JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Please click here to see any active alerts. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Army Corps of Engineers Corps and the U. Swamps, marshes and bogs are well-recognized types of wetlands. However, many important specific wetland types have drier or more variable water systems than those familiar to the general public.
Some examples of these are vernal pools pools that form in the spring rains but are dry at other times of the year , playas areas at the bottom of undrained desert basins that are sometimes covered with water and prairie potholes. When the upper part of the soil is saturated with water at growing season temperatures, soil organisms consume the oxygen in the soil and cause conditions unsuitable for most plants. Such conditions also cause the development of soil characteristics such as color and texture of so-called "hydric soils.
The presence of water by ponding, flooding or soil saturation is not always a good indicator of wetlands. Except for wetlands flooded by ocean tides, the amount of water present in wetlands fluctuates as a result of rainfall patterns, snow melt, dry seasons and longer droughts.
Some of the most well-known wetlands, such as the Everglades and Mississippi bottomland hardwood swamps, are often dry. In contrast, many upland areas are very wet during and shortly after wet weather.
Such natural fluctuations must be considered when identifying areas subject to Federal wetlands jurisdiction. Similarly, the effects of upstream dams, drainage ditches, dikes, irrigation and other modifications must also be considered. Section requires a permit from the Corps or authorized state for the discharge of dredged or fill material into the waters of the United States , including wetlands. The purpose of this document is to describe the regulatory nature of wetland delineation and classification.
This document should be of interest to landowners, wetland and soil scientists, and the general public. Wetland areas are defined with respect to the federal regulatory policy within Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 33 CFR as "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Federal regulations outlined in the Rivers and Harbors Act of U. Waters of the US and the extent of federal jurisdiction are defined within 33 CFR ; "waters of the United States" specifically encompasses wetland areas.
However, although some wetlands are included in this definition, not all wetlands within the landscape of the U. The Corps is the primary regulatory authority with respect to the determination of the presence of jurisdictional wetlands on non-agricultural lands of the US and the extent of federal jurisdiction, which is determined by conducting a delineation of wetland boundaries.
Waters defined as navigable include "waters of the United States including territorial seas," per Section 7 of the CWA. Proposed land-use activities that will involve discharge of dredged or fill material within jurisdictional wetlands are subject to Corps review and approval through the Section permitting process. The Swampbuster Act provisions prohibit landowners, or lessees, from participating in USDA-NRCS benefit programs if agricultural activities conducted after December 23, result in conversion of wetlands to commodity crop production without providing mitigation for impacts to wetland function and loss of acreage.
Regulation of land-use activities within wetlands may also occur at the state, county and local municipality level. The State of Florida administrative code defines wetland areas under state jurisdiction within Section 19 of Title 28 of The Florida Statutes, Chapter The Department of Environmental Protection and the Water Management Districts Florida is divided into five Districts are the primary agencies with regulatory authority over wetlands in Florida.
Review of the state administrative code as well as county and local municipality codes and ordinances should occur prior to initiation of any activities within or adjacent to landscape features that may potentially be wetlands.
Wetland regulations administered at the state, county, and local municipality level typically expand upon the scope of federal regulations. The ecological importance of wetland areas, independent of federal jurisdictional status, is well documented for protection of water quality and wildlife habitat. If regulations are in place at the state, county or local municipality level, they are generally written to be inclusive of wetlands that are not subject to federal regulations.
An example is hydrologically-isolated wetlands, which includes wetlands not adjacent to "waters of the United States. The purpose of most wetland regulations implemented beyond those established by federal agencies is not only to limit activities within delineated wetland boundaries, but also to extend land-use restrictions onto adjacent uplands.
Often these restrictions include development and building setbacks and protection or creation of vegetated uplands. These uplands are usually referred to within regulatory language as protective buffers. Determination of the boundary between wetlands and adjacent uplands is termed wetland delineation.
Specific methods, identified by federal or state agencies or municipalities, are employed to determine wetland boundaries within landscapes. These methods are not intended to define individual wetlands from a scientific perspective, but rather are used to verify the extent of areas regulated by policy.
A delineated wetland boundary should be established and agreed upon by the agency with regulatory authority during the initial planning stages of proposed land-use projects in order for landowners to maintain regulatory compliance. However, it should be noted that some activities, including agriculture, may be exempt from regulatory restrictions and permitting requirements.
The primary purpose of delineating wetland boundaries is to determine the presence and extent of wetland areas subject to regulatory policy. Therefore, delineation of existing wetlands may not be necessary if a proposed land-use activity is exempted by a policy established by the agency with regulatory authority. The following sections provide an overview of guidelines established by the Corps for delineating wetlands on non-agricultural lands of the US which are subject to federal regulations under the CWA.
The Florida Wetlands Delineation Manual should be reviewed prior to delineating wetlands that may be solely regulated under state authority. In , the Corps published a wetland delineation manual Manual in an effort to provide methodology for wetland delineations pertaining to federal regulations.
The methods emphasize that wetland determinations are based on the identification of specific hydrologic requirements, presence of hydric soils, and a dominance of vegetative species suited to continued or periodic inundated or saturated soil conditions. Except for situations specifically detailed in the manual, each of these parameters must be observed to confirm the presence of wetland conditions. If a wetland is determined to be present, the boundary between wetland and upland exists where one of the three parameters is no longer evident.
The techniques described in the manual are used by the Corps to determine the presence and extent of wetlands that are classified as jurisdictional waters of the US. Wetland types vary throughout the diverse geographic and climatic regions of the US.
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