Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit
The Clean Water Act Section 404 was passed by the Congress in 1977 to protect the physical, biological and chemical quality of US waters. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires a permit to place any fill material in the nation’s rivers, streams, pond, lakes and wetlands. Numerous permit scenarios are possible for a project that requires impacts to jurisdictional waters of the US and wetlands ranging from simple Nationwide Permits for “routine activities” to a complete Individual Permits for complex projects.
ERC provides complete professional consultation in all aspects of the clean Water Act Section 404 Permit process. Our expertise in wetland science, comprehensive knowledge of Section 404 requirements, and a positive working relationship with local district and regulatory offices facilitates efficient permit preparation, coordination, and receipt of authorization.
Wetland Delineation
A wetland delineation is often one the first steps required to determine the exact boundary and types of wetland present on a project site. Wetland delineations are conducted in accordance with the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual and Regional Supplements. This approach requires positive evidence of hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils and wetland hydrology for a determination that an area is considered a jurisdictional wetland. ERC staff is highly experienced in wetland delineations throughout Colorado, the Rocky Mountain, eastern and western coastal regions and the alpine tundra of Alaska.
ERC provides wetland delineations for projects ranging from small single-family home sites to large scale regional projects well in excessive of 10,000-acres. As part of ERC’s wetland delineation services, we provide report documentation, GPS field mapping and GIS map products and are experienced in functional assessments using methodologies such as FACWet, and Colorado Stream Quanitification Tool.