For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms and words used
herein shall be interpreted as follows:
A.
Words used in the present tense include the future tense; the singular
number includes the plural, and the plural number includes the singular;
words of masculine gender include feminine gender; and words of feminine
gender include masculine gender.
B.
The word "includes" or "including" shall not limit the term to the
specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other
instances of like kind and character.
C.
The words "shall" and "must" are mandatory; the words "may" and "should"
are permissive.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The removal of the surface of the land through the combined
action of human activities and the natural processes, at a rate greater
than would occur because of the natural process alone.
Activities associated with agriculture such as agricultural
cultivation, agricultural operation, and animal heavy use areas. This
includes the work of producing crops including tillage, land clearing,
plowing, disking, harrowing, planting, harvesting crops or pasturing
and raising of livestock and installation of conservation measures.
Construction of new buildings or impervious area is not considered
an agricultural activity.
A landowner, developer or other person who has filed an application
for approval to engage in any regulated earth disturbance activity
at a project site in the municipality.
Activities, facilities, designs, measures or procedures used
to manage stormwater impacts from regulated earth disturbance activities,
to meet state water quality requirements, to promote groundwater recharge
and to otherwise meet the purposes of this chapter. BMPs include but
are not limited to infiltration, filter strips, low-impact design,
bioretention, wet ponds, permeable paving, grassed swales, forested
buffers, sand filters and detention basins.
Cash, certified check, or treasurer's check.
The Allegheny County Conservation District.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The magnitude of precipitation from a storm event, measured
in probability of occurrence, such as the one-hundred-year storm and
duration, such as twenty-four-hour, and used in designing stormwater
management control systems.
A person that seeks to undertake any regulated earth disturbance
activities at a project site in the municipality.
See "earth disturbance activity." The term includes redevelopment.
The specific tract of land where any earth disturbance activities
in the municipality are planned, conducted or maintained.
Any commonly accepted method of testing whereby dye is introduced
into the storm, surface or subsurface water collection system and
downspouts of structures or improvements to real property to determine
if surface stormwater is entering into the sanitary sewer system.
A construction or other human activity which disturbs the
surface of the land, including, but not limited to, clearing and grubbing,
grading, excavations, embankments, road maintenance, building construction
and the moving, depositing, stockpiling, or storing of soil, rock
or earth materials.
The process by which the surface of the land, including channels,
is worn away by water, wind, or chemical action.
A plan for a project site which identifies BMPs to minimize
accelerated erosion and sedimentation.
Planning and activities necessary for the management of forestland.
These include conducting a timber inventory, preparation of forest
management plans, silvicultural treatment, cutting budgets, logging
road design and construction, timber harvesting, site preparation,
and reforestation.
Replenishment of existing natural underground water supplies.
Infiltration rates of soils vary widely and are affected
by subsurface permeability as well as surface intake rates. Soils
are classified into four HSGs (A, B, C, and D) according to their
minimum infiltration rate, which is obtained for bare soil after prolonged
wetting. The NRCS defines the four groups and provides a list of most
of the soils in the United States and their group classification.
The soils in the area of the development site may be identified from
a soil survey report that can be obtained from local NRCS offices
or conservation district offices. Soils become less pervious as the
HSG varies from A to D (NRCS 3,4).
A surface that prevents the infiltration of water into the
ground. Impervious surface includes, but is not limited to, any roof,
parking or driveway areas, and any new streets and sidewalks. Any
surface areas designed to initially be gravel or crushed stone shall
be assumed to be impervious surfaces.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous lots,
tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving a group of two
or more residential or nonresidential buildings, whether proposed
initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential building on
a lot, or lots regardless of the number of occupants or tenure, or
the division or allocation of land or space between or among two or
more existing or prospective occupants by means of or for the purpose
of streets, common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups,
or other features, or a subdivision of land.
Borough of West View, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, the federal
government's system for issuance of permits under the Clean Water
Act, which is delegated to DEP in Pennsylvania.
The point or location at which stormwater leaves a site,
which may include streams, storm sewers, swales or other well-defined
natural or artificial drainage features, as well as areas of dispersed
overland flow.
An individual, partnership, public or private association
or corporation, or a governmental unit, public utility or any other
legal entity whatsoever which is recognized by law as the subject
of rights and duties.
Any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including,
but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, or conduit from
which stormwater is or may be discharged, as defined in state regulations
at 25 Pa. Code § 92.1.[1]
The specific area of land where any regulated earth disturbance
activities in the municipality are planned, conducted or maintained.
Any person licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of State
or otherwise qualified by law to perform the work required by this
chapter.
Earth disturbance activities on land which has previously
been disturbed or developed.
Any earth disturbance activities or any activities that involve
the alteration or development of land in a manner that may affect
stormwater runoff.
Earth disturbance activity one acre or more with a point
source discharge to surface waters or the municipality's storm
sewer system, or five acres or more regardless of the planned runoff.
This includes earth disturbance on any portion of, part, or during
any stage of, a larger common plan of development. This only includes
road maintenance activities involving 25 acres or more of earth disturbance.
Earth disturbance activities within the existing road cross
section, such as grading and repairing existing unpaved road surfaces,
cutting road banks, cleaning or clearing drainage ditches and other
similar activities.
That part of precipitation that flows over the land.
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with
drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters,
ditches, man-made channels or storm drains) primarily used for collecting
and conveying stormwater runoff.
Each stream segment in Pennsylvania has a designated use, such
as cold-water fishery or potable water supply, which are listed in
Chapter 93.[2] These uses must be protected and maintained, under state
regulations;
"Existing uses" are those attained as of November 1975, regardless
whether they have been designated in Chapter 93.[3]Rregulated earth disturbance activities must be designed
to protect and maintain existing uses and maintain the level of water
quality necessary to protect those uses in all streams, and to protect
and maintain water quality in special protection streams; and
Water quality involves the chemical, biological and physical
characteristics of surface water bodies. After regulated earth disturbance
activities are complete, these characteristics can be impacted by
addition of pollutants such as sediment, and changes in habitat through
increase flow volumes and/or rates as a result of changes in land
surface area from those activities. Therefore, permanent discharges
to surface waters must be managed to protect the stream bank, streambed
and structural integrity of the waterway, to prevent these impacts.
The surface runoff generated by precipitation reaching the
ground surface.
The Allegheny County stormwater management plan for managing
stormwater runoff adopted by the County of Allegheny as required by
the Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864, (Act 167), as amended, and known
as the "Stormwater Management Act."[4]
The plan prepared by the developer or his representative
indicating how stormwater runoff will be managed at the development
site in accordance with this chapter. "Stormwater management site
plan" will be designated as "SWM site plan" throughout this chapter.
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments,
ditches, watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, dammed water, wetlands,
ponds, springs, and all other bodies or channels of conveyance of
surface water, or parts thereof, whether natural or artificial, within
or on the boundaries of this commonwealth.
A channel or conveyance of surface water, such as a stream
or creek, having defined bed and banks, whether natural or artificial,
with perennial or intermittent flow.
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments,
ditches, watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, dammed water, wetlands,
ponds, springs, and all other bodies or channels of conveyance of
surface and underground water, or parts thereof, whether natural or
artificial, within or on the boundaries of this commonwealth.
Region or area drained by a river, watercourse or other body
of water, whether natural or artificial.
[1]
Editor's Note: Chapter 92 of Title 25 of the Pennsylvania
Code was reserved 10-8-2010, effective 10-9-2010. It was replaced
by Chapter 92a, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Permitting, Monitoring and Compliance.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93.
[4]
Editor's Note: See 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq.
