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If you are unable to find the information you are looking for, please search the ASWM website using Google below.
  Google Search www.aswm.org Search WWW

 
   

NEWS OF INTEREST
 
Wetland 2008: Wetlands and Global Climate Change

List of speakers and accepted papers is now posted. [Click Here]

Field trip and workshop information is now posted.

Go to: http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2008 field_trips_workshops.htm
or see information below.

Registration is now open.

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FGDC Draft Wetlands Mapping Standard

The FGDC Wetland Subcommittee and Wetland Mapping Standard Workgroup has posted (July 2008) the draft wetlands mapping standard. The objective of the standard is to support the accurate mapping and classification of wetlands while ensuring mechanisms for their revision and update as directed under OMB Circular A-16 (revised). The Wetlands Mapping Standard is designed to direct the current and future digital mapping of wetlands. For a direct link to this draft, go to:
http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/wetlands-mapping/FINAL%20-%20FGDC%20Draft%20Wetland%20Mapping%20Standard%20July%202008.pdf

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ASWM has a New Webpage on Floodplains

Wetlands are often subject to severe natural hazards, flooding being the most pervasive. Coastal and estuarine wetlands are often subject to 9-15 feet of inundation and high energy waves during a severe hurricane or coastal storm. Similarly, wetlands adjacent to major rivers are often subject to 8-10 or more feet of flooding during a 100-year flood event. Lake fringe wetlands like those adjacent to the Great Lakes and depressional wetlands are often subject to long term fluctuations of 6 or more feet due to fluctuations in precipitation in the watershed. For news coverage on recent flooding throughout the U.S. and floodplain management issues with related publications and links, visit http://www.aswm.org/science/floodplains/index.htm

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FUTURE ASWM WORKSHOPS AND SYMPOSIA



Artwork by Diane O'Leary [read bio]


 

Monday and Thursday: Field Trips
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Conference
Friday: Workshops sponsored by Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists

Plans are underway for Wetlands 2008. Global climate change will be the primary topic at ASWM's annual conference. Carbon sequestration and wetlands, sea level change, and strategies for managing wetlands in response to long term changes in temperature and precipitation will be important topics. Other related topics will include wetland research priorities, monitoring trends in wetlands and related resources, management strategies, invasive species, biodiversity and policy responses to a changing environment. The purpose of this symposium is to describe challenges, identify opportunities, and share cooperative strategies for protecting, restoring and conserving wetlands in response to climate change.
  For more information go to:
  Wetlands 2008
Poster/Displays Sponsorship Levels Hotel

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See ASWM Schedule of Activities for other meetings.


 
See Archived ASWM Schedule of Activities.

LEGAL ISSUES
 
ASWM Rapanos/Carabell Website

The ASWM Rapanos/Carabell website contains extensive information on the Rapanos/Carabell Supreme Court case and associated federal guidance as well as related information on Clean Water Act jurisdiction issues.
 
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11th Circuit Court Decides a Perennial Stream is not subject to Clean Water Act for a Section 402 Discharge

By Jon Kusler, Esq., Ph.D., Association of State Wetland Managers, Inc.
On October 24, 2007 the 11th Circuit Court of appeals (Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) overturned the lower, district court Clean Water Act convictions of several individuals for dumping waste water into a stream because the U.S. government had not sufficiently demonstrated that the stream had a "significant nexus" to navigable waters and was, therefore, a "navigable water" of the U.S. and subject to CWA jurisdiction. Rapanos had not been decided when the case was considered by the lower district court so there was no need to explicitly show "significant nexus" in the trial at this level. Just how much evidence government will need to introduce to establish a "significant nexus" in a retrial remains to be seen. It is possible that government will have little difficulty in establishing a "significant nexus" once the actual words "significant nexus" are used in the retrial jury instructions and jury deliberations. Nevertheless, the language of the court in rejecting EPA's expert testimony presented at the district court level as insufficient suggests that this court and perhaps other courts will demand more evidence of hydrologic, biological, or other sorts of connections than government agencies are ordinarily able to supply given limited budgets and staffing. [read more]
 
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Federal Register Notice: EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Guidance Regarding Clean Water Act Jurisdiction after Rapanos
 
w U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act Definition of "Waters of the United States"
w U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program CwW Guidance
 
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"Significant Nexus" Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Decision Paper
 
The summary and recommendation section: Recommended Actions to Clarify Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Following Issuance of the Consolidated Decision, Rapanos v. U.S. 126 S. Ct. 2208 (S.Ct. 2006)


ble width="95%" border="
2">Please click here or the link above to view the
March edition of Wetland Breaking News. Or see links below.
 
w EDITOR'S NOTE w RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS
w EDITOR'S CHOICE [or see below]
 w POTPOURRI
w NATIONAL NEWS
 w JOB OPENINGS
w LEGISLATIVE NEWS
 w STUDENT JOBS
w STATE NEWS  w MEETINGS AND TRAINING
 
Editors Choice

ASWM’s Wetlands 2008: Wetlands & Global Climate Change

September 16-18, 2008 in Portland, Oregon. Field trips and workshops information is now posted on the conference website as well as online registration. Among the field trips, there will be a Columbia River estuary restoration tour, a bicycle tour of Portland, Ross Island kayaking tour, and a visit to the Tyee Winery and wetlands. Visit: http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2008/field_trips_workshops.htm  to learn more about field trips and workshops. To register, visit: http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2008/registration_2008.htm
 
State Takings Legislation Limits Environmental Regulation, Report Says

InsideEPA News – June 13, 2008
A recently released academic report raises broad concerns for state laws requiring compensation to landowners for regulatory actions that restrict the use or otherwise diminishes the value of their property, contending that strict state legislation often has the unintended consequence of limiting local environmental regulation. The Track Record on Takings Legislation: Lessons from Democracy’s Laboratories, charges that states with the most stringent and far-reaching laws limiting so-called regulatory takings -- particularly Florida and Oregon -- have numerous examples where environmental regulatory action was thwarted because of local governments that either cannot or will not pay the large sums of money which regulatory action requires. The study, written by John Echeverria and Thekla Hansen-Young of the Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute, focuses on property rights laws in Florida and Oregon, with an eye toward requirements in Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, as well as a California ballot initiative that passed soon after the report was issued. California voters June 3 approved Proposition 99, a law that prohibits the California and local governments from taking private land for the use of another private owner. The rule, however, still allows eminent domain for reasons of public health and safety, as well as environmental remedy for hazardous land. The results of Florida and Oregon’s approach have a number of lessons for other states, the Georgetown study argues: takings legislation can undermine community protections; the laws benefit special interests; it creates land use conflicts; it provides financial windfalls for land owners; and the laws undermine public participation in land use decisions. For direct link to the report, go to: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/gelpi/TrackRecord.pdf  For related blog discussion, visit: http://lawoftheland.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/georgetown-center-publishes-
takings-report-focusing-on-florida-and-oregon/
 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms non-navigable status for most of L.A. River
 

By Deborah Schoch -  Los Angeles Times – June 5, 2008
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced today that they are standing by their decision that most of the Los Angeles River is not navigable. The ruling sparked sharp criticism from some other regulators and conservationists who warned that it will weaken federal Clean Water Act rules protecting the river's sprawling 834-acre watershed. (For the record: This article and the headline state that the river's watershed covers 834 acres. The watershed covers 834 square miles.) They believe the ripple effect of the decision will make is easier to develop large areas of the Santa Susana, Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains because landowners will not be required to obtain certain federal permits. Some federal and state officials fear that the decision also may undermine rules against discharging wastewater and storm water into the river's tributaries. For the full article, go to: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-me-river5-2008jun05,0,2812420.story

 
EPA Reaffirms Clean Water Act Permit Not Needed for Water Transfers

EPA is publishing a final rule that clarifies water transfers are excluded from regulation under the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program. The rule defines a water transfer as an activity that conveys or connects waters of the United States without subjecting the transferred water to intervening industrial, municipal, or commercial use. This exclusion does not apply to pollutants introduced by the water transfer activity itself to the water being transferred. "EPA's Water Transfer Rule gives communities greater certainty and makes clear they have the flexibility to protect water quality and promote the public good without going through a new federal permitting process," said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. "Clean water permits should focus on water pollution, not water movement. EPA is committed to working with our state, tribal, and local partners to reduce environmental impacts assoc will coiated with transfers andntinue to use all appropriate tools such as standards, best management practices, and watershed plans." For additional information, including a copy of the final rule, visit the NPDES website: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/agriculture, or contact Virginia Garelick, Water Permits Division, Office of Wastewater Management at (202) 564-2316 or garelick.virginia@epa.gov.
 
Excavator Agrees to Settle Wetlands Case That Went to Supreme Court Over Permit
 

A Wisconsin developer has settled a federal lawsuit over the excavation and dredging of a wetland in a case that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, agreeing that the site is subject to Clean Water Act permitting requirements (United States v. Gerke Excavating Inc., W.D. Wis., No. 03-C-0074-C, 5/15/08). Under the settlement, announced by the Justice Department May 30, Gerke Excavating Inc. also agreed to pay a $42,500 civil fine (73 Fed. Reg. 31,146). The agreement was outlined in a proposed consent decree filed May 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers originally sued Gerke Excavating and other parties in federal court in Wisconsin in 2003 for failing to obtain a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit before excavating and dredging a 5.8-acre tract containing wetlands. The district court found the defendants liable for unpermitted dredging and filling of wetlands (United States v. Thorson, 219 F.R.D. 623, 58 ERC 1700 (W.D. Wis. 2003); 71 DEN A-6, 4/14/04 For Notice of Settlement, visit: http://regulations.justia.com/view/112050/

 
New Climate Report Foresees Big Changes
 

By Andrew Revkin – New York Times – May 28, 2008
The rise in concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from human activities is influencing climate patterns and vegetation across the United States and will significantly disrupt water supplies, agriculture, forestry and ecosystems for decades, a new federal report says. The changes are unfolding in ways that are likely to produce an uneven national map of harms and benefits, according to the report, released recently and posted online at climatescience.gov. For the full story, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/science/earth/28climate.html?_r=3&ref=science&
oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
 

Report Reveals U.S. Wetlands Conservation Goals Surpassed Expectations
 

On Earth Day 2004, the Council on Environmental Quality established a national wetland initiative to restore or create (by 2009), at least one million wetland acres; improve or enhance at least one million wetland acres; and protect at least one million wetland acres. On Earth Day 2008 the council reported that the goals had surpassed the 2004 projections. The current figures indicate that approximately 1,197,000 acres have been restored or created, 1,079,000 acres improved, and 1,324,000 acres have been protected. For the complete report, visit the Council on Environmental Quality website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/wetlands/2008/index.html


Please click here to view full Wetland Breaking News.


Migratory Bird & Wetland NewsLink - June 2008 Issue
Bimonthly International News Service
News
 
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
Comprehensive Watershed Management Planning [Hearing] [Testimony by Lary Larson, ASFPM]
Following the Silt
[Full Article]
NEW ASWM WEBPAGES

Programmatic General
Permits

Wetland Assessment

Wetlands and Farm Programs

State Wetland Delineator Certification Programs

How to Hire the Right Wetlands Consultant

How to Design a Wetlands
Education & Regulatory Workshop

Understanding Dredge & Fill Programs

Coastal Wetland Dieback

Wetlands & Global Climate Change
WETLAND BREAKING NEWS
June 18, 2008 Edition
MIGRATORY BIRD & WETLAND NEWSLINK
June 2008 Issue
Bimonthly International News Service
ASWM PUBLICATIONS

Draft Paper for Review and Comment:
Wetlands and Natural Hazards (8-13-07)

Draft Discussion Paper for Review and Comment: Model Ordinances for Regulating Wetlands and Riparian Habitats/Stream Buffers (5/14/07)

Protecting and Restoring Wetlands: Strengthening the Role of Land Trusts (5/15/07)

Protecting and Restoring Wetlands: Strengthening the Role of Local Governments <lor="#000000">(5/15/07)

Developing Performance Standards estoratifor the Mitigation and Ron of Northern Forested Wetland (8/1/06)

Wetland Protection and Restoration Guides for Local Communities and Nonprofits (6/26/06)

Reconciling Wetlands Assessment Techniques
(4/06)

Wetland Assessment for Regulatory Purposes: Report Series

A Guide for Local Governments: Wetlands and Watershed Management (10/1/03)

ASWM PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

May 31, 2007

Wetland Warrior
Windham woman wins national award for protecting wetlands

Jeanne Christie of Windham said many people don’t understand why anyone would work to protect wetlands, which can be seen as mosquito-breeding swamps, insignificant puddles or eyesores standing in the way of development. Even colleagues tried to dissuade her from entering the field. [More]
ASWM SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

To participate in planning, suggest meeting topics or speakers, or find out about hosting or sponsorship opportunities, visit our workshops and symposia page!
 
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Photos by
Jeanne Christie, ASWM


This website last updated July 7, 2008.
Comments or suggestions may be directed to webmaster@aswm.org.

This page has received visitors since May 20, 2002

2 Basin Road
Windham, ME 04062
207-892-3399; FAX: 207-892-3089; aswm@aswm.org