As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ACCELERATED EROSION
The removal of the surface of the land through the combined
action of man's activity and the natural processes at a rate greater
than would occur because of the natural process alone.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The work of producing crops and raising livestock, including
tillage, plowing, disking, harrowing, pasturing and installation of
conservation measures. For purposes of regulation by this chapter,
construction of new buildings or impervious area is not considered
an agricultural activity.
ALTERATION
As applied to land, a change in topography as a result of
the moving of soil and rock from one location or position to another;
also the changing of surface conditions by causing the surface to
be more or less impervious; land disturbance.
APPLICANT
A landowner, developer or other person who has filed an application for approval to engage in any regulated activities as defined in §
165-5 of this chapter at a project site in Union Township, Berks County.
AS-BUILT DRAWINGS
Those maintained by the contractor as he constructs the project
and upon which he documents the actual locations of the building components
and changes to the original contract documents. These, or a copy of
same, are turned over to the Engineer at the completion of the project.
BANKFULL
The channel at the top-of-bank or point where water begins
to overflow onto a floodplain.
BASE FLOW
The portion of stream discharge derived from groundwater;
the sustained discharge that does not result from direct runoff or
from water diversions, reservoir releases, piped discharges, or other
human activities.
BIORETENTION
A stormwater retention area which utilizes woody and herbaceous
plants and soils to remove pollutants before infiltration occurs.
BMPs (BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES)
Methods, measures or practices to prevent or reduce surface
runoff and/or water pollution, including but not limited to structural
and nonstructural stormwater management practices and operation and
maintenance procedures. See also "nonstructural best management practices
(BMPs)."
BUFFER
The area of land immediately adjacent to any stream, measured
perpendicular to and horizontally from the top-of-bank on both sides
of a stream. (See "top-of-bank.")
CHANNEL
A drainage element in which stormwater flows with an open
surface. Open channels include but shall not be limited to natural
and man-made drainageways, swales, streams, ditches, canals, and pipes
flowing partly full.
CHANNEL EROSION
The widening, deepening, and headward cutting of small channels
and waterways, caused by stormwater runoff or bankfull flows.
CHAPTER 102
Chapter
102 of the regulations of PADEP, 25 Pa. Code § 102.1 et seq.
CHAPTER 105
Chapter 105 of the regulations of PADEP, 25 Pa. Code § 105.1
et seq.
CHAPTER 106
Chapter
106 of the regulations of PADEP, 25 Pa. Code § 106.1 et seq.
CISTERN
An underground reservoir or tank for storing rainwater.
CLEARING AND GRUBBING
The removal of vegetation from the surface of the land to
the extent that the ground surface is disturbed.
CONVEYANCE
The ability of a pipe, culvert, swale or similar facility
to carry the peak flow from the design storm.
CULVERT
A structure, with appurtenant works, which carries water
under or through an embankment or fill.
DAM
An artificial barrier, together with its appurtenant works,
constructed for the purpose of impounding or storing water or another
fluid or semifluid, or a refuse bank, fill or structure for highway,
railroad or other purposes which does or may impound water or another
fluid or semifluid.
DEPARTMENT
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
DESIGNATED WATERSHED (ACT 167)
A watershed which is listed under the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection's Index of Designated Watersheds (Stormwater
Management), pursuant to the Stormwater Management Act, P.L. 864,
No. 167, October 4, 1978, and published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin
on May 31, 1980, and August 9, 1980, as amended on November 19, 1991,
April 21, 1992, June 21, 1994, April 16, 1996, April 15, 1997, and
December 16, 1997.
DESIGNEE
The agent of the Berks County Planning Commission, the Berks
County Conservation District and/or agent of the Union Township Board
of Supervisors involved with the administration, review or enforcement
of any provisions of this chapter by contract or memorandum of understanding.
DESIGN PROFESSIONAL (QUALIFIED)
Any person licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of State
or otherwise qualified by law to perform the work required by this
chapter.
DESIGN STORM
The magnitude and temporal distribution of precipitation
from a storm event, measured in probability of occurrence (e.g., a
five-year storm) and duration (e.g., 24 hours), used in the design
and evaluation of stormwater management systems.
DETENTION BASIN
An impoundment designed to collect and retard stormwater
runoff by temporarily storing the runoff and releasing it at a predetermined
rate. Detention basins are designed to drain completely shortly after
any given rainfall event and are dry until the next rainfall event.
DEVELOPER
A person that seeks to undertake any regulated activities
at a project site in Union Township.
DEVELOPMENT
Any human-induced change to improved or unimproved real estate,
whether public or private, including but not limited to land development,
construction, installation, or expansion of a building or other structure,
land division, street construction, drilling, and site alteration
such as embankments, dredging, grubbing, grading, paving, parking
or storage facilities, excavation, filling, stockpiling, or clearing.
As used in this chapter, development encompasses both new development
and redevelopment.
DIFFUSED DRAINAGE DISCHARGE
Drainage discharge not confined to a single point location
or channel, such as sheet flow or shallow concentrated flow.
DISCHARGE
A.
(verb) To release water from a project, site,
aquifer, drainage basin or other point of interest.
B.
(noun) The rate and volume of flow of water,
such as in a stream, generally expressed in cubic feet per second
(volume per unit of time). See also "peak discharge."
DISTURBED AREAS
Unstabilized land area where an earth-disturbance activity
is occurring or has occurred.
DITCH
An artificial waterway for irrigation or stormwater conveyance.
DOWNSLOPE PROPERTY LINE
That portion of the property line of the lot, tract, or parcels
of land being developed, located such that overland or pipe flow from
the site would be directed towards it.
DRAINAGE CONVEYANCE FACILITY
A stormwater management facility designed to transmit stormwater
runoff, and shall include channels, swales, pipes, conduits, culverts,
storm sewers, etc.
DRAINAGE EASEMENT
A right granted by a landowner to a grantee, allowing the
use of private land for stormwater management purposes.
DRAINAGE PERMIT
A permit issued by Union Township after the drainage plan
has been approved.
DRAINAGE PLAN
The documentation of the stormwater management system, if any, to be used for a given development site, the contents of which are established in §
165-29.
EARTH-DISTURBANCE ACTIVITY
A construction or other human activity which disturbs the
surface of land, including but not limited to clearing and grubbing,
grading, excavations, embankments, land development, agricultural
plowing or tilling, timber harvesting activities, road maintenance
activities, mineral extraction, and the moving, depositing, stockpiling,
or storing of soil, rock or earth materials.
EMERGENCY SPILLWAY
A conveyance area that is used to pass peak discharge greater
than the maximum design storm controlled by the stormwater facility.
ENCROACHMENT
A structure or activity that changes, expands or diminishes
the course, current or cross section of a watercourse, floodway or
body of water.
EROSION
The process by which the surface of the land, including channels,
is worn away by water, wind, or chemical action.
EXCEPTIONAL-VALUE WATERS
Surface waters of high quality which satisfy Pennsylvania Code Title 25, Environmental Protection, Chapter
93, Water Quality Standards, § 93.4b(b) (relating to antidegradation).
EXISTING CONDITIONS
The initial condition of a project site prior to the proposed
alteration. If the initial condition of the site is undeveloped land,
the land use shall be considered as "meadow," unless the natural land
cover is proven to generate lower curve numbers or Rational "C" value,
such as forested lands.
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FINAL STABILIZATION
The condition of a disturbed area when it has a minimum of
70% uniform perennial vegetative cover or other permanent nonvegetative
cover with a density sufficient to resist accelerated surface erosion
and subsurface characteristics sufficient to resist sliding or other
movements.
FLOOD
A temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of
land areas from the overflow of streams, rivers, and other waters
of this commonwealth.
FLOODPLAIN
Any land area susceptible to inundation by water from any
natural source or delineated by applicable Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Federal Insurance Administration, Flood Hazard
Boundary — Floodway Maps as being a special flood hazard area.
FLOOD PLAIN MANAGEMENT ACT
The Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 851, No. 166, as amended,
32 P.S. § 679.101 et seq., and as may be amended in the
future.
FLOODWAY
The channel of the watercourse and those portions of the
adjoining floodplains which are reasonably required to carry and discharge
the one-hundred-year-frequency flood. Unless otherwise specified,
the boundary of the floodway is as indicated on maps and flood insurance
studies provided by FEMA. In an area where no FEMA maps or studies
have defined the boundary of the one-hundred-year-frequency floodway,
it is assumed, absent evidence to the contrary, that the floodway
extends from the stream to 50 feet from the top-of-bank.
FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
The study of landforms associated with river channels and
the processes that form them.
FOREBAY
A depression or pool located near the inlet of a storm basin
or other stormwater management facility. These devices are designed
as initial storage areas to trap and settle out sediment and heavy
pollutants before they reach the main basin.
FOREST MANAGEMENT/TIMBER OPERATIONS
Planning and activities necessary for the management of forest
land with no change of land use proposed. These include timber inventory
and preparation of forest management plans, silvicultural treatment,
cutting budgets, logging road design and construction, timber harvesting
and reforestation.
FREEBOARD
A vertical distance between the elevation of the design high
water and the top of a dam, levee, tank, basin, swale, or diversion
berm. The space is required as a safety margin in a pond or basin.
GRADE
A.
A slope, usually of a road, channel or natural
ground, specified in percent and shown on plans as specified herein.
B.
(To) Grade — to finish the surface of
a roadbed, top of embankment or bottom of excavation.
GRASSED WATERWAY
A natural or constructed waterway, usually broad and shallow,
covered with erosion-resistant grasses, used to convey surface water.
GROUNDWATER
Water beneath the earth's surface, often between saturated
soil and rock, that supplies wells and springs.
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE
Replenishment of existing natural underground water supplies
without degrading groundwater quality.
HEC-HMS
The United States Army Corps of Engineers' Hydrologic Engineering
Center (HEC) - Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS). This model was used
to model the tributaries to the Schuylkill River in Berks County during
the Act 167 Plan development and was the basis for the standards and
criteria of this chapter.
HIGH-QUALITY WATERS
Surface waters having quality which exceeds levels necessary to support propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water by satisfying Pennsylvania Code, Title 25, Environmental Protection, Chapter
93, Water Quality Standards, § 93.4b(a).
HOTSPOTS
Areas where land use or activities generate highly contaminated
runoff, with concentrations of pollutants in excess of those typically
found in stormwater.
HYDROGRAPH
A graph of discharge versus time for a selected point in
the drainage system.
HYDROLOGIC REGIME (NATURAL)
The hydrologic cycle or balance that sustains quality and
quantity of stormwater, base flow, storage, and groundwater supplies
under natural conditions.
HYDROLOGIC SOIL GROUP
A classification of soils by the Natural Resources Conservation
Service, formerly the Soil Conservation Service, into four runoff
potential groups. The groups range from A soils, which are very permeable
and produce little runoff, to D soils, which are not very permeable
and produce much more runoff.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
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 be gravel or crushed stone shall be assumed to be
impervious surfaces.
IMPOUNDMENT
A retention or detention basin designed to retain stormwater
runoff and release it at a controlled rate.
INFILL
Development that occurs on smaller parcels that remain undeveloped
but are within or in very close proximity to urban areas. The development
relies on existing infrastructure and does not require an extension
of water, sewer or other public utilities.
INFILTRATION
Movement of surface water into the soil, where it is absorbed
by plant roots, evaporated into the atmosphere, or percolates downward
to recharge groundwater.
INFILTRATION STRUCTURE
A structure designed to direct runoff into the underground
water (e.g., french drains, seepage pits, or seepage trenches).
INLET
The upstream end of any structure through which water may
flow.
INTERMITTENT STREAM
A stream that flows only part of the time. Flow generally
occurs for several weeks or months in response to seasonal precipitation,
due to groundwater discharge.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
Any of the following activities:
A.
The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts, or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
(1)
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
(2)
The division or allocation of land or space,
whether initially or cumulatively, 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.
C.
Development in accordance with Section 503(1.1)
of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
LAND DISTURBANCE
Any activity involving grading, tilling, digging, or filling
of ground or stripping of vegetation or any other activity that causes
an alteration to the natural condition of the land.
LANDOWNER
The legal or beneficial owner or owners of land, including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether or not such
option or contract is subject to any condition), a lessee, if he is
authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the landowner,
or another person having a proprietary interest in land.
LIMITING ZONE
A soil horizon or condition in the soil profile or underlying
strata which includes one of the following:
A.
A seasonal high-water table, whether perched
or regional, determined by direct observation of the water table or
indicated by soil mottling.
B.
A rock with open joints, fracture or solution
channels, or masses of loose rock fragments, including gravel, with
insufficient fine soil to fill the voids between the fragments.
C.
A rock formation, other stratum or soil condition
which is so slowly permeable that it effectively limits downward passage
of water.
LOT
A designated parcel, tract or area of land established by
a plat or otherwise as permitted by law and to be used, developed
or built upon as a unit.
MAIN STEM (MAIN CHANNEL)
Any stream segment or other runoff conveyance facility used
as a reach in the Tributaries to the Schuylkill River in Berks County
Hydrologic Model.
MANNING EQUATION (MANNING FORMULA)
A method for calculation of velocity of flow (e.g., feet
per second) and flow rate (e.g., cubic feet per second) in open channels
based upon channel shape, roughness, depth of flow and slope. Open
channels may include closed conduits so long as the flow is not under
pressure.
MPC
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of July
1, 1967, P.L. 805, No. 247, as reenacted and amended, 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq., and as may be amended in the future.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, duly appointed as the Engineer for Union Township,
planning agency or joint planning commission.
NATURAL RECHARGE AREA
An undisturbed surface area or depression where stormwater
collects and a portion of which infiltrates and replenishes the underground
and groundwater.
NONPOINT-SOURCE POLLUTION
Pollution that enters a water body from diffuse origins in
the watershed and does not result from discernible, confined, or discrete
conveyances.
NONSTORMWATER DISCHARGES
Water flowing in stormwater collection facilities, such as
pipes or swales, which is not the result of a rainfall event or snowmelt.
NONSTRUCTURAL BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
Methods of controlling stormwater runoff quantity and quality,
such as innovative site planning, impervious area and grading reduction,
protection of natural depression areas, temporary ponding on site
and other techniques.
NPDES
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, the
federal government's system for issuance of permits under the Clean
Water Act, which is delegated to the DEP in Pennsylvania.
NRCS
The Natural Resource Conservation Service (previously SCS).
OPEN CHANNEL
A drainage element in which stormwater flows with an open
surface. Open channels include but shall not be limited to natural
and man-made drainageways, swales, streams, ditches, canals, and pipes
flowing partly full.
OUTFALL
"Point source," as described in 40 CFR § 122.2,
at the point where Union Township's storm sewer system discharges
to surface waters of the commonwealth.
OUTLET
Points of water disposal to a stream, river, lake, tidewater
or artificial drain.
PADEP
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection,
formerly the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, or
any agency successor to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
PARENT TRACT
The parcel of land from which a land development or subdivision
originates, determined from the date of municipal adoption of this
chapter.
PARKING LOT STORAGE
Involves the use of parking areas as temporary impoundments
with controlled release rates during rainstorms.
PEAK DISCHARGE
The maximum rate of stormwater runoff from a specific storm
event.
PENNDOT
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or any agency
successor thereto.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, association, corporation or other
entity.
PIPE
A culvert, closed conduit, or similar structure (including
appurtenances) that conveys stormwater.
POI (POINT OF INTEREST)
The outlet and study point of a particular watershed or drainage
area; the downstream end of a time-of-concentration flow path.
POINT SOURCE
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.
POST CONSTRUCTION
The period after construction where disturbed areas are stabilized,
stormwater controls are in place and functioning and all proposed
improvements in the approved land development plan are completed.
PRETREATMENT
Techniques employed in stormwater BMPs to provide storage or filtering to trap coarse materials and other pollutants before they enter the system but not necessarily meet the water quality volume requirements of §
165-14.
PROJECT SITE
The specific area of land where any regulated earth-disturbance
activities in Union Township are planned, conducted or maintained.
RECHARGE
The replenishment of groundwater through the infiltration
of rainfall, other surface waters, or land application of water or
treated wastewater.
RECONSTRUCTION
Demolition of and subsequent rebuilding of impervious surface.
RECORD DRAWINGS
Original documents revised to suit the as-built conditions
and subsequently provided by the Engineer to the client. The Engineer
takes the contractor's as-builts, reviews them in detail with his/her
own records for completeness, then either turns these over to the
client or transfers the information to a set of reproducibles, in
both cases for the client's permanent records.
REDEVELOPMENT
The demolition, construction, reconstruction, alteration,
or improvement exceeding 2,000 square feet of land disturbance performed
on sites where existing land use is commercial, industrial, institutional,
or multifamily residential. Maintenance activities, such as top-layer
grinding and repaving, are not considered to be redevelopment. Interior
remodeling projects and tenant improvements are also not considered
to be redevelopment. Utility trenches in streets are not considered
redevelopment unless more than 50% of the street width is removed
and repaved.
REGULATED ACTIVITIES
Any actions or proposed actions that involve the alteration
or development of land in a manner that may affect stormwater runoff.
RELEASE RATE
The percentage of the existing condition peak rate of runoff
from a site or subarea to which the proposed condition peak rate of
runoff must be reduced to protect downstream areas.
REPAVING
Replacement of the impervious surface that does not involve
reconstruction of an existing paved (impervious) surface.
REPLACEMENT PAVING
Reconstruction of and full replacement of an existing paved
(impervious) surface.
RETENTION BASIN
A structure in which stormwater is stored and not released
during the storm event. Retention basins do not typically have an
outlet to other downstream conveyance features, such as channels,
storm sewers, or other surface waters. Generally, these features empty
via recharge and must infiltrate stored water in no more than four
days. These features may have an emergency spillway or other overflow
device for large events.
RETURN PERIOD
The average interval, in years, within which a storm event
of a given magnitude can be expected to recur. For example, the twenty-five-year
return period rainfall would be expected to recur on the average of
once every 25 years.
RIPARIAN BUFFER ZONE (RBZ)
Areas immediately adjacent to Union Township's perennial
streams and waterways, as mapped as blue lines on U.S. Geological
Survey 1:24,000-scale quadrangle maps.
RISER
A vertical pipe extending from the bottom of a pond that
is used to control the discharge rate from the pond for a specified
design storm.
ROAD MAINTENANCE
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.
ROOF DRAINS
A drainage conduit or pipe that collects water runoff from
a roof and leads it away from the structure.
ROOFTOP DETENTION
Temporary ponding and gradual release of stormwater falling
directly onto flat roof surfaces by incorporating controlled-flow
roof drains into building designs.
RUNOFF
Any part of precipitation that flows over the land surface.
SALDO
The Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, Chapter
172 of the Code of the Township of Union.
SEDIMENTATION
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by the movement of water or air.
SEDIMENT BASIN
A barrier, dam, or retention or detention basin located and
designed to retain rock, sand, gravel, silt, or other material transported
by water during construction.
SEDIMENT POLLUTION
The placement, discharge or any other introduction of sediment
into the waters of the commonwealth.
SEEPAGE PIT or SEEPAGE TRENCH
An area of excavated earth filled with loose stone or similar
coarse material, into which surface water is directed for infiltration
into the underground water.
SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM
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.
SHALLOW CONCENTRATED FLOW
Stormwater runoff flowing in shallow, defined ruts prior
to entering a defined channel or waterway.
SHEET FLOW
A flow process associated with broad, shallow water movement
on sloping ground surfaces that is not channelized or concentrated.
SOIL-COVER COMPLEX METHOD
A method of runoff computation developed by the NRCS that
is based on relating soil type and land use/cover to a runoff parameter
called "Curve Number (CN)."
SOIL GROUP, HYDROLOGIC
A classification of soils by the Soil Conservation Service
into four runoff potential groups. The groups range from A soils,
which are very permeable and produce little runoff, to D soils, which
are not very permeable and produce much more runoff.
SPECIAL GEOLOGIC FEATURES
Carbonate bedrock features, including but not limited to
closed depressions, existing sinkholes, fracture traces, lineaments,
joints, faults, caves and pinnacles, which may exist and must be identified
on a site when stormwater management BMPs are being considered.
SPILLWAY
A conveyance that is used to pass the peak discharge of the
maximum design storm controlled by the stormwater facility.
STABILIZATION
The proper placing, grading, constructing, reinforcing, lining,
and covering of soil, rock or earth to ensure their resistance to
erosion, sliding or other movement.
STATE WATER QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
The regulatory requirements to protect, maintain, reclaim,
and restore water quality under Pennsylvania Code, Title 25, and the
Clean Streams Law.
STORAGE INDICATION METHOD
A reservoir-routing procedure based on the solution of the
continuity equation (inflow minus outflow equals the change in storage),
with outflow defined as a function of storage volume and depth.
STORM FREQUENCY
The number of times that a given storm event occurs or is
exceeded on the average in a stated period of years. See "return period."
STORM SEWER
A system of pipes and/or open channels that convey intercepted
runoff and stormwater from other sources, but excludes domestic sewage
and industrial wastes.
STORMWATER
The surface runoff generated by precipitation reaching the
ground surface.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
Any structure, natural or man-made, that, due to its condition,
design, or construction, conveys, stores, or otherwise affects stormwater
runoff quality, rate or quantity. Typical stormwater management facilities
include but are not limited to detention and retention basins, open
channels, storm sewers, pipes, and infiltration structures.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN
The plan for managing those land use activities that will
influence stormwater runoff quality and quantity and that would impact
the Tributaries to the Schuylkill River in Berks County, adopted by
Berks County as required by the Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864,
(Act 167), and known as the "The Tributaries to the Schuylkill River
in Berks County Act 167 Stormwater Management Plan."
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SITE PLAN
The plan prepared by the applicant or his representative
indicating how stormwater runoff will be managed at the particular
site of interest according to this chapter.
STREAM BUFFER
The land area adjacent to each side of a stream, essential
to maintaining water quality. (See "buffer.")
STREAM ENCLOSURE
A bridge, culvert or other structure in excess of 100 feet
in length, upstream to downstream, which encloses a regulated water
of this commonwealth.
SUBAREA (SUBWATERSHED)
The smallest drainage unit of a watershed for which stormwater
management criteria have been established in the stormwater management
plan.
SUBDIVISION
The division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of
land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other
divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court
for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, or building
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwelling, shall be exempted.
SURFACE WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, 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.
SWALE
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers or carries surface
water runoff.
TIME-OF-CONCENTRATION (Tc)
The time for surface runoff to travel from the hydraulically
most distant point of the watershed to a point of interest within
the watershed. This time is the combined total of overland flow time
and flow time in pipes or channels, if any.
TOP-OF-BANK
The highest point of elevation in a stream channel cross
section at which a rising water level just begins to flow out of the
channel and over the floodplain.
VERNAL POND
Seasonal depressional wetlands that are covered by shallow
water for variable periods from winter to spring but may be completely
dry for most of the summer and fall.
WATERCOURSE
A channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined
bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent
flow.
WATER OBSTRUCTION
A dike, bridge, culvert, wall, wing wall, fill, pier, wharf,
embankment, abutment or other structure located in, along or across
or projecting into a watercourse, floodway or body of water. In the
case of ponds, lakes and reservoirs, a water obstruction is considered
to be in or along the body of water if, at normal pool elevation,
the water obstruction is either in the water or adjacent to and abutting
the water's edge (See 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 105).
WATER QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
As defined under state regulations, protection of designated and existing uses (See 25 Pa. Code, Chapters
93 and 96).
A.
Each stream segment in Pennsylvania has a designated use, such as "cold water fishery" or "potable water supply," which are listed in Chapter
93. These uses must be protected and maintained under state regulations.
B.
"Existing uses" are those attained as of November 1975, regardless of whether they have been designated in Chapter
93. Land development 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.
C.
Water quality involves the chemical, biological
and physical characteristics of surface water bodies. After land development,
these characteristics can be impacted by addition of pollutants such
as sediment and changes in habitat through increased flow volumes
and/or rates. Therefore, discharges to surface waters must be designed
and managed to protect the stream bank, streambed and structural integrity
of the waterway, to prevent these impacts.
WATERSHED
A region or area drained by a river, watercourse or other
body of water, whether natural or artificial.
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, 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.
WELLHEAD
A.
A structure built over a well.
B.
The source of water for a well.
WELLHEAD PROTECTION AREA
The surface and subsurface area surrounding a water supply
well, well field, spring or infiltration gallery supplying a public
water system, through which contaminants are reasonably likely to
move toward and reach the water source.
WET BASIN
A pond for urban runoff management that is designed to detain
urban runoff and always contains water.
WETLAND
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, including
swamps, marshes, bogs, fens, and similar areas.