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<br /> <br />Waters of the United States on the Menzer Quarry Site <br />Introduction: In the process of preparing an amendment for the Menzer Quarry, operated by <br />Schmidt Construction Company, on site investigations showed the possibility of Waters of <br />the United States being present in the bottoms of the various drainages extending through the <br />site. Because the mining plan intends to excavate through these drainages it was necessary to <br />determine whether Waters of the United States are present in the drainages. If they are <br />present, then it needed to be determined what action is appropriate under Section 404 of the <br />Clean Water Act. <br />This report presents the results of the investigations of all the drainages pre:~ent within <br />the amendment area. Drainages within the mine have already been disrupted and therefore <br />did not need to be examined. These investigations were conducted in August and September <br />of 1995. Prior to conducting the investigation, the site plan and characteristics were <br />discussed with Anita Culp of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Pueblo, Color<<do. Ms. <br />Culp was of considerable help with descriptions of current requirements, reviewing. maps, <br />and discussing various possibilities that might be expected on a site such as this on.. <br />General Considerations <br />Two different but related aspects were investigated in this study. First was .r search <br />for jurisdictional wetlands and second was the search for the broader Waters of the United <br />States category. At the time the investigation was conducted, the 1987 Corps of Engineers <br />Wetlands Delineation Manual was being used nationally to define wetlands. This manual was <br />used in this study to aid in the identification of the one small wetland found. <br />The Waters of the United States category however is not so well or so easily defined <br />or delineated. There is no precise definition of what constitutes Waters of the Uniu:d States. <br />It varies considerably from region to region, although, except in rare cases, it clearly <br />includes the subset of wetlands. The Waters of the United States category is defined in a <br />manner similar to wetlands. That is, it is based on vegetation, soils, and hydrology. <br />However, these various parameters do not necessarily have to meet wetland criteri~i. <br />In general, in a headwaters area such as this one, according to Ms. Culp, the <br />identifying features include a defined flow channel, vegetation that is similar to wetland <br />although not necessarily true wetland, and wet soils, although not necessarily hydric soils. <br />One major distinguishing feature is a well defined flow channel that exhibits a roc}.y bed <br />containing little if any vegetation. It need not be a permanent stream to be called V/aters of <br />the United States. The other major distinguishing feature is vegetation that is strearnside-like <br />and is distinctively different from the vegetation on slopes above the bottom of the valley. <br />In conducting the analysis, the streams and drainages were followed as they extended <br />along the valleys on the land to be included in the permit amendment. Locations that <br />potentially met the various and complex criteria were noted on a map. Once all the drainages <br />had been examined and some feeling for the degree of variation in "streamside" vegetation <br />was developed, identified locations were examined again. In some cases, the initial <br />conclusion that a site was Waters of the United States was changed after considering the <br />Waters of the US Study Menzer Quarry Page 1 <br />