1. (a) The following words, terms, abbreviations, and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

   1. (1) CCC or council--The Coastal Coordination Council.
   2. (2) CMP--The rules of the Texas Coastal Management Program in Chapters 501, 503, 505 and 506 of this title (relating to Coastal Management Program; Coastal Management Program Boundary; Council Procedures for State Consistency with Coastal Management Program Goals and Policies; and Council Procedures for Federal Consistency with Coastal Management Program Goals and Policies, respectively).

   3. (3) CNRA (coastal natural resource area)--An area as defined in Texas Natural Resources Code, §33.203(1), that is located within the coastal zone, defined as follows:

      1. (A) waters in the open Gulf of Mexico--waters in the state as defined in Texas Water Code, §26.001(5), that are part of the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico inside the territorial limits of the state;
      2. (B) waters under tidal influence--water in the state as defined in Texas Water Code, §26.001(5), that is subject to tidal influence according to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission's Stream Segment Maps, including coastal wetlands;
      3. (C) state submerged lands--land underlying waters under tidal influence or waters of the open Gulf of Mexico that is owned by the state;
      4. (D) coastal wetlands;
      5. (E) submerged aquatic vegetation--rooted aquatic vegetation growing in permanently inundated areas in estuarine and marine systems;
      6. (F) tidal sand or mud flat--silt, clay, or sand substrates, unvegetated or vegetated by algal mats, that occur in the intertidal zone and that are regularly or intermittently exposed and flooded by wind and water induced tides;
      7. (G) oyster reefs--natural or artificial formations in intertidal or subtidal areas that are composed of oyster shell, live oysters, and other organisms that are discrete, contiguous, and clearly distinguishable from scattered oysters;
      8. (H) hard substrate reefs--naturally occurring hard substrate formations, such as rock outcrops or serpulid worm reefs (living or dead), in intertidal or subtidal area;
      9. (I) coastal barriers--undeveloped areas on barrier islands and peninsulas or otherwise protected areas, as mapped by the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (Coastal Barrier Resource System Units);
      10. (J) coastal shore areas--all areas within 100 feet landward of the high water mark on state submerged land;
      11. (K) Gulf beaches--beaches bordering on the Gulf of Mexico that extend inland from the line of mean low tide to the natural line of vegetation bordering on the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico, or such larger contiguous area to which the public has acquired a right of use or easement to or over by prescription, dedication, or estoppel, or has retained a right by virtue of continuous right in the public since time immemorial;
      12. (L) critical dune areas--protected sand dune complexes on the Gulf shoreline within 1,000 feet of mean high tide as designated by the commissioner of the GLO under the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 63, Subchapter E, §63.121;
      13. (M) special hazard areas--areas designated by the administrator of the Federal Insurance Administration under the National Flood Insurance Act, 42 United States Code Annotated, §§4001 et seq, as having special flood, mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood-related erosion hazards, and shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map or Flood Insurance Rate Map as Zone A, AO, A1-30, AE, A99, AH, VO, V1-30, VE, V, M, or E;
      14. (N) critical erosion areas--areas designated by the commissioner of the GLO under the Texas Natural Resources Code, §33.601(b);
      15. (O) coastal historic areas--a site that is specially identified in rules adopted by the Texas Historical Commission as being coastal in character and that is on the National Register of Historic Places, designated pursuant to 16 United States Code Annotated, §470a, and Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36, Chapter 1, Part 63, or is a state archaeological landmarks, as defined in the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 191, Subchapter D; and
      16. (P) coastal parks, wildlife management areas, and preserves--any land owned by the state that is subject to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 26, by virtue of its designation and use as a park, recreation area, scientific area, wildlife refuge, or historic site and that is designated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission as being coastal in character.
   4. (4) Coastal zone--The area within the CMP boundary established in §503.1 of this title (relating to Coastal Management Program Boundary).

   5. (5) Coastal wetlands--Wetlands as defined in Texas Water Code, Chapter 11, Subchapter J, that:

      1. (A) lie seaward of the Coastal Facility Designation Line established by rules adopted under Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 40; or

      2. (B) lie within rivers and streams to the extent of tidal influence, as follows:

         1. (i) Arroyo Colorado from FM Road 1847 to 110 yards downstream of Cemetery Road south of the Port of Harlingen;
         2. (ii) Nueces River from U.S. Highway 77 to the Calallen Dam, 1.1 miles upstream of U.S. Highway 77 in Nueces/San Patricio County;
         3. (iii) Guadalupe River from State Highway 35 to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Salt Water Barrier at 0.4 miles downstream of the confluence with the San Antonio River in Calhoun/Refugio County;
         4. (iv) Lavaca River and Navidad River from FM Road 616 to a point to 5.3 miles downstream of U.S. Highway 59 and to Palmetto Bend Dam, respectively, in Jackson County;
         5. (v) Tres Palacios Creek from FM Road 521 to a point 0.4 miles upstream of the confluence with Wilson Creek in Matagorda County;
         6. (vi) Colorado River from FM Road 521 to a point 1.3 miles downstream of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad in Matagorda County;
         7. (vii) San Bernard River from FM Road 521 to a point two miles upstream of State Highway 35 in Brazoria County;
         8. (viii) Chocolate Bayou from FM Road 2004 to a point 2.6 miles downstream of State Highway 35 in Brazoria County;
         9. (ix) Clear Creek from Interstate Highway 45 to a point 110 yards upstream of FM Road 528 in Galveston/Harris County;
         10. (x) Buffalo Bayou (Houston Ship Channel) from Interstate Highway 610 to a point 440 yards upstream of Shepherd Drive in Harris County;
         11. (xi) San Jacinto River from Interstate Highway 10 upstream to the Lake Houston dam in Harris County;
         12. (xii) Trinity River from Interstate Highway 10 to a point 1.9 miles downstream of U.S. Highway 90 in Liberty County;
         13. (xiii) Cedar Bayou from Interstate Highway 10 to a point 1.4 miles upstream of Interstate Highway 10 in Chambers/Harris County;
         14. (xiv) Neches River from Interstate Highway 10 to a point seven miles upstream of Interstate Highway 10 in Orange County;
         15. (xv) Sabine River from Interstate Highway 10 upstream to Morgan Bluff in Orange County; or
      3. (C) within one mile from the mean high tide line of those rivers and streams, except for the Trinity and Neches rivers. On the Trinity River, the geographic scope includes wetlands between the mean high tide line on the western shoreline to FM Road 565 and FM Road 1409 and between the mean high tide line on the eastern shoreline to FM Road 563. On the Neches River, the geographic scope includes wetlands within one mile from the mean high tide line on the western shoreline and between the mean high tide line on the eastern shoreline and FM Road 105.
   6. (6) Commissioner--The commissioner of the General Land Office.
   7. (7) Critical areas--A coastal wetland, area of submerged aquatic vegetation, tidal sand or mud flat, oyster reef, or hard substrate reef.
   8. (8) GLO--The General Land Office.
   9. (9) Lower coast--The coastal zone southwest of Cavallo Pass at the eastern end of Matagorda Island, Calhoun County, Texas, so as to exclude the Matagorda Bay system.
   10. (10) Major action--An individual agency or subdivision action authorizing an activity involving a federal action for which a federal environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 United States Code Annotated, §§4321, et seq, is required.
   11. (11) SLB--The School Land Board.
   12. (12) State submerged land--Land underlying waters under tidal influence or waters of the open Gulf of Mexico that is owned by the state.
   13. (13) Upper coast--The coastal zone northeast of Cavallo Pass at the eastern end of Matagorda Island, Calhoun County, Texas, so as to include the Matagorda Bay system.
   14. (14) Water-dependent use or facility--An activity or facility that must be located in coastal waters or on state submerged lands or that must have direct access to coastal waters in order to serve its basic purpose and function. Facilities that are water-dependent include, but are not limited to, public beach use and access facilities, boat slips, docks, breakwaters, marinas, wharves and other vessel loading or off-loading facilities, utility easements, boat ramps, navigation channels and basins, bridges and bridge approaches, revetments, shoreline protection structures, culverts, groins, saltwater barriers, navigational aids, mooring pilings, simple access channels, fish processing plants, boat construction and repair facilities, offshore pipelines and constructed wetlands below mean high water. Activities that are water-dependent include, but are not limited to, marine recreation (fishing, swimming, boating, wildlife viewing), industrial uses dependent on marine transportation or requiring large volumes of water that cannot be obtained at inland sites, mariculture, exploration for and production of oil and gas under coastal waters or submerged lands, and certain meteorological and oceanographic activities.

2. (b) For purposes of this chapter, the following is an exclusive list of actions taken or authorized by the GLO or SLB that may adversely affect a CNRA, and that therefore must be consistent with the goals and policies stated in this chapter:

   1. (1) a mineral lease plan of operations;
   2. (2) a geophysical or geochemical permit;
   3. (3) a miscellaneous easement;
   4. (4) a surface lease;
   5. (5) a structure registration;
   6. (6) a coastal easement;
   7. (7) a coastal lease;
   8. (8) a cabin permit; and
   9. (9) a navigation district lease.
3. (c) An action to renew, amend, or modify an existing permit, certificate, lease, easement, approval or other form of authorization shall not be considered an action otherwise subject to the rules in this chapter if the action only extends the time period of the existing authorization without authorizing new or additional work or activities or is not otherwise directly relevant to the policies in §16.3 of this title (relating to Policies for Specific Activities and Coastal Natural Resource Areas). This chapter applies only to actions listed in subsection (b) of this section for which an application was filed after the effective date of either this chapter or Chapters 501 and 505 of this title (relating to Coastal Management Program and Council Procedures for State Consistency with Coastal Management Program Goals and Policies, respectively), whichever is later.

Source Note:The provisions of this §16.1 adopted to be effective December 18, 1995, 20 TexReg 10271.