Sec. 26.17.04.02. Definitions

A. The following definitions describe the meanings of terms used in the regulations governing construction on nontidal waters and floodplains adopted by the Water Management Administration of the Department of the Environment (Regulations .01-.13), unless the context in which they are used clearly requires a different meaning or a different meaning is prescribed at the point of use. Terms not defined below shall have the meanings given to them in the relevant statutes or, if not defined in statutes, the meanings attributed by common use. The terms "Administration", "Department", "person", and "waters of the State" are defined in the Environment Article, Title 5, Subtitle 1, Annotated Code of Maryland. The definitions for these terms are provided as a convenience, but persons affected by the Department's regulations should be aware that these definitions are subject to amendment by the General Assembly.

B. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

(1) "Administration" means the Water Management Administration.

(2) "Administrative order" means a written notification issued by the Administration pursuant to State law and regulations, requiring, within a time specified, correction of a violation of or compliance with provisions of pertinent law, regulations, permit, or approval.

(3) "Anadromous fish spawning areas" means that portion of the waters of the State identified by the Department as spawning and nursery areas for anadromous fish species.

(4) "Dam" means any obstruction, wall, or embankment, together with its abutments and appurtenant works, if any, in, along, or across any stream, heretofore or hereafter constructed for the purpose of storing or diverting water or for creating a pool upstream of the dam, as determined by the Administration.

(5) "Danger reach" means that area downstream of a dam within which sudden release of waters resulting from failure of the dam during the inflow design flood would cause an artificial flood exceeding the flood that might be expected from the same storm if the dam had not existed.

(6) "Department" means the Department of the Environment.

(7) "Dominant discharge" means the flow rate capacity, in cubic feet per second, of the stream channel considering steady, uniform flow.

(8) "Emergency condition" means a sudden unforeseen occurrence or condition requiring exigency or a circumstance which the Administration determines constitutes a present or imminent danger to the public health or safety or to the environment.

(9) "Floodplain" means that area along or adjacent to a stream or a body of water within the waters of the State that is capable of storing or conveying floodwaters.

(10) "Flood-proofing" means any combination of structural or nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities that are designed so that below the elevation of the 100-year frequency flood event the structure is watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy.

(11) "Freeboard" means the vertical distance to the crest of a dam above the water surface at time of maximum design flow over the spillway.

(12) "General waterway construction permit" means the authorization established by Regulation .10 of this chapter for certain categories of construction activities to take place without an individual waterway construction permit.

(13) "Inflow design flood" means the size of flood coming into the reservoir that is used as a basis for designing various parts of the dam.

(14) "1983 Maryland Standards and Specifications for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control" means the official handbook for sediment control principles, methods, and practices approved by the Administration, which is incorporated by reference under COMAR 26.17.01.11.

(15) "Natural trout waters" means waters having the potential to support or are capable of supporting natural trout populations, including propagation, and their associated food organisms. These waters are designated Use III as indicated in COMAR 26.08.02.08.

(16) "Normal depth" means the maximum vertical distance from the stream bed invert at the upstream toe of the dam to the normal water surface.

(17) "Overflow spillway" means any operating, emergency, or other spillway which discharges with a free water surface over or around the dam as opposed to an orifice, gate, or conduit which discharges through or beneath the dam or nearby ground.

(18) "Owner" means any person or persons and their duly authorized agents, owning, operating, maintaining, or proposing to construct any dam, reservoir, or other obstruction, or to change the course, current, or cross section of any body of water in the State.

(19) "Permit" means authorization by the Administration, pursuant to pertinent law and regulations, describing the required performance for specific activities and operations.

(20) "Permittee" means the person to whom a permit is issued by the Administration.

(21) "Person" means the federal government, the State, any county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the State, or any of their units, or an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other entity.

(22) "Probable maximum flood" means the most severe flood considered possible in a specific region. This may be:

(a) The probable maximum flood as determined by a source acceptable to the Administration; or

(b) Calculated using a rational consideration of the chances of simultaneous occurrence of the maximum of the several elements or conditions which contribute to the flood.

(23) "Recreational trout waters" means cold or warm waters having the potential to hold or support or capable of holding or supporting adult trout for put-and-take fishing, usually seasonal. These waters are designated Use IV as indicated in COMAR 26.08.02.08.

(24) Repair.

(a) "Repair" includes any modification or alteration to a dam, reservoir, waterway obstruction, stream channel, or floodplain when the:

(i) Hydraulic performance or safety of a dam or waterway obstruction is altered or affected;

(ii) Hydraulic performance of a bridge or culvert, stream channel, or floodplain is altered or affected; or

(iii) Use of construction equipment within a flowing stream would be required.

(b) "Repair" does not include ordinary maintenance which does not cause pollution, as defined in COMAR 26.17.01.01B(14), to the waters of the State.

(25) "Reservoir" means any basin, either natural or artificial, used for the collecting or storing of water.

(26) "Standard project flood" means the most severe flood considered reasonably characteristic of the specific region. This is calculated for a specific dam site using one or more of the recognized methods acceptable to the Administration. Usually, this flood will have a magnitude between 40 percent to 60 percent of the probable maximum flood.

(27) "State" means the State of Maryland.

(28) "Substantial improvement" means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure. The term does not include any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing State or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are necessary to insure safe living conditions or any alteration of a structure listed in the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.

(29) "Tractive force" means the shear stress, expressed in pounds per square foot, acting upon the wetted boundary of the stream channel and is expressed as:

psi omicron = delta RS

when psi omicron is the tractive force, delta the unit weight of water in pounds per cubic foot, R the hydraulic radius, and S the longitudinal slope of the stream bed in feet per feet.

(30) "Waters of the State" includes both surface and underground waters within the boundaries of the State subject to its jurisdiction, including that portion of the Atlantic Ocean within the boundaries of the State, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and all ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, public ditches, tax ditches, and public drainage systems within the State, other than those designed and used to collect, convey, or dispose of sanitary sewage. The floodplain of free-flowing waters determined by the Department on the basis of the 100-year flood frequency is included as waters of the State.