Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 785 - Oklahoma Water Resources Board
Chapter 55 - Development on State Owned or Operated Property Within Floodplains and Floodplain Administrator Accreditation
Subchapter 1 - General Provisions
Section 785:55-1-2 - Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this Chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Base flood" means the flood having a one percent chance of being equalled or exceeded in any given year, also known as the regulatory flood.
"Base flood elevation" means the elevation above mean sea level for the base flood.
"Basement" means any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
"Base flood discharge" means the peak volume of water passing through a cross-section of a watercourse expressed in cubic feet per second.
"Board" means the Oklahoma Water Resources Board or any employee or agent or staff member thereof.
"Certificate" means a letter or statement signed and sealed by a Registered Professional Engineer stating that certain condition or requirements have been met.
"CFR" means Code of Federal Regulations.
"Development" means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials.
"Development permit" means specific written authorization from the Board to allow development within a floodplain in accordance with the applicable regulations governing development within floodplains.
"Dwelling unit" means a place of residence which may be a single residence or a multiple-residence building[82:1603(3)] and includes mobile homes.
"Elevation (MSL)" means elevation in feet in relation to mean sea level.
"Existing structures" means structures constructed prior to May 13, 1980.
"Existing manufactured home park or subdivision" means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
"Expansion to an existing manufactured home park or subdivision" means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).
"Farm building" means a walled and roofed structure which is not intended for human habitation or commercial use but which may be used for agricultural purposes including but not limited to the storage of crops, farm machinery, or livestock.
"Farm pond" means a reservoir impounding less than 50 acre-feet of water with a dam less than 25 feet in height and a drainage area less than one square mile used for stock water and domestic use.
"FEMA" means Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"Flood"means general and temporary conditions of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of lakes, streams, rivers or any other inland waters[82:1603(4)] or watercourses.
"Flooding" means "flood".
"Floodplain"means the land adjacent to a body of water which has been or may be covered by flooding, including but not limited to, the one-hundred year flood.[82:1603(5)]
"Floodway"means the channel of a stream, watercourse or body of water and those portions of floodplains which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the floodwater or floodflow of any river or stream.[82:1603(8)]
"Flood boundary floodway map" means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the boundaries of the regulatory floodway have been identified.
"Flood carrying capacity" means the ability of a stream or water course to pass the base flood.
"Flood hazard boundary map (FHBM)" means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the boundaries of the flood area having special hazards have been designated as flood zones.
"Flood insurance rate map (FIRM)" means an official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
"Flood insurance study" means an official report provided by FEMA to communities regarding flood profiles, water surface elevations of the base flood, as well as the Flood Boundary-Floodway Map.
"Floodplain management" means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management regulations.
"Flood proofing" means any combination of structural and non-structural 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.
"Functionally dependent use " means a use which cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. The term includes only docking facilities, port facilities that are necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, and ship building and ship repair facilities, but does not include long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
"Highest adjacent grade " means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
"Historic structure" means any structure that is:
(A) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
(B) Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
(C) Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of Interior; or
(D) Individually listed on local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
(i) By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or;
(ii) Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
"Levee" means a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding.
"Lowest floor" means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement area is not considered a building's lowest floor; provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable nonelevation design requirements of 44 CFR Section 60.3, FEMA regulations.
"Manufactured home" means a structure transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle".
"Manufactured home park or subdivision" means a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
"Mean sea level" means, for purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program, the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map are referenced.
"Natural drainage" means the drainage basin without man-made alterations.
"New construction" means for floodplain management purposes, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
"New manufactured home park or subdivision" means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
"Non-residential structure" means a building not used for one or more families.
"One hundred year flood " means the base flood.
"Permit" , for purposes of Chapter 55 means specific written authorization by the Board and consists of the following:
(A) Building permits which are issued for the construction or substantial improvement of a structure.
(B) Construction permits which are issued for any man-made alteration, construction or development which may have an adverse effect on the regulatory floodplain.
"Program "means the overall National Flood Insurance Program authorized by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S. C. 4001-4128) as amended[82:1603(10)], and the Oklahoma Floodplain Management Act (82 O.S. 1981, §§1601 through 1619).
"Recreational vehicle" means a vehicle which is:
(A) Built on a single chassis;
(B) 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections;
(C) Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and
(D) Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
"Regulatory flood" means the one-hundred-year flood, i.e., the flood having a one percent (1%) chance of occurrence in any given one year period, also known as the base flood.
"Regulatory flood fringe" means the area of the regulatory floodplain which may be developed by equal encroachment to the extent that the regulatory floodway is preserved and natural conditions allowed.
"Regulatory floodplain " means the area susceptible to being covered by the regulatory flood.
"Regulatory floodway" means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height.
"Riverine" means relating to, formed by, or resembling a river (including tributaries), stream, brook, etc.
"Start of construction" means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit date, unless the Board extends such time period for good cause shown. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footing, piers, or foundations of the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
"State floodplain board" means the Oklahoma Water Resources Board whose members also serve as members of the State Floodplain Board
"State owned property" means real property owned or leased in whole or in part or operated by any agency of the State of Oklahoma, and includes but is not limited to lands held in trust by the Commissioners of Land Office. It shall be presumed that development or substantial improvement on rights of way, licenses, easements, or other interests less than fee simple shall be considered to be development or substantial improvement on state owned property.
"Structure" means any walled and roofed edifice or building including but not limited to manufactured homes and gas or liquid storage tanks.
"Substantial improvement" means reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:
(A) Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions or
(B) Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure."
"Variance" means a grant of relief to a person from the requirement of these rules. A variance, therefore, permits construction or development in a manner otherwise prohibited by these rules.
"Watercourse" means the channel or area that conveys a flow of water.
"Water surface elevation" means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929, (or other datum, where specified) of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplains of riverine areas.
Amended at 10 Ok Reg 3369, eff 6-25-93; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 3023, eff 6-13-94; Amended at 14 Ok Reg 2808, eff 7-1-97
