A
[Back to Top]
|
ADEM
Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The state agency responsible for administering and enforcing enviromental laws.
|
ALDOT
Acronym for Alabama Department of Transportation, the state agency charged with providing a safe, efficient and environmentally sound transportation system. ALDOT receives it funding from taxes collected on the sale of gasoline in Alabama. The monies collected are used exclusively for transportation in Alabama.
|
B
[Back to Top]
|
Big Creek Lake
Big Creek Lake, also known as Converse Reservoir, is a municipal reservoir which serves as the main source of drinking water for the city of Mobile, Alabama and its suburbs. The surface area of the reservoir is 3,600 acres. It was formed by the damming of Big Creek, a tributary of the Escatawpa River in southwest Alabama.
|
Bloody 98
A term used by local residents and the Mobile Press-Regsiter which refers to Highway 98. Community residents blame much of the problem on the large amount of trucking and commercial traffic travelling at high speeds through a growing residential community.
|
C
[Back to Top]
|
Consent Decree or Order
A consent order is a judicial decree expressing a voluntary agreement between parties. This would include an agreement by a defendant to pay fines and cease activities alleged by the government to be illegal in return for an end to the charges.
|
Culvert
A drain or channel crossing under a road, sidewalk, etc.
|
Cut Section
An area of a roadway where soil has been removed in order to lower the elevation of the road below natural ground. Soil removed from cut sections is generally moved to areas of the project where it is needed to construct fill sections.
|
D
[Back to Top]
|
Discharge point/Discharge site/Outfall
That location where storewater runoff leaves ALDOT right-of-way and/or enters a water of the state.
|
E
[Back to Top]
|
EIS
Enviromental Impact Statement
|
Erosion (soil erosion)
Displacement of soil particles, usually by water.
|
Escatawpa River
The Escatawpa River begins in southwest Alabama in Washington County, Alabama. From there it flows south into Mississippi and eventually empties into Mississippi’s Pascagoula River which flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
|
R
[Back to Top]
|
Right of Way (ROW)
A parcel of land for which the public has a legal right to traverse. Commonly refers to the land bordering the highway and between the private property and the road.
|
Rip Rap
Refers to a size of stone used in various areas of road construction. The active US 98 construction utilizes a class of rip rap that generally weighs from 80-200 pounds per stone. Rip rap is also used as both temporary and permanent means of controlling erosion and sediment.
(see right of way)
|
S
[Back to Top]
|
Sediment
Any particulate matter that has been transported by wind or water which can include dirt, sand or rocks. These particulates eventually come to a rest as the speed of wind or flow of water slows.
|
Slope
1. The measurement of steepness, incline or grade. A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline. A 4:1 slope would extend four feet for every 1 foot of drop. A 1:1 slope would extend 1 foot for every 1 foot drop.
2. The area beyond the shoulders of a roadway.
|
W
[Back to Top]
|
Watershed
A watershed is an area from which water feeds a larger body of water.
|
Wetland
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
|
