The following terms and phrases shall have the meaning given herein, unless the context otherwise requires:
(A) Accelerated soil erosion - The increased movement of soils that occurs as a result of human activities and development.
(B) Appeals Board - The City of Lima Board of Building Appeals.
(C) Best management practice (BMP) - Structural device, measure, facility, or activity which helps to achieve soil erosion and stormwater management control objectives at a designated site.
(D) Channel - The portion of a natural stream which conveys normal flows of water, or a ditch or channel excavated for the flow of water.
(E) Commercial use - All land uses except for one-family and two-family detached dwellings and appurtenant structures. The use of property in connection with or for the purchase, sale, display, or exchange of goods, merchandise, or personal services, as well as the maintenance or operation of businesses or recreational or amusement enterprises.
(F) Control Plan - Soil Erosion and Stormwater Runoff Control Plan.
(G) Conveyance facility - A surface or subsurface structure or channel which transports stormwater runoff.
(H) Design standard (or engineering design standard) - A specification that prescribes the type of design, location, mode of construction, mode of operation, or other engineering detail for soil erosion or stormwater control facilities.
(I) Design storm - A rainfall event that has a specific statistical probability of occurring in any given year. For example, a 2-year design storm is a storm with a 50 percent chance of occurring during the year. Design storm figures are used to calculate the runoff volume and peak discharge rate through a detention or retention basin or other stormwater management facility.
(J) Detention basin - A structure or facility, natural or artificial, which stores stormwater on a temporary basis and releases it at a controlled rate. A detention basin may drain completely after a storm event, or it may be a body of water with a fixed minimum and maximum water elevation between runoff events.
(K) Discharge - The rate of flow of water through an outlet structure at a given point and time, measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).
(L) Disturbed Area - An area of land subjected to erosion due to the removal of vegetative cover and/or earthmoving activities, including filling.
(M) Drainage - The interception and removal of groundwater or surface water by natural or artificial means.
(N) Downstream - Lands and waters which receive stormwater runoff and other surface water flows from a designated site. Downstream lands and waters are down gradient from the designated site.
(O) Drainage system - All facilities, channels, and areas which serve to convey, filter, store, and/or receive stormwater, either on a temporary or permanent basis.
(P) Drainage Easement – Means a legal right granted by a landowner to a grantee allowing the use of private land for stormwater management purposes.
(Q) Environmentally-sensitive sites - Any single-family or multiple-family residential site with one or more of the following characteristics:
1. Sites where driveways have been planned with a slope greater than 10 percent (10 feet horizontal to 1 foot vertical).
2. Sites which may cause sedimentation or flood onto adjacent land areas if Land Disturbance Activities occur.
3. Sites located within 100 feet of a protected wetland.
4. Other sites identified by local units of government as having a high potential for environmental degradation and flooding as a result of soil erosion or stormwater runoff on-site or off-site.
(R) Erosion - See "soil erosion" definition.
(S) Excess runoff - Surface runoff that cannot be accommodated satisfactorily by the natural or planned drainage systems.
(T) Extended detention basin - Detention basin designed to provide substantial removal of suspended solids and particulates, typically achieved by holding stormwater for 24 hours or more.
(U) Fill material - Soil, sand, gravel, clay, or any other non-polluting material which displaces soil or water or reduces water retention potential in a lake, pond, stream, or wetland.
(V) Flood - An overflow of surface water onto lands not normally covered by water. Floods have these essential characteristics: the inundation of land is temporary and results from unusually heavy precipitation; and the land is inundated by overflow for a lake, pond, stream, and/or wetland, or is flooded by natural runoff.
(W) Floodplain - The area of land adjoining a lake or stream which is inundated when the flow exceeds the capacity of the normal channel. For mapping purposes, floodplains are designated according to the frequency of the flood event, such as the 100-year floodplain or 500-year floodplain.
(X) Grading - Any stripping, clearing, stumping, excavating, filling, stockpiling, or any combination thereof, including the land in its excavated or filled condition.
(Y) Impervious area - Impermeable surfaces, such as paved or gravel driveways, parking areas, or roads which prevent the infiltration of water into the soil.
(Z) Industrial use - Any manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, printing, or improvement of articles or merchandise; warehousing, wholesaling, or storage of goods, vehicles, or materials; research and medical laboratories; mining and activities related to mineral extraction and processing; and other business enterprises not classified as commercial.
(aa) Infiltration - The downward movement or seepage of water from the surface to the subsoil and/or groundwater. The infiltration rate is expressed in terms of inches per hour.
(bb) Infiltration facility - A structure or area which allows stormwater runoff to gradually seep into the ground, e.g. french drains, seepage pits, infiltration basin, dry well, or perforated pipe.
(cc) Land Disturbance Activity - A human-made change in the natural cover or topography of land, including cut and fill activities, which may result in or contribute to soil erosion or sedimentation of the waters of the state. The term "Land Disturbance Activity", as used in this Chapter, shall not apply to the practice of plowing and tilling soil for the purpose of crop production
(dd) Land use - A use of land which may result in an Land Disturbance Activity, including but not limited to subdivision, residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, agricultural practices, or other development, private and public highway, road and stream construction, and drainage construction.
(ee) Landscaping - Mowing, seeding, sodding, and other landscaping activities which is not an Land Disturbance Activity.
(ff) Maintenance agreement - A binding agreement between the landowner and the City of Lima which sets forth the location and design of best management practices, as well as the terms and requirements for stormwater and erosion control facility maintenance.
(gg) Material - Soil, sand, gravel, clay, or any other organic or inorganic material which is not municipal refuse.
(hh) NPDES - The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program as administered by the USEPA or the State of Ohio.
(ii) NPDES Permit – The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit setting forth condition for the discharge of any pollutant or combination of pollutants to the navigable waters of the United States pursuant to Section 402 of PL 92-500.
(jj) Non-erosive velocity - A rate of flow of stormwater runoff, measured in feet per second, which does not erode soils. Non-erosive velocities vary for individual sites, taking into account topography, soil type, and runoff rates.
(kk) Normal maintenance - Landscaping, repairs, road leveling, minor excavation or filling at a developed site, or other activities determined by the City Engineer to be exempt from permit requirements, provided that such activities do not violate standards in this Chapter.
(ll) Notice of Intent (NOI)- A formal notice to EPA or a OEPA that a project seeks coverage under a NPDES Permit.
(mm) Off-site facility - Stormwater management or erosion control facility which is located partially or completely off of the development site.
(nn) Outfall - The point where water flows out from a conduit, drain, or stream.
(oo) Outlet - A stream or facility receiving the flow from a basin, drain, or other stormwater management facility.
(pp) Peak rate of discharge (peak flow) - The maximum calculated rate of stormwater flow at a given point in a channel, watercourse, or conduit resulting from a predetermined frequency storm or flood, measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).
(qq) Permit - Soil erosion and stormwater runoff control permit.
(rr) Person - Any individual, firm, partnership, association, public or private corporation, company, organization or legal entity of any kind, including governmental agencies.
(ss) Pollution - Degradation of water quality, preventing the use of water for some specific purpose, caused by a natural or human-made substance.
(tt) Pond - A permanent or temporary body of open water which is more than one acre in size and less than five acres in size.
(uu) Protected wetland - A wetland which meets one or more of the following criteria: (1) a wetland which is within 500 feet of a lake or stream, (2) a wetland which is five (5) or more acres in size, or (3) a wetland subject to regulation by a township, village, city, or county.
(vv) Receiving body of water - Any lake, pond, stream, wetland, or groundwater into which stormwater runoff is directed.
(ww) Regional detention basin - A basin to detain water flow from a number of development sites or a small watershed.
(xx) Retention basin - A wet or dry stormwater holding area, either natural or manmade, which does not have an outlet to adjoining watercourses or wetlands other than an emergency spillway.
(yy) Runoff - Stormwater runoff.
(zz) Sediment - Mineral or organic solid particulate matter that has been removed from its site of origin by (a) soil erosion; (b) suspension in water; and/or © wind or water transport.
(aaa) Sedimentation - The process or action of depositing sediment.
(bbb) Site - Any tract, lot, or parcel of land or combination of tracts, lots or parcels of land proposed for development.
(ccc) Soil erosion - The wearing away of land by the action of wind, water, gravity or a combination thereof.
(ddd) Soil erosion control facilities and measures - Any structure, facility, barrier, berm, vegetative cover, basin, or other measure which serves to control soil erosion in accordance with the purposes and standards of this Chapter.
(eee) Temporary measures - Installations designed to control soil erosion during construction or until soils in the contributing drainage area are stabilized.
(fff) Permanent measures - Installations designed to control soil erosion after a project is completed.
(ggg) Soil erosion and stormwater runoff control plan - Maps and written information for a proposed land use or Land Disturbance Activity which describe the way in which soil erosion and stormwater runoff will be controlled, during and after completion of construction.
(hhh) Soil erosion and stormwater runoff control permit - Signed, written statement issued under this Chapter authorizing the applicant to engage in specified Land Disturbance Activities.
(iii) Stop-work order - A notice issued by the City Engineer to the permittee to require the permittee to cease grading or development activities.
(jjj) Storage facility - A basin, structure, or area, either natural or manmade, which is capable of holding stormwater for the purpose of reducing the rate of discharge from the site.
(kkk) Storm drain - A conduit, pipe, natural channel or human-made structure which serves to transport stormwater runoff.
(lll) Storm frequency - The average period of time during which a storm of a given duration and intensity can be expected to be equaled or exceeded.
(mmm) Stormwater control facilities and measures - Any facility, structure, channel, area, or vegetative cover, or measure which serves to control stormwater runoff in accordance with the purposes and standards of these regulations.
(nnn) Stormwater runoff - Waters from rains falling within a tributary drainage basin, flowing over the surface of the ground or collected in channels, watercourses, or conduits, measured in depth of inches.
(ooo) Stream - A river, stream, or creek which may or may not be serving as a drain which has definite banks, a bed, and visible evidence of a continued flow or continued occurrence of water.
(ppp) Stream bank - The usual boundaries, not the flood boundaries, of a stream channel.
(qqq) Stripping - Any activity which removes or significantly disturbs the vegetative surface cover, including clearing and grubbing operations.
(rrr) Swale - Low-lying grassed area with gradual slopes which transports stormwater, either on-site or off-site.
(sss) Vegetative cover - Grasses, shrubs, trees, and other vegetation which hold and stabilize soils.
(ttt) Watercourse - Any natural or human-made waterway, drainageway, drain, river, stream, diversion, ditch, gully, swale, or ravine having banks, a bed, and a definite direction or course, either continuously or intermittently flowing.
(uuu) Watershed - A land area, also known as a drainage area, which collects precipitation and contributes runoff to a receiving body of water or point along a watercourse.
(vvv) Wetland - Land characterized by the presence of water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support and that under normal circumstances does support wetland vegetation or aquatic life and is commonly referred to as a bog, swamp, or marsh. A wetland will contain a predominance, not just an occurrence, of wetland vegetation, aquatic life, or hydric soil.
(www) Wetland vegetation - Plants, including but not limited to trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, that exhibit adaptations to allow, under normal conditions, germination or propagation and to allow growth with at least their root systems in water or saturated hydric soil.
(Ord. 91-06. Passed 3-27-06, Ord. 80-14. Passed 3-24-14)