 | This posting continues some of the common terms and definitions* found in the wetlands regulatory world. Prairie pothole - A depressional wetland, often seasonally inundated, commonly found in the upper Midwest (North and South Dakota and western Minnesota) and similar wetlands found elsewhere; often associated with migratory waterfowl habitat. |
Pre-application meeting - An optional meeting with “the district staff element having responsibility for [a permit]....to advise potential applicants of studies or other information foreseeably required for later federal action” (33 CFR 325.1(b)).
Pre-construction notification (PCN) - Supplied by a permit applicant to notify the Corps of a proposed activity. Also serves as a request for confirmation from the Corps that the proposed activity complies with the terms and conditions of a nationwide permit (61 FR 65873, December 13, 1996).
Preservation - Compensatory mitigation that attempts to replace an impacted wetland by protecting a different existing wetland from future disturbance; widely considered to be an unsound mitigation practice.
Programmatic permits - General permits “founded on an existing state, local or other federal agency program and designed to avoid duplication with that program” (33 CFR 325.5(c)(3)).
Public interest review - “An evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity and its intended use on the public interest” (33 CFR 320.4(a)).
“Red Flag” issues - Characteristics of a water of the United States that would automatically preclude issuance of a permit, such as endangered species, archaeological sites, cemeteries, etc.
Reduction - Chemical gain of an electron; often indicates absence of oxygen, as when ferric iron (Fe3+) is transformed to ferrous iron (Fe2+).
Regional permits - General permits that are issued “after compliance with other procedures in [33 CFR 325]. If the public interest so requires, the [Corps] may condition the regional permit to require a case-by-case reporting and acknowledgment system. However, no separate applications or other authorization documents will be required” (33 CFR 325.5(c)(1)).
Restoration - The planning, construction, and management activities necessary to return a former wetland to its pre-disturbance conditions.
Riverine System - All wetlands and deepwater habitats contained within a channel, with two exceptions; (1) wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergents, emergent mosses, or lichens, and (2) habitats with water containing ocean-derived salts in excess of 0.5 ppt (Cowardin et al. 1979).
Riverine wetland - Wetland whose primary source of water is a river or stream (Brinson 1993).
Saplings/shrubs - For purposes of jurisdictional delineation, the 1987 Corps Manual identifies saplings/shrubs as woody plants greater than 3.2 ft. tall with a diameter at breast height of less than 3.0 in.
Saturation - “A condition in which all easily drained voids (pores) between soil particles are filled with water” (USDA Soil Conservation Service 1991); in the field, saturated soil glistens with moisture, or exudes moisture when lightly shaken in the hand.
Scrub-shrub vegetation - Woody vegetation less than 20 ft. tall (Cowardin et al. 1979).
Section 404 permit - Permit issued by the Corps authorizing activities regulated under authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1341 et seq.). Most commonly thought of as a permit to place fill in wetlands but also issued for other waters of the United States where the jurisdictional boundary is otherwise defined, usually by the ordinary high-water mark or mean high-water line.
- JMB
*Source: Wetlands Management Book, Environmental Laboratory (ERDC/EL SR-00-16) by Carolyn B. Schneider and Steven W. Sprecher, December 2000.
Pre-construction notification (PCN) - Supplied by a permit applicant to notify the Corps of a proposed activity. Also serves as a request for confirmation from the Corps that the proposed activity complies with the terms and conditions of a nationwide permit (61 FR 65873, December 13, 1996).
Preservation - Compensatory mitigation that attempts to replace an impacted wetland by protecting a different existing wetland from future disturbance; widely considered to be an unsound mitigation practice.
Programmatic permits - General permits “founded on an existing state, local or other federal agency program and designed to avoid duplication with that program” (33 CFR 325.5(c)(3)).
Public interest review - “An evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity and its intended use on the public interest” (33 CFR 320.4(a)).
“Red Flag” issues - Characteristics of a water of the United States that would automatically preclude issuance of a permit, such as endangered species, archaeological sites, cemeteries, etc.
Reduction - Chemical gain of an electron; often indicates absence of oxygen, as when ferric iron (Fe3+) is transformed to ferrous iron (Fe2+).
Regional permits - General permits that are issued “after compliance with other procedures in [33 CFR 325]. If the public interest so requires, the [Corps] may condition the regional permit to require a case-by-case reporting and acknowledgment system. However, no separate applications or other authorization documents will be required” (33 CFR 325.5(c)(1)).
Restoration - The planning, construction, and management activities necessary to return a former wetland to its pre-disturbance conditions.
Riverine System - All wetlands and deepwater habitats contained within a channel, with two exceptions; (1) wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergents, emergent mosses, or lichens, and (2) habitats with water containing ocean-derived salts in excess of 0.5 ppt (Cowardin et al. 1979).
Riverine wetland - Wetland whose primary source of water is a river or stream (Brinson 1993).
Saplings/shrubs - For purposes of jurisdictional delineation, the 1987 Corps Manual identifies saplings/shrubs as woody plants greater than 3.2 ft. tall with a diameter at breast height of less than 3.0 in.
Saturation - “A condition in which all easily drained voids (pores) between soil particles are filled with water” (USDA Soil Conservation Service 1991); in the field, saturated soil glistens with moisture, or exudes moisture when lightly shaken in the hand.
Scrub-shrub vegetation - Woody vegetation less than 20 ft. tall (Cowardin et al. 1979).
Section 404 permit - Permit issued by the Corps authorizing activities regulated under authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1341 et seq.). Most commonly thought of as a permit to place fill in wetlands but also issued for other waters of the United States where the jurisdictional boundary is otherwise defined, usually by the ordinary high-water mark or mean high-water line.
- JMB
*Source: Wetlands Management Book, Environmental Laboratory (ERDC/EL SR-00-16) by Carolyn B. Schneider and Steven W. Sprecher, December 2000.
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