§ 6-3. Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

Administrator.\ The official designated by the board of supervisors to serve as its agent to administer this chapter. The administrator is also referred to in this chapter as the program administrator.

Agreement in lieu of a plan.\ A contract between the plan-approving authority and the owner or his designee, which specifies conservation measures and/or methods that shall be implemented in the construction, development or improvement of a residential lot; 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.

Board.\ The State Water Control Board.

Certified inspector.\ An employee or agent of a program authority who (i) holds a certificate of competence from the board in the area of project inspection or (ii) is enrolled in the board's training program for project inspection and successfully completes the program within one year after enrollment.

Certified plan reviewer.\ An employer or agent of a program authority who (i) holds a certificate of competence from the board in the area of plan review, or (ii) is enrolled in the board's training program for plan review and successfully completes the program within one year after enrollment, or (iii) is licensed as a professional engineer, architect, certified landscape architect or land surveyor as defined pursuant to Article 1 (section 45.1-400 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, or professional soil scientist as defined in Section 54.1-2200 [Code of Virginia].

Certified program administrator.\ An employee or agent of a program authority who (i) holds a certificate of competence from the board in the area of program administration or (ii) is enrolled in the board's training program for program administration and successfully completes the 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.

Department\ or DEQ. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

District\ or Peanut Soil and Water Conservation District. A political subdivision of this Commonwealth organized in accordance with the provisions of Articles 3 (section 10.1-506, et seq.) of Chapter 5 of Title 10.1 of the Code of Virginia as amended.

Erosion and Sediment Control Plan.\ A document containing material for the conservation of soil and water resources of a lot or group of lots of land. It may include appropriate maps, an appropriate soil and water plan inventory and management information with needed interpretations, and a record of decisions contributing to conservation treatment. The "plan" shall contain all major conservation decisions to assure that the entire lot or lots of lands will be so treated to achieve the conservation objectives.

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 ten thouand square feet or less used for residential purposes or shorelines where erosion results from wave action or other coastal processes.

Excavating.\ Any digging, scooping or other methods of removing earth material.

Filling.\ Any depositing or stockpiling of earth materials.

Grading.\ Any excavating or filling of earth materials or any combination thereof, including the land in its excavated or filled condition.

Land-disturbing activity.\ Any manmade change to the land surface that may result in soil erosion from water or wind and 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 terms 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 construction of the building to be served by the septic tank system;

5.

Surface or deep mining activities authorized under a permit issued by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy;

6.

Exploration or drilling for oil and gas, including the well site, roads, feeder lines and off-site disposal areas;

7.

Tilling, planting or harvest of agricultural, horticultural or forest crops, or livestock feedlot operations, including engineering operations and agricultural engineering as follows: construction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, desilting basins, dikes, ponds not required to comply with the Dam Safety Act, Article 2, (Sec. 10.1-604 et seq.) of Chapter 6, 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 (Sec. 10.1-1100 et seq.) of this title or is converted to bona fide agricultural or improved pasture use as described in subsection B of Section 10.1-1163;

8.

Repair or rebuilding of the tracks, right-of-way, bridges, communication facilities and other related structures and facilities of a railroad company;

9.

Disturbed land area of less than ten thousand square feet in size or two thousand five hundred square feet in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed;

10.

Installation of fence and sign posts or telephone and electric poles and other kinds of posts or poles;

11.

Shoreline erosion control projects on tidal waters when all of the land-disturbing activities are within the regulatory authority of and approved by local wetlands boards, 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; and

12.

Emergency work to protect life, limb or property, and emergency repairs; however, 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.\ For purposes of this chapter, a permit issued by the county in accordance with Chapter 14A of the Isle of Wight County Code.

Local erosion and sediment control program or local control program.\ An outline of the various methods employed by a district or locality to regulate land-disturbing activities and thereby minimize erosion and sedimentation in compliance with the State Program and may include such items as local ordinances, policies and guidelines, technical materials, inspection, enforcement and evaluation.

Natural channel design concepts.\ The utilization of engineering analysis and fluvial geomorphic processes to create, rehabilitate, restore, or stabilize an open conveyance system for the purpose of creating or recreating a stream that conveys its bankfull storm event within its banks and allows larger flows to access its bankfull bench and its floodplain.

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.

Peak flow rate.\ The maximum instantaneous flow from a given storm condition at a particular location.

Permittee.\ The person to whom the 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 commonwealth, any interstate body, or any other legal entity.

Plan approving authority.\ Shall mean the County of Isle of Wight Utility Services Department, as may be assisted by consulting services, responsible for determining the adequacy of a conservation plan submitted for land-disturbing activities on a lot or lots of lands and for approving the plan.

Program authority.\ The County of Isle of Wight, which has adopted a soil erosion and sediment control program that has been approved by the board.

Residential lot.\ For the purposes of this chapter, a parcel of land used primarily for occupancy by one family.

Responsible land-disturber.\ Means individual from the project or development team, who will be in charge of and responsible for carrying out 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 board in the areas of combined administration, program administration, inspection, or plan review, (iii) or is licensed in Virginia as a professional engineer, architect, certified landscape architect or land surveyor as defined pursuant to Article 1 (Sec. 45.1-400 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 54.1.

Runoff volume.\ The volume of water that runs off the land development project from a prescribed storm event.

State Erosion and Sediment Control Program\ or State Program. The program administered by the board pursuant to the State Code 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 jurisdictions.

Subdivision.\ For the purposes of this chapter, this term shall have the same meaning as set forth in Appendix A of the Isle of Wight County Code.;p0; Town.\ An incorporated town.

Transporting.\ Any moving of earth materials from one place to another, 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.

Water quality volume.\ The volume equal to the first one-half inch of runoff multiplied by the impervious surface of the land development project. (4-19-07; 11-11-08; 4-21-16.)