2bWetland LLC.

[2bWetland]

Hi. I hale from Oregon and Washington where I worked for 16 years for an environmental firm. Most of my work was delineating wetlands and writing remove/fill permits for projects around the North West. I also designed and monitored mitigation projects, stream and riparian habitat improvement projects.

 

[Eric]

Welcome! Sounds like you have experience in the full gamut of wetland permitting/restoration work. You described all your experience in the past tense - is that because you left your previous firm and now have your own company?

I'm a USACE regulator in southern California. I look forward to chatting with you about any wetland/federal permitting topics you may want to discuss here.

 

[2bWetland]

Welcome! Sounds like you have experience in the full gamut of wetland permitting/restoration work. You described all your experience in the past tense - is that because you left your previous firm and now have your own company?

I'm a USACE regulator in southern California. I look forward to chatting with you about any wetland/federal permitting topics you may want to discuss here.

I should update by bio to add my current experience. Thanks for pointing that out. I would like to chat with you, particularly about the USACE's stance in our post-Sackett world. I recently provided testimony on a case discussing how a particular stormwater facility should not be considered a jurisdictional wetland, in part because of Sackett, (but more importantly because it was a permitted stormwater facility). Anyways, lets talk.

 

[Eric]

Thanks for sharing those additional details about your background. Interesting hearing about your recent legal testimony too. Off the top of my head, I'm guessing the facility wasn't jurisdictional because it met either the (b)(1) waste treatment system exclusion (i.e., was a NPDES facility) or the (b)(3) ditch exclusion (i.e., was excavated wholly in uplands, draining only uplands). Or maybe the facility was jurisdictional and the dispute was just over the jurisdictional status of any wetlands it contained? In Orange County where I work, we often see three-parameter wetlands form at the bottom of large flood control facilities and they get documented by consultants as such. However, because these wetlands are located below the OHWM we can't classify them as jurisdictional adjacent wetlands. We generally require that consultants reclassify these features as non-wetland waters in their delineation reports.

I'm obviously intrigued by these sorts of jurisdictional questions, so don't hesitate to share any other details you're at liberty to share .

Also happy to chat about anything Sackett related! I've already addressed some of the latest Sackett developments in the following threads so feel free to check these out as a start. You're also more than welcome to post a new thread if you have any other Sackett/Conforming Rule questions or topics you'd like to discuss.

https://www.permittingtalk.com/threads/corps-epa-ajd-policy-memos.5243/
https://www.permittingtalk.com/thre...rowed-further-in-louisiana-wetland-case.5144/
https://www.permittingtalk.com/threads/updated-wotus-definition-following-sackett.4546/