§ 50-181. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Unless otherwise specified, or it is apparent from the context, definitions in this article will be the same as those in other county codes.

Accidental discharge means a discharge prohibited by this article into the county separate storm drainage system which occurs by chance and without planning or consideration prior to occurrence.

Appeals authority means the county manager, one of whose purposes is to review appeals to this article and render decisions and variances.

Best management practices or BMPs means a wide range of management procedures, activities, structures and prohibitions or practices which control the quality and/or quantity of stormwater runoff and which are compatible with the planned land use. Clean Water Act means the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 USC 1551 et seq.

Cobb County separate storm drainage system means a conveyance or system of conveyances, including roads with drainage systems, highways, rights-of-way, county streets, catchbasins, curbs, gutters, ditches, manmade channels, storm drains, detention ponds, and other stormwater facilities, which is:

(1)

Owned or maintained by unincorporated Cobb County;

(2)

Designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;

(3)

Not waters of the state;

(4)

Not a combined sewer; and

(5)

Not part of a publicly owned treatment works (POTW).

Conveyance means stormwater features (natural or designed) intended for the movement of stormwater through the drainage system, such as concrete or metal pipes, ditches, depressions, swales, rivers and streams, etc.

Cooling water means water used exclusively as a cooling medium in an appliance, device or apparatus.

Department means the county water system, responsible for all stormwater management activities and implementation of the provisions of this article.

Development activity means any of the following:

(1)

The subdivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land into two or more lots, plots, sites, tracts, parcels or other divisions by plat or deed.

(2)

The construction, installation, or alteration of a structure, impervious surface, or drainage facility.

(3)

Clearing, scraping, grubbing, or otherwise significantly disturbing the soil, vegetation, mud, sand or rock of a site.

(4)

Adding, removing, exposing, excavating, leveling, grading, digging, burrowing, dumping, piling, dredging, or otherwise disturbing the soil, vegetation, mud, sand or rock of a site.

Director shall mean either the director of the county community development agency or any of that person's duly authorized representatives.

Discharge means the release of treated or untreated water to the county separate storm drain system.

Easement means an acquired legal right for the specific use of land owned by others.

Governing body means the duly elected board of commissioners of Cobb County, Georgia.

Illicit connection means a connection to a county separate storm drainage system which results in discharge that is not composed entirely of stormwater runoff except discharges pursuant to an NPDES permit, other than the NPDES permit for discharges from the county separate storm drains.

Manager means the manager of the county water system or any of that person's duly authorized representatives.

Maintenance means any action necessary to preserve stormwater management facilities in proper working condition, in order to serve the intended purposes set forth in this article and to prevent structural failure of such facilities.

Person means any and all persons, natural or artificial, and includes any individual, firm, corporation, government agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal entity.

Pollution means the contamination or other alteration of any water's physical, chemical or biological properties, including change in temperature, taste, color, turbidity, or odor of such waters, or the discharge of any liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substance into any such waters as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to the public health, safety or welfare or to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses, or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life.

Private means property or facilities owned and maintained by individuals, corporations, and other organizations and not by city, state or federal government.

Procedure means a procedure adopted by the department, by and through its director, to implement a regulation or regulations adopted under this article, or to carry out other responsibilities as may be required by this Code or other codes, ordinances, or resolutions of unincorporated Cobb County or other agencies having jurisdictions.

Regulation means any regulation, rule or requirement prepared by the department and adopted by the board of commissioners pursuant to the requirements of this article.

Sanitary sewer system means the complete sanitary sewer system of the county which discharges sewage directly or indirectly into the sewage treatment plant, including sanitary sewer pipelines, manholes and flushing inlets and appurtenances to the foregoing, but shall exclude any portion or facilities of the sewage treatment plant.

Site means any lot, plot, parcel or tract of land.

Stormwater means stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff and drainage.

Stormwater management means the collection, conveyance, storage, treatment and disposal of stormwater runoff in a manner to meet the objectives of this article and which shall include a system of vegetative or structural measures, or both, that control the increased volume and rate of stormwater runoff and water quality impacts caused by manmade changes to the land.

Stormwater management facilities means constructed or natural components of a stormwater drainage system, designed to perform a particular function, or multiple functions, including, but not limited to, pipes, swales, ditches, culverts, street gutters, detention basins, retention basins, constructed wetlands, infiltration devices, catchbasins, oil/water separators, sediment basins, natural systems and modular pavement.

Stormwater runoff means the direct response of a land surface to precipitation and includes the surface and subsurface runoff that enters a ditch, stream, storm drain or other concentrated flow during and following the precipitation.

Variance means the modification of the minimum stormwater management requirements for specific circumstances where strict adherence of the requirements would result in unnecessary hardship and not fulfill the intent of this article. Illicit discharge and illegal connections are against the law. Therefore, hardship variances for these unlawful acts cannot be legally granted and are not applicable under this article.

Water quality means those characteristics of stormwater runoff that relate to the physical, chemical, biological, or radiological integrity of water.

Water quantity means those characteristics of stormwater runoff that relate to the rate and volume of the stormwater runoff.

(Ord. of 9-28-93; Code 1977, § 3-22.5B-5; Ord. of 12-9-03; Ord. of 2-27-07)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.