Wetlands

We have a possible job of clearing the perimeter of 100 acre tract for fencing. It has most oak pine and sweet gums around it. It also has a couple cypress swamps on it. We don’t have to go three them bu around the somewhat. There is a couple wet areas on the fence line. Who determines how close or where u can and can’t go. Or if this is a known wetland etc. don’t want to open up a can of worms but definitely don’t want to get in trouble with the epa or whom ever. Never dealt with this before. Thanks. If it were in the woods wouldn’t be as concrete but it borders a public dirt road and has few residents on it. Someone could get upset or nosey lol. Thanks. Loc

Southerman13, I am neither an attorney nor an environmental expert. I am merely an old old-dirt appraiser in SE Georgia.

Yours does not sound like a wetlands impact that would be legal under the silviculture (timber growing and harvesting) exemption of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But it might.

You probably know this, but please be patient with me: The Corps of Engineers monitors regulator wetlands and decides on wetland impact requests. But for unauthorized impacts that are not mitigated as required, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prosecutes such actions, and huge fines, as well as prison time, have resulted

Your owner/client should engage an environmental expert whose work has been found acceptable to the Corps of Engineers, and have that expert render the owner/client an opinion as to what work can, and cannot, be undertaken where the fencing is to go. It make take an application to the Corps of Engineers to get permission to operate equipment in the wetlands; at one time, work not involving wheeled or tracked equipment (e.g., manual post hold digging and rolling our fencing by hand) was allowed in the wetlands, but that may have changed.

Please be aware that the wetlands regulations change frequently, (my copy of what I believe to be the latest is 110,000 words, and moderately difficult to read). Also be aware that different Corps districts have different interpretations of what impact regulations are allowed, making it even more important to utilize an environmental expert with recent experience in dealing with the regulatory personnel of the Corps district that has jurisdiction.

Glad you asked, and sorry my non-official response could be no better.

Please keep us posted on whatever happens, including where you found me wrong

Neill (always eager to learn)

Also, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has on its website what is called the National Wetlands Inventory that covers most of the U.S. IT IS NOT A PRECISE MAPPING, and should be used only as an indicator that wetlands MAY exist. Again, it is NOT precise, and should be relied on only for indications.

Here's the link (its free): https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/data/mapper.html

Again, please keep us posted on what happens.

Neill

Ok thanks. I’ll look at the map to start with! Definitely don’t want to be fined or jailed lol. Don’t want to open a can of worms either. I’ll let know if I find out anything thanks again

Found it but I don’t know what it means. The property boundary is outlined in black

Maybe u can give me your opinion. Thanks

Figured out what the PfO and PEM are just not sure about the numbers and letters that follow those prefixes. Looks like a good place to stay away from lol

In my region, that would be under the jurisdiction of a Conservation Authority(CA), and determining what will and wont cause impacts, and any mitigation measures would be done by a biologist. Biologist is usually either employed by the CA, or hired by the landowner/contractor Maybe you've got something similar?

Your local usda office will easily be able to help you. Around here they are by county. USDA and NRCS offices are in the same buildings. NRCS is the first step for wetland determination.

Tenfo. Both those offices are right down the street from me thanks.

southernman13 said:

Maybe u can give me your opinion. Thanks

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The dark green indicates a probability of regulatory wetlands. Lack of colors on that website IS NOT proof that wetlands do not exist elsewhere on the property.

farmerlund said:

Your local usda office will easily be able to help you. Around here they are by county. USDA and NRCS offices are in the same buildings. NRCS is the first step for wetland determination.

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Great recommendation, but remember that the USACE (Corps) is the final determiner.

Yes that’s what I found out from USDA just now. Thanks

Around here each town has a volunteer Conservation Commission with a paid agent. Whenever I have such a question I stop by the office. The agent is easy to work with, tell you straight up if you can proceed or if you need to file (hire an engineer, etc..). Easy to stay on his good side. The previous agent was an Environmental Nazis. The town sent her on her way after she offended to many folks.

Unless things have changed, I was told by TDEC, USACE and EPA that as long as I left the stump in the ground, I could work anywhere with mulching methods.

I've worked a lot of wet ground. No faster way to clear for fencing than mulching. I often cover over a mile a day for property lines and fencerow prep.

Yeah I know mulching does good but we don’t have a big mulcher like you. We have a skid steer mulcher and it’s not gonna cut it on this job.

Looks like a probable wetlands situation. Army Corps of Engineers needs to determine that. I do know that if you see any cattails, it is a wetlands for sure. At least they will say that. You can usually clean up fence rows and so forth, but you can not drain, fill, or alter their size in any way by adding or removing dirt.
Jeff

Tenfo. Haven’t seen cat tails. But really haven’t looked pretty sure none there. I’m gonna look into it a little further. Kind of a pia job anyway lol.

southernman13 said:

Tenfo. Haven’t seen cat tails. But really haven’t looked pretty sure none there. I’m gonna look into it a little further. Kind of a pia job anyway lol.

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Cattails are only one of many, many indicators of regulatory wetlands.