Section 12-7-3. Definitions

   As used in this chapter, the term:

   (1) "Board" means the Board of Natural Resources.

   (2) "Buffer" means the area of land immediately adjacent to the banks of state waters in its natural state of vegetation, which facilitates the protection of water quality and aquatic habitat.

   (3) "Commission" means the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

   (4) "Director" means the director of the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources.

   (5) "District" means any one of the soil and water conservation districts of this state.

   (6) "Division" means the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources.

   (7) "Drainage structure" means a device composed of a virtually nonerodible material such as concrete, steel, plastic, or other such material that conveys water from one place to another by intercepting the flow and carrying it to a release point for storm-water management, drainage control, or flood control purposes.

   (8) "Erosion and sediment control plan" or "plan" means a plan for the control of soil erosion and sediment resulting from a land-disturbing activity.

   (9) "Land-disturbing activity" means any activity which may result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state water 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 paragraph (5) of Code Section 12-7-17.

   (9.1) "Larger common plan of development or sale" means a contiguous area where multiple separate and distinct construction activities are occurring under one plan of development or sale. For purposes of this paragraph, "plan" means an announcement; piece of documentation such as a sign, public notice or hearing, sales pitch, advertisement, drawing, permit application, zoning request, or computer design; or physical demarcation such as boundary signs, lot stakes, or surveyor markings, indicating that construction activities may occur on a specific plot.

   (10) "Local issuing authority" means the governing authority of any county or municipality which is certified pursuant to subsection (a) of Code Section 12-7-8.

   (10.1) "Operator" means the party or parties that have:

      (A) Operational control of construction project plans and specifications, including the ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications; or

      (B) Day-to-day operational control of those activities that are necessary to ensure compliance with a storm-water pollution prevention plan for the site or other permit conditions, such as a person authorized to direct workers at a site to carry out activities required by the storm-water pollution prevention plan or to comply with other permit conditions.

   (11) "Person" means 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.

   (12) "Qualified personnel" means any person who meets or exceeds the education and training requirements of Code Section 12-7-19.

   (13) "Roadway drainage structure" means a device, such as a bridge, culvert, or ditch, composed of a virtually nonerodible material such as concrete, steel, plastic, or other such material that conveys water under a roadway by intercepting the flow on one side of a traveled way consisting of one or more defined lanes, with or without shoulder areas, and carrying water to a release point on the other side.

   (14) "Soil and water conservation district approved plan" means an erosion and sediment control plan approved in writing by a soil and water conservation district.

   (15) "State general permit" means the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System general permit or permits for storm-water runoff from construction activities as is now in effect or as may be amended or reissued in the future pursuant to the state's authority to implement the same through federal delegation under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, 33 U.S.C. Section 1251, et seq., and subsection (f) of Code Section 12-5-30.

   (16) "State waters" includes any and all rivers, streams, creeks, branches, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, drainage systems, springs, wells, and other bodies of surface or subsurface water, natural or artificial, lying within or forming a part of the boundaries of the state, which are not entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single individual, partnership, or corporation.

Ga. L. 1975, p. 994, § 3; Ga. L. 1980, p. 942, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 12; Ga. L. 1988, p. 269, § 24; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1295, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1650, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1430, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 224, § 5.