A. 
Customary meaning. Except where specifically defined herein, all words used in this chapter shall carry their customary meanings. Words used in the present tense include the future, and the plural includes the singular. The word "shall" is intended to be mandatory.
B. 
The terms used in this chapter or in documents prepared or reviewed pursuant to or under this chapter shall have the meaning as set forth in this section.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
The activity of an active farm including grazing and watering livestock, irrigating crops, harvesting crops, using land for growing agricultural products, and cutting timber for sale, but shall not include the operation of a dude ranch or similar operation, or the construction of new structures associated with agricultural activities.
APPLICANT
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed an application for a land development activity.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)
A measure that is implemented to protect water quality and reduce the potential for pollution associated with stormwater runoff. Any program, technology, process, siting criteria, operating method, measure, or device that controls, prevents, removes, or reduces pollutants.
BUILDING
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls, used or intended to be used for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals or property and used for residential, business or industrial purposes.
CHANNEL
A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.
CLEARING
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION
Means the initial removal of vegetation and disturbance of soils associated with clearing, grading, or excavating activities or other construction activities.
DEDICATION
The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for general public use.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
DESIGN MANUAL
The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual, as hereafter amended or updated, that serves as the technical guideline for stormwater management principles, methods and practices.
DEVELOPER
A person who undertakes land development activities.
DISTURBANCE
All land preparation activities involving the movement, placement, removal, transfer or shifting of soil and/or vegetation, including but not limited to, clearing draining, filling, grading, regrading or the building of structures or the placement of improvements on land, including the construction of individual sidewalks, paths, roads or driveways. The condition of land disturbance shall be deemed to continue until the area of disturbance is returned to its original state or to a state complying with a permit for such disturbance granted in accordance with this chapter.
EROSION CONTROL
Erosion control is a primary source control that is any practice that protects the soil surface and prevents the soil particles from being detached by rainfall or wind.
EROSION CONTROL MANUAL
The New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control manual, as hereafter amended or updated, that serves as the technical guideline for erosion and sediment control measures and practices, commonly known as the "Blue Book."
FINAL APPROVAL
(1) 
In the case of the subdivision of land, final plat approval or conditional approval of a final plat as such terms are defined in § 276 of the Town Law.
(2) 
In the case of a site plan not involving the subdivision of land, adoption by the Planning Board of a resolution granting approval.
(3) 
In those cases not covered by Subsections (1) and (2) above, the issuance of a building permit or other authorization for the commencement of the development, alteration or improvement of property, or for those developments, alterations or improvements for which the Town of Kent does not require such permits, the actual commencement of the development, alteration or improvement of property.
FINAL SITE STABILIZATION
Means that all soil-disturbing activities at the site have been completed and a uniform, perennial vegetative cover with a density of 80% has been established or equivalent stabilization measures (such as the use of mulches or geotextiles) have been employed on all unpaved areas not covered by permanent structures.
GRADING
Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions thereof.
IMPERVIOUS COVER
Those surfaces, improvements and structures that cannot effectively infiltrate rainfall, snowmelt and water (e.g., building rooftops, pavement, sidewalks, driveways, etc.).
INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER PERMIT
A State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit issued to a commercial industry or group of industries which regulates the pollutant levels associated with industrial stormwater discharges or specifies on-site pollution control strategies.
INFILTRATION
The process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.
JURISDICTIONAL WETLAND
An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as “hydrophytic vegetation.”
LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
Construction activity, including clearing, grading, excavating, soil disturbance or placement of fill, that results in land disturbance of equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet, or activities disturbing less than 5,000 square feet of total land area that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale, even though multiple separate and distinct land development activities may take place at different times on different schedules.
[Amended 5-6-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014]
LANDOWNER
The legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding proprietary rights in the land.
LICENSED/CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL
As defined in NYSDEC SPDES General Construction Permit, as hereafter amended or revised, a person currently licensed to practice engineering in New York State or is a certified professional in erosion and sediment control (CPESC).
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed restriction and which provides for the long-term maintenance of stormwater management practices and facilities.
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
Pollution from any source other than from a discernible, confined, or discrete conveyance, and shall include, but not be limited to, pollutants from agricultural, silvicultural, mining, construction, subsurface disposal and urban runoff sources.
OWNER/OPERATOR
The owner/operator is the person, persons, or legal entity that owns or leases the property on which the construction activity is occurring. The owner/operator is the ultimate responsible party for implementation of the SWPPP.
PHASING
Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the next. As per the NYSDEC General Construction Permit, as hereafter amended or revised, no more than five acres of land disturbance may occur at any one time without written approval by the Department.
PLANNING BOARD ENGINEER
A professional engineer licensed by the State of New York working as an employee or consultant for the Town of Kent Planning Board.
POLLUTANT OF CONCERN
Sediment or a water quality measurement that addresses sediment (such as total suspended solids, turbidity or siltation) and any other pollutant that has been identified as a cause of impairment of any water body that will receive a discharge from the land development activity.
PROJECT
Land development activity.
QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
As defined in NYSDEC SPDES General Construction Permit, as hereafter amended or revised, a person knowledgeable in the principles and practice of erosion and sediment controls, such as a licensed professional engineer, and certified professional in erosion and sediment control (CPESC), or soil scientist.
RECHARGE
The replenishment of underground water reserves.
SEDIMENT CONTROL
A secondary measure; any practice that traps the soil particles after they have been detached and moved by water or wind, preventing the eroded sediment from leaving the site.
SENSITIVE AREAS
Coldwater fisheries, shellfish beds, swimming beaches, groundwater recharge areas, water supply reservoirs, steep slopes, and habitats for threatened, endangered or special concern species.
SILVICULTURAL ACTIVITY
The care and cultivation of forest trees; forestry.
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) issued to developers of construction activities to regulate disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more of land, or as such permit standards may be hereafter amended or revised.
[Amended 5-6-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014]
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER DISCHARGES FROM MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORMWATER SEWER SYSTEMS GP-02-02
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) issued to municipalities to regulate discharges from municipal separate storm sewers for compliance with EPA established water quality standards and/or to specify stormwater control standards.
STABILIZATION
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding, or by means of covering or maintaining an existing cover over soil. Cover can be vegetative (e.g., grass, trees, shrubs, seed and mulch, or turf) or nonvegetative (e.g., geotextiles, riprap, or gabions).
STEEP SLOPES
All ground areas having a topographical gradient equal to or greater than 15% measured by utilizing two-foot contours.
STOP-WORK ORDER
An order issued which requires that all construction activity on a site be stopped.
STORMWATER
Means that portion of precipitation that, once having fallen to the ground, is in excess of the evaporative or infiltrative capacity of soils, or the retentive capacity of surface features, which flows or will flow off the land by surface runoff to waters of the state. The term "stormwater" includes, but is not limited to, rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
STORMWATER HOTSPOT
A land use or activity that generates higher concentrations of hydrocarbons, trace metals or toxicants than are found in typical stormwater runoff, based on monitoring studies, or as classified in the New York State Stormwater Design Manual.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The use of structural or nonstructural practices that are designed to reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate its adverse impacts on property, natural resources and the environment.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed, stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater runoff.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER (SMO)
An employee or officer designated by the municipality to accept review and approve stormwater pollution prevention plans, forward the plans to the applicable municipal board and inspect stormwater management practices. Plan reviews and site inspections may be delegated to a consulting engineer and/or a consultant paid for through the applicant's escrow account; however, a municipal employee or board member must make the final approval.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (SMPs)
Measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined to be the most effective, practical means of preventing flood damage and preventing or reducing point source or nonpoint source pollution inputs to stormwater runoff and water bodies.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP)
A plan for controlling stormwater runoff and pollutants from a site during and after construction activities.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
Flow on the surface of the ground resulting from precipitation or snowmelt.
STRUCTURE
A static construction or assembly of materials, the use or occupancy of which requires a fixed location on the ground or attachment to an object having such fixed location. Structures shall include, but not be limited to, buildings, stadiums, sheds, storage bins, garages, display stands, platforms or pads, towers, walls, fences, swimming pools, driveways, roads, tennis courts, gasoline pumps, billboards, signs, and mobile dwellings.
SURFACE WATERS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Lakes, bays, sounds, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, wells, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Atlantic Ocean within the territorial seas of the State of New York and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, public or private (except those private waters that do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground waters), which are wholly or partially within or bordering the state or within its jurisdiction. Storm sewers and waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons which also meet the criteria of this definition, are not waters of the state. This exclusion applies only to man-made bodies of water which neither were originally created in waters of the state (such as a disposal area in wetlands) nor resulted from impoundment of waters of the state.
TOWN
The Town of Kent.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water, either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
WATERWAY
A channel that directs surface runoff to a watercourse or to the public storm drain.