Does My Property Have a Wetland?
In general, wetlands are found where water naturally flows and accumulates: floodplains, stream headwaters, low lying spots, landscape depressions, and the fringe of ponds, streams, rivers, and coastlines. Even where wetlands are known, determining where the boundaries lie can be complex. Some wetlands exist due to saturation of the soil by groundwater and are difficult to identify. Others are dry part of the year so the extent of the visible wetland boundary can vary during high and low water volumes.
The following are resources for preliminary evaluation of wetland presence:
- HARC’s Online Mapping Tool
- A tool that shows wetlands in our area is the Online Mapping Tool for identifying impacts to wetlands developed by HARC, a local non-profit environmental research hub. This tool covers the 8-county Houston region.
- USFWS’s National Wetland Inventory
- For areas outside this region, US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has developed a National Wetland Inventory which can be viewed in Google Earth. (Google Earth can be downloaded for free at http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html).
- NOAA’s C-CAP Land Cover Atlas
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) datasets are revised every five years and display coastal land use on uplands, wetlands, and coastal intertidal area. The C-CAP Land Cover Atlas is an online mapping tool for review of these land use datasets. There are specific tools for displaying wetlands in the mapping tool.
- USACE’s Recognizing Wetlands publication
- The USACE publication Recognizing Wetlands provides more detailed technical information on how to identify wetlands on your property.
Note that these tools and resources are not a substitute for verifying wetland presence with USACE.
Do I Need a Wetland Permit?
The final determination whether a property has “jurisdictional wetlands” or other “waters of the US” can ONLY be made by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Development in waters of the US, including wetlands is regulated by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. When there is a question whether wetlands or any other waters of the US exist on a property that the landowner plans to fill, dredge, or drain, the landowner should request a jurisdictional determination from USACE.
| Jurisdictional Determination Definition A written USACE determination that a wetland and/or waterbody is subject to regulatory jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) or a written determination that a waterbody is subject to regulatory jurisdiction under Section 9 or 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). |
It should be noted that there are specific permit exemptions for agriculture and silviculture operations if the operation meets certain requirements. The USACE Galveston District, which serves the Texas Gulf Coast, can give you more information on whether you qualify for an exemption.
