Act -- The Delta Protection Act of 1992.

Agricultural Conservation Easements -- A deed restriction landowners voluntarily place on their property to protect agricultural land. The landowner either sells or donates the development rights (some or all) of the property to a qualified conservation organization or public agency to protect the agricultural use of the land in perpetuity.

Agricultural Labor Camps -- The Agricultural Labor Camp refers to any living unit occupied by seven (7) or more farm workers and their families occurring exclusively in association with agricultural labor. Typical uses include labor camps and labor supply camps.

Buffer -- The area of land which serves to mitigate potential conflicts between different types of land uses.

CALFED Bay-Delta Program -- The CALFED Bay-Delta Program was established in May 1995 and includes a consortium of 25 state and federal agencies with management and regulatory responsibilities in the Bay-Delta estuary. The mission of the Program is to develop a long-term comprehensive plan that will restore ecological health and improve water management for beneficial uses of the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Channel Islands -- Unleveed islands within the Delta with riparian habitat that in many cases has not changed in over 150 years and are good examples of original habitat. Sometimes referred to as ‘guard levees' as they minimize wake action and flow erosion from affecting the main levees.

Commission -- The Delta Protection Commission created by Section 29735 of the California Public Resources Code.

Conservation Easement -- A restriction placed on a piece of property to protect its associated resources. The easement is either voluntarily donated or sold by the landowner and constitutes a legally binding agreement that limits certain types of uses or prevents development from taking place on the land in perpetuity while the land remains in private hands.

Critical Mass of Farms -- Concept based on idea that economies of scale exist in input and output businesses which are essential to agriculture, meaning that certain quantities of farms are necessary for the farm supply and agricultural related businesses to remain competitive and continue to be low cost producers and service providers.

Delta -- The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined in Section 12220 of the Water Code, for all provisions of this division, other than Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 29735). For the purposes of Chapter 3, (commencing with Section 29735), “Delta” means the area of the Delta minus the area contained in Alameda County.

Development --

Farm Worker Housing -- “Farm Employee Housing” means any housing accommodation, including single-family dwellings and farm labor mobilehomes, for six (6) or fewer farm employees.

Flood Protection -- Methods or structural measures used to mitigate flooding or reduce flooding hazards and risks.

Good Neighbor Policies -- Policies which set forth to avoid negative impacts on agricultural land as a result of habitat enhancements. The goals of these policies should be to avoid negative impacts, address and resolve unavoidable impacts, and foster good communication and relationships among neighbors and communities. These policies should apply to all land use changes including changes in land use where habitat is actively developed, where habitat develops naturally, and where habitat is converted to agricultural or other uses. Example policies could include the implementation of Best Management Practices on the converted lands that minimize vectors (e.g., mosquito breeding opportunities), the introduction of invasive species, water quality degradation, and/or the erosion of productive soils. The policies may also include the establishment of safe harbor agreements that, among other things, limit liability for incidental take associated with agricultural and recreational activities adjacent to converted wildlife lands.

Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) -- Planning documents that are required when applying to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an incidental take permit under the federal Endangered Species Act. An applicant is required to apply for an incidental take permit if a proposed activity would result in the “incidental take” of a listed wildlife species. HCPs describe the anticipated effects of the proposed taking, how those impacts will be minimized or mitigated, and how the HCP is to be funded.

Local Agency -- Any local agency, other than a local government, formed pursuant to general law or special act for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries or which maintains facilities within the Delta. “Local agency” includes, but is not limited to, a port, water agency, flood control district, county service area, maintenance district or area, improvement district or improvement area, mosquito abatement district, resource conservation district, sanitary or sewer district, or any other zone or area, formed for the purpose of designating an area within which either an assessment or a property tax rate will be levied to pay for a service or improvement benefiting that area or a special function that will be carried out within that area.

Local Government -- The Counties of Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo, and the Cities of Sacramento, Stockton, Tracy, Antioch, Pittsburg, Isleton, Lathrop, Brentwood, Rio Vista, West Sacramento, and Oakley, and any other cities that may be incorporated in the future in the Primary Zone.

Mitigation Banks -- A Mitigation Bank is a wetland, stream, or other aquatic resource area that has been restored, established, enhanced, or preserved for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources under Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act or a similar State or local wetland regulation.

National Heritage Area -- A place designated by the United States Congress where natural, cultural, historic and recreational resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally-distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. These areas tell nationally important stories about our nation and are representative of the national experience through both the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved within them.

Natural Community Conservation Plan -- A plan prepared pursuant to a planning agreement entered into in accordance with Section 2810 of the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (California Fish and Game Code Sections 2800-2835) that identifies and provides for the regional or area wide protection of plants, animals, and their habitats, while allowing compatible and appropriate economic activity.

Non-Agriculturally Oriented Non-Farmworker Residential Development -- Development of buildings consisting only of dwelling units that are not supporting agricultural operations and are not farm worker housing.

Open Space -- As defined in Section 65560 of the Government Code.

Pacific Flyway -- The identified migratory bird flight path, including feeding and nesting habitat, as described in the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture component of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP-1986).

Personal Water Craft -- General term for a broad range of small, powered boats that typically carry one or two persons, and are popularly known by registered tradenames such as Jet Ski, Ski Doo, etc.

Plan -- Land Use and Resource Management Plan for the Primary Zone of the Delta.

Primary Zone -- The Delta land and water area of primary state concern and statewide significance which is situated within the boundaries of the Delta, as described in Section 12220 of the Water Code, but that is not within either the urban limit line or sphere of influence line of any local government's general plan or currently existing studies, as of January 1, 1992. The precise boundary lines of the Primary Zone includes the land and water areas as shown on the map titled “The Delta Protection Act of 1992 Map of Zones” for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta filed with the Secretary of State on January 4, 1993. Where the boundary between the Primary Zone and Secondary Zone is a river, stream, channel, or waterway, the boundary line shall be the middle of that river, stream, channel, or waterway.

Reclamation Districts -- A form of special-purpose districts which are responsible for reclaiming and/or maintaining land that is threatened by permanent or temporary flooding for agricultural, residential, commercial, or industrial use. The land is reclaimed by removing and/or preventing water from returning via systems of levees, dikes, drainage ditches, and pumps.

Restoration -- Actions which return a degraded or deteriorated area to a level of increased productivity, environmental quality, or beneficial values.

Right-to-Farm-Ordinance -- Refers to the concept that conduct of agricultural operations takes precedence over the need to prevent agricultural operations from negatively affecting nearby non-agricultural users.

Secondary Zone -- All the Delta land and water area within the boundaries of the Delta not included within the Primary Zone, subject to the land use authority of local government, and that includes the land and water areas as shown on the map titled “The Delta Protection Act of 1992 Map of Zones” for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta filed with the Secretary of State on January 4, 1993.

Special District -- A type of district differing from general-purpose districts like municipalities, counties, etc., in that they only serve one or a few specialized services only to those persons who live within them. They possess fiscal and administrative autonomy and often are empowered to tax residents of the district. Examples include emergency services districts, reclamation districts, school districts and vector control districts.

Subsidence -- The gradual, local settling or sinking of the earth's surface with little or no horizontal motion. Drainage of Delta plains results in aeration of soil which leads to oxidation of its organic components, such as peat, and this decomposition process may cause significant land subsidence.

Suisun Marsh -- The largest brackish marsh on the west coast of the United States of America. The marsh is immediately west of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as well as part of the San Francisco Bay estuary. It includes the water-covered areas, tidal marsh, diked-off wetlands, seasonal marshes, lowland grasslands, upland grasslands, and cultivated lands identified in the Suisun Marsh Preservation Act (California Public Resources Code 29000-29612) including both the primary and secondary management areas as shown on the Suisun Marsh Protection Plan Map dated December 1976, available from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. It also includes the entire right-of-way of any state highway that is designated as a portion of the boundary of the marsh.

TMDL (total maximum daily load) -- A calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still safely meet water quality standards.

Transfer Development Rights -- A type of zoning ordinance that allows owners of property zoned for low-density development or conservation use to sell development rights to other property owners. The development rights purchased permit the landowners to develop their parcels at higher densities than otherwise. The system is designed to provide for low-density uses, such as historic preservation, without unduly penalizing some landowners.

200-year Levee Standards -- Levees which are developed to achieve protection from the 200-year flood (the flood event that has a 0.5% chance of occurring in any year).

Unincorporated Towns -- The communities of Walnut Grove, Clarksburg, Courtland, Hood, Locke, and Ryde.

Urban -- Of, relating to, characteristic of or constituting a city. Urban areas are generally characterized by moderate and higher density residential development (i.e., three or more dwelling units per acre), commercial development, and industrial development, and the availability of public services required for that development, specifically central water and sewer, an extensive road network, public transit, and other such services (e.g., safety and emergency response). Development not providing such services may be “non-urban” or “rural.”

Urban Limit Line -- general plan line established and approved by any local government within the Delta which delineates boundaries beyond which urban development is not publicly proposed by local government, as of January 1, 1992.

Water Trail -- A stretch of river, a shoreline, or an ocean that has been mapped out with the intent to create an educational, scenic, and challenging experience for recreational canoers and kayakers.

Williamson Act -- Also known as the California Land Conservation Act of 1965 which enables local governments to enter into contracts with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agricultural or related open space use. In return, landowners receive property tax assessments which are much lower than normal because they are based upon farming and open space uses as opposed to full market value. Local governments receive an annual subvention of forgone property tax revenues from the state via the Open Space Subvention Act of 1971.