jurisdiction resulted from the widespread misunderstanding that the presence of a 

 mapped hydric soil alone identified a wetland, without any supporting evidence of 

 wetland hydrology or hydrophytic vegetation. This is not true. To reinforce this point, 

 stronger indicators of wetland hydrology are required in the proposed revisions 

 independent of indicators used to demonstrate the presence of hydric soils or 

 hydrophytic plant communities. 



Proposed revisions have been made to a number of different sections of the Federal 

 Manual making it difficult to precisely predict the effect of the proposed revisions to 

 the scope of jurisdiction without field testing by qualified personnel. We expect that 

 the field testing of the proposed revised Federal Manual that will be conducted during 

 the public review period will more specifically identify the effects of proposed revisions 

 and help us to respond to any unanficipated impacts. 



Has the proposed revised Federal Manual changed the way wetlands are identified or 

 delineated in disturbed areas such as cropland? 



The revised Federal Manual provides two important clarifications in the procedures for 

 identifying wetlands in disturbed areas. First, the Federal Manual recognizes that there 

 are Federal agency policies under the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulatory program 

 and under the Swampbuster program of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended, 

 which should be consulted when interpreting the effect of disturbances such as cropping 

 on the jurisdictional status of an area (e.g., regulatory guidance on normal 

 circumstances as it pertains to prior converted croplands). Second, the disturbed areas 

 section of the Federal Manual states clearly that the mere presence of soils meeting the 

 hydric soil criterion is not sufficient to determine that wetlands are present. When the 

 hydrology of an area has been significantly altered, soil characteristics resulting from 

 wetland hydrology cannot by themselves verify wetland hydrology since they persist after 

 wetland hydrology has been eliminated. 



OTHER ONGOING ADMINISTRAinVE ACTIONS 



What coordination occurs among EPA Regional staff, Corps District personnel and 

 permit applicants to facilitate the Section 404 permit review process? 



Permit applicants are encouraged to initiate pre-application meetings with regional staff 

 from the Corps, EPA and other commenting agencies to discuss concerns that these 

 agencies might have with a proposed activity and to resolve differences prior to an 

 application being submitted. In so doing, the actual permit review period may be 

 significantly reduced. In order to facilitate these discussions, numerous Corps Districts 

 hold regularly-scheduled (e.g., quarterly, monthly) meetings for applicants and other 



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