New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Chapter V - RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Subchapter A - Land Use
Part 502 - Floodplain Management Criteria For State Projects
Section 502.2 - Definitions

Universal Citation: 6 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 502.2

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024

(a) Administrator shall mean the Federal Insurance Administrator of the Federal Insurance Administration in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(b) Base flood shall mean the flood having a one-percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year.

(c) Base flood level or base flood elevation shall mean the computed water surface elevation at a given location resulting from a flood having a one-percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year.

(d) Breakaway wall shall mean a wall designed and intended to collapse under stress without jeopardizing the structural integrity of a structure, so that the impact of abnormally high tides or wind-driven water on the structure is minimized.

(e) Coastal high hazard area shall mean any coastal area subject to high velocity waters, including but not limited to hurricanes.

(f) Commence a project shall mean the initiation of any phase of a project, including any excavation or site preparation.

(g) Commissioner shall mean the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation or his duly authorized representative.

(h) Department shall mean the Department of Environmental Conservation.

(i) Flood or flooding shall mean:

(1) a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:
(i) the overflow of inland or tidal waters;

(ii) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or

(iii) mud slides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused or precipitated by accumulations of water on or under the ground;

(2) the collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels, or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood or an abnormal tidal surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (1) of this subdivision.

(j) Flood elevation determination shall mean a determination by the administrator of the water surface elevations of the base flood.

(k) Flood hazard area shall mean the land in a floodplain within a city, town or village subject to a one-percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

(l) Flood hazard boundary map or FHBM shall mean an official map of a city, town or village, on which the administrator has delineated the boundaries of the flood hazard area in that municipality.

(m) Flood insurance rate map or FIRM shall mean an official map of a city, town or village, on which the administrator has delineated both the flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to that municipality.

(n) Floodplain shall mean any land susceptible to being inundated by water from any source (see definition of flood).

(o) Floodproofing shall mean any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents.

(p) Habitable floor shall mean any floor usable for living purposes, which includes working, sleeping, eating, cooking or recreation, or a combination thereof. A floor used only for storage purposes is not a habitable floor.

(q) Levee-protected area shall mean any land protected, or proposed to be protected, from inundation by the base flood by an earthen embankment, concrete wall, or other substantial barrier specifically designed as a flood protection project.

(r) Mean sea level (MSL) shall mean the arithmetic mean of hourly water elevations observed over a specific 19-year Metonic cycle (the national tidal datum epoch), as determined by the National Ocean Survey (mean sea level is synonymous with National Geodetic Vertical Datum).

(s) Mobile home shall mean a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. Mobile home shall not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.

(t) Person shall mean any individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision of the State, municipality, industry, copartnership, association, firm, trust, estate or any other legal entity whatsoever, except a State agency as defined in this Part.

(u)

(1) Project shall mean any undertaking or activity (including any financing thereof at any location or the authorization of any such undertaking or activity on State-owned lands) involving any change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to:
(i) the construction, installation, expansion, substantial improvement, reconstruction or restoration of structures, highways, access roads, bridges, canals, railroads, airports, sewage disposal systems and any other waste disposal systems, water treatment works, levees, dikes and dams, sewers, gas or water mains, electrical transmission or other service lines, and solid waste disposal facilities;

(ii) any mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations; and

(iii) an action of a State agency resulting in a change in the use of a State-owned or -leased building or facility from nonresidential to residential usage, or in any other change in usage where flood damage to the facility would pose a serious danger to life and health or widespread social or economic dislocation.

(2) The term project shall not include ordinary maintenance and repair of existing structures or facilities, and shall not include any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of any structure listed in the National Register of Historic Places or any structure which has been formally proposed by the Committee on the Registers for consideration by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation for a recommendation to the State Historic Officer for nomination for inclusion in said National Register, where the work is undertaken in a manner designed to maintain the historic character of the structure. In addition, the term project shall not include permits, certifications or other approvals issued by any State agency for any undertaking or activity, on lands other than those to which title is held by a State agency, unless such State agency is financing the project.

(3) When used in this Part, the term project shall be construed as though followed by the words "or part or parts thereof", unless the text clearly requires a different meaning.

(v) Regulatory floodway shall mean the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be or have been reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the existing water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point.

(w) Riverine shall mean relating to, formed by or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream or brook.

(x) Sand dunes shall mean naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds landward of the beach.

(y) Site shall mean the entire tract, subdivision, parcel of land or structure in or on which a project is to be undertaken.

(z) State agency shall mean any department, bureau, commission, board or other agency of the State, or a public benefit corporation or public authority at least one of whose members is appointed by the Governor.

(aa) Structure shall mean an existing or proposed walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is or is to be affixed to a permanent site. It shall include, but shall not be limited to, a foundation, a mobile home, and any building being constructed, improved, altered, repaired, reconstructed or restored. When used in this Part, the term shall be construed as though followed by the words "or part or parts thereof", unless the context clearly requires a different meaning.

(bb)

(1) Substantial improvement shall mean any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the replacement value of the structure, either:
(i) before the improvement or repair is started; or

(ii) if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred.

(2) For the purposes of this definition, substantial improvementshall include an alteration of a wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building, whether or not the external dimensions of the structure are changed. The term shall not include minor changes to a structure to comply with existing Federal or State health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, and shall not include any expansion of a structure.

(cc) Water surface elevation shall mean the projected height, in relation to mean sea level, reached by floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of coastal or riverine areas.

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