February 28, 2024
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Download PDF
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) published a February 13th Federal Register Notice announcing the availability of a final National Wetland Plant List (“NWPL”). See 89 Fed. Reg. 10059.
The Corps developed this NWPL as part of an interagency effort with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The NWPL is used to determine whether the hydrophytic vegetation parameter is met when conducting wetland delineations under the Clean Water Act and the Wetland Conservation Provisions of the Food Security Act.
Wetlands are a subset of the Clean Water Act waters of the United States. Three criteria are required to be addressed in the Corps and other agencies’ delineation of wetlands:
- Wetland plants (hydrophytic vegetation)
- Wetland soil (hydric soil)
- Adequate water (wetland hydrology)
During a wetland delineation, a project area is surveyed to determine whether the three criteria are present.
The Federal Register Notice references the following species that were reviewed for the update:
- Isocoma menziesii
- Populus fremotii
A copy of the Federal Register Notice can be downloaded here.
The Between the Lines blog is made available by Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. and the law firm publisher. The blog site is for educational purposes only, as well as to give general information and a general understanding of the law. This blog is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Use of this blog site does not create an attorney client relationship between you and Mitchell Williams or the blog site publisher. The Between the Lines blog site should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.