§ 14-148. Definitions.  


Latest version.
  • Terms defined in Code of Virginia, § 62.1-44.15:51 and the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations (9VAC25-840-10 et seq.) have those meanings when used in this article. In addition, the following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

    Act means the State Erosion and Sediment Control Law codified as Code of Virginia, § 62.1-44.15:51 et seq.

    Administrator means the Director of Public Utilities or his or her designee. For purposes of this article, the Administrator also is the plan-approving authority, with the authority to review and approve or disapprove erosion and sediment control plans in both the combined sewer system service area and the municipal separate storm sewer system service area of the City.

    Agreement in lieu of a plan means a contract between the plan-approving authority and the owner that specifies conservation measures that must be implemented in the construction of a detached, separately built single-family residence, which contract may be executed by the plan-approving authority in lieu of a formal site plan.

    Applicant means any person submitting an erosion and sediment control plan for approval or requesting the issuance of a Richmond Stormwater Management Program Permit under Article V of this chapter, when required, authorizing land-disturbing activities to commence.

    Board means the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board.

    Certified inspector means an employee of the program authority who:

    (1)

    Holds a certificate of competence from the board in the area of project inspection; or

    (2)

    Is enrolled in the Department of Environmental Quality's training program for project inspection and successfully completes such program within one year after enrollment.

    Certified plan reviewer means an employee of the program authority who:

    (1)

    Holds a certificate of competence from the Department of Environmental Quality in the area of plan review;

    (2)

    Is enrolled in the Department of Environmental Quality training program for plan review and successfully completes such program within one year after enrollment; or

    (3)

    Is licensed as a professional engineer, architect, certified landscape architect or land surveyor pursuant to Code of Virginia, title 54, ch. 4, art. 1 (Code of Virginia, § 54.1-400 et seq.).

    Certified Program Administrator means an employee of the program authority who:

    (1)

    Holds a certificate of competence from the Board in the area of program administration; or

    (2)

    Is enrolled in the Department of Environmental Quality training program for program administration and successfully completes such program within one year after enrollment.

    City means the City of Richmond.

    Clearing means any activity which removes the vegetative ground cover, including, but not limited to, root mat removal or top soil removal.

    Department of Environmental Quality means the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

    Development means land disturbance and the resulting landform associated with the construction of residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreation, transportation or utility facilities or structures or the clearing of land for non-agricultural or non-silvicultural purposes.

    Director means the Director of Public Utilities or his or her designee.

    Erosion and sediment control plan means a document containing material for the conservation of soil and water resources of a unit or group of units of land. It may include appropriate maps, an appropriate soil and water plan inventory, and management information with needed interpretations and a record of decisions contributing to conservation treatment. The plan shall contain all major conservation decisions and all information deemed necessary by the plan-approving authority to assure that the entire unit or units of land will be so treated to achieve the conservation objectives.

    Erosion impact area means an area of land determined by the Administrator as not being associated with current land-disturbing activity, but as being subject to persistent soil erosion resulting in the delivery of sediment onto neighboring properties or into State waters. This definition shall not apply to any lot or parcel of land of 10,000 square feet or less used for residential purposes or to shorelines where the erosion results from wave action or other coastal processes.

    Excavating means any digging, scooping or other methods of removing earth materials.

    Filling means any depositing or stockpiling of earth materials.

    Grading means any excavating or filling of earth materials or any combination thereof, including the land in its excavated or filled conditions.

    Land-disturbing activity means, for the purpose of this article, any land change which may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into State waters or onto lands in the Commonwealth, including, but not limited to, by means of clearing, grading, excavating, transporting or filling of land, except that the term shall not include:

    (1)

    Minor land-disturbing activities, such as home gardens and individual home landscaping, repairs and maintenance work;

    (2)

    Individual service connections;

    (3)

    Installation, maintenance, or repair of any underground public utility lines when such activity occurs on an existing hard-surfaced road, street or sidewalk, provided the activity is confined to the area of the road, street or sidewalk which is hard-surfaced;

    (4)

    Septic tank lines or drainage fields, unless included in an overall plan for land-disturbing activity relating to construction of the building to be served by the septic tank system;

    (5)

    Permitted surface or deep mining operations and projects, or oil and gas operations and projects conducted pursuant to Code of Virginia, title 54.1;

    (6)

    Tilling, planting, or harvesting of agricultural, horticultural, or forest crops, livestock feedlot operations or as additionally set forth by the Board in regulation, including engineering operations as follows: construction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, desilting basins, dikes, ponds, ditches, strip cropping, lister furrowing, contour cultivating, contour furrowing, land drainage, and land irrigation; however, this exception shall not apply to harvesting of forest crops, unless the area on which harvesting occurs is reforested artificially or naturally in accordance with the provisions of Code of Virginia, title 10.1, ch. 11 (Code of Virginia, § 10.1-1100 et seq.) or is converted to bona fide agricultural or improved pasture use as described in Code of Virginia, § 10.1-1163(B);

    (7)

    Repair or rebuilding of the tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, communication facilities and other related structures and facilities of a railroad company;

    (8)

    Disturbed land areas of less than 4,000 square feet in size, or less than 2,500 square feet in all areas of the City designated as Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act Areas pursuant to Article IV of this chapter;

    (9)

    Installation of fence and sign posts or telephone and electric poles and other kinds of posts or poles;

    (10)

    Shoreline erosion control projects on tidal waters when all of the land disturbing activities are within the regulatory authority of and approved by local wetlands boards, the Marine Resources Commission or the United States Army Corps of Engineers; however, any associated land that is disturbed outside of this exempted area shall remain subject to this article and regulations adopted thereto; and

    (11)

    Emergency work to protect life, limb or property, and emergency repairs; however, if the land-disturbing activity would have required an approved erosion and sediment control plan if the activity were not an emergency, then the land area disturbed shall be shaped and stabilized in accordance with the requirements of the plan-approving authority.

    Land-disturbing permit means a permit issued by the City for the clearing, filling, excavating, grading, transporting of land or for any combination thereof or for any purpose set forth herein. Land-disturbing permits will be issued in the areas of the City served by the combined sewer system. In areas served by the municipal separate storm sewer system, any person who wishes to undertake land-disturbing activities, as defined in Article V of this chapter, will be required to obtain a Richmond Stormwater Management Program Permit. Also, in areas served by the municipal separate storm sewer system, any person who wishes to undertake land-disturbing activities that do not require a Richmond Stormwater Management Program Permit, but that do require compliance with this article, will be required to obtain a land-disturbing permit.

    Local Erosion and Sediment Control Program means the various methods employed by the City to regulate land-disturbing activities and thereby minimize erosion and sedimentation in compliance with the State program, and may include such elements as local ordinances, rules and regulations, policies and guidelines, technical materials, inspection, enforcement, and evaluation.

    Natural channel design concepts means the utilization of engineering analysis and fluvial geomorphic processes to create, rehabilitate, restore, or stabilize an open conveyance system for the purpose of creating or recreating a stream that conveys its bankfull storm event within its banks and allows larger flows to access its bankfull bench and its floodplain.

    Owner means the owner or owners of the freehold of the premises or lesser estate therein, a mortgagee or vendee in possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee or other person, firm or corporation in control of a property.

    Peak flow rate means the maximum instantaneous flow from a given storm condition at a particular location.

    Permittee means the person to whom the land-disturbing permit is issued under this article, or to whom the Richmond Stormwater Management Program Permit authorizing land-disturbing activities is issued under Article V of this chapter.

    Person means any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, county, city, town or other political subdivision of the Commonwealth, any interstate body, or any other legal entity.

    Program authority means the City, which has adopted a Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Program that has been approved by the State Water Control Board.

    Responsible land disturber means an individual retained or employed by, or otherwise associated with the person applying for the Richmond Stormwater Management Program Permit or land-disturbing permit, or entering into an agreement in lieu of a plan, and who will be in charge of and responsible for carrying out a land-disturbing activity covered by an approved plan or agreement in lieu of a plan, who:

    (1)

    Holds a responsible land disturber certificate of competence from the Department of Environmental Quality;

    (2)

    Holds a current certificate of competence from the State Water Control Board in combined administration, program administration, inspection, or plan review; or

    (3)

    Is licensed in Virginia as a professional engineer, architect, certified landscape architect or land surveyor pursuant to Code of Virginia, title 54.1, ch. 4, art. 1 (Code of Virginia, § 54.1-400 et seq.).

    Richmond Stormwater Management Program Permit means an approval to initiate and conduct a land-disturbing activity under Article V of this chapter.

    Runoff volume means the volume of water that runs off the land development project from a prescribed storm event.

    Single-family residence means a detached building completely separated from any other main building and containing only one dwelling unit.

    Stabilized means an area that can be expected to withstand normal exposure to atmospheric conditions without incurring erosion damage.

    State means the Commonwealth of Virginia.

    State Erosion and Sediment Control Program means the program administered by the State Water Control Board pursuant to the Act, including administrative regulations designed to minimize erosion and sedimentation.

    State Water Control Board means the Virginia State Water Control Board.

    State waters means all waters on the surface and under the ground wholly or partially within or bordering the Commonwealth or within its jurisdiction.

    Subdivision means a division, subdivision, or resubdivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of land situated wholly or partly within the corporate City limits into three or more lots, tracts, or parcels of land for the purpose, whether immediate or in the future, of transferring ownership of any one or more of such lots, tracts, or parcels of land or for the purpose of the erection of buildings or other structures on any one or more of such lots, tracts, or parcels of land. The term "subdivision" shall not include a division of land for agricultural purposes in parcels of one acre or more, the average width of which is not less than 150 feet, when such division:

    (1)

    Does not require the opening of any new street or the use of any new public easement of access;

    (2)

    Does not obstruct or is not likely to obstruct, natural drainage;

    (3)

    Does not adversely affect, and is not likely to adversely affect, the establishment of any expressway, major street, primary highway, or toll road; or

    (4)

    Does not adversely affect the execution or development of any plat or subdivision approved by the City Planning Commission, or otherwise adversely affect the orderly subdivision of contiguous property.

    Ten-year frequency storm means a storm that is capable of producing rainfall expected to be equaled or exceeded on the average of once in ten years. It may also be expressed as an exceedence probability with a ten percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

    Two-year frequency storm means a storm that is capable of producing rainfall expected to be equaled or exceeded on the average of once in two years. It may also be expressed as an exceedence probability with a 50 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

    Water quality volume means the volume equal to the first one-half inch of runoff multiplied by the impervious surface of the land development project.

    (Code 2004, § 50-192; Ord. No. 2014-116-89, § 1, 5-27-2014)

(Code 2004, § 50-192; Ord. No. 2014-116-89, § 1, 5-27-2014)