NEW HAMPSHIRE WETLAND BUREAU - GLOSSARY OF TERMS
PART Wt 101 DEFINITIONS
REVISION NOTE:
Document #5536, effective 12-23-92, made extensive changes to the wording and numbering of rules containing definitions in Part Wt 101. Document #5536 supersedes all prior filings for the sections in this part and Parts Wt 102 and Wt 103. Document #5536 contained many definitions which amended or incorporated definitions in Part Wt 601, which was subsequently repealed by Document #5551, effective 1-5-93.
The prior filings for former Part Wt 101 include the following documents:
#2271, eff 1-10-83
#2923, eff 12-10-84
#2924, eff 12-11-84
#3072, eff 7-26-85
#4039, eff 4-10-86
#4292, eff 7-13-87
#4386, eff 3-10-88
#5028, eff 12-20-90
Please note that some of the rules in former part Wt 101 had EXPIRED: between 12-11-90 and 12-20-90.
Wt 101.01 "Abandonment" means the failure, for a period of 5 years, to maintain an existing structure in a condition so that it is functional and intact.
Wt 101.02 "Abutter" means any person who owns property immediately adjacent and contiguous to the property on which the project will take place. This does not include those properties across a public road. An abutter includes an owner of any flowage rights on or immediately adjacent to the property on which the project will take place. If the project is located on waterfront or another area which by its configuration brings non-contiguous properties into close proximity to the project, owners of those properties are considered as abutters. The term does not include the owner of a parcel of land located more than one quarter mile from the limits of the proposed project.
Wt 101.03 "Applicant" means any person with a property interest in the land on which the project is to be located sufficient for the applicant legally to proceed with the project, or one acting as an agent of such a person.
Wt 101.04 "Bank" means the transitional slope immediately adjacent to the edge of a surface water body, the upper limit of which is usually defined by a break in slope, or, for a wetland, where a line delineated in accordance with Wt 301.01 indicates a change from wetland to upland.
Wt 101.05 "Beach" means a sloping shore of a surface water body consisting of sand, gravel, or cobble extending from adjacent upland/wetland to or in a surface water body.
Wt 101.06 "Boathouse" means a docking facility which has a permanent roof with or without sides covering the boat slip or slips.
Wt 101.07 "Boatslip" means a volume of water 20 feet long, 6 feet wide and 2 feet deep as measured at normal high water, and located adjacent to a structure to which a watercraft may be secured.
Wt 101.08 "Bog" means a wetland distinguished by stunted evergreen trees and shrubs, peat deposits, poor drainage, and/or highly acidic soil and/or water conditions.
Wt 101.09 "Breakwater" means a structure extending generally perpendicular from the shore into surface waters of the state that is designed to protect sections of shoreline, docks, wharves or anchorage areas from erosion or damage from waves or currents.
Wt 101.10 "Bulkhead" means a vertical retaining wall built along a waterfront to contain fill.
Wt 101.11 "Bureau" means the wetlands bureau within the water division of the department of environmental services.
Wt 101.12 "Canopy" means a seasonal open structure with a flexible fabric roof not able to withstand the expected snow load and without side walls, which is erected to shelter watercraft during the boating season.
Wt 101.13 "Commercial use of structures" means use with compensation or other consideration to the owner of the structure(s). This shall include but is not limited to, the transfer, lease, sale, rent, or other temporary or permanent conveyance, of an interest in such a structure when such action(s) is not also applied to the property to which it is appurtenant.
Wt 101.14 "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of environmental services.
Wt 101.15 "Conservation commission" means a municipal body established under RSA 36-A with statutory standing before the department under RSA 482-A:11, III, which provides a local source of assistance to both the department and applicants.
Wt 101.16 "Continued agricultural use" means that a wetland has been used as cropland or pasture with sufficient frequency, and sufficient recentness, that the land has not reverted to a scrub-shrub wetland, emergent marsh, or forested wetland.
Wt 101.17 "Corduroy road" means logs, limbs or branches placed to provide support for logging equipment crossing a wet area which has no standing water and no defined channels.
Wt 101.18 "Council" means wetlands council established by RSA 21-O:5-a.
Wt 101.19 "Cribs" means an enclosure or framework of timber or prefabricated concrete which is securely fastened together and filled with stone ballast and which is typically used to support a structure in the water.
Wt 101.20 "Cropland" means land used to produce plant species adapted for harvest, alone or in rotation with grasses and legumes, and includes areas dedicated to vegetables, grain, hay, pasture, fodder, sod, nursery stock, orchards and similar produce.
Wt 101.21 "Department" means the department of environmental services.
Wt 101.22 "Developed upland" means upland areas within the tidal buffer zone where:
The natural soil and vegetation characteristics over a majority of the lot have been legally altered and have not returned to a natural state; and
The area contains at least 2 of the following criteria:
Filled or excavated land;
Paved or graded land in use as a parking lot or a roadway;
A lot occupied by residential or commercial buildings;
A lot which is surrounded by residentially or commercially developed lots on at least 2 sides.
Wt 101.23 "Director" means the director of the water division within the department.
Wt 101.24 "Dock" as a noun or "docking facility" means a structure intended for securing of watercraft and/or to discharge and load passengers, freight, and other goods whether the structure is in the water or not.
Wt 101.25 "Dock" as a verb means to secure watercraft adjacent to a structure.
Wt 101.26 "Dolphin" means a rigid permanent structure installed in a beach, bank, or the bottom of a water body, for such purposes as securing watercraft or protecting an area from ice floes. Dolphins can be constructed with piles, pile clusters, caissons, concrete pillars, or structures of a similar nature.
Wt 101.27 "Drainage swale" means a shallow vegetated trough where water flows during runoff and which is insufficient to create a defined channel or to maintain wetlands vegetation.
Wt 101.28 "Dredge" means to dig, excavate, or otherwise disturb the contour or integrity of sediments in the bank or bed of a wetland, a surface water body, or other area within the department's jurisdiction.
Wt 101.29 "Dredge spoils" means material removed as the result of dredging.
Wt 101.32 "Erosion control" means the utilization of methods to contain soil particles and to prevent them from being displaced or washed down slopes by rainfall or run-off and include, but are not limited to:
Seeding;
Mulching; or
Using haybales, siltation fences, or impermeable material.
Wt 101.33 "Excavate" means to dig, remove, or form a cavity or a hole in an area within the department's jurisdiction.
Wt 101.34 "Fetch" means the length of uninterrupted water surface over which the wind blows in a constant direction.
Wt 101.35 "Fill" as a noun means any rock, soil, gravel, sand or other such material that has been deposited or caused to be deposited by human activity.
Wt 101.36 "Fill" as a verb means to place or deposit materials in or on a wetland, surface water body, bank or otherwise in or on an area within the jurisdiction of the department.
Wt 101.38 "Float" means a platform anchored near a shoreline for watercraft, commercial or recreational use that is supported by buoyancy devices.
Wt 101.39 "Grandfathered status" means that a structure:
Was in place before permit jurisdiction under RSA 482-A:3, I or its predecessor statute, RSA 483-A:1, I, took effect;
Has remained unaltered in location, size and configuration; and
Has not been abandoned within the meaning of Wt 502.05, Wt 303.05(a)(4), Wt 101.01.
Wt 101.41 "Hydric soil" means soil that is saturated or flooded during a sufficient portion of the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil layers.
Wt 101.42 "Hydrophyte" means a plant adapted for life in water or saturated soils.
Wt 101.43 "Intermittent stream" means a stream that flows for sufficient time to develop and maintain a defined channel, but which might not flow during dry portions of the year.
Wt 101.44 "Jetty" means a structure extending generally perpendicular to the shore into tidal waters or a surface water body and designed to protect sections of shoreline, docks, wharves or anchorage areas from erosion or damage from waves or currents.
Wt 101.45 "Jurisdiction" means the regulatory authority under RSA 482-A.
Wt 101.46 "Maintenance of structures" means the repair or replacement of existing legal structures.
Wt 101.47 "Major docking system" means a large and complex docking facility that requires utilization of more than 100 feet of waterfront or provides a total of 5 or more boatslips, including those previously existing and proposed.
Wt 101.48 "Major project" means a project of such size and scope that it has the potential to create a significant impact on wetlands or waters of the state, pursuant to Wt 303.02.
Wt 101.49 "Marina" means a commercial waterfront facility whose principal use is the provision of publicly available services such as the securing, launching, storing, fueling, servicing and repairing of watercraft.
Wt 101.50 "Marsh" means a wetland:
That is distinguished by the absence of trees and shrubs;
Dominated by soft-stemmed herbaceous plants such as grasses, reeds, and sedges; and
Where the water table is at or above the surface throughout the year, but can fluctuate seasonally.
Wt 101.51 "Minimum impact project" means a minor project that by virtue of its size and nature is likely to have a negligible impact by itself or in the aggregate pursuant to Wt 303.04, provided adequate measures are employed to protect the environment.
Wt 101.52 "Minor project" means a project of such size, scope or nature that it has the potential of having more than a negligible impact upon wetlands or waters of the state or other areas within the department's jurisdiction pursuant to Wt 303.03, unless adequate measures are employed to protect the environment.
Wt 101.53 "Mooring" means a temporary, removable or permanent device, such as a buoy, to which watercraft can be secured.
Wt 101.54 "Navigable frontage" means the frontage that can be accessed by a boat having at least a 6 foot beam and 2 foot draft at normal high water.
Wt 101.55 "Nontidal wetland" means a wetland not subject to periodic inundation by tidal waters.
Wt 101.56 "Normal high water" for lakes or ponds means the full lake elevation as determined by the director.
Wt 101.57 "Open pile construction" means piles installed far enough apart to allow free flow and passage of water and marine life.
Wt 101.58 "Pasture" means a form of cropland devoted to the production of native or introduced forage which is normally harvested by grazing.
Wt 101.59 "Permanent dock" means a dock in which the dock and/or its supports are designed to remain in the bank or surface water bottom throughout the non-boating season. Permanent docks can be supported by piles or cribs in the water or can be cantilevered from the bank.
Wt 101.60 "Permit action" means approval, approval with conditions, partial approval, or denial of an application for a permit pursuant to RSA 482-A.
Wt 101.61 "Pier" means a docking structure built generally perpendicular to the shore intended for securing watercraft and/or for discharging and loading passengers, freight, and other goods.
Wt 101.62 "Pile" means a long, slender column of timber, steel, concrete, stone, or other rigid material driven or jetted into a beach, bank or bottom of a waterbody.
Wt 101.63 "Public hearing" means a public proceeding conducted for the purpose of acquiring information that will be considered in evaluating a proposed permit and/or a removal/restoration action, and which affords the public the opportunity to present its views, opinions and information.
Wt 101.64 RESERVED
Wt 101.65 "Repair" means the restoring of an existing legal structure by partial replacement of worn, broken, or unsound parts.
Wt 101.66 "Replacement" means the substitution of a new structure for an existing legal structure with no change in size, dimensions, location, configuration, construction, or which conforms in all material aspects to the original structure.
Wt 101.67 "Retaining wall" means a structure constructed generally parallel to and against the shoreline to sustain a bank or prevent erosion.
Wt 101.68 "Revetment" means a sloped facing of layered stone, concrete, or other hard material built to protect a bank or embankments by dissipating wave energy.
Wt 101.69 "Rip-rap" means cobble-sized and boulder-sized rocks placed on a bank to prevent erosion.
Wt 101.70 "Rocker box" means a mechanical device used to separate gold and other minerals from lighter sediments.
Wt 101.71 "Seasonal dock or seasonal structure" means a dock and any associated supports designed to be completely removed from the water during the non-boating season and includes pipe docks or floating docks.
Wt 101.72 "Sedimentation controls" means silt fences, hay bales, and other methods utilized to trap water-borne sediment and provide protection against erosion until properly installed erosion controls can take effect.
Wt 101.73 "Shoal" means a portion of a waterbody where the bottom is usually submerged, with insufficient depth to allow for safe navigation for some watercraft.
Wt 101.74 "Shoreline frontage" means the average of the distances of the actual natural navigable shoreline footage and a straight line drawn between property lines, both of which are measured at the normal high water line.
Wt 101.75 "Significant environmental impact" means that a proposed project is classified as a major project in accordance with Wt 303.02 and the jurisdictional resources to be impacted by the proposed project are an important physical component of a wetland ecosystem or coastal zone ecosystem.
Wt 101.76 "Siltation curtain" means an impervious barrier erected to prevent silt and sand and/or fines from being washed into a wetland, surface water body or other area of concern.
Wt 101.77 "Sluice" means an inclined trough to conduct water to a rocker box for separating gold and other minerals from lighter sediments.
Wt 101.78 "Structure" means something installed, erected or constructed. Structure(s) include, but are not limited to, the following: fence, dock, breakwater, post, pile, building, bridge, culvert and wall.
Wt 101.79 "Substantial public interest" means where the jurisdictional resources to be impacted by the proposed project are of special value from a local, regional, or state perspective and issues are raised pursuant to RSA 482-A:1.
Wt 101.80 "Surface water body" or "surface waters" means those portions of waters of the state, as defined by RSA 482-A:4, which have standing or flowing water at or on the surface of the ground. This includes but is not limited to rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and tidal waters.
Wt 101.81 "Swamp" means a wetland that is dominated by trees and/or shrubs.
Wt 101.86 "Unnecessary hardship" means a hardship created by a special condition of the land which distinguishes it from other land in the same area. A hardship does not exist if it relates to the personal circumstances of the landowner rather than the land itself.
Wt 101.87 "Weephole" means a small drainage opening used to allow proper drainage and prevent frost and ice damage to retaining structures.
Wt 101.88 "Wetland" means an area that is inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support and that under normal conditions does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands include, but are not limited to, swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
Wt 101.89 "Wet meadow" means a herb-dominated area typically with non-woody vegetation less than 3 feet in height, saturated for long periods during the growing season, but seldom flooded. Wet meadows develop on predominantly poorly drained or hydric B soil conditions as defined by Env-Ws 1014.02.
Wt 101.90 "Wharf" means a docking structure built generally parallel to the shore and used to secure watercraft and/or to discharge and load passengers, freight and other goods.