:: Terms
A-C, D-F, G-I,
J-L, M-P, Q-S,
T-Z
8
8.5 Square Mile Area
An area of low-lying land west of the L-31 North canal in Miami-Dade County.
A
Accretion
The gradual addition of new material to existing material.
Accuracy
The closeness of a measured value to the true value.
Acre-foot
The volume of water (43,560 cubic feet or 1,233.4 cubic meters), that will
cover an area of one acre to a depth of one foot.
Action Plan
A plan that describes what needs to be done and when it needs to be completed.
Activity
An element of work performed during the course of a project; an activity
normally has an expected duration, cost and resource requirements, and may be
divided into tasks.
Adaptive Assessment
A process for learning and incorporating new information into the planning and
evaluation phases of the restoration program. This process ensures that the
scientific information produced for this effort is converted into products that
are continuously used in management decision making.
Adaptive Assessment Team (AAT)
An interagency, interdisciplinary task team of the RECOVER Leadership Group,
which is responsible for design and revision of conceptual models and regional
monitoring, preparation of the Annual Adaptive Assessment Report and
coordination of science peer reviews.
Adverse Impact
A detrimental effect relative to desired or baseline conditions.
Affected Environment
Existing biological, physical, social and economic conditions of an area
subject to change, both directly and indirectly, as a result of a proposed
human action.
Agricultural Privilege Tax
An annual tax levied on farming activities in the Everglades Agricultural Area
and C-139 Basins to support Phase 1 of the Everglades Program.
Air Quality
A measure of the health-related and visual characteristics of the air, often
derived from quantitative measurements of the concentrations of contaminating
or injurious substances.
Annual Report Card
A document produced annually by the RECOVER Leadership Group as a means of
informing the public on the progress being made toward meeting the goals and
targets of the Comprehensive Plan
Anthropogenic
Human-created or caused.
Apple Snails
The Florida Apple Snail (Pomacea paludosa), a gastropod mollusk commonly found
in shallow wetland environments in wetland environments in south Florida, which
is the primary food of the endangered Everglades Snail Kite.
Aquatic
Consisting of, relating to or being in water; living or growing in, on or near
the water; or taking place in or on the water.
Aquifer
An underground geologic formation, a bed or layer of earth, gravel or porous
stone, that yields water or in which water can be stored.
Aquifer Storage and Recovery [ASR]
A technology for storage of water in a suitable aquifer via a well during times
when excess water is available and recovery from the same aquifer when the
water is needed to meet peak emergency or long-term water demands.
Audit
A formal and detailed examination of the progress, costs, operations, results
or some other aspect of a project or system.
Authorization
An act by the Congress of the United States which authorizes use of public
funds to carry out a prescribed action.
B
Back Pumping
The process of pumping water in a manner in which the water is returned to its
source.
Base Year Condition
A projection of the most likely future condition (e.g., water quality
condition) at the time that the project becomes operational.
Baseline
The initial approved plan for schedule, cost or performance management, plus or
minus approved changes, to which deviations will be compared as the project
proceeds.
Basin
A large area of lower elevation than surrounding areas.
Benthic
The bottom of rivers, lakes or oceans, and the organisms that live on the
bottom of water bodies.
Best Management Practices [BMPs]
The best available land, industrial and waste management techniques or
processes that reduce pollutant loading from land use or industry, or which
optimizing water use.
Biodiversity
The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region;
or the variability among living organisms on the earth, including the
variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems.
Biological Opinion
A document issued under the authority of the Endangered Species Act stating the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or National Marine Fisheries Service finding
as to whether a Federal action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence
of a threatened or endangered species or result in the destruction or adverse
modification of a critical habitat. This document may include a description of
the Critical Habitat, and offer either a Jeopardy Opinion or a No Jeopardy
Opinion.
Budget At Completion [BAC]
The estimated total cost of the project when done.
Budgeted Cost of Work Performed [BCWP]
The sum of the approved cost estimates, including any overhead allocation, for
activities completed during a given period [see also Earned Value].
Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled [BCWS]
The sum of the approved cost estimates, including any overhead allocation, for
activities scheduled to be performed during a given period.
C
Canal
A human-made waterway that is used for draining or irrigating land or for
navigation by boat.
Candidate Species
A plant or animal species not yet officially listed as threatened or endangered
on a national level, but which is undergoing status review by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Central and Southern Florida Project
A multi-purpose project, first authorized by Congress in 1948, which provides
flood control, water supply protection, water quality protection and natural
resource protection.
CERP Guidance Memorandum (CGM)
A document of prescribed format which officially captures decisions of the
program managers and promulgates their guidance regarding implementation of the
CERP. CGMs address an array of subjects including definitions, direction and
procedures for reporting, web management, financial management and program
controls.
Channel
A natural or artificial watercourse, with a definite bed and banks, to confine
and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water.
Chart of Accounts
A numbering system used to monitor project costs by category, such as labor,
supplies and materials.
Chlorophyll
Green pigments found in plants, which are essential for photosynthesis.
Coastal Ridge
Area of land bordering the coast whose topography is elevated higher than land
further inland.
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan [CERP]
The plan for the restoration of the greater Everglades ecosystem.
Comprehensive Plan
See Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
Comprehensive Plan Refinement Team
An interagency, interdisciplinary task team of the RECOVER Leadership Group,
which recommends refinements to the Comprehensive Plan and provides
Comprehensive Plan Updates for Project Implementation Reports.
Confined Aquifer
An aquifer bounded above and below by impermeable or confining layers of
distinctly lower permeability than the aquifer itself.
Conjunctive Use
The planned use of groundwater in conjunction with surface water in overall
management to optimize water resources.
Constraint
A condition that is to be minimized or avoided in the plan formulation and
selection process to ensure that the project component does not result in
undesirable changes in the project area or downstream waters.
Contingency Planning
The development of a management plan that identifies alternative strategies to
be used to ensure project success if specified risk events occur.
Contract
A mutually binding agreement that obligates one party to provide a specified
product or service, and obligates the other to pay for it.
Control
A process for ensuring that reality or actual performance meets expectations or
plans.
Control Structure
A human-created structure that regulates the flow of waters or the level of
waters.
Conveyance Capacity
The rate, generally measured in cubic feet per second (cfs) at which water can
be transported by a canal, aqueduct or ditch.
Cooperating Agency
An agency whose role is documented in a formal memorandum of agreement with the
lead agency.
Cost Variance
Any difference between the estimated cost of an activity and the actual cost of
that activity; in Earned Value, this is the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed
less the Actual Cost of Work Performed.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
An analysis of the cost effectiveness of different alternatives in order to
determine whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
Critical Activity
An activity or event that, if delayed, will delay some other important event,
commonly the completion of a major project milestone or the project itself.
Critical Habitat
A description, which may be contained in a Biological Opinion, of the specific
areas with physical or biological features essential to the conservation of a
listed species and which may require special management considerations or
protection; these areas have been legally designated via Federal Register
notices.
Critical Path
The sequence of tasks that determines the minimum schedule for a project; if
one task on the critical path is delayed, the schedule will be late.
Critical Projects or Critical Restoration Projects
Seven projects determined to be critical to the restoration of the South
Florida ecosystem, which were authorized in 1996 prior to the CERP. These are
comparatively small restoration projects undertaken by the US Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and are
being implemented along with the CERP projects
Cubic Feet Per Second [cfs]
A measure of the volume rate of water movement; as a rate of stream flow, a
cubic foot of water passing a reference section in one second of time.
Culvert
A concrete, metal or plastic passage that transports water under a road or
embankment.
D
Dam
A human-created embankment that controls or confines water [dike].
Decomposition
The action of microorganisms causing the breakdown of organic compounds into
simpler ones and the release of energy.
Deliverable
The clearly defined result, good or service produced during the project or at
its outcome; this may include a report, plan or physical product.
Density
The mass per unit volume of a substance under specified conditions of pressure
and temperature.
Design Agreement
A Cooperative Agreement between the Department of the Army and the local
sponsor for the Design of Elements of the Comprehensive Plan.
Design Coordination Team [DCT]
Comprised of USACE, SFWMD and FDEP staff who meet regularly to provide for
consistent and effective communication, coordination and issue resolution on
projects included in the Design Agreement.
Design Documentation Report [DDR]
an implementation document that describes results of investigations, analyses
and calculations made during the detailed design phase, and which provides the
technical basis for the plans and specifications.
Discharge
The rate of water movement as volume per unit time, usually expressed as cubic
feet per second.
Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.)
The concentration of oxygen dissolved in water, sometimes expressed as percent
saturation, where saturation is the maximum amount of oxygen that theoretically
can be dissolved in water at a given altitude and temperature.
Dry Season
The months associated with a lower incident of rainfall, hydrologically, for
south Florida, October through April.
Dune- A mound or hill of sand created by dune grasses, which trap sand grains being moved across the
Duration
The period of time over which a task occurs, in contrast to effort, which is
the amount of labor hours a task requires; duration establishes the schedule
for a project, and effort establishes the labor costs.
E
Earned Value
A method for measuring project performance; it compares the amount of work that
was planned with what was actually accomplished to determine if cost and
schedule performance are as planned; this is the Budgeted Cost of Work
Performed for an activity or group of activities.
Ecology
The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments, also
called bionomics; or the relationship between organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem
An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit.
Effectiveness
A measure of the quality of attainment in meeting objectives; this is
distinguished from efficiency, which is measured by the volume of output
achieved for the input used.
Effort
The amount of work or labor, in hours or workdays, required to complete a task;
effort is used to establish the labor costs associated with a project.
Endangered Species
Any species or subspecies of amphibian, bird, fish, mammal, reptile or plant
that is in serious danger of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant
portion of its range.
Enhancement
Measures which develop or improve the quality or quantity of existing resources
beyond a condition or level that would have occurred without an action.
Environmental and Economic Equity [EEE]
A program-level activity, referred to in early phases of the program as
Socioeconomic and Environmental Justice, which provides a framework for the
activities and analyses related to the social aspects of implementing the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
Environmental Consequences
The impacts to the affected environment that are expected from implementation
of a given alternative.
Environmental Impact Statement [EIS]
An analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act for all major
Federal actions, which evaluates the environmental risks of alternative
actions.
Epiphyte
An air plant that receives water and nutrients from the air and rain, and which
usually uses other plants for support.
Estimate
An assessment of the likely quantitative result; usually applied to project
costs and durations, and which should include some indication of accuracy.
Estimate at Completion
The expected total cost of an activity, group of activities or of the project
when the defined scope of work has been completed.
Estuary
The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by ocean
tides; or an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river; where freshwater and
salt water meet.
Eutrophication
The natural or cultural enrichment of an aquatic environment with plant
nutrients leading to rapid ecological changes and high productivity.
Evaluate
To appraise or determine the value of information, options or resources being
provided to a project.
Evaluation Criteria
Specific criteria developed by the PDT to evaluate and compare alternative
plans, and to aid in optimizing the design of the selected alternative plan to
achieve a desired condition.
Evaporation
The process by which water is released to the atmosphere by evaporation from
the water surface or movement from a vegetated surface (transpiration).
Evapotranspiration [ET]
Water evaporated from plant and soil surfaces or transpired by plant tissues.
Everglades Agricultural Area [EAA]
Land in the northern Everglades that was drained for agricultural development.
Everglades Construction Project [ECP]
Composed of twelve inter-related construction projects located between Lake
Okeechobee and the Everglades, the cornerstone of which is six stormwater
treatment areas (constructed wetlands) totaling over 47,000 acres, which use
biological processes to reduce the level of phosphorous entering the Everglades
to an interim goal of 50 parts per billion.
Everglades Stormwater Program
A program to ensure that water quality standards are met at all structures not
included in the Everglades Construction Project.
Everglades Trust Fund
A fund created by law (Chapter 97-258, Florida Statutes) to support ecosystem
restoration.
Exotic Species
An introduced species not native to the place where it is found.
Extirpated Species
A species that has become extinct in a given area.
F
Facilitator
One who makes it easier for others to accomplish objectives by offering advice
and assistance in solving problems.
Fallow land
Cultivated land that lies idle during a growing season.
Feasibility Study
The phase of a project whose purpose is to describe and evaluate alternative
plans and fully describe a recommended project.
Federally Endangered Species
An Endangered Species which is officially designated by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service and published in the
Federal Register.
Float
The amount of time for a task to be freely scheduled without affecting other
tasks in a project; also, the difference between the duration available for a
task and the duration required to complete it [also known as slack or slack
time].
Flocculent
Comprised of or containing woolly masses.
Flood Control Storage Capacity
Reservoir capacity reserved for the purpose of regulating flood inflows to
reduce flood damage downstream [compare with reservoir storage capacity].
Floodplain
Land next to a stream or river that is flooded during high-water flow.
Flow
The volume of water passing a given point per unit of time, including In-stream
Flow Requirements, Minimum Flow and Peak Flow.
G
Gantt Chart
A chart that uses timelines and other symbols to illustrate multiple,
time-based activities or project on a horizontal time scale.
Geographic Information System
An information system that is designed to work with data referenced by spatial
or geographic coordinates; it is both a database system with specific
capabilities for spatially-referenced data, as well as a set of operations for
working with and analysis of data.
Geospatial Data
Information that includes, but is not limited to surveys, maps, aerial
photography, aerial imagery, and biological, ecological and hydrological
modeling coverages.
Go / No-Go Indicator
A level of measurement that shows whether an object's dimension is within
certain limits, and can allow a decision as to whether to change, terminate or
continue an activity or project.
Goal
Something to be achieved. Goals can be established for outcomes (results) or
outputs (efforts).
Greater Everglades Ecosystem
An area consisting of the lands and waters within the boundary of the South
Florida Water Management District, including the built environment, the
Everglades, the Florida Keys and the contiguous near shore coastal waters of
South Florida [also shown under South Florida Ecosystem].
Groundwater
Water stored underground in pore spaces between rocks and in other alluvial
materials and in fractures of hard rock occurring in the saturated zone.
Groundwater Level
The water level in a well, which is a measure of the hydraulic head in the
aquifer system.
Groundwater Pumping
The quantity of water extracted from groundwater storage.
Groundwater Seepage
The groundwater flow in response to a hydraulic gradient.
Groundwater Table
The upper surface of the zone of saturation, except where the surface is formed
by an impermeable body.
H
Habitat
The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally
lives or occurs.
Hammock
Localized, thick stands of trees that can grow on natural rises of only a few
inches in the land.
Hectare
A unit of measure in the metric system equal to 10,000 square meters or 2.47
acres.
Heterogeneity
The quality of being diverse, not comparable in kind, unlike, dissimilar or not
uniform.
Hierarchical Planning
A planning approach in which each managerial level breaks planning tasks into
the activities that must be done at that level, and which establishes the
objectives for the next-lower level of planning.
Hydrologic Condition
The state of an area pertaining to the amount and form of water present.
Hydrologic Response
An observed increase or decrease of water in a particular area.
Hydrology
The scientific study of the properties, distribution and effects of water on
the earth's surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere
Hydropattern
A depiction of water levels through annual cycles; this includes water depth
and duration, along with quantity, timing and distribution of surface water to
a specific area.
Hydroperiod
For non-tidal wetlands, the average duration of flooding, which is based only
on the presence of surface water and not its depth.
I
In-stream Flow Requirements
The amount of water flowing through a stream course needed to sustain in-stream
values.
Independent Technical Review Team
A group autonomous of the PDT established to conduct reviews to ensure that
design products are consistent with established criteria, guidance, procedures
and policies.
Indicator Species
An organism, species or community which indicates the presence of certain
environmental conditions.
Information Management
The processes and tools to manage documents, data and information that are
critical to implementation of the Comprehensive Plan.
Initiation
The process of formally recognizing that a new projects exists or that an
existing project should continue into the planning phase of the project.
Invertebrate
An animal that does not have a backbone; examples include crayfish, insects and
mollusks.
Irrigation Water
Water made available from the project which is used primarily in the production
of agricultural crops or livestock, including domestic use incidental thereto,
and the watering of livestock; this also includes water used for domestic uses,
such as the watering of landscaping or pasture for animals which are kept for
personal enjoyment.
J
Jeopardy Opinion
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service opinion
that an action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed
species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical
habitat; the finding includes reasonable and prudent alternatives, if any.
Juvenile
Young fish older than one year but not having reached reproductive age.
L
Lag
The amount of time after one task is started or completed before the next task
can be started or completed.
Land Classification
An economic classification of variations in land reflecting its ability to
sustain long-term agricultural production.
Landfill
A method of waste disposal wherein materials are buried; environmental
protection laws require the sites to be constructed with impermeable barriers
to prevent hazardous wastes or pollutants from escaping to the surrounding
soils or air.
Latitude
The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in degrees
along a meridian.
Levee
A human-created embankment that controls or confines water.
Leveling
The process of shifting the use of resources to even out the workload of team
members and resources.
Limnology
The scientific study of the physical characteristics and biology of lakes,
streams and ponds.
Littoral Zone
The shore of land surrounding a water body that is characterized by periodic
inundation or partial saturation by water level, and is typically defined by
the species of vegetation found there.
Local Sponsor
The entity that is partnering with the Federal Government to complete a
specific project or program; in the case of the Comprehensive Plan, the local
sponsor for the majority of the program is the South Florida Water Management
District.
Lock
An enclosure in a canal with gates at each end used to pass boats from location
to another.
Longitude
The angular distance on the earth's surface, measured east or west from the
prime meridian at Greenwich, England, to the meridian passing through a
position, expressed in degrees (or hours), minutes and seconds.
M
Macrophytes
Visible plants found in aquatic environments, including sawgrass, sedges and
lilies.
Management Measure
A feature or activity that can be implemented at a specific geographical site
to address one or more of the planning objectives, and which is a building
block of an alternative plan.
Mangrove Forest
A community of mangrove trees that may consist of the red mangrove, black
mangrove and white mangrove.
Marl
Soil comprised of clays, carbonates and shell remains.
Marsh
An area of low-lying wetlands.
Mass Loading
The mass of material entering an area per unit time, such as phosphorus
loading, generally expressed as metric tons per year.
Master Program Management Plan [MPMP]
A document which describes the framework and processes to be used by the USACE
and the SFWMD for managing and monitoring implementation of the Comprehensive
Everglades Restoration Plan.
Master Schedule
A summary-level schedule that identifies the major activities and key
milestones.
Matrix Organization
An organizational structure that uses functional supervisors as well as project
supervisors to manage the same people, depending upon the assignment.
Mercury
A heavy metal that is toxic to most organisms when converted into a byproduct
of inorganic-organic reaction; it is distributed into the environment mostly as
residual particles from industrial processes.
Mesohaline
The next salinity region [after Oligohahine] of an estuary, of typically five
to fifteen parts per thousand.
Metadata
Information about data
Metadata
Definitional data that provides information about or documentation of other
data managed within an application or environment (e.g., data elements or
attributes and data about records or data structures).
Methylmercury
A particularly toxic organic form of mercury that concentrates in aquatic food
webs.
Milestone
A clearly identifiable point in a project that summarizes the completion of a
related or important set of tasks.
Milestone Schedule
A summary-level schedule that identifies the major milestones.
Minimum Flow
The lowest flow in a specified period of time.
Minimum Flows and Levels [MFLs]
A calculation that uses the best available information to calculate a minimum
flow and minimum level for each water body, and that reflects seasonal
variations when appropriate; Florida Statute requires water management
districts to set water levels for each major body of water at which further
withdrawals would be significantly to the water resources or ecology of the
area.
Mitigation
To make less severe; to alleviate, diminish or lessen; one or all of the
following may comprise mitigation: (1) avoiding an impact altogether by not
taking a certain action or parts of an action; (2) minimizing impacts by
limiting the degree or magnitude of an action and its implementation; (3)
rectifying an impact by repairing, rehabilitating or restoring the affected
environment; (4) reducing or eliminating an impact over time by preservation
and maintenance operations during the life of an action; and (5) compensating
for an impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.
Model
A way of looking at reality, usually for the purpose of abstracting and
simplifying it to make it understandable in a particular context; this may be a
plan to describe how a project will be completed, or a tool to mathematically
represent a process which could be based upon empirical or mathematical
functions.
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