Part 2 of the Wetland Permit Series by Leah Stetson, ASWM
Step 1: Do I Need to Hire a
Wetlands Consultant?
Individual landowners and developers who are
planning a project that will alter or fill a
wetland, stream or other water body, or who wish to
avoid having an impact to those areas, may consider
hiring a consultant. A consultant can help the
landowner meet the requirements of Section 404 of
the Clean Water Act (CWA), and/or similar state,
local or tribal programs. The first obvious step
might be to visit the town office or city hall to
find out whether it will require a local government
permit. In addition, ask whether the proposed
activities and/or the wetland in question are
covered under state or federal wetland laws. Contact
your state wetland agency or Corps District office
to get a description of the activities that require
state and federal permits. Many Corps Districts and
state agencies have information on their websites
about dredge and fill permit programs
Depending on the project, an applicant may need a
consultant to help with other aspects of the permit
application process, not just filing the paperwork.
Wetland delineations and mitigation site design are
likely required components of most proposed larger
projects. A consultant with a good background in
hydrology, soil science, ecology and botany who 1)
is able to apply that knowledge to identify
(delineate) wetlands, 2) has a working relationship
with regulatory staff and 3) is familiar with the
techniques used by state and federal regulatory
agencies, is probably a good candidate. But it is
wise to ask for references and to see a client list.
What do you know?
It is beneficial for any permit applicant to
familiarize himself or herself with local, state and
federal regulations on dredge and fill activities.
Visit a local conservation commission or the state’s
website.
What does a wetlands
consultant do?
- A typical consultant can provide the
following services (but not necessarily all of
them):
- Preliminary site visits and research to
determine if wetlands are present and whether a
full wetland delineation is necessary
- Wetland delineation (find the boundaries of
the wetland)
- Accurately map areas that will fall under
the wetland permit requirements
- Prepare or contribute to site development
designs that integrate development goals with
wetland and stream protection
- Advise a client on state and federal wetland
permit requirements and options
- Handle all technical aspects of a permit
application, including the alternatives analysis
and compensatory mitigation plan
- Implement the mitigation plan, including the
jobs of instructing and monitoring heavy
equipment operators, planting, annual monitoring
(follow-up) and preparing monitoring reports for
state regulatory agencies and the Corps, as
required.
Step 2: How to Find the Right
Wetlands Consultant
Start by contacting the agency that regulates
wetlands in your state. The following questions are
objective with answers that are based on public
information:
Questions for Regulatory
Agency Staff:
- Ask for a list of consultants with whom this
agency often works. Again, an agency staff
person cannot make a recommendation but may
refer permit applicants to a well-known
consultant or a few names from a longer list of
available consultants.
- Does this consultant turn in complete permit
applications the first time?
- What percent of the delineations and/or
applications this person has submitted have been
approved or accepted without required revisions?
- Does this consultant have a history of
receiving letters of deficiency from this
agency? It is important to work with a
consultant who pays attention to detail and does
not leave out components of the application,
e.g. mitigation plan, delineation,
correspondence.
- Is this consultant’s work and dealings with
said agency considered professional?
Is this consultant experienced with this
particular agency? Another way to ask this: Does the
consultant know the project managers and agency
staff by name?
Questions for Alternative
References:
- Is this consultant certified by the Society
of Wetland Scientists (SWS) as a Professional
Wetland Scientist (PWS) or a Wetland
Professional in Training (WPIT)? If the answer
is yes, this means the person has met certain
educational and experience requirements.
Alternatively, licensees are listed on the SWS
website at:
http://www.wetlandcert.org.
- Is this consultant certified by a state
wetland delineator certification program? (NH,
VA, WI and MN have such programs currently) If
the answer is yes, you can find out what was
required of those whose work is certified by
visiting that program’s website.
A note about certification:
If the consultant says that s/he took a 5 day
course through a continuing education program or a
series of wetland delineation workshops and then
received a certificate of completion, this does not
make the consultant a “certified wetland
delineator.” Having completed a series of classes
may have met part of the requirements for a
certificate or license through a state program, or
SWS’s Professional Wetland Scientist certification.
Ask prior clients of this consultant if the work
was done correctly the first time or if they had to
pay extra for additional work, e.g. multiple
revisions, site visits.
Step 3: Communicating the
Client’s Needs
The most important step is to clearly define in
writing what the client wants and needs from the
consultant. Ideally this other professional
possesses both the experience with local regulatory
agencies and staff as well as specific knowledge of
wetland permit applications.
Things to discuss with the consultant upfront and
to ask:
- Does the fee estimate include any revisions
or site visit(s) that may be required by the
federal, state or local agency? If it does not
include revisions or additional site visits, put
a limit on additional fees you are willing to
pay, e.g. one revision and one additional site
visit.
It is advantageous to find a
competent consultant who will not need to make
repeated revisions to the permit application.
- What’s included and what is not included in
the estimate? Survey? Written report? Data
sheets? Will the consultant fill out the
application or just submit it for the client?
(This is a key distinction that will affect the
cost.) Will the consultant obtain the permit for
you? (includes follow-up, as opposed to just
submitting it, which does not include follow-up
calls, etc.) What amount of money will be
required upfront? Half?
- Will the consultant arrange for a pre-application meeting with someone from the regulatory agency?
The pre-application meeting is between three
parties-the client, the consultant and a
representative of the state regulatory agency. This
is usually only done for large projects but may be
arranged for smaller projects if the client requests
it. For this meeting the first proposal is
preliminary but it may save the client time and
money to find out from the regulatory agency what is
required. The client will have to pay for the pre-
application meeting. This puts less risk on the
consultant, which in turn will cost the client less
money and wait time. For a small project, this is
probably not a necessary step.
- Tell the consultant which county, district or
city the proposed project is located. Ask the
consultant if s/he knows the project managers and/or
regulatory agency staff there? Hint: if s/he knows
staff by name, that means they likely have a working
relationship with that agency.
If the local or state regulatory agency involved
requires that the wetland delineation be conducted
by a certified delineator, or if the restoration
plan must be submitted or stamped by a certified
wetland scientist, make sure that there will be a
certified delineator or professional wetland
scientist (PWS) on the project so that your
application gets adequate approval or signatures to
meet the regulatory agency’s requirements.
Typically the jurisdictional determination (“JD”)
is conducted by someone from a US Army Corps of
Engineers (Corps) District. The Corps staff person
will decide whether the wetland, stream or other
water is a water of the U.S. and if the activities
in the proposed project are regulated activities. If
so, a Section 404 permit must be applied for and
issued by the Corps.
Step 4: Know What to Expect
- For most wetland permit applications, there are a
handful of givens in any consultant-client
transaction. Save the consultant time (and the
client, money) by providing the consultant with any
relevant maps, e.g. tax maps.
- The following list is an example of what a client
may see on a typical consultant’s bill for the work
s/he will do for the project:
- Up to 4 hours of research, e.g. zoning & lot
information
- Field work
- Wetland delineation: be sure to ask who will do
the wetland delineation. It may not be the
consultant
- Mapping (may require topography or other maps)
- Writing the report
- Survey costs: consultants typically do not survey
properties; it has to be done by a certified
surveyor.
- Photos: if you have photos of your property,
those would be good to share with the consultant. It
is best to submit more information than necessary
with a wetland permit application so there are no
questions.
- Follow-up phone calls (usually numerous calls are
involved) after the consultant has submitted the
application.
- If the consultant is also doing the mitigation
site design, that will incur other expenses not
listed here
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