Wapato at Sauvie Island
Photo by: Bruce Taylor

 

In Oregon, wetlands are regulated through the authority of a handful of federal and state laws and, in some cases, city or county ordinances. If development activities involve earthwork (filling, excavating, ditching, grading, leveling, etc.) within a wetland, state, federal, and/or local permits may be required.  Because the regulations are very detailed and change periodically, it is important to contact the agency responsible for implementing the specific wetland regulatory program for more information. See links to subheadings for State, Federal, and Local regulatory programs.

The Clean Water Act (CWA), under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act establishes a program to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. Activities in waters of the United States regulated under this program include filling wetlands for development, water resource projects such as dams and levees, infrastructure development such as highways and airports, and mining projects. Section 404 requires that a permit be issued before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of the United States, unless the activity is exempt from Section 404regulation (e.g. certain farming and forestry activities).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency develops and interprets policy, guidance, and environmental criteria used in evaluating permit applications. It may review and comment on individual permit applications, and can elevate specific cases and enforce Section 404 provisions of the CWA.

Authored by: Oregon Department of State Lands (2009) and Esther Lev, Executive Director, The Wetlands Conservancy, (2009)