The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, or in documents prepared by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) or Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) pursuant to this subchapter, have the following meanings.

1. (1) Coordination--Actions between TxDOT and TPWD that relate to and facilitate TPWD's review of and comments on the potential environmental effects of a transportation project. The goal of coordination is to minimize adverse impacts of transportation projects on the fish and wildlife resources of Texas while maximizing efficient use of each agency's resources.
2. (2) Best management practices (BMPs)--Actions taken to minimize the adverse effects of transportation projects on fish and wildlife resources.
3. (3) Ecological Mapping Systems of Texas (EMST)--An on-going effort to map vegetation of Texas at high resolution using multi-spectral aerial imagery and intensive on-ground verification.
4. (4) Environmental report--A report, form, checklist, or other documentation analyzing an environmental issue in the context of a specific transportation project or presenting a thorough summary of an environmental study conducted in support of an environmental review document, or demonstrating compliance with a specific environmental requirement. The term does not include a permit or other approval outside the scope of the environmental review process.
5. (5) Environmental review document--An environmental assessment, an environmental impact statement, a reevaluation, a supplemental environmental impact statement, or, for an FHWA transportation project, a document prepared to demonstrate that it qualifies as a categorical exclusion when FHWA requires a narrative document as opposed to a checklist. An environmental review document includes any attached environmental reports.
6. (6) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)--The United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.
7. (7) FHWA transportation project--A transportation project for which FHWA's approval is required by law to comply with NEPA, FHWA is the lead federal agency, and FHWA agrees TxDOT may act as the joint lead agency under 23 Code of Federal Regulations §771.109.
8. (8) Important remnant vegetation--A type of vegetation that is considered by TPWD to be rare, have local value, or to have substantially declined in recent times. This includes vegetation communities listed in the TCAP as of special conservation concern, or as S3 or rarer, and communities listed as suitable habitat and within the range of any Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). For the purposes of this MOU, in the event there is a range rank (e.g. S3S4) the lower rank should be used in determining the rarity of the community.
9. (9) Mitigation--For the purpose of this MOU, the actions taken to reduce the adverse impacts to the natural environment that result directly from a transportation project. The term includes actions taken to avoid, minimize, or to compensate for impacts.
10. (10) NEPA--The National Environmental Policy Act, codified at 42 United States Code §§4321, et seq.
11. (11) Plant community association--A plant community of definite floristic composition (dominant/diagnostic species), uniform habitat conditions, and uniform physiognomy.
12. (12) Qualified biologist--A qualified biologist must have, at a minimum, a successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree with a major in biological sciences, natural resource management, wildlife science or management, ecology, zoology, botany, conservation biology, or a closely related field and have experience relevant to the species, habitat, or ecosystems that are being studied or described.
13. (13) Range--The general area where a species would be expected to occur as listed by county on the TPWD website or where available, as shown in range maps provided in or referenced by the TCAP.
14. (14) Right of way--Property acquired for the purpose of a transportation project.
15. (15) Riparian vegetation--River- or creek-dependent habitats which rely on periodic flooding or flushing, sub-irrigated substrates, and other influences of the ephemeral or perennial rivers or creeks to which they are adjacent, including floodplains, wet woodlands, gallery riverine forests, oxbows, swamps, and vegetated islands.
16. (16) Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)--Species of plants or animals that are identified in the TCAP.
17. (17) State threatened or endangered species--A species of wildlife listed as threatened in 31 TAC §65.175 (relating to Threatened Species) or as endangered in 31 TAC §65.176 (relating to Endangered Species), or a plant species listed as threatened or endangered in 31 TAC §69.8 (relating to Endangered and Threatened Plants).
18. (18) State transportation project--A transportation project that is not a major federal action for the purpose of NEPA.
19. (19) Suitable habitats--Habitats that provide a species or community with the specific physical location and conditions needed to survive and persist. These may include terrestrial and aquatic vegetation communities; a particular watershed, waterbody or stream segment; water quantity or quality thresholds; particular geologic substrates (such as limestone, granite, and sands) or formations (such as karst and caves); or a species host.
20. (20) Texas Conservation Action Plan (TCAP)--The natural resources conservation plan for the State of Texas. The TCAP identifies fish and wildlife resources of the state, including SGCN and their habitats, outlines activities to improve SGCN status and prevent federal threatened or endangered species listings where possible, and articulates conservation needs. The TCAP is stewarded by TPWD and implemented across the state by TPWD and conservation partners. The TCAP provides definitions for ecological systems, plant community associations, and habitats which are important for SGCN.
21. (21) Tier I site assessment--A preliminary site assessment to determine impacts and coordination requirements with TPWD.
22. (22) Tier II site assessment--An environmental report that demonstrates quantitative (acres) and qualitative (high, medium, or low) determination of ecological systems and plant community associations affected by a transportation project. Tier II site assessments require an on-site verification by a qualified biologist to the extent access to new right of way is available.
23. (23) TPWD--Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
24. (24) TxDOT--Texas Department of Transportation.
25. (25) Transportation enhancement--An activity that is listed under 23 United States Code §101(a)(35), relates to a transportation project, and is eligible for federal funding under 23 United States Code §133.
26. (26) Transportation project--A project to construct, maintain, or improve a highway, rest area, toll facility, aviation facility, public transportation facility, rail facility, ferry, or ferry landing. A transportation enhancement is also a transportation project.
27. (27) Wetland--An area (including a swamp, marsh, bog, prairie pothole, or similar area) having a predominance of hydric soils that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation.

Source Note:The provisions of this §2.203 adopted to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 3814.