Water ers o s of t the U he U.S. S. Presented By: Anjali Karve - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Water ers o s of t the U he U.S. S.

Webinar January 25, 2018 W&M Environmental Group, LLC.

Anjali Karve, M.S. Certified Ecologist (Ecological Society of America) Certified Wetland Delineator (Army Corp of Engineers) Ph.D. Candidate, Forestry, University of Toronto M.S. Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage

2

Presented By:

Waters o

• f the US

Surface waters – lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands

3

CLEAN AN W WATER AC ACT

• Federal law that protects nation’s surface waters including lakes,

rivers, streams, wetlands, and coastal areas.

• Regulates the discharge of pollutants into the nation’s surface waters.
• Passed in 1972 and amended in 1977 and 1987.
• Boundaries are generally defined by ordinary high water mark or high

tide mark

4

CA CATEGORIES S – Waters o

• f the US

1. Waters used in interstate or foreign commerce

great lakes Rio Grande

5

Mississippi River

CA CATEGORIES S – Waters o

• f the US
• 2. Waters subject to ebb and flow of the tide

Gulf

• f

Mexico

Neuces Bay Neuces River

6

Corpus Christi Bay

CA CATEGORIES S – Waters o

• f the US
• 3. All other waters, the use, degradation or destruction of which could affect

interstate or foreign commerce (e.g., wetlands, mudflats, lake, streams, wet meadows, etc.).

• 4. All impoundments of 1, 2 and 3
• 5. Tributaries of 1, 2 and 3
• 6. Territorial seas (12 nautical miles from coast)
• 7. Adjacent wetlands

7

Texas Louisiana impoundments tributaries mudflats

CH CHALLE LLENGES

Wetlands

8

CH CHALLE LLENGES

Tributaries

9

REGU GULATORY A AUTHO HORITY – US A Army C Corp of En Engineers

10

Source: U.S. Army Corp of Engineers

Clean Water Act Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act Rivers and Harbors Act

PER PERMITS

NATION WIDE PERMITS (52 NWPs)

• impacts < 0.5 acres
• projects of common activity of small nature
• each has specific requirements/ conditions
• Some require preconstruction notification
• 45-day turn around period

INDIVIDUAL PERMITS

• impacts > 0.5 acres
• usually requires alternate analysis
• no regulatory time frame

11

• June 2015. Obama administration adopts the ‘Clean Water Rule: Definition of

Waters of the United States.’ (WOTUS RULE).

• August 2015. Original effective date of the WOTUS RULE.
• February 2017. President Trump issues Executive Order directing the EPA and

USACE to review the WOTUS RULE.

• July 27 2017. EPA and USACE propose to rescind the WOTUS RULE.
• November 2017. EPA and USACE proposed to amend the effective date of the

WOTUS RULE until 2020, to give them time to reconsider and revise the definition.

12

WOTUS Ru Rule

• WOTUS RULE (2015) CURRENTLY UNDER STAY
• The agencies plan to propose new definition taking into consideration the plurality
• pinion.
• Relatively permanent, standing or flowing bodies of water and not occasional, intermittent or

ephemeral waters.

• Wetland must have a continuous surface connection to waters of the US

“ The agencies will continue to implement the regulatory definition in place prior to the 2015 rule, consistent with Supreme Court decisions, agency guidance, and longstanding practice.”

13

Wher here we ar e are no e now…

Anjali Karve, M.S. Certified Ecologist

Email: akarve@wh-m.com Tel: 972-954-4017 For more information contact: