Status of Regional Supplements to the Wetland Delineation Manual: Expansion of Atlantic Gulf Coastal Region

Final Rule on Nationwide Permits to be Published in the Federal Register

Updates on ASWM State/Federal Coordination Workshop March 27-29: Please Let Us Know if You are Planning to Attend

Feedback sought on Jurisdiction Determinations Post Carabell/Rapanos

MOA Signed to Put Corps in Control of Wetland Plant List

State/Tribal Contacts,

After an unseasonably warm early winter we are experiencing the coldest day in a couple years.  Here that means temperatures hovering around 0.  To celebrate we re heading up to the even colder Pinkham Notch in New Hampshire where I am giving an evening talk on Iceland and then spending the night.  I anticipate I will listen to the wind howling out of Tuckerman s Ravine, shaking the trees and whipping against the walls of the lodge as I fall asleep.  I love the feeling of being safe and warm in the middle of terrible weather.

We are also bringing along a battery starter for the morning in case our car has trouble starting in the -20 temperatures.   Hurray for winter!

Stay warm,

Jeanne Christie

Executive Director

Status of Regional Supplements to the Wetland Delineation Manual: Expansion of Atlantic Gulf Coastal Region

The Corps in coordination with federal agencies, states and other organizations continues to make progress developing regional supplements to the wetland delineation manual  The complete supplements as well as general information about the process is available on the Corps website at:  http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/reg_supp.htm

There has been a change in the area covered by the Atlantic/Gulf Coastal Plain.  This area now extends up the Mississippi River Valley to the southern tip of Illinois and includes a much more substantial portion of the southeast.  As a result representatives of four additional Corps Districts (Memphis, Tulsa, Fort Worth, and Little Rock) have been invited to join the work group and additional delineation experts to represent the expanded area are being sought.  Any state interested in joining the work group should contact James Wakeley at Phone 601-634-3702 or James.S.Wakeley@erdc.usace.army.mil.  A map of that displays the new area for the supplemental is available at:  http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/map_del_region.pdf

Below is a progress report on the Regional Supplements

Alaska - will be finalized when the one-year interim implementation period ends April 22, 2007.  Comments submitted will be reviewed and there may be some changes.  At the present time they do not appear to be extensive enough to warrant an additional round of public comments.  

Arid West has been developed and peer reviewed and is at the start of one-year interim implementation period.  Public Notices have been or will shortly be posted in the affected districts.

Great Plains has been developed and the peer review and the comment period is nearly complete.  The committee is in the process of evaluating and making changes to the manual in response to the comments.  When this is completed the one-year interim implementation/training period will begin.  It is likely this will occur sometime in the spring.

Western Mountains has been developed and the peer review is near completion.  The Public Notice and comment period is likely to begin in the May/June timeframe when the snow has melted and field testing is possible. 

Midwest and Atlantic Gulf Coast The committees have been organized and the first meetings for both groups were held in late 2006.  Committee members are beginning to write the supplement and another meeting has been scheduled for both groups. 

Final Rule on Nationwide Permits to be Published in the Federal Register

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning to get the final rule on the nationwide permits published in the Federal Register soon, but the exact date has not been identified.  Usually it takes several days to be published after a document is formally sent to the Federal Register.  The current nationwide permits expire on March 18, 2007.  The new nationwide permits will go into effect 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register.  The Corps has indicated there may be a short period when there are no nationwide permits in effect, but it is expected to be minimal. 

Updates on ASWM State/Federal Coordination Workshop March 27-29: Please Let Us Know if You are Planning to Attend

ASWM is working hard on finalizing the agenda for the State/Federal Coordination Workshop March 27-29.  This week and next I ll be drafting some of the states to participate on various panel discussions.  Currently I m aware of 22 states that are planning to attend, who are included in my informal headcount of approximately 70 individuals from states, federal agencies or other organizations that have indicated they are coming to the workshop.  There are a number of people who I ve not heard from yet, so the number of participants is likely to continue to increase.  The National Conservation Training Center has asked me to confirm that we need the entire room block that we ve reserved at the facility.  Please let me know if you are planning to attend so I can confirm we do need to retain the entire block.   I also encourage you to reserve your room and send in your workshop registration.  Information on the workshop is at: http://www.aswm.org/swp/stateagenda2007.htm
on lodging: http://www.aswm.org/swp/state2007info.htm#1

The closest airport to the facility is Dulles.  National and Baltimore are 30-40 minutes farther.  We are setting up a car sharing website.  Currently we have posted a form to fill out for individuals who are renting a car and have room for additional passengers.  We will add a form for individuals looking for a ride and will post a spreadsheet to the website so individuals can coordinate.  

The facility will provide us with big freestanding bulletin boards.  If you have maps or a poster-board type display you would like to share, please contact Laura at laura@aswm.org so we can request a freestanding board for your display.  In addition there will be tables in the breakout area to lay out materials so people can look at them during the workshop.

The facility is in the country, and it will be a great place to get a chance to talk to other participants during the evening.  Tuesday evening a reception is planned. Wednesday evening we will have a bonfire.  The rooms are in lodges that each have a shared common area with a kitchenette where food can be stored.  We will have a Powerpoint, screen and internet access available in the common area of one of the lodges so that people can relax and share information in the evening.

Feedback sought on Jurisdiction Determinations Post Carabell/Rapanos

It is over six months since the Carabell/Rapanos decision and the Administration has not issued guidance on how the Corps districts should incorporate the decision into their jurisdictional determinations.   At the State/Federal Coordination Workshop the first day will address Carabell/Rapanos.  It would be helpful to get speakers and participants to respond to perceived changes in the field determinations (if any) since the decision around the country.  In your state is there no change?  Some change? Dramatic changes? Can t tell?  If you would like to share the experiences in your state to date, please e-mail jeanne.christie@aswm.org or call me at (207) 892-3399.

MOA Signed to Put Corps in Control of Wetland Plant List

(From Latest News on Corps website)  - A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) was signed December 8, 2006. The purpose was to transfer the responsibility to maintain and update the National List of Vascular Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands (List) from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The FWS originally developed the List as part of their National Wetlands Inventory procedure for mapping wetlands in the United States. The Corps is the author of the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual (Manual). The Corps and EPA share responsibilities for determining the geographic scope of Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction.

Updating the List will assist the Corps in operating a more predictable, transparent, and scientifically-based regulatory program. Thus, the Corps agreed to take this responsibility, including providing adequate funding. Scientists at the Corps Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire, will maintain the List, in coordination with the ERDC Environmental Lab in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and share the data with all of the agencies and interested parties. National and Regional Interagency Review Panels, made up of representatives from the Corps, EPA, FWS, and NRCS, will prepare updated National and Regional Lists.

The MOA is posted on the web at:

http://www.usace.army.mil/cw/cecwo/reg/mou/moa_vascularplant.pdf