For purposes of this title and unless stated otherwise, the following terms shall have the meaning herein indicated:
(1) "Acre": A unit of measure equaling forty-three thousand five hundred sixty (43,560) square feet.
(2) "Approving Authority": The official responsible for administering the applicable program(s).
(3) "Best Management Practices" ("BMPs"): Schedule of activities, prohibitions of practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices (both structural and non-structural) to prevent or reduce the pollution of water resources and wetlands. BMPs also include treatment requirements, operating procedures, and practices to control facility and/or construction runoff, spillage, or leaks; sludge or waste disposal; or drainage from raw material storage.
(4) "Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control" ("CPESC"): A person that has subscribed to the Code of Ethics and have met the requirements established by the CPESC Council of Certified Professional In Erosion and Sediment Control, Inc. to be a Certified Professional In Erosion and Sediment Control.
(5) "Channel": A natural bed that conveys water or a ditch excavated for the flow of water.
(6) "City": Throughout this regulation, this shall refer to the City of Richmond Heights, its designated representatives, including the office of the City Engineer, its duly constituted boards and commission and third party organizations under contract to the City such as Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District.
(7) "Clean Water Act": Pub. L. 92-500, as amended Pub. L. 95-217, Pub. L. 95-576, Pub. L. 96-483, Pub. L. 97-117, and Pub. L. 100-4, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. Formally referred to as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972.
(8) "Concentrated Storm Water Runoff": Surface water runoff which converges and flows primarily through water conveyance features such as swales, gullies, waterways, channels or storm sewers, and which exceeds the maximum specified flow rates of filters or perimeter controls intended to control sheet flow.
(9) "Conservation": The wise use and management of natural resources.
(10) "Construction Activity": Activities subject to NPDES Construction Permits. Currently these include construction projects resulting in land disturbance of five (5) acres or more. Beginning in March 2003, NPDES Storm Water Phase II permits will be required for construction projects resulting in land disturbance of 1 acre or more. Such activities include but are not limited to clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, and demolition.
(11) "Critical Storm": A storm that is calculated by means of the percentage increase in volume of runoff by a proposed development area. The critical storm is used to calculate the maximum allowable storm water discharge rate from a developed site.
(12) "Cut": An excavation that reduces an existing elevation, as in road or foundation construction.
(13) "Damaged or Diseased Trees": Trees that have split trunks; broken tops; heart rot; insect or fungus problems that will lead to imminent death; undercut root systems that put the tree in imminent danger of falling; leaning as a result of root failure that puts the tree in imminent danger of falling, or any other condition that puts the tree in imminent danger of being uprooted or falling.
(14) "Designated Watercourse": A watercourse that is contained within, flows through, or borders the City and meets the criteria set forth in these regulations.
(15) "Deteriorated Structure": A structure which has sustained substantial damage from any origin whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would be equal to, or greater than, fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(16) "Development Area": A parcel or contiguous area owned by one person or persons, or operated as one development unit, and used or being developed for commercial, industrial, residential, institutional or other construction or alteration that changes runoff characteristics.
(17) "Disturbed Area": An area of land subject to erosion due to the removal of vegetative cover and/or soil disturbing activities.
(18) "Ditch": An open channel, either human made or natural, for the purpose of drainage or irrigation with intermittent flow.
(19) "Drainage":
(a) The area of land contributing surface water to a specific point.
(b) The removal of excess surface water or groundwater from land by surface or subsurface drains.
(20) "Dumping": The grading, pushing, piling, throwing, unloading or placing of soil or other material.
(21) "Earth Disturbing Activity": Any grading, excavating, filling, drilling or other alteration of the earth's surface where natural or man-made ground cover is destroyed and which may result in or contribute to erosion and sediment pollution.
(22) "Earth material": Any soil, sediment, rock, sand, gravel and organic material or residue associated with or attached to the soil.
(23) "Earth moving": Any excavating, cutting or filling, or any stockpiling thereof.
(24) "Erosion": The process by which the land surface is worn away by the action of wind, water, ice, gravity, or any combination of these forces.
(25) "Erosion and Sediment Control": The control of soil, both mineral and organic, to minimize the removal of soil from the land surface and to prevent its transport from a disturbed area by means of wind, water, ice, gravity, or any combination of those forces.
(26) "Existing": The present condition of the land at the time of adoption of this Title.
(27) "Federal Emergency Management Agency" ("FEMA"): The agency with overall responsibility for administering the National Flood Insurance Program.
(28) "Fill": Depositing of soil, rock or other materials by other than natural means.
(29) "Finish grade": The final grade or elevation of the ground surface after grading is completed.
(30) "Grade": The rise or descent of a sloping surface.
(31) "Grading": Earth disturbing activity such as excavation, stripping, cutting, filling, stockpiling, or other combination thereof.
(32) "Hazardous Materials": Any material, including any substance, waste, or combination thereof, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to, a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.
(33) "Hillside control measures": All of the planning work and control that is required and specified by this title.
(34) "Illegal Discharge": Any direct or indirect non-storm water discharge to the storm drain system, except as exempted in Section 1194.03.
(35) "Illicit Connection": An illicit connection is defined as either of the following:
(1) Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, which allows an illegal discharge to enter the storm drain system including but not limited to any conveyances which allow any non-storm water discharge including sewage, process wastewater, and wash water to enter the storm drain system, and any connection to the storm drain system from indoor drains and sinks, regardless of whether said drain or connection had been previously allowed, permitted, or approved by an authorized enforcement agency or,
(2) Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land use to the storm drain system which has not been documented in plans, maps or equivalent records and approved by the City or any other approving authority.
(36) "Impervious Cover" or "Impervious Surface": Any surface that cannot effectively absorb or infiltrate water. This may include roads, streets, parking lots, rooftops, sidewalks, and other areas not covered by vegetation.
(37) "Industrial Activity": Activities subject to NPDES Industrial Permits as defined in 40 CFR, Section 122.26(b)(14).
(38) "Intermittent Stream": A natural channel that may have some water in pools but where surface flows are non-existent or interstitial (flowing through sand and gravel in stream beds) for periods of one week or more during typical summer months.
(39) "Landscape Architect": A Professional Landscape Architect registered in the State of Ohio.
(40) "Landslide": The rapid mass movement of soil and rock material downhill under the influence of gravity in which the movement of the soil mass occurs along an interior surface of sliding.
(41) "Larger Common Plan of Development or Sale": A contiguous area where multiple separate and distinct construction activities may be taking place at different times on different schedules under one plan.
(42) "Maximum Extent Practicable": The level of pollutant reduction that site owners/operators of small municipal separate storm sewer systems regulated by 40 C.F.R. Parts 9, 122, 123, and 124, referred to as NPDES Storm Water Phase II, must meet.
(43) "National Wetlands Inventory Map": Wetland maps that were created by the Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Interior.
(44) "Natural gradient": The rate of ascent or descent of natural ground surfaces or natural terrains.
(45) "Natural ground surface" or "natural terrain": The ground surface in its original state before any grading, excavation or filling.
(46) "Natural Resources Conservation Service" ("NRCS"): An agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS).
(47) "Natural vegetation": Plant materials and trees which are indigenous to the area and exist on a site prior to any vegetation destruction, construction, earth moving or earth disturbing activity.
(48) "Non-Storm Water Discharge": Any discharge to the storm drain system that is not composed entirely of storm water.
(49) "Nonstructural Storm Water Management Practice": Storm water 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.
(50) "Noxious Weed": Any plant species defined by the Ohio Department of Agriculture as a "noxious weed" and listed as such by the Department. For the purposes of this regulation, the most recent version of this list at the time of application of these regulations shall prevail.
(51) "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" ("NPDES"): a regulatory program in the Federal Clean Water Act that prohibits the discharge of pollutants into surface waters of the United States without a permit.
(52) "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Storm Water Discharge Permit" or "NPDES Permit": A permit issued by EPA (or by a State under authority delegated pursuant to 33 USC §1342(b)) that authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis and derived from the Federal Clean Water Act.
(53) "Ohio EPA": The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
(54) "Ohio Wetlands Inventory Map": Wetland maps that were created by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
(55) "One Hundred (100) Year Floodplain": Any land susceptible to being inundated by water from a base flood. The base flood is the flood that has a one percent (1%) or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. For the purposes of this regulation, the one hundred (100) year floodplain shall be defined by FEMA or a site-specific Floodplain Delineation in conformance with standard engineering practices and approved by the City.
(56) "Ordinary High Water Mark": The point of the bank or shore to which the presence and action of surface water is so continuous as to leave a district marked by erosion, destruction or prevention of woody terrestrial vegetation, predominance of aquatic vegetation, or other easily recognized characteristic.
(57) "Outfall": An area where water flows from a structure such as a conduit, storm sewer, improved channel or drain, and the area immediately beyond the structure which is impacted by the velocity of flow in the structure.
(58) "Owner": Any person, as defined herein, holding fee simple title to the property or option to purchase the property proposed for development.
(59) "Perennial Stream": A natural channel that contains water throughout the year, except possibly during period of extreme drought.
(60) "Person": Any individual, corporation, firm, trust, commission, board, public or private partnership, joint venture, agency, unincorporated association, municipal corporation, county or state agency, the federal government, other legal entity, or an agent thereof.
(61) "Phasing": Clearing a parcel of land in distinct sections, with the stabilization of each section before the clearing of the next.
(62) "Pollutant": Anything which causes or contributes to pollution. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to: paints, varnishes, and solvents; oil and other automotive fluids; non-hazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objections, ordinances, and accumulations, so that same may cause or contribute to pollution; floatables; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; hazardous substances and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; animal wastes; wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure; and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
(64) "Post-Development": The conditions which exist following the completion of soil disturbing activity in terms of topography, vegetation, land use, and the rate, volume, or direction of storm water runoff.
(65) "Pre-Development": The conditions which exist prior to the initiation of soil disturbing activity in terms of topography, vegetation, land use, and the rate, volume, or direction of storm water runoff.
(66) "Premises": Any building, lot, parcel of land, or portion of land whether improved or unimproved including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
(67) "Professional Engineer": A Professional Engineer registered in the State of Ohio.
(68) "Professional Soil Scientist": An individual certified by American Registry of Certified Professionals in Agronomy, Crops and Soils or affiliated registries such as the Association of Ohio Pedologists, that meet the educational and practical experience standards, subscribe to the code of ethics, and qualify for identification as professionals.
(69) "Professional Wetland Consultant" or "Qualified Wetland Professional": Individuals competent in the areas of botany, hydric soils and wetland hydrology that provide professional services or advice, and meet the education and professional experience requirements as required by the Society of Professional Wetland Scientists.
(69) "Protected Hillside Zone": Those areas within the City meeting the criteria set forth in Section 1198.04.
(70) "Protective Setback": A designated transition area around a water resource or wetland left in a natural, usually vegetated, state so as to protect the water resource or wetland from runoff pollution. Construction activities in this area are restricted or prohibited as required in these regulations.
(71) "Qualified Forester": Any forester employed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, or any person attaining the credential of Certified Forester as conferred by the Society of American Foresters.
(72) "Rainwater and Land Development": Ohio's standards for storm water management, land development and urban stream protection. The most current edition of these standards shall be used with this regulation.
(73) "Redevelopment": The demolition or removal of existing structures or land uses and construction of new ones.
(74) "Retention Basin": A storm water management pond that maintains a permanent pool of water. These storm water management ponds include a properly engineered/designed volume dedicated to the temporary storage and slow release of runoff waters.
(75) "Riparian Area": Naturally vegetated land adjacent to watercourses which, if appropriately sized, helps to limit erosion, reduce flood flows, and/or filter and settle out runoff pollutants, or which performs other functions consistent with the purposes of this title.
(76) "Riparian Setback": Those lands within the City which are alongside streams, and which fall within the area defined by the criteria set forth in this title.
(77) "Runoff": The portion of rainfall, melted snow, or irrigation water that flows across the ground surface and is eventually conveyed to water resources or wetlands.
(78) "Sediment": The soils or other surface materials that are transported or deposited by the action of wind, water, ice, gravity, or any combination of those forces, as a product of erosion.
(79) "Sediment Control": The limiting of sediment being transported, by controlling erosion or detaining sediment-laden water, and allowing the sediment to settle out.
(80) "Sediment Pollution": A failure to use management or conservation practices to control wind or water erosion of the soil and to minimize the degradation of water resources by soil sediment in conjunction with land grading, excavating, filling, or other soil disturbing activities on land used or being developed for commercial, industrial, residential, or other purposes.
(81) "Sedimentation": The deposition or settling of sediment.
(82) "Sensitive Area": An area or water resource that requires special management because of its susceptibility to sediment pollution, or because of its importance to the wellbeing of the surrounding communities, region, or the state and includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Ponds, wetlands or small lakes with less than five (5) acres of surface area.
(2) Small streams with gradients less than ten (10) feet per mile with average annual flows of less than three and one-half (3.5) feet per second containing sand or gravel bottoms.
(3) Drainage areas of a locally designated or an Ohio designated Scenic River.
(4) Riparian and wetland areas.
(83) "Sheet Flow": Water runoff in a thin uniform layer or rils and which is of small enough quantity to be treated by sediment barriers.
(84) "Siviculture": The theory and practice of controlling forest establishment, composition and growth.
(85) "Slip": Landslide as defined herein.
(86) "Slope": An inclined ground surface; the inclination is expressed as a ratio of the horizontal distance to the vertical distance.
(87) "Sloughing": A slip or downward movement of an extended layer of soil resulting from the undermining action of water or the earth disturbing activity of man.
(88) "Soil": Unconsolidated erodible earth material consisting of minerals and/or organics.
(89) "Soil Conservation Service, USDA": The federal agency now titled the "Natural Resources Conservation Service," which is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.
(90) "Soil Disturbing Activity": Clearing, grading, excavating, filling, or other alteration of the earth's surface where natural or human made ground cover is destroyed and that may result in, or contribute to, increased storm water quantity and/or decreased storm water quality.
(91) "Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Plan": A written and/or drawn soil erosion and sediment pollution control plan to minimize erosion and prevent off-site sedimentation throughout all earth disturbing activities on a development area.
(92) "Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Practices": Conservation measures used to control sediment pollution and including structural practices, vegetative practices and management techniques.
(93) "Soil Survey": The official soil survey produced by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA in cooperation with the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, ODNR and the local Board of County Commissioners.
(94) "Soil & Water Conservation District": An entity organized under Chapter 1515 of the Ohio Revised Code referring to either the Soil and Water Conservation District Board or its designated employee(s), hereinafter referred to as Cuyahoga SWCD.
(95) "Stabilization": The use of Best Management Practices, such as seeding and mulching, that reduce or prevent soil erosion by water, wind, ice, gravity, or a combination of those forces.
(96) "Storm Drainage System": Publicly-owned facilities by which storm water is collected and/or conveyed, including but not limited to any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, gutters, curbs, inlets, piped storm drains, pumping facilities, retention and detention basins, natural and human-made or altered drainage channels, reservoirs, and other drainage structures.
(97) "Storm Water": Any surface flow, runoff, and drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation.
(98) "Storm Water Conveyance System": All storm sewers, channels, streams, ponds, lakes, etc., used for conveying concentrated storm water runoff, or for storing storm water runoff.
(99) "Storm Water Management Plan" ("SWM Plan"): The written document meeting the requirements of Chapter 1196 that sets forth the plans and practices to be used to minimize storm water runoff from a development area and to safely convey or temporarily store and release post-development storm water runoff at an allowable rate to minimize flooding and erosion.
(100) "Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan" ("SWP3"): The written document that sets forth the plans and practices to be used to meet the requirements of this regulation.
(101) "Stream": A body of water running or flowing on the earth's surface, or a channel in which such flow occurs. Flow may be seasonally intermittent.
(102) "Structural Storm Water Management Practice": Any human made facility, structure, or device that is constructed to provide permanent or temporary conveyance, storage or treatment of storm water runoff.
(103) "Substantial Damage": Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would be equal to, or greater than, fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
(104) "U.S. EPA": The United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(105) "Unstable Soils": A portion of land that is identified by the City as prone to slipping, sloughing, or landslides, or is identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service methodology as having low soil strength.
(106) "Wastewater": Any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated storm water, discharged from a facility.
(107) "Water Resource": Any public or private body of water including lakes or ponds, as well as any brook, creek, river, or stream having banks, a defined bed, and a definite direction of flow, either continuously or intermittently flowing.
(108) "Watercourse": Any natural, perennial, or intermittent channel, stream, river or brook.
(109) "Watershed": The total drainage area contributing storm water runoff to a single point.
(110) "Wetland": Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation, typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas (40 CFR 232, as amended).
(111) "Wetland, Ohio EPA Category 2 Wetlands": Those wetlands classified by the Ohio EPA as Category 2 wetlands under OAC 3745-1-54(C)(2), or current equivalent Ohio EPA classification, in accordance with generally accepted wetland functional assessment methods acceptable to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Ohio EPA at the time of application of this title.
(112) "Wetland, Ohio EPA Category 3 Wetlands": Those wetlands classified by the Ohio EPA as Category 3 wetlands under OAC 3745-1-54(C)(3), or current equivalent Ohio EPA classification, in accordance with generally accepted wetland functional assessment methods acceptable to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Ohio EPA at the time of application of this title.
(113) "Wetland Setback": Those lands within the City that fall within the area defined by the criteria set forth in this title.
(114) "Winter": October 1st to April 1st of each year.
(Ord. 75-2011. Passed 1-10-12.)