Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part I - Office of the Secretary › Subpart 1 - General › Chapter 7 - Coastal Management › Subchapter A - Definitions › Section I-700 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
Administrator
-the
administrator
of the Office of Coastal Management of the
						Department of Natural Resources.
Advanced Mitigation Project
- a project
						implemented to create, restore, protect, and/or enhance wetlands for the
						purpose of producing ecological values, measured as average annual habitat
						units or cumulative habitat units (advanced mitigation credits). Such projects
						must be approved by the secretary prior to implementation, and the advanced
						mitigation credits shall have limited utility for the purpose of compensating
						for the ecological values lost due to a permitted activity.
Affected Landowner
- the owner of the
						land on which a proposed activity, which would result in an unavoidable net
						loss of ecological value, is to occur.
Affected Parish
- the parish in which a
						proposed activity, which would result in an unavoidable net loss of ecological
						value, is to occur.
After-the-Fact Permit
- a coastal use
						permit which is issued after the commencement of a use. Such a permit may only
						be issued after all legal issues resulting from the commencement of a use
						without a coastal use permit have been resolved.
Alterations of Waters Draining in Coastal
						Waters
- those uses or activities that would alter, change, or
						introduce polluting substances into runoff and thereby modify the quality of
						coastal waters. Examples include water control impoundments, upland and water
						management programs, and drainage projects from urban, agricultural and
						industrial developments.
Approved Local Program
- a local coastal
						management program which has been and continues to be approved by the secretary
						pursuant to 214.28 of the State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act
						(SLCRMA).
Average Annual Habitat Unit
- a unit of
						measure of ecological value; average annual habitat units are calculated by the
						formula: (sum of cumulative habitat units for a given project scenario) /
						(project years).
Beneficial Use of Dredged Material-
use
						of dredged material excavated and not replaced pursuant to a proposed activity
						for which a coastal use permit is required, so as to protect, create, or
						enhance wetlands; use of material dredged pursuant to an alternative dredging
						activity to protect, create, or enhance wetlands, so as to offset failure to
						use the dredged material from the proposed activity to protect, create, or
						enhance wetlands; or contribution to the Coastal Resources Trust Fund to
						replace, substitute, enhance, or protect ecological values, so as to offset
						failure to use the dredged material from the proposed activity to protect,
						create, or enhance wetlands.
Beneficial Use of Dredged Material
						Plan-
( BUDM plan) a document submitted to the secretary for approval
						as part of an application, specifying the beneficial use of dredged material
						proposed by the applicant.
Best Practical Techniques
- those methods
						or techniques which would result in the greatest possible minimization of the
						adverse impacts listed in §701. G and in specific guidelines applicable to
						the proposed use. Those methods or techniques shall be the best methods or
						techniques which are in use in the industry or trade or among practitioners of
						the use, and which are feasible and practical for utilization.
Coastal Resources
-wetlands, beaches,
						dunes, salt domes, reefs, cheniers, and other rare or ecologically sensitive
						areas as determined by the secretary.
Coastal Use Permit
- a permit required by
						214.30 of the SLCRMA. The term does not mean or refer to, and is in addition
						to, any other permit or approval required or established pursuant to any other
						constitutional provision or statute.
Coastal Water Dependent Uses
- those
						which must be carried out on, in or adjacent to coastal water areas or wetlands
						because the use requires access to the water body or wetland or requires the
						consumption, harvesting or other direct use of coastal resources, or requires
						the use of coastal water in the manufacturing or transportation of goods.
						Examples include surface and subsurface mineral extraction, fishing, ports and
						necessary supporting commercial and industrial facilities, facilities for the
						construction, repair and maintenance of vessels, navigation projects, and
						fishery processing plants.
Coastal Waters
- those bays, lakes,
						inlets, estuaries, rivers, bayous, and other bodies of water within the
						boundaries of the coastal zone which have measurable seawater content (under
						normal weather conditions over a period of years).
Coastal Zone
- the term
coastal
						zone
shall have the same definition as provided in 214.24 of the
						SLCRMA.
Compensatory Mitigation
- replacement,
						substitution, enhancement, or protection of ecological values to offset
						anticipated losses of ecological values caused by a permitted activity.
Conservation Servitude
- as defined at
						R.S.
						9:1272(1), means a
						nonpossessory interest of a holder in immovable property imposing limitations
						or affirmative obligations the purposes of which include retaining or
						protecting natural, scenic, or open-space values of immovable property,
						assuring its availability for agricultural, forest, recreational, or open-space
						use, protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or water
						quality, or preserving the historical, archaeological, or cultural aspects of
						unimproved immovable property.
Consistency Authorization
-a letter or
						other formal notification stating that the Office of Coastal Management has
						found that the proposed activity is consistent, to the maximum extent
						practicable, with the Louisiana Coastal Resources Program.
Contaminant
- an element causing
						pollution of the environment that would have detrimental effects on air or
						water quality or on native floral or faunal species.
Corps
- the U.S. Army Corps of
						Engineers.
Cumulative Habitat Unit
- a unit of
						measure of ecological value; for each time interval within the project years,
						cumulative habitat units are calculated by the formula: CHUs =
						(T2 - T1) x
						{[(A1 x HSI1 +
						A2 x HSI2) / 3] +
						[(A2 x HSI1 +
						A1 x HSI2) / 6]}, where
						T1 = first year of time interval,
						T2 = last year of time interval,
						A1 = acres of habitat at beginning of time interval,
						A2 = acres of habitat at end of time interval,
						HSI1 = habitat suitability index at beginning of time
						interval, and HSI2 = habitat suitability index at end of
						time interval; the source of this formula is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
						Service's Ecological Services Manual 102, Habitat Evaluation Procedures.
Cumulative Impacts
- impacts increasing
						in significance due to the collective effects of a number of activities.
Department
- the Department of Natural
						Resources.
Development Levees
- those levees and
						associated water control structures whose purpose is to allow control of water
						levels within the area enclosed by the levees to facilitate drainage or
						development within the leveed areas. Such levee systems also commonly serve for
						hurricane or flood protection, but are not so defined for purposes of these
						guidelines.
Direct and Significant Impact
- a direct
						and significant modification or alteration in the physical or biological
						characteristics of coastal waters which results from an action or series of
						actions caused by man.
Dredge
or
Dredging
-(verb) the removal by excavation or any other means
						of native material, including soil, sand, mud, clay, and semisolid sediment,
						regardless of whether the material supports or is supporting vegetation, from
						any lands or water bottoms in the coastal zone of
						Louisiana
.
Dredged Material-
soil, mud, and/or other
						sediment that will be dredged pursuant to a proposed activity for which a
						coastal use permit or other authorization is required.
Ecological Value
- the ability of an area
						to support vegetation and fish and wildlife populations.
Endangered Species
- as defined in the
						Endangered Species Act, as amended, any species which is in danger of
						extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range other than a
						species of the Class Insecta determined by the Secretary of the U.S. Department
						of Interior to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of the
						Endangered Species Act, as amended, would present an overwhelming and
						overriding risk to man.
Expectable Adverse Conditions
- natural
						or man-made hazardous conditions which can be expected or predicted to occur at
						regular intervals. Included are such events as 125 mile per hour hurricanes and
						associated tides, 100 year floods and reasonably probable accidents.
Fastlands
- lands surrounded by
						publicly-owned, maintained, or otherwise validly existing levees or natural
						formations as of January 1, 1979, or as may be lawfully constructed in the
						future, which levees or natural formations would normally prevent activities,
						not to include the pumping of water for drainage purposes, within the
						surrounded area from having direct and significant impacts on coastal
						waters.
Feasible and Practical
- those locations,
						methods and/or practices which are of established usefulness and efficiency and
						allow the use or activity to be carried out successfully.
Federal Advisory Agencies
- include, but
						are not limited to, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. National
						Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the
						U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Force Majeure
- an act of God, war,
						blockade, lightning, fire, storm, flood, and any other cause which is not
						within the control of the party claiming force majeure.
Future with Project Scenario
- portrayal
						of anticipated changes to ecological values (i.e., habitat values and wetland
						acreage) throughout the project years in a situation where a given project
						would be implemented.
Future without Project Scenario
-
						portrayal of anticipated changes to ecological values (i.e., habitat values and
						wetland acreage) throughout the project years in a situation where a given
						project would not be implemented.
Geologic Review Procedure
-a process by
						which alternative methods, including alternative locations, for oil and gas
						exploration are evaluated on their environmental, technical, and economic
						merits on an individual basis; alternative methods, including alternative
						locations, of oil and gas production and transmission activities which are
						specifically associated with the proposed exploration activity shall also be
						evaluated in this process. These alternative methods, including alternative
						locations, are presented and evaluated at a meeting by a group of
						representatives of the involved parties. A geologic review group is composed,
						at a minimum, of representatives of the applicant, a petroleum geologist and a
						petroleum engineer representing the Office of Coastal Management and/or the New
						Orleans District Corps of Engineers, and a representative of the Office of
						Coastal Management Permit Section, and may include, but is not limited to,
						representatives of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the
						Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Army Corps of
						Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. National Marine
						Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Governmental Body
- any public
						department, agency, bureau, authority, or subdivision of the government of the
						United States or the state of Louisiana and shall include parishes and
						municipalities and subdivisions thereof and those governmental agencies
						constitutionally established.
Guidelines
- those rules and regulations
						adopted pursuant to 214.27 of the SLCRMA.
Habitat
- the natural environment where a
						plant or animal population lives.
Habitat Types
- the general wetland
						vegetative communities which exist in the Louisiana Coastal Zone, including
						fresh marsh, intermediate marsh, brackish marsh, saline marsh, fresh swamp, and
						bottomland hardwoods.
Holder
- as defined at
						R.S.
						9:1272(2), means:
1. a governmental body empowered to hold an interest in
						immovable property under the laws of this state or the United States; or
2. a charitable corporation, charitable association, or
						charitable trust, the purposes or powers of which include retaining or
						protecting the natural, scenic, or open-space values of immovable property,
						assuring the availability of immovable property for agricultural, forest,
						recreational, or open-space use, protecting natural resources, maintaining or
						enhancing air or water quality, or preserving the historical, archaeological,
						or cultural aspects of unimproved immovable property.
Hurricane or Flood Protection
						Levees
-those levees and associated water control structures whose
						primary purpose is to prevent occasional surges of flood or storm generated
						high water. Such levee systems do not include those built to permit drainage or
						development of enclosed wetland areas.
Hydrologic and Sediment Transport
						Modifications
- those uses and activities intended to change water
						circulation, direction of flow, velocity, level, or quality or quantity of
						transported sediment. Examples include locks, water gates, impoundments,
						jetties, groins, fixed and variable weirs, dams, diversion pipes, siphons,
						canals, and surface and groundwater withdrawals.
Hydrologic Basin
- one of the nine
						general drainage areas within the Louisiana Coastal Zone as delineated on pages
						A-2 and A-3 of the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration
						Plan, April 1990.
Impoundment Levees
- those levees and
						associated water control structures whose primary purpose is to contain water
						within the levee system either for the prevention of the release of pollutants,
						to create fresh water reservoirs, or for management of fish or wildlife
						resources.
Infrastructure
- those systems which
						provide needed support for human social institutions and developments,
						including transportation systems, public utilities, water and sewerage systems,
						communications, educational facilities, health services, law enforcement and
						emergency preparedness.
In-Lieu Permit
- those permits issued
						in-lieu of coastal use permits pursuant to 214.31 of the SLCRMA.
Levees
- any use or activity which
						creates an embankment to control or prevent water movement, to retain water or
						other material, or to raise a road or other lineal use above normal or flood
						water levels. Examples include levees, dikes and embankments of any
						sort.
Linear Facilities
- those uses and
						activities which result in creation of structures or works which are primarily
						linear in nature. Examples include pipelines, roads, canals, channels, and
						powerlines.
Local Government
- a governmental body
						having general jurisdiction and operating at the parish level.
Local Program
- same as
approved
						local program
.
Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation
						Plan
-this Plan, an agreement between the state and the Environmental
						Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and U.S. Fish
						and Wildlife Service (USFWS), delineates an area of current and historic
						tidally influenced wetlands in the Louisiana coastal area. As one of the
						elements of this plan, the state of Louisiana pledged a goal of no net loss of
						coastal wetland value due to permitted activities.
Marsh
- wetlands subject to frequent
						inundation in which the dominant vegetation consists of reeds, sedges, grasses,
						cattails, and other low growth.
Master Plan-
Integrated Ecosystem
						Restoration and Hurricane Protection: Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for
						a Sustainable Coast, promulgated by the Coastal Protection and Restoration
						Authority pursuant to
						R.S.
						49:213.1, et seq., as in effect on the date
						of submission of a complete application.
Minerals
- oil, gas, sulfur, geothermal,
						geopressured, salt, or other naturally occurring energy or chemical resources
						which are produced from below the surface in the coastal zone. Not included are
						such surface resources as clam or oyster shells, dirt, sand, or gravel.
Mitigation
- all actions taken by a
						permittee to avoid, minimize, restore, and compensate for ecological values
						lost due to a permitted activity.
Mitigation Bank
- an area identified,
						with specific measures implemented to create, restore, protect, and/or enhance
						wetlands, for the purpose of producing ecological values, measured as average
						annual habitat units or cumulative habitat units (mitigation credits). Those
						credits may be donated, sold, traded, or otherwise used for the purpose of
						compensating for the ecological values lost due to a permitted activity.
Mitigation Measure
-any activity that
						provides a net ecological benefit to wetland habitat; an ecological
						enhancement. These measures seek to restore and/or enhance coastal wetland
						habitat. Examples of
mitigation measures
include, but are not
						limited to:
1. vegetation plantings;
2. marsh creation;
3. hydrology improvement;
4. converting a non-wetland site to a wetland;
5. etc.
Off-Site
- not within or adjoining the
						area directly modified by the permitted activity and not directly related to
						implementation of the permitted activity.
Oil, Gas and Other Mineral Activities
-
						those uses and activities which are directly involved in the exploration,
						production, and refining of oil, gas, and other minerals. Examples include
						geophysical surveying, establishment of drill sites and access to them,
						drilling, on site storage of supplies, products and waste materials,
						production, refining, and spill cleanup.
On-Site
- within or adjoining the area
						directly modified by the permitted activity or directly related to
						implementation of the permitted activity.
Overriding Public Interest
- the public
						interest benefits of a given activity clearly outweigh the public interest
						benefits of compensating for wetland values lost as a result of the activity,
						as in the case of certain mineral extraction, production, and transportation
						activities or construction of flood protection facilities critical for
						protection of existing infrastructure.
Particular Areas
- areas within the
						coastal zone of a parish with an approved local program which have unique and
						valuable characteristics requiring special management procedures. Such areas
						shall be identified, designated, and managed by the local government following
						procedures consistent with those for special areas.
Permit
- a coastal use
permit
, or an in-lieu
permit
.
Permitting Body
- either the Department
						of Natural Resources or a local government with an approved local program with
						authority to issue, or that has issued, a coastal use permit authorized by the
						SLCRMA.
Person
- any natural individual,
						partnership, association, trust, corporation, public agency or authority,
						governmental body, or any other legal or juridical
person
created by law.
Project Years
- the anticipated number of
						years that the proposed activity would have a negative or positive impact on
						the ecological value of the site.
Project years
shall be 20
						years for marsh habitats and 50 years for forested habitats, unless it is
						clearly demonstrated by the applicant and accepted by the secretary to be
						shorter in duration.
Public Hearing
- a hearing announced to
						the public at least 30 days in advance, at which all interested persons shall
						be afforded a reasonable opportunity to submit data, views or arguments, orally
						or in writing. At the time of the announcement of the
public
						hearing
all materials pertinent to the hearing, including documents,
						studies, and other data, in the possession of the party calling the hearing,
						must be made available to the public for review and study. As similar materials
						are subsequently developed, they shall be made available to the public as they
						become available to the party which conducted the hearing.
Radioactive Wastes
- wastes containing
						source, special nuclear, or by-product material as defined by the Atomic Energy
						Act of 1954, as amended (68 Stat. 923).
Residential Coastal Use
-any coastal use
						associated with the construction or modification of one single-family, duplex,
						or triplex residence or camp. It shall also include the construction or
						modification to any outbuilding, bulkhead, pier, or appurtenance on a lot on
						which there exists a single-family, duplex, or triplex residence or camp or on
						a water body which is immediately adjacent to such lot.
Secondary Impact
- an impact which
						would:
1. result from the proposed activity;
2. cause significant modifications or alterations to the
						physical characteristics of acreage beyond the limit of the area depicted as
						being altered in the accepted permit application drawings; and
3. be identified and quantified by the secretary based on
						an evaluation of similar and previously implemented activities.
Secretary
- the
secretary
of the Department of Natural Resources, or his
						designee.
Sediment Deposition Systems
- controlled
						diversions of sediment-laden water in order to initiate land building or
						sediment nourishment or to minimize undesirable deposition of sediment in
						navigation channels or habitat areas. Typical activities include diversion
						channels, jetties, groins, or sediment pumps.
Shoreline Modifications
- those uses and
						activities planned or constructed with the intention of directly or indirectly
						changing or preventing change of a shoreline. Examples include bulkheading,
						piers, docks, wharves, slips, and short canals, and jetties.
SLCRMA
- the State and Local Coastal
						Resources Management Act of 1978, Act 361 of 1978 as amended,
						R.S.
						49:214.21-49:214.42.
Spoil Deposition
- the deposition of any
						excavated or dredged material.
State Advisory Agencies
- include, but
						are not limited to, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the
						Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
Surface Alterations
- those uses and
						activities which change the surface or usability of a land area or water
						bottom. Examples include fill deposition, land reclamation, beach nourishment,
						dredging (primarily areal), clearing, draining, surface mining, construction
						and operation of transportation, mineral, energy and industrial facilities, and
						industrial, commercial, and urban developments.
Third Party Right of Enforcement
- as
						defined at
						R.S. 9:1272.(3),
						means a right provided in a conservation servitude to enforce any of the terms
						granted to a governmental body, charitable corporation, charitable association,
						or charitable trust, which, although eligible to be a holder, is not a
						holder.
Toxic Substances
- those substances
						which, by their chemical, biological or radioactive properties, have the
						potential to endanger human health or other living organisms or ecosystems, by
						means of acute or chronic adverse effects, including poisoning, mutagenic,
						teratogenic, or carcinogenic effect.
Unavoidable Net Loss of Ecological
						Values
- the net loss of ecological value that is anticipated to occur
						as the result of a permitted/authorized activity, despite all efforts, required
						by the guidelines, to avoid, minimize, and restore the permitted/authorized
						impacts.
Uplands
- lands 5 feet or more above sea
						level, fastlands, or all lands outside the coastal zone.
Use
- any use or activity within the
						coastal zone which has a direct and significant impact on coastal
						waters.
Waste
- any material for which no use or
						reuse is intended and which is to be discarded.
Waste Disposal
- those uses and
						activities which involve the collections, storage and discarding or disposing
						of any solid or liquid material. Examples include littering; landfill; open
						dumping; incineration; industrial waste treatment facilities; sewerage
						treatment; storage in pits, ponds, or lagoons; ocean dumping and subsurface
						disposal.
Water or Marsh Management Plan
- a
						systematic development and control plan to improve and increase biological
						productivity, or to minimize land loss, saltwater intrusion, erosion or other
						such environmental problems, or to enhance recreation.
Wetlands
-
1. for the purposes of this Chapter except for §724,
						open water areas or areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or
						groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and under normal
						circumstances, do support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life
						in saturated soil conditions;
2. for the purposes of
						§724 (as defined
						in
						R.S.
						49:214.41), an open water area or an area
						that is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and
						duration to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a
						prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil
						conditions, but specifically excluding fastlands and lands more than 5 feet
						above sea level which occur in the designated coastal zone of the state.
						Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar
						areas.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
						Promulgated in accordance with
						R.S.
						49:214.21-49:214.41.