(a) For the purpose of these regulations certain rules or word usages apply to the text as follows:
(1) Words used in the present tense include the future tense, and the singular includes the plural, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. Words used in the masculine include the feminine.
(2) The term “shall” is always mandatory and not discretionary; the word “may” is permissive. The term “should” is permissive, but indicates strong suggestion.
(3) The word or term not interpreted or defined by this chapter shall be construed according to the rules of grammar and common usage so as to give these regulations their most reasonable application.
(b) Words and Terms Defined.
(1) “Buffer strip” means a strip of natural forest adjacent to streams, rivers and other water bodies.
(2) “Channel” means a natural stream or manmade waterway.
(3) “Critical storm” means that storm which is calculated by means of the percentage increase in volume of runoff by a proposed development. The “critical storm” is used to calculate the maximum allowable storm water discharge rate from a developed site.
(4) “Cut” means an excavation that reduces an existing elevation, as in road or foundation construction.
(5) “Denuded” means soil stripped of its protective vegetative covering and/or exposed for construction purposed or by erosion.
(6) “Detention structure” means a permanent structure that detains water for a given time and then discharges downstream.
(7) “Ditch” means an open channel, either dug or natural, for the purpose of drainage or irrigation.
(8) “Drainage improvement” as defined in Ohio R.C. 6131.01 (C), and/or conservation works of improvement, Ohio R.C. 1511 and 1515.
(9) “Dry bottom detention basin” means a detention structure which does not contain a permanent pool of water.
(10) “Dumping” means grading, pushing, piling, throwing, unloading, or placing.
(11) “Earth-disturbing activity” means any clearing, grading, excavating, filling, or other alteration of the earth's surface where natural or manmade ground cover is destroyed.
(12) “Earth material” means soil, sediment, rock, sand, gravel and organic material or residue associated with or attached to the soil.
(13) “Engineer” indicates a registered professional engineer in the State of Ohio with specific education and experience in water resources engineering who acts in strict conformance with the Code; of Ethics of the Ohio State Board of Registration for Engineers and Surveyors.
(14) “Erosion” means the process by which the land surface is worn away by the action of wind, water, ice or gravity.
(15) “Erosion and sediment control” means a system of structural and vegetative measures that minimize soil erosion and offsite sediment pollution.
(16) “Farm” means an area of land or water dedicated to agricultural production and/or the raising and breeding of domestic or aquatic animals.
(17) “Grassed waterway” means a broad or shallow natural watercourse or constructed channel, covered with erosion-resistant grasses or similar vegetative cover, used to convey surface water.
(18) “Impervious” means incapable of being penetrated, as by water.
(19) “Infiltration” means the movement of water from the surface into the soil.
(20) “Landslide” means the dislodging and fall of a mass of earth and rock.
(21) “Multi-family development” means apartments, condominiums, duplexes, or other similar buildings housing more than one family.
(22) “Person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, agency, unincorporated association, municipal corporation, county or state agency, the federal government, or any combination thereof.
(23) “Raindrop erosion” means first effect of a rainstorm on the soil; dislodging of soil particles by the impact of the raindrop.
(24) “Responsible party” means the land owner or his agent or employee.
(25) “Restabilization” means the establishment of vegetative coverings and/or structural measures to resist the process of erosion following earth disturbing activities.
(26) “Retention structure” means a permanent structure that retains flood waters without allowing it to discharge downstream, used primarily in areas with a low water table and sandy soils.
(27) “Runoff” means the portion of rainfall, melted snow, or irrigation water that flows from a drainage area on the land surface, in open channels or in storm water conveyance systems.
(28) “Sediment” means soils or other surficial materials that can be transported or deposited by the action of wind, water, ice, or gravity as a product of erosion (sedimentation).
(29) “Sediment basin” means a barrier or other suitable structure built across an area of water flow to intercept runoff and allow transported sediment to settle and be retained, before discharge into waters of the State.
(30) “Sediment pollution” means degradation of waters of the State by sediment because of failure to apply management or conservation practices abating wind or water soil erosion, specifically with earth-disturbing activities on land used or being developed for commercial, industrial, residential, or other non-farm purposes.
(31) “Sheet flow” means shallow, uniform flows over plane surfaces.
(32) “Sloughing” means a slip or downward movement of an extended layer of soil resulting from the undermining action of water or the earth disturbing activity of man.
(33) “Soil conservation” means using the soil within the limits of its physical characteristics and protecting it from unalterable limitations of climate and topography.
(34) “Soil and Water Conservation District” means the same as organized under Chapter 1515 of the Ohio Revised Code; referring to either the Soil and Water Conservation District Board, or its designated employee(s), after this called the Lorain SWCD.
(35) “Soil loss” means soil removed from a given site by the forces of erosion.
(36) “Stabilization” means the prevention of soil loss by vegetation and/or structural means.
(37) “Storm return period” means the average period within which a storm of a given duration and intensity can be expected to be equaled or exceeded.
(38) “Storm water management” means runoff water safely conveyed or temporarily stored and released at an allowable rate to reduce erosion and flooding.
(39) “Stream” means a body of water running or flowing on the earth's surface. Flow may be seasonally intermittent.
(40) “Subsoil” means that portion of the soil below the topsoil or plow layer, beginning fifteen to thirty centimeters (six to twelve inches) below the surface down to bedrock parent material.
(41) “Topsoil” means the upper layer of soil that is usually darker in color and richer in organic matter and nutrients than the subsoil.
(42) “Watercourse” means a definite channel with bed and banks within which concentrated water flows, either continuously or intermittently.
(43) “Water Resources” means all rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, watercourses, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of surface water, natural or artificial, situated wholly or partly within, or borders upon, this state, or are within its jurisdiction; except those private waters that do not combine or affect a junction with natural waters.
(44) “Watershed” means the total drainage area contributing runoff to a single point.
(45) “Water Management and Erosion and Sediment Control Plan” means an erosion and sediment control strategy or plan, to minimize erosion and prevent off-site sedimentation by containing sediment on-site, or by passing sediment-laden run off through a sediment control measure, prepared and approved in accordance with the specific requirements of the City of Amherst.
(46) “Wet bottom detention basin” means a detention structure that contains a permanent pool of water beyond the water detained for storm water management purposes.
(c) Both System international (Sl) units and United States (US) customary units are used in this chapter. At the tune this ordinance was enacted, both systems of units were in use, with the SI system gradually replacing the US units. Compliance with this ordinance allows the use of either system of units.
(Ord. 98-13. Passed 2-23-98.)