§ 38-31. Definitions.

The following definitions apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this section, unless otherwise stated:

Best management practices means a collection of structural practices and vegetative measures which, when properly designed, installed and maintained, will provide effective erosion and sedimentation control for all rainfall events up to and including a 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event. The term "properly designed" means designed in accordance with the hydraulic design specifications contained in the "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia" specified in O.C.G.A. § 12-7-6(b).

Board means the board of natural resources.

Buffer means the land area immediately adjacent to the banks of state waters in its natural state of vegetation, which facilitates the protection of water quality and aquatic habitat.

Commission means the state soil and water conservation commission.

Cut means a portion of land surface or area from which earth has been removed or will be removed by excavation; the depth below original ground surface to excavated surface. Also known as "excavation."

Department means the department of natural resources.

Director means the director of the environmental protection division of the department of natural resources.

District means the county soil and water conservation district.

Division means the environmental protection division of the department of natural resources.

Drainage structure means a device composed of a virtually nonerodible material such as concrete, steel, plastic or other such material that conveys water from one place to another by intercepting the flow and carrying it to a release point for storm-water management, drainage control, or flood control purposes.

Erosion means the process by which land surface is worn away by the action of wind, water, ice or gravity.

Erosion and sediment control plan ("plan") means a plan for control of soil erosion and sediment from land-disturbing activity.

Fill means a portion of land surface to which soil or other solid material has been added; depth above the original ground.

Finished grade means final grade or elevation and contour of ground after cutting or filling and conforming to proposed design.

Grading means altering the shape of the ground surfaces to a predetermined condition; this includes stripping, cutting, filling, stockpiling and shaping or any combination thereof and shall include the land in its cut or filled condition.

Ground elevation means the original elevation of the ground surface prior to cutting or filling.

Land-disturbing activity means any activity which may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state waters or onto lands within the state, including, but not limited to, clearing, dredging, grading, excavating, transporting, and filling of land but not including agricultural practices as described in this Code.

Metropolitan River Protection Act (MRPA) means a state law, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-1 et seq., which addresses environmental and developmental matters in certain metropolitan river corridors and their drainage basins.

Natural ground surface means the ground surface in its original state before any grading, excavation or filling.

Nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) means numerical units of measure based upon photometric analytical techniques for measuring the light scattered by finely divided particles of a substance in suspension. This technique is used to estimate the extent of turbidity in water in which colloidally dispersed particles are present.

Operator means the party or parties with:

(1)

Operational control of construction project plans and specifications, including ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications; or

(2)

Day-to-day operational control of those activities necessary to ensure compliance with a storm-water pollution prevention plan for the site or other permit conditions, such as a person authorized to direct workers at a site to carry out activities required by the storm-water pollution prevention plan or to comply with other permit conditions.

Permit means the authorization necessary to conduct a land disturbing activity under this section.

Person means any individual, partnership, firm, association, entity, joint venture, public or private corporation, LLC, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, state agency, municipality or other political subdivision of this state, any interstate body or any other legal entity.

Project means the entire proposed development project regardless of the size of the area of land to be disturbed.

Roadway drainage structure means a device such as a bridge, culvert or ditch, composed of virtually nonerodible material such as concrete, steel, plastic, or other material that conveys water under a roadway by intercepting the flow on one side of a traveled way consisting of one or more defined lanes, with or without shoulder areas, and carrying water to a release point on the other side.

Sediment means solid material, both organic and inorganic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water, ice or gravity as a product of erosion.

Sedimentation means the process by which eroded material is transported and deposited by water, wind, ice or gravity.

Soil and water conservation district approved plan means an erosion and sedimentation control plan approved in writing by the county soil and water conservation district.

Stabilization means establishing an enduring soil cover of vegetation by installing temporary or permanent structures for the purpose of reducing to a minimum the erosion process and the resultant transport of sediment by wind, water, ice or gravity.

State waters means any and all rivers, streams, creeks, branches, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, drainage systems, springs, wells and other bodies of surface or subsurface water, natural and artificial, lying within or forming a part of the boundaries of the state which are not entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single person.

Structural erosion and sediment control practices means practices for the stabilization of erodible or sediment-producing areas by utilizing the mechanical properties of matter for the purpose of either changing the surface of the land or storing, regulating or disposing of runoff to prevent excessive sediment loss. Examples of structural erosion and sediment control practices are riprap, sediment basins, dikes, level spreaders, waterways or outlets, diversions, grade stabilization structures, sediment traps, land grading, etc. Such measures can be found in the publication "Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control in Georgia."

Trout streams means all streams or portions of streams within the watershed as designated by the game and fish division of the state department of natural resources under the provisions of the Georgia Water Quality Control Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-1 et seq. Streams designated as primary trout waters are defined as water supporting a self-sustaining population of rainbow, brown or brook trout. Streams designated as secondary trout waters are those in which there is no evidence of natural trout reproduction, but are capable of supporting trout throughout the year. First order trout water are streams into which no other streams flow except springs.

Vegetative erosion and sediment control measures means measures for stabilization of erodible or sediment-producing areas by covering the soil with: permanent seeding, sprigging or planting, producing long-term vegetative cover; or temporary seeding, producing short-term vegetative cover; or sodding, covering areas with a turf of perennial sod-forming grass.

Watercourse means any natural or artificial watercourse, stream, river, creek, channel, ditch, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, or wash in which water flows either continuously or intermittently and which has a definite channel, bed and banks, and including any areas adjacent thereto subject to inundation by reason of overflow or floodwater.

Wetlands means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency or 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 swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.

(Amend. of 11-8-2016)