The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meanings indicated. The Director shall have the sole
right of interpretation of these meanings.
A point of investigation, as determined by calculations or
other means approved by the County Engineer, at which stormwater can
be released from the site without causing scouring, erosion, flooding,
sedimentation or producing an adverse impact to the receiving point.
A study prepared to support the existence of an adequate
outfall.
The State of Maryland Department of Environment, Water Management
Administration.
A waiver which is granted in accordance with § 274-19, Administrative waivers.
Any deleterious effect on land, waters or wetlands, including
their quality, quantity, surface area, species composition, aesthetics
or usefulness for human or natural uses, which is or may potentially
be harmful to human health, welfare, safety or property, to biological
productivity, diversity, or stability or which unreasonably interferes
with the enjoyment of life or property, including outdoor recreation.
A study performed by the developer to support a design or
a waiver request to show that no downstream adverse impacts will occur
due to the proposed development.
Those methods and procedures utilized in the cultivation
of land in order to further crop and livestock production and conservation
of related soil and water resources.
A documented action by the Department of Planning and Growth
Management to determine and acknowledge the sufficiency of submitted
materials to meet the requirements of a specified stage in a development
process. Approval does not mean an acknowledgement by the Department
of Planning and Growth Management that submitted materials have been
received for review.
See "final stormwater management plan."
A diverse macro invertebrate, amphibian and fish population
consistent with state-designated water use classifications or the
support potential of the existing stream flow, water quality, and
habitat quality.
Water backed up in its course by an obstruction such as a
pipe, bridge or other structure.
A Structural device or nonstructural device designed to temporarily
store or treat stormwater runoff in order to mitigate flooding, reduce
pollution, and provide other amenities; and
Agricultural runoff control and sediment and erosion control
practices approved by the Charles Soil Conservation District used
to mitigate adverse effects of land use activities, runoff, sedimentation,
and nonpoint source pollution or stream bank erosion, stream hydrology,
surface water and groundwater quality, stream habitat, aquatic life,
and groundwater replenishment.
The volume used to design structural management practices
to control stream channel erosion. Methods for calculating the Cpv are specified in the latest edition of the 2000 Maryland
Stormwater Design Manual, Volumes I and II, and any supplements.
The division head of the County responsible for implementation
of the Stormwater Management Program.
The removal of trees and brush or anything from the land,
which does not disturb the soil.
The first of three required stormwater management plan approvals submitted in accordance with § 274-28B, Concept stormwater management plan.
The engineer responsible for inspections of a development.
The County Commissioners of Charles County, Maryland and
their respective employees, agents, etc.; also referred to as "Charles
County government."
The engineer employed by the County who is in responsible
charge and has direct supervision of stormwater management engineering.
Defined in Chapter 297 of the Charles County Code and set forth on the approved maps of the County depicting the location and extent of the critical area zone.
Effects which result from the incremental impact of the action
when added to other past, present and planned future actions.
The failure of the embankment section of a dam or small impoundment.
The Department of Planning and Growth Management or any department
of the County responsible for stormwater management approvals.
The engineer responsible for the project design.
The 2000 Maryland Stormwater Design Manual, Volumes I and
II (or any manual or supplement which is revised, renamed and/or adopted
by the Maryland Department of the Environment for use in the State
of Maryland), that serves as the official guide for stormwater principles,
methods, and practices in the State of Maryland.
A person, partnership, corporation, firm or governmental
agency undertaking or proposing a development, the construction of
a building, the construction of a project consisting of interrelated
buildings, or any other construction, and who is primarily financially
responsible for the proposed work.
To change the runoff characteristics of land in conjunction
with any and all construction or alteration, including and not limited
to County, residential, commercial, industrial, or institutional development.
See "develop land."
The concentrated release of stormwater to tidal waters or
vegetated tidal wetlands from new development or redevelopment projects
inside the critical area.
The head of the department of the County responsible for
implementation of the stormwater management program.
The flow of rainwater, snowmelt, or spring flow over the
land surface toward stream channels. Direct runoff may be in the form
of sheet, shallow concentrated or concentrated flow.
That degree of supervision by a licensed professional overseeing
the work of another whereby the licensed professional has both control
over and detailed professional knowledge of the work prepared under
his supervision and that such work has been prepared by or reviewed
by and is thus approved by the licensed professional.
Adding, introducing, releasing, leaking, spilling, casting,
throwing or emitting any pollutant, or placing any pollutant in a
location where it is likely to pollute waters of the state. "Discharge"
may also mean direct runoff of stormwater.
The Charles Soil Conservation District.
The downstream watercourse to a point where the increase
in ten- and one-hundred-year flow due to development is no greater
than 10% of the existing flow.
That area contributing runoff to a single point measured
in a horizontal plane, which is enclosed by a ridgeline.
A grant or reservation by the owner of land for the use of
such land by others for a specific purpose or purposes, and which
must be included in the conveyance of land affected by such easement.
A professional engineer as defined by Title 14 of the Business
Occupations and Professions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
Using small-scale stormwater management practices, nonstructural
techniques, and better site planning to mimic natural hydrologic runoff
characteristics and minimize the impact of land development on water
resources. Methods for designing ESD practices are specified in the
Design Manual.
The process by which the land surface is worn away by the
action of wind, water, ice or gravity.
Those land disturbance activities or developments that are
not subject to the stormwater management requirements contained in
this chapter.
The storage volume required to control those infrequent but
large storm events in which overbank flows reach or exceed the boundaries
of the one-hundred-year floodplain.
A fee collected by the County to offset the cost of planning,
design, permitting, construction and inspection of stormwater management
facilities.
Any act by which soil, earth, sand, gravel, rock or any similar
material is deposited, placed, pushed, pulled or transported and shall
include the conditions resulting from such actions.
Occurs after all stormwater management work has been completed
and approved and the required documents have been submitted and approved
by the Department.
Occurs when the District has approved the final erosion and
sediment control plan for the project's stormwater facilities,
and the Department has approved the final stormwater management plan.
The last of three required plan approvals submitted in accordance with § 274-28D, Final stormwater management plans.
The final grade or elevation of the ground surface which
conforms to the approved grading plan.
That land typically adjacent to a body of water with ground
surface elevations that are inundated by the base flood, excepting
the land adjoining the banks of ponds, lakes or stormwater management
detention and retention facilities when the banks of such water bodies
provide containment of the base flood.
The area inundated by a flood whose frequency of occurrence
is 1% in any given year.
Prolonging the flow time of runoff to reduce the peak discharge.
Any act by which soil is cleared, stripped, stockpiled, excavated,
scarified, filled or any combination thereof.
Underground water in a zone of saturation or water contained
or moving among soils and sands or held within geologic formations
under the ground surface.
To dig, clear of roots, stumps, brush, etc.
Any surface that does not allow stormwater to infiltrate
into the ground, to include but not limited to pavement, concrete
or roof areas.
A development of not greater than 15,000 square feet on a
parcel of property which has had no previous development and which
is bounded on all property lines by developed land.
The passage or movement of water into soil surface.
Defined in Chapter 297 of the Charles County Code and set forth on the approved maps of the County depicting the location and extent of the critical area zone.
Any fill, grading, stripping, excavation or removal of or
placement of anything on land which may result in soil exposure and/or
erosion or the covering of land surfaces.
A professional land surveyor duly licensed by the State of
Maryland to practice professional land surveying in accordance with
the provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
A professional duly licensed by the State of Maryland to
practice a profession in accordance with the provisions of the Annotated
Code of Maryland.
Designing stormwater management systems so that all reasonable
opportunities for using ESD planning techniques and treatment practices
are exhausted and, only where absolutely necessary, a structural BMP
is implemented.
The Maryland State Highway Administration.
A diffuse source of pollution that does not result from a
pollutant discharge at a specific, single location (such as pipes)
but generally results from human or human-induced activities which
introduce pollutants into waters of the state through land runoff,
precipitation, atmospheric deposition, or percolation.
The United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service, which is represented locally by the District.
The design and construction of systems necessary to control
stormwater from more than one development designed under separate
permit applications which are owned by the same developer. The system
may or may not be located within the same property boundaries.
The design and construction of systems necessary to control
stormwater within an immediate development subject to a permit application.
The discharge of water from development.
The volume controlled by structural practices to prevent
an increase in the frequency of out-of-bank flooding generated by
development for the twenty-four-hour duration ten-year storm frequency.
A person or entity with legal right of possession or lawful
fee simple title to a parcel of real property.
The temporary controlled shallow surface ponding of water
for stormwater management purposes. This definition specifically excludes
medians and/or other pervious nonparking or nondriving areas.
A permit issued by the Department to develop land and/or
to perform a land disturbance activity which may include a stormwater
management approval.
Any person, corporation, partnership, joint venture, agency,
unincorporated association or any combination thereof. Includes the
federal government, the state, the County, municipal corporation,
or other political subdivision of the state, or any of their units,
or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator,
fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or partnership, firm, association,
public or private corporation, or any of their affiliates, or any
other entity.
A combination of strategies employed early in project design
to reduce impacts from development and to incorporate natural features
into a stormwater management plan.
The County document which outlines the policies and procedures
for submitting information to the Department relative to permitting
a development.
The point where concentrated discharge leaves a defined site
or drainage area boundary.
Providing for equivalent reductions in impervious surfaces
or equivalent stormwater quality control volumes at a location other
than where the pollutants are generated.
A stormwater management plan approval or completed review
by the Department that includes, at a minimum, the following as part
of the preliminary planning approval:
Number of planned dwelling units or lots and proposed density;
Proposed size and location of all land uses in the project;
Identifies the proposed drainage patterns and the location of
all stormwater management controls;
The proposed alignment, location and construction type and standard
for all proposed roads, access ways and areas of vehicular travel;
The proposed method and adequacy of wastewater disposal and
provisions of potable water;
The general location of all infrastructure proposed for water
and wastewater systems; and
Any other information deemed necessary by the Department to
adequately review the proposal.
The maintenance of stormwater management systems by private
property owners and not by the County.
An easement for stormwater management on private property
and which is privately maintained but allows the County to inspect
and maintain any stormwater management system located within the easement
if the owner/developer fails to maintain the stormwater management
systems.
An engineer duly licensed by the State of Maryland to practice
professional engineering under the requirements of Title 14, Business
Occupations and Professions, Annotated Code of Maryland.
The department in the County responsible for the maintenance
of public properties and public stormwater management easements.
County government maintenance of stormwater management systems.
An easement for stormwater management purposes which has
been dedicated to the County and which the County has accepted and
which allows the County to maintain any stormwater management system
located within the easement.
A system of vegetative, structural, and other measures that
reduce or eliminate pollutants that might otherwise be carried by
surface runoff.
A system of vegetative and structural measures that control
the increased volume and rate of surface runoff caused by man-made
changes to the land.
That portion of the water quality volume (WQv) used to maintain ground water recharge rates at development sites.
Methods for calculating the recharge volume are specified in the Design
Manual.
Any construction, alteration, or improvement performed on
a site in which existing land use is commercial, industrial, institutional,
or multifamily residential, and the existing site impervious surface
area of the site exceeds 40%.
Any stormwater management system or structure serving two
or more properties which are the subject of separate permit applications
and owned by separate entities.
One-hundred-year floodplains as shown on the National Flood
Insurance Rate Maps for the County.
A report prepared to address the stormwater management requirements.
There shall be a licensed professional in direct control
and exercising direct personal supervision of each professional service
offered or practiced. Direct control and direct personal supervision
requires more than reviewing the work prepared by another person.
To recreate, where feasible, stable and well-shaded riffle,
run, stream meander, and pool structures and aquatic habitat conditions
with the goal of supporting more balanced indigenous communities in
surface waters that have been damaged by excessive or inadequately
controlled stormwater flows and nonpoint source pollution discharges
from upland watershed development.
The construction of a structural BMP in a previously developed
area, the modification of an existing structural BMP, or the implementation
of a nonstructural practice to improve water quality over current
conditions.
The permission to discharge waters onto adjacent off-site
properties.
Soils or other materials transported or deposited by the
action of wind, water, ice, or gravity as a product of erosion.
The action or process of forming or depositing sediment in
a manner which adversely impacts, or has the potential to adversely
impact, the physical and biological diversity of wetlands and waters
of the state.
Any tract, lot, parcel of land, or combination of tracts,
lots, parcels of land that are in one ownership, or are contiguous
and in diverse ownership where development is to be performed as part
of a unit, subdivision, or project.
The second of three required stormwater management plan approvals submitted in accordance with § 274-28C, Site stormwater management plans.
The inclined surface of placed fill, excavation or natural
terrain.
A stormwater management pond which requires small pond approval
from the District.
Any earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar material.
The prevention of soil movement by any of various vegetative
and/or structural means.
The State of Maryland Book of Standards for Highway and Incidental
Structures and/or any detail or detail manual adopted by the County
to replace and/or supplement the book of Standards for Highway and
Incidental Structures for use in the County.
The State of Maryland.
An atmospheric disturbance accompanied by rain, snow, or
other precipitation and sometimes accompanied by thunder, lightning
and winds. For design purposes, a storm is defined by its rainfall,
intensity, duration and frequency.
The Charles County Storm Drainage Ordinance.
Water that originates from a precipitation event.
Expenses incurred in constructing stormwater management systems.
The County's inventory of completed stormwater management
systems and maintenance inspections.
A set of drawings or other documents submitted by a person
as a prerequisite to obtaining a stormwater management approval, which
contains all of the information and specifications required by the
Department.
Environment Article, Title 4, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code
of Maryland, and Cumulative Supplement.
Individually or a combination of natural areas, ESD practices,
structures, measures, facilities, practices through which stormwater
is managed to meet the requirements established in this chapter.
Any part of a watercourse, either naturally or artificially
created, which contains an intermittent or perennial base flow of
groundwater origin.
Any activity which removes the vegetative surface cover,
including tree removal, clearing, grubbing and storage or removal
of topsoil.
All waters of the state other than groundwater, which includes
public or private ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, tidal and nontidal
wetlands, public ditches, private ditches, and public or private drainage
systems except those used to collect, convey, or dispose of sanitary
sewage.
A body of water affected by the tides.
The area below the mean high tide, affected by the regular
rise and fall (flow and ebb) of the tide, including state tidal wetlands.
The modification of the minimum stormwater management requirements
for specific circumstances, self-created or not, where strict adherence
to the requirements would result in unnecessary hardship and/or would
not fulfill the intent of this chapter.
The modification from stormwater management requirements
by the Department for a specific development on a case-by-case review
basis. Waivers are as established in this chapter.
Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch, channel,
canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine or wash, in
which water flows in a definite direction or course, either continuously
or intermittently; and including any area adjacent thereto which is
subject to inundation by a reason of overflow or floodwater.
The volume needed to capture and treat the runoff from 90%
of the average annual rainfall at a development site. Methods for
calculating the WQv are specified in the Design
Manual.
The total drainage area contributing runoff to a single point.
A plan prepared and/or approved by the County for the purpose
of establishing specific development requirements within a watershed
boundary which may include stormwater management requirements, provided
that the specific stormwater management requirements are not less
restrictive than those established in the Design Manual.
Both surface waters and groundwater within the boundaries
of the state and subject to its jurisdiction and for the purpose of
this chapter within the boundaries of the County.
Any land which is:
Considered private wetland or state wetland pursuant to Title
5, Subtitle 9, Nontidal Wetlands, and Title 16, Wetlands and Riparian
Rights, Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland; or
Defined as wetland under the procedures described in the federally
accepted "Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional
Wetlands."
