For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
BASE DENSITY. The original density permitted under the property's residential zoning category (dwelling units per acre).
BASE FLOOD. A flood having a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION. The high water elevation of the base flood, commonly referred to as the 100-YEAR FLOOD ELEVATION.
BASE FLOOD PLAIN. The area inundated by the base flood.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs). A practice, or combination of practices and design criteria that comply with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Guidebook of BMPs for Indiana Watersheds, or equivalent practices and design criteria that accomplish the purposes of this chapter (including, but not limited to minimizing storm water runoff and preventing the discharge of pollutants into storm water) as determined by the city. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials storage.
BUFFER STRIP. An existing, variable width strip of vegetated land intended to protect water quality and terrestrial and aquatic habitat in an adjacent resource or area.
BUILDING OPENING. Any opening of a solid wall such as a window or door, though which floodwaters could penetrate.
CITY. City of Bedford.
CLEAN WATER ACT. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended, and the applicable regulations promulgated thereunder.
CLEARING. Any activity that removes vegetative surface cover.
COMMISSIONER. The Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
COMMUNITY OPEN SPACE. The area of open space remaining after natural open space has been designated. The area may be used for passive or active recreation, or storm water management.
CONSTRUCTION SITE STORM WATER RUNOFF. Storm water runoff from a development site following an earth change.
CONSTRUCTION PLAN. A plan that identifies permanent and temporary drainage facilities.
(See Plan)
DEPARTMENT. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
DESIGN ENGINEER. Registered and licensed professional engineer responsible for the design of a construction plan.
DETENTION. A system that is designed to capture storm water and release it over a given period of time through an outlet structure at a controlled rate.
DEVELOPED or DEVELOPMENT. The installation or construction of impervious surfaces on a development site that require, pursuant to state law or local ordinance, the city approval of a site plan, plat, special land use, planned unit development, rezoning of land, land division approval, private road approval or other approvals required for the development of land or the erection of buildings or structures.
DEVELOPMENT SITE. Any land that is being or has been developed, or that a developer proposes for development or that is subject to an earth change.
DISCHARGER. Any person or entity that directly or indirectly discharges storm water from any property. DISCHARGER also means any employee, officer, director, partner, contractor, or other person who participates in, or is legally or factually responsible for, any act or omission that is or results in a violation of this chapter.
DISTURBED AREA. Any earth change, clearing, grading, construction or development activity that results in the exposure of soil materials which are subject to erosion from wind or water.
DNR-DSC. The Division of Soil Conservation of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
DRAINAGE. The collection, conveyance, or discharge of ground water and/or surface water.
DRAINAGE EASEMENT. Legal right granted by a landowner to a grantee allowing the use of private land for storm water management purposes.
DEBRIS. Any solid material exceeding a ten millimeter particle size that is intended for disposal and that is a manufactured object, or plant or animal matter, or natural geologic material.
DRAINAGE WAY. The area within which surface water is carried from one part of a lot or parcel to another part of the lot or parcel or to adjacent land.
EARTH CHANGE. Any human activity that removes ground cover, changes the slope or contours of the land, or exposes the soil surface to the actions of wind and rain. EARTH CHANGE includes, but is not limited to, any excavating, surface grading, filling, landscaping, or removal of vegetative roots.
EPA. The United States Environmental Protection Agency.
EROSION. The process by which the ground surface is worn away by action of wind, water, gravity or a combination thereof.
EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL PLAN. A set of plans prepared by or under the direction of a licensed professional engineer indicating the specific measure and sequencing to be used to control sediment and erosion on a development site during and after construction.
EROSION CONTROL. A measure that prevents erosion.
EXEMPTED DISCHARGES. Discharges other than storm water as specified in § 157.051.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA). The agency of the federal government charged with emergency management.
FLOATABLE. Any solid waste that, due to its physical characteristics, will float on the surface of the water. For the purposes of this rule, the term does not include naturally occurring floatables, such as leaves or tree limbs.
FLOOD or FLOODING. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas resulting from the overflow of water bodies or the unusual and rapid accumulation of surface water runoff from any source.
FLOODPLAIN. Any land area subject to periodic flooding.
FLOOD-PROOFING. Any structural and/or non-structural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures or property that reduce or eliminate flood damage to land, or improvements utilities and structures.
FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION (FPE). The base flood elevation plus one foot at any given location.
FLOODWAY. The channel of any watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved to carry and discharge a base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one-tenth of a foot due to the loss of flood conveyance or storage.
GRADING. Any stripping, excavating, filling, and stockpiling of soil or any combination thereof and the resulting land surface in its excavated or filled condition.
GREEN SPACE. Open space maintained in a natural, undisturbed or revegetated condition.
IDEM. Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
ILLICIT CONNECTION. Any method or means for conveying an illicit discharge into water bodies or the city's storm water system.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE. Any discharge to water bodies that does not consist entirely of storm water, discharges pursuant to the terms of an NPDES permit, or exempted discharges as defined in this chapter.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE. Surface that does not allow storm water runoff to effectively percolate into the ground.
INDUSTRIAL STORM WATER PERMIT. A National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to a commercial industry or group of industries which regulates the pollutant levels associated with industrial storm water discharges or specifies on-site pollution control strategies.
LEGAL DRAIN. Any regulated drain as defined in I.C. 36-9-27.
LOWEST FLOOR. The lowest floor or the lowest enclosed area (including basement), but not including an unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure that is usable solely for parking of vehicles or building access.
MS4 AREA. Means a land area comprising one or more places that receives coverage under one NPDES storm water permit regulated by 327 IAC 15-13.
MS4 OPERATOR. Means the person responsible for development, implementation, or enforcement of the minimum control measures for a designated MS4 area regulated under 327 IAC 15-13.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4). A conveyance or system of conveyances, including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, sewer, or storm drains that is:
(1) Owned or operated by a federal, state, city, town, county, district, association, or other public body;
(2) Designed or used for collecting or conveying storm water;
(3) Not a combined sewer; and
(4) Not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) as defined at 40 CFR 122.2.
NPDES. National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
OPEN SPACE. A portion of a development site that is permanently set aside for public or private use and will not be developed. Open space may be used as community open space, or preserved as green space.
OPEN SPACE DEVELOPMENT. A development pattern that arranges the layout of buildings in a compact area of the site so as to reserve a portion of the site for community open space or green space that is protected in perpetuity.
OVERLAND FLOW-WAY. Surface area that conveys a concentrated flow of storm water runoff.
PERIMETER CONTROL. A barrier that prevents sediment from leaving a site by filtering sediment-laden runoff or diverting it to a sediment trap or basin.
PERSON. An individual, firm, partnership, association, public or private corporation, public agency, instrumentality, or any other legal entity proposing or implementing the development or disturbance of land areas.
PLAN. Written narratives, specifications, drawings, sketches, written standards, operating procedures, or any combination of these which contain information pursuant to site design that outlines the measures and practices used to control storm water runoff, erosion and sediment control, illicit discharge connection prevention, and post construction maintenance requirements at a site.
POLLUTANT. A substance discharged which includes, but is not limited to the following: any dredged spoil, solid waste, vehicle fluids, yard wastes, animal wastes, agricultural waste products, sediment, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological wastes, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discharge equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, commercial and agricultural waste, or any other contaminant or other substance defined as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act.
PROPERTY OWNER. Any person having legal or equitable title to property or any person having or exercising care, custody, or control over any property.
RETAIL GASOLINE OUTLET. An operating gasoline or diesel fueling facility whose primary function is the resale of fuels. The term applies to facilities that create 5,000 or more square feet of impervious surfaces or generate an average daily traffic count of 100 vehicles per 1,000 square feet of land area.
RETENTION. A system that is designed to capture storm water and contain it until it infiltrates the soil or evaporates.
RIPARIAN HABITAT. A land area adjacent to a water body that supports animal and plant life associated with that water body.
RIPARIAN ZONE. A land area adjacent to a water body that is directly associated with that water body.
SEDIMENT CONTROL. Measures that prevent eroded sediment from leaving the site.
SENSITIVE AREA. A water body identified as needing priority protection or remediation based on:
(1) Having threatened or endangered species or their habitat;
(2) Usage as a public surface water supply intake;
(3) Usage for full body contact recreation, such as bathing beaches; or
(4) Exceptional use classification as found in 327 IAC 2-1-11(b), outstanding state resource water classification as found in 327 IAC 2-1-2(3) and 327 IAC 2-1.5-19(b).
SITE. A parcel of land or a contiguous combination thereof, where grading work is performed as a single unified operation.
SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT. A permit issued by Bedford for the construction or development of a site including structures for the control of erosion, runoff, and grading.
SOIL EROSION. The stripping of soil and weathered rock from land creating sediment for transportation by water, wind or ice, and enabling formation of new sedimentary deposits.
STABILIZATION. The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
START OF CONSTRUCTION. The first land disturbing activity associated with development of a site including clearing, grading, installation of streets and walkways for access onto the site, placement of temporary or permanent structures, and other similar activities.
STATE OF INDIANA WATER QUALITY STANDARDS. All applicable state rules, regulations, and laws pertaining to water quality.
STOP WORK ORDER. An order issued which requires that all construction activity on a site be stopped.
STORM DRAIN. A system of open or enclosed conduits and appurtenant structures intended to convey or manage storm water runoff, ground water and drainage.
STORM WATER COORDINATOR. Person appointed, assigned, or otherwise directed to coordinate the city's overall storm water pollution control efforts.
STORM WATER PERMIT. A permit issued pursuant to this chapter.
STORM WATER RUNOFF. The runoff and drainage of precipitation resulting from rainfall or snowmelt or other natural event or process.
STORM WATER RUNOFF FACILITY. The method, structure, area, system, or other equipment or measures that are designed to receive, control, store, or convey storm water.
STORM WATER TREATMENT PRACTICES (STPs). Measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined to be the most effective, practical means of preventing or reducing point source or nonpoint source pollution inputs to storm water runoff and water bodies.
STREAM. A river, stream or creek which may or may not be serving as a drain, or any other water body that has definite banks, a bed, and visible evidence of a continued flow or continued occurrence of water.
SWCD. "Soil and Water Conservation District"—a political subdivision established under Indiana Code, I.C. 14-32.
UNBUILDABLE LAND. The area of a site that includes wetlands and submerged areas, slopes of 25% or more, and the 100-year floodplain.
WATER BODY. A river, lake, stream, creek or other watercourse or wetlands.
WATERSHED. A region draining into a water body.
WETLANDS. Land characterized by the presence of water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support wetland vegetation or aquatic life.
(Ord. 35-2004, passed 10-12-04; Am. Ord. 37-2005, passed 10-11-05)