§ 2102. Definitions.
For purposes of this article, the terms listed below shall be defined as follows.
(a)
Board. Bulloch County Board of Commissioners.
(b)
Buffer or buffer area. A landscaped open area and/or screened area designed to separate incompatible uses. See also "river corridor."
(c)
Comprehensive plan. The Joint Comprehensive Plan for Bulloch County, the Town of Brooklet, the Town of Portal, and the Town of Register, Georgia, dated April 1993, and as may be amended.
(d)
Contaminant. Any "regulated substance," as defined by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as in effect on the date of passage of this article and as amended from time to time, and all petroleum products, including gasoline, oil, waste oils, and other fuels as well as their hazardous constituents.
(e)
County. Bulloch County, Georgia.
(f)
Hazardous material. Any "contaminant" as defined in this article, and any hazardous chemical for which a material safety data sheet must be filed under 42 USC 11021 and 11022.
(g)
Hazardous waste. Any solid waste which has been defined as a hazardous waste in regulations promulgated by the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency according to federal act, which are in force and effect on February 1, 1988, codified as 40 CFR § 261.3.
(h)
Land-disturbing activity. Any activity which may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state waters or onto lands within the state, including, but not limited to, clearing, dredging, grading, excavating, transporting, and filling of land but not including agricultural practices as described in section 6.5-28, paragraph 5, of the Bulloch County Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance, 1992, as amended.
(i)
Land uses existing prior to the effective date of this article. Any land use or land disturbing activity, including all human endeavors directly associated with such use or activity, which falls within one of the following categories prior to the effective date of this article (July 6, 1999):
(1)
The use or activity is completed;
(2)
The use or activity is under construction;
(3)
The use or activity is fully approved by the county;
(4)
All materials for the use or activity have been submitted for approval by the county; or
(5)
The property is zoned for such use or activity and expenditures in excess of $2,500.00 have been made in preparation for construction in accordance with such zoning.
(j)
Natural vegetative buffer or buffer area. A river corridor containing the flora native to that area. Natural vegetative buffers are areas within 100 feet on either side of the banks of a protected river. The natural floras for specific areas are described in Georgia Geologic Survey Bulletin 114, "The Natural Environments of Georgia." Habitats for endangered and threatened species may require human management of the river corridor in order to maintain those species.
(k)
Perennial river. A river or section of a river that flows continuously throughout the year.
(l)
Person. Any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, state agency, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state, any interstate body or any other legal entity.
(m)
Protected river. Any perennial river or watercourse with an average annual flow of at least 400 cubic feet per second as determined by appropriate U.S. Geological Survey documents. In the county, the Ogeechee River is a protected river.
(n)
Public utility or utilities. A service or services provided by a public utility company or a private entity which provides such service or services and including all equipment and structures necessary to provide such services.
(o)
River bank. The rising ground, bordering a river, which serves to confine the water to the natural channel during the normal course of flow.
(p)
River corridor. All land, including islands, not regulated under the Metropolitan River Protection Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-440 et seq., or the Coastal Marshland Protection Act, O.C.G.A. § 12-5-280 et seq., in areas of a protected river and being within 100 feet horizontally on both sides of the river as measured from the river banks. The 100-foot buffer shall be measured horizontally from the uppermost part of the river bank, usually marked by a break in slope. Although not within the measured 100-foot wide buffer, the area between the top of the bank and the edge of the river shall be treated by local governments in the same manner as the river corridor. Because stream channels move due to natural processes such as meandering, river bank erosion, and jumping of channels, the river corridor may shift with time. For the purpose of this article, the river corridor shall be considered to be fixed at its position at the beginning of each review period for the local comprehensive plan as established by the department of community affairs. Any shift in the location of the protected river after the start of the review period will require a revision of the boundaries of the river corridor at the time of the next review by the department of community affairs.
(q)
Sensitive natural area. Any area, as identified now or hereafter by the department of natural resources, which contains one or more of the following:
(1)
Habitat, including nesting sites, occupied by rare or endangered species;
(2)
Rare or exemplary natural communities;
(3)
Significant landforms, hydroforms, or geological features; or
(4)
Other areas so designated by the department of natural resources, and which are sensitive to physical or biological alteration.
(r)
Single-family dwelling. A single residential detached building, manufactured home or site-built, designed for or containing one dwelling unit.
(s)
Surface mining. Any activity constituting all or part of a process for the removal of minerals, ores, and dimension stone, and other solid matter for sale or for processing or for consumption in the regular operation of a business.
(Ord. of 7-6-99)