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 waters of the US. 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 Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit
process. Our expertise in wetland science, knowledge of Section 404 requirements and working relations with
local district regulatory offices
facilities efficient permit preparation, coordination and receipt of authorization.
Wetland Delineation
In order to determine Clean Water Act Section 404 needs for a project 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 wetland.
ERC staff is highly trained and experienced in wetland delineations throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain
region as well as both east and west coastal regions and 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 complete report documentation, GPS field mapping,
GIS map products and functional assessments with such methodologies as FACWet, WET and HGM can be provided.