ABUTTERThe owner(s) of land abutting the subject property where work is proposed.
AGRICULTUREThe normal maintenance or improvement of land in agricultural or aquacultural use, as defined by the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (310 CMR 10.00) and its implementing regulations.
ALTERATION OF DRAINAGE CHARACTERISTICSAny activity on an area of land that changes the water quality, force, direction, timing or location of runoff flowing from the area. Such changes include: change from distributed runoff to confined, discrete discharge; change in the volume of runoff from the area; change in the peak rate of runoff from the area; and change in the recharge to groundwater on the area.
APPLICANTAny 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 Land Disturbance Permit for proposed land-disturbance activity.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)An activity, procedure, restraint, or structural improvement that helps to reduce the quantity or improve the quality of stormwater runoff.
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION (COC)A document issued by the Stormwater Authority after all construction activities have been completed, which states that all conditions of an issued Land Disturbance Permit have been met and that a project has been completed in compliance with the conditions set forth in the SMP.
CLEAN WATER ACT (CWA)The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq.) as hereafter amended.
CLEARINGAny activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
CONSTRUCTION AND WASTE MATERIALSAny 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.
DEVELOPMENTThe modification of land to accommodate a new use or expansion of use, usually involving construction.
DISCHARGE OF POLLUTANTSThe addition from any source of any pollutant or combination of pollutants into the municipal storm drain system or into the waters of the United States or Commonwealth from any source.
DISTURBANCE OF LANDAny action that causes a change in the position, location, or arrangement of soil, sand, rock, gravel or similar earth material.
DRAINAGE EASEMENTA legal right granted by a landowner to a grantee allowing the use of private land for stormwater management purposes.
EROSIONThe 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 PLANA document containing a narrative, drawings and details developed by a qualified professional engineer (PE) or a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sedimentation Control (CPESC), which includes best management practices, or equivalent measures designed to control surface runoff and erosion and sedimentation during pre-construction and construction related land disturbance activities.
EROSION CONTROLThe prevention or reduction of the movement of soil particles or rock fragments due to stormwater runoff.
FLOODINGA local and temporary inundation or rise in the surface of a body of water, such that covers land not usually under water.
GRADINGChanging the level or shape of the ground surface.
GRUBBINGThe act of clearing land surface by digging up roots and stumps.
ILLICIT CONNECTIONA surface or subsurface drain or conveyance which allows an illicit discharge into the municipal storm drain 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 the Stormwater Management Bylaw.
ILLICIT DISCHARGEDirect or indirect discharge to the municipal storm drain system that is not composed entirely of stormwater, except as exempted in §
354-11. The term does not include a discharge in compliance with a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater discharge permit or resulting from fire-fighting activities exempted pursuant to §
354-11 of the Stormwater Management Bylaw.
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.
IMPOUNDMENTA stormwater pond created by either constructing an embankment or excavating a pit which retains a temporary or permanent pool of water.
INFILTRATIONThe act of conveying surface water into the ground to permit groundwater recharge and the reduction of stormwater runoff from a project site.
LAND USE OF HIGHER POTENTIAL POLLUTANT LOAD (LUHPPL)Land uses or activities with higher potential pollutant loadings, as defined in the Massachusetts Stormwater Management Standards such as auto salvage yards, auto fueling facilities, fleet storage yards, commercial parking lots with high intensity use, road salt storage areas, commercial nurseries and landscaping, outdoor storage and loading areas of hazardous substances or marinas.
LAND-DISTURBING ACTIVITYAny activity that causes a change in the position or location of soil, sand, rock, gravel, or similar earth material.
MASSACHUSETTS ENDANGERED SPECIES ACTG.L. c. 131A and its implementing regulations 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 STANDARDSThe Standards 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 G.L. c. 131 § 40 and Massachusetts Clean Waters Act G.L. c. 21, § 23-56. The Standards address stormwater impacts through implementation of performance standards to reduce or prevent pollutants from reaching water bodies and control the quantity of runoff from a site.
MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM (MS4) or MUNICIPAL STORM DRAIN SYSTEMThe 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 Town of Hull.
NUISANCEThe unreasonable, unwarranted and/or unlawful use of property, which causes inconvenience or damage to others, either to individuals and/or to the general public by directing water onto other property.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLANA plan setting up the functional, financial and organizational mechanisms for the ongoing operation and maintenance of a stormwater management system to ensure that it continues to function as designed.
OUTFALLThe point at which stormwater flows out from a point source into waters of the Commonwealth.
OUTSTANDING RESOURCE WATERS (ORWs)Waters designated by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection as ORWs. These waters have exceptional sociologic, 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. ORWs include vernal pools certified by the Natural Heritage Program of the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement, all Class A designated public water supplies including their bordering vegetated wetlands, and other waters specifically designated.
OWNERA person with a legal or equitable interest in property.
PERSONAn 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 SOURCEAny 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.
POLLUTANTAny element or property of sewage, agricultural, industrial or commercial waste, runoff, leachate, heated effluent, or other matter, whether originating at a point or nonpoint source, that is or may be introduced into any storm sewer or waters of the commonwealth. Pollutants shall include but are not limited to:
A. Paints, varnishes, and solvents;
Oil and other automotive/watercraft fluids;
Nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes;
Refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter, or other discarded or abandoned objects, ordinance, accumulations and floatables;
Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers;
Hazardous materials and wastes; sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens;
Dissolved and particulate metals;
Construction wastes and residues; and
Noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
PRIORITY HABITAT OF RARE SPECIESHabitats delineated for rare plant and animal populations protected pursuant to the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act and its regulations.
PROCESS WASTEWATERWater 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.
RECHARGEThe process by which groundwater is replenished by precipitation through the percolation of runoff and surface water through the soil.
REDEVELOPMENTDevelopment, rehabilitation, expansion, demolition or phased projects that disturb the ground surface on previously developed sites.
RUNOFFRainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation water flowing over the ground surface.
SEDIMENTMineral or organic soil material that is transported by wind or water, from its origin to another location; the product of erosion processes.
SITEAny lot or parcel of land or area of property where land-disturbing activities are, were, or will be performed.
SLOPEThe incline of a ground surface expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance.
SOILAny earth, sand, rock, gravel, or similar material.
STABILIZATIONThe use, singly or in combination, of mechanical, structural, or vegetative methods, to prevent or retard erosion.
STORMWATERRunoff from precipitation or snow melt and surface water runoff and drainage.
STORMWATER AUTHORITYA group consisting of one staff member or their designee from the Conservation, Community Development & Planning, Building, Public Works, and Sewer Departments. A quorum of the Authority shall consist of three members.
STRIPAny activity which removes the vegetative ground surface cover, including tree removal, clearing, grubbing, and storage or removal of topsoil.
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS (TMDLs)A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards, and an allocation of that amount to the pollutant's sources. A TMDL includes wasteload allocations (WLAs) for point source discharges, load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources and/or natural background, and must include a margin of safety (MOS) and account for seasonal variations. (See section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and 40 CFR 130.2 and 130.7).
TOXIC OR HAZARDOUS MATERIAL OR WASTEAny material which, because of its quantity, concentration, 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, 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.
VERNAL POOLSAny confined basin or depression which, at least in most years, holds water for a minimum of two continuous months during the spring and/or summer, is free of adult predatory fish populations, and provides essential breeding and rearing habitat functions for amphibian, reptile or other vernal pool community species, regardless of whether the site has been certified by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
WASTEWATERAny 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.
WATERCOURSEA natural or man-made channel through which water flows or a stream of water, including a river, brook or underground stream.
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTHAll waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, and groundwater.
WETLANDSAs specifically defined in the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act but generally include tidal and non-tidal 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), brackish and salt marshes; common names include marshes, swamps and bogs.
