62B-33.002. Definitions

(1) “Agent” is any person with the written power or authority to act on behalf of the applicant for purposes of an application submitted under Chapter 161, F.S.

(2) “Applicant” is any person, firm, corporation, county, municipality, township, special district, or any public agency or their authorized agent having authority pursuant to Section 161.052 or 161.053, F.S., to request a permit to conduct construction seaward of the control line or fifty-foot setback. An applicant may include the owner of record, agent, leaseholder, or holder of any legal instrument which gives the holder legal authority to undertake the construction for which a permit is sought.

(3) “Armoring” is a manmade structure designed to either prevent erosion of the upland property or protect structures from the effects of coastal wave and current action. Armoring includes certain rigid coastal structures such as geotextile bags or tubes, seawalls, revetments, bulkheads, retaining walls, or similar structures but does not include jetties, groins, or other construction whose purpose is to add sand to the beach and dune system, alter the natural coastal currents, or stabilize inlet shorelines.

(4) “Beach” is the zone of unconsolidated material that extends landward from the mean low water line to the place where there is marked change in material or physiographic form, or to the line of permanent vegetation.

(5) “Beach and Dune System” is that portion of the coastal system where there has been or there is expected to be, over time and as a matter of natural occurrence, cyclical and dynamic emergence, destruction, and reemergence of beaches and dunes.

(6) “Coastal Construction Control Line” (CCCL) or “Control Line” is the line established pursuant to the provisions of Section 161.053, F.S., and recorded in the official records of the county, which defines that portion of the beach-dune system subject to severe fluctuations based on a 100-year storm surge, storm waves, or other predictable weather conditions.

(7) “Coastal System” is the beach and adjacent upland dune system and vegetation seaward of the CCCL; swash zone; surf zone; breaker zone; offshore and longshore shoals; reefs and bars; tidal, wind, and wave driven currents; longshore and onshore/offshore drift of sediment materials; inlets and their ebb and flood tide shoals and zones of primary tidal influence; and all other associated natural and manmade topographic features and coastal construction.

(8) “Construction” is any work or activity, including those activities specified in Sections 161.053(2) and 161.052, F.S., which may have an impact as defined in this rule.

(9) “Construction Debris” is the refuse, trash, or discarded material resulting from storm damage, or the construction or demolition of a structure. For the purpose of this Chapter, construction debris shall not include such material which has been sorted, cleaned, and otherwise processed such that it meets the suitability criteria for armoring materials set forth in this Chapter.

(10) “Department” is the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

(11) “Dune” is a mound, bluff or ridge of loose sediment, usually sand-sized sediment, lying upland of the beach and deposited by any natural or artificial mechanism, which may be bare or covered with vegetation and is subject to fluctuations in configuration and location.

(a) “Significant dune” is a dune which has sufficient height and configuration or vegetation to offer protective value.

(b) “Primary dune” is a significant dune which has sufficient alongshore continuity to offer protective value to upland property. The primary dune may be separated from the frontal dune by an interdunal trough; however, the primary dune may be considered the frontal dune if located immediately landward of the beach.

(12) “Eligible Structures” are public infrastructure and private structures qualified for armoring as follows:

(a) Public infrastructure includes those roads designated as public evacuation routes, public emergency facilities, bridges, power facilities, water or wastewater facilities, other utilities, hospitals, or structures of local governmental, state, or national significance.

(b) Private structures, located partially or wholly seaward of the coastal construction control line, include:

1. Non-conforming habitable structures,

2. Major non-habitable structures which are not expendable,

3. Expendable major structures which are amenities necessary for occupation of the major structure; and,

4. Expendable major structures whose failure would cause an adjacent upland non-conforming habitable structure or major non-habitable structure, which is not expendable, to become vulnerable.

(c) Eligible structures do not include minor structures.

(13) “Emergency Protection” is the use of armoring or other measures such as sand fill or expedient foundation reinforcement to temporarily protect eligible structures which are threatened by erosion as a result of recent storm events.

(14) “Erosion” is the wearing away of land or the removal of consolidated or unconsolidated material from the beach and dune system by wind, water, or wave action. Erosion includes:

(a) Landward horizontal movement of the line of mean high water or beach and dune system profile.

(b) Vertical lowering or volumetric loss of sediment from the beach and dune system or the offshore profile.

(15) “Excavation” is any mechanical or manual removal or alteration of consolidated or unconsolidated soil or rock material from or within the beach and dune system.

(16) “Expendable Structure” means a structure that is subject to use or consumption, suitable for sacrifice, or is not essential to preserve.

(17) “Fifty (50)-foot Setback” or “Setback Line” is the line of jurisdiction established pursuant to the provisions of Section 161.052, F.S., in which construction is prohibited within 50 feet of the line of mean high water at any riparian coastal location fronting the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic coast shoreline.

(18) “Fixed Coastal Cell” is a geomorphological component of the coastal system which is closely linked internally by active physical processes and is bounded by physical features which exercise a major control on refraction patterns or which compartmentalize or severely limit longshore sediment transport such as headlands or inlets.

(19) “Foundation” is the portion of a structure which transmits the associated dead and live loads of the structure to the ground and includes, but is not limited to, spread footings, foundation walls, posts, piers, piles, beams, girders, structural slabs, cross bracing, and all related connectors. For habitable major structures, the foundation includes all load bearing components below the first habitable floor. For pavements, the foundation includes the subbase and base course layers supporting the pavement layer.

(20) “Geotextile container” is a bag or tube, made of blanket-like synthetic fibers manufactured in a woven or loose nonwoven manner, used as an agent to hold together a large mass of sand forming a rigid tubular structure.

(21) “Global Positioning Systems (GPS)” is a passive, satellite-based, navigation system operated and maintained by the United States Department of Defense. Its primary mission is to provide passive global positioning/navigation for land, air, and sea-based activities.

(22) “Governmental Entity,” as used in Rule 62B-33.0051, F.A.C., Coastal Armoring and Related Structures, is defined as an agency, political subdivision, or municipality having jurisdiction over the proposed activities.

(23) “Hydrodynamic Loads” are those horizontal and vertical forces resulting from a mass of water in motion, such as the forces associated with the flow accompanying a storm surge. Hydrodynamic loads include the effects of turbulence resulting from the interaction of the flowing water mass with a rigid structure.

(24) “Hydrostatic Loads” are those horizontal and vertical forces resulting from a standing mass of water.

(25) “Immediately Adjacent Properties” are properties lying contiguous to a property proposed for construction including properties separated by a road, right-of-way, or accessway and those seaward and landward of the property.

(26) “Impacts” are those effects, whether direct or indirect, short or long term, which are expected to occur as a result of construction and are defined as follows:

(a) “Adverse Impacts” are impacts to the coastal system that may cause a measurable interference with the natural functioning of the coastal system.

(b) “Significant Adverse Impacts” are adverse impacts of such magnitude that they may:

1. Alter the coastal system by:

a. Measurably affecting the existing shoreline change rate,

b. Significantly interfering with its ability to recover from a coastal storm,

c. Disturbing topography or vegetation such that the dune system becomes unstable or suffers catastrophic failure or the protective value of the dune system is significantly lowered, or

2. Cause a take, as defined in Section 379.2431(1), F.S., unless the take is incidental pursuant to Section 379.2431(1)(h), F.S.

(c) “Minor Impacts” are impacts associated with construction which are not adverse impacts due to their magnitude or temporary nature.

(d) “Other Impacts” are impacts associated with construction which may result in damage to existing structures or property or interference with lateral beach access.

(27) “Major Reconstruction” is the complete or partial replacement or rebuilding, to its original level of protection, of a significant portion of an existing armoring structure which has failed or deteriorated.

(28) “Marine Turtle” is any turtle, including all life stages from egg to adult, of the species Caretta caretta (loggerhead), Chelonia mydas (green), Dermochelys coriacea (leatherback), Eretmochelys imbricata (hawksbill), and Lepidochelys kempi (Kemp’s ridley).

(29) “Marine Turtle Nesting Habitat” is all sandy beaches adjoining the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Straits of Florida in all coastal counties and all inlet shorelines of those beaches. Nesting habitat includes all sandy beach and unvegetated or sparsely vegetated dunes immediately adjacent to the sandy beach and accessible to nesting female turtles.

(30) “Mean Tidal Range” is the difference in height between mean high water and mean low water.

(31) “Minor Reconstruction” is the routine repair of an existing, functional, and intact armoring which is necessary to maintain the structural and functional integrity of the structure as originally designed and includes: repair or replacement of caps, return walls, tiebacks, individual sheet piles, and armor stone.

(32) “Mitigation” is an action or series of actions taken by the applicant that will offset impacts caused by a proposed or existing construction project.

(33) “NAD 83/90” – is the North American Datum 1983 adjustment of 1990.

(34) “NAVD 88” is the North American Vertical Datum of 1988.

(35) “NGVD” is National Geodetic Vertical Datum, as established by the National Ocean Survey (formerly called “mean sea level datum, 1929”).

(36) “Native Vegetation” is a species of vegetation indigenous to the beach dune system in the project area.

(37) “Nesting Activity” is any activity by marine turtles associated with nesting including: beach selection, emergence from marine waters onto the beach, nest site selection, transit to and from the nest site, nest excavation, egg deposition, nest covering, incubation of eggs, hatching, hatchling emergence, orientation, and the transit of hatchlings into marine waters.

(38) “Nesting Season” is the nesting period for marine turtles from May 1 through October 31 of each year for all counties except Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, and Broward. Nesting season for these counties is the period from March 1 through October 31 of each year.

(39) “Nonconforming Structure” is any major habitable structure which was not constructed pursuant to a permit issued by the Department pursuant to Section 161.052 or 161.053, F.S., on or after March 17, 1985.

(40) “Notice to Proceed” is the formal notification from the Department authorizing all or portions of the permitted construction to commence.

(41) “One-hundred-year Storm” or “100-year Storm” is a shore-incident hurricane or any other storm with accompanying wind, wave, and storm surge intensity having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

(42) “Permit” is the authorization issued by the Department to conduct certain specified construction in a specified location seaward of a control line, upon issuance of a Notice to Proceed. Permit shall also include variances of the 50-foot setback requirements.

(43) “Permit Condition” is a statement or stipulation issued with, and appearing in or referenced in, a permit.

(44) “Protective Value” is the measurable protection level afforded by the dune system to upland property and structures from the predictable erosion and storm surge levels associated with coastal storm events.

(45) “Rebuilding” is a substantial improvement of the existing structure as defined in Section 161.54, F.S.

(46) “Registered Professional” means a professional registered or licensed by and in the State of Florida and practicing under Chapter 471, 472, 481, or 492, F.S.

(47) “Reissued Permit” is a permit for the same structures and/or activities that were previously authorized by the Department but construction was not completed.

(48) “Repair” is the restoration of a portion of an existing structure, including the foundation of the structure, to its original design or an equivalent structural standard. Repair of a structure assumes that a significant portion of the structure, including its foundation, remains intact.

(49) “Revetment” is a sloped, facing structure made of an armoring material designed to protect an escarpment or embankment or an upland structure from erosion by wave or current action.

(50) “Scour” is erosion caused by the interaction of waves and currents with man-made structures or natural features.

(51) “Seawall” is a structure separating land from water areas, primarily designed to prevent erosion and other damage due to wave or current action.

(52) “Shoreline” is the intersection of a specified plane of water with the beach. For example, the mean high water shoreline is the intersection of the plane of mean high water with the beach.

(53) “Shoreline Change Rate” is the average annual horizontal shift of the intersection of the foreshore slope of the beach with the referenced water plane, based on recorded historical measurements.

(54) “Storm Surge” is the rise of water above normal water level on the open coast due to a number of factors, including the action of wind stress on the water surface and the rise in water level due to atmospheric pressure reduction.

(55) “Structure” is the composite result of putting together or building related components in an ordered scheme. Enumeration of types of structures in this rule subsection shall not be construed as excluding from the application of this rule chapter any other structure which by usage, design, dimensions, or structural configuration meets the general definition herein provided and requires engineering considerations similar to the following:

(a) “Rigid Coastal Structures” are characterized by their solid or highly impermeable design or construction. Typically included within this category are groins, breakwaters, mound structures, jetties, weirs, seawalls, bulkheads, and revetments.

(b) “Minor Structures” are designed to be expendable, and to minimize resistance to forces associated with high frequency storms and to break away when subjected to such forces, and which are of such size or design as to have a minor impact on the beach and dune system.

(c) “Major Structures” which, as a result of design, location, or size could cause an adverse impact to the beach and dune system. Major structures include:

1. “Nonhabitable Major Structures” which are designed primarily for uses other than human occupancy. Typically included within this category are roads, bridges, storm water outfalls, bathhouses, cabanas, swimming pools, and garages.

2. “Habitable Major Structures” which are designed primarily for human occupancy and are potential locations for shelter from storms. Typically included within this category are residences, hotels, and restaurants.

(56) “Thirty-year Erosion Projection” or “30-year Erosion Projection” is the projection of long-term shoreline recession occurring over a period of 30 years based on shoreline change information obtained from historical measurements.

(57) “Toe scour protection” is a supplemental structure or structural component of armoring designed to prevent waves from scouring and undermining the base of the armoring.

(58) “Understructure” is any wall, partition, or other solid fabrication not comprising a part of the structural support system and located below the first floor support structure.

(59) “Vulnerable” is when an eligible structure is subject to either direct wave attack or to erosion from a 15-year return interval storm which exposes any portion of the foundation. Vulnerability will be determined by using the methodologies referenced in subparagraph 62B-33.0051(1)(a)2., F.A.C., or the “SBEACH-32 Users Interface Manual “dated January 10, 1996 http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12082, “SBEACH Report 1”dated July 1, 1989, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12083, “SBEACH Report 2” dated May 1 1990, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12084, “SBEACH Report 3” dated May 1,1993, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12085, “SBEACH Report 4” dated April 1, 1996, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12086, and “SBEACH Report 5” dated August 1,1998, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12087 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, and which may be obtained at the following web address: www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches.

Rulemaking Authority 161.052(11), 161.053(20), 161.085(5) FS. Law Implemented 161.052(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), 161.053(2), (4), (5), (6), (8), (9), (11), (12), (14), (17), (19), (21), 161.0535, 161.054(1), (2), (5), 161.085(1), (2), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9) FS. History–New 11-18-80, Amended 3-17-85, 11-10-85, Formerly 16B-33.02, Amended 5-12-92, Formerly 16B-33.002, Amended 9-12-96, 1-26-98, 8-27-00, 7-1-01, 12-31-01, 6-13-04, 5-31-07, 7-17-08, 11-28-18, 7-29-20.