Waterways and wetlands are a key element our of natural world. Waterways ('waters') include features like oceans, bays, rivers, streams, creeks, and canals. These can be wet year-round (perennial), wet seasonally (intermittent), or wet only after storm events (ephemeral). Wetlands are areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water often enough to support a certain combination of hydric soils and hydric plants, though they may not be wet year round. Examples of wetlands include swamps, marshes, bogs, vernal pools, or mangrove forests.
Because there are federal and state laws that protect waterways and wetlands, and those laws often trigger lengthly permitting timelines, it is important to know as soon as possible if these features are present on your proposed project.
There are two key federal datasets that tell us where waterways and wetlands could occur within a certain geographic area - these are the National Hydrography Dataset and the National Wetlands Inventory, respectively. Read on to learn more about how you can best assess waterways and wetlands on your project.
The Clean Water Act is the main federal law that protects waterways and wetlands in the U.S. The sections of the Act that most commonly affect development projects are as follows:
Learn more about jurisdictional waters and the Clean Water Act here >>
In addition to permitting requirements under Section 404 of Clean Water Act, 27 states have parallel or additional permitting authority for impacts to their state's waterways and wetlands. State permits are typically required in addition to federal Clean Water Act permitting, except in Michigan and New Jersey, where federal authority under the Clean Water Act Section 404 has been turned over completely to the state.
Looking for more? Learn about state and local permitting here >>
There are a several ways to identify waterways and wetlands, including using the National Wetlands Inventory map from USFWS or the National Hydrography Dataset map viewer from USGS.
However, one of the easiest ways to identify wetlands is to use an environmental due diligence software like Transect.
Identifying wetlands on the National Wetland Inventory and National Hydrographic Dataset has never been easier. Transect’s environmental due diligence software evaluates your site and clearly identifies waterways and wetlands on your proposed site.
But environmental due diligence goes beyond wetland identification. Transect Vision also provides you with a multi-layer map of species of concern, protected areas, cultural resources, and infrastructure to consider.
Getting a waters or wetlands permit is usually not the most expensive part of a development project, but it can cost your project schedule months of delay if you aren't prepared. Follow the steps below to ensure that your project is ready to navigate wetlands permitting.
**DID YOU KNOW? Transect Reports will map the waterways and wetlands on your project and populate a list of known regulations, required permits, and approximate permit timelines for your site, taking the guesswork out of your project planning.
Non-compliance with federal and state environmental laws can have serious consequences to your project. The potential risks to your project include project termination, delays, fines, civil and/or criminal penalties, notice of violation on the property title, or mitigation.
Use our Free Environmental Due Diligence Checklist to make sure your project runs on-time and on budget by knowing exactly what kind of environmental issues might affect your budget, footprint, or schedule.
Download Environmental Permitting Checklist
- Sofos Harbert
FREE PERMITTING CHECKLIST
Download our environmental permitting checklist to get a step-by-step list of ways to protect your project from the 9 most common environmental risks.
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