54.40. - Definitions.
For the purposes of Chapter 54, the following terms, phrases, words, and their derivatives shall have the meanings stated below:
Applicant is the individual or entity proposing a development, project, undertaking, or land-disturbing activity, including common plans of development or sale or phased or connected actions.
Best management practices—see stormwater best management practices.
City engineer is the city engineer of the City of Minneapolis and their duly authorized designees.
Common plan of development or sale is one (1) proposed plan for a contiguous area where multiple separate and distinct land-disturbing activities may be taking place at different times on different schedules within a two-year period but under one (1) proposed plan. One (1) plan is broadly defined to include designs, permit applications, advertisements, or physical demarcations indicating that land-disturbing activities may occur. This are also referred to as connected or phased actions, as defined herein.
Connected actions are actions that are also defined in a common plan of development or sale; or two (2) or more projects, regardless of ownership, determined by the city engineer to be related in any of the following ways:
(1) One (1) project directly necessitates the other.
(2) One (1) project is a prerequisite for the other.
(3) Neither project is justified by itself.
Development is any human-induced change to improved or unimproved real estate (public or private). This includes (but is not limited to) construction, installation, or expansion of a building or other structure; land division; street construction; drilling; and site alteration that involves dredging, grading, excavating, filling, clearing, or paving of parking/storage facilities. Development encompasses new development, redevelopment, and nonlinear projects.
Green infrastructure is a wide array of practices at multiple scales that manage wet weather through volume reduction and maintain or restore natural hydrology by infiltrating and evapotranspiring or harvesting and using stormwater.
Guide—see the Minneapolis Stormwater and Sanitary Sewer Guide, section 54.30.
Impervious surface is one that does not allow rainfall to soak into the ground, including (but not limited to) rooftops and paved areas such as roads, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, and plazas.
Land-disturbing activities are any activities that result in a change or alteration in the existing ground cover (both vegetative and nonvegetative) and/or the existing topography. Land-disturbing activities include (but are not limited to) the following: development, redevelopment, demolition, construction, reconstruction, clearing, grading, filling, stockpiling, excavating, and constructing borrow pits.
Linear project is the construction or reconstruction of public roads, trails, sidewalks, or rail lines.
Mill and overlay is the practice of resurfacing a paved area by first removing the pavement surface and a portion of the existing pavement base material followed by the placement of new pavement base material and surface. Projects that do not disturb the underlying soil below the base material are considered a mill and overlay. An overlay of an existing impervious surface that includes raising the grade of the impervious surface more than six (6) inches is not considered a mill and overlay.
Owner is any person with a legal or equitable interest in the land that includes one (1) or more stormwater best management practices.
Person is any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, franchisee, association, or governmental entity.
Phased actions are two (2) or more projects undertaken by the same proposer that the city engineer determines:
(1) Will have environmental effects on the same geographic area; and
(2) Are substantially certain to be undertaken sequentially over a limited period of time.
Pollutant is an elemental or physical material that can be mobilized or dissolved by water or air and creates a negative impact on human health and/or the environment. See the Guide for stormwater and other emerging pollutants.
Project is an undertaking that involves land-disturbing activities, including phased or connected actions or a common plan of development or sale.
Public waters are waters identified under Minnesota Statute, Section 103G.005, Subdivision 15.
Receiving water body is the initial lake, stream, river, or wetland into which site runoff is conveyed whether directly or through the public storm drain system.
Regional stormwater BMP is a structure or device designed, approved by the city engineer, and constructed to capture and manage stormwater runoff from a large area or multiple properties.
Responsible party is the property owner and agents, employees, and others acting under the property owner's direction.
Sediment is soil or other particulate matter that can be transported by stormwater.
Site is the land on which the project is located, including a common plan of development or sale or phased or connected actions.
Storm sewer system refers to infrastructure including (but not limited to) pumping stations; enclosed storm sewers; outfall sewers; surface drains; street, curb, and alley improvements associated with storm or surface water improvements; natural and created wetlands; channels; ditches; rivers; streams; wet- and dry-bottom basins; pocket ponds; multiple pond systems; settling basins; infiltration trenches or basins; filter systems; bioretention areas; dry or wet swales; grass channels; rooftop detention; skimming devices; grit chambers; and other flood-control facilities. These systems work to collect, transport, convey, pump, treat, control, store, manage, and dispose of storm or surface water or pollutants originating from or carried by storm or surface water.
Stormwater means water that is generated by rainfall or snowmelt.
Stormwater banking is an approach where water quality or volume reductions in excess of the standards for is use on future projects unable to meet the standards, as calculated in compliance with a stormwater banking program and approved by the city engineer.
Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are structural and nonstructural practices meant to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants from the storm sewer system to public waters. BMPs that use the properties of vegetation or soil to remove stormwater pollutants through physical and biological processes are often referred to as "green infrastructure." A partial list of nonstructural BMPs includes organic litter management, street or parking lot sweeping, and construction phasing to minimize the length of time soil areas are exposed. A partial list of structural BMPs and devices includes pond systems, detention facilities, infiltration cells ("rain gardens"), infiltration trenches, filtration systems, vegetated channels, grit chambers, and oil/water separators. BMPs are practices, techniques, or measures that are effective in managing one (1) or more of the following:
(1) Stormwater runoff rate;
(2) Stormwater runoff volume; or
(3) Pollutants and sediments conveyed by stormwater runoff.
Stormwater infiltration refers to passage of stormwater into the ground through soil.
Stormwater management plan (Plan) is the set of drawings, calculations, operation and maintenance plans, and other documents that constitute all the information and specifications for the drainage systems, structures, concepts, and techniques that will be used to control stormwater as required by this chapter and the Guide.
Stormwater runoff is water generated by rainfall or snowmelt that does not soak into the ground but flows over surfaces.
Wetlands are waters identified under Minnesota Statute, Section 103G.005, Subdivision 19.
(Ord. No. 2021-013, § 1, 3-12-21)
