All words used in this chapter shall have their customary meaning as defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary and/or Rainwater and Land Development1, except those specifically defined in this Section.
(a) Approval Authority: an official, organization, or group designed to review and approve/disapprove Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans.
(b) Municipal Manager’s Office: an official, organization, or group designated to provide technical guidance in the development and implementation of Site Development and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans and to review and approve/disapprove such plans as authorized.
(c) Buffer: a designated transition area around water resources or wetlands that is left in a natural, usually vegetated, state so as to protect the water resources or wetlands from runoff pollution. Construction activities in this area are restricted or prohibited.
(d) Critical Storm: a storm which is calculated by means of the percentage increase in volume of runoff by a proposed earth disturbing activity or development area. The critical storm is used to calculate the maximum allowable storm water discharge rate from a site.
(e) Cut: an excavation. The difference between a point on the original grade and a designated point of lower elevation on the final grade.
(f) Detention Basin: an impoundment area created by constructing an embankment, excavating a pit, or both, for the purpose of temporarily storing stormwater.
(g) Detention Facility: a detention basin or alternative structure designed to temporarily store stormwater runoff and gradually release the stored water at a controlled rate.
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1 Rainwater and Land Development: Ohio’s Standards for Stormwater Management, Land Development and Urban Stream Protection. Second Edition, 1996. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as amended.
(h) Development Area: any contiguous area owned by one person or operated as one development unit included within the scope of these regulations, upon which earth-disturbing activities are planned or underway.
(i) Earth Disturbing Activity: any grading, excavation, filling, or other alteration of the earth’s surface where natural or man-made ground cover is destroyed.
(j) Fill: any act by which earth, and gravel, rock or any other material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported or moved to a new location above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped surface and shall include the resulting grade conditions. The difference in elevation between a point on the original ground and a designated point of higher elevation on the final grade.
(k) Non-structural controls: stormwater runoff control and treatment techniques that use natural measures to control runoff and/or reduce pollution levels, and do not require extensive construction efforts and/or do promote runoff control and/or pollutant reduction by eliminating the runoff and/or pollutant source. Examples include minimizing impervious area, buffer strips along streams, and preserving natural vegetation.
(l) Parcel: any legally described piece of land created by a partition, subdivision, deed or other instrument recorded with the appropriate entity or agency.
(m) Peak Rate of Runoff: the maximum rate of runoff for any 24 hour storm of a given frequency.
(n) Pre-Development Conditions: site conditions as they existed prior to manmade alterations and/or earth disturbing activities.
(o) Sediment Basin: a barrier, dam or other facility built to reduce the velocity of water in order to settle and retain sediment.
(p) Site Development Plan: the written document or set of plans meeting the requirements of this chapter that provides information on the location of the area proposed for development, the site in relation to its general surroundings, and existing characteristics of the site, including limits or earth disturbing activities.
(q) Steep Slope: a slope over eighteen percent (18%) grade, which is characterized by increased run-off, erosion and sediment hazards.
(r) Stop-Work Order: an order issued which requires that all work on the site must cease except work associated with bringing the site into compliance with the approved SWP3 or Site Development Plan.
(s) Storm Water Management Plan (SMP): the written document meeting the requirements of this chapter regulation that sets forth the plans and practices to be used to minimize stormwater runoff from a site and to safely convey or temporarily store and release post-development storm water runoff at an allowable rate to minimize flooding and erosion.
(t) Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3): the document required by the Ohio EPA for compliance with its NPDES Construction Activity General Permit #OHC000002. The requirements of the SWP3 are required as part of the local jurisdiction’s Stormwater Management Plan as described above and in this regulation.
(u) Storm Frequency: the average period of time in years within which a storm of a given duration and intensity can be expected to be equaled or exceeded.
(v) Structural Controls: any human-made facility, structure, or device that is constructed to provide temporary storage and/or treatment of stormwater runoff. Examples include retention and detention basins, rock check dams, swales, and constructed wetlands.
(w) Swale: a low lying stretch of vegetated land which gathers and carries surface water.
(x) Temporary Vegetation: short term vegetative cover such as oats, rye, or wheat, used to stabilize the soil surface until final grading and installation of permanent vegetation.
(y) Watercourse: any natural or artificial waterway (including, but not limited to, streams, rivers, creeks, ditches, channels, canals, conduits, culverts, drains, waterways, gullies, ravines, or washes) in which waters flow in a definite direction or course either continuously or intermittently and including any areas adjacent thereto which is subject to inundation by reason of overflow of flood water. (Ord. 08-80. Passed 12-1-08.)