Florida Administrative Code › 62 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 62 - Departmental › Chapter 62-340 - DELINEATION OF THE LANDWARD EXTENT OF WETLANDS AND SURFACE WATERS › Section 62-340.500 - Hydrologic Indicators

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
The indicators below may be used as evidence of inundation or
				  saturation when used as provided in Rule
				   62-340.300, F.A.C. Several of
				  the indicators reflect a specific water elevation. These specific water
				  elevation indicators are intended to be evaluated with meteorological
				  information, surrounding topography and reliable hydrologic data or analyses
				  when provided, to ensure that such indicators reflect inundation or saturation
				  of a frequency and duration sufficient to meet the wetland definition in
				  subsection  62-340.200(19),
				  F.A.C., and not rare or aberrant events. These specific water elevation
				  indicators are not intended to be extended from the site of the indicator into
				  surrounding areas when reasonable scientific judgment indicates that the
				  surrounding areas are not wetlands as defined in subsection
				   62-340.200(19),
				  F.A.C.
(1) Algal mats. The presence or
				remains of nonvascular plant material which develops during periods of
				inundation and persists after the surface water has receded.
(2) Aquatic mosses or liverworts on trees or
				substrates. The presence of those species of mosses or liverworts tolerant of
				or dependent on surface water inundation.
(3) Aquatic plants. Defined in subsection
				 62-340.200(1),
				F.A.C.
(4) Aufwuchs. The presence
				or remains of the assemblage of sessile, attached or free-living, nonvascular
				plants and invertebrate animals (including protozoans) which develop a
				community on inundated surfaces.
(5) Drift lines and rafted debris.
				Vegetation, litter, and other natural or manmade material deposited in discrete
				lines or locations on the ground or against fixed objects, or entangled above
				the ground within or on fixed objects in a form and manner which indicates that
				the material was waterborne. This indicator should be used with caution to
				ensure that the drift lines or rafted debris represent usual and recurring
				events typical of inundation or saturation at a frequency and duration
				sufficient to meet the wetland definition of subsection
				 62-340.200(19),
				F.A.C.
(6) Elevated lichen lines. A
				distinct line, typically on trees, formed by the water-induced limitation on
				the growth of lichens.
(7) Evidence
				of aquatic fauna. The presence or indications of the presence of animals which
				spend all or portions of their life cycle in water. Only those life stages
				which depend on being in or on water for daily survival are included in this
				indicator.
(8) Hydrologic data.
				Reports, measurements, or direct observation of inundation or saturation which
				support the presence of water to an extent consistent with the provisions of
				the definition of wetlands and the criteria within this rule, including
				evidence of a seasonal high water table at or above the surface according to
				methodologies set forth in
Soil and Water Relationships of Florida's
				Ecological Communities
(Florida Soil Conservation Staff
				1992).
(9) Morphological plant
				adaptations. Specialized structures or tissues produced by certain plants in
				response to inundation or saturation which normally are not observed when the
				plant has not been subject to conditions of inundation or saturation.
(10) Secondary flow channels. Discrete and
				obvious natural pathways of water flow landward of the primary bank of a stream
				watercourse and typically parallel to the main channel.
(11) Sediment deposition. Mineral or organic
				matter deposited in or shifted to positions indicating water
				transport.
(12) Vegetated tussocks
				or hummocks. Areas where vegetation is elevated above the natural grade on a
				mound built up of plant debris, roots, and soils so that the growing vegetation
				is not subject to the prolonged effects of soil anoxia.
(13) Water marks. A distinct line created on
				fixed objects, including vegetation, by a sustained water
				elevation.
Rulemaking Authority
					 373.421 FS. Law Implemented
					 373.421,
					 373.4211
					 FS.
New 7-1-94, Formerly
					 17-340.500.