Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-303.200 - Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) "Biological Health Assessment" shall mean one of the following aquatic community-based biological evaluations: Stream Condition Index (SCI), Lake Vegetation Index (LVI), or Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index.

(2) "Biological Reconnaissance (BioRecon)" shall mean a biological assessment that measures stream health in predominantly fresh waters using benthic macroinvertebrates, performed and calculated using the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Biological Reconnaissance as described in subparagraph 62-160.800(1)(c) 1., F.A.C.

(3) "Clean techniques" shall mean those applicable field sampling procedures and analytical methods referenced in "Method 1669: Sampling Ambient Water for Trace Metals at EPA Water Quality Criteria Levels, July 1996, USEPA, Office of Water, Engineering and Analysis Division, Washington, D.C., " (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-06032), which is incorporated by reference. Copies of the procedures and methods may be obtained by writing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS #6511, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400.

(4) "Department" or "DEP" shall mean the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

(5) "Designated use" shall mean the present and future most beneficial use of a body of water as designated by the Environmental Regulation Commission by means of the classification system contained in Chapter 62-302, F.A.C.

(6) "Estuary" shall mean predominantly marine regions of interaction between rivers and nearshore ocean waters, where tidal action and river flow mix fresh and salt water. Such areas include bays, mouths of rivers, and lagoons.

(7) "Impaired water" shall mean a waterbody or waterbody segment that does not meet its applicable water quality standards as set forth in Chapters 62-302 and 62-4, F.A.C., as determined by the methodology in Part IV of this chapter, due in whole or in part to discharges of pollutants from point or nonpoint sources.

(8) "Lake" shall mean a lentic fresh waterbody with a relatively long water residence time and an open water area that is free from emergent vegetation under typical hydrologic and climatic conditions. Aquatic plants, as defined in subsection 62-340.200(1), F.A.C., may be present in the open water. Lakes do not include springs, wetlands, or streams (except portions of streams that exhibit lake-like characteristics, such as long water residence time, increased width, or predominance of biological taxa typically found in non-flowing conditions).

(9) "Lake Vegetation Index (LVI)" shall mean a Biological Health Assessment that measures biological health in predominantly freshwater lakes using aquatic and wetland plants, performed and calculated using the Standard Operating Procedures for the LVI as described in subparagraph 62-160.800(1)(c) 2., F.A.C.

(10) "Nuisance species" shall mean species of flora or fauna whose noxious characteristics or presence in sufficient number, biomass, or areal extent may reasonably be expected to prevent, or unreasonably interfere with, a designated use of those waters.

(11) "Nutrient" shall mean total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate-nitrite (NO₃ + NO₂), or other organic or inorganic forms of nitrogen or phosphorus.

(12) "Nutrient response variable" shall mean a biological variable, such as chlorophyll a, or biomass or structure of the phytoplankton, periphyton or vascular plant community, that responds to nutrient load or concentration in a predictable and measurable manner. For purposes of interpreting paragraph 62-302.530(47)(b), F.A.C., dissolved oxygen (DO) shall also be considered a nutrient response variable if it is demonstrated for the waterbody that DO conditions result in biological imbalance and the DO responds to a nutrient load or concentration in a predictable and measurable manner.

(13) "Nutrient Watershed Region" shall mean a drainage area over which the nutrient thresholds in paragraph 62-302.531(2)(c), F.A.C., apply.

(a) The Panhandle West region consists of the Perdido Bay Watershed, Pensacola Bay Watershed, Choctawhatchee Bay Watershed, St. Andrew Bay Watershed, and Apalachicola Bay Watershed.

(b) The Panhandle East region consists of the Apalachee Bay Watershed, and Econfina/Steinhatchee Coastal Drainage Area.

(c) The North Central region consists of the Suwannee River Watershed and an area in Alachua County stream to sink region affected by the Hawthorne Formation.

(d) The West Central region consists of the Peace, Myakka, Hillsborough, Alafia, Manatee, Little Manatee River Watersheds, Sarasota/Lemon Bay Watershed and small, direct Tampa Bay tributary watersheds south of the Hillsborough River Watershed.

(e) The Peninsula region consists of the Waccasassa Coastal Drainage Area, Withlacoochee Coastal Drainage Area, Crystal/Pithlachascotee Coastal Drainage Area, small, direct Tampa Bay tributary watersheds west of the Hillsborough River Watershed, small, direct Charlotte Harbor tributary watersheds south of the Peace River Watershed, Caloosahatchee River Watershed, Estero Bay Watershed, Imperial River Watershed, Kissimmee River/Lake Okeechobee Drainage Area, Loxahatchee/St. Lucie Watershed, Indian River Watershed, Daytona/St. Augustine Coastal Drainage Area, St. John's River Watershed, Nassau Coastal Drainage Area, and St. Mary's River Watershed.

(f) The South Florida region consists of those areas south of the Peninsula region, such as the Cocohatchee River Watershed, Naples Bay Watershed, Rookery Bay Watershed, Ten Thousand Islands Watershed, Lake Worth Lagoon Watershed, Southeast Coast - Biscayne Bay Watershed, Everglades Watershed, Florida Bay Watershed, and the Florida Keys.

A map of the Nutrient Watershed Regions, dated October 17, 2011 (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-06033), is incorporated by reference herein and may be obtained by writing to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS #6511, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400.

(14) "Open coastal waters" shall mean all gulf or ocean waters that are not classified as estuaries or open ocean waters.

(15) "Open ocean waters" means all surface waters extending seaward from the most seaward natural 90-foot (15-fathom) isobath. Contour lines may be determined from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Charts.

(16) "Physical alterations" shall mean human-induced changes to the physical structure of the waterbody.

(17) "Planning List" shall mean the list of potentially impaired surface waters or segments identified pursuant to Part II of this chapter where additional information is needed to evaluate whether the water is impaired and a TMDL is needed, as provided in Section 403.067(2), F.S.

(18) "Pollutant" shall be as defined in section 502(6) of the CWA. Characteristics of a discharge, including dissolved oxygen, pH, or temperature, shall also be defined as pollutants if they result or may result in the potentially harmful alteration of downstream waters.

(19) "Pollution" shall be as defined in section 502(19) of the CWA and Section 403.031(7), F.S.

(20) "Predominantly fresh waters" shall mean surface waters in which the chloride concentration is less than 1, 500 milligrams per liter or specific conductance is less than 4, 580 µmhos/cm. Measurements for making this determination shall be taken within the bottom half of the water column.

(21) "Predominantly marine waters" shall mean surface waters in which the chloride concentration is greater than or equal to 1, 500 milligrams per liter or specific conductance is greater than or equal to 4, 580 µmhos/cm. Measurements for making this determination shall be taken within the bottom half of the water column.

(22) "Reference water" means a waterbody that exhibits a range of physical, chemical and biological characteristics approximating the natural background conditions of the same, or similar, type of waterbody within an ecologically similar region. A reference water may be representative of the water quality and structure and function of biological communities of natural background conditions even if there is evidence of limited human disturbance in the waterbody or watershed, as long as anthropogenic sources do not produce a significant measurable or predicted effect on the parameter of concern in the waterbody.

(23) "Secretary" shall mean the Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

(24) "Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index" shall mean: negative summation (from i=1 to s) of (ni/N) log2 (ni/N) where s is the number of species in a sample, N is the total number of individuals in a sample, and ni is the total number of individuals in species i.

(25) "Spill" shall mean a short-term, unpermitted discharge to surface waters, not to include sanitary sewer overflows or chronic discharges from leaking wastewater collection systems.

(26) "Spring vent" shall mean a location where groundwater flows out of a natural, discernable opening in the ground onto the land surface or into a predominantly fresh surface water.

(27) "Stream" shall mean a predominantly fresh surface waterbody that flows in a defined channel with banks. Streams do not include wetlands or portions of streams that exhibit lake characteristics (e.g., long water residence time, increased width, and predominance of biological taxa typically found in non-flowing conditions).

(28) "Stream Condition Index (SCI)" shall mean a Biological Health Assessment that measures stream biological health in predominantly fresh waters using benthic macroinvertebrates, performed and calculated using the Standard Operating Procedures for the SCI as described in subparagraph 62-160.800(1)(c) 3., F.A.C. For water quality standards purposes, the Stream Condition Index shall not apply in the South Florida Nutrient Watershed Region.

(29) "Study List" shall mean the list of surface waters or segments where additional information is needed, as identified in Rule 62-303.390, F.A.C.

(30) "Surface water" means those waters of the State upon the surface of the earth to their landward extent, whether contained in bounds created naturally or artificially or diffused. Water from natural springs shall be classified as surface water when it exits from the spring onto the earth's surface.

(31) "Total Maximum Daily Load" (TMDL) for an impaired waterbody or waterbody segment shall mean the sum of the individual wasteload allocations for point sources and the load allocations for nonpoint sources and natural background. Prior to determining individual wasteload allocations and load allocations, the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody or waterbody segment can assimilate from all sources without exceeding water quality standards must first be calculated.

(32) "Verified List" shall mean the list of impaired waterbodies or segments for which TMDLs will be developed, as provided in Section 403.067(4), F.S., and which will be submitted to EPA pursuant to section 303(d)(1) of the CWA.

(33) "Water quality criteria" shall mean elements of State water quality standards, expressed as constituent concentrations, levels, or narrative statements, representing a quality of water that supports the present and future most beneficial uses.

(34) "Water quality standards" shall mean standards composed of designated present and future most beneficial uses (classification of waters), the numeric and narrative criteria, including Site Specific Alternative Criteria, applied to the specific water uses or classification, the Florida antidegradation policy, and the moderating provisions, such as variances, mixing zone rule provisions, or exemptions.

(35) "Water segment" shall mean a portion of a waterbody that the Department will assess and evaluate for purposes of determining whether the waterbody is impaired and whether the impairment is due to pollutant discharges.

(36) "Waters" shall be those surface waters described in Section 403.031(13), F.S.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62-303.200

Rulemaking Authority 403.061, 403.067 FS. Law Implemented 403.062, 403.067 FS.

New 6-10-02, Amended 6-5-06, 12-11-06, 7-2-12, Amended by Florida Register Volume 42, Number 021, February 02, 2016 effective 2/17/2016.

New 6-10-02, Amended 6-5-06, 12-11-06, 7-2-12, 2-17-16.