§ 24-0107 — Definitions

§ 24-0107. Definitions.\n 1. * "Freshwater wetlands" means lands and waters of the state, that\nare not tidal wetlands as defined in subdivision one of section 25-0103\nof this chapter, that have an area of at least twelve and four-tenths\nacres or, if less than twelve and four-tenths acres in size, are of\nunusual importance, and which contain any or all of the following:\n * NB Effective until January 1, 2028\n * "Freshwater wetlands" means lands and waters of the state, that are\nnot tidal wetlands as defined in subdivision one of section 25-0103 of\nthis chapter, that have an area of at least seven and four-tenths acres\nor, if less than seven and four-tenths acres in size, are of unusual\nimportance, and which contain any or all of the following:\n * NB Effective January 1, 2028\n (a) lands and submerged lands commonly called marshes, swamps,\nsloughs, bogs, and flats supporting aquatic or semi-aquatic vegetation\nof the following types:\n (1) wetland trees, which depend upon seasonal or permanent flooding or\nsufficiently water-logged soils to give them a competitive advantage\nover other trees; including, among others, red maple (Acer rubrum),\nwillows (Salix spp.), black spruce (Picea mariana); swamp white oak\n(Quercus bicolor), red ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), black ash (Fraxinus\nnigra), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), American elm (Ulmus americana),\nand Larch (Larix laricina);\n (2) wetland shrubs, which depend upon seasonal or permanent flooding\nor sufficiently water-logged soils to give them a competitive advantage\nover other shrubs; including, among others, alder (Alnus spp.),\nbuttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), bog rosemary (Andromeda\nglaucophylla), dogwoods (Cornus spp.), and leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne\ncalyculata);\n (3) emergent vegetation, including, among others, cattails (Typha\nspp.), pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), bulrushes (Scirpus spp.),\narrow arum (Peltandra virginica), arrowheads (Sagittaria spp.), reed\n(Phragmites communis), wildrice (Zizania aquatica), bur-reeds\n(Sparganium spp.), purple loosetrife (Lythrum salicaria), swamp\nloosestrife (Decodon verticillatus); and water plantain (Alisma\nplantago-aquatica);\n (4) rooted, floating-leaved vegetation; including, among others,\nwater-lily (Nymphaea odorata), water shield (Brasenia schreberi), and\nspatterdock (Nuphar spp.);\n (5) free-floating vegetation; including, among others, duckweed (Lemna\nspp.), big duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza), and watermeal (Wolffia spp.);\n (6) wet meadow vegetation, which depends upon seasonal or permanent\nflooding or sufficiently water-logged soils to give it a competitive\nadvantage over other open land vegetation; including, among others,\nsedges (Carex spp.), rushes (Juncus spp.), cattails (Typha spp.), rice\ncut-grass (Leersia oryzoides), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea),\nswamp loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus), and spikerush (Eleocharis\nspp.);\n (7) bog mat vegetation; including, among others, sphagnum mosses\n(Sphagnum spp.), bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla), leatherleaf\n(Chamaedaphne calyculata), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), and\ncranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos);\n (8) submergent vegetation; including, among others, pondweeds\n(Potamogeton spp.), naiads (Najas spp.), bladderworts (Utricularia\nspp.), wild celery (Vallisneria americana), coontail (Ceratophyllum\ndemersum), water milfoils (Myriophyllum spp.), muskgrass (Chara spp.),\nstonewort (Nitella spp.), water weeds (Elodea spp.), and water smartweed\n(Polygonum amphibium);\n (b) lands and submerged lands containing remnants of any vegetation\nthat is not aquatic or semi-aquatic that has died because of wet\nconditions over a sufficiently long period, provided that such wet\nconditions do not exceed a maximum seasonal water depth of six feet and\nprovided further that such conditions can be expected to persist\nindefinitely, barring human intervention;\n (c) lands and waters substantially enclosed by aquatic or semi-aquatic\nvegetation as set forth in paragraph (a) of this subdivision or by dead\nvegetation as set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the\nregulation of which is necessary to protect and preserve the aquatic and\nsemi-aquatic vegetation; and\n (d) the waters overlying the areas set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b)\nof this subdivision and the lands underlying paragraph (c) of this\nsubdivision.\n 2. "Freshwater wetlands map" shall mean a map developed by the\ndepartment pursuant to section 24-0301 of this article on which are\nindicated the boundaries of any freshwater wetlands. Freshwater wetland\nmaps depict the approximate location of wetlands and are not necessarily\ndeterminative as to whether a permit is required pursuant to section\n24-0701 of this article.\n 3. "Boundaries of a freshwater wetland" shall mean the outer limit of\nthe vegetation specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one of\nthis section and of the lands and waters specified in paragraph (c) of\nsuch subdivision.\n 4. "Local government" shall mean a village, town, city, or county.\n 5. "State agency" shall mean any state department, bureau, commission,\nboard or other agency, public authority or public benefit corporation.\n 6. "Person" means any corporation, firm, partnership, association,\ntrust, estate, one or more individuals, and any unit of government or\nagency or subdivision thereof, including the state.\n 7. "Board" shall mean the freshwater wetland appeals board.\n 8. "Pollution" shall mean the presence in the environment of\nhuman-induced conditions, or contaminants in quantities or\ncharacteristics which are or may be injurious to human, plant or\nwildlife, or other animal life or to property.\n 9. "Unusual importance" shall mean a freshwater wetland, regardless of\nsize, that possesses one or more of the following characteristics as\ndetermined by the department pursuant to regulations:\n (a) it is located in a watershed that has experienced significant\nflooding in the past, or is expected to experience significant flooding\nin the future from severe storm events related to climate change;\n (b) it is located within or adjacent to an urban area, as defined by\nthe United States census bureau;\n (c) it contains a plant species occurring in fewer than thirty-five\nsites statewide or having fewer than five thousand individuals\nstatewide;\n (d) it contains habitat for an essential behavior of an endangered or\nthreatened species or a species of special concern as defined under\nsection 11-0535 of this chapter or listed as a species of greatest\nconservation need in New York's wildlife action plan;\n (e) it is classified by the department as a Class I wetland;\n (f) it was previously classified and mapped by the department as a\nwetland of unusual local importance;\n (g) it is a vernal pool that is known to be productive for amphibian\nbreeding;\n (h) it is located in an area designated as a floodway on the most\ncurrent Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) produced by the Federal\nEmergency Management Agency;\n (i) it was previously mapped by the department as a wetland on or\nbefore December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-four;\n (j) it has wetland functions and values that are of local or regional\nsignificance; or\n (k) it is determined by the commissioner to be of significant\nimportance to protecting the state's water quality.\n 10. "Delineation" shall mean a precise representation of a regulated\nfreshwater wetland as defined in subdivision one of this section.\n