40448 



Federal Register / Vol. 56, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 14. 1991 / Proposed Rules 



Procedures that would be used to 

 implement the FAC neutral test are 

 described in the Appendices to the 

 Manual. 



Issue 6: The proposed Manual 

 provides that the wetlands hydrology 

 criterion may be met by documenting at 

 least three years of hydrologic records 

 (e.g., groundwater well observations or 

 tide or stream gauge records) collected 

 during years of normal rainfall (amount 

 and monthly distribution) which is 

 correlated with long-term hydrologic 

 records for specific geographical areas. 

 The three annual observation periods 

 must have at least 90 percent of average 

 yearly precipitation and at least 90 

 percent of normal monthly distribution. 

 In addition, the year prior to the water 

 table study must have had 90 percent of 

 the monthly and annual precipitation. 

 We are soliciting comments on whether 

 this 90 percent requirement is 

 appropriate, or should other cutoff levels 

 be used (e.g., plus or minus one or two 

 standard deviations)? 



Issue 7; In addition, we are soliciting 

 comments on the basic approach taken 

 in the Manual of delineating every site 

 individually. Is this the best approach? 

 Coidd the Manual be streamlined so that 

 "obvious" identifications and 

 delineations can occur more quickly 

 vnth less unnecessary work? It is 

 desirable to identify easily recognized 

 wetlands (for example, Spartina 

 altemJflora] coastal marshes), easily 

 recognized uplands (for example, 

 mountainside (other than seeps) or 

 deserts), or weUands of overriding 

 significance and value (for example, 

 prairie potholes), that can be identified 

 and delineated rapidly and without the 

 need for extensive documentation? If 

 this would be desirable, how should it 

 be done? What should the categories be, 

 what systems should be included, and 

 how should they be described? Can the 

 categories be described such that the 

 wetland/upland boundary are clearly 

 recognized, or will it be necessary to use 

 the mandatory criteria proposed in the 

 Manual to determine the boundary? If 

 this were to be done, should it be on a 

 nationwide or regional basis? What 

 process should be followed — shoidd 

 technical conunittees be formed to 

 develop these categories and identify 

 communities within each category, or 

 should the categories and communities 

 be developed through a public notice 

 and comment process, or should a 

 combination of both be used? 



Issue 8: The proposed Manual defines 

 the growing season as the interval 

 between 3 weeks before the average 

 date of the last killing frost in the Spring 

 to 3 weeks after the average date of the 



last killing frost in the Fall, with 

 exceptions for areas experiencing 

 freezing temperatures throughout the 

 year (e.g., montane, t\mdra and boreal 

 areas] that nevertheless support 

 hydrophytic vegetation. We are 

 soliciting comments on whether this is 

 an appropriate definition of the growing 

 season and if not, are there other more 

 appropriate alternatives. 



It is important to emphasize that the 

 purpose of this notice is to request 

 comments on the proposed revisions to 

 the 1989 Manual The comments should 

 not address broader policy issues 

 regarding the implementation of the 

 Section 404 regulatory program which 

 this document does not address. General 

 information and questions about 

 weUands protection can be directed to 

 the EPA Wetlapds Hotline at (800) 832- 

 7828. 



It is also important to note that an 

 independent testing panel, as well as 

 EPA and the Corps, will perform field 

 testing of these proposed revisions 

 during the comment period. The' results 

 of these tests will be reviewed, in 

 conjunction v«th the comments received 

 from the public in finalizing the revised 

 Federal Manual. The proposed revisions 

 do not contain a glossary, references, 

 data sheets and regional indicators of 

 significant soil saturation which vdll 

 accompany the final revised Federal 

 Manual. 



F. Henry Habicht D. 



Deputy Administrator, US. Environmental 

 Protection Agency. ' 

 Nancy Dom, 



Assistant Secretary (Civil Works), 

 Department of the Army. 

 James R. Moseley, 



Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources 

 and Environment, Department of Agriculture. 

 J. Michael Hayden, 



Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 

 Parks, Department of the Interior. 

 Part I Introduction 

 Part n Mandatory Technical Criteria for 



Vegetated Wetland Identification 

 Part ni Methods for Identification and 



Delineation for Vegetated Wetlands 

 Appendices 



Authoritie*: 33 U.S.C. 1344: 16 U.S.C 3801- 

 3823. 3841-3844; 16 U.S.a 3801: 18 U.S.C. 661 



Part I. Introduction 



Purpose 



The purposes of this manual are: (1) 

 To provide mandatory technical criteria 

 for the identification and delineation of 

 wetlands, (2) to provide recommended 

 methods for vegetated weUands 

 identification and upper boundary 

 delineation, and (3) to provide sources 

 of information to aid in their 

 identification. The dociunent can be 



used to identify jurisdictional weUands 

 subject to section 404 of the Clean ^ 



Water Act and to the "Swampbuster" 

 provision of the Food Security Act of 

 1985, as amended, or to identify 

 vegetated weUands in general for the 

 National WeUands Inventory and other 

 purposes. WeUand jurisdictional 

 determinations for regulatory purposes 

 are based on criteria in addition to 

 technical criteria, so consult the 

 appropriate regulatory agency for its 

 interpretation. The term "weUand" as 

 used throughout this manual refers to 

 vegetated weUands. This includes 

 weUands with nat\u'al vegetation and 

 weUands where natiu'al vegetation has 

 been temporarily disturbed. This manual 

 provides a single, consistent approach 

 for identifying and delineating these 

 weUands from a multi-agency Federal 

 perspective. This manual establishes 

 criteria to be used by the four signatory 

 agencies in delineating weUands and 

 their boundaries. The Federal 

 government for purposes of exercising 

 the respective agencies' statutory 

 authorities, has the burden of proving 

 that a particular site is a weUand. If an 

 agency faUs to meet its burden of proof 

 then the site is not a weUand. 



Organization of the Manual ^ 



This manual is divided into three 

 major parts: Part I — Introduction; Part 

 n — Mandatory Technical Criteria for 

 Vegetated WeUand Identification; and 

 Part in — Methods for Identification and 

 Delineation of Vegetated WeUands. 



Use of the Manual 



This manual should be used for the 

 identification and delineation of 

 vegetated weUands in the United States. 

 Emphasis for delineation is on the upper 

 boundary of weUands (i.e., weUand- 

 upland boundary) and not on the lower 

 boundary between weUands and other 

 aquatic habitats. The technical criteria 

 for weUand identification presented in 

 Part n are mandatory, while the 

 methods presented in Part III are 

 recommended approaches. Alternative 

 methods are offered to provide users 

 with a selection of methods that range 

 from office determinations to detaUed 

 field determinations. If the user departs 

 fi'om these methods, the reasons for 

 doing so should be documented. If there 

 are any inconsistencies between Parts I, 

 n, and III, the guidance provided in Part 

 II has preeminence over guidance 

 provided in the other parts. <^ 



Background 



At Uie Federal level, four agencies are 

 principally involved with weUand 

 identification and delineation: Army 



