Definition of Wetlands
(I) “Wetlands” are defined to include:
(A) Areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated animal and plant life; where for any duration of time,at a frequency including non-consecutive years, the water table is at or near the surface and the land is saturated by:
(i) Subsurface water including, but not limited to the water table, subsurface kahawai, or springs; or
(ii) The land is covered by water.
(B) Areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water.The waterbody can be::
(i) natural or artificial;
(ii) permanent, temporary, Intermittent or ephemeral
(iii) static or flowing
(iv) fresh, brackish, or salt;
(v) above or below ground
(vi) groundwater, precipitation, or surface water-driven hydrology
(C) Areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 meters, including fishponds and coral reefs .
(D) Areas of riparian zone and floodplain, including flowing, intermittent or ephemeral streams, and streambeds.
(E) Areas of coastal zones adjacent to wetlands, islands, or bodies of marine water deeper than 6 m at low tide lying within the wetlands.
(F) Areas where hydric soils are present
(G) Areas where there is surface or subsurface water that is hydrologically connected to wetlands.
(H) Areas described by the six wetlands classifications including:
(i) Marine: coastal wetlands, coastal lagoons, rocky shores, seagrass beds, coral reefs;anchialine pools
(ii) Estuarine: muliwai, deltas, tidal marshes, mudflats, mangrove swamps;
(iii) Lacustrine: wetlands near natural lakes or ponds;
(iv) Riverine; wetlands near rivers, streams, and gulches
(v) Palustrine; marshes, swamps, bogs;
(vi) Human-made; Loko I’a (Hawaiian fish ponds), Loʻi Kalo, shrimp ponds, farm ponds, paddies, dams.
(I) Areas that provide wetland functions including:
(i) Conveyance of stormwater
(ii) Flood attenuation and storage
(iii) Sediment attenuation and reduction
(iv) Nutrient and chemical attenuation and reduction
(v) Plant community abundance and diversity
(vi) Fish and wildlife habitat
(vii) Groundwater recharge and discharge
(viii) Shoreline or stream bank anchoring
(iv) Carbon sequestration
(J) Areas that formerly had wetland characteristics or functions but have been altered or degraded by channelization, filling, draining, dredging, grading, grubbing, deep ripping, groundwater pumping, hardening of surfaces, or introduction of non-native or aggressive-invasive plant and animal species.
Testimonies Received from CARE Committee
Definition of Wetlands
(I) “Wetlands” are defined to include:
(A) Areas where water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the associated animal and plant life; where for any duration of time,at a frequency including non-consecutive years, the water table is at or near the surface and the land is saturated by:
(i) Subsurface water including, but not limited to the water table, subsurface kahawai, or springs; or
(ii) The land is covered by water.
(B) Areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water.The waterbody can be::
(i) natural or artificial;
(ii) permanent, temporary, Intermittent or ephemeral
(iii) static or flowing
(iv) fresh, brackish, or salt;
(v) above or below ground
(vi) groundwater, precipitation, or surface water-driven hydrology
(C) Areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 meters, including fishponds and coral reefs .
(D) Areas of riparian zone and floodplain, including flowing, intermittent or ephemeral streams, and streambeds.
(E) Areas of coastal zones adjacent to wetlands, islands, or bodies of marine water deeper than 6 m at low tide lying within the wetlands.
(F) Areas where hydric soils are present
(G) Areas where there is surface or subsurface water that is hydrologically connected to wetlands.
(H) Areas described by the six wetlands classifications including:
(i) Marine: coastal wetlands, coastal lagoons, rocky shores, seagrass beds, coral reefs;anchialine pools
(ii) Estuarine: muliwai, deltas, tidal marshes, mudflats, mangrove swamps;
(iii) Lacustrine: wetlands near natural lakes or ponds;
(iv) Riverine; wetlands near rivers, streams, and gulches
(v) Palustrine; marshes, swamps, bogs;
(vi) Human-made; Loko I’a (Hawaiian fish ponds), Loʻi Kalo, shrimp ponds, farm ponds, paddies, dams.
(I) Areas that provide wetland functions including:
(i) Conveyance of stormwater
(ii) Flood attenuation and storage
(iii) Sediment attenuation and reduction
(iv) Nutrient and chemical attenuation and reduction
(v) Plant community abundance and diversity
(vi) Fish and wildlife habitat
(vii) Groundwater recharge and discharge
(viii) Shoreline or stream bank anchoring
(iv) Carbon sequestration
(J) Areas that formerly had wetland characteristics or functions but have been altered or degraded by channelization, filling, draining, dredging, grading, grubbing, deep ripping, groundwater pumping, hardening of surfaces, or introduction of non-native or aggressive-invasive plant and animal species.