For the purposes of these regulations, the words and phrases
set forth herein shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to
them and, in addition, whenever appropriate with the context, words
used in the present tense include the future tense, words used in
the singular include the plural and vice versa, the word “shall”
is always mandatory and the word “may” is permissive.
(Res. 115-07 § XX-21, 7-30-07)
Whenever the following words or phrases are used, they are defined
as follows:
Acceptable use
means any activity within the watershed that is not required to provide a watershed permit, pursuant to GJMC §
13.32.180.
Activity
means any excavating, filling, grading, surfacing, construction
or activity, other than noncommercial gardening or landscaping, which
changes or enlarges the basic character or the use of the land upon
which the activity occurs.
City
means the City of Grand Junction and, where appropriate,
an officer, employee or authorized agent of the City of Grand Junction.
Confined animal feeding operations
means an animal feeding operation (AFO) at a lot or facility
where animals are stabled or confined for a total of 45 days or more
in any 12-month period and crops or vegetative growth are not maintained
in the normal growing season over the lot or facility.
Ditch
means a small to moderate depression created to channel water.
Domestic use
means the construction of a single-family residence of less
than 10,000 square feet in total interior square feet construction
and maintenance of driveways, landscaping and accessory barns and
sheds in connection with single-family residence; the maintenance,
cutting and clearing of necessary trees and vegetation to accomplish
the same; and treatment of noxious weeds and fire fuels management
on the single-family residential property.
Drain
means the natural or artificial removal of surface and subsurface
water from a given area.
Drilling or drilling operations
means drilling for water, oil, gas, or other natural resources,
and includes grading, construction, and traffic activities associated
with the drilling.
Excavating
means the intentional movement of earth leaving any cut bank
over three feet in height or a movement of material in excess of 10
cubic yards.
Filling
means the intentional movement of earth that results in any
earth bank over two feet in height or filled earth over two feet deep,
or artificial addition of earth above a line sloping up at a grade
of one vertical unit to five horizontal units from the ground before
the filling.
Grading
means the intentional movement of over five cubic yards of
material; movement of any earth or material that changes the natural
flow of surface water, or affects or creates a drainage channel; pioneering
of a road, cutting or clearing of trees and shrubbery that results
in creating a roadway or driveway in excess of 25 feet in length;
or the use of vehicles or keeping of any animals upon any land that
could reasonably lead to a movement of five cubic yards of material
within any five-year period.
Groundwater
means any water existing in a saturated or unsaturated state
in the subsurface soils and rock.
Hazardous
means a condition, situation, or substance that has the potential
to cause harm to humans and the ecosystem.
Impact
means any alteration or change resulting directly or indirectly
from an action.
Mining
means any activity that involves the exploration for or the
development (excavation or extraction) of soils, rock, coal, minerals
or other geologic materials.
Mitigation
means processes or methods which:
(1)
Avoid an impact upon the land by evaluating alternatives and
redesigning an activity;
(2)
Minimize an impact upon the land by substantially limiting the
scope of an activity;
(3)
Rectify an impact upon the land through the use of remediation,
rehabilitation or restoration techniques; or
(4)
Compensate for the impact upon the land by replacing or providing
substitute facilities or resources.
Person
means any individual, corporation, association, organization,
partnership, trust, estate or any other recognized legal entity.
Pipeline
means a conduit made from pipes connected end-to-end for
long-distance fluid transport.
Pollution
means the manmade, man-induced or natural alteration of the
physical, chemical, biological or radiological composition or integrity
of water.
Removing vegetation
means the intentional cutting, burning, grubbing, dragging,
chemical killing or any other manner of removing any flora or tree;
any shrubs and/or trees, or combination, covering an area of more
than 100 square feet; or any grasses covering an area of more than
1,000 square feet. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, “removing
vegetation” does not include: removal of clearly diseased or
dead trees for domestic uses; clearing of trees in order to construct
a single-family residence; cutting of Christmas trees for noncommercial
purposes; yard or garden work incidental to domestic uses; treatment
of noxious weeds; fire fuel reduction on a single-family residential
property; or removing vegetation incidental to a lawful use existing
as of the date of approval hereof.
Seep
means a wet place where a liquid, usually groundwater, has
oozed from the ground to the surface.
Skid trails
means a temporary travel-way for logging equipment to transport
felled trees or logs to a landing.
Spring
means a point where groundwater flows out of the ground,
and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.
Stream
means a body of water with a current, confined within a bed
and banks.
Significant degradation
means to lower in grade or desirability to a significant,
rather than to a minor or trifling, degree.
Substantial
means material or considerable in importance, value, degree,
amount or extent.
Surfacing
means covering soil or prepared areas with asphalt, gravel
or similar materials.
Surface intake
means a place where surface water is diverted from a source
for a purpose.
Surface water
means water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river,
lake, or wetland.
Timber harvesting
means felling trees and transporting logs on skid trails
to a landing where products are sorted and loaded onto trucks for
transportation to a mill.
Toxic
means having a poisonous effect on living organisms.
Waterbody
means any surface-water feature including but not limited
to streams, creeks, ponds, lakes, impoundments, catchbasins, ditches,
drains, canals, springs, seeps, and channels associated with spring
and seep discharge.
Watershed
is the area designated in GJMC §
13.32.140, including the hydrologic basins and land area encompassed by the watershed.
Waterworks
means any and all naturally occurring, manmade or designed
components of the City’s water collection and delivery system,
including but not limited to all springs, seeps, streams, surface
intakes, ditches, drains, pipelines or reservoirs and all decreed
points of diversion for the same, and any transmission, storage and
filtration facilities which are used in the construction, maintenance
and operation of the City’s water collection and delivery system.
Wetlands
means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface
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 wet meadows, fens, riparian areas and similar areas.
(Res. 115-07 § XX-22, 7-30-07)
Other words and phrases may be defined elsewhere in these regulations,
which definitions shall define said words and phrases necessary for
the administration and enforcement of these regulations.
(Res. 115-07 § XX-23, 7-30-07)