FLOOD00235

• County: Statewide
• Community: State of Colorado
• Stream Name: All
• Title: Stream, Riparian, and Wetland Ecology - Class material, Volume 1 of 2
• Date: 9/1/1987
• Prepared For: Students
• Prepared By: Professor Windell
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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Figure. 8, 9. 10, 11. and 12 taken 'rom: Classification of wetlands and
deepwater b.bitats of the United St~te. by L. H. Covardla .t a1. 1979.
FWs/oIIS-79-31.

National Wetlands l:olicy

onder Section 404 of the Clean >la ter AC1: Congress I!xtended regulatory
juris,ii:::or. ')f the Corps of Engineers beyond! the traditional "navigable
'"aters" as defined by the 1899 Rivers and Harbors Act te, cover "all waters
of the United States"--inc1uding wetlands. E;PA was made a partner in the
Act with veto authority and responsibility for establishing guidelines for
protection of the aquatic environment. Although it is rarely mentioned,
Section 404(s){4) provides for stiff civil and criminal penalties fe,r
willful or negligent violation of any condition contained in a 404 permit.
including fines as high as $50,000 per day and imprisollll,ent for up to two
years.

Whereas Section 404 does not cover the variety of activities rE,gulated
by the 1899 River and Harbors Act, it does require permits for all
construction involving the discharge of dredged or fill materials into the
waters of the United States, including wetlands. All permit applications
now processed involve assessment of each projE!ct's environmental impacts.
However, normal agricultural, forestr)', and ranching operations do not
require permits.

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (1977) and the associated pel:mit
process created a critical need to be able to precisely identify, cl"ssify.
functionally evaluate and quantify wetland arE!as. Every 404 permit