§ 26-37. Definitions.

The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this article, unless otherwise specifically stated:

Best management practices (BMPs). These include sound conservation minimize erosion and resultant sedimentation, which are consistent with, and no less stringent than, those practices contained in the "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control" published by the commission as of January of the year in which the land-disturbing activity was permitted.

Board. The Georgia Board of Natural Resources.

Board of zoning appeals. Board appointed by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners which hears appeals of stop work orders.

Buffer. The area of land immediately adjacent to the banks of state waters in its natural state of vegetation, which facilitates the protection of water quality and aquatic habitat.

Commission. The State of Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. (GSWCC)

CPESC. Certified professional in erosion and sediment control with certification by Certified Profession in Erosion and Sediment Control Inc., a Corporation Registered in North Carolina, which is also referred to as CPESC or CPESC, Inc.

Cut. A portion of land surface or area from which earth has been removed or will be removed by excavation; the depth below the original ground surface to the excavated surface, also known as excavation.

Department. Fulton County Department of Environment and Community Development.

Design professional. A professional licensed by the State of Georgia in the field of: engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, forestry, geology, or land surveying; or a person that is a certified professional in erosion and sediment control (CPESC) with a current certification by Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control, Inc.

Development. The alteration of property for any purpose involving building, subdividing, and/or the preparation of land for any of the above purposes. Development includes, but is not limited to, providing utilities, access, parking, storm water management, sewage disposal systems, and/or construction of a structure.

Development sequence. The sequence of activities to be completed, in order, during the development of a land disturbance project as per approved construction plans.

Director. The director (or his/her designee(s)) of the Fulton County Department of Environment and Community Development.

Director, DPW. The director of the Fulton County Department of Public Works or his/her designee.

Director, EPD. The director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Division. The Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources.

District. The Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Drainage structure. A device composed of a virtually non-erodible material such as concrete, steel, plastic, or other such material that conveys water from one place to another by intercepting the flow and carrying it to a release point for stormwater management, drainage control, or flood control purposes.

EPD. The Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Erosion. The process by which land surface is worn away by the action of wind, water, ice, or gravity.

Erosion and Sedimentation Control Manual. A field manual produced by the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission that illustrates vegetative and structural best management practices (BMPs), and their use for land-disturbing activities.

Erosion, sediment, and pollution control plan. A plan required by the Erosion and Sedimentation Act, O.C.G.A. ch. 12-7, that includes, as a minimum protection at least as stringent as the state general permit, best management practices, and requirements in section 26-39(c).

Fill. A portion of land surface to which soil or other solid material has been added; the depth above the original ground surface or elevation.

Final Stabilization. All soil disturbing activities at the site have been completed, and that for unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures and areas located outside the waste disposal limits of a landfill cell that has been certified by EPD for waste disposal, 100 percent of the soil surface is uniformly covered in permanent vegetation with a density of 70 percent or greater, or equivalent permanent stabilization measures (such as the use of rip rap, gabions, permanent mulches or geotextiles) have been used. Permanent vegetation shall consist of planted trees, shrubs, perennial vines: a crop of perennial vegetation appropriate for the time of year and region: or a crop of annual vegetation and a seeding of target crop perennials appropriate for the region. Final stabilization applies to each phase of construction.

Finished grade. The final elevation and contour of the ground after cutting or filling and conforming to the proposed design.

Grading. Altering the shape of ground surfaces. This includes stripping, cutting, filling, stockpiling, and shaping or any combination thereof, and shall include the land in its cut or filled condition.

Ground elevation. The elevation of the ground surface as measured from sea level prior to cutting or filling.

Land disturbing activity. Any activity which may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state waters or onto lands within the state, including, but not limited to, clearing, dredging, grading, excavating, transporting, and filling of land but not including agricultural practices as described in subsection 26-38(5).

Larger common plan of development or sale. A contiguous area where multiple separate and distinct construction activities are occurring under one plan of development or sale. For the purpose of this paragraph, "plan" means an announcement; piece of documentation such as a sign, public notice or hearing, sales pitch, advertisement, drawing, permit application, zoning request, or computer design; or physical demarcation such as boundary signs, lot stakes, or survey markings, indicating that construction activities may occur on a specific plot.

Local issuing authority. The governing authority of any county or municipality which is certified pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-7-8(a).

Metropolitan River Protection Act (MRPA). A state law referenced as O.C.G.A. § 12-5-440 et seq., which addresses environmental and developmental matters in certain metropolitan river corridors and their drainage basins.

Natural ground surface. Original site topography/ground surface prior to land disturbance activities.

Nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). Numerical units of measure based upon photometric analytical techniques for measuring the light scattered by finely divided particles of a substance in suspension. This technique is used to estimate the extent of turbidity in water in which colloidally dispersed or suspended particles are present.

Notice to comply. Enforcement action based on noncompliance through failure to either properly install or maintain BMPs, where sediments remain within the boundaries of the property. This enforcement action provides the violator five days to achieve compliance.

NOI. A notice of intent form provided by EPD for coverage under the state general permit.

NOT. A notice of termination form provided by EPD to terminate coverage under the state general permit.

Official notice. A posting of a notice to comply or a stop work order on a property that is non-compliant or in violation.

Operator. The party or parties that have: (A) operational control of construction project plans and specifications, including the ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications; or (B) day-to-day operational control of those activities that there are necessary to ensure compliance with an erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan for the site or other permit conditions, such as a person authorized to direct workers at a site to carry out activities required by the erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan or to comply with other permit conditions.

100-year flood plain. Land in the flood plain subject to a one percent or greater statistical occurrence probability of flooding in any given year.

Outfall. The location where storm water is discernible, confined and discrete conveyance leaves a facility or site or, if there is a receiving water on site, becomes a point source discharging into the receiving water.

Permit. The authorization necessary to conduct a land disturbing activity under the provisions of this article.

Person. Any individual, owner, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, state agency, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state, any interstate body, or any other legal entity.

Phase or phased. Sub-parts or segments of construction projects where the sub-part or segment is constructed and stabilized prior to completing construction activities on the entire construction site.

Project. The entire proposed development project, regardless of the size of the area of land to be disturbed.

Properly designed. Designed in accordance with the design requirements and specifications contained in the "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia" (Manual published by the Georgia Soil and Water Commission as of January 1 of the year in which the land-disturbing activity was permitted and amendments to the manual as approved by the commission up until the date of NOI submittal).

Reinspection fee. A fee assessed to the developer/owner/operator or responsible party for reinspecting the project if requested by the developer/owner/operator or responsible party prior to the end of the compliance period, provided that upon that reinspection the project remains out of compliance.

Roadway drainage structure. A device such as a bridge, catch basin, culvert, or ditch, composed of a virtually non-erodible material such as concrete, steel, plastic, or other such material that conveys water under a roadway by intercepting the flow on one side of a traveled way (public or private) consisting of one or more defined lanes, with or without shoulder areas, and carrying water to a release point on the other side.

Sediment. Solid material, both organic and inorganic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water, ice, or gravity as a product of erosion.

Sedimentation. The process by which eroded material is transported and deposited by the action of water, wind, ice, or gravity.

Soil and water conservation district approved plan. An erosion and sedimentation control plan approved in writing by the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Stabilization. The process of establishing an enduring soil cover by the installation of temporary or permanent structures or vegetation for the purpose of reducing to a minimum the erosion process and the resultant transport of sediment by wind, water, ice, or gravity.

State general permit. The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System general permit or permits for storm-water runoff from construction activities as is now in effect or as may be amended or reissued in the future pursuant to the state's authority to implement the same through federal delegation under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251, et seq., and O.C.G.A. § 12-5-30(f).

State waters. Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, branches, lakes, ditches, reservoirs, ponds, drainage systems, springs, wells, and other bodies of surface or subsurface water, natural or artificial, lying within or forming a part of the boundaries of the state which are not entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single individual, partnership, or corporation.

Stop work order. Enforcement action that ceases all work onsite or a portion of the site.

Structural erosion and sedimentation control measures. Practices for the stabilizing of erodible or sediment-producing areas by utilizing the mechanical properties of matter for the purpose of either changing the surface of the land or storing, regulating, or disposing of runoff to prevent sediment loss. Examples of structural erosion and sediment control measures are: riprap, sediment basins, dikes, level spreaders, waterways, outlets, diversions, grade stabilization structures, sediment traps, and sediment barriers, etc. Such measures as defined in the publication "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia."

Trout streams. All streams or portions of streams within the watershed as designated by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources under the provisions of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-20, in the rules and regulations for Water Quality Control, Chapter 391-3 at www.gaepd.org. Streams designated as primary trout waters are defined as water supporting a self-sustaining population of rainbow, brown, or brook trout. Streams designated as secondary trout waters are those in which there is no evidence of natural trout reproduction, but are capable of supporting trout throughout the year. First order trout waters are streams into which no other streams flow except springs.

Turbidity. A measure of clarity of a water sample.

Underbrush. Any small shrubs, ground cover, or similar plants growing beneath the canopy of mature trees.

Vegetative erosion and sedimentation control measures. Measures for the stabilization of erodible or sediment-producing areas by covering the soil with:

(1)

Permanent seeding, sprigging, or planting, producing long-term vegetative cover;

(2)

Temporary seeding, producing short-term vegetative cover; or

(3)

Sodding, covering areas with a turf of perennial sod-forming grass. Such practices can be found in the publication "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia".

Watercourse. Any natural or artificial watercourse, stream, river, creek, channel, ditch, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, or wash in which water flows either continuously or intermittently and which has a definite channel, bed, and banks, and including any area adjacent thereto subject to inundation by reason of overflow or flood water.

Wetlands. Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater 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. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

(Res. No. 05-0690, Exh. A, 6-15-05; Ord. No. 10-0576, 6-2-10)

State law reference

Similar provisions, O.C.G.A. § 12-7-3.

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.