Section 12A-233 Definitions.

Best Management Practices (BMPs) - Conservation practices or management measures which control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation mainly caused by nutrients, animal wastes, toxins, sediment in the runoff. BMPs may be either structural (for example, grass swales, terraces, retention and detention ponds), or non-structural (for example, disconnection of impervious surfaces, directing downspouts onto grass surfaces and educational activities).

Buffer - A vegetated area including trees, shrubs, managed lawn areas, and herbaceous vegetation which exists or is established to protect a stream system, lake or reservoir.

(3) The combination of any two or more lots, tracts, or parcels of property for any purpose;

Farming Activities - Disturbance of any area greater than twenty thousand (20,000) square feet for the purpose of planting, cultivating and harvesting any crop product for commercial use.

Managed Lawn Areas - Any area greater than five hundred (500) square feet where the vegetative ground cover is maintained at a uniform height of less than 3 inches.

Non-point Source Pollution - Pollution which is generated by various land use activities rather than from an identifiable or discrete source, and is conveyed to waterways through natural processes such as rainfall, storm runoff or groundwater seepage and infiltration rather than through direct discharge.

Pollution - Any contamination or alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any waters that will render the waters harmful or detrimental to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses; or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life.

Streams - Perennial and intermittent watercourses identified through site inspection and United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps and further defined and categorized as follows:

(1) Type I Streams are defined as perennial streams shown as solid blue lines on the United States Geological Survey seven and one-half minutes series topographical map.

(2) Type II Streams are defined as intermittent streams shown as dashed blue lines on the United States Geological Survey seven and one-half minutes series topographical map.

(3) Type III Streams are defined as waterways or natural channels which are not shown on the United States Geological Survey seven and one-half minutes series topographical map as either blue or dashed blue lines which have drainage areas of greater than 50 acres.

Waterways – Natural or manmade lakes, natural channels, rivers, streams, and creeks which store or convey stormwater runoff.

Wetlands - Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at frequency and duration sufficient to support and under normal circumstances do support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.