The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this article. Additional terms that apply to issuance of a permit established by this article shall be defined and included as part of the rules promulgated and from time to time amended under §
300-19 of this article, a copy of which is available at the Conservation Commission and the office of the City Clerk. Terms not defined in said regulations or pertinent statutes shall be construed according to their customary and usual meaning.
AGRICULTURE
The normal maintenance or improvement of land in agricultural
or aquacultural use, as defined by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection
Act and its implementing regulations.
ALTER
Any activity which will measurably change the ability of
a ground surface area to absorb water or will change existing surface
drainage. "Alter" may be similarly represented as "alteration of drainage
characteristics" and "conducting land disturbance activities."
APPLICANT
Any person, individual, partnership, association, firm, company,
corporation, trust, authority, agency, department, or political subdivision
of the commonwealth or the federal government, to the extent permitted
by law, requesting a stormwater management and land disturbance permit,
for proposed land disturbance activity.
APPLICATION
The City of Quincy Department of Public Works stormwater
management and land disturbance permit application.
APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED (ANR)
A plan of land that does not require approval under the Subdivision
Control Law of Massachusetts (MGL c. 41, §§ 81K through
81GG).
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
An activity, procedure, restraint, or structural improvement
that helps to reduce the quantity or improve the quality of stormwater
runoff.
CITY
The City of Quincy, Massachusetts.
CITY ENGINEER
The City Engineer of the City of Quincy or his/her designee.
CLEAN WATER ACT
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251
et seq.), as hereafter amended.
CLEARING
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of Public Works of the City of Quincy or
his/her authorized deputy, agent or representative.
COMMON PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT
Any announcement or piece of documentation (including a contract,
public notice or hearing, advertisement, drawing, plan, or permit
application, etc.) or physical demarcation (including boundary signs,
lot stakes, surveyor marking, etc.) indicating imminent or future
plans to disturb earth regardless of how many phases or how long it
will take to complete. Under this article, a facility is no longer
considered a common plan if the following criteria are met:
A.
The original plan, including modifications, was substantially
completed with less than one acre of the original common plan remaining
(i.e., less than one acre of the common plan was not built out at
the time); and
B.
There was clearly an identifiable period of time (two years
or more) where there was no ongoing construction, including meeting
the criteria for final stabilization.
CONSTRUCTION AND WASTE MATERIALS
Excess or discarded building or site materials, including
but not limited to concrete truck washout, chemicals, litter, and
sanitary waste at a construction site that may adversely impact water
quality.
CONSTRUCTION SITE OPERATOR
The party that has operational control over construction
plans and specifications; and/or the party that has day-to-day operational
control over development activities at the subject site.
DEVELOPMENT
The modification of land to accommodate a new use or expansion
of use usually involving construction.
DISCHARGE OF POLLUTANTS
The addition from any source of any pollutant or combination
of pollutants into the MS4 system or into the waters of the commonwealth
or the United States from any source.
EROSION
The wearing away of the land surface by natural or artificial
forces such as wind, water, ice, gravity, or vehicle traffic and the
subsequent detachment and transportation of soil particles.
EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROL PLAN
A document containing narrative, drawings, and details developed
by a qualified professional engineer (PE) or a certified professional
in erosion and sedimentation control which includes best management
practices or equivalent measures designed to control surface runoff,
erosion and sedimentation during pre-construction and construction-related
land disturbance activities. A stormwater pollution prevention plan
prepared under the NPDES general permit for discharges from construction
activities will fulfill this requirement.
FLOW
Stormwater or groundwater.
GRADING
Changing the level or shape of the ground surface.
GRUBBING
The act of clearing land surface by digging up roots and
stumps.
ILLICIT CONNECTION
A surface or subsurface drain or conveyance which allows
an illicit discharge into the MS4 system, including, without limitation,
sewage, process wastewater, or wash water and any connections from
indoor drains, sinks, or toilets, regardless of whether said connection
was previously allowed, permitted, or approved before the effective
date of this article.
ILLICIT DISCHARGE
Direct or indirect discharge to the MS4 system that is not composed entirely of stormwater, except as exempted in §
300-22. The term does not include a discharge in compliance with an NPDES stormwater discharge permit or a surface water discharge permit or resulting from firefighting or other public safety activities exempted pursuant to §
300-22 of this article.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
Any material or structure on or above the ground that prevents
water from infiltrating the underlying soil. "Impervious surface"
includes, without limitation, roads, paved parking lots, sidewalks,
and rooftops.
INFEASIBLE
For the purpose of this article, infeasible means not technologically
possible or not economically practicable and achievable in light of
best industry practices.
LAND DISTURBANCE
Any activity that causes a change in the position, location,
or arrangement of soil, sand, rock, gravel, or similar earth material.
See also "alter."
LOW-IMPACT DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES
Stormwater management practices that are modeled after natural
hydrologic features. Low-impact development techniques manage rainfall
at the source using uniformly distributed decentralized microscale
controls. Low-impact development techniques use small cost-effective
landscape features located at the lot level.
MASSACHUSETTS ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 131A and its implementing
regulations at 321 CMR 10.00 which prohibit the taking of any rare
plant or animal species listed as endangered, threatened, or of special
concern.
MASSACHUSETTS STORMWATER MANAGEMENT POLICY
The policy issued by the Department of Environmental Protection
and as amended that coordinates the requirements prescribed by state
regulations promulgated under the authority of the Massachusetts Wetlands
Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40, and Massachusetts Clean
Waters Act, MGL c. 21, §§ 23 to 56. The policy addresses
stormwater impacts through implementation of stormwater management
standards to reduce or prevent pollutants from reaching water bodies
and control the quantity of runoff from a site.
MASSACHUSETTS STORMWATER MANAGEMENT STANDARDS
The requirements described in the Massachusetts Stormwater
Handbook, as they may be amended from time to time, that address water
quality (pollutants) and water quantity (flooding, low base flow,
and recharge) by stablishing standards that require the implementation
of a wide variety of stormwater management strategies. These strategies
include environmentally sensitive site design and low-impact development
techniques to minimize impervious surface and land disturbance, source
control and pollution prevention, structural best management practices,
construction period erosion and sedimentation control, and the long-term
operation and maintenance of stormwater management systems. The Stormwater
Management Standards have been incorporated in the Wetlands Protection
Act Regulations, 310 CMR 10.05(6)(k), and the Water Quality Certification
Regulations, 314 CMR 9.06(6)(a).
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4) or MUNICIPAL STORM
DRAIN SYSTEM
The system of conveyances designed or used for collecting
or conveying stormwater, including any road with a drainage system,
street, gutter, curb, inlet, piped storm drain, pumping facility,
retention or detention basin, natural or man-made or altered drainage
channel, reservoir, and other drainage structure, that together comprise
the storm drainage system owned or operated by the City.
NEW DEVELOPMENT
Any construction activities or land alteration resulting
in total earth disturbances greater than one acre (or activities that
are part of a larger common plan of development disturbing greater
than one acre) on an area that has not previously been developed to
include impervious cover.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLAN
A plan setting up the functional, financial, and organizational
mechanisms for the ongoing operation and maintenance of a stormwater
management system to verify that it continues to function as designed,
at a minimum, in accordance with the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook
Standards, or more stringent standards, if necessary.
OUTFALL
A point source as defined by 40 CFR 122.2 at the point where
a municipal separate storm sewer discharges to waters of the United
States and does not include open conveyances connecting two municipal
separate storm sewers or pipes, tunnels or other conveyances which
connect segments of the same stream or other waters of the United
States and are used to convey waters of the United States.
OUTSTANDING RESOURCE WATERS (ORWS)
Waters designated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection as outstanding resource waters. These waters have exceptional
sociological, recreational, ecological, and/or aesthetic values and
are subject to more stringent requirements under both the Massachusetts
Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00) and the Massachusetts Stormwater
Management Standards. Outstanding resource waters include:
A.
Vernal pools certified by the Natural Heritage and Endangered
Species Program of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife;
B.
All Class A designated public water supplies with their bordering
vegetated wetlands; and
C.
Other waters specifically designated.
OWNER
A person, partnership, association, company or trust with
a legal or equitable interest in real property.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, association, firm, company, trust,
corporation, agency, authority, department or political subdivision
of the commonwealth or the federal government, to the extent permitted
by law, and any officer, employee, or agent of such person.
POINT SOURCE
Any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including
but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well,
discrete fissure, or container, from which pollutants are or may be
discharged.
POLLUTANT
Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, filter backwash,
sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological
materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar
dirt and industrial, municipal and agricultural wastes discharged
into water.
PRIORITY HABITAT OF RARE SPECIES
Habitats delineated for rare plant and animal populations
protected pursuant to the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act and its regulations.
PROCESS WASTEWATER
Water which during manufacturing or processing comes into
direct contact with or results from the production or use of any material,
intermediate product, finished product, or waste product.
QUALIFIED INSPECTOR
A person knowledgeable in the principles and practice of
erosion and sediment controls and pollution prevention, who possesses
the appropriate skills and training to assess conditions at the development
site that could impact stormwater quality, and the appropriate skills
and training to assess the effectiveness of stormwater BMPs selected
and installed to meet the requirements of this article.
RECHARGE
The process by which groundwater is replenished by precipitation
through the percolation of runoff and surface water through the soil.
REDEVELOPMENT
The development, replacement, rehabilitation, expansion,
demolition, or phased projects that disturb the ground surface or
increase the impervious area on previously developed sites. Standards
of redevelopment only apply to the portions of the parcel that currently
contain alteration by human activities.
RUNOFF
Rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation water flowing over the
ground surface.
SEDIMENT
Mineral or organic soil material that is transported by wind
or water from its origin to another location; the product of erosion
processes.
SITE
Any lot or parcel of land or area of property where land
disturbing activities are, were, or will be performed.
SLOPE
The incline of a ground surface expressed as a ratio of horizontal
distance to vertical distance.
SOIL
Any earth, sand, rock, gravel, or similar material.
STABILIZATION
The use, singly or in combination, of mechanical, structural,
or vegetative methods to prevent or retard erosion.
STORMWATER
Stormwater runoff, snowmelt runoff, surface water runoff,
and drainage.
STORMWATER BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
A structural or nonstructural technique for managing stormwater
to prevent or reduce nonpoint source pollutants from entering surface
waters or groundwaters. A structural stormwater best management practice
includes a basin, discharge outlet, swale, rain garden, biofilter,
or other stormwater treatment practice or measure either alone or
in combination, including without limitation any discharge pipe, overflow
pipe, conduit, or weir control structure that is not naturally occurring;
is not designed as a wetland replication area; and has been designed,
constructed, and installed for the purpose of conveying, collecting,
storing, discharging, recharging, or treating stormwater. Nonstructural
stormwater best management practices include source control and pollution
prevention measures.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The use of structural or nonstructural practices that are
designed to reduce stormwater runoff pollutant loads, discharge volumes,
and/or peak flow discharge rates.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND LAND DISTURBANCE PERMIT
A permit issued by the City Engineer, after review of an
application, plans, calculations, and other supporting documents,
which is designed to protect the environment from the effects of uncontrolled
and untreated stormwater runoff.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN
A plan required as part of the application for a stormwater
management and land disturbance permit and which may include, but
not be limited to, narrative, calculations, hydrologic models, figures,
drawings, consideration of low-impact development (LID) techniques,
details and long-term operations and maintenance developed by a qualified
professional engineer (PE) which describes the structural and nonstructural
stormwater best management practices necessary to meet the requirements
of the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook performance standards.
STRIP
Any activity which removes the vegetative ground surface
cover, including tree removal, clearing, grubbing, and storage or
removal of topsoil.
SURFACE WATER DISCHARGE PERMIT
A permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) pursuant to 314 CMR 3.00 that authorizes the discharge of pollutants
to waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS MATERIAL OR WASTE
Any material which because of its quantity, concentration,
or chemical, corrosive, flammable, reactive, toxic, infectious or
radioactive characteristics, either separately or in combination with
any substance or substances, constitutes a present or potential threat
to human health, safety or welfare or to the environment. Toxic or
hazardous materials include any synthetic organic chemical, petroleum
product, heavy metal, radioactive or infectious waste, acid and alkali,
and any substance defined as toxic or hazardous under MGL c. 21C and
c. 21E and the regulations at 310 CMR 30.000 and 310 CMR 40.0000.
TSS
Total suspended solids.
VERNAL POOLS
Temporary bodies of freshwater which provide critical habitat
for a number of vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife species.
WASTEWATER
Any sanitary waste, sludge, or septic tank or cesspool overflow,
and water that during manufacturing, cleaning, or processing comes
into direct contact with or results from the production or use of
any raw material, intermediate product, finished product, by-product,
or waste product.
WATERCOURSE
A natural or man-man channel through which water flows or
a stream of water, including a river, brook, or underground stream.
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
All waters within the jurisdiction of the commonwealth, including,
without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments,
estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, and groundwater.
WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES
All waters within the jurisdiction of the United States,
including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs,
impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, and groundwater.
WETLAND RESOURCE AREA
Areas specified in the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40, and in Chapter
349, Wetlands Protection, of this Code.
WETLANDS
Tidal and nontidal areas characterized by saturated or nearly
saturated soils most of the year that are located between terrestrial
(land-based) and aquatic (water-based) environments, including freshwater
marshes around ponds and channels (rivers and streams) and brackish
and salt marshes; common names include marshes, swamps and bogs.
This Stormwater Management and Land Disturbance Article is hereby
established in the City of Quincy, Massachusetts. This article is
adopted under authority granted by the Home Rule Amendment of the
Massachusetts Constitution, the home rule statutes, and pursuant to
the regulations of the federal Clean Water Act found at 40 CFR 122.34.
The City Engineer shall administer, implement and enforce this
article. Any powers granted to or duties imposed upon the City Engineer
may be delegated in writing by the City Engineer to other Department
of Public Works employees. The City Engineer or his designee shall
act as the stormwater management and land disturbance permit administrator.
A. Rules and regulations. The Department of Public Works may adopt,
and periodically amend, rules, regulations, policies or guidelines
relating to the terms, conditions, definitions, fees (including application,
clerical, inspection, and/or consultant fees), procedures, and administration
of this article, as long as they are not less stringent than those
in the MS4 general permit. Failure of the Department to promulgate
such rules and regulations shall not be deemed a waiver by the Department
or serve to suspend or invalidate the effect of this article.
B. Stormwater Management Handbook. The Department will utilize the Massachusetts
Stormwater Management Standards and Handbook, as amended from time
to time, for criteria and information including specifications and
standards for the execution of the provisions of this article. These
include a list of acceptable stormwater treatment practices, with
specific design criteria for each. Unless specifically altered in
this article and regulations, stormwater management practices that
are designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with the Massachusetts
Stormwater Management Standards and design and sizing criteria in
the Stormwater Management Handbook shall be presumed by the Conservation
Commission to be protective of Massachusetts water quality standards.
C. Actions by the Department. The City Engineer may take any of the following actions as a result of an application for a stormwater management permit as more specifically defined as part of the rules, policies, or guidelines promulgated as part of this article: approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval. Failure of the City Engineer to take final action upon an application within the time specified in the rules, policies or guidelines created or promulgated under Subsection
A of this section shall be deemed to be a denial of said application.
D. Appeals. The decisions or orders of the City Engineer shall be final.
Further relief shall be to a court of competent jurisdiction.