The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
best management practices means those practices as developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state department of agriculture or other appropriate agency.
forestry means the science, application and practice of controlling the establishment, composition and growth of forests through sound management techniques, based upon the management objectives of the owner.
Isolated wetlands means wetlands which are not hydrologically connected to a surface water body and which may only be inundated on a seasonal basis. Included would be perched wetlands, among others.
mitigation means actions taken to offset the adverse effects of the loss of wetlands.
release means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing of hazardous materials, including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers or other receptacles containing hazardous materials, into the environment, in such a manner as to endanger the public health, safety or welfare or the environment or in violation of any federal, state or local law, including rules or regulations.
Waters-edge wetlands means wetlands which have a surface water connection to a surface water body. Any canal, ditch, swale, channel, culvert, pipe, stream, river, slough or other water body will be considered a surface water connection. It is not essential that the water flow be uniform or uninterrupted. Water from natural springs will be classified as surface water if it emanates from the spring onto the earth's surface.
wetland boundary means the boundary of a wetland as determined by the criteria contained in the Management and Storage of Surface Waters Handbook of the St. Johns River Water Management District.
wetland function means that characteristic of a wetland determined by its ability to provide:
(1) A diversity of habitat and food sources for aquatic and wetland-dependent species, for the threatened and endangered species and for species of special concern;
(2) Flood storage capacity;
(3) For the protection of downstream and offshore water resources from siltation and pollution; or
(4) For the stabilization of the water table.
wetlands means hydrologically sensitive areas identified by being inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater with a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.