Wetlands
Wetlands practice requires that we address issues on behalf of our clients that include:- Facilitating wetlands delineations
- Facilitating US Army Corps of Engineers and state agency wetlands permit applications
- Addressing unauthorized discharges into wetlands without a permit
- Issues related to failure to comply with the terms or conditions of a Section 404 permit
- Defense of administrative or civil enforcement actions related to wetlands issued or instituted by state or federal administrative agencies
- Defense of civil actions by state and US departments of justice related to wetlands after referral of administrative enforcement actions by state and federal environmental agencies
Wetlands matters in which the firm has or attorneys with the firm have been involved include the following:
- Facilitated wetlands delineations and US Army Corps of Engineers and state agency wetlands permit applications for outfall structures, road crossings, pipelines and temporary construction access roads in sensitive areas for a chemical manufacturing facility
- Facilitated wetlands delineations and US Army Corps of Engineers and state agency wetlands permit applications for outfall structures, road crossings, pipelines and temporary construction access roads in sensitive areas for an oil refinery
- Facilitated wetlands delineations and US Army Corps of Engineers and state agency wetlands permit applications for outfall structures, road crossings, pipelines and temporary construction access roads in sensitive areas for a local engineering firm
- Facilitated wetlands delineations and US Army Corps of Engineers and state agency wetlands permitting activities in marsh, riparian, upland and coastal areas for a petroleum refinery
- Assisted after the fact US Army Corps of Engineers and state agency wetlands permitting activities for construction projects on the behalf of a petrochemical facility
Wetlands are areas where the water covers the soil, or is present either near or at the surface of the soil all year long or for varying periods of time during the year, as well as during the growing season. Water saturation (hydrology) chiefly determines how the soil will develop and the types of animal and plant communities that will live in and on the soil. Wetlands may support both terrestrial and aquatic species. The lingering presence of water creates conditions that will favor the growth of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and will promote the development of characteristic wetland soils (hydric).
Wetlands vary widely due to local and regional differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, vegetation, water chemistry, and other factors, including human disturbance. Wetlands are found from the tropics to the tundra and on every continent except Antarctica. Two general categories of wetlands are recognized: tidal or coastal wetlands and non-tidal or inland wetlands.
Coastal wetlands in the United States are found along the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf, and Alaskan coasts. They are closely linked to our nation’s estuaries, where fresh water mixes with sea water to form an environment of varying salinities.
Inland wetlands are most common on floodplains along streams and rivers (riparian wetlands), in isolated depressions surrounded by dry land (for example, basins, playas, and "potholes"), along the margins of ponds and lakes, and in other low-lying areas where the groundwater intercepts the surface of the soil or where precipitation sufficiently saturates the soil (bogs and vernal pools).