Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
SUMMIT COUNTY - New federal wetlands rules will make it more difficult for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to protect smaller streams and ponds that aren't directly connected to navigable rivers or lakes.
"Generally speaking, there will need to be some relation to interstate commerce, in the broadest sense of the word," said Frisco-based Corps regulator Neck Mezei, describing the guidance issued by his agency and the EPA last month.
The Corps will have to document an "interstate commerce nexus" in order to show jurisdictional authority over certain wetlands, Mezei explained. Only then can the agency exercise its authority to limit impacts or require mitigation for wetlands losses.
Given the seasonal nature of many western wetlands, the new ruling could potentially subject many of the region's wetlands to destruction.
Summit County's bogs and marshes, however, have an extra layer of protection from a set of local regulations aimed specifically at guarding high-quality wetlands that provide wildlife habitat, control runoff and flooding and help improve water quality.
The new federal regs stem from a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established a new standard for so-called isolated wetlands - ponds and streams that aren't directly connected to larger bodies of water.
The new guidance requires a "fact-specific" analysis to determine whether the Corps has jurisdiction over non-navigable tributaries that don't flow year-round, and wetlands that are adjacent or close to those tributaries but are not "relatively permanent."
According to an insider EPA newsletter, that agency plans to apply the test by evaluating a given wetlands flow characteristics, hydrology, ecological functions, and whether those wetlands "significantly alter the chemical, physical and biological integrity of downstream navigable waters."
Conservation groups unanimously panned the new regs as confusing. Limiting Corps jurisdiction will make it even harder to meet the stated no-net-loss goal across the country. The new rules constitute a far-reaching reinterpretation of the Clean Water Act with potentially dire consequences for small streams and wetlands, according to organizations like the National Wildlife Federation.
But EPA water chief Benjamin Grumbles said the guidance balances the no-net-loss goal with the Supreme Court ruling.
According to Inside EPA, Grumbles said, "This inter-agency guidance will enable the agencies to make clear, consistent and predictable jurisdictional determinations."
But other key EPA wetlands experts said the new rules add a layer of complexity to an already convoluted regulatory scheme.
"The waters at risk of losing protection help replenish water supplies, filter out pollution, work as buffers against storms and floods and provide habitat for America's fish, birds and other wildlife," said National Wildlife Federation attorney Jim Murphy.
The new rules are open for public comment for six months, and could also be challenged from both sides by environmental and industry groups unsatisfied with the scope of the regs. In particular, the National Association of Homebuilders wants more clarity as to where federal jurisdiction begins and ends.
For the full text of the guidance and other links, go to: http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/cwa_guide/cwa_guide.htm.
<i>Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.</i>
"Generally speaking, there will need to be some relation to interstate commerce, in the broadest sense of the word," said Frisco-based Corps regulator Neck Mezei, describing the guidance issued by his agency and the EPA last month.
The Corps will have to document an "interstate commerce nexus" in order to show jurisdictional authority over certain wetlands, Mezei explained. Only then can the agency exercise its authority to limit impacts or require mitigation for wetlands losses.
Given the seasonal nature of many western wetlands, the new ruling could potentially subject many of the region's wetlands to destruction.
Summit County's bogs and marshes, however, have an extra layer of protection from a set of local regulations aimed specifically at guarding high-quality wetlands that provide wildlife habitat, control runoff and flooding and help improve water quality.
The new federal regs stem from a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established a new standard for so-called isolated wetlands - ponds and streams that aren't directly connected to larger bodies of water.
The new guidance requires a "fact-specific" analysis to determine whether the Corps has jurisdiction over non-navigable tributaries that don't flow year-round, and wetlands that are adjacent or close to those tributaries but are not "relatively permanent."
According to an insider EPA newsletter, that agency plans to apply the test by evaluating a given wetlands flow characteristics, hydrology, ecological functions, and whether those wetlands "significantly alter the chemical, physical and biological integrity of downstream navigable waters."
Conservation groups unanimously panned the new regs as confusing. Limiting Corps jurisdiction will make it even harder to meet the stated no-net-loss goal across the country. The new rules constitute a far-reaching reinterpretation of the Clean Water Act with potentially dire consequences for small streams and wetlands, according to organizations like the National Wildlife Federation.
But EPA water chief Benjamin Grumbles said the guidance balances the no-net-loss goal with the Supreme Court ruling.
According to Inside EPA, Grumbles said, "This inter-agency guidance will enable the agencies to make clear, consistent and predictable jurisdictional determinations."
But other key EPA wetlands experts said the new rules add a layer of complexity to an already convoluted regulatory scheme.
"The waters at risk of losing protection help replenish water supplies, filter out pollution, work as buffers against storms and floods and provide habitat for America's fish, birds and other wildlife," said National Wildlife Federation attorney Jim Murphy.
The new rules are open for public comment for six months, and could also be challenged from both sides by environmental and industry groups unsatisfied with the scope of the regs. In particular, the National Association of Homebuilders wants more clarity as to where federal jurisdiction begins and ends.
For the full text of the guidance and other links, go to: http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/cwa_guide/cwa_guide.htm.
<i>Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.</i>
