Surnnwatei and Sediment 



most familiar with site characteristics and permit conditions, their technical capabilities and 

 professional standing arc best applied in a neutral implementation role. 



Full implementation of non-point source control practices will require 

 more than doubling the present engineering staff in the Wetlands Section, 

 because of the need to undertake site-specific design and inspection 

 surveys to ensure proper use of design criteria. Although the Wetlands Section 

 welcomes standardization of design requirements between the Section and municipalities, 

 the Section will be required to prove non-conformance with design specifications in order 

 to take enforcement action against violators. The inspection process is expected to be labor 

 intensive, and to very heavily involve engineering staff. 



Because of the numerous responsibilities assigned to DEM legal staff, support of the 

 Wetiands Section is less than optimal The technical complexity of the wetlaiids 

 delineations, and the role which technical issues play in jurisdictional issues, means that 

 staff need to work closely with attorneys on a regular basis. Staff currentiy design and 

 prepare consent agreements, which should also be verified by an attorney. Conversely, 

 DEM attorneys arguing wetiand issues in administrative hearings and judicial proceedings 

 are completely dependent upon staff technical advisors in presenting and responding to 

 technical questions. Staff support is not available to the degree necessary for all of the 

 hearings in which DEM becomes involved. If legal staff were devoted to exclusive duty 

 within the Wetiands Section, an interactive working understanding of technical issues could 

 be developed which could support enforcement 



Recommendations to DEM 



Jurisdiction and Projea Evaluation 



***In cooperation with other DEM Divisions and sections within the Division of 

 Groundwater and Freshwater Wetlands, develop a new Water and Land Management 

 Section within the Division of Water Resources which would assume a broad resource 

 management role within the agency. The new administrative body would: 



• coordinate results of all DEM monitoring and research programs; 



• set up a data management system to be used by all DEM Divisions and to be 

 coordinated with the recommended Technical Planning Sector at the Division of 

 Planning; 



• classify wetiands and other water bodies according to a resource value, scarcity, 

 and vulnerability designation process; 



• develop a firameworic allowing for significandy strengthened consideration of 

 cumulative effects, as recommended in other sections; 



• develop a water quality characterization process to be used to link biological 

 integrity with effects of present use and potential use to the maximum extent 

 possible. Waste load allocations and effluent limits should be established to 

 coordinate the simultaneous imposition of point source discharge limits and non- 

 point source controls; 



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