§ 113.1. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Act—The Flood Plain Management Act (32 P. S. § § 679.101—679.601).
Department—The Department of Community and Economic Development of the Commonwealth.
Development—A man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations.
FEMA—The Federal Emergency Management Agency, successor to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance Administration.
Flood—A general but temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of streams, rivers or other waters of this Commonwealth.
Flood-fringe area—That portion of the 100-year floodplain outside of the floodway.
Flood hazard area—The 100-year floodway and that maximum area of land that is likely to be flooded by a 100-year flood, as shown on the floodplain maps provided by FEMA.
Floodplain management—The operation of a program or activities which may consist of both corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage including, but not limited to, such things as emergency preparedness plans, flood control works and floodplain management regulations.
Floodplain management regulations—Zoning ordinances, subdivision and land development regulations, building codes, health regulations, special purpose ordinances and other applications of the police power. The term describes the State or local regulations in any combination thereof, which provide standards for the purpose of flood damage prevention and reduction.
Floodproofing—Structural or other changes or adjustments to properties or obstructions for the reduction or elimination of flood damages to the properties and obstructions or to the contents of any structure.
Floodway—The portion of the 100-year floodplain including the watercourse itself and an adjacent land area that must be kept open in order to carry the water of a 100-year flood. At a minimum, a floodway must be large enough to carry the water of the 100-year flood without causing an increase of more than 1 foot in the elevation of the existing 100-year flood.
Freeboard—A margin of safety, expressed in feet, above the 100-year flood elevation.
Identified municipality—A municipality which has been formally notified by FEMA that it has been identified as having an area subject to flooding.
Mobile home—A transportable, single-family dwelling intended for permanent occupancy, office or place of assembly which is contained in one unit or in two units designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated for repeated towing which arrives at a site complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, and which is constructed so that it may be used without a permanent foundation. The term does not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.
Municipality—A city, borough, town, township or a similar general purpose unit of government; a county or other governmental unit when acting as an agent thereof; or any combination thereof acting jointly.
New mobile home park or mobile home subdivision—A parcel or contiguous parcels of land divided into two or more mobile home lots for rent or sale for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lot on which the mobile home is to be affixed—including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads, and the construction of streets—is completed on or after the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by a municipality.
Obstruction—A structure or assembly of materials including fill above or below the surface of land or water and an activity which might impede, retard or change flood flows. The planting, cultivation and harvesting of field and orchard crops or the grazing of livestock including the maintenance of necessary appurtenant agricultural fencing is not considered an obstruction under this definition and is not subject to regulation under this chapter.
100-year flood—The highest level of flooding that on the average, is likely to occur every 100 years, that is, that has a 1% chance of occurring each year.
100-year floodplain or floodplain—The 100-year floodway and that maximum area of land that is likely to be flooded by a 100-year flood as shown on the floodplain maps provided by FEMA to the municipality.
Pollution—The contamination of waters of this Commonwealth that will create or is likely to create a nuisance or to render the waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare; or to domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational or other legitimate beneficial uses; or to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life, including, but not limited to, the contamination by: alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of the waters; change in temperature, taste, color or odor thereof, or the discharge of a liquid, gaseous, radioactive, solid or other substances into the waters.
Program—The National Flood Insurance Program.
Special permit—A special exception. For the purposes of this chapter, the term ‘‘special permit’’ is being substituted for the term ‘‘special exception’’ as used in section 301 of the act (32 P. S. § 679.301). A special permit is required for the uses and activities listed in § 113.6 (relating to regulation of particular obstructions).
Structure—A walled and roofed building, including a gas or building, and building, liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground as well as a mobile home.
Substantial additions to mobile home parks—A repair, reconstruction or improvement of an existing mobile home park or mobile home subdivision where the repair, reconstruction or improvement of the streets, utilities and pads will equal or exceed 50% of the value of the streets, utilities and pads before the repair, reconstruction or improvement is started.
Substantial improvements—A repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started, or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition, substantial improvement is considered to occur when the first alteration of a wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however, include either a project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing State or local health, sanitary or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions or any alteration to a structure listed on the National Register or Historic Register of the State Inventory of Historic Places.
Watershed—The entire region or area drained by a river or other body of water, whether natural or artificial.
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