Clean Water Act Section 404: An O

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Clean Water Act Section 404 An OG Perspective

• Andrew D. Smith
• SWCA Environmental Consultants

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Projects in Waters of the US Regulations/Permits

• Clean Water Act
• Section 404 Army Corps Permit
• Section 401 State Certification
• River and Harbors Act
• Section 10 Army Corps

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Jurisdictional Waters of the U.S.

• Surface waters such as
• Rivers, streams, and their tributaries
• Wetlands adjacent to these waters
• Ponds, lakes, and reservoirs
• Arroyos

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Jurisdictional Wetlands

• Wetland Hydrology
• Hydrophytic Vegetation
• Hydric Soils

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Jurisdictional Waters of the U.S.
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Non-jurisdictional Waters

• Isolated wetlands
• Swales
• Ditches
• Significant nexus

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Typical Activities Requiring Permits

• Construction of access roads
• Construction of well pads
• Pipeline crossings
• Placement of riprap or channel protection
• Construction of ponds, dams, dikes, or weirs

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Example Activities Requiring Permits
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Wetland Delineations

• Project scheduling and timing
• May be seasonal restrictions (winter, growing
  season
• Locating and siting wetlands
• Blue and white area on USGS maps could be waters
  of the U.S.
• Delineate the wetland
• Jurisdictional determination
• Map and document

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Section 404 Permitting

• Avoid or minimize project impacts to wetlands
• Quantify unavoidable impacts
• lt 0.5 acre Nationwide Permit
• gt 0.5 acre Individual Permit
• Mitigate impacts gt 0.1 acre

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Nationwide Permits

• For common activities with minimal wetland/waters
  of the U.S. impacts
• Typical NWPs applicable to OG activity
• NWP 12 Utility Line Activities
• NWP 14 Linear Transportation Projects
• NWP 27 Stream and Wetland Restoration Activities

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Individual Permits

• For projects gt 0.5 acre impacts to wetlands or
  other waters of the U.S. or gt 300 linear feet of
  streambed fill
• Public review of permit application
• 15 to 30 day public comment period
• Mitigation plan and implementation required
• Generally take 4 to 6 months for approval

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Nationwide Permits

• Submit Preconstruction Notification (PCN)
• Permittee contact info
• Project description, location, purpose
• Quantify unavoidable wetland impacts
• Other environmental impacts
• Maps, photos
• Corps has 45 days to respond to PCN
• The prospective permittee shall not begin the
  activityUnless 45 days have passed from the
  District Engineers receipt of the complete
  notification.
• NWPs may take 90 days to process if mitigation
  required

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Mitigation

• No net loss of wetlands
• Typically 11 mitigation ratio in Colorado
• Varies depending on habitat value, quality
• After-the-fact typically higher ratio
• Restoration
• Creation
• Enhancement
• Mitigation bank guidance

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Mitigation Aspects and Costs

• Planning
• Construction
• Annual Monitoring
• Maintenance

Army Corps must sign off on completed
mitigation (Typically 3 to 5 years for success)
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Wetland Enhancement and Restoration
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Wetland Mitigation Site Adams County, Colorado
2003 - Baseline Photo
2005 Same Location After Wetland Creation
We obtained Corps of Engineers sign-off of the
mitigation at this site only 2 years after
implementation.
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Compliance
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Compliance
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Questions?

• For more information, contact
• Andrew D. Smith
• SWCA Environmental Consultants
• 239.470.7868
• 303.487.1183
• asmith_at_swca.com