Berm - A raised and elongated area of earth or rock for erosion control intended to divert or direct the flow of water.
Best Management Practice (BMP) - A measure that is implemented to protect water quality and reduce the potential for pollution associated with storm water runoff. These could include schedules of activities, prohibitions of practices, general good housekeeping 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, any natural drainage crevice, ditch, water channel, closed systems or catch basins, conveyance or the MS4. 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 storage. Examples of BMPs include erosion control blankets, wattles, and seeding.
Blue Line Streams - Streams that are represented on the most recent version of the United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey 1:24,000 USGS quadrangle maps.
Check dam – A small dam constructed in a ditch or channel to reduce water velocity and control sedimentation.
Channel - A natural or constructed/manmade watercourse with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water. Channel flow is water that is flowing within the limits of the defined channel.
Class B Rip Rap – A type of stone used to control erosion. Class B is typically between 5 and 12 inches in diameter.
Clean Water Act (CWA) - Federal regulations (33 U.S.C - 1251 et seq. and any subsequent amendments thereto) that prohibit the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States unless such discharge is in accordance with an approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
Clearing - Any activity that removes vegetative surface cover.
Conduit - Pipe used for transporting the flow of water
Construction Activity - Any activities subject to NPDES construction permits issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES). Currently these include construction projects resulting in land disturbance of one (1) acre or more. Such activities include, but are not limited to, clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating and demolition.
Construction General Permit - A permit issued by SCDES for the construction or alteration of ground improvements and structures for the control of erosion, runoff, and grading.
Conveyance - A Natural or man-made channel or pipe used to transport concentrated flows of water. These include, but are not limited to, any of the following: blue line streams, channel, drainage basin, drainage way, drainage/dry well, ephemeral stream, flood plain, public storm drain, storm drainage system, waterbody, watercourse or waterway.
Corrugated – Alternating ridges and grooves, creating a series of parallel, raised lines. This design increases the strength and rigidity of the material, making it ideal for construction applications. Example: A corrugated metal pipe.
Critical Area - A site difficult to stabilize due to exposed subsoil, steep slope, extent of exposure or other conditions. Critical areas may also contain the presence of populations of sensitive or legally protected organisms.
Critical Flood Area - A watershed that has a FEMA Zone "A," or "AE" within the site or a location of historical flooding of roads or structures.
Cut - An excavation. The difference between a point on the existing elevation and a designated point of lower elevation on the final grade.
D50 – Stands for “Diameter 50%”. This is a measurement of the median particle size in a distribution, or the size at which 50% is below the measurement. For example, Class B rip rap might be specified as having D20 of at least 6 inches, meaning 20% of the stones have a diameter of 6 inches or larger.
Deficiency - A failure or inadequacy in a plan, system, or process such that performance is hindered or decreased.
Delineation – The action of identifying the exact position of a border or boundary.
Design Storm - A rainfall event of specific return frequency and duration that is used to calculate the runoff volume and peak discharge rate for a BMP.
Detention - The temporary storage of storm runoff in a BMP prior to discharge into receiving waters.
Developer - Any individual, firm, corporation, limited liability company, association, partnership, trust or other business entity involved in commencing proceedings to affect development of land for developers or others.
Drainage Area - Synonymous with Watershed. The land area from which surface runoff drains into a stream channel or surface water.
Ephemeral Stream – A stream or part of a stream that flows only in direct response to precipitation or snowmelt. Its channel is always above the water table.
Erosion - The process of wearing away of land surface by the action of wind, water, gravity, ice, or any combination of those forces.
Erosion Control Blanket (ECB) - A fibrous blanket made from straw, jute, excelsior, or other natural materials that is staked down and trenched into prepared soil to reduce wind and water erosion.
Excavation - Any activity by which earth, sand, gravel, rock, or any other similar material is dug into, cut, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced, and relocated. This includes the cavity or absence of material that remains.
Existing Grade - The slope or elevation of existing ground surface prior to cutting or filling.
Fill - Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock, or other material is placed, pushed, dumped, pulled, transported, or moved to a new location above the natural surface of the ground or on top of the stripped surface, and including the conditions resulting therefrom. The difference in elevation between a point on the existing elevation and a designated point of higher elevation on the final grade.
Finished Grade - The final slope or elevation of the ground surface after cutting or filling.
Gabion - A wire basket or cage filled with rock or other non-erodible material.
Grading - Any stripping, cutting, filling, or stockpiling of earth or land, including the land in its cut or filled condition, to create new grades.
Grubbing - The process of removing roots, stumps and low growing vegetation.
Gully - A channel or miniature valley cut by concentrated runoff but through which water commonly flows only during and immediately after heavy rains or during the melting of snow. The distinction between a gully and a rill is one of depth. A gully is sufficiently deep so that it would not be obliterated by normal tillage operations, whereas a rill is of lesser depth and would be smoothed by ordinary tillage.
Hazardous Materials - Any material, including any substance, waste or combination thereof which because of its quantity, concentration, physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to a potential hazard to human health or safety, property, or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed.
Illegal Discharge – Synonymous with Illicit Discharge. Any direct or indirect non-storm water discharge to the MS4, or conveyance. An illegal discharge can also include storm water discharges that have not been properly treated by Best Management Practices as outlined in the approved Permit.
Impermeable - A surface that prevents the infiltration of water.
Impervious Surface - A term applied to any ground or structural surface that water cannot penetrate or through which water penetrates with great difficulty.
Land Disturbance - The purposeful act of clearing, grubbing, excavating, or grading; disrupting ground surface by or for construction activities, including construction access/road, staging, and storage sites producing significant areas of exposed soil and soil piles.
Level Spreader – A channel or bunker, typically made from concrete, at a zero percent grade across a slope. Level spreaders spread out concentrated flow into a sheet flow and reduce water velocity. Level spreaders require specialized maintenance to function properly.
MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) - A system of inlets, conveyances, storage basins and outfalls in which storm water is introduced, conveyed, stored or discharged. These systems are owned by a public entity such as a city or town.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) - EPA's program to control the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States. NPDES is a part of the Federal CWA, which requires point and non-point source dischargers to obtain permits. These permits are referred to as NPDES permits.
Non-Point Source - Pollution for which the source and origin is difficult to locate or originates from multiple sources.
Notice of Intent (NOI) - A formal notice to SCDES that a construction project seeking coverage under a General Permit is about to begin.
Notice of Termination (NOT) - A formal notice to SCDES that a construction project is complete and seeking release for the EPSC and the State General Permit.
Outfall - Outfalls are pipelines or tunnels that discharge storm water to a receiving water body and are typically located near a project’s limits of disturbance.
Perforated - Material that has been pierced or punctured with a series of holes or openings.
Perimeter Controls – A barrier that prevents sediment from leaving a site by filtering sediment-laden runoff or diverting it to a sediment trap or basin.
Permit Phasing - The practice of dividing a large construction project into smaller, sequential phases. Phasing can help reduce risk, project cost, and the amount of active construction area for a given project.
Permittee - The "Person Responsible for the Land Disturbing Activity."
Point Source - A discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, conduit, well, container, from which pollutants are or may be discharged.
Pollutant - Anything that causes or contributes to a violation of applicable water quality standards. Pollutants may include, but are not limited to paints, varnishes, solvents, oil or other automotive fluids, non-hazardous liquid and solid wastes, yard wastes, refuse, rubbish, garbage, litter or other discarded or abandoned objects and accumulations, sediment and detergents so that same may cause or contribute to pollution. Pollutants may also include, but are not limited to floatables, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, hazardous substances and wastes, sewage, fecal coliform and pathogens, dissolved and particulate metals, animal wastes, wastes and residues that result from constructing a building or structure, and noxious or offensive matter of any kind.
Premises - Any building, lot, parcel of land, easement or portion of land, whether improved or unimproved, including adjacent sidewalks and parking strips.
Retention - The holding of runoff without release except by means of evaporation, infiltration, or bypass.
Rill – A small channel formed in the soil created by the erosion of water runoff. Rills often develop into larger channels over time, known as gullies (See Gully).
Riser - A vertical pipe attached to a horizontal drainpipe that is extended through a dike or berm and used to control the discharge.
Sediment - Solid material, both mineral and organic, that in suspension is being transported or has been moved from its site of origin by air, water, or gravity as a product of erosion.
Sediment Basin – Temporary or permanent excavations with specific control structures used on construction sites to capture large volumes of stormwater and eroded material.
Sediment Control - Measures that prevent eroded soil or other material from leaving the site.
Sediment Trap –Typically a small excavation with a rock outlet weir that captures stormwater and eroded material.
Sheet Flow - Water, usually storm runoff, flowing in a thin layer over the ground surface.
Site - A parcel of land where grading work is performed as a single unified operation; A construction site is a designated area where physical work is actively taking place. The term Limits of Construction (LOC) is a term used to delineate the active construction area, not to be confused with Limits of Disturbance (LOD), which is a term used to define the active permitted area.
Sod – Synonymous with Turf. A rectangular piece that has been cut from an area of grass to be relocated to an area of exposed soil, typically transported in sheets or rolled.
Stabilization – A best management practice used to reduce erosion and assist in establishing vegetative ground cover.
Start of Construction - The first land-disturbing activity associated with development, including land preparation such as clearing, grading, and filling.
Storm Drainage System - Drainage infrastructure by which storm water is collected and/or conveyed, including but not limited to, any roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, gutters, curbs, inlets, piped storm drains, pumping facilities, retention and detention basins, natural and human-made or altered drainage channels, reservoirs, drain wells, or other conveyance.
Storm Water - Any surface flow, runoff, ponding or drainage from any form of precipitation.
Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) - A plan required by storm water regulations or permits that includes engineered plans, site map(s), an identification of construction/contractor activities that could cause pollutants in the storm water, and a description of measures or practices to control these pollutants.
Swale – A shallow, open channel that collects and conveys stormwater runoff. Synonymous with ditch.
Temporary Controls - Controls that are regularly maintained as construction progresses, such as check dams and silt fences. These controls are removed prior to the submittal of the NOT.
Temporary Stabilization – The short-term stabilization of disturbed soils.
Undermining – Also known as “piping” or “pipe undermining”, is the phenomena in which the soil or support material beneath a pipe or structural conveyance erodes or washes away.
Vegetative Stabilization - The stabilization of disturbed soils by covering the soil with any of the following materials: permanent seeding for long-term vegetative cover, short-term seeding for temporary vegetative cover, sodding, tree planting, or other plantings.
Washed Stone – Also commonly referred to as #57 stone, wash stone is gravel that has been cleaned or “washed” to remove dirt and dust. #57 is a number that refers to the size sieve that was used to sort the stone. #57 sieve typically produces stones that range from 1 inch to 1.5 inches in size.
Wastewater - Any water or other liquid, other than naturally occurring storm water discharged from premises.
Watercourse - Any body of water or conveyance, including but not limited to lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, streams, drainage basins, or bodies of water.
