Sec. 22a-93. Definitions.
Sec. 22a-93. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection;
(2) "Municipality" means any town listed in subsection (a) of section 22a-94, the
city of Groton, the borough of Stonington, the borough of Groton Long Point, the borough of Fenwick and the borough of Woodmont, but shall not include any special district;
(3) "Coastal area" means those lands described in subsection (a) of section 22a-94;
(4) "Coastal boundary" means the boundary described in subsection (b) of section
22a-94;
(5) "Coastal waters" means those waters of Long Island Sound and its harbors,
embayments, tidal rivers, streams and creeks, which contain a salinity concentration of
at least five hundred parts per million under the low flow stream conditions as established
by the commissioner;
(6) "Public beach" means that portion of the shoreline held in public fee ownership
by the state or that portion of the shoreline below the mean high tide elevation that is
held in public trust by the state;
(7) "Coastal resources" means the coastal waters of the state, their natural resources,
related marine and wildlife habitat and adjacent shorelands, both developed and undeveloped, that together form an integrated terrestrial and estuarine ecosystem; coastal
resources include the following: (A) "Coastal bluffs and escarpments" means naturally
eroding shorelands marked by dynamic escarpments or sea cliffs which have slope
angles that constitute an intricate adjustment between erosion, substrate, drainage and
degree of plant cover; (B) "rocky shorefronts" means shorefront composed of bedrock,
boulders and cobbles that are highly erosion-resistant and are an insignificant source of
sediments for other coastal landforms; (C) "beaches and dunes" means beach systems
including barrier beach spits and tombolos, barrier beaches, pocket beaches, land contact
beaches and related dunes and sandflats; (D) "intertidal flats" means very gently sloping
or flat areas located between high and low tides composed of muddy, silty and fine sandy
sediments and generally devoid of vegetation; (E) "tidal wetlands" means "wetland" as
defined by section 22a-29; (F) "freshwater wetlands and watercourses" means "wetlands" and "watercourses" as defined by section 22a-38; (G) "estuarine embayments"
means a protected coastal body of water with an open connection to the sea in which
saline sea water is measurably diluted by fresh water including tidal rivers, bays, lagoons
and coves; (H) "coastal hazard areas" means those land areas inundated during coastal
storm events or subject to erosion induced by such events, including flood hazard areas
as defined and determined by the National Flood Insurance Act, as amended (USC 42
Section 4101, P.L. 93-234) and all erosion hazard areas as determined by the commissioner; (I) "developed shorefront" means those harbor areas which have been highly
engineered and developed resulting in the functional impairment or substantial alteration
of their natural physiographic features or systems; (J) "island" means land surrounded
on all sides by water; (K) "nearshore waters" means the area comprised of those waters
and their substrates lying between mean high water and a depth approximated by the
ten meter contour; (L) "offshore waters" means the area comprised of those waters and
their substrates lying seaward of a depth approximated by the ten meter contour; (M)
"shorelands" means those land areas within the coastal boundary exclusive of coastal
hazard areas, which are not subject to dynamic coastal processes and which are comprised of typical upland features such as bedrock hills, till hills and drumlins; (N) "shellfish concentration areas" means actual, potential or historic areas in coastal waters, in
which one or more species of shellfish aggregate;
(8) "Zoning commission" means the municipal zoning commission established under section 8-1 or by any special act or the combined planning and zoning commission
established under section 8-4a;
(9) "Planning commission" means the municipal planning commission established
under section 8-19 or by any special act or the combined planning and zoning commission established under section 8-4a;
(10) "Municipal coastal plans" means the plans listed in subsections (b) and (d) of
section 22a-101;
(11) "Municipal coastal regulations" means the regulations and ordinances listed
in subsection (b) of section 22a-101;
(12) "Federal Coastal Zone Management Act" and "federal act" means the U.S.
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended;
(13) "Coastal site plans" means the site plans, applications and project referrals
listed in section 22a-105;
(14) "Facilities and resources which are in the national interest" means: (A) Adequate protection of tidal wetlands and related estuarine resources; (B) restoration and
enhancement of Connecticut's shellfish industry; (C) restoration, preservation and enhancement of the state's recreational and commercial fisheries, including anadromous
species; (D) water pollution control measures and facilities consistent with the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act, as amended; (E) air pollution control measures
and facilities consistent with the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act, as amended;
(F) continued operations of existing federally-funded dredged and maintained navigation channels and basins; (G) energy facilities serving state-wide and interstate markets,
including electric generating facilities and facilities for storage, receiving or processing
petroleum products and other fuels; (H) improvements to the existing interstate rail,
highway and water-borne transportation system; (I) provision of adequate state or federally-owned marine-related recreational facilities, including natural areas and wildlife
sanctuaries; and (J) essential maintenance and improvement of existing water-dependent
military, navigational, resource management and research facilities;
(15) "Adverse impacts on coastal resources" include but are not limited to: (A)
Degrading water quality through the significant introduction into either coastal waters
or groundwater supplies of suspended solids, nutrients, toxics, heavy metals or pathogens, or through the significant alteration of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen or salinity; (B) degrading existing circulation patterns of coastal waters through the significant
alteration of patterns of tidal exchange or flushing rates, freshwater input, or existing
basin characteristics and channel contours; (C) degrading natural erosion patterns
through the significant alteration of littoral transport of sediments in terms of deposition
or source reduction; (D) degrading natural or existing drainage patterns through the
significant alteration of groundwater flow and recharge and volume of runoff; (E) increasing the hazard of coastal flooding through significant alteration of shoreline configurations or bathymetry, particularly within high velocity flood zones; (F) degrading
visual quality through significant alteration of the natural features of vistas and view
points; (G) degrading or destroying essential wildlife, finfish or shellfish habitat through
significant alteration of the composition, migration patterns, distribution, breeding or
other population characteristics of the natural species or significant alteration of the
natural components of the habitat; and (H) degrading tidal wetlands, beaches and dunes,
rocky shorefronts, and bluffs and escarpments through significant alteration of their
natural characteristics or function;
(16) "Water-dependent uses" means those uses and facilities which require direct
access to, or location in, marine or tidal waters and which therefore cannot be located
inland, including but not limited to: Marinas, recreational and commercial fishing and
boating facilities, finfish and shellfish processing plants, waterfront dock and port facilities, shipyards and boat building facilities, water-based recreational uses, navigation
aides, basins and channels, industrial uses dependent upon water-borne transportation
or requiring large volumes of cooling or process water which cannot reasonably be
located or operated at an inland site and uses which provide general public access to
marine or tidal waters;
(17) "Adverse impacts on future water-dependent development opportunities" and
"adverse impacts on future water-dependent development activities" include but are not
limited to (A) locating a non-water-dependent use at a site that (i) is physically suited
for a water-dependent use for which there is a reasonable demand or (ii) has been identified for a water-dependent use in the plan of development of the municipality or the
zoning regulations; (B) replacement of a water-dependent use with a non-water-dependent use, and (C) siting of a non-water-dependent use which would substantially reduce
or inhibit existing public access to marine or tidal waters; and
(18) "Zoning board of appeals" means the municipal zoning board of appeals established pursuant to section 8-5 or any special act.
(P.A. 78-152, S. 4, 11; P.A. 79-535, S. 3, 25; P.A. 82-250, S. 1, 6; P.A. 83-587, S. 83, 96; P.A. 95-218, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 78-152 effective July 1, 1979; P.A. 79-535 redefined "municipality" and "coastal waters" in specific
rather than general terms, redefined "public beach" to specify those owned by state, expanded definition of "coastal
resources" and added Subdivs. (8) to (16) defining various planning and zoning commissions, coastal plans and regulations,
the applicable federal act, "facilities and resources which are in the national interest", "adverse impacts on coastal resources"
and "water dependent uses"; P.A. 82-250 added definitions for "adverse impacts on future water dependent development
opportunities", "adverse impacts on future water dependent development activities" and "zoning board of appeals"; P.A.
83-587 substituted reference to federal clean air act for reference to clean water act in Subdiv. (14); P.A. 95-218 amended
the definition of "adverse impacts on coastal resources" to make a minor clarification re patterns of tidal exchange.
Subdiv. (7):
Subpara. (E) cited. 43 CS 386.
Subdiv. (16):
Cited. 228 C. 187.
Subdiv. (17):
Cited. 228 C. 187.