Enhancing shoreline decision practices to avoid environmental degradation through the CWA Section 404 permitting process

Efforts to conserve and maintain coastal habitat in the Chesapeake Bay watershed have largely focused on the wetland and upland buffer component, with resources spent to restore and create wetland habitat. This has resulted in the loss of shallow water resources including submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) - an essential habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife. It provides foraging, spawning, nursery, and protective habitat to ecologically important species as well as removing nutrients and carbon from the water column and increasing dissolved oxygen concentrations.  SAV is also a special aquatic site identified under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (40 C.F.R. § 230.40).  Section 404 authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and EPA to regulate dredge and fill impacts within waters of the U.S. (WOTUS). EPA has identified a need to support regulatory review of shoreline projects. This project will address a long-term regional need to develop conceptual models anchored in the scientific literature to help support Chesapeake Bay Program restoration goals for both wetland and SAV resources. We propose to develop a decision support/screening tool to enhance the regulatory review process.

Impact/Purpose

EPA Region 3 has identified a need to support regulatory review of shoreline projects that result in the conversion of shallow water habitat to wetlands. This collaboration between R3 and ORD scientists through an Regional Research Partnership Program (R2P2) project to develop a conceptual model anchored in the scientific literature to help support Chesapeake Bay Program restoration goals for both wetland and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) resources. Coastal watersheds are vulnerable to stressors such as sea level rise (SLR) and extreme weather events as well as development pressures.  Few efforts have been successful in protecting/restoring shallow water habitat while efforts to maintain coastal resources have resulted in the loss of shallow water resources, including SAV.  Our effort is to understand the extent of unintended consequences from shoreline practices that result in conversion of shallow water habitat under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act that authorizes dredge and fill impacts to waters of the U.S.   SAV is an essential habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife. It provides foraging, spawning, nursery, and protective habitat to ecologically important species as well as removing nutrients from the water column and increasing dissolved oxygen concentrations. SAV is also a special aquatic site identified under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (40 C.F.R. § 230.40). This effort will increase capacity of EPA Regional staff to coordinate with the Corps and protect aquatic resources like SAV in the CB watershed.

Citation

Fitzgerald, M., D. Farrell, AND Jim Kaldy. Enhancing shoreline decision practices to avoid environmental degradation through the CWA Section 404 permitting process. 2024 Coastal Estuarine Summit - Restore America's Estuaries, Washington DC, DC, October 06 - 10, 2024.