2019 US Virgin Islands Code
Title 12 - Conservation
Chapter 21 - Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management
§ 902. Definitions

(a) “Aggrieved person” means any person, including the applicant, who, in connection with a decision or action of the Commission on an application for a major coastal zone permit either appeared in person or through representatives at a public hearing of the Commission on said application, or prior to said decision or action informed the Commission in writing of the nature of his concern, or on an application for a minor coastal zone permit informed the Commissioner in writing prior to said decision or action of the nature of his concern, or who for good cause was unable to do any of the foregoing.

(b) “Areas of particular concern” means areas in the coastal zone that require special and more detailed planning analyses and the preparation of special plans and implementation mechanism.

(c) “Board” means the Board of Land Use Appeals established in Title 29, chapter 3 of this Code.

(d) “Coastal dependent development or use” means any development or use which requires a site on, or adjacent to, the sea to be able to function effectively.

(e) “Coastal Land and Water Use Plan” means the comprehensive plan for the development of the first tier of the coastal zone which is intended to serve as a policy guide for decision-making relative to development activities within this tier.

(f) “Coastal waters” means sea, as that term is defined in subsection (x) herein, as well as those waters adjacent to the shorelines which contain a measurable quantity or percentage of seawater, including, but not limited to, sounds, bays, lagoons, bayous, ponds and estuaries.

(g) “Coastal zone” means all land and water areas of the Territory of the United States Virgin Islands extending to the outer limits of the territorial sea, specified on the maps identified in section 908, subsection (a) of this chapter, and is composed of two parts, a first tier and a second tier.

(h) “Coastal Zone Management Program” means the program prepared by the Virgin Islands Planning Office for the management of the Coastal Zone of the Virgin Islands and submitted by the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands to the U.S. Department of Commerce pursuant to section 306, subsection (c), paragraph 4 of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (P.L. 92–583).

(i) “Coastal zone permit” means a permit for any development within the first tier of the coastal zone that is required pursuant to section 906 of this chapter.

(j) “Commission” means the Coastal Zone Management Commission as created by section 904 of this chapter.

(k) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Conservation and Cultural Affairs.

(l) “Development” means the placement, erection, or removal of any fill, solid material or structure on land, in or under the water; discharge or disposal of any dredged material or of any liquid or solid waste; grading, removing, dredging, mining, or extraction of any materials, including mineral resources; subdivision of land pursuant to Title 29, chapter 3 of this Code; construction, reconstruction, removal, demolition or alteration of the size of any structure; or removal or harvesting of vegetation, including coral. Development shall not be defined or interpreted to include activities related to or undertaken in conjunction with the cultivation, use or subdivision of land for agricultural purposes which do not disturb the coastal waters or sea, or any improvement made in the interior of any structure.

(m) “Emergency” means an unexpected situation that poses an immediate danger to life, health or property and demands immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss or damage to life, health, property or essential public services.

(n) “Environment” means the physical, social and economic conditions which exist within the area which will be affected by a proposed project.

(o) “Environmental Assessment Report” means an informational report prepared by the permittee available to public agencies and the public in general which, when required by this chapter, shall be considered by the Commission prior to its approval or disapproval of an application for a major coastal zone permit. Such report shall include detailed information about the existing environment in the area of a proposed development, and about the effects which a proposed development is likely to have on the environment; an analysis and description of ways in which the significant adverse effects of such development might be mitigated and minimized; and an identification and analysis of reasonable alternatives to such development.

(p) “Feasible” means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, social and technological factors.

(q) “Fill” means earth or any other substance or material, including pilings placed for the purposes of erecting structures thereon, placed in a submerged area.

(r) “First tier” means that area extending landward from the outer limit of the territorial sea, including all offshore islands and cays, to distances inland as specified in the maps incorporated by reference in section 908, subsection (a) of this chapter.

(s) “Major coastal zone permit” means a permit required for development within the coastal zone, which development is not “minor development” as defined in section 910, subsection (c) of this chapter.

(t) “Minor coastal zone permit” means the permit required for development defined in section 910, subsection (c) of this chapter.

(u) “Permit” means any license, certificate, approval, or other entitlement for use granted or denied by any public agency.

(v) “Person” means any individual, organization, partnership, association, corporation or other entity, including any utility, the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, the Government of the United States, any department, agency, board, authority or commission of such governments, including specifically the Virgin Islands Port Authority and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, and any officer or governing or managing body of any of the foregoing.

(w) “Public Agency” means Government of the United States, the Government of the United States Virgin Islands or any department, agency, board, authority, or commission of either government, including specifically the Virgin Islands Port Authority and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, and any officer or governing or managing body of any of the foregoing.

(x) “Sea” means the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and all coastal waters including harbors, bays, coves, channels, estuaries, salt ponds, marshes, sloughs and other areas subject to tidal action through any connection with the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean Sea, excluding streams, tributaries, creeks and flood control and drainage channels.

(y) “Second tier” means the interior portions of the Islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, including all watersheds and adjacent land areas not included in the first tier.

(z) “Shorelines” means the area along the coastline of the United States Virgin Islands from the seaward line of low tide, running inland a distance of fifty feet, or to the extreme seaward boundary of natural vegetation which spreads continuously inland, or to a natural barrier, whichever is the shortest distance. Whenever the shore is extended into the sea by or as a result of filling, dredging or other man-made alteration activities, the landward boundary of the shorelines shall remain at the line previously established.

(aa) “Significant natural area” means land and/or water areas within the coastal zone of major environmental value, including fish or wildlife habitat areas, valuable biological or natural productivity areas; and unique or fragile coastal ecological units or ecosystems which require special treatment and protection.

(bb) “Structure” means anything constructed or erected which requires location or placement on or in the ground, the submerged land, or coastal waters, or which is attached to something located in or on the ground, the submerged lands, or coastal waters.

(cc) “Submerged and filled lands” means all lands in the United States Virgin Islands permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters up to, but not above, the line of mean high tide, seaward to a line three geographical miles distant from the coastline of the United States Virgin Islands, and all artificially made, filled in, or reclaimed lands, salt ponds and marshes which were formerly permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters.

(dd) “Trust lands” means all submerged and filled land conveyed pursuant to Public Law 93–435, 88 Statutes 1210, by the United States to the Government of the United States Virgin Islands to be administered in trust for the benefit of the people of the United States Virgin Islands.

(ee) “Vested rights” means the rights obtained by a person to complete development without having to obtain a coastal zone permit where, prior to the effective date of this chapter, such person has obtained the necessary permit or permits, issued by the appropriate public agency(ies), which would have been sufficient to legally authorize such development prior to said effective date.