Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 40 > Chapter 7 > Part 1 - General Provisions

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Agency: means the wildlife resources agency. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Agriculture: means :
  (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Anchored: means held in place in the water by an anchor. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Board: means the board of directors of a watershed district. See Tennessee Code 69-6-102
• Board: means the board of ground water management. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Board: means the board of water quality, oil and gas established pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 69-7-303
• Boat: means any vessel:
  (A) Manufactured or used primarily for noncommercial use. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commission: means the fish and wildlife commission. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation, the commissioner's duly authorized representative and, in the event of the commissioner's absence or a vacancy in the office of commissioner, the deputy commissioner of environment and conservation. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of environment and conservation, the commissioner's duly authorized representative and, in the event of the commissioner's absence or a vacancy in the office of commissioner, the deputy commissioner of environment and conservation. See Tennessee Code 69-7-303
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of environment and conservation. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• District: means a watershed district for which organization is proposed or which has been granted under this chapter. See Tennessee Code 69-6-102
• Diver: means any person who is wholly or partially submerged in the waters of the state and who is equipped with a face mask and snorkel or underwater breathing apparatus. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Divers-down flag: means a free-flying flag, red in color, with a white diagonal stripe that begins at the top staff-side corner of the flag and extends to the lower opposite corner. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Drill: means to dig, drill, redrill, construct, deepen or alter a well. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Executive director: means the executive director of the wildlife resources agency. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fueling: means any stage of the fueling operation. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Geothermal well: means a hole drilled into the earth, by boring or otherwise, greater than twenty feet (20') in depth constructed for the primary purpose of adding or removing British Thermal Units (BTUs) from the earth for heating or cooling. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Installer: means any person who installs or repairs well pumps or who installs filters and water treatment devices. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Land: means "real property" as defined by the laws of this state and includes, but is not limited to, easements, water rights, or any other interest in real property. See Tennessee Code 69-6-102
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Livestock: means all equine as well as animals that are being raised primarily for use as food or fiber for human utilization or consumption including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and poultry. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Log: means a record of the consolidated or unconsolidated formation penetrated in the drilling of a well, and includes general information concerning construction of a well. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Monitoring well: means a hole drilled into the earth, by boring or otherwise, constructed for the primary purpose of obtaining information on the elevation or physical, chemical, radiological or biological characteristics of the ground water or for the recovery of ground water for treatment, or both. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Mooring: means the act of making fast or securing a boat with lines or anchors, and may also include the place where a boat is secured or made fast. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Motorboat: means any vessel propelled by machinery, whether or not such machinery is the principal source of propulsion. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Numbered vessel: means an undocumented vessel that is subject to issue or has been issued a certificate of number by the state. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• nursery stock: means all trees, shrubs, or other plants, or parts of such trees, shrubs or other plants, grown or kept for, or capable of, propagation, distribution or sale on a commercial basis. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Operate: means to navigate, be in physical control of, or otherwise use a motorboat or a vessel. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Operator: means the person who operates or has charge of the navigation or use of a motorboat or vessel. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Owner: includes a person entitled to the use or possession of a motorboat or vessel subject to an interest in another person, reserved or created by agreement and securing payment or performance of an obligation, but "owner" excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as security. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, organization, group, association, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, utility district, state or local government agency or any combination of them. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Person: means an individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or other entity. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Person: means any individual, corporation, company, limited liability company, partnership, association, group, utility district, federal, state or local government agency, or any combination of them. See Tennessee Code 69-7-303
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• personal watercraft: means a mechanically propelled vessel that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing or kneeling on the vessel rather than being operated in a conventional manner by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling inside the vessel. See Tennessee Code 69-9-501
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Registration: means satisfying the requirements for registration prescribed by the commission. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Restricted visibility: means any condition in which visibility is restricted by fog, mist, falling snow, heavy rainstorms or any other similar causes. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Rules of the road: means statutory and regulatory rules governing navigation of vessels. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Serious injury: means an injury that requires, or should have required, medical treatment by a physician beyond first aid. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Source: means a location where surface or ground water is available, including, but not limited to, a water well, cave, spring, stream, river, lake, or impoundment. See Tennessee Code 69-7-303
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• State of principal use: means the state on whose waters a vessel is used, whether moored or underway, or to be used most during a calendar year. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Underwater breathing apparatus: means any apparatus, whether self-contained or connected to a distant source of air or gas, whereby a person wholly or partially submerged in the water is enabled to obtain air or other gases for breathing without returning to the surface of the water. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Underway: means a vessel that is not anchored, moored or aground. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Use: means to operate, navigate or employ. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Wakeboarding: means :
  (A) To use a board with or without foot bindings on which a rider is towed by a motorboat across a wake. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Wakesurfing: means :
  (A) To surf a motorboat's wake, regardless of whether the person is being pulled by a tow rope attached to the motorboat that is producing the wake. See Tennessee Code 69-9-204
• Water well: means a hole drilled into the earth, by boring or otherwise, for the production of water. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Well: means one of these three (3) types of holes in the earth: a geothermal well, a monitoring well, or a water well. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Well owner: means the person who owns the real property on which a well exists or is to be drilled. See Tennessee Code 69-10-101
• Withdraw: means to take water from any source on a regular or recurring basis by means of an intake structure, pipe and pump that diverts water away from a source, or by any other conveyance with or without the use of suction. See Tennessee Code 69-7-303
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105