Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 150 - Water Resources › Subchapter 15 - Wetlands › Part 3 - Rules and Regulations Governing the Administration and Enforcement of the Freshwater Wetlands Act › Section 250-RICR-150-15-3.4 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. For the purposes of these Rules, the
				  following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "AAD" means the Department's
				  Administrative Adjudication Division for Environmental Matters.
2. "Accessory structure" means a structure
				  that has an ancillary or supplementary function to the main use of the
				  property. Accessory structures include, but are not limited to, amateur radio
				  towers; flag poles; swing sets; slides; decks; patios; gardens; sheds;
				  in-ground or aboveground swimming pools; fences that do not span or obstruct
				  public access to rivers, streams, and other waterbodies (along and within
				  boundaries or areas such as existing home lawns and driveways); treehouses;
				  drinking water wells with a volume of withdrawal no greater than five hundred
				  (500) gallons a day; walls; stairs; walks; and pervious driveways.
3. "Act" means the Freshwater Wetlands Act as
				  set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws §§
											2-1-18 through
				  2-1-27, as from time to time
				  amended.
4. "Alter" or
				  "alteration" means to change (act of changing) the character of a freshwater
				  wetland, buffer, floodplain, area subject to flooding or area subject to storm
				  flowage as a result of activities within or outside of these resources. Such
				  activities include, but are not limited to, the following: Excavating;
				  draining; filling; placing trash, garbage, sewage, road runoff, drainage ditch
				  effluent, earth, rock, borrow, gravel, sand, clay, peat, or other materials or
				  effluents upon; diverting water flows into or out of; diking; damming;
				  diverting; clearing; grading; constructing in; adding to or taking from; or
				  other activities that individually or cumulatively change the character of any
				  freshwater wetland, buffer, floodplain, area subject to flooding or area
				  subject to storm flowage.
5.
				  "Aquatic base flow" or "ABF" means minimum river or stream flow conditions
				  necessary to sustain indigenous aquatic fauna and flora, as determined by one
				  (1) of the following:
a. Where a minimum of
				  twenty-five (25) years of U.S. Geological Survey gauging records exist on a
				  river or stream that is basically free-flowing, the ABF for all times of the
				  year shall be equivalent to at least the median August flow for the period of
				  record unless spawning and incubation requirements exceed the median August
				  flow; or
b. Where a river or stream
				  lacks adequate flow data, or where it is regulated by a dam or upstream
				  diversion, the ABF shall be at least one half (0.5) cubic feet per second per
				  square mile of drainage (cfsm), unless spawning and incubation requirements
				  exceed this minimum; or
c. Where
				  concerns exist regarding spawning and incubation flow requirements, the ABF
				  shall be one (1.0) cfsm in October/November and four (4.0) cfsm in April/May
				  for the entire applicable spawning and incubation periods of aquatic fauna;
				  or
d. Where a specific in-stream
				  flow study identifies an ABF based upon the specific needs of aquatic fauna or
				  flora, the ABF shall conform to the results of that study, provided the ABF is
				  approved by the Department.
6. "Area subject to flooding" or "ASF" means
				  areas that include, but are not limited to, low-lying areas that collect, hold
				  or meter out storm and flood waters from any of the following: rivers, streams,
				  intermittent streams or areas subject to storm flowage.
7. "Area subject to storm flowage" or "ASSF"
				  means areas that include drainage swales and channels that lead into, out of,
				  pass through or connect other freshwater wetlands or coastal wetlands, and that
				  carry flows resulting from storm events, but may remain relatively dry at other
				  times.
8. "Best management
				  practices" or "BMPs" means generally accepted practices, procedures and
				  management techniques that include, but are not limited to, schedules of
				  activities, prohibitions, maintenance procedures, structural and non-structural
				  methods, and other management approaches to prevent or minimize any reduction
				  of the functions and values associated with freshwater wetlands, buffers or
				  floodplains.
9. "Bog" means
				  consistent with R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(3), a place
				  where standing or slowly running water shall be near or at the surface during a
				  normal growing season and/or where a vegetational community shall have over
				  fifty percent (50%) of the ground or water surface covered with sphagnum moss
				  (Sphagnum) and/or where the vegetational community shall be made up of one (1)
				  or more of, but not limited to nor necessarily including all of the following:
				  blueberries and cranberries (
Vaccinium
), leatherleaf
				  (
Chamaedaphne calyculata
), pitcher plant (
Sarracenia
				  purpurea
), sundews (
Drosera
), orchids
				  (
Orchidaceae
), white cedar (
Chamaecyparis
				  thyoides
), red maple (
Acer rubrum
), black spruce
				  (
Picea mariana
), bog aster (
Aster nemoralis
),
				  larch (
Larix laricina
), bog rosemary (
Andromeda
				  glaucophylla
), azaleas (
Rhododendron
), laurels
				  (
Kalmia
), sedges (
Carex
), and bog cotton
				  (
Eriophorum
).
10.
				  "Buffer" means pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(4), an area
				  of undeveloped vegetated land adjacent to a freshwater wetland that is to be
				  retained in its natural undisturbed condition or is to be created to resemble a
				  naturally occurring vegetated area. For the purpose of defining buffer in these
				  Rules, "adjacent to" means land area within the buffer zone.
11. "Buffer zone" means an area of land
				  within a jurisdictional area that is contiguous to a freshwater wetland and the
				  width of which is designated in §
											3.23 of this
				  Part.
12. "Completed application"
				  means any application that, in the opinion of the Department, provides all of
				  the requisite information necessary to process the application in accordance
				  with R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-22(a) and
				  these Rules.
13. "CRMC" means the
				  Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.
14. "CRMC regulations" means the Rules and
				  Regulations Governing the Protection and Management of Freshwater Wetlands in
				  the Vicinity of the Coast (650-RICR- 20-00-9) adopted by the Coastal Resources
				  Management Council pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
											46-23-6.
15. "Cumulative impact" means the combined
				  impact on the freshwater wetland, buffer and floodplain environment and their
				  functions and values which may result from past, present and future alterations
				  to the same freshwater wetland, buffer and floodplain system, regardless of
				  what agency or person undertakes such alterations.
16. "Dam" or "damming" means any barrier made
				  by humans, including appurtenant works, that impounds or diverts surface water.
				  Damming means to impound water by means of a dam.
17. "Department" means the Department of
				  Environmental Management (DEM). When used in the context of an action,
				  authorization or permit, it shall mean the agent of the Department duly
				  authorized by the Director to take such action, grant such authorization or
				  approve such permit.
18. "Dike"
				  means a berm or structure that impedes, redirects, diverts, or otherwise
				  controls the flow or elevation of water.
19. "Director" means, as defined by R.I. Gen.
				  Laws §
											2-1-20(6), the
				  Director of the Department of Environmental Management or his or her duly
				  authorized agent or agents.
20.
				  "Drain" means to lower the surface water or groundwater elevation, either
				  temporarily or on a permanent basis.
21. "Edge" means the line of intersection or
				  division between:
a. Any swamp, marsh, pond,
				  bog, vernal pool or emergent and submergent plant communities and its
				  associated buffer zone; or
b.  Any
				  flowing body of water and its associated buffer zone; or
c. Any floodplain, area subject to flooding or area
				  subject to storm flowage and adjacent non-flooded or non-flowing
				  areas.
d. The edge shall be
				  identified according to those procedures set forth in §
												3.21 of this
				  Part.
22. "Emergent
				  plant community" means a freshwater wetland characterized by erect, rooted,
				  herbaceous hydrophytic vegetation that is present for most of the growing
				  season in most years, and that may be persistent or non-persistent in
				  nature.
23. "Excavate" means to dig
				  into, cut, quarry, uncover, remove, displace, relocate, or grade any earth,
				  soil, sand, gravel, rock, peat, organic, inorganic or any other similar
				  material.
24. "Existing" means:
a. A condition that was present as of the
				  enactment of the Act (July 1971) or its applicable amendments and that has
				  continually remained in the same condition; or
b. A condition that is present and was
				  approved under the Act (July 1971) or its applicable amendments; or
c. A condition that was present on the
				  effective date of these Rules that was in a previously non-regulated area and
				  which is now, pursuant to these Rules, a regulated area; or
d. A condition that has naturally occurred
				  and is currently present.
25. "Facultative wildlife species" means
				  wildlife that utilize freshwater wetlands or buffers as habitat, but generally
				  do not require freshwater wetlands for survival or reproduction.
26. "Farmer" means an individual, partnership
				  or corporation that operates a farm and has filed a Form 1040F or comparable
				  instrument with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, has a State of Rhode Island
				  farm tax number, and has earned ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) gross income
				  on farm products in each of the preceding four (4) years.
27. "Feasible" means capable of being done,
				  executed, accomplished or brought about by engineering standards.
28. "Fill" means dirt, soil, stones, gravel,
				  sand, sediment, tree stumps, brush, leaves, solid waste, debris, garbage,
				  trash, grass clippings, pollutants, or any other material, substance, or
				  structure placed in a freshwater wetland, buffer, floodplain, area subject to
				  flooding or area subject to storm flowage; or any action that places such
				  material in a freshwater wetland, buffer, floodplain, area subject to flooding
				  or area subject to storm flowage.
29. "Floodplain" means as defined in R.I.
				  Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(7), that
				  land area adjacent to a river or stream or other body of flowing water which
				  is, on the average, likely to be covered with flood waters resulting from a one
				  hundred (100) year frequency storm. A "one hundred (100) year frequency storm"
				  is one that is to be expected to be equaled or exceeded once in one hundred
				  (100) years; or may be said to have a one percent (1%) probability of being
				  equaled or exceeded in any given year.
30. "Floodway" means the channel of a river
				  or stream and any immediately adjacent areas that must be kept free of
				  encroachment to allow one hundred (100) year flood waters to be carried without
				  increase in flood heights or flows and without endangering life or
				  property.
31. "Flowing body of
				  water" means any river, stream, or intermittent stream that flows long enough
				  during the year to develop and maintain defined channels, and generally has
				  flowing water at times other than those periods immediately following storm
				  events. Such watercourses have defined banks, a bed, and maintain visible
				  evidence of flow or continued reoccurrence of flowing water.
32. "Freshwater wetlands" means, as
				  consistent with R.I. Gen. Laws § 2-120(8), except as specified in R.I.
				  Gen. Laws §
											2-1-22(k), and
				  includes, but is not limited to:
a. Those
				  areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater 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 including, but is not limited to, marshes, swamps, bogs, emergent
				  and submergent plant communities, rivers, streams, ponds, and vernal pools or
				  any combination thereof; or
b. Any
				  or all freshwater wetlands created as part of, or the result of, any activity
				  permitted or directed by the Department after July 16, 1971 including, but not
				  limited to: restored freshwater wetlands; value replacement freshwater wetlands
				  created to compensate for wetland loss such as floodplain excavations; and any
				  freshwater wetlands created, altered or modified after July 16, 1971.
33. "Freshwater
				  wetlands for farmers conducting normal farming and ranching activities" means,
				  pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-22(k), for
				  farmers undertaking activities specified in R.I. Gen. Laws §§
											2-1-22(i)(1) and
				  (2), freshwater wetlands shall be defined as:
a. Freshwater wetlands;
b. Floodplains;
c. Areas subject to storm flowage;
d. Areas subject to flooding, as defined
				  herein;
e. The land area within two
				  hundred feet (200') of a flowing body of water having a width of ten feet (10')
				  or more during normal flow;
f. The
				  area of land within one hundred feet (100') of a flowing body of water having a
				  width of less than ten feet (10') during normal flow; and
g. The area of land within fifty feet (50')
				  of a bog, marsh of one (1) acre or greater, swamp of three (3) acres or greater
				  and pond not less than one quarter (1/4) acre in extent.
34. "Freshwater wetlands in the vicinity of
				  the coast" means, consistent with the R.I. Gen. Laws §
											46-23-6, freshwater wetlands and
				  the associated jurisdictional area, as defined within this Part, seaward of the
				  jurisdictional boundary that are regulated by the Coastal Resources Management
				  Council in accordance with the Rules and Regulations Governing the Protection
				  and Management of Freshwater Wetlands in the Vicinity of the Coast (650-RICR-
				  20-00-9).
35. "Growing season"
				  means the period from April 1st to November
				  15th of any calendar year.
36. "Hydrophyte" or "hydrophytic vegetation"
				  means a plant or plant life that grows in water, or in or on a substrate that
				  is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of saturation or
				  flooding by groundwater or surface water.
37. "Insignificant alteration" means in the
				  opinion of the Department, a proposed alteration, limited in scope, area or
				  duration, which appears to result in no more than a minimal change or
				  modification to the characteristics, functions or values of any freshwater
				  wetland(s), buffer(s), floodplain(s), area(s) subject to flooding or area(s)
				  subject to storm flowage and is not random, unnecessary or
				  undesirable.
38. "Invasive species"
				  means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic
				  or environmental harm, or harm to human health.
39. "Jurisdictional area" means, pursuant to
				  R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(9), the
				  following lands and waters, as defined within this Part, except as provided for
				  in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-22(k), that
				  shall be subject to regulation under these Rules:
a. Freshwater wetlands;
b. Buffers;
c. Floodplains;
d. Areas subject to storm flowage;
e. Areas subject to flooding; and
f. Contiguous areas that extend outward:
(1) Two hundred feet (200') from the edge of
				  a river or stream;
(2) Two hundred
				  feet (200') from the edge of a drinking water supply reservoir; and
(3) One hundred feet (100') from the edge of
				  all other freshwater wetlands.
40. "Jurisdictional boundary" means the line
				  determined by the Department and the Coastal Resources Management Council,
				  pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
											46-23-6, that designates areas of
				  freshwater wetland-related authority as depicted on maps available by the
				  Department (see §
											3.22 of this
				  Part).
41. "Lentic" means a habitat
				  or ecosystem characterized by standing water.
42. "Lotic" means a habitat or ecosystem
				  characterized by flowing water.
43.
				  "Low-flow period" means under normal conditions, the period from July
				  1st  to October 31st of
				  any calendar year.
44. "Low hazard
				  dam" means a dam where failure or misoperation results in no probable loss of
				  human life and low economic losses.
45. "Marsh" means, consistent with R.I. Gen.
				  Laws §
											2-1-20(10), a
				  place wholly or partly within the State of Rhode Island where a vegetational
				  community shall exist in standing or running water during the growing season
				  and/or shall be made up of one (1) or more of, but not limited to nor
				  necessarily including all of the following plants or groups of plants:
				  hydrophytic reeds (
Phragmites
), grasses
				  (
Gramineae
), mannagrasses (
Glyceria
),
				  cutgrasses (
Leersia
), pickerelweeds
				  (
Pontederiaceae
), sedges (
Cyperaceae
), rushes
				  (
Juncaceae
), cattails (
Typha
), water
				  plantains (
Alismataceae
), burreeds
				  (
Sparganiaceae
), pondweeds (
Zosteraceae
),
				  frog's bits (
Hydrocharitaceae
), arums
				  (
Araceae
), duckweeds (
Lemnaceae
), water
				  lilies (
Nymphaeaceae
), water-milfoils
				  (
Haloragaceae
), water-starworts
				  (
Callitrichaceae
), bladderworts
				  (
Utricularia
), pipeworts (
Eriocaulon
), sweet
				  gale (
Myrica gale
), and buttonbush (
Cephalanthus
				  occidentalis
).
46.
				  "Mitigate" or "mitigation" means a process undertaken by single or cumulative
				  actions to avoid or lessen the damaging effects of human activities upon
				  freshwater wetlands and buffers and the functions and values that they provide
				  prior to, during, or after the completion of any project or activity.
47. "Near or at the surface" means, as
				  defined in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(11), within
				  eighteen inches (18") of the surface.
48. "Normal farming and ranching activities"
				  means, consistent with R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-22(i)(1),
				  projects and activities carried out by farmers, including plowing, seeding,
				  cultivating, land clearing for routine agriculture purposes, harvesting of
				  agricultural products, pumping of existing farm ponds for agricultural
				  purposes, upland soil and water conservation practices, and maintenance of
				  existing farm drainage structures, existing farm ponds and existing farm roads,
				  and any other activity determined by the Division of Agriculture to constitute
				  a normal farming activity.
49.
				  "Obligate wildlife species" means wildlife that depend upon freshwater wetlands
				  for all or part of their life cycle.
50. "Permit" means an authorization in the
				  form of a document issued and signed by the Department, allowing a project or
				  activity subject to specific terms and conditions in accordance with these
				  Rules.
51. "Person" means any
				  individual; corporation; partnership; public utility; nonprofit organization;
				  trust; unincorporated association; Federal, State, county or local government,
				  or any agency or subdivision thereof; or any other entity; or any combination
				  of the foregoing.
52. "Pollutant"
				  means any dredged material; solid waste; incinerator residue; sewage; garbage;
				  sewage sludge; sediment; filter backwash; munitions; chemical wastes;
				  biological materials; radioactive materials; heat; wrecked or discarded
				  equipment; rock; sand; dirt; industrial or municipal or agricultural wastes or
				  effluent; petroleum or petroleum products including but not limited to oil; or
				  any material which will likely alter any one (1) or more of the following: the
				  aesthetic, physical, chemical, biological or radiological characteristics or
				  integrity of any freshwater wetland, buffer or floodplain.
53. "Pollution" means the human-made or
				  human-induced alteration of the aesthetic, physical, chemical, biological or
				  radiological characteristics or integrity of any freshwater wetland, buffer or
				  floodplain as a result of the introduction of any pollutant to any freshwater
				  wetland, buffer or floodplain.
54.
				  "Pond" means, consistent with R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(12), a
				  place, natural or manmade, wholly or partly within the State of Rhode Island,
				  where open standing or slowly moving water shall be present for at least six
				  (6) months a year. For the purpose of these Rules, ponds exclude those places
				  within the State of Rhode Island that meet the definition of vernal
				  pool.
55. "Project" means planned
				  or designed work or undertaking, and for the purpose of the Rules, the term
				  project also indicates activities.
56. "Random, unnecessary, or undesirable
				  alteration" means:
a. A random alteration is
				  any alteration to freshwater wetlands, buffers, floodplains, areas subject to
				  flooding or areas subject to storm flowage for which the applicant does not
				  specify in the application the entire project proposed or contemplated by the
				  applicant or in which the purpose of the alteration cannot be determined.
b. An alteration is unnecessary
				  unless it is essential, vital, or indispensable to the project and cannot be
				  avoided by exhausting all other non-wetlands, buffers, floodplains, areas
				  subject to flooding or areas subject to storm flowage alternatives.
c. An undesirable alteration is any
				  alteration to freshwater wetlands, buffers, floodplains, areas subject to
				  flooding or areas subject to storm flowage that individually or cumulatively
				  may reduce or degrade any functions and values as set forth herein, which does
				  not avoid and minimize to the maximum extent possible any damaging effects on
				  these functions and values, or does not satisfy the review criteria in §
				  3.7.2 of this Part.
57.
				  "Rare" means when used in the context of species or freshwater wetland types,
				  those invertebrate and vertebrate animals or plant species or those freshwater
				  wetland types that are listed as threatened, endangered, of special interest or
				  of special concern by the Department or under the Federal Endangered Species
				  Act, 16 U.S.C. §
												1531
et. seq
. For the
				  purpose of these Rules bogs, fens, Atlantic white cedar swamps, floodplain
				  forests and freshwater pond shores with coastal plain species are considered
				  rare freshwater wetlands in Rhode Island.
58. "Recreational activities" means
				  activities that include, but are not limited to, the following: education or
				  nature studies, hunting, fishing, boating, canoeing, camping, trapping,
				  water-skiing, swimming, ice skating, hiking, bird watching or other wildlife
				  observations, photography, cross-country skiing, harvesting of natural foods or
				  plant materials, and visual/esthetic appreciation of natural environments as a
				  whole or in part.
59. "Restoration"
				  means the result of actions that, in the opinion of the Department, reinstate
				  or will reinstate, insofar as possible, the functions and values of a
				  freshwater wetland, buffer, floodplain, area subject to flooding or area
				  subject to storm flowage that has been altered.
60. "River" means, as defined in R.I. Gen.
				  Laws §
											2-1-20(13), a body
				  of water that is designated as a perennial stream by the United States
				  Department of Interior Geologic Survey on 7.5-minute series topographic maps,
				  and that is not a pond as defined in this Part.
61. "Rules" means these Rules and
				  Regulations, 250-RICR- 150-15-3, which govern the administration and
				  enforcement of the Act. Unless otherwise expressly stated, any reference herein
				  to the Rules incorporates the relevant provisions of the Act.
62. "Sediment" means any organic or inorganic
				  material that is in suspension, has been deposited, is being transported, or
				  has been moved from its site of origin by natural or human action.
63. "Selective cut/cutting" means the cutting
				  of trees, or the mowing or cutting of shrubs or emergent vegetation which would
				  result in:
a. At least sixty percent (60%)
				  stocking of trees remaining in any forested wetland. Stocking shall be based
				  upon the applicable northeastern tree stocking guide for the dominant tree type
				  within the forested wetland;
b. At
				  least seventy-five percent (75%) crown cover of shrubs remaining within any
				  shrub or forested wetland;
c. At
				  least eighty percent (80%) cover remaining in any emergent community.
64. "Setback" means, pursuant to
				  R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(14), the
				  minimum distance from the edge of a freshwater wetland at which an approved
				  activity or alteration may take place.
65. "Significant alteration" means in the
				  opinion of the Department, a proposed project which by its area, scope or
				  duration, appears to represent more than a minimal change or modification to
				  the characteristics, functions or values of any freshwater wetland(s),
				  buffer(s), floodplains(s), area(s) subject to flooding or area(s) subject to
				  storm flowage; may be detrimental to the basic natural capabilities or values
				  associated with any freshwater wetland(s), buffer(s), floodplain(s), area(s)
				  subject to flooding or area(s) subject to storm flowage; or appears to be
				  random, unnecessary or undesirable.
66. "Standing water" means non-flowing water
				  of any depth inundating the ground surface.
67. "Stream" means any flowing body of water
				  or watercourse other than a river that flows long enough each year to develop
				  and maintain a channel and that may carry groundwater discharge or surface
				  runoff. Such watercourses may not have flowing water during extended dry
				  periods but may contain isolated pools or standing water.
68. "Submergent plant community" means a
				  freshwater wetland characterized by plants that grow principally below the
				  surface of the water for most of the growing season. Submergent plants are
				  either attached to the substrate or float freely in the water.
69. "Substantial alteration of a dam" means,
				  consistent with the Rules and Regulations for Dam Safety, Part 130-05-1 of this
				  Title, any physical modification to a dam that results in a permanent change in
				  the water elevation of the reservoir or impoundment or in water flow downstream
				  of the dam.
70. "Surface water"
				  means water inundating the substrate or soil surface, regardless of
				  depth.
71. "Swamp" means,
				  consistent with R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(16), a
				  place wholly or partly within the State of Rhode Island where groundwater shall
				  be near or at the surface of the ground for a significant part of the growing
				  season, or where runoff water from surface drainage shall collect frequently,
				  and/or where a vegetational community shall be made up of a significant portion
				  of one (1) or more of, but not limited to nor necessarily including all of the
				  following: red maple (
Acer rubrum
), elm (
Ulmus
				  americana
), black spruce (
Picea mariana
), white cedar
				  (
Chamaecyparis thyoides
), ashes (
Fraxinus
),
				  poison sumac (
Rhus vernix
), larch (
Larix
				  laricina
), spice bush (
Lindera benzoin
), alders
				  (
Alnus
), skunk cabbage (
Symplocarpus
				  foetidus
), hellebore (
Veratrum viride
), hemlock
				  (
Tsuga canadensis
), sphagnums (
Sphagnum
),
				  azaleas (
Rhododendron
), black alder (
Ilex
				  verticillata
), coast pepperbush (
Clethra alnifolia
),
				  marsh marigold (
Caltha palustris
), blueberries
				  (
Vaccinium
), buttonbush (
Cephalanthus
				  occidentalis
), willow (
Salicaceae
), water willow
				  (
Decodon verticillatus
), tupelo (
Nyssa
				  sylvatica
), laurels (
Kalmia
), swamp white oak
				  (
Quercus bicolor
), or species indicative of marsh. For
				  purposes of this definition, "significant part of the growing season" means
				  that period of the growing season when water is present long enough to support
				  a plant community of predominantly hydrophytic vegetation.
72. "Terms and conditions" means any
				  requirements specified by the Department which it deems necessary to prevent
				  any authorized or permitted project or activity from reducing the functions and
				  values associated with any freshwater wetland, buffer, floodplain, area subject
				  to flooding or area subject to storm flowage; prevent any significant
				  alteration which is not authorized; prevent the destruction of any freshwater
				  wetland, buffer, floodplain, area subject to flooding or area subject to storm
				  flowage or portion thereof; or protect the health, welfare, and general
				  well-being of the public.
73.
				  "Undeveloped vegetated land" means an area of land that does not consist of
				  buildings, impervious surfaces, bare gravel, lawn or landscaped
				  areas.
74. "Undue hardship" means
				  an inappropriate, unsuitable, unlawful, or excessive standard or requirement
				  levied upon an applicant. This does not include economic diminution in
				  value.
75. "Utility" means any
				  electricity, water, sewer, gas, oil or communication transmission line or
				  pipe.
76. "Vernal pool" means,
				  pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
											2-1-20(17), a
				  depressional wetland basin that typically goes dry in most years and may
				  contain inlets or outlets, typically of intermittent flow. Vernal pools range
				  in both size and depth depending upon landscape position and parent materials.
				  Vernal pools usually support one (1) or more of the following obligate
				  indicator species: wood frog (
Lithobates sylvaticus
), spotted
				  salamander (
Ambystoma maculatum
), marbled salamander
				  (
Ambystoma opacum
), and fairy shrimp
				  (
Eubranchipus
spp.) and typically precludes sustainable
				  populations of predatory fish.
77.
				  "Water quality improvement project" means a project whose sole purpose is to
				  eliminate or minimize conditions that cause or contribute to water quality
				  degradation.
78. "Width during
				  normal flow" means the distance between the opposite edges of the flow channel
				  of a river or stream as determined by the criteria set forth in § 3.21.5
				  of this Part.
79. "Wildlife" means
				  any vertebrate or invertebrate animal species which may reproduce in, rest in,
				  feed in, or otherwise utilize any freshwater wetland or buffer regulated by
				  these Rules.
80. "Wildlife habitat"
				  means those freshwater wetlands or buffers that provide breeding, nursery,
				  resting, travel or feeding areas for birds, fish, reptiles, mammals,
				  amphibians, or invertebrates, as well as the biotic and abiotic characteristics
				  of freshwater wetlands or buffers that may provide food, cover, breeding sites,
				  or other support systems for these life forms.
81. "Wildlife habitat project" means a
				  project whose sole purpose is to create, restore or enhance wildlife
				  habitat.