455 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 1, § 002
As used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply:
"Appurtenant structure" shall mean a structure on the same parcel of property as the principal structure, the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.
"Base flood" shall mean the flood having a one per cent chance of being equalled or exceeded in magnitude in any given year.
"Basement" shall mean any area of the building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.
"Drainway" shall mean any depression two feet or more below the land which serves to give direction to a current of water less than nine months of the year, and which has a bed and well-defined banks.
"Existing manufactured home park or subdivision" shall mean a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is complete before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
"Flood" shall mean the water of any watercourse or drainway which is above the bank or outside the channel and banks of such watercourse or drainway.
"Floodway" shall mean the channel of a watercourse or drainway and the adjacent land areas that are necessary to be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot.
"Flood fringe" shall mean that portion of the floodplain of the base flood which is outside of the floodway.
"Floodplain" shall mean the area adjoining a watercourse or drainway which has been or may be covered by floodwaters.
"Floodplain management regulations" shall mean and include zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, building codes, and other applications of the police power which are authorized by law to secure safety from floods and provide for the reasonable and prudent use of floodplains.
"Historic structure" shall mean any structure that is:
"Lowest floor" shall mean the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this Chapter.
"Manufactured home" shall mean a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities. The term "manufactured home" does not include a "recreational vehicle".
"Manufactured home park or subdivision" shall mean a parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.
"New construction" shall mean obstructions for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of the floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such obstructions.
"Obstruction" shall mean any wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, projection, excavation (including the alteration or relocation of a watercourse or drainway), channel rectification, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, stored equipment or material, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill, or other analogous structure or matter which may impede, retard, or change the direction of the flow of water, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water, or that is placed where the natural flow of the water would carry such structure or matter downstream to the damage or detriment of either life or property. Dams designed to store or divert water are not obstructions if permission for the construction thereof is obtained from the Department of Natural Resources pursuant to The Safety of Dams and Reservoirs Act (Sections 46-1601 to 46-1670 R.R.S., 1943 as amended.)
"Principally above ground" shall mean that at least 51 percent of the actual cash value of the structure is above ground.
"Recreational vehicle" shall mean a vehicle which is (i) built on a single chassis; (ii) 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projections; (iii) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and (iv) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
"Start of construction" shall mean the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. "Start of construction" includes substantial improvements. The actual start date means the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond a stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not the alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
"Structure" shall mean a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home, and a gas or liquid storage tank that is principally above ground.
"Substantial damage" shall mean damage of any origin sustained by an obstruction whereby the cost of restoring the obstruction to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the obstruction before the damage occurred.
"Substantial improvement" shall mean any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of an obstruction, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the obstruction before "start of construction" of the improvement. This includes obstructions which have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either (1) any project for improvement of a structure or other obstruction to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions, or (2) any alteration of an "historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an "historic structure."
"Watercourse" shall mean any depression two feet or more below the surrounding land which serves to give direction to a current of water at least nine months of the year and which has a bed and well-defined banks.
455 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 1, § 002