For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Applicant”
means a person who files an application for permit under this chapter and who is either the owner of the land on which that proposed activity would be located, a contract vendee, a lessee of the land, the person who would actually control and direct the proposed activity, or the authorized agent of such a person.
(2) “Compensation project”
means actions necessary to replace project-induced wetland and wetland buffer losses, including land acquisition, planning, construction plans, monitoring, and contingency actions.
(3) “Compensatory mitigation”(a) (b) (c)
means replacing project-induced wetland losses or impacts, and includes, but is not limited to, the following:
“Restoration”
means actions performed to re-establish wetland functional characteristics and processes which have been lost by alterations, activities, or catastrophic events within an area which no longer meets the definition of a wetland.
“Creation”
means actions performed to intentionally establish a wetland at a site where it did not formerly exist.
“Enhancement”
means actions performed to improve the condition of existing degraded wetlands so that the functions they provide are of a higher quality.
(4) “Functions,” “beneficial functions,” or “functions and values”
means the beneficial roles served by wetlands, including, but not limited to, water quality protection and enhancement, fish and wildlife habitat, food chain support, flood storage, conveyance and attenuation, ground water recharge and discharge, erosion control, wave attenuation, historical and archaeological and aesthetic value protection, and recreation. These beneficial roles are not listed in order or priority.
(5) “Hydric soil”
means a soil that is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part. The presence of hydric soil shall be determined following the methods described in the “Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands.”
(6) “Hydrophytic vegetation”
means macrophytic plant life growing in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content. The presence of hydrophytic vegetation shall be determined following the methods described in the “Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands.”
(7) “Isolated wetlands”
means those regulated wetlands which:
(8) “Native vegetation”
means plant species which are indigenous to the area in question.
(9) “Practicable alternative”
means an alternative that is available and capable of being carried out after taking into consideration cost, existing technology, and logistics in light of overall project purposes, and having less impacts to regulated wetlands. It may include an area not owned by the applicant which could reasonably have been or be obtained, utilized, expanded, or managed in order to fulfill the basic purposes of the proposed activity.
(10) “Regulated activities”(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)
include the following if they occur in a regulated wetland or its buffer:
The removal, excavation, grading, or dredging of soil, sand, gravel, minerals, organic matter, or material of any kind;
The dumping of, discharging of, or filling with any material;
The draining, flooding, or disturbing of the water level or water table;
The driving of pilings;
The placing of obstructions;
The construction, reconstruction, demolition, or expansion of any structure;
The destruction or alteration of wetland vegetation through clearing, harvesting, shading, intentional burning, or planting of vegetation that would alter the character of a regulated wetland; provided, that these activities are not part of a forest practice governed under Chapter 76.09 RCW and its rules; or
Activities that result in:
(11) “Regulated wetlands”
means ponds 20 acres or less, including their submerged aquatic beds and shall be those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Regulated wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands created as mitigation and wetlands modified for approved land use activities shall be considered as wetlands. All Category I wetlands shall be considered regulated wetlands. Regulated wetlands do not include Category II and Category III wetlands less than 2,500 square feet and Category IV wetlands less than 10,000 square feet. Regulated wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grasslined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities.
(12) “Unavoidable and necessary impacts”
are impacts to regulated wetlands that remain after a person proposing to alter regulated wetlands has demonstrated that no practicable alternative exists for the proposed project.
(13) “Water-dependent”
means requiring the use of surface water that would be essential to fulfill the purpose of the proposed project.
(14) “Wetland buffers” or “wetland buffer zones”
is an area that surrounds and protects a wetland from adverse impacts to the functions and values of a regulated wetland.
(15) “Wetland classes,” “classes of wetlands,” or “wetland types”
means descriptive classes of the wetlands taxonomic classification system of the Untied States Fish and Wildlife Service (Cowardin, et al., 1978).
(16) “Wetlands”
are those areas, identified in accordance with the Washington State Wetlands Identification and Delineation Manual (Ecology 1997), that meet the following definition: “Wetland” or “wetlands” means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grasslined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. Wetlands may include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from non-wetland areas created to mitigate conversion of wetlands.
All areas within the city of Forks meeting the criteria in the wetland definition in the Wetlands Identification and Delineation Manual (Ecology 1997), regardless of whether these areas have previously been identified or mapped, are hereby designated critical areas and are subject to the provisions of this title. |
(17) “Wetlands permit”
means any permit issued, conditioned, or denied specifically to implement this chapter.
(18) “Wetlands specialist”
is a person with professional experience and comprehensive training in wetland issues, including experience performing wetland delineations, assessing wetland functions and values, analyzing wetland impacts, and recommending and designing wetland mitigation projects. A person certified by the Society of Wetland Scientists, or enrolled in their “wetland professional in-training” program would be considered to be a qualified wetlands expert.
(Ord. 341 § 2, 1992; Ord. 550 §§ 1 – 3, 2007)