Section 214-3-3.2 - DEFINITIONSThe following definitions shall apply to the terms used in these regulations:
a. "Agency" means the Maine Emergency Management Agency.b. "Dam" means. any man-made artificial barrier, including appurtenant works, the site on which it is located and appurtenant rights of flowage and access, which impounds or diverts a river, stream or great pond and which is 2 feet or more in height and has an impounding capacity at water storage elevation of 15 acre-feet or more. Any such artificial barrier constructed solely for the purpose of impounding water to allow timber to be floated downstream in a logging operation shall not be considered a dam for the purposes of this chapter, unless it has been repaired, modified or maintained by or with the knowledge of the owner, lessee or person in control since the discontinuance of its use in connection with logging operations. Any adjacent property, easements, roads, bridges or works not necessary for the operation or maintenance of a dam or access to the dam shall not be included under the provisions of this chapter. For the purpose of this regulation, a dam shall be considered an "impounding structure".
c. "Dam reconstruction" means the rebuilding or replacement of all or part of an existing dam that no longer functions in the manner for which it was originally constructed.d. "Director" means the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.e. "Emergency Operations Plan" means a set of written instructions or guidelines. for use by public officials which recommends actions which, when implemented, will minimize the effects of a dam failure on people and property.f. "High or significant hazard" means that condition which poses a risk of loss of human life and substantial property damage.g. "Public safety" or "safety of the public" means protection of life, health or property from any condition, event or action at a dam which might compromise the safety, stability or integrity of the dam or its ability to function safely.h. "State Dam Inspector" means an inspector appointed or hired under Section 1064, Chapter 22, Title 37-B M.R.S.A.i. "Impoundment" means a body of water the storage of which is caused by any existing or proposed impounding structure not exempt from the law.j. "Owner" means the owner of the land on which is situated, and/or the holder of an easement permitting the construction of a dam and/or any person or entity agreeing to maintain a dam, which includes the State or any of its political subdivisions, including, but not limited to sanitation district commissions and authorities, and public or private institution, corporation, association, firm, or company organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country, or any person or group of persons acting individually or as a group.k. "Design flood" is the runoff, at the site of the impounding structure, utilized in impounding structure design, construction, operation, and maintenance, which will be safely passed by the impounding structure and shall not be less than that recommended spillway design flood commensurate with the size and hazard potential of the particular impounding structure in accordance with the procedures recommended in these regulations.l. "Design freeboard" means the minimum freeboard which would occur during passage of the design flood.m. "Inundation zone" means an area that would be inundated in excess of storm water by the water released by the impoundment in the event of a dam breach and is that area which would be inundated immediately downstream from the site of the impounding structure extending to that point on the stream where the calculated water surface profile resulting from the design flood, determined absent the impounding structure, converges with that calculated water surface profile which would result from failure of the impounding structure at the appropriate impounding capacity, with the time of such failure to be considered coincident with the time of occurrence of maximum inflow to the impoundment resulting from the design flood.n. "Height" means the structural height of a dam which is defined as the vertical distance from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse measured at the downstream toe of the dam to the top of the dam.o. "Maximum impounding capacity" means normal full pond. It also means the volume in acre-feet that is capable of being impounded at the elevation of the crest of the impounding structure including flash boards if any or the elevation of top of gates, if appropriate.p. "Impounding capacity" means the volume in acre-feet that is capable of being impounded at the elevation of the crest of the highest ungated outlet from the impoundment.q. "Life of impounding structure" and "life of the project" means that period of time during which the impounding structure is designed and planned to perform effectively, including that period of time required to remove the structure when it is no longer capable of functioning as planned and designed.r. "An impoundment constructed, maintained, or operated primarily for agricultural purposes" means an impoundment that is certified by the owner to be such.s. "Watercourse" means a natural channel having a well-defined bed and banks and in which water flows when it normally does flow.t. "Acre-foot" means a unit of volume equal to 43,560 cubic feet or 325,853 gallons (one foot of depth over one acre of area).u. "Flood plain" means those areas adjoining a river, stream or watercourse which have been or hereafter are likely to be covered by flood waters.15- 214 C.M.R. ch. 3, § 3.2