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Definitions of Terms

 


Adjacent Wetlands

Authorization

Best Management Practices

Compensatory Mitigation

Creation

Currently Serviceable

Dredged Material

Enhancement

Ephemeral Stream

Farm Tract

Fill Material

Flood Fringe

Floodway

Headwaters

High Tide Line

Independent Utility

Intermittent Stream

Isolated Waters

Lakes, Ponds and Impoundments

Loss of Waters of the U.S.

Mean High Water Line


Nationwide Permit

Navigable Water

Non-tidal Wetland

Open Water

Ordinary High Water Mark

Perennial Stream

Pre-application Meeting

Preservation

Public Hearing

Restoration

Riffle and Pool Complex

Single and Complete Project

Stormwater Management

Stream Bed

Stream Channelization

Tidal Waters

Tributary

Vegetated Buffer

Vegetated Shallows

Waters of the United States

Wetlands


Adjacent Wetlands:

The term adjacent wetlands means wetlands that:

(i) Abut, meaning to touch at least at one point or side of, a water identified in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section;

(ii) Are inundated by flooding from a water identified in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section in a typical year;

(iii) Are physically separated from a water identified in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section only by a natural berm, bank, dune, or similar natural feature; or

(iv) Are physically separated from a water identified in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section only by an artificial dike, barrier, or similar artificial structure so long as that structure allows for a direct hydrologic surface connection between the wetlands and the water identified in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section in a typical year, such as through a culvert, flood or tide gate, pump, or similar artificial feature. An adjacent wetland is jurisdictional in its entirety when a road or similar artificial structure divides the wetland, as long as the structure allows for a direct hydrologic surface connection through or over that structure in a typical year.

Authorization:
Specific activities that qualify for a Nationwide Permit may proceed, provided that the terms and conditions, including regional conditions, of the Nationwide Permit are met. If requested by the permittee in writing, the District Engineer will verify in writing that the permittee's proposed activity complies with the terms and conditions of the Nationwide Permit. A written verification may contain activity-specific conditions and regional conditions which a permittee must satisfy for the authorization to be valid.

Best Management Practices (BMPs):
Policies,practices, procedures, or structures implemented to mitigate the adverse environmental effects on surface water quality resulting from development. BMPs are categorized as structural or non-structural. A BMP policy may affect the limits on a development.

Compensatory Mitigation:
For purposes of Section 10 and Section 404, compensatory mitigation is the restoration, creation, enhancement, or in exceptional circumstances, preservation of wetlands and/or other aquatic resources for the purpose of compensating for unavoidable adverse impacts which remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization has been achieved.

Creation:
The establishment of a wetland or other aquatic resource where one did not formerly exist.

Currently Serviceable:
Means useable as is or with some maintenance, but not so degraded as to essentially require reconstruction.

Dredged Material:
Material that is dredged or excavated from waters of the United States. The discharge of dredged material means any addition of dredged material into, including any redeposit of dredged material within, the waters of the United States.

Enhancement:
Activities conducted in existing wetlands or other aquatic resources that increase one or more aquatic functions.

Ephemeral Stream:
An ephemeral stream has flowing water only during and for a short duration after, precipitation events in a typical year. Ephemeral stream beds are located above the water table year-round. Groundwater is not a source of water for the stream. Runoff from rainfall is the primary source of water for stream flow.

Farm Tract:
A unit of contiguous land under one ownership that is operated as a farm or part of a farm.

Fill Material:
Any material used for the primary purpose of replacing an aquatic area with dry land or changing the bottom elevation of a water body. The term does not include any pollutant discharged into the water primarily to dispose of waste, as that is regulated under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act.

Flood Fringe:
That portion of the 100-year floodplain outside of the floodway (often referred to as “floodway fringe”).

Floodway:
The area regulated by Federal, state, or local requirements to provide for the discharge of the base flood so the cumulative increase in water surface elevation is no more than a designated amount (not to exceed one foot as set by the National Flood Insurance Program) within the 100-year floodplain.

Headwaters:
Non-tidal rivers, streams, and their lakes and impoundments, including adjacent wetlands, that are part of a surface tributary system to an interstate or navigable water of the United States upstream of the point on the river or stream at which the average annual flow is less than five cubic feet per second.

High Tide Line (HTL):
The line of intersection of the land with the water's surface at the maximum height reached by a rising tide. The high tide line may be determined, in the absence of actual data, by a line of oil or scum along shore objects, a more or less continuous deposit of fine shell or debris on the foreshore or berm, other physical markings or characteristics, vegetation lines, tidal gages, or other suitable means that delineate the general height reached by a rising tide. The line encompasses spring high tides and other tides that occur with periodic frequency but does not include storm surges in which there is a departure from the normal or predicted reach of the tide due to the piling up of water against a coast by strong winds such as those accompanying a hurricane or other intense storm.

Independent Utility:
A test to determine what constitutes a single and complete project in the Corps Regulatory program. A project is considered to have independent utility if it would be constructed absent the construction of other projects in the project area. Portions of a multi-phase project that depend upon other phases of the project do not have independent utility. Phases of a project that would be constructed even if the other phases were not built can be considered as separate single and complete projects with independent utility.

Isolated Waters:
Those non-tidal waters of the United States that are not part of a surface tributary system to interstate or navigable waters of the United States and not adjacent to such tributary water bodies.

Intermittent Stream:
An intermittent stream has flowing water during certain times of the year, when groundwater provides water for stream flow. During dry periods, intermittent streams may not have flowing water. Runoff from rainfall is a supplemental source of water for stream flow.

Lakes, Ponds, & Impoundments:
The term lakes and ponds, and impoundments of jurisdictional waters means standing bodies of open water that contribute surface water flow to a water identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section in a typical year either directly or through one or more waters identified in paragraph (a)(2), (3), or (4) of this section. A lake, pond, or impoundment of a jurisdictional water does not lose its jurisdictional status if it contributes surface water flow to a downstream jurisdictional water in a typical year through a channelized non-jurisdictional surface water feature, through a culvert, dike, spillway, or similar artificial feature, or through a debris pile, boulder field, or similar natural feature. A lake or pond, or impoundment of a jurisdictional water is also jurisdictional if it is inundated by flooding from a water identified in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section in a typical year.

Loss of Waters of the United States:
Waters of the U.S. that include the filled area and other waters that are permanently adversely affected by flooding, excavation, or drainage because of the regulated activity. Permanent adverse effects include permanent above-grade, at-grade, or below-grade fills that change an aquatic area to dry land, increase the bottom elevation of a water body, or change the use of a water body. The acreage of loss of waters of the U.S. is the threshold measurement of the impact to existing waters for determining whether a project may qualify for a NWP; it is not a net threshold that is calculated after considering compensatory mitigation that may be used to offset losses of aquatic functions and values. The loss of stream bed includes the linear feet of stream bed that is filled or excavated. Waters of the U.S. temporarily filled, flooded, excavated, or drained, but restored to pre-construction contours and elevations after construction, are not included in the measurement of loss of waters of the U.S..

Mean High Water Line/Mark (MHWL)
The line on the shore in tidal areas established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed on the bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, the presence of litter and debris, or other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of the surrounding area.

Nationwide Permit (NWP):
Type of general permit which authorizes activities on a nationwide basis, unless specifically limited.

Navigable Waters of the United States:
Those waters of the United States that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide shoreward to the mean high water mark and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in the future to transport interstate or foreign commerce.

Please contact us if you have questions regarding navigable waterways within the Philadelphia District.

Non-tidal Wetland:
A non-tidal wetland is a wetland (i.e., a water of the U.S.) that is not subject to the ebb and flow of tidal waters. The definition of a wetland can be found at 33 CFR 328.3(b). Non-tidal wetlands contiguous to tidal waters are located landward of the high tide line (i.e., spring high tide line).

Open Water:
An area that, during a year with normal patterns of precipitation, has standing or flowing water for sufficient duration to establish an ordinary high water mark. Aquatic vegetation within the area of standing or flowing water is either non-emergent, sparse, or absent. Vegetated shallows are considered to be open waters. The term “open water” includes rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. For the purposes of the NWPs, this term does not include ephemeral waters.

Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM):
The line on the shore in non-tidal areas established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed on the bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, the presence of litter and debris, or other appropriate means that consider the characteristics of the surrounding area.

Perennial Stream:
A perennial stream has flowing water year-round during a typical year. The water table is located above the stream bed for most of the year. Groundwater is the primary source of water for stream flow. Runoff from rainfall is a supplemental source of water for stream flow.

Pre-application Meeting/Consultation:
A pre-application meeting/consultation is one or more meetings between members of the District Engineer's staff and an applicant and his agent or his consultant. A pre-application consultation is usually related to applications for major activities and may involve discussion of alternatives, environmental documents, National Environmental Policy Act procedures, and development of the scope of the data required when an environmental impact statement is required.

Preservation:
The protection of ecologically important wetlands or other aquatic resources in perpetuity through the implementation of appropriate legal and physical mechanisms. Preservation may include protection of upland areas adjacent to wetlands as necessary to ensure protection and/or enhancement of the overall aquatic ecosystem.

Public Hearing:
A public hearing may be held to acquire information and give the public the opportunity to present views and opinions. The Corps may hold a hearing or participate in joint public hearings with other Federal or state agencies. The district engineer may specify in the public notice that a hearing will be held. In addition, any person may request in writing during the comment period that a hearing be held. Specific reasons must be given as to the need for a hearing. The district engineer may attempt to resolve the issue informally or he may set the date for a public hearing. Hearings are held at times and places that are convenient for the interested public. Very few applications involve a public hearing.

Restoration:
Re-establishment of wetland and/or other aquatic resource characteristics and function(s) at a site where they have ceased to exist, or exist in a substantially degraded state.

Riffle and Pool Complex:
Riffle and pool complexes are special aquatic sites under the 404(b)(1) Guidelines. Riffle and pool complexes sometimes characterize steep gradient sections of streams. Such stream sections are recognizable by their hydraulic characteristics. The rapid movement of water over a course substrate in riffles results in a rough flow, a turbulent surface, and high dissolved oxygen levels in the water. Pools are deeper areas associated with riffles. A slower stream velocity, a streaming flow, a smooth surface, and a finer substrate characterize pools.

Single and Complete Project: The term “single and complete project” is defined at 33 CFR 330.2(i) as the total project proposed or accomplished by one owner/developer or partnership or other association of owners/developers (see definition of independent utility). For linear projects, the “single and complete project” (i.e., a single and complete crossing) will apply to each crossing of a separate water of the U.S. (i.e., a single water body) at that location. An exception is for linear projects crossing a single water body several times at separate and distant locations: each crossing is considered a single and complete project. However, individual channels in a braided stream or river, or individual arms of a large, irregularly shaped wetland or lake, etc., are not separate water bodies.

Stormwater Management: Stormwater management is the mechanism for controlling stormwater runoff for the purposes of reducing downstream erosion, water quality degradation, and flooding and mitigating the adverse effects of changes in land use on the aquatic environment.Stormwater management facilities are those facilities, including but not limited to, stormwater retention and detention ponds and BMPs, which retain water for a period of time to control runoff and/or improve the quality (i.e., by reducing the concentration of nutrients, sediments, hazardous substances and other pollutants) of stormwater runoff.

Stream Bed: The substrate of the stream channel between the ordinary high water marks. The substrate may be bedrock or inorganic particles that range in size from clay to boulders. Wetlands contiguous to the stream bed, but outside of the ordinary high water marks, are not considered part of the stream bed.

Stream Channelization: The manipulation of a stream channel to increase the rate of water flow through the stream channel. Manipulation may include deepening, widening, straightening, armoring,or other activities that change the stream cross-section or other aspects of stream channel geometry to increase the rate of water flow through the stream channel. A channelized stream remains a water of the U.S., despite the modifications to increase the rate of water flow.

Tidal Waters: The terms tidal waters and waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide mean those waters that rise and fall in a predictable and measurable rhythm or cycle due to the gravitational pulls of the moon and sun. Tidal waters and waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide end where the rise and fall of the water surface can no longer be practically measured in a predictable rhythm due to masking by hydrologic, wind, or other effects.

Tributary: the term tributary means a river, stream, or similar naturally occurring surface water channel that contributes surface water flow to a water identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section in a typical year either directly or through one or more waters identified in paragraph (a)(2), (3), or (4) of this section. A tributary must be perennial or intermittent in a typical year. The alteration or relocation of a tributary does not modify its jurisdictional status as long as it continues to satisfy the flow conditions of this definition. A tributary does not lose its jurisdictional status if it contributes surface water flow to a downstream jurisdictional water in a typical year through a channelized non-jurisdictional surface water feature, through a subterranean river, through a culvert, dam, tunnel, or similar artificial feature, or through a debris pile, boulder field, or similar natural feature. The term tributary includes a ditch that either relocates a tributary, is constructed in a tributary, or is constructed in an adjacent wetland as long as the ditch satisfies the flow conditions of this definition.

Vegetated Buffer: A vegetated upland or wetland area next to rivers, streams, lakes, or other open waters which separates the open water from developed areas, including agricultural land. Vegetated buffers provide a variety of aquatic habitat functions and values (e.g., aquatic habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms, moderation of water temperature changes, and detritus for aquatic food webs) and help improve or maintain local water quality. A vegetated buffer can be established by maintaining an existing vegetated area or planting native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants on land next to open-waters. Mowed lawns are not considered vegetated buffers because they provide little or no aquatic habitat functions and values. The establishment and maintenance of vegetated buffers is a method of compensatory mitigation that can be used in conjunction with the restoration, creation, enhancement, or preservation of aquatic habitats to ensure that activities authorized by NWPs result in minimal adverse effects to the aquatic environment.

Vegetated Shallows: Vegetated shallows are special aquatic sites under the 404(b)(1) Guidelines. They are areas that are permanently inundated and under normal circumstances have rooted aquatic vegetation, such as seagrasses in marine and estuarine systems and a variety of vascular rooted plants in freshwater systems.

Waters of the United States:

(1) The territorial seas, and waters which are currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;

(2) Tributaries;

(3) Lakes and ponds, and impoundments of jurisdictional waters; and

(4) Adjacent wetlands.

Wetlands: Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water 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.