§ 52.30. Definitions.  


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  • For the purposes of Chapter 52, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivatives shall have the meaning stated below:

    Applicant is any person who submits an application to the city for a permit pursuant to Chapter 52.

    Architect is a person duly registered or authorized to practice architecture in the State of Minnesota.

    ASTM is the American Society for Testing Materials.

    Bedrock is in place solid rock.

    Bench is a relatively level step excavated into earth material on which fill is to be placed.

    Best management practices (BMP) is a technique or series of techniques which are proven to be effective in controlling runoff, erosion, and sedimentation.

    Borrow is earth material acquired from an off-site location for use in grading on a site.

    City engineer is the City Engineer of the City of Minneapolis and his/her duly authorized designees.

    Civil engineer is a professional engineer registered in the State of Minnesota to practice in the field of civil works.

    Civil engineering is the application of the knowledge of the forces of nature, principles of mechanics and the properties of materials to the evaluation, design and construction of civil works for the beneficial uses of mankind.

    Clearing and grubbing is the cutting and removal of trees, shrubs, bushes, windfalls and other vegetation including removal of stumps, roots, and other remains in the designated areas.

    Commissioner is the commissioner of the Minneapolis Health Department or the commissioner's designee.

    Demolition is any act or process of wrecking or destroying a building or structure as defined in the City of Minneapolis Building Code, Chapter 117, Wrecking.

    Detention facility is a temporary or permanent natural or manmade structure that provides for the temporary storage of stormwater runoff.

    Developer is any person, firm, corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership, state agency, or political subdivision thereof engaged in a land disturbance activity.

    Director of public works is the department head and has the ultimate responsibility and authority for the public works department.

    Erosion is the wearing away of the ground surface as a result of the movement of wind, water, ice, and/or land disturbance activities.

    Erosion and sediment control plan (plan) is a plan which includes a set of best management practices or equivalent measures designed to control surface runoff and erosion and to retain sediment on a particular site during the period in which pre-construction and construction related land disturbances, fills, and soil storage occur, and before final improvements are completed, all in accordance with the specific requirements set forth in section 52.100 of Chapter 52.

    Erosion control inspector is a Minneapolis employee who has in his/her possession a provisional certification for erosion and sediment control plan design sponsored or endorsed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), or who has completed a training program approved by the city engineer.

    Excavation is the mechanical removal of earth material.

    Fill is a deposit of soil or other earth materials placed by artificial means.

    Final erosion and sediment control plan (final plan) is a plan which includes permanent measures and best management practices to control surface runoff and control sediment if not included in the erosion and sediment control plan (plan).

    Floodplain is the one hundred-year floodplain which is that area adjoining a watercourse which could be inundated by a flood that has a one (1) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year and is delineated on the Federal Emergency Management Agency Floodway Maps for Minneapolis.

    General stormwater permit is the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) construction stormwater permit covering anyone conducting a land disturbing activity which disturbs five (5) or more acres of total land area.

    Grade is the vertical location of the ground surface.

    (1)

    Existing grade is the grade prior to grading.

    (2)

    Rough grade is the stage at which the grade approximately conforms to the approved plan.

    (3)

    Finish grade is the final grade of the site which conforms to the approved plan.

    Hennepin Conservation District (HCD) is the Hennepin Conservation District organized and operating under Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 40.

    Issuing authority is the Director of Public Works and the Director of Inspections of the City of Minneapolis and their duly authorized designees.

    Issuing authority for Storm Water Management Plan approval and certification is the city engineer and for registration and maintenance is the commissioner.

    Land disturbance activity is any land change that may result in soil erosion from wind, water and/or ice and the movement of sediments into or upon waters, lands, or rights-of-way within the City of Minneapolis, including but not limited to building demolition, clearing and grubbing, grading, excavating, transporting and filling of land. Land disturbance activity does not include the following:

    (1)

    Minor land disturbance activities including, but not limited to, underground utility repairs, home gardens, minor repairs, and maintenance work which do not disturb more than five hundred (500) square feet of land.

    (2)

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

    (3)

    Emergency work to protect life, limb, or property and emergency repairs. If the land disturbing activity would have required an approved erosion and sediment control plan except for the emergency, then the land area disturbed shall be shaped and stabilized in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 52.

    Landscape architect is a person duly registered or authorized to practice landscape architecture in the State of Minnesota.

    Maintenance project is a non-construction related activity.

    Manual of Standards is a compilation of technical standards and design specifications adopted by the City of Minneapolis Department of Public Works as being proven methods of controlling construction related surface runoff, erosion and sedimentation. This includes the Erosion and Sediment Control Manual as developed by the Hennepin Conservation District of Hennepin County, 1989, and subsequent amendments thereto, and "Protecting Water Quality in Urban Areas" prepared by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), 1989, and subsequent updates.

    MnDOT is the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

    Outfall is the point of discharge to any watercourse from a public or private stormwater drainage system.

    Owner is any person with a legal or equitable interest in the land for which an erosion control permit has been issued.

    Permittee is the applicant in whose name a valid permit is duly issued pursuant to Chapter 52 and his/her agents, employees, and others acting under his/her direction.

    Retention facility is a temporary or permanent natural or manmade structure that provides for the storage of stormwater runoff by means of a permanent pool of water.

    Runoff is rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation water flowing over the ground surface.

    Sediment is soils or other surficial materials transported by surface water as a product of erosion.

    Sedimentation is the process or action of depositing sediment that is determined to have been caused by erosion.

    Select topsoil borrow is the material furnished under MnDOT specification 3877.2 designated as "B" as defined by the Soil Science Society of America.

    Site is the entire area of land on which the land disturbance activity is proposed in the permit application.

    Site plan is a plan or set of plans showing the details of any land disturbance activity of a site including but not limited to the construction of: structures, open and enclosed drainage facilities, stormwater management facilities, parking lots, driveways, curbs, pavements, sidewalks, bike paths, recreational facilities, ground covers, plantings, and landscaping.

    Slope is the incline of a ground surface expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance.

    Soil is naturally occurring surficial deposits overlying bedrock.

    Soils engineer (geotechnical engineer) is an engineer experienced and knowledgeable in the practice of soils engineering (geotechnical) engineering.

    Soils engineering (geotechnical engineering) is the application of the principles of soils mechanics in the investigation, evaluation and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials and the inspection and/or testing of the construction thereof.

    Stripping is any activity which removes or significantly disturbs the vegetative surface cover including clearing, grubbing of stumps and root mat, and topsoil removal.

    Structure is anything manufactured, constructed or erected which is normally attached to or positioned on land, including buildings, portable structures, earthen structures, roads, parking lots, and paved storage areas.

    Surveyor is a person duly registered or authorized to practice land surveying in the State of Minnesota.

    Topsoil is the upper layer of soil.

    Topsoil borrow is the material furnished under MnDOT specification 3877.2 designated as "A" as defined by the Soil Science Society of America.

    Utility is the owner/operator of any underground facility including an underground line, facility, system, and its appurtenances used to produce, store, convey, transmit, or distribute communications, data, electricity, power, heat, gas, oil, petroleum products, water (including stormwater), steam, sewage, and other similar substances.

    Watercourse is any natural or improved stream, river, creek, ditch, channel, canal, conduit, gutter, culvert, drain, gully, swale, or wash in which waters flow either continuously or intermittently.

    Watershed is a region draining to a specific river, river system, or body of water.

    Watershed District/Watershed Management Organization (WMO) is an organization which oversees the activities in a particular watershed as defined by Minnesota Statutes, Sections 103B and 103D.

    Wetlands is a lowland area, such as a marsh, that is saturated with moisture, as defined in Sec. 404, Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1987, or the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act of 1991. (96-Or-042, § 1, 5-10-96; 2013-Or-105, § 2, 12-6-13; Ord. No. 2017-060 , §§ 1, 2, 11-3-17)