BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs) means activities or structural improvements that help reduce the quantity and improve the quality of stormwater runoff. Best management practices are schedules of activities, prohibitions or practices, maintenance procedures and other management practices to prevent or reduce the pollution of waters of the United States. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures and practices to control runoff, spillage, or leaks; sludge, waste disposal, or drainage from raw material storage. With regard to construction, these practices may include structural devices or nonstructural practices that are designed to prevent pollutants from entering water or to direct the flow of water.
CLEAN WATER ACT (WATER QUALITY ACT): (formerly the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972). Public law 92-500; 33 U.S.C. 1251 et. seq.; legislation which provides statutory authority for the NPDES program. Also known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN means the Village of Los Ranchos Comprehensive Plan and amendments thereto.
CONCEPTUAL GRADING AND DRAINAGE PLAN means a plan prepared in graphical format showing existing and proposed grading, drainage, control, flood control and erosion control information in sufficient detail to determine project feasibility.
CONVEYANCE means the process of water moving from one place to another.
DIRECTOR means The Director of Planning and Zoning, the official designated to enforce the comprehensive zoning ordinance, as may be amended from time to time.
DISCHARGE means the volume of water (and suspended sediment if surface water) that passes a given location within a given period of time.
DESIGN STORM means a storm which deposits a stated amount of precipitation within a stated period over a defined area and which is used in calculating storm runoff and in designing drainage control, flood control and erosion control measures.
DEVELOPED LAND means any lot or parcel of land occupied by any structure intended for human occupation, including structures intended for commercial enterprise.
DEVELOPER means any individual, estate, trust, receiver, cooperative association, club, corporation, company, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, or other entity engaging in the platting, subdivision, filling, grading, excavation, or construction of structures or facilities.
DRAINAGE means storm drainage.
DRAINAGE MANAGEMENT OR TREATMENT means the treatment and/or management of surface runoff from all storms up to and including a ten-year design storm.
DRAINAGE PLAN means a short, detailed plan prepared in graphical format with or on a detailed grading plan addressing onsite and off-site drainage control, flood control, and erosion control issues for lots or parcels of less than five acres.
DRAINAGE REPORT means a comprehensive analysis of the drainage, flood control, and erosion control constraints on and impact resulting from a proposed platting, development or construction project.
EPA means United States Environmental Protection Agency.
EROSION CONTROL means treatment measures for the prevention of damages due to soil movement and to deposition.
EROSION CONTROL PLAN means a plan for the mitigation of damages due to soil erosion and to deposition.
EXCAVATION means the process of removing earth, stone, or other materials from land.
FLOOD CONTROL means the treatment measures necessary to protect life and property from the 100-year design storm runoff.
FLOOD HAZARD AREA means an area subject to inundation from the 100-year design storm runoff.
GENERAL PERMIT means a permit issued under the NPDES program to cover a certain class or category of stormwater discharges. These permits reduce the administrative burden of permitting stormwater discharges.
GRADING means the cutting and/or filling of the land surface to a desired slope or elevation.
GRADING PLAN means a plan describing the existing topography and proposed grading, including retaining wall locations and details, interfaces with adjacent properties, streets, alleys and channels, referenced to mean sea level (1929 or 1988 datum) such as city benchmark or NMDOT benchmark, and showing sufficient contours, spot elevations and cross sections to allow a clear understanding by reviewers, contractors, and inspectors.
ILLICIT CONNECTION means any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of stormwater and is not authorized by an NPDES permit, with some exceptions (e.g., discharges due to fire fighting activities).
MAINTENANCE means the cleaning, shaping, grading, repair and minor replacement of drainage, flood control and erosion control facilities, but not including the cost of power consumed in the normal operation of pump stations.
MAXIMUM EXTENT PRACTICABLE (MEP) means a standard for water quality that applies to all MS4 operators regulated under the NPDES Stormwater Program. Since no precise definition of MEP exists, it allows for maximum flexibility on the part of MS4 operators as they develop and implement their programs.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4) means a publicly owned conveyance or system of conveyances that discharges to waters of the U.S. and is designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater, is not a combined sewer, and is not part of a publicly-owned treatment works (POTW).
NON-POINT SOURCE (NPS) POLLUTANTS means pollutants from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowfall moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water.
NOTICE OF INTENT(NOI) means Notice of Intent.
NPDES: “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System” the name of the surface water quality program authorized by Congress as part of the 1987 Clean Water Act. This is EPA’s program to control the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States (see 40 C.F.R. 122.2) Phase II.
NUISANCE WATERS means those waters leaving a site and entering a public right of way.
ONE HUNDRED (100) YEAR DESIGN STORM means that storm whose precipitation within a six-hour period and resulting runoff has a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. A special condition may require/allow use of storms of longer duration.
OUTFALL means the point where wastewater or drainage discharges from a sewer pipe, ditch, or other conveyance to a receiving body of water.
PHYSICALLY INTERCONNECTED MS4 means that one MS4 is connected to a second MS4 in such a way that it allows for direct discharges into the second system.
POINT SOURCE POLLUTANT means pollutants from a single, identifiable source such as a factory or refinery.
POLLUTANT LOADING means the total quantity of pollutants in stormwater runoff.
REGULATED MS4 means any MS4 covered by the NPDES Stormwater Program (regulated small, medium, or large MS4s).
RETROFIT means the modification of stormwater management systems through the construction and/or enhancement of wet ponds, wetland plantings, or other BMPs designed to improve water quality.
RUNOFF means drainage or flood discharge that leaves an area as surface flow or as pipeline flow. Has reached a channel or pipeline by either surface or sub-surface routes.
SEDIMENT means soil, sand, and minerals washed from land into water, usually after rain. Sediment can destroy fish-nesting areas, clog animal habitats, and cloud waters so that sunlight does not reach aquatic plants.
SITE RUNOFF means any drainage or flood discharge that is released from a specified area.
SMALL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM(MS4) means any MS4 that is not regulated under Phase I of the NPDES Stormwater Program and Federally-owned MS4s.
STORM DRAIN means a slotted opening leading to an underground pipe or an open ditch for carrying surface runoff.
STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEM means arroyos, storm drains, roadways, culverts, bar ditches, ponds, pump stations, dams, detention ponds, retention ponds, inlets, and appurtenant structures and other facilities which convey stormwater.
STORMWATER means precipitation that accumulates in natural and/or constructed storage and stormwater systems during and immediately following a storm event.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT means functions associated with planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, financing, and regulating the facilities (both constructed and natural) that collect, store, control, and/or convey stormwater.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP) means a plan to describe a process whereby a facility thoroughly evaluates potential pollutant sources at a site and selects and implements appropriate measures designed to prevent or control the discharge of pollutants in stormwater runoff.
STORMWATER QUALITY CONTROL means the treatment methods necessary to protect and enhance the quality of stormwater.
SURFACE WATER means water that remains on the surface of the ground, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, streams, wetlands, impoundments, seas, estuaries, etc.
TEN-YEAR DESIGN STORM means that storm whose precipitation within a six hour period and resulting runoff has a ten percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. A special condition may require/allow use of storms of longer duration.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL) means the maximum amount of pollutants which can be released into a water body without adversely affecting the water quality.
URBAN RUNOFF means stormwater from urban areas, which tends to contain heavy concentrations of pollutants from urban activities.
WET WEATHER FLOWS means water entering storm drains during rainstorms/wet weather events.