North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 02 - Environmental Management › Subchapter H - PROCEDURES FOR PERMITS: APPROVALS › Section .1000 - STORMWATER MANAGEMENT › Section 02H .1002 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
The definition of any word or phrase in this Section shall
					 be the same as given in Article 21, Chapter 143 of the General Statutes of
					 North Carolina, as amended. Definitions set forth in
					 15A NCAC
					 02H .0150 and
					 40 CFR
					 122.2 and
					 122.26(b) (1 July
					 2015 Edition) are incorporated herein by reference, not including subsequent
					 amendments and editions. These federal regulations may be accessed at no cost
					 at
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
.
					 Other words and phrases used in this Section are defined as follows:
(1) "Adverse impact" means a detrimental
				  effect upon water quality or best usages, including a violation of water
				  quality standards, caused by or contributed to by a discharge or loading of a
				  pollutant or pollutants.
(2) "Best
				  usage" means those uses of waters specified for each classification as
				  determined by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of
				  G.S.
				  143-214.1 and as set forth in
				  15A NCAC
				  02B .0101,
				  15A NCAC
				  02B .0200, and
				  15A NCAC
				  02B .0300.
(3) "Built-upon area" or "BUA" has the same
				  meaning as in
				  G.S.
				  143-214.7.
(4) "CAMA Major Development Permits" means
				  those permits or revised permits required by the Coastal Resources Commission
				  as set forth in
				  15A NCAC
				  07J Sections .0100 and .0200.
(5) "Certificate of Stormwater Compliance"
				  means the approval for activities that meet the requirements for coverage under
				  a stormwater general permit for development activities that are regulated by
				  this Section.
(6) "Coastal
				  Counties" means any of the following counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick,
				  Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, New
				  Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and
				  Washington.
(7) "Commission" means
				  the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission.
(8) "Common plan of development" means a site
				  where multiple separate and distinct development activities may be taking place
				  at different times on different schedules but governed by a single development
				  plan regardless of ownership of the parcels. Information that may be used to
				  determine a "common plan of development" include plats, blueprints, marketing
				  plans, contracts, building permits, public notices or hearings, zoning
				  requests, and infrastructure development plans.
(9) "Curb Outlet System" means curb and
				  gutter with breaks or other outlets used to convey stormwater runoff to
				  vegetated conveyances or other vegetated areas.
(10) "Design volume" means the amount of
				  stormwater runoff that an SCM or series of SCMs is designed to treat.
(11) "Development" has the same meaning as in
				  G.S.
				  143-214.7.
(12) "Director" means the Director of the
				  Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources.
(13) "Dispersed flow" means uniform shallow
				  flow that is conveyed to a vegetated filter strip as defined in Rule .1059 of
				  this Section, another vegetated area, or stormwater control measure. The
				  purpose of "dispersed flow" is to remove pollutants through infiltration and
				  settling, as well as to reduce erosion prior to stormwater reaching surface
				  waters.
(14) "Division" means the
				  Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources.
(15) "Drainage Area or Watershed" means the
				  entire area contributing surface runoff to a single point.
(16) "Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan"
				  means any plan, amended plan, or revision to an approved plan submitted to the
				  Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources or a delegated authority in
				  accordance with
				  G.S.
				  113A-57.
(17) "Existing development" means those
				  projects that are built or those projects that have established a vested right
				  under North Carolina law as of the effective date of the state stormwater
				  program or applicable local government ordinance to which the project is
				  subject.
(18) "General Permit"
				  means a permit issued under
				  G.S.
				  143-215.1(b)(3) and
				  G.S.
				  143-215.1(b)(4) authorizing
				  a category of similar activities or discharges.
(19) "Geotextile fabric" means a permeable
				  geosynthetic comprised solely of non-biodegradable textiles.
(20) "Infiltration Systems" means stormwater
				  control measures designed to allow runoff to move into the soil's pore
				  space.
(21) "Intermittent stream"
				  has the same meaning as in
				  15A NCAC
				  02B .0233.
(22) "Local government" has the same meaning
				  as in 15A NCAC 02B .0202.
(23) "Major modification" means a change of a
				  state stormwater permit that is not a "minor modification" as that term is
				  defined in this Rule.
(24) "Minimum
				  Design Criteria" or "MDC" means the requirements set forth in this Section for
				  siting, site preparation, design and construction, and post-construction
				  monitoring and evaluation necessary for the Department to issue stormwater
				  permits that comply with State water quality standards adopted pursuant to
				  G.S.
				  143-214.1.
(25) "Minor modification" means a change of a
				  state stormwater permit that does not increase the net built-upon area within
				  the project or does not increase the overall size of the stormwater control
				  measures that have been approved for the project.
(26) "Non-erosive velocity" means the flow
				  rate of water, usually measured in feet per second, that does not exceed the
				  maximum permissible velocity for the condition and type of soil and groundcover
				  over which the water is flowing. Erosion occurs when the maximum permissible
				  velocity is exceeded.
(27) "Notice
				  of Intent" means a written notification to the Division that an activity or
				  discharge is intended to be covered by a general permit in lieu of an
				  application for an individual permit.
(28) "NPDES" means National Pollutant
				  Discharge Elimination System.
(29)
				  "Off-site Stormwater Systems" means stormwater management systems that are
				  located outside the boundaries of the specific project in question, but
				  designed to control stormwater drainage from that project and other potential
				  development sites.
(30) "One-year,
				  24-hour storm" means the maximum amount of rainfall during a 24 consecutive
				  hour period expected, on average, to occur once a year. One-year, 24-hour storm
				  depths are estimated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
				  (NOAA) Precipitation Frequency Data Server (PFDS), which is herein incorporated
				  by reference, including subsequent amendments and editions, and may be accessed
				  at no cost at http://hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/hdsc/pfds/.
(31) "On-site Stormwater Systems" means the
				  systems necessary to control stormwater within an individual development
				  project and located within the project boundaries.
(32) "Peak attenuation volume" means
				  stormwater runoff in excess of the design volume that is conveyed to an SCM
				  where it is not treated in accordance with the applicable MDC, but is released
				  by the SCM in a controlled manner to address potential downstream erosion and
				  flooding impacts to meet federal, State, or local regulations beyond the
				  requirements of this Section.
(33)
				  "Perennial waterbody" has the same meaning as in
				  15A NCAC
				  02B .0233.
(34) "Perennial stream" has the same meaning
				  as in 15A NCAC 02B .0233.
(35) "Permeable pavement" means paving
				  material that absorbs water or allows water to infiltrate through the paving
				  material. "Permeable pavement" materials include porous concrete, permeable
				  interlocking concrete pavers, concrete grid pavers, porous asphalt, and any
				  other material with similar characteristics.
(36) "Person" has the same meaning as in
				  G.S.
				  143-212(4).
(37) "Primary SCM" means a wet pond,
				  stormwater wetland, infiltration system, sand filter, bioretention cell,
				  permeable pavement, green roof, rainwater harvesting, or an approved new
				  stormwater technology that is designed, constructed and maintained in
				  accordance with the MDC.
(38)
				  "Project" means the proposed development activity for which an applicant is
				  seeking a stormwater permit from the state or other entity in accordance with
				  this Section. "Project" shall exclude any land adjacent to the area disturbed
				  by the project that has been counted as pervious by any other development
				  regulated under a federal, State, or local stormwater regulation. Owners and
				  developers of large developments consisting of many linked projects may
				  consider developing a master plan that illustrates how each project fits into
				  the design of the large development.
(39) "Public linear transportation project"
				  means a project consisting of a road, bridge, sidewalk, greenway, or railway
				  that is on a public thoroughfare plan or provides improved access for existing
				  development and that is owned and maintained by a public entity.
(40) "Required storm depth" means the minimum
				  amount of rainfall that shall be used to calculate the required treatment
				  volume or to evaluate whether a project has achieved runoff volume
				  match.
(41) "Redevelopment" has the
				  same meaning as in
				  G.S.
				  143-214.7.
(42) "Residential development" has the same
				  meaning as in
				  15A NCAC
				  02B .0202.
(43) "Runoff treatment" means that the volume
				  of stormwater runoff generated from all of the built-upon area of a project at
				  build-out during a storm of the required storm depth is treated in one or more
				  primary SCMs or a combination of Primary and Secondary SCMs that provides equal
				  or better treatment.
(44) "Runoff
				  volume match" means that the annual runoff volume after development shall not
				  be more than ten percent higher than the annual runoff volume before
				  development, except in areas subject to SA waters requirements per Rule .1019
				  of this Section where runoff volume match means that the annual runoff volume
				  after development shall not be more than five percent higher than the annual
				  runoff volume before development.
(45) "Seasonal High Water Table" or "SHWT"
				  means the highest level of the saturated zone in the soil during a year with
				  normal rainfall. SHWT may be determined in the field through identification of
				  redoximorphic features in the soil profile, monitoring of the water table
				  elevation, or modeling of predicted groundwater elevations.
(46) "Secondary SCM" means an SCM that does
				  not achieve the annual reduction of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) of a "Primary
				  SCM" but may be used in a treatment train with a primary SCM or other Secondary
				  SCMs to provide pre-treatment, hydraulic benefits, or a portion of the required
				  TSS removal.
(47) "Stormwater" has
				  the same meaning as in
				  G.S.143-213(16a).
(48) "Stormwater Collection System" means any
				  conduit, pipe, channel, curb, or gutter for the primary purpose of transporting
				  (not treating) runoff. A stormwater collection system does not include
				  vegetated swales, swales stabilized with armoring, or alternative methods where
				  natural topography or other physical constraints prevents the use of vegetated
				  swales (subject to case-by-case review), curb outlet systems, or pipes used to
				  carry drainage underneath built-upon surfaces that are associated with
				  development controlled by the provisions of Rule .1003 in this
				  Section.
(49) "Stormwater Control
				  Measure" or "SCM," also known as "Best Management Practice" or "BMP," means a
				  permanent structural device that is designed, constructed, and maintained to
				  remove pollutants from stormwater runoff by promoting settling or filtration;
				  or to mimic the natural hydrologic cycle by promoting infiltration,
				  evapo-transpiration, post-filtration discharge, reuse of stormwater, or a
				  combination thereof.
(50) "Ten-year
				  storm intensity" means the maximum rate of rainfall of a duration equivalent to
				  the time of concentration expected, on the average, once in 10 years. Ten-year
				  storm intensities are estimated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
				  Administration (NOAA) Precipitation Frequency Data Server (PFDS), which is
				  herein incorporated by reference, including subsequent amendments and editions,
				  and may be accessed at no cost at
				  http://hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/hdsc/pfds/.
(51) "Vegetated setback" means an area of
				  natural or established vegetation adjacent to surface waters, through which
				  stormwater runoff flows in a diffuse manner to protect surface waters from
				  degradation due to development activities.
(52) "Vegetated conveyance" means a
				  permanent, designed waterway lined with vegetation that is used to convey
				  stormwater runoff at a non-erosive velocity within or away from a developed
				  area.
(53) "Water Dependent
				  Structures" means a structure that requires access, proximity to, or siting
				  within surface waters to fulfill its basic purpose, such as boat ramps, boat
				  houses, docks, or bulkheads. Ancillary facilities such as restaurants, outlets
				  for boat supplies, parking lots, and boat storage areas shall not be considered
				  water dependent structures.
Authority
					 G.S.
					 143-213;
					 143-214.1;
					 143-214.7;
					 143-215.3(a)(1);
Eff. January 1, 1988;
Amended Eff. August 1, 2012 (see S.L.
					 2012-143, s.1. (f)); July 3, 2012; December 1, 1995; September 1,
					 1995;
Temporary Amendment Eff. March 28, 2014;
Amended
					 Eff. January 1, 2015;
Readopted Eff. January 1,
					 2017.