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Sparnon Wetland Services,
Inc.
- What is a wetland?
As per
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Federal Manual for Identifying and
Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands,
the official definition of a wetland is: "Those areas that are inundated
or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration
sufficient to support and under normal conditions do support, a prevalence
of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.
- What constitutes a wetland?
An area is clearly
a wetland if it exhibits each
of the following characteristics:
- The
presence of hydric soils or soils which exhibit greater than 50%
hydric characteristics.
- The
predominance of hydrophytic vegetation.
- A
hydrologic regime indicating the area is periodically inundated or
has soils which are saturated for long enough duration during
the
growing season.
- Who should be concerned about wetlands?
Anybody who is planning on developing
a parcel of land should have a Wetland Assessment conducted during
the early planning stages. It is highly recommended that prospective
property
owners should have a wetland evaluation conducted prior to purchase
to be aware
of any wetland encroachment issues that may arise down the road.
Under the Clean Water Act, current
regulations prohibit the filling or degradation of freshwater wetlands
without permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and/or the State
Environmental agency (i.e. PA Department of Environmental Protection).
In addition, some state and/or local agencies may also restrict development
within designated buffer areas. If not properly planned, these regulations
have the potential of slowing down construction timetables.
Our office can offer full environmental services for residential and
commercial properties regarding all aspects of wetland identification,
encroachment permitting and mitigation design.
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