[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 14, Volume 5]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 14CFR1216.203]



[Page 150-151]

 

                     TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE

 

                          SPACE ADMINISTRATION

 

PART 1216_ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY--Table of Contents

 

            Subpart 1216.2_Floodplain and Wetlands Management

 

Sec. 1216.203  Definition of key terms.



    (a) Action--any NASA activity including, but not limited to, 

acquisition, construction, modification, changes in land use, issuance 

of facilities use permits, and disposition of Federal lands and 

facilities.

    (b) Base flood--is that flood which has a one percent chance of 

occurrence in any given year (also known as a 100-year flood). This term 

is used in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to indicate the 

minimum level of flooding to be used by a community in its floodplain 

management regulations.

    (c) Base floodplain--the 100-year floodplain (one percent chance 

floodplain). Also see definition of floodplain.

    (d) Critical action--any activity for which even a slight chance of 

flooding would be too great, such as storing lunar samples or highly 

toxic or water reactive materials.

    (e) Facility--any item made or placed by a person including 

buildings, structures and utility items, marine structures, bridges and 

other land development items, such as levees and drainage canals.

    (f) Flood or flooding--a general and temporary condition of partial 

or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of 

inland and/or tidal waters, and/or the unusual and rapid accumulation or 

runoff of surface waters from any source.

    (g) Flood fringe--that portion of the floodplain outside of the 

regulatory floodway (often referred to as ``floodway fringe'').

    (h) Floodplain--the lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining 

inland and coastal waters including flood-prone areas of offshore 

islands, including at a minimum, that area subject to a one percent or 

greater chance of flooding in any given year. The base floodplain shall 

be used to designate the 100-year floodplain (one percent chance 

floodplain). The critical action floodplain is defined as the 500-year 

floodplain (0.2 percent chance floodplain). A large portion of NASA 

coastal floodplains also encompasses wetlands.

    (i) Floodproofing--the modification of individual structures and 

facilities, their sites, and their contents to protect against 

structural failure, to keep water out or to reduce the effects of water 

entry.

    (j) Minimize--to reduce to the smallest possible amount or degree.

    (k) One percent chance flood--the flood having one chance in 100 of 

being exceeded in any one-year period (a large flood). The likelihood of 

exceeding this magnitude increases in a time period longer than one 

year, e.g., there are two chances in three of a larger flood exceeding 

the one percent chance flood in a 100-year period.

    (l) Practicable--capable of being done within existing constraints. 

The test of what is practicable depends upon the



[[Page 151]]



situation and includes consideration of the pertinent factors, such as 

environment, cost or technology.

    (m) Preserve--to prevent modification to the natural floodplain 

environment or to maintain it as closely as possible to its natural 

state.

    (n) Regulatory floodway--the area regulated by Federal, State or 

local requirements; the channel of a river or other watercourse and the 

adjacent land areas that must be reserved in an open manner; i.e., 

unconfined or unobstructed either horizontally or vertically to provide 

for the discharge of the base flood so the cumulative increase in water 

surface elevation is no more than a designated amount (not to exceed one 

foot as set by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)).

    (o) Restore--to re-establish a setting or environment in which the 

natural functions of the floodplain can again operate.

    (p) Wetlands--those areas that are frequently inundated by surface 

or ground water and normally support a prevalence of vegetative or 

aquatic life that requires saturated or seasonally saturated soil 

conditions for growth and reproduction. Wetlands generally include 

swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as sloughs, potholes, 

river overflows, mud flats, wet meadows, and natural ponds. Because all 

NASA wetlands lie in floodplains, and for purposes of simplifying the 

procedures of this subpart, floodplains will be understood as to 

encompass wetlands, except in cases where wetlands factors require 

special consideration. (Also, see definition of floodplain.)

    (q) Support--actions which encourage or otherwise provide incentives 

to undertake floodplain or wetlands development, such as extending roads 

or utilities into or near a floodplain, therefore making floodplain 

development more feasible.