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The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Applicant shall mean any person corporation, or public or private organization proposing a development which would involve disturbance to the natural terrain.
Best management practices (BMPs) shall mean schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good house keeping practices, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly to storm water, receiving waters, or storm water conveyance systems. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage or leaks, sludge or water disposal, or drainage from raw materials.
Building official shall mean the appointed town building official and/or his or her designee, including but not limited to the highway director, department of public works director and consulting town engineer.
Coastal feature shall mean coastal beaches and dunes, barrier beaches, coastal wetlands, coastal cliffs, bluffs, and banks, rocky shores, and manmade shorelines as defined in "The State of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program" as amended.
Construction wastes shall mean solid and/or liquid wastes generated from the construction/site development process. This includes, but is not limited to discarded building materials, fill material containing asphalt, concrete, discarded building materials or stumps, concrete truck washout, chemicals, litter, and sanitary wastes.
Cut shall mean an excavation, the difference between a point on the original ground and a designated point of lower elevation on the final grade, also, the material removed in excavation.
Development project shall mean any construction, reconstruction, demolition, or removal of structures, roadways, parking, or other paved areas; utilities, or other similar facilities, including any action requiring permit by the town.
Erosion shall mean the removal of mineral and/or organic matter by the action of wind, water, and/or gravity.
Excavate shall mean any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock, or any other similar material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced, relocated, or bulldozed, and shall include the conditions resulting there from.
Fill shall mean any act by which earth, sand, or other material is placed or moved to a new location aboveground. The fill is also the difference in elevation between a point of existing undisturbed ground and a designated point of higher elevation of the final grade.
Land-disturbing activity shall mean any physical land development activity which included such actions as clearance of vegetation; moving or filling of land; removal or excavation of soil or mineral resources; or similar activities.
Runoff shall mean the surface water discharge or rate of discharge of a given watershed after a fall of rain or snow and including seepage flows that do not enter the soil but run off the surface of the land. Also, that portion of water that is not absorbed by the soil, but runs off the land surface.
Sediment shall mean solid material, both mineral and/or organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by wind, water or gravity as a product of erosion.
Site shall mean the land or water area where any water pollution control practice is physically located or conducted including adjacent land used in connection with the facility or activity.
Soil amendment shall mean any material, such as compost, lime, gypsum, sawdust, or synthetic conditioner that is worked into the soil to make it more amenable to plant growth.
Soil erosion and sediment control plan shall mean the approved document required before any person may cause a disturbance to the natural terrain within the town as herein regulated; also, herein referred to as the "plan." A storm water pollution prevention plan, which has been approved by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), can be considered acceptable for the purposes of this chapter, provided that the plan has also been reviewed and approved by the town pursuant to this chapter.
Watercourse shall mean any tidewater or coastal wetland at its mean high water level, and any freshwater wetland at its seasonal high water level, including, but not limited to, any river, stream, brook, pond, lake, swamp, marsh bog, fen, wet meadow, or any other standing or flowing body of water. The edge of the watercourse shall be used for delineation purposes.
(Ord. No. O-2, 9-8-2009)