100-year floodplain

a level of flooding that has a 1 in 100 chance of happening in any given year. The 100-year floodplain is the approximate boundary of a flood of this size.

abandonment

or abandon, means stopping use and maintenance activities for a system or part of a system.

access channel

A dredged trench between a dock and navigable water depths, used to access deeper waters suitable for navigation.

ACOE

US Army Corps of Engineers

acre

a unit of area measurement for land. Equal to 43,560 square feet.

acre-feet

the amount of water needed to cover 1 acres of land in 1 foot of water (43,560 cubic feet or 325,851.4 US gallons).

activity

or activities means construction alteration, operation, maintenance, abandonment, or removal of any surface water management system including dredging or filling.

adjoin

to share a boundary with, to be next to next to something. Example: my next door neighbor's property adjoins my property.

alteration

expanding or changing a system (which includes any type of work, activity, or structure), other than that required to maintain the system, including any changes which may increase or reduce the flow, storage, or discharge of surface water, increase pollutant loading, change the point or points of discharge, or extend into or adversely affect wetlands by ditching, draining, filling or excavation.

AP

Aquatic Preserve

aquatic

consisting of, relating to or being in water.

Aquatic Preserve

Exceptional areas of State-owned lands and the associated waterbodies listed in Part II of Chapter 258, Florida Statutes. Includes the water column over such lands, which have been set aside to be maintained in an essentially natural condition.

aquatic vegetation

Any vegetation, including the roots, which typically float on water or requires water for its entire structural support, or which will desiccate outside of water.

avoid

Locate structures and activities away from regulated natural resources.

Board of Trustees

The Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. The Department and water management districts serve as staff to the Board and are delegated authority to carry out functions of the Baord as specified in Rule 18-21.0051, F.A.C.

Consent by Rule

Consent to use State-owned Submerged Lands for certain specific minor activities, granted directly in Rule 18-21.005(1)(b) that requires no further documentation from the Department.

conservation easement

An easement prepared and recorded in the public records to protect, preserve and conserve natural resources from being impacted by future development. Often used as mitigation for permitted impacts.

consumptive use permit

A type of water use permit issued by the water management districts for large-scale water use or removal of water.

contour line

A topographic line showing a specific elevation, such as those seen on USGS topographic maps.

Corps

US Army Corps of Engineers

cumulative impacts

future impacts that occur because the initial impact occurred. Example: a bridge is built to an island that previously did not have bridge access in order to develop one parcel of land. The bridge makes way for additional impacts to other parcels on the island by making the island more accessible. Impacts accumulate because of the initial impact.

datum

a fixed surface reference to which relief features and elevation data are referenced. Common vertical datums used in the United States are NGVD (National Geodetic Vertical Datum, 1929) and NAVD (North American Vertical Datum, 1988).

deepest draft

The deepest depth that the bottom of a vessel or propeller reaches when carrying a full load.

Department

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

discharge

to allow or to cause water to flow.

drainage basin

an area of land from which a river and its tributaries drains the rainwater. A land area that contributes runoff to one main waterbody, such as all the land area that eventually drains into a certain river, bay, or lake.

dredge

removal of materials by any means from wetlands or other surface waters. Also the removal of upland soil in order to create a wetland that will be connected to other surface waters or wetlands.

driving

Placement of pilings or slabs by pounding them into the ground with a weight of heavy equipment.

dry slip

a boat slip on a dock that is only used for temporary mooring. The boat is permanently stored in dry storage or on a boat lift.

earthwork

any work that moves earth, such as dredging, grading, filling and excavating.

egress

Means of exit.

elevation

Land level as compared to sea level using a known vertical datum. Example: an elevation of 4 feet is 4 feet above sea level.

emergent

a plant whose root system grows underwater, but whose shoot grows up and above the water

engineering scale

a 6 edged, triangular, ruler-like scale used to draw or determine scaled dimensions on a drawing. Includes scale measurements for 1 inch = 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 feet.

erosion

the movement of soil or sand by flowing water. Evidence of erosion includes gullys, surface scouring and 'washed out' soils.

ERP

Environmental Resource Permit

excavation

removal of material by any means from uplands.

exemption

An activity that does not require a permit.

extreme hardship

A significant burden, unique to the applicant and not shared by property owners in the area. Self-imposed circumstances caused to any degree by actions of any person shall not be construed as an extreme hardship. Extreme hardship shall not be construed to include any hardship which arises in whole or in part from the effect of other federal, state or local laws, ordinances, rules or regulations. The term may be inherent in public projects which are shown to be a public necessity.

fill

depositing material by any means in wetlands or other surface waters.

grade

construction ground level.

habitat

the place or environment where a plant or creature lives or grows.

hatching

lines or pattern within a boundary on a drawing used to define an area from other areas.

hectare

10,000 square meters, or 2.471 acres.

hydroperiod

the cyclical changes in water table or water level. The length of time or season that a level of water is present at or below the ground surface.

impervious

land surfaces that do not allow, or minimally allow, the penetration of water; such as building roofs, normal concreate and asphalt pavements, and some fine grained soils such as clays. For purposes of implementing stormwater treatment quality and quantity requirements, the calculation of the amount of impervious surface does not include wetlands or other surface waters.

impound

to cause an area of the earth's surface to hold water.

incidental site activities

Preliminary activities in uplands that are done in order to complete the permitted activity. Examples include: removal of vegetation in uplands, road bed construction, utility placement, and other works done in order to construct, or done along with the construction of the system.

Individual or Conceptual Environmental Resource Permit

An Environmental Resource Permit that exceeds the thresholds for qualifying to be processed as a standard general, general, standard, noticed general or exemption. A conceptual approval authorizes a project concept, with specific limitations.

ingress

Means of entrance.

jetting

Using a stream of water to remove soil or sand for the placement of pilings or slabs.

Joint Application

An application to conduct an activity that may be reviewed by the Department, water management districts and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Lease

An interest in State-owned Lands designated by a contract creating a landlord-tenant relationship between the Board as landlord and the applicant as tenant whereby the Board grants and transfers to the applicant the exclusive use, possession, and control of certain specified State-owned Lands for a determinate number of years, with conditions attached, at a definite fixed rental.

Letter of Concurrence

A letter of agreement signed by an adjacent property owner when an applicant wishes to build a structure encroaching outside of the required riparian rights setback lines.

Letter of Consent

A nonpossessory interest in State-owned Lands created by an approval which allows the applicant the right to erect specific structures or conduct specific activities on said lands.

liveaboard

A vessel docked at a facility, that is inhabited by a person or persons for any 5 consecutive days or a total of 10 days within a 30 day period.

marginal dock

A dock placed immediately adjacent and parallel to the shoreline or seawall, bulkhead or revetment. A marginal dock has no access walkway.

mean high tide

(tidal waterbodies) is the average of all high tides occurring over 19 years.

Mean High Water

The average height of the high tides of a 19-year period.

Mean High Water Line

The intersection of the local elevation of mean high water with the shore.

mean low tide

(tidal waterbodies) is the average of all low tides occurring over 19 years.

Mean Low Water

The average height of the low tides of a 19-year period.

MHW

Mean High Water

MHWL

Mean High Water Line

minimize

If a structure or activity must be located in an area with regulated resources, the impact of the structure or activity must be reduced as much as possible.

minimum size dock

A dock or pier that is the smallest size necessary to provide reasonable access to the water for navigating, fishing, or swimming based on consideration of the immediate area's physical and natural characteristics, customary recreational and navigational practices, and docks and piers previously authorized under this chapter. The term minimum-size dock or pier shall also include a dock or pier constructed in conformance with the exemption criteria in Section 403.813(1)(b), F.S., or in conformance with the private residential single family dock criteria in subsection 18-20.004(5), F.A.C.

mitigation

the plan to restore, create, preserve or enhance wetlands or other surface waters, meant to offset a project's unavoidable ecological impacts.

mitigation credit

a unit of mitigation equal to the complete restoration of 1 acre of wetlands or other surface waters (assuming the acre was completely degraded or damaged). More than 1 acre of actual mitigation is usually needed to create 1 mitigation credit because mitigation is usually done on lands that have not been completely degraded. The unit sold by a mitigation bank for impacts by others.

MLW

Mean Low Water

MSSW

Management and Storage of Surface Waters

navigable

A water that is sufficiently deep or wide to provide passage for vessels.

NGP

Noticed General Permit

NGVD

National Geodetic Vertical Datum - A fixed surface reference established by the US Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1929 as the datum that, at 0, typically approximates Mean Sea Level.

normal pool

(freshwater) is the typical elevation of a lake or river, especially one controlled by a dam, which is between low water level and high water level.

Noticed General Permit

A general permit issued by the Department under Chapter 62-341, F.A.C. or by a water management district that requires the applicant to provide notice at least 30 days before any work can begin.

OFW

Outstanding Florida Water

OHW

Ordinary High Water

OHWL

Ordinary High Water Line

OLW

Ordinary Low Water

Ordinary High Water

The average height to which water ordinarily rises annually in season. Applies to non-tidal waterbodies.

Ordinary High Water Line

The boundary between State-owned Submerged Lands and the adjacent uplands along nontidal waterbodies.

Ordinary Low Water

The lowest average height to which water ordinarily rises annually in season. Applies to non-tidal waterbodies.

Outstanding Florida Water

A water designated worthy of special protection because of its natural attributes. This special designation is intended to protect existing good water quality.

permittable

Able to be permitted based on compatibility with applicable rules and regulations determined by conducting a thorough review. A proposed project may require modifications before it is considered permittable.

perpetuity

ongoing, forever

pervious

allows water to pass, drain or filter through

phase

a project that is divided into seperate parts to be completed at different times or under different circumstances. These parts are called phases.

preempted area

The area of State-owned Submerged Lands from which any traditional public uses have been or will be excluded by an activity. Includes area occupied by docks, piers, and other structures; the area between a dock and the shoreline where access is not allowed, between docks, or areas where mooring routinely occurs that are no longer reasonably accessible to the general public; permanent mooring areas not associated with docks; and swimming areas enclosed by nets, buoys, or similar marking systems.

preemption ratio

The ratio of preempted area in square feet to the number of linear feet of shoreline owned by the applicant. (Example: an applicant owns 100 feet of shoreline and preempts 1000 square feet of State-owned lands for a dock. The ratio is 10 square feet for every 1 foot of shoreline, or 10:1 preemption ratio).

private dock

A docking facility which is used for private recreational or leisure purposes for multi-unit or single-family residential dwellings.

private easement

an easement held by a private individual or entity.

project size

The size of the boundary of the project area. Example, if you have 10 acres, but only plan to do work on 2 acres, the project size would be 2 acres. Project size is different from total land area.

prop dredging

Short for \"propellor dredging\" - scars or damage formed in seagrass beds or other submerged communities when a vessel propellor gets too close to the bottom.

proprietary

pertaining to ownership authority.

public easement

an easement held by a government or public entity.

public interest

Demonstrable environmental, social, and economic benefits which would accrue to the public at large as a result of a proposed action, and which would clearly exceed all demonstrable environmental, social, and economic costs of the proposed action.

receiving water

Waterbody that receives runoff from a project site.

registered professional

a professional registered or licensed by and in the State of Florida and who possesses expertise and experience necessary for the competent preparation, submittal and certification of documents and materials and performing other services required in support of permitting, construction, altering, inspecting, and operating a proposed or existing activity regulated under Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S. Examples of registered professionals, authorized pursuant to Chapter 455, F.S., and the respective practice acts by which they are regulated, are professional engineers licensed under Chapter 471, F.S., professional landscape architects licensed under Chapter 481, F.S., professional surveyors and mappers under Chapter 472, F.S., and professional geologists licensed under Chapter 492, F.S.

regulatory

pertaining to authority granted by rules and regulations.

regulatory authorization

A permit issued based on a regulatory compliance review, such as an Environmental Resource Permit.

removal

elimination of all or part of a system.

Resource Protection Area 1

Areas within the aquatic preserves which have resources of the highest quality and condition for that area. These resources may include, but are not limited to corals; marine grassbeds; mangrove swamps; salt-water marsh; oyster bars; archaeological and historical sites; endangered or threatened species habitat; and, colonial water bird nesting sites.

Resource Protection Area 2

Areas within the aquatic preserves which are in transition with either declining resource protection area 1 resources or new pioneering resources within resource protection area 3.

Resource Protection Area 3

Areas within the aquatic preserve that are characterized by the absence of any significant natural resource attributes.

riparian rights

Those rights incident to lands bordering upon navigable waters, as recognized by the courts and common law.

riparian rights lines

The limits of riparian rights for a parcel, usually extending (not necessarily parallel or in line) from property boundaries of lands bordering upon navigable waters, as recognized by the courts and common law.

RPA

Resource Protection Area

scouring

Displacement of sediment by a water stream, such as that caused by the force of water being jetted out of a boat engine, or the force of water flowing out of an improperly sized culvert.

seasonal high water

(freshwater) the elevation to which the ground and surface water can be expected to rise due to a normal wet season.

seasonal low water

(freshwater) the elevation to which the ground and surface water can be expected to fall due to a normal dry season.

secondary impacts

unintended impacts that occur in addition to and because of the initial impact. Example: a wetland is partially cleared and filled, which unintentionally reduces the ecological value of the immediately surrounding wetlands by reducing habitat or causing ecological edge effects, like plant overgrowth.

Section/Township/Range

a federal system which divides land into portions and assigns them a location number. Section - Basic unit of the system, a square tract of land one mile by one mile containing 640 acres. Township - 36 sections arranged in a 6 x 6 square. Range - location number assigned to a township by measuring east or west of a principal meridian.

sedimentation

the process of depositing sediments that have been carried by flowing water.

setback

The minimum distance an activity must be located from a property line or riparian rights line so as not to infringe upon the rights of neighboring properties.

Shoreline

The mean or ordinary high water line.

single family residence

any single residence, duplex, triplex or quadruplex not associated with a larger plan of development owned by the applicant.

Site Specific Resources

Natural resources that are specific to a project site, and that have the potential to be impacted by the specific project.

solid waste

Sludge that is not regulated under the federal Clean Water Act or Clean Air Act, as well as sludge from a waste treatment works, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility; or garbage, rubbish, refuse, special waste, or other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material resulting from domestic, industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural, or governmental operations. Materials not regulated as solid waste pursuant to this chapter are: recovered materials; nuclear source or byproduct materials regulated under Chapter 404, F.S., or under the Federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended; suspended or dissolved materials in domestic sewage effluent or irrigation return flows, or other regulated point source discharges; regulated air emissions; and fluids or wastes associated with natural gas or crude oil exploration or production.

solid waste management facility

Any solid waste disposal area, transfer station, materials recovery facility or other facility, the purpose of which is resource recovery or the disposal, recycling, processing, or storage of solid waste. The term does not include recovered materials processing facilities which meet the requirements of paragraph 62-701.220(2)(c), F.A.C., except the portion of such facilities, if any, that is used for the management of solid waste.

Sovereign Submerged Lands

Those lands including but not limited to, tidal lands, islands, sand bars, shallow banks, and lands waterward of the ordinary or mean high water line, beneath navigable fresh water or beneath tidally influenced waters, to which the State of Florida acquired title on March 3, 1845, by virtue of statehood, and which ahve not been heretofore conveyed or alienated. (See also State-owned Submerged Lands)

Sovereignty Submerged Lands

Those lands including but not limited to, tidal lands, islands, sand bars, shallow banks, and lands waterward of the ordinary or mean high water line, beneath navigable fresh water or beneath tidally-influenced waters, to which the State of Florida acquired title on March 3, 1845, by virtue of statehood, and which have not been heretofore conveyed or alienated.

spoil cell

a containment cell constructed using earthen berms or sheet pilings for walls, used for holding dredge spoil while excess water in the spoil seeps into the ground. Prevents muddy water runoff and contamination in nearby surface waters or wetlands.

stabilized

for the purpose of erosion, sedimentation and turbidity, this means the site has reached a condition in which it is not likely to produce runoff or otherwise harm water quality. This can be achieved by the growth of plants over an area, settling of disturbed sediments in a waterbody or other approved methods.

Standard General, General or Standard Permit

A type of individually processed permit under Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S., that falls below certain size thresholds, depending on the water management district in which the work is occurring.

State-owned Lands Authorization

The permission granted by the Board for a person to construct a facility or to carry out an activity on State-owned Submerged Lands.

State-owned Submerged Lands

Those lands including but not limited to, tidal lands, islands, sand bars, shallow banks, and lands waterward of the ordinary or mean high water line, beneath navigable fresh water or beneath tidally-influenced waters, to which the State of Florida acquired title on March 3, 1845, by virtue of statehood, and which have not been heretofore conveyed or alienated.

stormwater

the flow of water which results from, and which occurs immediately following, a rain event

submerged

beneath the surface of the water.

submerged vegetation

Any native plant community that is growing on the bottoms of surface waters waterward of the mean high water line or ordinary high water line.

surface waters

water upon the surface of the earth, whether contained in bounds created naturally or artificially or diffused. Water from natural springs is classified as surface water when it exits from the spring onto the earth's surface.

system

All structures and all areas established by earth-moving in which surface water flow or storage has been altered.

terminal platform

That part of a dock or pier, including finger piers, that is connected to the access walkway, is located at the terminus of the facility, and is designed to secure and load or unload a vessel or conduct other water dependent activities.

total land area

all contiguous parcels of land owned by the applicant.

turbidity

suspended particles in water, muddiness.

turning basin

The area of State-owned Submerged Land which is required to maneuver a vessel into or out of a facility.

UMAM

Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method

USACE

US Army Corps of Engineers

USGS

United States Geological Survey.

USGS quadrangle map

topographic maps created by the United States Geological Survey.

water dependent

An activity which can only be conducted on, in, over, or adjacent to water areas bacause the activity requires direct access to the water body or sovereign submerged lands for transportation, recreation, energy production or transmission, or source of water, and where the use of the water or sovereign submerged lands is an integral part of the activity.

wave break

A device intended to dissipate the force of wave action.

wet season high water table

The elevation of the ground water table during the wettest season of the year.

wet slip

An area of the water column above State-owned Submerged Lands specifically set aside for the mooring of a single vessel associated with a docking facility. Used to permanently dock a vessel in the water.

wetland resource permit

generally, a dredge and fill permit issued according to Rule 62-312, F.A.C. These permits are no longer issued XXXX and have been replaced by the Environmental Resource Permits.

wetlands

those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and a duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances to support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils. Soils present in wetlands generally are classified as hydric or alluvial, or possess characteristics that are associated with reducing soil conditions. The prevalent vegetation in wetlands generally consists of facultative or obligate hydrophytic macrophytes that are typically adapted to areas having soil conditions described above. These species, due to morphological, physiological, or reproductive adaptations, have the ability to grow, reproduce or persist in aquatic environments or anaerobic soil conditions. Florida wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bayheads, bogs, cypress domes and strands, sloughs, wet prairies, riverine swamps and marshes, hydric seepage slopes, tidal marshes, mangrove swamps and other similar areas. Florida wetlands generally do not include longleaf or slash pine flatwoods with an understory dominated by saw palmetto.

works

all man-made or artificial structures. These include ditches, canals, conduits, channels, culverts, pipes, construction activities and all other man-made structures.