2599

DEFINITIONS

2599.1

When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:

Act – the Fisheries and Wildlife Omnibus Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Law 21-282; D.C. Official Code § 8-1731.02 et seq.).

Certification – certification by the District pursuant to section 401 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1341) that a federal Clean Water Act Section 404 (33 U.S.C. § 1344) permit or letter of approval issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers complies with the District’s laws and regulations.

Critical Area rules – means this chapter and Chapter 26 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.

Critical Areas -- means the following areas and ecosystems:

1. (a) Areas containing species of local importance;
2. (b) Critical aquifer recharge areas;
3. (c) Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas;
4. (d) Frequently-flooded areas;
5. (e) Wetlands; and
6. (f) Areas the Department designates, by rule, as critical areas.

Department – the Department of Energy and Environment, or its successor agency.

District – the District of Columbia

Enforcement Notice – a document that identifies a violation, assesses a proposed civil infraction fine, and provides an opportunity to resolve the matter with the Department prior to adjudication by the OAH.

Maintenance –

1. (a) Means activities undertaken to prevent the deterioration, impairment, or need for repair of a serviceable fill area, structure, right-of-way, or land use, including management of vegetation and

replacement of structural components.

(b) Does not include dredging, excavating, or filling, unless such action is conducted in a temporary sediment control structure, wash pond, or roadside ditch.

Mitigation – the restoration, creation, enhancement, or preservation of aquatic resources for the purposes of offsetting unavoidable adverse impacts that remain after all appropriate and practicable avoidance and minimization measures have been taken.

Notice of Infraction – a document identifying a violation and assessing a civil infraction fine that is subject to adjudication by OAH upon request of the recipient.

Person -- any individual, partnership, corporation (including a government corporation), trust association, firm, joint stock company, organization, commission, or the District or federal government.

Project – the entire activity on one or more parcels of land, of which a regulated activity is a part, including all proposed and projected phases and sections of land subdivisions.

Regulated activity – any of the following activities that are undertaken or originate in a wetland or stream:

1. (a) Removing, excavating, dredging, or filling with soil including sediments, sand, gravel, minerals, organic matter, or materials of any kind;
2. (b) Changing, blocking or diverting existing drainage characteristics, sedimentation patterns, flow patterns, or flood retention characteristics;
3. (c) Disturbing the surface water level or groundwater elevation by drainage, impoundment, diversion, filling, or other means;
4. (d) Dumping or discharging or filling with materials;
5. (e) Grading or removing materials that would alter existing topography;
6. (f) Destroying or removing plant or aquatic life that would alter the character of a wetland;

(g) Introducing plant or aquatic life that would alter the character of a wetland;

(h) Diverting, obstructing, or piping water flow from its natural path;

(i) Conducting sediment or water sampling activities or studies;

(j) Driving piles, paving, and placing obstructions; and

(k) Undertaking other activities that change the physical, biological, and chemical integrity of a wetland.

Wetland –

(a) Means an area that is inundated by tides or saturated by surface 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

(b) Includes a marsh, swamp, pond, or vernal pool.

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

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 5254 (May 14, 2021).