Page 6 of 45
It is the desire of Jackson Township to protect and maintain the native vegetation in riparian and wetland areas by implementing specifications for the establishment, protection and maintenance of vegetation along all stream systems within our jurisdictional authority.
The purpose of this ordinance is to establish minimal acceptable requirements for the design of buffers to protect the streams, wetlands and floodplains of Jackson Township; to protect the water quality of watercourses, reservoirs, lakes, and other significant water resources within Jackson Township; to protect (Jurisdiction’s) riparian and aquatic ecosystems; and to provide for the environmentally sound use of Jackson Township’s land resources.
Active Channel: The area of the stream channel that is subject to flows of at least two weeks' duration annually, and that includes the portion of the channel below where the floodplain flattens.
Best Management Practices (BMPs): Conservation practices or management measures which control soil loss and reduce water quality degradation caused by nutrients, animal wastes, toxins, sediment, and runoff.
Buffer: A vegetated area, including trees, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation, which exists or is established to protect a stream system, lake, reservoir or coastal estuarine area. Alteration of this natural area is strictly limited.
Development: 1) The improvement of property for any purpose involving building; 2) Subdivision, or the division of a tract or parcel of land in to 2 or more parcels; 3) the combination of any two or more lots, tracts, or parcels of property for any purpose; 4) the preparation of land for any of the above purposes.
Non-Tidal Wetland: Those areas not influenced by tidal fluctuations that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
Non-point Source Pollution: Pollution which is generated by various land use activities rather than from an identifiable or discrete source, and is conveyed to waterways through natural processes, such as rainfall, storm runoff, or ground water seepage rather than direct discharge.
One Hundred Year Floodplain: The area of land adjacent to a stream that is subject to inundation during a storm event that has a recurrence interval of one hundred (100) years.
Pollution: Any contamination or alteration of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any waters that will render the waters harmful or detrimental to: public health, safety or welfare; domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate beneficial uses; livestock, wild animals, or birds; fish or other aquatic life.