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Unless the particular provision or the context otherwise requires, wherever the following terms are used in this chapter, they shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section:

“Agricultural operation” means any land related activity for the purpose of cultivating or raising plants grown in the ground or raising animals or conserving or protecting lands for such purposes and is not surface mining or borrow pit operations.

“Bedding plane” means a nearly flat surface, which may have been tilted up or folded by tectonic forces, separating two beds (or layers or strata) of sedimentary rock. Each bedding plane marks the end of one deposit and the beginning of another having different characteristics (also known as strata, or beds).

“Bedrock” is the solid undisturbed rock in place either exposed at the ground surface or beneath surficial deposits of loose rock or soil.

“Bench” means a relatively level step excavated into sloping natural ground on which engineered fill or embankment fill is to be placed.

“Best management practices” means generally accepted grading, erosion control and other construction trade processes and procedures which have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people, and been demonstrated repeatedly to be both efficient and effective. See “Erosion & Sediment Control Guidelines for Developing Areas of the Sierra Foothills and Mountains” prepared by the High Sierra RC&D Council (October 1991).

BMP. See “Best management practices.”

“Board” is the Board of Supervisors of Sierra County.

“California Environmental Quality Act” is the fundamental environmental law and policy in California enacted by the Legislature in 1970 (Cal. Pub. Res. Code §§ 21000 et seq.). CEQA requires public agency decision makers to document and consider the environmental implications of their actions. The primary objectives of CEQA are to disclose to state and local government decision makers and the public any potentially significant environmental effects of proposed activities, and to identify ways to avoid or reduce such effects.

CEQA. See “California Environmental Quality Act.”

“Civil engineer” is a professional engineer currently registered as a civil engineer by the state of California.

“Compaction” is the increase of density of a soil or rock fill by mechanical means.

Cut. See “Excavation (cut).”

“Days” means calendar days, except that such time limits shall extend to the following working day where the last of the specified number of days falls on a Saturday, Sunday or any county holiday.

“Depth of excavation (cut)” means the vertical dimension from the exposed cut surface to the original ground surface.

“Depth of fill” means the vertical dimension from the exposed fill surface to the original ground surface.

“Director” means the head of the Planning Department of Sierra County.

“Director of Environmental Health” means the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sierra County, California acting either directly or through authorized deputies.

“Director of Planning” means the Director of Planning and Building Departments of Sierra County, California, acting either directly or through authorized deputies.

“Drainage way” means a depression in the earth’s surface such as swales, ravines, gullies, draws, hollows or ditches in which surface waters collect for drainage, but which otherwise are destitute of water.

“Earthwork and paving contractor” means a Class C-12 specialty contractor currently licensed by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Contractors State License Board, who digs, moves, and places material forming the surface of the earth, other than water, in such a manner that a cut, fill, excavation, grade, trench, backfill, or tunnel (if incidental thereto) can be executed, including the use of explosives for these purposes. This classification includes the mixing, fabricating and placing of paving and any other surfacing materials. An earthwork and paving contractor is neither a “general engineering contractor” nor a civil, geotechnical, soils, or structural engineer, unless separately and currently licensed as such by the state of California’s Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BPELS).

Embankment. See “Fill (embankment).”

“Engineering geologist” means a currently registered geologist certified as an engineering geologist by the state of California.

“Engineering geology” means the application of geologic knowledge in the investigation and evaluation of naturally occurring rock and soil for use in the design of civil works.

“Ephemeral stream” means a stream or part of a stream that flows only in direct response to precipitation; it receives little or no water from springs, melting snow, or other sources; and, its channel is at all times above the water table.

“Erosion” means the wearing away and transportation of earth material as a result of the movement of wind, water, or ice.

“Excavation (cut)” means the removal of naturally occurring earth materials by mechanical means, and includes the conditions resulting therefrom.

“Existing grade” means the elevation of the ground surface at a given point prior to excavating or filling.

“Expansive soil” means any soil which exhibits significant expansive properties as determined by a geotechnical engineer or civil engineer in a report approved by the Planning Department or County Engineer.

“Fill (embankment)” means the deposit of soil, rock or other materials placed by man and includes the conditions resulting therefrom.

“Finish grade” means the final grade of the site after excavating or filling which conforms to the approved final grading plan. The finish grade is also the grade at the top of a paved surface.

“Foliation plane” means a linear plane formed in metamorphic rock caused by heat and pressure. The planes in the Sierra foothills usually trend north-south and are tilted at a steep slope with folds and intrusions.

“General engineering contractor” means a Class A contractor currently licensed by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, Contractors State License Board, whose principal contracting business is in connection with fixed works requiring specialized engineering knowledge and skill, including the following divisions or subjects: irrigation, drainage, water power, water supply, flood control, inland waterways, harbors, docks and wharves, shipyards and ports, dams and hydroelectric projects, levees, river control and reclamation works, railroads, highways, streets and roads, tunnels, airports and airways, sewers and sewage disposal plants and systems, waste reduction plants, bridges, overpasses, underpasses and other similar works, pipelines and other systems for the transmission of petroleum and other liquid or gaseous substances, parks, playgrounds and other recreational works, refineries, chemical plants and similar industrial plants requiring specialized engineering knowledge and skill, powerhouses, power plants and other utility plants and installations, mines and metallurgical plants, land leveling and earthmoving projects, excavating, grading, trenching, paving and surfacing work and cement and concrete works in connection with the above-mentioned fixed works. A “general engineering contractor” is not a civil, geotechnical, soils, or structural engineer, unless separately and currently licensed as such by the state of California’s Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BPELS).

“Geologic hazard” means any condition in naturally occurring earth materials, which may endanger life, health or property.

“Geotechnical engineer” means a civil engineer registered by the state of California who is qualified in the field of soil mechanics and soil engineering and has the authority to use the title “soils engineer.”

“Geotechnical engineering” means the application of the principles of soil mechanics in the investigation, evaluation and design of civil works involving the use of earth materials and may include the inspection, testing and construction thereof.

“Grade” means the vertical location of the ground surface.

Grade, existing. See “existing grade.”

Grade, rough. “Rough grade” means the stage at which the grade approximately conforms to the approved plan.

“Grading” means any land excavation or filling or combination thereof, or the removal, plowing under or burial of vegetative groundcover.

“Grading contractor” means a person who is either currently licensed by the state of California as a Class A “general engineering contractor” or a Class C-12 “earthwork and paving contractor” or one who is exempt from a license but has been additionally insured by the owner of a grading project or the owner him/herself who operates to perform a grading project subject to this chapter.

“Grading plan” means a plan prepared in accordance with this chapter showing grading and related work.

“Grading work” is grading and related work, such as, but not limited to, drainage improvements and erosion and sediment control.

“Hazardous materials” is as defined in Cal. Health & Safety Code § 25501 et seq.

“High water line” is the line found by examining the bed and banks and ascertaining where the presence and action of water are so common and usual, and so long continued in all ordinary years, as to mark upon the soil of the bed a character distinct from that of the banks, evidenced by: a clear natural line impressed on the bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, or the presence of litter and debris, etc.

“Intermittent stream” means a stream that flows only when it receives water from rainfall runoff or springs, or from some surface source such as melting snow.

“Joint” means a fracture in rock that is produced by expansion, contraction, and tectonic forces, and along which there has been no movement.

“Keyway” means a special backfilled excavation, which is constructed beneath the toe area of a planned fill slope on sloping ground to improve the stability of the slope.

“Landscape architect” means a landscape architect registered by the state of California.

“Levee” means a manmade structure, usually an earthen or concrete-reinforced earthen embankment, designed and constructed to contain, control or divert the flow of water so as to provide some level of protection from temporary flooding.

“Level, land leveling operation” means the physical movement of rock or soil which results in a change in the topography of the land, which results in the land being more level than before.

Lot. See “Parcel (lot).”

“NPDES” means the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, a federal program regulating storm water discharges pursuant to Sections 307, 402, 318 and 405 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.), as such Act may be amended from time to time.

Operator. See “Grading contractor.”

“Overland flow” means and includes flow over planar surfaces, including but not limited to roofs, streets, lawns, parking lots and fields.

“Owner” means the person shown as the legal owner of the property on the latest equalized assessment roll in the office of the County Assessor.

“Parcel (lot)” means land described as a lot or parcel in a recorded deed or shown as a lot or parcel on a subdivision map or parcel map on file in the County Recorder’s office.

“Perennial stream” means a stream that normally has water in its channel at all times.

“Permit” means an approved grading permit issued pursuant to this chapter authorizing certain grading work.

“Permittee” means any person to whom a permit is issued pursuant to this chapter.

“Person” means any individual, firm, corporation or public agency whether principal, agent, employee or otherwise.

“Planning Department” means the agency which provides planning and direction over those county functions that provide land use planning, management of natural resources, building, inspection and code enforcement services, and other permit and land use services to the citizens of Sierra County. The agency includes the departments of Planning and Building and Land Development core functions such as infrastructure planning, surveying and mapping, permits, construction.

“Planning Director” means the director of the Planning Department of Sierra County, California, acting directly or through his or her authorized agents.

“Rainy season” means the period of the year during which there is a substantial risk of rainfall. For the purpose of this chapter, the rainy season is defined as from October 15th to May 1st, inclusive.

“Record drawings” means drawings for improvements or grading that show changes made during construction.

“Retaining wall” means any constructed wall that holds back earth (or a liquid), and where there is an abrupt change in elevation.

“Sediment” means any material transported or deposited by water, including soil debris or other foreign matter.

“Site” means any lot or parcel of land or combination of contiguous lots or parcels of land, whether held separately or joined together in common ownership or occupancy, where grading is to be performed or has been performed.

“Slope” means an inclined ground surface the inclination of which may be expressed as the ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance or as the ratio of vertical distance per 100 feet horizontal distance when given as a percent.

“Soil” means all earth material of any origin that overlies bedrock and may include the decomposed zone of bedrock, which can be excavated readily by mechanical equipment.

“Soils engineer” means a civil engineer currently registered by the state of California who is qualified licensed in the field of soil mechanics and soil engineering and has the authority to use the title “geotechnical engineer,” “soil engineer,” or “soils engineer.”

“Storm water pollution prevention plan” (SWPPP) is a planning document developed and implemented by an applicant generally in conjunction with a notice of intent (NOI) to comply with permit requirements under the State Water Resources Control Board’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for storm water discharges associated with construction activity, under Water Quality Order 99-08-DWQ and subsequent amendments thereto.

“Storm water runoff” means water runoff due to storms (rain, snow melt, etc.).

“Stream environment zone” means perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams, meadows and marshes, and other areas of near-surface water influence.

“Structure” means that which is built or constructed or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined in some definite manner.

“Surcharge” means the additional loading acting above and behind a retaining wall other than from the normal active soil pressures; examples of surcharges include but are not limited to vehicles, buildings, snow, sloped backfill, stockpiles, construction staging areas and equipment.

SWPPP. See “Storm water pollution prevention plan.”

“Terrace” means a relatively level step constructed in the face of a graded slope surface for drainage, maintenance, or other purposes.

“Vegetation” means plant life or total plant cover of an area.

“Vehicular way” means a private roadway or driveway.

“Watercourse” means any natural or artificial channel flowing continuously or intermittently in a definite direction and course or used for the holding, delay or storage of waters, which functions at any time to convey or store storm water runoff.

Work. See “Grading work.”