Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG): A regional planning agency incorporating various local governments in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It deals with land use, housing, environmental quality, and economic development.

Average Daily Trips (ADT): Average daily trips made by vehicles in a 24-hour period.

Base Flood: A flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "100-year flood").

Basin Plan: A water quality control plan developed pursuant to CWC §13240. A master policy document that contains descriptions of the legal, technical, and programmatic bases of water quality regulation in the Region. The Basin Plan must include 1) a statement of beneficial water uses that the Water Board will protect; 2) the water quality objectives needed to protect the designated beneficial water uses; and 3) the strategies and time schedules for achieving the water quality objectives (SFBRWQCB 2007). Factors to be considered by a regional board in establishing water quality objectives shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following: (a) past, present, and probable future beneficial uses of water; (b) environmental characteristics of the hydrographic unit under consideration, including the quality of water available thereto; (c) water quality conditions that could reasonably be achieved through the coordinated control of all factors which affect water quality in the area; (d) economic considerations; (e) the need for developing housing within the region; and (f) The need to develop and use recycled water. (CWC

§13241)

 BCDC: San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission

Berm: A mound or bank of earth, used especially as a barrier.

Best Available Technology: The best economically achievable technology that reduces negative impacts on the environment.

Best Management Practice (BMP): In relation to stormwater management, BMPs are control measures taken to mitigate changes to both quantity and quality of urban runoff caused through changes to land use. BMPs are designed to reduce stormwater volume, peak flows, and/or nonpoint source pollution through evapotranspiration, infiltration, detention, and filtration or biological and chemical actions. Stormwater BMPs are often classified as “structural” (i.e., devices installed or constructed on a site) or “non-structural” (procedures, such as modified landscaping practices). The US EPA publishes lists of stormwater BMPs for use by local governments, builders, and property owners.

Bike Lane: A corridor expressly reserved by markings for bicycles, existing on a street or roadway in addition to any lanes for use by motorized vehicles (Class 2 Bikeway).

Bike Path: A paved route not on a street or roadway and expressly reserved for bicycles. Bike paths may parallel roads but typically are separated from them (Class 1 Bikeway).