Print 1 Volume . Chapter 1. PARKS, NATURAL OPEN/GREEN SPACES AND RECREATION Under the authority of the Louisiana State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978, as amended (Act 361, La. R.S. 49:214.21 et seq), the State of Louisiana defines wetlands. Furthermore, the state defines a coastal zone in which jurisdiction is based on elevation and hydrologic characteristics. For the purposes of this chapter, and following the Clean Water Act, wetlands will be defined as those areas that are saturated by water (surface water or groundwater) sufficiently to support vegetation that is adapted to living in saturated soils. (EPA Regulations 40 CFR 230.3(t)). This is not referring to areas that may be subject to periodic flooding from storms.