For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. Any term not defined in this chapter shall have the meaning as defined in any chapter of the County Code. Any term not defined in the County Code in any chapter shall have its generally accepted meaning:
ACTIVITY. Any use, action, condition, or proposed action which changes the physical characteristics of the land or which presents a potential threat to the water resources of the county, including but not limited to construction, demolition, development, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any structure, road, driveway or appurtenance; and any mining, excavation, grading, landfill, or disturbance.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY. Farming activities, including plowing, tillage, cropping, installation of best management practices (BMPs), seeding, cultivating, and harvesting for production of food and fiber products (except commercial logging and timber harvesting operations), the grazing and raising of livestock, aquaculture, sod production, orchards, vineyards, Christmas tree plantations, nurseries, and other products cultivated as part of a recognized commercial enterprise.
APPLICANT. An individual, partnership, firm, corporation, or other entity that undertakes or participates in the activities covered by this chapter.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP). A structural device or nonstructural practice designed to temporarily store or treat stormwater runoff in order to mitigate flooding, reduce pollution, and provide other amenities.
BUFFER. A regulated area left undisturbed adjacent to a specific natural feature or water resource.
CLEARING. The removal of trees and brush from the land not including the ordinary mowing of grass.
COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY. Any community water supply as defined in COMAR 26.04.01.01.
DEPARTMENT. The Carroll County Department of Land and Resource Management, or its successor agency, or any other official or agency designated by the county.
DEVELOPMENT. The subdivision of land and those divisions of land referred to as off conveyances, and/or any change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to: construction; reconstruction; structural alterations; relocation or enlargement of any structure, road, driveway, or appurtenance; grading; dredging; filling; paving; clearing; excavation; dumping; extraction or storage of soil or minerals; the storage of equipment or material.
DISTURBANCE. The clearing, grading, excavating, filling, paving, demolition, or building upon a parcel of land or otherwise modifying the existing topography.
EASEMENT. A grant or reservation by the owner of land for the use of such land by others for a specific purpose or purposes, and which is included in the conveyance of land.
GRADING. Any disturbance of the earth, including but not limited to clearing, stripping, stockpiling, excavating, scarifying, filling, or any combination thereof.
MANUAL. The Water Resource Management Manual.
MDE. The Maryland Department of the Environment.
PERSON. Includes the federal government, the state, any county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state, or any of their units, or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other entity.
POLLUTANT. Any contamination or alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of groundwater or surface water, including any change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters or the discharge or deposit of any organic matter, harmful organism, or liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive or other substance into groundwater or surface water that will render the character of water harmful or detrimental to: public health, safety, or welfare; domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreation, or other legitimate beneficial uses; livestock, wild animals, or birds; or fish or other aquatic life.
PROJECT. The proposed and projected phases of development or activity on a parcel of land, including but not limited to activities conducted in a nontidal wetland, a wetland buffer, or expanded buffer.
REDEVELOPMENT. A modification to an existing structure or business, including but not limited to any change in use of the property resulting in a change from one standard industrial classification to a different classification, or from an unregulated use to a regulated use.
REGULATED SUBSTANCE. A substance that:
(1) Produces toxic, lethal, or other injurious effects or which cause harmful alterations to plant, animal, or aquatic life; or
(2) May be injurious to human beings.
STREAM. A part of a watercourse either naturally occurring or artificially created that contains intermittent or perennial base flow of groundwater origin, but not including a ditch that conveys surface runoff exclusively from storm events.
SUBDIVISION. Any division of a parcel of land into two or more lots or parcels for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, sale, lease, or development, including those divisions referred to as off conveyances.
WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AREA. Carbonate rock area, wellhead protection area, aquifer protection area, surface watershed area, and stream buffer as defined in the Manual.
WATERSHED. The total area draining into a stream, lake, river, river system, or body of water at a defined point.
WETLAND. An area, that meets the conditions for a wetland according to the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands, dated January, 1987, or subsequent revisions.
(2004 Code, § 218-2) (Ord. 04-08, passed 4-1-2004; Ord. 2011-03, passed 5-17-2011; Ord. 2022-12, passed 8-25-2022)