You are here:
ECOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL EVALUATIONS TO SUPPORT JURISDICTIONAL WATERS DETERMINATIONS (FISCAL YEAR 2008)
Impact/Purpose:
The primary objective of ecological and hydrological evaluations was to determine whether the subject water body (typically 1st and 2nd order tributaries) meets the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” as defined by 33 CFR Part 328. If a water is deemed jurisdictional, the Federal government can apply the Clean Water Act to regulate discharge of pollutants into that surface water.
Description:
Pursuant to recent Supreme Court decisions (Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. United States) which address Federal jurisdiction over waters of the United States, Water Enforcement and Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Programs have required an increased level of scientific support when investigating potential violations of the Clean Water Act. In FY 08, Region 4 Science and Ecosystem Support Division (SESD) conducted ecological & hydrological evaluations on 7 streams located in AL, GA and SC. In these studies, field observations and data collection techniques were used to describe the physical and biological characteristics of a stream. Where needed, flow measurements, stream tracking (using GIS and ground truthing), and photographic records were collected and used to supplement sound professional judgement regarding a water's jurisdictional status.