1. 1. In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise provides:

1. a. 'Commission' means state water commission.

2. b. 'Community' means any political subdivision that has the authority to zone.

3. c. 'Conveyance' or 'hydraulic conveyance' means a geometric characteristic of a river or watercourse at a given point that determines the flow-carrying capacity at that point.

4. d. 'Department' means the department of water resources.

5. e. 'District' means a water resource district, as defined in chapter 61-16.1.

6. f. 'Flood fringe' means that portion of a floodplain outside of the floodway.

7. g. 'Floodplain management' means a community-based effort to prevent or reduce the risk of flooding. Floodplain management may be associated generally with the national flood insurance program [42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.].

8. h. 'Floodplain management ordinance' means a building code, zoning, subdivision, health, or special purpose ordinance, and any other use of police power, which provide standards for communities to manage known flood hazards in all official actions relating to land management and use. A floodplain management ordinance may be associated with the national flood insurance program [42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.] to ensure participating communities meet state and federal minimum standards.

9. i. 'Floodway' or 'regulatory floodway' means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot [30.48 centimeters].

10. j. 'Person' means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, agency, or any other private or governmental organization, which includes any agency of the United States, a state agency, or any political subdivision of the state.

2. For the purposes of this chapter, the department shall follow the definitions in this section and the definitions under the national flood insurance program [42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.] and implementing regulations.