Section 096-500-3 - Definitions The following terms have the following meanings as used in this Chapter and 06-096 CMR Chapter 502 (Direct Watersheds of Lakes Most at Risk from New Development and Urban Impaired Streams), unless the context otherwise indicates.
A. Certified Professional in Erosion and Sedimentation Control (CPESC). "Certified Professional in Erosion and Sedimentation Control (CPESC)" means a professional certified by Enviro-Cert International in erosion and sediment control practices.B.Compensation fee utilization plan."Compensation fee utilization plan" means a plan that specifies how funds received as a compensation fee payment will be allocated to reduce the impact of stormwater pollution to an impaired water resource. C. Detention basin."Detention basin" means a basin designed and constructed to provide temporary storage of runoff to control stormwater outflow from the site and manage peak flows downstream and to provide gravity settling of pollutants.D.Developed area."Developed area" means an impervious area, landscaped area, or unrevegetated area. Developed area includes all disturbed areas except an area that is returned to a condition that existed prior to the disturbance and is revegetated within one calendar year of being disturbed, provided the area is not mowed more than twice per year.E.Direct watershed of a waterbody or wetland. "Direct watershed of a waterbody or wetland" means the land area that drains via overland flow, drainageways, waterbodies, or wetlands to a given waterbody or wetland without first passing through a lake or pond.F.Disturbed area."Disturbed area" means all land areas that are stripped, graded, grubbed, filled, bulldozed or excavated at any time during the site preparation or removal of vegetation for, or construction of, a project. "Disturbed area" does not include maintenance. A land area on which the cutting of trees, without grubbing, stump removal, disturbance or exposure of soil has taken place is not considered a "disturbed area".G.Drainageway."Drainageway" means a natural or man-made channel or course to or from which surface discharge of water may occur. Drainageways include, but are not limited to streams (whether intermittent or perennial), swales, ditches, pipes, culverts, and wetlands with localized discharge of water.H.Erosion and sedimentation control best management practices (erosion control BMPs). "Erosion and sedimentation control best management practices (erosion control BMPs)" means methods, techniques, designs, practices, and other means to control erosion and sedimentation. NOTE: The Department has prepared protocols for the control of erosion and sedimentation. See "Maine Erosion and Sediment Control BMPs Maine Department of Environmental Protection."
I.Erosion control mix. "Erosion control mix" means a mulch that consists primarily of organic material such as shredded bark, stump grindings, composted bark, or fragmented wood generated as a by-product from log handling at wood mills. It includes a well-graded mixture of particle sizes with a mineral content that is less than 20% by weight, and is free from construction debris, refuse, and contaminants.J.High-use parking lot."High-use parking lot" means a commercial or other parking lot, where parking is used most days and each visit is typically for aduration of less than two consecutive hours, such as a parking lot serving a convenience store, high-turnover restaurant, shopping center, or supermarket.K.Hydrologic Soil Groups.Hydrologic Soil Groups are a ranking of soil types for runoff potential adopted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture used in estimating direct runoff. The four hydrologic groups are A, B, C, or D, where group A generally has the lowest runoff potential and group D has the highest. L.Impervious area. "Impervious area" means the total area of a parcel covered with a low-permeability material that is highly resistant to infiltration by water, such as asphalt, concrete, or rooftop, and areas such as gravel roads and unpaved parking areas that will be compacted through design or use to reduce their permeability. Common impervious areas include, but are not limited to, rooftops, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots or storage areas, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads, packed earthen materials, and macadam or other surfaces which similarly impede the natural infiltration of stormwater. Pervious pavement, pervious pavers, pervious concrete and underdrained artificial turf fields are all considered impervious. For the purpose of determining jurisdictional thresholds, the Department may, depending on the design, consider such facilities to provide alternative treatment as described in Section 4(B)(3)(e) of this Chapter.M. Infiltration."Infiltration" means the process by which runoff percolates through the unsaturated overburden and fractured bedrock to the water table, including any process specifically used to meet all or part of the stormwater standards of this Chapter by actively directing all or part of the stormwater into the soil. For the purposes of this Chapter, infiltration does not include: (1) Incidental wetting of soil in ditches, detention basins or the equivalent;(2) Wetting of underdrained basins, dry swales, or similar filtration systems that do not subsequently discharge to groundwater; or(3) Wetting of buffers meeting Department requirements for use as stormwater control. Discharge of runoff to areas of the site where the water will collect and percolate into the ground is considered infiltration if the volume, rate, or quality of the discharge does not meet Department standards for use of the area as a stormwater treatment buffer. Underdrained swales, underdrained ponds, and similar practices that discharge to surface waters or to buffer strips meeting Department requirements in Appendix F of this Chapter for stormwater buffers are not considered infiltration systems, although these may be used to treat runoff prior to discharge to an infiltration area.
N.Lake or pond."Lake or pond" meansa lake or pond classified as GPA under the Water Classification Program, 38 M.R.S. §464 et seq.O.Landscaped area. "Landscaped area" means an area of land that has been disturbed and re-planted or covered with one or more of the following: grass or other herbaceous plants, shrubs, trees, or mulch; but not including area that has reverted to a natural, vegetated condition. An area of grass is considered landscaped if it is mowed more than twice per twelve month period.P.Linear portion of a project. "Linear portion of a project" means that portion of a project consisting of a utility corridor, roads and road shoulders, driveway, railroad track outside a yard or station, or other similar transportation corridor. The linear portion of a project does not include roads and road shoulders within 50 feet of an impervious area of the same project that is not a sidewalk, bikepath, driveway or other road entrance, or single or two family residential buildings.Q.Low impact development."Low impact development "or "green infrastructure" means site planning and design strategies intended to replace or replicate predevelopment hydrology through the use of source control and relatively small-scale measures integrated throughout a site to disconnect impervious surfaces and enhance filtration, treatment, and management of stormwater runoff as close to its source as possible. Low impact development strategies may be eithernon structural or structural, except that low impact development strategies utilizing structural stormwater management techniques shall be limited to an impervious contributing drainage area equal to or less than 1 acre. Low impact development strategies include, but are not limited to: bioretention filters, grass swales and channels, vegetated filter strips, permeable pavements, rain gardens and vegetated rooftops.R.Maintenance. "Maintenance" means an activity undertaken to maintain operating condition, original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, and original purpose of the project. Paving animpervious gravel surface at original line, grade and hydraulic capacity is considered maintenance. Replacement of a building is not considered maintenance of the building.S.Major river segment. "Major river segment" means, the rivers or portions of rivers, including any impoundments, identified as follows: Saco River; And roscoggin River; Kennebec River; West Branch Penobscot River below Elbow Lake; East Branch Penobscot River below Wassataquiok Stream; Piscataquis River below Dover-Foxcroft; St. Croix River below Grand Lake; Aroostook River below Ashland; and St. John River below the Allagash River.T.Medium-use parking lot."Medium-use parking lot" means a parking lot that is used most days and where vehicles are parked for an extended period of time, typically longer than two consecutive hours, such as an "employees only" parking lot, a school, and long-term parking at an intermodal transportation facility such as an airport, bus terminal or railroad station,U.New development or construction."New development or construction" means activity undertaken to develop property, including but not limited to: the construction of buildings, parking lots, roads and other new impervious surfaces; landscaping; and other activities that disturb land areas. New development or construction does not include redevelopment or maintenance.V.Nonstructural stormwater management techniques."Nonstructural stormwater management techniques" means stormwater management techniques that are designed to encourage the treatment, infiltration, evaporation, and transpiration of precipitation close to where it falls, while helping to maintain a more natural and functional landscape.W.Parcel. "Parcel" is defined the same as "parcel of land" in rules adopted pursuant to the Site Location of Development Law, 38 M.R.S. §481 et seq. X. Peak flow. "Peak flow" means the greatest rate of flow in a drainageway, measured as volume per unit of time, resulting from a storm of specified frequency and duration.Y. Person."Person" is defined the same as in rules adopted pursuant to the Site Location of Development Law 38 M.R.S. §481 et seq.Z. Practicable."Practicable" means available and feasible considering cost, existing technology and logistics based on the overall purpose of the project.AA.Pre-development area."Pre-development area" means an impervious or developed area created prior to the effective date of the Stormwater Management Law for a stormwater project, or the effective date of the jurisdictional threshold under which a development is licensed for a Site Law development.BB.Proprietary stormwater management systems."Proprietary stormwater management systems" means manufactured systems that use proprietary settling, filtration, absorption, vortex principles, vegetation and other processes to manage stormwater.CC.Protected natural resource."Protected natural resource" means coastal sand dunes, coastal wetlands, significant wildlife habitat, fragile mountain areas, freshwater wetlands, community public water system primary protection areas, great ponds or rivers, streams or brooks as defined in the Natural Resources Protection Actat 38 M.R.S.§480-B. DD. Redevelopment."Redevelopment" means an activity, not including maintenance, undertaken to redevelop or otherwise improve property in which the newly developed area, is located within the same footprint as the existing developed area. A minor amount of undeveloped land, as determined by the Department on a case-by-case basis, may be included within the perimeter of the existing developed area.EE. Site Law."Site Law" means the Site Location of Development Law, 38 M.R.S. §§ 481-490.FF.Stormwater."Stormwater" means the part of precipitation, including runoff from rain or melting ice and snow, that flows across the surface as sheet flow, shallow concentrated flow, or in drainageways.GG.Stormwater Management Law."Stormwater Management Law" means the Storm Water Management Law, 38 M.R.S. §420-D.HH. Stream."Stream" means a river, stream, or brook as defined in theNatural Resources Protection Act at 38 M.R.S. §480-B.II .Structural stormwater management techniques."Structural stormwater management techniques" means stormwater management techniques or devices that are designed to mitigate the impact or stormwater discharges.JJ.Subcatchment."Subcatchment" means an area of a project site with a unique flow path to a specific point.KK.Time of concentration."Time of concentration" means the time it takes for runoff to travel from the hydraulically most distant point of the drainage area to the point of interest within a watershed.LL.Two (ten, twenty-five)-year, 24-hour storm."Two (ten, twenty-five)-year, 24-hour storm" means a precipitation event with a 50% (for two-year), 10% (for ten-year), or 4% (for 25-year) probability of being equaled or exceeded during any twenty-four hour period during any given year.MM.Urban impaired stream."Urban impaired stream" means a stream or stream segment that meets the criteria of 06-096 CMR 502(3)(B) and is listed in 06-096 CMR 502 Appendix B. NN.Waterbody."Waterbody" means a lake, pond, river or stream.OO. Watershed."Watershed" means the land area that drains, via overland flow, drainageways, waterbodies, or wetlands to a given waterbody or wetland.PP. Wetlands."Wetlands" means coastal and freshwater wetlands as defined in the Natural Resources Protection Act, 38 M.R.S.§480-B.06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 500, § 3