Corp of Engineers
Corp of Engineers (Corps of Engineers) must give permit approval to those who intend to dredge or deposit fill in wetlands or other waters of the U.S. under the Clean Water Act.
Wetlands and other aquatic resources play an important role in the environmental landscape. Consistent with the wetland program’s goal of “no net loss of wetlands,” these permits may require compensatory mitigation – typically, the restoration of former or historically degraded wetlands to mitigate the effects of wetland loss. Several beneficial functions are provided by wetlands, including protecting and improving water quality, providing fish and wildlife habitat, storing floodwaters. Wetlands also provide benefit by reducing damages associated with storm surges such as those caused by hurricanes and recharging underground sources of drinking water.
The fact that wetlands function like natural tubs or sponges, storing water and slowly releasing it slows the water’s momentum and erosive potential, allows for ground water recharge and reduces flood heights, which contributes to base flow to surface water systems during dry periods. A network of many small wetlands can store an enormous amount of water.
A permit review process is the manner used by the Corp of Engineers (Corps of Engineers) to regulate proposed activities. An individual permit is required for potentially significant impacts. Individual permits are reviewed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (Corps of Engineers), which evaluates applications under a public interest review, as well as certain environmental criteria set forth in the CWA Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. General permits are issued for most discharges that will only have minimal adverse effects. General permits are issued on a nationwide, regional, or State basis for particular categories of activities.
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (Corps of Engineers) are responsible for administering day-to-day programs, including individual and general permit decisions, as well as, conducting jurisdictional determinations, developing policy and guidance; and enforcing Section 404 provisions.
The U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (Corps of Engineers) use the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual to identify wetlands for the CWA Section 404 permit program. Three categories are used, according to the 1987 manual, to organize the environmental characteristics of a potential wetland: soils, vegetation, and hydrology. The manual contains criteria for each category. Using this approach, any area that meets all three criteria is considered a wetland.
Farmers who own or manage wetlands are directly affected by two important Federal environmental programs—Section 404 of the CWA and the Swampbuster provision of the Food Security Act. The Swampbuster provision withholds certain Federal farm program funding from farmers who convert or modify wetlands. The U.S. EPA, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (Corps of Engineers), U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.