Sec. 32-217. Definitions

Adaptive Vegetation - plant species which are not native but provide similar value to native species and grow successfully in Maryland.

Adverse Impact - any diminishment of nontidal wetland acreage or function.

Agricultural Activity - aquaculture and farming activities including plowing, tillage, cropping, seeding, cultivating, and the grazing and raising of livestock, sod production and other products cultivated as part of a recognized commercial enterprise, and harvesting for production of food and fiber products, excluding forest products. The definition includes tobacco, nursery stock, Christmas trees, aquaculture ponds, and other ponds used to conduct farming activities. Activities that result in a change to a land use other than agriculture are not agricultural activities. Structures or temporary storage areas related to sale of products are excluded from this definition.

Agriculture - a land use dominated by the production of food, fiber, aquaculture or livestock, and other products cultivated as part of a recognized commercial enterprise.

Applicant - a person who signs the Nontidal Wetland Concept Plan and Nontidal Wetland Permit Application.

Aquaculture - the commercial rearing of finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants for sale, trade, barter or shipment.

Aquaculture Facility - a pond, impoundment, raceway or tank and their associated structures essential for the purpose of aquaculture.

Areas that have Lain Fallow - areas used for agriculture or forestry activities that are not in production for agriculture or forest products.

Avoid - to refrain from conducting an activity that may adversely impact a nontidal wetland.

Best Management Practices - conservation practices or systems of practices and management measures that:

Bog - a nontidal wetland characterized by organic soils, accumulated peat, and soils saturated to the surface through the year with minimal fluctuation in water level.

Buffer - a regulated area 25 feet in width surrounding a nontidal wetland, measured from the outer edge of the nontidal wetland.

Clean Water Act - the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, as amended by the Clean Water Act of 1977 and later amendments (33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.).

Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan - a plan developed in cooperation with Federal, State and local agencies and approved by the County and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) that addresses nontidal wetland protection, creation, restoration, enhancement, cumulative impacts, flood protection, water supply concerns and other natural resource elements for a specific area or region.

Corps Delineation Manual - the Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual, Technical Report Y-87-1 and any subsequent amendments, which is incorporated by reference.

Creation - actions performed which establish nontidal on upland sites.

Critical Habitat - habitat necessary for the survival of threatened or endangered species, or species in need of conservation.

Department - the Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement.

Destruction or Removal of Plant Life that would alter the Character of a Nontidal Wetland:

Director - the Director of the Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement or the designee of the Director.

Discharge of Fill Material - the addition of fill material, from any source, into a nontidal wetland area. Activities that can result in the discharge of fill material include:

Disturbance of Water Level or Water Table - the alteration of the existing elevation of groundwater or surface water by:

Drainage basin - an area drained by a river system. In Prince George's County this includes the Anacostia, Patuxent and Potomac drainage basins.

Drainage of Nontidal Wetlands - methods used to change the hydrologic conditions of nontidal wetlands, including lowering groundwater or surface water levels through pumping, piping, ditching or otherwise altering water flow patterns.

Emergent Nontidal Wetland - that portion of a nontidal wetland dominated by erect, rooted, herbaceous vegetation as the uppermost vegetation strata.

Enhancement - those actions performed to provide additional protection to, or to create, or improve the functions of a nontidal wetland or other aquatic sites or resources.

Excavation - to dig or remove soil, rocks or other materials resulting in a change in all or part of the elevation of a site.

Expanded Buffer - a regulated area of 100 feet in width surrounding a non-tidal wetland, measured from the wetland boundary and established because of the presence of steep slopes, highly erodible soils, other soils with development constraints, or the presence of Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern.

Extenuating Circumstances - conditions as defined in Section 32-220(e) and (g) requiring extension of a set time limit to process an application, render decision, or conduct a public informational hearing.

Farmed Nontidal Wetland - an area of Nontidal Wetland that is presently tilled, grazed, or under conservation tillage for agricultural activities or is lying fallow and has been out of production for agricultural activities for less than five (5) consecutive years.

FEMA Maps - the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) and the Flood Boundary and Floodway maps of the County prepared by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and any subsequent amendments.

Fill - any materials placed in an area which alters the elevation of the site, groundwater level, or the soil surface.

Floodplain or County Floodplain - includes all those areas within the County which will be inundated by the 100-year flood, as determined by FEMA and the County.

Forested Nontidal Wetland - that portion of a nontidal wetland dominated by woody vegetation greater than 20 feet in height.

Forestry Activity - planting, cultivating, thinning, harvesting or any other activity undertaken to use forest resources or to improve their quality or productivity. Activities that change nontidal wetlands to another land use, including but not limited to agricultural or development, are not forestry activities.

Function includes, but is not limited to, the roles nontidal wetlands serve through:

General Area - the geographic or market vicinity that has desired characteristics for fulfilling the basic project purpose.

Grazing - feeding on grass or other herbaceous plants in fields.

Hydric Soils - soils that are saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions that favor the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation as defined in the Corps Delineation Manual.

Hydrologically Connected - a nontidal wetland:

Hydrophyte - plant life adapted to growth and reproduction under periodically saturated root zone conditions during at least a portion of the growing season. A listing of these plants can be found in the "National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands: 1988, Maryland," which is incorporated by reference.

Initial Planning Phase - the period of time in which the feasibility of a project is evaluated before committing resources necessary for its implementation.

In kind - a characteristic closely approximating those of a nontidal wetland before it was adversely impacted by a regulated activity.

Intermittent Stream - those areas that are surface waters, contained within a defined channel or bed that flow at least once per year. A defined channel or bed is indicated by hydraulically sorted sediment, or the removal of vegetative litter, or loosely rooted vegetation by the action of moving water.

Isolated Nontidal Wetland - a nontidal wetland that is not hydrologically connected through surface or subsurface flow to streams, tidal or nontidal wetlands or tidal waters.

Landscape Management - to maintain or enhance vegetation that was planted or manipulated for aesthetic purposes. Landscape management includes mowing, pruning and private gardening, excluding agricultural activities.

Landscape Management Area - an area predominately covered by grasses or herbaceous ground cover established and maintained for horticultural purposes. The landscape management area may include a lawn which contains trees, shrubs or other plants.

Loss of Nontidal Wetland:

Maintenance - activities undertaken to prevent the deterioration, impairment, or need of a serviceable fill area, structure, right-of-way, or land use, which includes management of vegetation and replacement of structural components.

MDE - the Maryland Department of the Environment, Standards and Certification Division.

MDNR - the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Water Resources Administration, Nontidal Wetlands Division.

Minimize - to reduce the adverse impact on a nontidal wetland to the greatest practicable and reasonable degree.

Mitigation - creation, restoration, or enhancement of nontidal wetlands that were or will be lost due to regulated activities.

Mitigation Bank - an area approved by the Department and used for wetland mitigation projects required for future wetland impacts, usually from multiple projects, and operated using a system of credits and debits based on acreage or functions as specified by the Department.

Mitigation Banking - wetland restoration, creation, or enhancement undertaken expressly for the purpose of providing compensation credits for wetland losses from future activities.

Nontidal Wetland - an area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, and is determined according to the Corps Delineation Manual.

Nontidal Wetland Concept Plan - a pre-application review process used to provide the applicant with information about the presence of nontidal wetlands to determine: if there are any potential adverse impacts on nontidal wetlands as a result of the proposed project; if those impacts can be avoided; and if those impacts can then be minimized, before the applicant has committed substantial resources in the project site. Use of the Nontidal Wetland Concept Plan review is for guidance purposes only; it does not imply approval of a Unified Nontidal Wetland Permit.

Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern - those areas designated, based on the criteria in COMAR 08.05.04.23 and listed in COMAR 08.05.04.26, as having exceptional ecological or educational value of Statewide significance. Nontidal Wetlands of Special State Concern in Prince George's County are listed in Section 32-239.

Off-Site - not on the same parcel as the nontidal wetland which has been adversely impacted by a regulated activity.

On-Site - the same parcel on which a nontidal wetland has been adversely impacted by a regulated activity.

Out of Kind - biological characteristics not closely approximating those of the nontidal wetland before it was adversely impacted by a regulated activity.

Peat Mining - the extraction of peat of a commercially valuable quality and quantity.

Person - the federal government, the State, any county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the State, or any of their units, or an individual receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other entity.

Practicable - available and capable of being done after taking into consideration the costs, existing technology, and logistics in light of the overall project purpose.

Project - the entire activity on a parcel of land, including all proposed and projected phases and sections of land subdivisions, of which all regulated or other activities conducted in a nontidal wetland, buffer or expanded buffer are a part.

Project Purpose - the principal reason for conducting all regulated activities and other activities on a project site.

Regulated Activity:

Repair - an activity that restores the character, scope, size, and design of a serviceable fill area, structure, or land use to its previously authorized and undamaged condition. Activities that change the size or scope of a project beyond the original design in order to drain, dredge, fill, flood, change the hydrology, or otherwise convert nontidal wetlands that were not previously impacted by the project are not included in this definition. Minor deviations to plans or specifications are allowed as long as no permanent nontidal wetland impact results from the deviation.

Restoration or Restore - actions performed to return nontidal wetland acreage and function temporarily impacted by a regulated activity. Restoration also means actions performed to establish nontidal wetlands on former nontidal wetland sites.

Scrub-Shrub Wetland - that portion of a nontidal wetland dominated by woody vegetation less than 20 feet in height as the uppermost strata.

Serviceable - presently usable or currently fulfilling its basic, original purpose.

Significant Plant or Wildlife Value - a nontidal wetland:

Site Development - any grading, grubbing or disturbance to remove unwanted vegetation and other material from a parcel of land for development, maintenance or reconstruction.

Soil Conservation and Water Quality Plan - a land use plan for a farm that shows a farmer how to make best possible use of soil and water resources while protecting and conserving those resources for the future.

Spring - a nontidal wetland that discharges groundwater at the surface to form a pool or to provide intermittent or perennial surface flow, and is usually characterized by saturated or organic soils.

State Water Quality Certification - a certification issued by MDE pursuant to the Clean Water Act, Section 401.

Structure - anything constructed or built and affixed, except for those structures built in order to maintain the wetland as part of an approved mitigation plan.

Utility Line - any underground or overhead transmission line, pipe, cable, or wire for the conveyance of public or private water or sewer, natural gas or the transmission of electrical, radio or telecommunications service.

Water-Dependent Activity - an activity for which the use of surface water is essential to fulfill the basic purpose of the proposed project.

Watershed - the area draining into a river, river system or body of water. A watershed is a subunit of a drainage basin. Some examples of watersheds within Prince George's County are Tinker's Creek, Piscataway Creek and Western Branch.

Wetland Boundary - the point the ground at which a shift from wetlands to nonwetlands occurs pursuant to the Corps Delineation Manual.

Wildlife - any species of a vertebrate or invertebrate animal, excluding domestic species.