6 AAC 80.900. Definitions

(a) Unless the context indicates otherwise, in this chapter

(1) "barrier islands and lagoons" means depositional coastal environments formed by deposits of sediment offshore or coastal remnants which form a barrier of low-lying islands and bars protecting a salt-water lagoon with free exchange of water to the sea;

(2) "coastal water" means all water bodies in the coastal area, including wetlands and the intertidal area;

(3) "council" means the Alaska Coastal Policy Council;

(4) "district" means a coastal resource district as defined in AS 46.40.210 (2);

(5) "district program" means a district coastal management program;

(6) "estuary" means a semiclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the sea and within which seawater is measurably diluted with freshwater derived from land drainage;

(7) "exposed high-energy coasts" means open and unprotected sections of coastline with exposure to ocean generated wave impacts and usually characterized by coarse sand, gravel, boulder beaches, and well-mixed coastal water;

(8) "facilities related to commercial fishing and seafood processing" includes hatcheries and related facilities, seafood processing plants and support facilities, marine industrial and commercial facilities, and aquaculture facilities;

(9) "geophysical hazard areas" means those areas which present a threat to life or property from geophysical or geological hazards, including flooding, tsunami run-up, storm surge run-up, landslides, snowslides, faults, ice hazards, erosion, and littoral beach process;

(10) "mining and mineral processing" means the development of mineral resources extracted in tidal rivers, coastal water, and on continental shelves of the open sea, and found in surface, subsurface, and aqueous deposits;

(11) "offshore areas" means submerged lands and waters seaward of the coastline;

(12) "rocky islands and seacliffs" means islands of volcanic or tectonic origin with rocky shores and steep faces, offshore rocks, capes, and steep rocky seafronts;

(13) "tideflats" means mostly unvegetated areas that are alternately exposed and inundated by the falling and rising of the tide;

(14) "transportation and utility routes and facilities" include power transmission lines, mineral slurry lines, oil and gas pipelines, land and marine corridors, railways, highways, roadways, air terminals, water and sewage transfer, and facilities required to operate and maintain the route or facility;

(15) "upland" means drainages, aquifers, and land, the use of which would have a direct and significant impact on coastal water;

(16) "uses of state concern" has the same meaning as in AS 46.40.210 (6);

(17) "water-dependent" means a use or activity which can be carried out only on, in, or adjacent to water areas because the use requires access to the water body;

(18) "water-related" means a use or activity which is not directly dependent upon access to a water body, but which provides goods or services that are directly associated with water-dependence and which, if not located adjacent to water, would result in a public loss of quality in the goods or services offered;

(19) "wetlands" includes both freshwater and saltwater wetlands; "freshwater wetlands" means those environments characterized by rooted vegetation which is partially submerged either continuously or periodically by surface freshwater with less than .5 parts per thousand salt content and not exceeding three meters in depth; "saltwater wetlands" means those coastal areas along sheltered shorelines characterized by halophilic hydrophytes and macroalgae extending from extreme low tide to an area above extreme high tide which is influenced by sea spray or tidally induced water table changes;

(20) "feasible and prudent" means consistent with sound engineering practice and not causing environmental, social, or economic problems that outweigh the public benefit to be derived from compliance with the standard which is modified by the term "feasible and prudent";

(21) "including" means including but not limited to;

(22) "major energy facility" includes marine service bases and storage depots, pipelines and rights-of-way, drilling rigs and platforms, petroleum or coal separation, treatment, or storage facilities, liquid natural gas plants and terminals, oil terminals and other port development for the transfer of energy products, petrochemical plants, refineries and associated facilities, hydroelectric projects, other electric generating plants, transmission lines, uranium enrichment or nuclear fuel processing facilities, and geothermal facilities; "major energy facility" means a development of more than local concern carried out in, or in close proximity to, the coastal area, which meets one or more of the following criteria:

(A) a facility required to support energy operations for exploration or production purposes;

(B) a facility used to produce, convert, process, or store energy resources or marketable products;

(D) a facility used for in-state energy use; or

(E) a facility used primarily for the manufacture, production, or assembly of equipment, machinery, products, or devices which are involved in any activity described in (A) - (D) of this paragraph;

(23) "significant amendment" means an amendment to an approved district program which

(A) results in a major revision, addition or deletion to the policies or implementation methods or authorities included in the district program under 6 AAC 85.090 and 6 AAC 85.100;

(B) alters the district boundaries, other than by technical adjustments;

(C) designates an area which merits special attention or alters an existing area which merits special attention designation; or

(D) restricts or excludes a use of state concern not previously restricted or excluded;

(24) "area which merits special attention" has the same meaning as in AS 46.40.210 (1);

(25) "village" has the same meaning as in AS 46.40.180 (d).

(b) In AS 44.19.155 , "deputy commissioner" includes assistant commissioners of state agencies.

History: Eff. 7/18/78, Register 67; am 8/18/79, Register 71; am 9/9/81, Register 79; am 6/9/85, Register 94; am 10/16/87, Register 104

Authority: AS 44.19.160 (4)

AS 46.40.010 (c)

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