[Ord. 2011-6, 5/19/2011, Art. II]
1.Â
For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms and words used herein
shall be interpreted as follows:
A.Â
Words used in the present tense include the future tense; the singular
number includes the plural, and the plural number includes the singular;
words of masculine gender include feminine gender; and words of feminine
gender include masculine gender.
B.Â
The word "includes" or "including" shall not limit the term to the
specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other
instances of like kind and character.
C.Â
The word "person" includes an individual, firm, association, organization,
partnership, trust, company, corporation or any other similar entity.
D.Â
The words "shall" and "must" are mandatory; the words "may" and "should"
are permissive.
E.Â
The words "used" or "occupied" include the words "intended," "designed,"
"maintained," or "arranged to be used," "occupied" or "maintained."
F.Â
ACCELERATED EROSION
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
ALLUVIAL SOILS (FLOODPLAIN SOILS)
ALTERATION
APPLICANT
AS-BUILT PLAN
BANKFULL
BASE FLOW
BIORENTENTION
BMP (BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE)
BMP MANUAL
CHANNEL
CHANNEL EROSION
CISTERN
COMMERCIAL CONTAINER NURSERY
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
COUNTY
CULVERT
CURVE NUMBER (CN) VALUE USED IN THE SOIL COVER COMPLEX METHOD
DAM
DEP (or PADEP)
DEPARTMENT
DESIGN STORM
DESIGNEE
DETENTION BASIN
DETENTION DISTRICT
DETENTION VOLUME
DEVELOPER
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
DEVELOPMENT SITE
DIFFUSED DRAINAGE DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE
DISCONNECTED IMPERVIOUS AREA (DIA)
DISTURBED AREAS
DOWNSLOPE PROPERTY LINE
DOWNSTREAM HYDRAULIC CAPACITY ANALYSIS
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
DRAINAGE CONVEYANCE FACILITY
DRAINAGE EASEMENT
DRAINAGE PERMIT
DRY POND (DRY EXTENDED DETENTION POND)
EARTH DISTURBANCE (OR EARTH DISTURBANCE ACTIVITY)
EMERGENCY SPILLWAY
ENCROACHMENT
ENGINEER
EROSION
EROSION AND SEDIMENT POLLUTION CONTROL PLAN
EXCEPTIONAL VALUE WATERS
EXISTING CONDITIONS
EXISTING RECHARGE AREA
EXISTING RESOURCES AND SITE ANALYSIS MAP
FEMA
FLOOD
FLOODPLAIN
FLOODWAY
FOREST MANAGEMENT/TIMBER OPERATIONS
FREEBOARD
GEOLOGIST
GRADE
GRASSED WATERWAY
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
GROUNDWATER
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE
HEC-HMS
HIGH QUALITY WATERS
HOT SPOT
HYDRIC SOIL
HYDROLOGIC REGIME (NATURAL)
HYDROLOGIC SOIL GROUP (HSG)
HYETOGRAPH
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE (OR IMPERVIOUS AREA)
IMPOUNDMENT
INFILTRATION
INFILTRATION STRUCTURES
INLET
KARST
LAND DEVELOPMENT
(1)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
LAND/EARTH DISTURBANCE
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
LIMIT OF EARTH DISTURBANCE
LIMITING ZONE
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
LOW-IMPACT DEVELOPMENT (LID)
MAIN STEM (MAIN CHANNEL)
MANNING EQUATION (MANNING FORMULA)
MUNICIPALITY
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
NONSTORMWATER DISCHARGES
NPDES
NRCS
OPEN CHANNEL
OUTFALL
OUTLET
PARENT TRACT
PEAK DISCHARGE
PENN STATE RUNOFF MODEL (CALIBRATED)
PERMANENTLY PRESERVED LAND
PERSON
PERVIOUS AREA (or PERVIOUS SURFACE)
PIPE
PLANNING COMMISSION
PMF (PROBABLE MAXIMUM FLOOD)
POINT SOURCE
POST CONSTRUCTION
PRETREATMENT
PROJECT SITE
QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
RATIONAL METHOD
RECHARGE AREA
RECHARGE VOLUME
REGULATED ACTIVITIES
REGULATED EARTH DISTURBANCE ACTIVITY
RELEASE RATE
RETENTION BASIN
RETENTION VOLUME/REMOVED RUNOFF
RETURN PERIOD
RIPARIAN BUFFER
RISER
ROAD MAINTENANCE
RUNOFF
SEDIMENT
SEDIMENT BASIN
SEDIMENT POLLUTION
SEDIMENTATION
SEEPAGE PIT/SEEPAGE TRENCH
SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM
SHALLOW CONCENTRATED FLOW
SHEET FLOW
SOIL GROUP, HYDROLOGIC
SOIL SCIENTIST
SOIL-COVER COMPLEX METHOD
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION AREAS (SWPA)
SPECIAL PROTECTION SUBWATERSHEDS
STATE WATER QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
STORAGE INDICATION METHOD
STORM FREQUENCY
STORM SEWER
STORMWATER
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PERMIT
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SITE PLAN
STREAM
STREAM BUFFER
STREAM ENCLOSURE
STREAMBANK EROSION
SUBAREA (SUBWATERSHED)
SUBDIVISION
SURVEYOR
SWALE
TIME OF CONCENTRATION (TC)
TOP OF BANK
TOWNSHIP
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
TRIBUTARY AREA
USDA
VERNAL POOL
VOLUMETRIC RUNOFF COEFFICIENT
WATER QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
WATER QUALITY VOLUME
WATERCOURSE
WATERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
WATERSHED
WET POND (WET EXTENDED DETENTION POND)
WETLAND
WETLAND DELINEATION
Terms
defined.
The removal of the surface of the land through the combined
action of man's activity and the natural processes of a rate greater
than would occur because of the natural process alone.
Activities associated with agriculture such as agricultural
cultivation, agricultural operation and animal heavy use areas. This
includes the work of producing crops including tillage, land clearing,
plowing, disking, harrowing, planting, harvesting crops or pasturing
and raising livestock, and installation of conservation measures.
Construction of new buildings or impervious area is not considered
agricultural activity.
Areas subject to periodic flooding and listed in the Soil
Survey of Bucks and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania, U.S., Department
of Agricultural Soil Conservation Service as being "on, or in, the
floodplain" or subject to flooding.
As applied to land, a change in topography as a result of
the moving of soil and rock from one location or position to another;
also the changing of surface conditions by causing the surface to
be more or less impervious; or earth disturbance.
A landowner or developer who has filed an application for approval to engage in any regulated activities as defined in § 23-104 of this chapter.
Plans that are maintained during construction of the project
and which document the actual locations of the site improvements.
As-built plan must be prepared by a professional land surveyor, landscape
architect or professional engineer licensed in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The channel at the top of bank or point where water begins
to overflow onto a floodplain.
The portion of stream flow that is sustained by groundwater
discharge.
A stormwater retention area which utilizes woody and herbaceous
plants and soils to remove pollutants before infiltration occurs.
Activities, facilities, designs, measures or procedures used
to manage stormwater impacts from regulated activities, to meet state
water quality requirements, to protect and maintain water quality
and groundwater recharge and to otherwise meet the purposes of this
chapter. Stormwater BMPs are commonly grouped into one or two broad
categories or measures: " structural" or " nonstructural." In this
chapter, nonstructural BMPs or measures refer to operational and/
or behavior -related practices that attempt to minimize the contact
of pollutants with stormwater runoff whereas structural BMPs or measures
are those that consist of a physical device or practice that is installed
to capture and treat stormwater runoff. Structural BMPs include, but
are not limited to, a wide variety of practices and devices, from
large- scale retention ponds and constructed wetlands, to small- scale
underground treatment systems, infiltration facilities, filter strips,
low impact design, bioretention, wet ponds, permeable paving, grassed
swales, riparian or forested buffers, sand filters, detention basins,
and manufactured devices. Structural stormwater BMPs are permanent
appurtenances to the project site.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Pennsylvania Best Management Practices Manual, December 2006,
as amended.
An open drainage feature through which stormwater flows.
Channels include but shall not be limited to, natural and man-made
watercourses, swales, streams, ditches, canals and pipes that convey
continuously or periodically flowing water.
The widening, deepening and headward cutting of channels
and waterways, due to erosion caused by moderate to large floods.
An underground reservoir or tank for storing rainwater.
A commercial nursery that grows 50% or more of its herbaceous
plants, shrubs and trees in containers on their lot rather than in
the ground.
Bucks County Conservation District. A conservation district,
as defined in Section 3(c) of the Conservation District Law [3 P.S. § 851(c)]
that has the authority under a delegation agreement executed with
DEP to administer and enforce all or a portion of the regulations
promulgated under 25 Pa. Code 102.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Bucks County.
A pipe, conduit or similar structure including appurtenant
works which conveys surface water under or through an embankment or
fill.
It is a measure of the percentage of precipitation which
is expected to run off from the watershed and is a function of the
soil, vegetative cover and tillage method.
An artificial barrier, together with its appurtenant works,
constructed for the purpose of impounding or storing water or another
fluid or semifluid, or a refuse bank, fill or structure for highway,
railroad or other purposes which does or may impound water or another
fluid or semifluid.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.[1]
The magnitude and temporal distribution of precipitation
from a storm event measured in probability of occurrence (e.g., fifty-year
storm) and duration (e.g., 24 hours), used in the design and evaluation
of stormwater management systems. Also see "return period."
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
The agent of the Board of Supervisors involved with the administration,
review or enforcement of any provisions of this chapter by contract
or memorandum of understanding.
An impoundment structure designed to manage stormwater runoff
by temporarily storing the runoff and releasing it at a predetermined
rate. Detention basins are designed to drain completely soon after
a rainfall event.
Those subareas in which some type of detention is required
to meet the plan requirements and goals of Act 167.
The volume of runoff that is captured and released into the
Waters of the Commonwealth at a controlled rate.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A person, partnership, association, corporation or other
entity, or any responsible person therein or agent thereof, that undertakes
any regulated activity of this chapter.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate
including, but not limited to, the construction or placement of buildings
or other structures, mobile homes, streets and other paving, utilities,
mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavation or drilling operations,
and the subdivision of land.
The provisions for development including a planned residential
development, a plat of subdivision, all covenants relating to use,
location and bulk of buildings and other structures, intensity of
use or density of development, streets, ways and parking facilities,
common open space and public facilities. The phrase "provisions of
development plan" when used in this chapter shall mean the written
and graphic materials referred to in this definition.
See "project site."
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Drainage discharge not confined to a single point location
or channel, such as sheet flow or shallow concentrated flow.
An impervious surface that is disconnected from any stormwater
drainage or conveyance system and is redirected or directed to a pervious
area, which allows for infiltration, filtration and increased time
of concentration.
Unstabilized land area where an earth disturbance activity
is occurring or has occurred.
That portion of the property line of the lot, tract or parcels
of land being developed where all overland or pipe flow from the proposed
development is directed.
Any downstream capacity hydraulic analysis conducted in accordance
with this chapter shall use the following criteria for determining
adequacy for accepting increased peak flow rates:
Natural or man-made channels or swales must be able to convey
the increased rate of runoff associated with a two-year return period
event within their banks at velocities consistent with protection
of the channels from erosion. Acceptable velocities shall be based
upon criteria included in the DEP Erosion and Sediment Pollution Control
Program Manual.
Natural or man-made channels or swales must be able to convey
the increased twenty-five-year return period rate of runoff without
creating any hazard to persons or property.
Culverts, bridges, storm sewers or any other facilities which
must pass or convey flows from the tributary area must be designed
in accordance with DEP 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 105 regulations (if applicable)
and, at a minimum, pass the increased twenty-five-year return period
rate of runoff.
No new channels or conveyance facilities shall be authorized
by this language.
A stormwater management facility designed to transmit stormwater
runoff which shall include streams, channels, swales, pipes, conduits,
culverts, storm sewers, etc.
A right granted by a landowner to a grantee, allowing the
use of private land for stormwater management purposes.
A permit issued by the Township after the SWM plan has been
approved.
Dry extended detention ponds do not maintain a permanent
pool between storm events. Outlets are designed to detain the volume
of a water quality design storm for a minimum (usually 48 hours) to
allow for the settling of particles and associated pollutants. In
addition, dry extended detention ponds provide flood control by including
additional temporary storage for peak flows above the dead storage.
Extended detention ponds are also capable of managing smaller floods
that contribute to channel erosion problems and occur more frequently
than the annual or two-year flood.
A construction or other human activity which disturbs and
destabilizes the surface of the land, including, but not limited to,
clearing and grubbing, grading, excavations, embankments, land development,
road maintenance; building construction; and the moving, depositing,
stockpiling or storing of soil, rock or earth materials.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A conveyance area that is used to pass peak discharge greater
than the maximum design storm controlled by the stormwater facility.
A structure or activity that changes, expands or diminishes
the course, current or cross section of a watercourse, floodway or
body of water.
A licensed professional civil engineer registered by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The process by which the surface of the land, including channels,
is worn away by water, wind or chemical action.
A site-specific plan identifying the BMPs to minimize accelerated
erosion and sedimentation, pursuant to 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 102.
Surface waters of high quality which satisfy 25 Pa. Code,
Chapter 93, "Water Quality Standards," § 93.413(b) (relating
to antidegradation).
The dominant land cover during the five-year period immediately
preceding a proposed regulated activity.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Undisturbed surface area or depression where stormwater collects
and a portion of which infiltrates and replenishes the groundwater.
A base map which identifies fundamental environmental site
information including floodplains, wetlands, topography, vegetative
site features, natural areas, prime agricultural land and areas supportive
of endangered species.
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022[2]]
A general but temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of streams,
rivers and other waters of this commonwealth.
Any land area susceptible to inundation by water from any
natural source or delineated as a special flood hazard area on the
applicable National Flood Insurance Program Flood Insurance Rate Map
(FIRM) prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Also included are areas that comprise Group 13 Soils, as listed in
Appendix A of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
(PADEP) Technical Manual for Sewage Enforcement Officers (as amended
or replaced from time to time by PADEP).
The channel of the watercourse and those portions of the
adjoining floodplains that are reasonably required to carry and discharge
the one-hundred-year frequency flood. Unless otherwise specified,
the boundary of the floodway is as indicated on maps and flood insurance
studies provided by FEMA. In an area where no FEMA maps or studies
have defined the boundary of the one-hundred-year frequency floodway,
it is assumed-absent evidence to the contrary-that the floodway extends
from the stream to 50 feet from the top of the bank of the stream.
Planning and associated activities necessary for the management
of forestland. These include conducting a timber inventory, preparation
of forest management plans, silviculture treatment, cutting budgets,
logging road design and construction, timber harvesting, site preparation
and reforestation.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A vertical distance between the elevation of the design high-water
and the top of a dam, levee, tank, basin or diversion ridge. The space
is required as a safety margin in a pond or basin.
A licensed professional geologist registered in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A natural or constructed waterway, usually broad and shallow,
covered with erosion-resistant grasses, used to conduct surface water.
Systems and practices that use or mimic natural processes
to infiltrate, evapotranspire, or reuse stormwater on the site where
it is generated.
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Water beneath the earth's surface that supplies wells and
springs, and is often between saturated soil and rock.
Replenishment of natural underground water supplies.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrologic Engineering
Center (HEC) Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS).
Surface waters having quality which exceeds levels necessary
to support propagation of fish, shellfish and wildlife and recreation
in and on the water by satisfying 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 93, "Water
Quality Standards," § 93.4b(a).
An area where land use or activity generates highly contaminated runoff; with concentrations of pollutants in excess of those typically found in stormwater. Typical pollutant loadings in stormwater may be found in Chapter 8, § 6, of the Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) No. 363-0300-002 (2006). More information concerning hot spots may be found in Appendix 23-G of this chapter.
A soil that is saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during
the growing season to develop an anaerobic condition in the upper
part.
The hydrologic cycle or balance that sustains quality and
quantity of stormwater, baseflow, storage and groundwater supplies
under the natural conditions.
Infiltration rates of soils vary widely and are affected
by subsurface permeability as well as surface intake rates. Soils
are classified into four HSG's (A, B, C, and D) according to their
minimum infiltration rate, which is obtained for bare soil after prolonged
wetting. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the
US Department of Agriculture defines the four groups and provides
a list of most of the soils in the United States and their group classification.
The soils in the area of the development site may be identified from
a soil survey report that can be obtained from local NRCS offices
or conservation district offices. Soils become less pervious as the
HSG varies from A to D.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A graphical representation of average rainfall, rainfall
excess rates or volumes over specified areas during successive units
of time during a storm.
Surfaces which prevent the infiltration of water into the
ground. All buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks,
swimming pools and any areas containing concrete, asphalt, packed
stone, compacted soils or other equivalent surfaces shall be considered
impervious within this definition. In addition, other areas determined
by the Township Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this
definition shall be classified as impervious surfaces.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A retention or detention basin designed to retain stormwater
runoff and release it at a controlled rate.
Movement of surface water into the soil, where it is absorbed
by plant roots, evaporated into the atmosphere or percolated downward
to recharge groundwater.
A structure designed to direct runoff into the ground (e.g.,
french drains, seepage pits, seepage trench, biofiltration swale,
infiltration basins).
A surface connection to a closed drain. A structure at the
diversion end of a conduit. The upstream end of any structure through
which water may flow.
A type of topography or landscape characterized by surface
depressions, sinkholes, rock pinnacles/uneven bedrock surface, underground
drainage and caves. Karst is formed on carbonate rocks, such as limestone
or dolomite.
Any of the following activities:
The improvement of one or two or more contiguous lots, tracts
or parcels of land for any purpose involving:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings,
whether purposed initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential
building on a lot or lots regardless of the number of occupants or
tenure.
The division or allocation of land or space, whether initially
or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing or prospective
occupants by means of, or for the purpose of streets, common areas,
leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features.
A subdivision of land.
"Land development" does not include development which involves:
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling
or single-family semidetached dwelling into not more than three residential
units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium.
The addition of a residential accessory building, including
farm building, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal
building.
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the
confines of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park.
For the purposes of this subsection, an amusement park is defined
as a tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement
structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly acquired
acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the expanded
area have been approved by the proper authorities.
Any activity involving grading, tilling, digging or filling
of ground or stripping of vegetation or any other activity that causes
an alteration to and destabilization of the natural condition of the
land.
A person who engages or offers to engage in the practice
of landscape architecture in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under
the authority of the Landscape Architects Registration Law, 63 P.S. § 901
et seq.
The perimeter of earth disturbance on a site.
A soil horizon or condition in the soil profile or underlying
strata which includes one of the following:
A seasonal high water table, whether perched or regional, determined
by direct observation of the water table or indicated by soil mottling.
A rock with open joints, fracture or solution channels, or masses
of loose rock fragments, including gravel, with insufficient fine
soil to fill the voids between the fragments.
A rock formation, other stratum or soil condition which is so
slowly permeable that is effectively limits downward passage of effluent.
Site design approaches and small-scale stormwater management
practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration,
evapotranspiration, and reuse of rainwater. LID can be applied to
new development, urban retrofits, and revitalization projects. LID
utilizes design techniques that infiltrate, filter, evaporate, and
store runoff close to its source. Rather than rely on costly large-scale
conveyance and treatment systems, LID addresses stormwater through
a variety of small, cost-effective landscape features located on-site.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Any stream segment or other runoff conveyance facility used
as a reach in the watershed hydrologic model.
A method for calculation of velocity of flow (e.g., feet
per second) and flow rate (e.g., cubic feet per second) in open channels
based upon channel shape, roughness, depth of flow and slope. "Open
channels" may include closed conduits when the flow is not under pressure.
Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Pollution that enters a watery body from diffuse origins
in the watershed and does not result from discernible, confined or
discrete conveyances.
Water flowing in stormwater collection facilities, such as
pipes or swales, which is not the result of a rainfall event or snowmelt.
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, the federal
governments system of regulations for the issuance of permits under
the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.A. § 1251 et seq., which is
delegated to PADEP in Pennsylvania.
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (previously SCS).
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A drainage element in which stormwater flows with an open
surface. Open channels include, but shall not be limited to, natural
and man-made drainageways, swales, streams, ditches, canals and pipes
flowing partly full.
"The point source" as described in 40 CFR 122.2 where the
municipality's storm sewer system discharges to surface waters of
the commonwealth.
Points of water disposal to a stream, river, lake, tidewater
or artificial basin.
The parcel of land from which a land development or subdivision
originates as of the date of adoption of this chapter.
The maximum rate of stormwater runoff from a specific storm
event.
The computer-based hydrologic modeling technique adapted
to the watershed for the Act 167 Plan. The model has been "calibrated"
to reflect actual recorded flow values by adjoining key model input
parameters.
A parcel or tract of and that is subject to a recorded conservation
easement, in perpetuity, in a manner acceptable to the Township.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation or other
entity.
A surface that allows the infiltration of water into the
ground.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A culvert, closed conduit or similar structure (including
appurtenances) that conveys stormwater.
The Planning Commission of the Township.
The flood that may be expected from the most severe combination
of critical meteorologic and hydrologic conditions that are reasonably
possible in any area. The PMF is derived from the probable maximum
precipitation (PMP) as determined on the basis of data obtained from
the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAH).
Any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including,
but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel or conduit from
which stormwater as defined in state regulations at 25 Pa. Code § 92.1,
is or may be discharged.
Period after construction during which disturbed areas are
stabilized, stormwater controls are in place and functioning, and
all improvements in the approved SWM plan are completed.
Techniques employed in stormwater BMPs to provide storage
or filtering to trap coarse materials and other pollutants before
they enter the stormwater management or infiltration system.
The specific tract of land where any regulated activity in
the Township is planned, conducted, or maintained.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Any person licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of State
or otherwise qualified by law and trained to perform work required
by this chapter. Qualified professionals include professional engineers,
registered landscape architects, and professional land surveyors.
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A rainfall-runoff relation used to estimate peak flow.
Undisturbed surface area or depression where stormwater collects,
and a portion of which infiltrates and replenishes the underground
and groundwater.
A calculated volume of stormwater runoff from impervious
areas which is required to be infiltrated at a site and may be achieved
through use of structural or nonstructural BMPs.
Any activity to which this chapter is applicable pursuant to § 23-104 of this chapter.
Activity involving earth disturbance subject to regulation
under 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 92a, 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 102, or the Clean
Streams Law, 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.
The percentage of predevelopment peak rate of runoff from
a site or subarea to which the post development peak rate of runoff
must be reduced to protect downstream areas.
A basin designed to retain stormwater runoff so that a permanent
pool is established.
The volume of runoff that is captured and not released directly
into the surface waters of the Commonwealth during or after a storm
event.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
The average interval, in years, within which a storm event
of a given magnitude can be expected to recur. For example, the twenty-five-year
return period rainfall would be expected to recur on the average once
every 25 years.
A permanent area of trees and shrubs located adjacent to
streams, lakes, ponds and wetlands.
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A vertical pipe extending from the bottom of a pond that
is used to control the discharge rate from the pond for a specified
design storm.
Earth disturbance activities within an existing road cross-section,
such as grading and repairing existing unpaved road surfaces, cutting
road banks, cleaning or clearing drainage ditches and other similar
activities.
Any part of precipitation that flows over the land surface.
Soils or other materials transported by surface water as
a product of erosion.
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A barrier, dam or retention or detention basin located and
designed to retain rock, sand, gravel, silt or other material transported
by water.
The placement, discharge or any other introduction of sediment
into the waters of the commonwealth.
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by the movement of water.
An area of excavated earth filled with loose stone or similar
coarse material, into which surface water is directed for infiltration
into the underground water (refer PA BMP Manual, December 2006, Chapter
6, § 4).
A system of pipes, open channels, streets and other conveyances
intended to carry stormwater runoff.
Stormwater runoff flowing in shallow, defined ruts prior
to entering a defined channel or waterway.
Runoff that flows over the ground surface as a thin, even
layer, not concentrated in a channel.
A classification of soils by the NRCS into four runoff potential
groups. The groups range from A soils, which are very permeable and
produce little runoff to D soils, which are not very permeable and
produce much more runoff.
An individual trained to observe and identify soil properties
that can be used to determine such things as depth to seasonal high
water table, soil permeability, potential productivity and other potentially
use-limiting soil features.
A method of runoff computation developed by the NRCS that
is based on relating soil type and land use/cover to a runoff parameter
called a curve number (CN).
The zone through which contaminants, if present, are likely
to migrate and reach a drinking water well or surface water intake.
Watersheds that have been designated in 25 Pa. Code, Chapter
93, "Water Quality Standards," as exceptional value (EV) or high quality
(HQ) waters.
The regulatory requirements to protect, maintain, reclaim,
and restore water quality under Title 25 ofthe Pennsylvania Code and
the Clean Streams Law.[3]
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A reservoir routing procedure based on solution of the continuity
equation (inflow minus outflow equals the change in storage) with
outflow defined as a function of storage volume and depth.
The number of times that a given storm event occurs or is
exceeded on the average in a stated period of years. Refer "return
period."
A system of pipes and/or open channels that convey intercepted
runoff and stormwater from other sources, but excludes domestic sewage
and industrial wastes.
Drainage runoff from the surface of the land resulting from
precipitation or snow or ice melt.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Any structure, natural or man-made, that, due to its condition,
design or construction, conveys, stores or otherwise affects stormwater
runoff. Typical stormwater management facilities include, but are
not limited to, detention and retention basins, open channels, storm
sewers, pipes, infiltration structures and other BMPs.
A permit issued by the Township Board of Supervisors after
the drainage plan has been approved. Said permit is issued prior to
or with the final Township approval.
The plan for managing stormwater runoff within the Township
adopted as required by the Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864, (Act
167), 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq.
The plan prepared by the developer or his representative
indicating how stormwater runoff will be managed at the development
site in accordance with this chapter. Stormwater management site plan
may also be designated as SWM site plan throughout this chapter.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Rivers, creeks, springs and other watercourses containing
water at least on a seasonal basis during an average water year. The
term "stream" shall include the following:
SPRINGS OR SEEPS — The point where groundwater discharges
to become surface water.
| |
STREAM, EPHEMERAL — A reach of stream that flows only
during and for short periods following precipitation and flows in
low areas that may or may not be a well-defined channel. Ephemeral
stream beds are located above the water table year-round. Groundwater
is not a source of water for the stream. Some commonly used names
for ephemeral streams include: stormwater channel, drain, swale, gully,
dry stream channel, hollow or saddle. The term often used interchangeably
with intermittent stream but the difference is in the length of time
of continuous flow (less than one month per year).
| |
STREAM, HEADWATER — The beginning reach of a stream that
collects water from springs and seeps and provides a hydrologic connection
to a perennial stream. These channels may be ill defined and may move
from year to year depending upon groundwater input, snowmelt and runoff,
but are typified by hydric soils and hydric vegetation.
| |
STREAM, INTERMITTENT — A reach of stream that flows only
during wet periods of the year (30% to 90% of the time) and flows
in a continuous well-defined channel. During dry periods, especially
in summer months, intermittent streams may go down to a trickle of
water and make it appear dry, when in fact there is water flowing
through the stream bottom or "substrate." This is usually caused by
the seasonal changes of the local soil water table or during periods
of long-term drought.
| |
STREAM, PERENNIAL — A body of water in a channel that
flows throughout a majority of the year in a defined channel and is
capable, in the absence of pollution, drought or man-made stream disturbances,
of supporting a benthic macroinvertebrate community that is composed
of two or more recognizable taxonomic groups of organisms, large enough
to be seen by the unaided eye and can be retained by a U.S. Standard
No. 30 sieve (28 meshs per inch, 0.595 mm openings) and live at least
part of their life cycles within or upon available substrates in a
body of water or water transport system. A perennial stream can have
Q7-10 flow of zero. For the purposes of this
document, a perennial stream includes lakes and ponds.
|
The land area adjacent to each side of a stream, essential
to maintaining water quality, measured perpendicular to and horizontally
from the top-of-bank.
A bridge, culvert or other structure in excess of 100 feet
in length upstream to downstream which encloses a regulated water
of this commonwealth.
The widening, deeping or headward cutting of channels and
waterways caused by stormwater runoff or bankfull flows.
The smallest drainage unit of a watershed for which stormwater
management criteria have been established in the stormwater management
plan.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions
of land including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether
immediate or future, of lease, transfer of ownership, or building
or lot development, provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential
dwellings, shall be exempt.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
An individual licensed and registered under the laws of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to engage in the practice of land surveying.
A low-lying stretch of land which gathers or carries surface
water runoff.
The time for surface runoff to travel from the hydraulically
most distant point of the watershed to a point of interest within
the watershed. This time is the combined total of overland flow time
and flow time in pipes or channels, if any.
Highest point of elevation in a stream channel cross section
at which a rising water level just begins to flow out of the channel
and over the floodplain.
Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
A professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and appointed by the Township pursuant to Article
XII of the Second Class Township Code, 53 P.S. § 66201 et
seq.
The portion of a watershed that contributes runoff to a particular
point in that watershed.
United States Department of Agriculture.
[Added by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Seasonal depressional wetlands that are covered by shallow
water for variable periods from winter to spring, but may be completely
dry for most of the summer and fall.
A variable indicative of stormwater runoff volume and dependent
on the impervious coverage for a site.
As defined under state regulations-protection of designated
and existing uses (Refer 25 Pa. Code, Chapters 93 and 96):
Each stream segment in Pennsylvania has a "designated use,"
such as "cold water fishery" or "potable water supply," which are
listed in 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 93. These uses must be protected and
maintained, under state regulations.
"Existing uses" are those attained as of November, 1975, regardless
whether they have been designated in 25 Pa. Code, Chapter 93. Land
development must be designed to protect and maintain existing uses
and maintain the level of water quality necessary to protect those
uses in all streams, and to protect and maintain water quality in
special protection streams.
Water quality involves the chemical, biological and physical
characteristics of surface water bodies. After land development, these
characteristics can be impacted by addition of pollutants such as
sediment, and changes in habitat through increased flow volumes and/or
rates. Therefore, discharge to surface waters must be designed and
managed to protect the streambank, streambed and structural integrity
of the waterway, to prevent these impacts.
A calculated volume of stormwater runoff from impervious
areas which is required to be captured and treated at a site and may
be achieved through use of structural or non-structural BMPs.
An intermittent, ephemeral or perennial stream of water,
river, brook, creek or swale identified on USGS or SCS mapping; and/or
delineated waters of the commonwealth.
Any and all rivers, streams, creeks, rivulets, impoundments,
ditches, watercourses, storm sewers, lakes, dammed water, wetlands,
ponds, springs and all other bodies or channels of conveyance of surface
and underground water, or parts thereof, whether natural or artificial,
within or on the boundaries of this Commonwealth.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
Region or area drained by a river, watercourse, or other
surface water of this Commonwealth.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022]
A wet extended pond combines the pollutant removal effectiveness
of a permanent pool of water with the flow reduction capabilities
of an extended storage volume.
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, including
swamps, marshes, bogs, ferns and similar areas.
The on-site method or process for identifying wetlands. Wetlands
must be delineated by a qualified specialist according to the 1989
Federal Manuals (as amended) for the Delineation of Jurisdictional
Wetlands (whichever is greater) or according to any subsequent federal
or state regulation. Qualified specialist shall include those persons
being Certified Professional Soil Scientists as registered with Registry
of Certified Professionals in Agronomy Crops and Soils (ARCPACS);
or as contained on consultant's list of Pennsylvania Association of
Professional Soil Scientists (PAPSS); or as registered with National
Society of Consulting Soil Scientists (NSCSS), or as certified by
state and/or federal certification programs; or by a qualified biologist/ecologist.
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "design professional
(qualified)," which immediately followed, was repealed by Ord. No. 2022-005, 9/6/2022.
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also renumbered these definitions to be included under Subsection F.
[3]
Editor’s Note: See 35 P.S. § 691.1 et seq.