ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL
Sec. 10-2.
Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter, the
following words and terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this
section:
Agreement in lieu of a plan. A contract
between the plan-approving authority and the owner which specifies
conservation measures which must be implemented in the construction of a
single-family detached dwelling; this contract may be executed by the
plan-approving authority in lieu of a formal site plan.
Applicant. Any person submitting an
erosion and sediment control plan for approval or requesting the issuance
of a permit, when required, authorizing land-disturbing activities to
commence.
Certified inspector. An employee or
agent of the County who has been designated as such by the county
administrator. A certified inspector shall (i) hold a certificate of
competence from the Virginia Soil And Water Conservation Board in the area
of project inspection or (ii) be enrolled in the Virginia Soil and Water
Conservation Board's training program for project inspection and
successfully complete such program within one year after enrollment.
Certified plan reviewer. A County
employee or agent who has been designated as such by the county
administrator. A certified plan reviewer shall (i) hold a certificate of
competence from the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board in the area
of plan review, (ii) be enrolled in the Virginia Soil and Water
Conservation Board's training program for plan review and successfully
complete such program within one year after enrollment, or (iii) be
licensed as a professional engineer, architect, certified landscape
architect or land surveyor pursuant to article 1 (Sec 54.1-400 et seq.) of
chapter 4 of title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia, as it may be amended from
time to time.
Certified program administrator. A
County employee or agent designated as such by the county administrator. A
certified program administrator shall (i) hold a certificate of competence
from the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board in the area of program
administration or (ii) be enrolled in the Virginia Soil and Water
Conservation Board's training program for program administration and
successfully complete such program within one year after enrollment.
Clearing. Any activity which removes the
vegetative ground cover including, but not limited to, root mat removal or
topsoil removal.
Code of Virginia. All references herein
to the Code of Virginia are to the Code of Virginia (1950), as it may be
amended from time to time.
Conservation plan, erosion and sediment
control plan, or plan. A document containing material for the conservation
of soil and water resources of a unit or group of units of land. It may
include appropriate maps, an appropriate soil and water plan inventory,
and management information with needed interpretation and a record of
decisions contributing to conservation treatment. The plan shall contain
all major conservation decisions to assure that the entire unit or units
of land will be so treated to achieve the conservation objectives.
County. The County of York.
County Administrator. The county
administrator for York County, or his designee.
Department. The Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation.
Director. The director of the Virginia
Department of Conservation and Recreation.
District or soil and water conservation
district. Refers to the Colonial Soil and Water District.
Erosion Impact area. An area of land not
associated with current land-disturbing activity but subject to persistent
soil erosion resulting in the delivery of sediment onto neighboring
properties or into state waters. This definition shall not apply to any
lot or parcel of land of 10,000 square feet or less used for residential
purposes or to shorelines where the erosion results from wave action or
other coastal processes.
Excavating. Any digging, scooping or
other methods of removing earth materials.
Filling. Any depositing or stockpiling
of earth materials.
Grading. Any excavating or filling of
earth material or any combination thereof, including the land in its
excavated or filled conditions.
Land-disturbing activity. Any land
change which may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the
movement of sediments into state waters or onto lands in the Commonwealth,
including, but not limited to clearing, grading, excavating, transporting
and filling of land except that the term shall not include:
(1) Minor land-disturbing activities
such as home gardens and individual home landscaping, repairs and
maintenance work;
(2) Individual service connections;
(3) Installation, maintenance, or repair
of any underground public utility lines when such activity occurs on an
existing hard-surfaced road, street or sidewalk, provided the
land-disturbing activity is confined to the area of the road, street or
sidewalk which is hard-surfaced;
(4) Septic tank lines or drainage fields
unless included in an overall plan for land-disturbing activity relating
to the construction of the building to be served by the septic tank
system;
(5) Surface or deep mining;
(6) Exploration or drilling for oil and
gas, including the well site, roads, feeder lines and off-site disposal
areas;
(7) Tilling, planting or harvesting of
agricultural, horticultural or forest crops or livestock feedlot
operations; including engineering operations as follows: construction of
terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, desilting basins, dikes, ponds,
ditches, strip cropping, lister furrowing, contour cultivating, contour
furrowing, land drainage and land irrigation; however, this exception
shall not apply to harvesting of forest crops unless the area on which
harvesting occurs is reforested artificially or naturally in accordance
with the provisions of Chapter 11 of Title 10.1 of the Code of Virginia
(Sec 10.1-1100 et seq.) or is converted to bona fide agricultural or
improved pasture use as described in Code of Virginia Sec 10.1-1163(B);
(8) Repair or rebuilding of the tracks,
rights-of-way, bridges, communication facilities and other related
structures and facilities of a railroad company;
(9) Agricultural engineering operations
including but not limited to the construction of terraces, terrace
outlets, check dams, desilting basins, dikes, ponds not required to comply
with the Virginia Dam Safety Act (Article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 10.1,
Code of Virginia, Sec. 10.1-604 et seq.) ditches, strip cropping, lister
furrowing, contour cultivation, contour furrowing, land drainage and land
irrigation;
(10) Disturbed land areas of less than
two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet in size;
(11) Installation of fence and sign
posts or telephone and electric poles and other kinds of posts or poles;
(12) Shore
erosion control projects on tidal waters when all of the land disturbing
activities are within the regulatory authority of and approved by local
wetlands board, the Marine Resources Commission or the United States Army
Corps of Engineers; however, any associated land that is disturbed outside
of this exempted area shall remain subject to this article and the
regulations adopted pursuant thereto;
(13) Emergency work to protect life,
limb or property, and emergency repairs; provided that if the
land-disturbing activity would have required an approved erosion and
sediment control plan, if the activity were not an emergency, then the
land area disturbed shall be shaped and stabilized in accordance with the
requirements of the plan approving authority.
Land-disturbing permit. A permit issued
by the County for the clearing, filling, excavating, grading, transporting
of land or for any combination thereof for any purpose set forth herein.
Local erosion and sediment control
program or local control program. All of the various methods employed by
the County to regulate land-disturbing activities and thereby minimize
erosion and sedimentation in compliance with the state program, which may
include such items as local ordinances, policies and guidelines, technical
materials, inspection, enforcement, and evaluation.
Minimum Standards. Those Minimum
Standards contained within the Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations
promulgated by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, as set out
in 4VAC50-30-40 of the Virginia Administrative Code as they may be amended
from time to time.
Owner. The owner or owners of the
freehold of the premises or lesser estate therein, a mortgagee or vendee
in possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee or
other person, firm or corporation in control of a property.
Permittee. The person to whom a permit
authorizing land-disturbing activities is issued or the person who
certifies that the approved erosion and sediment control plan will be
followed.
Person. Any individual, partnership,
firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust,
estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility,
cooperative, county, city, town, or any other political subdivision of the
state, any interstate body, or any other legal entity.
Plan-approving authority. The county
administrator or his designee who is responsible for determining the
adequacy of a conservation plan submitted for land-disturbing activities
on a unit or units of lands and for approving plans.
Program authority. The County, which has
adopted a soil erosion and sediment control program approved by the
Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board.
Regulations. All regulations promulgated
by any local, state, or federal governmental agency having oversight and
authority over the control of erosion and sedimentation resulting from
land-disturbing activities, including (without limitation) the Erosion and
Sediment Control Regulations and the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control
Handbook promulgated by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, as
they may be amended from time to time.
Responsible Land Disturber. An
individual from the project or development team, who will be in charge of
and responsible for carrying out a land-disturbing activity covered by an
approved plan or agreement in lieu of a plan, who (i) holds a Responsible
Land Disturber certificate of competence, (ii) holds a current certificate
of competence from the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board in the
areas of Combined Administration, Program Administration, Inspection, or
Plan Review, (iii) holds a current Contractor certificate of competence
for erosion and sediment control or (iv) is licensed in Virginia as a
professional engineer, architect, certified landscape architect or land
surveyor pursuant to Article 1 (Sec. 54.1-400 et seq.) of chapter 4 of
title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia, as it may be amended from time to
time.
Single-family detached dwelling. A
noncommercial one-family dwelling unit which is surrounded on all sides by
yards or other open space located on the same lot and which is not
attached to any other dwelling by any means. For purposes of the
definition of a "single-family detached dwelling", the term
"family" shall have the same meaning as is defined in the York
County zoning ordinance, Chapter 24.1 of this Code.
State erosion and sediment control program or state program. The program
administered by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board pursuant to
the Code of Virginia, including regulations designed to minimize erosion
and sedimentation.
State waters. All waters on the surface
and under the ground wholly or partially within or bordering the
Commonwealth or within its jurisdiction.
Transporting. Any moving of earth
materials from one place to another place other than such movement
incidental to grading, when such movement results in destroying the
vegetative ground cover either by tracking or the buildup of earth
materials to the extent that erosion and sedimentation will result from
the soil or earth materials over which such transporting occurs.
(Ord. No. 03-14, 06/17/03) |