2023 New York Laws › ENV - Environmental Conservation › Article 24 - Freshwater Wetlands › Title 1 - General Provisions and Public Policy › 24-0107 - Definitions.

§ 24-0107. Definitions.
1.  * "Freshwater  wetlands"  means  lands  and waters of the state as
shown on the freshwater wetlands map which contain any  or  all  of  the
following:
* NB Effective until January 1, 2025
* "Freshwater  wetlands" means lands and waters of the state, that are
not tidal wetlands as defined in subdivision one of section  25-0103  of
this chapter, that have an area of at least twelve and four-tenths acres
or,  if  less  than twelve and four-tenths acres in size, are of unusual
importance, and which contain any or all of the following:
* NB Effective January 1, 2025 until January 1, 2028
* "Freshwater wetlands" means lands and waters of the state, that  are
not  tidal  wetlands as defined in subdivision one of section 25-0103 of
this chapter, that have an area of at least seven and four-tenths  acres
or,  if  less  than  seven and four-tenths acres in size, are of unusual
importance, and which contain any or all of the following:
* NB Effective January 1, 2028
(a)  lands  and  submerged  lands  commonly  called  marshes,  swamps,
sloughs,  bogs,  and flats supporting aquatic or semi-aquatic vegetation
of the following types:
(1) wetland trees, which depend upon seasonal or permanent flooding or
sufficiently water-logged soils to give  them  a  competitive  advantage
over  other  trees;  including,  among  others, red maple (Acer rubrum),
willows (Salix spp.), black spruce  (Picea  mariana);  swamp  white  oak
(Quercus bicolor), red ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), black ash (Fraxinus
nigra), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), American elm (Ulmus americana),
and Larch (Larix laricina);
(2)  wetland  shrubs, which depend upon seasonal or permanent flooding
or sufficiently water-logged soils to give them a competitive  advantage
over   other  shrubs;  including,  among  others,  alder  (Alnus  spp.),
buttonbush  (Cephalanthus   occidentalis),   bog   rosemary   (Andromeda
glaucophylla),  dogwoods  (Cornus  spp.),  and leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne
calyculata);
(3) emergent vegetation,  including,  among  others,  cattails  (Typha
spp.),  pickerelweed  (Pontederia  cordata),  bulrushes  (Scirpus spp.),
arrow arum (Peltandra virginica),  arrowheads  (Sagittaria  spp.),  reed
(Phragmites    communis),   wildrice   (Zizania   aquatica),   bur-reeds
(Sparganium  spp.),  purple  loosetrife   (Lythrum   salicaria),   swamp
loosestrife   (Decodon   verticillatus);   and  water  plantain  (Alisma
plantago-aquatica);
(4)  rooted,  floating-leaved  vegetation;  including,  among  others,
water-lily  (Nymphaea  odorata),  water shield (Brasenia schreberi), and
spatterdock (Nuphar spp.);
(5) free-floating vegetation; including, among others, duckweed (Lemna
spp.), big duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza), and watermeal (Wolffia spp.);
(6) wet meadow vegetation, which depends upon  seasonal  or  permanent
flooding  or  sufficiently  water-logged  soils to give it a competitive
advantage over other open  land  vegetation;  including,  among  others,
sedges  (Carex  spp.), rushes (Juncus spp.), cattails (Typha spp.), rice
cut-grass (Leersia oryzoides), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea),
swamp loosestrife (Decodon  verticillatus),  and  spikerush  (Eleocharis
spp.);
(7)  bog  mat  vegetation;  including,  among  others, sphagnum mosses
(Sphagnum spp.),  bog  rosemary  (Andromeda  glaucophylla),  leatherleaf
(Chamaedaphne  calyculata),  pitcher  plant  (Sarracenia  purpurea), and
cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos);
(8)  submergent  vegetation;  including,   among   others,   pondweeds
(Potamogeton  spp.),  naiads  (Najas  spp.),  bladderworts  (Utricularia

spp.), wild  celery  (Vallisneria  americana),  coontail  (Ceratophyllum
demersum),  water  milfoils (Myriophyllum spp.), muskgrass (Chara spp.),
stonewort (Nitella spp.), water weeds (Elodea spp.), and water smartweed
(Polygonum amphibium);
(b)  lands  and  submerged lands containing remnants of any vegetation
that is not aquatic  or  semi-aquatic  that  has  died  because  of  wet
conditions  over  a  sufficiently  long  period,  provided that such wet
conditions do not exceed a maximum seasonal water depth of six feet  and
provided  further  that  such  conditions  can  be  expected  to persist
indefinitely, barring human intervention;
* (c)  lands  and  waters  substantially  enclosed   by   aquatic   or
semi-aquatic  vegetation  as  set  forth  in  paragraph  (a)  or by dead
vegetation as set forth in paragraph (b), the  regulation  of  which  is
necessary   to   protect  and  preserve  the  aquatic  and  semi-aquatic
vegetation; and
* NB Effective until January 1, 2025
* (c)  lands  and  waters  substantially  enclosed   by   aquatic   or
semi-aquatic   vegetation   as  set  forth  in  paragraph  (a)  of  this
subdivision or by dead vegetation as set forth in paragraph (b) of  this
subdivision,  the  regulation  of  which  is  necessary  to  protect and
preserve the aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation; and
* NB Effective January 1, 2025
* (d) the waters overlying the areas set forth in (a) and (b) and  the
lands underlying (c).
* NB Effective until January 1, 2025
* (d)  the  waters overlying the areas set forth in paragraphs (a) and
(b) of this subdivision and the lands underlying paragraph (c)  of  this
subdivision.
* NB Effective January 1, 2025
* 2.  "Freshwater  wetlands  map"  shall mean a map promulgated by the
department pursuant to section 24-0301 of  this  article  on  which  are
indicated the boundaries of any freshwater wetlands.
* NB Effective until January 1, 2025
* 2.  "Freshwater  wetlands  map"  shall  mean  a map developed by the
department pursuant to section 24-0301 of  this  article  on  which  are
indicated  the boundaries of any freshwater wetlands. Freshwater wetland
maps depict the approximate location of wetlands and are not necessarily
determinative as to whether a permit is  required  pursuant  to  section
24-0701 of this article.
* NB Effective January 1, 2025
* 3.  "Boundaries  of a freshwater wetland" shall mean the outer limit
of the vegetation specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one
of section 24-0107 and of the lands and waters  specified  in  paragraph
(c) of such subdivision.
* NB Effective until January 1, 2025
* 3.  "Boundaries  of a freshwater wetland" shall mean the outer limit
of the vegetation specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one
of this section and of the lands and waters specified in  paragraph  (c)
of such subdivision.
* NB Effective January 1, 2025
4. "Local government" shall mean a village, town, city, or county.
5. "State agency" shall mean any state department, bureau, commission,
board or other agency, public authority or public benefit corporation.
6.  "Person"  means  any  corporation, firm, partnership, association,
trust, estate, one or more individuals, and any unit  of  government  or
agency or subdivision thereof, including the state.
7. "Board" shall mean the freshwater wetland appeals board.
* 8.  "Pollution"  shall  mean  the  presence  in  the  environment of
man-induced conditions or contaminants in quantities or  characteristics
which  are  or  may  be  injurious to human, plant or wildlife, or other
animal life or to property.
* NB Effective until January 1, 2025
* 8.  "Pollution"  shall  mean  the  presence  in  the  environment of
human-induced   conditions,   or   contaminants   in    quantities    or
characteristics  which  are  or  may  be  injurious  to  human, plant or
wildlife, or other animal life or to property.
* NB Effective January 1, 2025
* 9. "Unusual importance" shall mean a freshwater wetland,  regardless
of  size, that possesses one or more of the following characteristics as
determined by the department pursuant to regulations:
(a) it is located in a  watershed  that  has  experienced  significant
flooding  in the past, or is expected to experience significant flooding
in the future from severe storm events related to climate change;
(b) it is located within or adjacent to an urban area, as  defined  by
the United States census bureau;
(c)  it  contains  a plant species occurring in fewer than thirty-five
sites  statewide  or  having  fewer  than  five   thousand   individuals
statewide;
(d)  it contains habitat for an essential behavior of an endangered or
threatened species or a species of  special  concern  as  defined  under
section  11-0535  of  this  chapter  or  listed as a species of greatest
conservation need in New York's wildlife action plan;
(e) it is classified by the department as a Class I wetland;
(f) it was previously classified and mapped by  the  department  as  a
wetland of unusual local importance;
(g)  it  is a vernal pool that is known to be productive for amphibian
breeding;
(h) it is located in an area designated as  a  floodway  on  the  most
current Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) produced by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency;
(i)  it  was  previously  mapped  by the department as a wetland on or
before December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-four;
(j) it has wetland functions and values that are of local or  regional
significance; or
(k)  it  is  determined  by  the  commissioner  to  be  of significant
importance to protecting the state's water quality.
* NB Effective January 1, 2025
* 10. "Delineation" shall mean a precise representation of a regulated
freshwater wetland as defined in subdivision one of this section.
* NB Effective January 1, 2025