erosion. Usually constructed near the edge of
dams.
Circuit (Electric) A conductor or a system of conductors through which an electric
current flows or is intended to flow.
Circuit Breaker A
protective device located on an electric circuit to interrupt the flow of
current at that particular point. If a transmission or distribution line or
transformer experiences an electrical fault or short circuit, it can be
disconnected from the rest of the system by means of a circuit breaker. The
interrupting medium can be air, oil or gas.
Cistern
A tank
used to collect rainwater runoff from the roof of a house or building.
City Gate The site where a local gas distribution
company receives and measures gas from a pipeline company.
Civilian Labor
Force The National Compensation Survey defines
Civilian Workers as the sum of all Private Industry and State and Local
government workers. Federal Government, Military and agricultural workers are
excluded. See Labor Force
Class Typically the designation
for office space.
Class A Building Classification system; defined by BOMA as the most prestigious
buildings competing for premier office users with above average rental rates
for the area along with high-quality standard finishes, state of the art
systems, exceptional accessibility and a definite market presence.
Class B Building Classification; defined by
BOMA as buildings competing for a wide range of users with rents in the average
range for the area. Building finishes are fair to good for the area and the
systems are adequate, but the building does not compete with Class A at the
same price.
Class C
Building Classification; defined by
BOMA as buildings competing for tenants requiring functional space at rents
below the average for the area.
Class of Service For
electric utilities, a group of customers with similar characteristics (e.g.
residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) that are identified for the purpose
of setting a rate for service.
Clean Air Act See CAA
Clean Water Act See
CWA.
Clear Span The amount of floor area
clear of interference from columns.
Climatological
Data Historical data about weather
conditions to include temperature, precipitation, humidity and other natural
phenomenon that could disrupt operations or as a means to evaluate living
conditions.
General
Data http://www.ems.psu.edu/PA_Climatologist/index2.html
Floods
http://www.usgs.gov/themes/map4.html
Tornadoes http://www.usgs.gov/themes/map6.html
Landslide http://www.usgs.gov/themes/map3.html
Hurricane http://www.usgs.gov/themes/map5.html
Earthquake http://www.usgs.gov/themes/map1.html
CNG Compressed natural gas. Natural gas (methane) after being compressed for
storage in pressure vessels. Natural gas stored in this manner can be used to
fuel vehicles.
C.O. Central
Office. A building in which telephone
companies and similar operations locate their switching equipment and terminate
their circuits to interconnect with each other, with end users, and with trunk
lines. Sometimes the central office
will also be referred to as the exchange.
Coagulation (Water Treatment) The use of chemicals to make suspended solids gather or group
together into small flocs.
Co-firing The process of burning natural gas in
conjunction with another fossil fuel or biomass fuel.
Cogeneration The use of a single prime fuel source in a
reciprocating engine or gas turbine to generate electrical and thermal energy
in order to optimize the efficiency of the fuel used. The dominant demand for
energy can be either electrical or thermal. Usually it is the latter with
excess electrical energy, if any, being transmitted into the local power supply
company's lines (with a reciprocal situation existing when electrical demands
exceed the cogeneration plant's output). A parallel exists with total energy
plants, which are typically designed for power demands rather than thermal.
Under the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), regulated
utilities are required to purchase electricity furnished by cogenerators and
small power producers at rates set by regulatory bodies having jurisdiction
over the utility receiving the electricity based on "full avoided cost."
Coliform Bacteria Non-pathogenic microorganisms used in testing water to indicate
the presence of pathogenic bacteria.
Colloids Finely divided solids which will not settle but which may be
removed by coagulation or biochemical action.
Colony Forming Units See CFU.
Combined Sewer A sewer
system that carries both sanitary sewage and storm water runoff. When sewers
are constructed this way, wastewater treatment plants have to be sized to deal
with storm water flows, and oftentimes some of the water receives little or no
treatment.
Combined-Cycle An electric generating technology in which
additional electricity is produced from otherwise lost waste heat exiting from
the gas turbines. The exiting heat is
routed to a conventional boiler or to a heat recovery stem generator for
utilization by a steam turbine in the production of electricity. The process increases the efficiency of the
electricity-generating unit.
Combined-Cycle Unit An electric generating unit that consists of one or
more combustion turbines and one or more boilers with a portion of the required
energy input to the boiler(s) provided by the exhaust gas of the combustion
turbines.
Common Carrier A transportation business that offers service to the general public.
Interstate common carriers must hold a franchise issued by the ICC that limits
service to a specific geographical area.
Recent changes in regulation have blurred the distinction between
common, private, and contract carriers. Term may be meaningless in the near
future.
Communications Protocol A collection of rules that ensure
compatibility of transmitting and receiving equipment. Protocols usually have
three main parts: the method by which data is coded; the method by which codes
are received; and the methods used to establish control, detect errors and
failures, and initiate corrective action.
Community Visit The
process of investigating and verifying the validity of facts and
representations made regarding the characteristics and attributes of a
community, region, state and of particular interest a site and/or building.
Commuting Back and forth movement between a place of living and a place of work
on a regular basis. Workers coming into an area from the outside to their jobs
on a regular schedule are in-commuters. Workers
regularly leaving an area where they live to report to their jobs are out-commuters. As a general rule, most commuters prefer to travel
one way in 1/2 hour or less.
Comparative Analysis The process of
investigating and evaluating factors in the site selection process to quantify
and qualify the degree of difference between candidate communities and/or
sites.
Comprehensive Environment Response
Compensation and Liability Act
See CERCLA.
Compressed
Natural Gas See
CNG.
Compressor A mechanical device for
increasing the pressure of gas.
Compressor
Station A
facility that supplies the energy to move gas in transmission lines or into
storage by increasing the pressure.
Concentration Amount of a chemical or pollutant in a particular volume or
weight of air, water, soil, or other medium.
Conception The activity where companies decide to
evaluate the possibility of a new project to serve a new market, expand production
capacity, or invest in new technology to increase competitiveness.
Condensation The change of state from a gas to a liquid.
Conductor A substance or body that allows an electric current to pass
continuously along it.
Confidentiality The registration process for User provides for the
ability to remain anonymous during the entire utilization of this program
unless directed to do otherwise.
Construction Type Type of building construction (e.g. pre-engineered
steel, tilt wall, conventional masonry, etc.).
Consumer Price Index
See CPI.
Consumptive Use The quantity of water not available for reuse.
Evapotranspiration, evaporation, incorporation into plant tissue, and
infiltration into groundwater are some of the reasons water may not be
available for reuse.
Container A
truck trailer body that can be detached from the chassis for loading into a
vessel, a rail car or stacked in a container depot. Containers may be
ventilated, insulated, refrigerated, flat rack, vehicle rack, open top, bulk
liquid or equipped with interior devices. A container may be 20 feet, 40 feet,
45 feet, 48 feet or 53 feet in length, 8'0" or 8'6" in width, and
8'6" or 9'6" in height.
Container Terminal An area designated for the stowage of cargoes in
container; usually accessible by truck, railroad and marine transportation.
Here containers are picked up, dropped off, maintained and housed.
Contamination The introduction into water of sewage or other foreign matter
that will render the water unfit for its intended use.
Contract Carrier Any person not a common carrier who, under special
and individual contracts or agreements, transports passengers or property for
compensation.
Contract Price Price of fuels marketed on a contract basis covering a period of
one or more years. Contract prices
reflect market conditions at the time the contract was negotiated and therefore
remain constant throughout the life of the contract or are adjusted through
escalation clauses. Generally, contract
prices do not fluctuate widely.
Cooling Tower Large tower used to transfer the heat in cooling water from a
power or industrial plant to the atmosphere either by direct evaporation or by
convection and conduction.
Cooling Degree-Days Used during warm weather to estimate the energy needed to cool indoor air to a comfortable temperature. Mean daily temperature is converted to cooling degree-days by subtracting the reference temperature from the mean. For example, a day with a mean temperature of 80F and a reference temperature of 65F would correspond to (80-65), or 15 cooling degree-days. http://www.ems.psu.edu/PA_Climatologist/index2.html
Corporation Association of people in a group that has
powers and liabilities as defined by law. Individuals in the group are
generally considered to be united as officials and/or owners. Corporate means
united or combined into one; therefore, the term corporate ownership means the
legal right of possession of a group of individuals as one body.
CPI Consumer Price Index. The
CPI provides a measure of the average change in the prices paid by consumers
for a fixed market basket of goods and services relative to the price of that
basket during a specific time period. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) A CPI for all Urban
Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 80 percent of the total population
and (2), a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers
32 percent of the total population.
Criteria Specific characteristics that absolutely
must be present for a site and/or community to be considered for further
evaluation. These characteristics are
considered so important that a failure to meet them would cause the project to
fail.
Cube Out When a truck, container
or vessel has reached its volumetric capacity before its permitted weight
limit.
Curtailment Reducing deliveries of gas or electricity
below contract entitlement due to system restrictions.
Culvert
A short,
closed (covered) conduit or pipe that passes storm water runoff under an
embankment, usually a roadway.
Customer Charge A fixed amount to be paid periodically by
the utility customer without regard to demand or energy actually used. The
customer charge recovers the cost of meters and other administrative costs of
billing.
Customhouse A government office where duties are paid,
import documents filed, and other related activities completed on foreign shipments.
Customhouse Broker A person or firm, licensed by the treasury department of their
country when required, engaged in entering and clearing goods through Customs
for a client (importer).
Customs Government agency charged with enforcing the rules passed to protect the country's import and export revenues.
CWA The Clean Water Act. The
CWA was first enacted in 1972 and later amended in 1977. The Act established the basic structure for
regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It
gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting
wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued
requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface
waters. The Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from
a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its
provisions. It also funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under
the construction grants program and recognized the need for planning to address
the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.
Cwt. Hundred weight (United States, 100 pounds; U.K., 112)
Cycle In one
cycle of alternating electric current, the current goes from zero potential or
voltage to a maximum in one direction, back to zero, then to a maximum in the
other direction and then back again to zero. The number of such complete cycles
made each second determines the frequency of the current. (Direct current does
not fluctuate from positive to negative and hence cycles or frequency apply
only to alternating current).