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A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ADDRESSING INFORMATION NEEDS FOLLOWING THE US SUPREME COURT'S RAPANOS AND CARABELL DECISIONS
Citation:
LEIBOWITZ, S. G., P. J. WIGINGTON JR, M. C. RAINS, AND D. DOWNING. A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ADDRESSING INFORMATION NEEDS FOLLOWING THE US SUPREME COURT'S RAPANOS AND CARABELL DECISIONS. Presented at 2007 SWS International Conference, Sacramento, CA, June 10 - 15, 2007.
Description:
In June 2006, the US Supreme Court issued decisions in two cases concerning the Clean Water Act (CWA). The decisions discuss factors potentially relevant to CWA jurisdiction, including the hydrological permanence of non-navigable streams and adjacent wetlands (NNSAWs) and their downstream contributions to the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of navigable waters. This has created a need for scientific information to support regulatory decisions and to address the fundamental hydrological and ecological relationships underlying these opinions. This presentation reviews the decisions, provides the hydrological background to understand NNSAWs and their relationships to navigable waters, and describes a framework for addressing science needs. Central to this framework are several metrics that reflect the hydrological and ecological characteristics implied by the opinions. In addition to addressing the information needs generated by the decisions, this framework can contribute to the science of aquatic ecology by focusing attention on the functional relationship between upper streams, wetlands, and downstream waters.