U.S. EPA Highlights First Ever National Wetlands Condition Assessment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlighted a national effort to assess the health of the nation’s wetlands, and an opportunity to provide input on proposed changes to how the government protects wetlands. A media event was held at the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Elk Grove, Calif., where scientists were simultaneously sampling nearby wetlands as part of the National Wetlands Condition Assessment (NWCA).

The NWCA is a collaboration between EPA and its state, tribal and federal partners representing the first-ever national field survey on the health of the nation’s wetlands. More than 1,000 sites across the country--including 43 in California--are being surveyed to assess indicators of wetland health, including water quality and flow, vegetation and soils. NCWA sampling locations during the next two months will include wetlands in the following California counties: San Mateo, San Diego, Orange, Solano, Contra Costa, Ventura, Marin, Monterey, Humboldt, San Joaquin, Inyo, Merced and Mendocino.



 EPA officials will also be answering questions regarding recent draft guidance on federal wetlands protection. The draft guidance, developed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, aims to clarify which waters are subject to protection under the Clean Water Act (CWA), and is open to public input until July 1. Formal regulations clarifying when the CWA applies may follow the guidance, a process which would again involve public input.



 “Wetlands filter pollution and protect communities from flooding while providing habitat for fish, fowl and flora,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s water div. director for the Pacific Southwest. “The draft Clean Water Act guidance will reaffirm our intent to protect these vital and vanishing resources to the fullest extent of the law, while providing greater clarity to the regulated public.”



 Between 80 and 95% of California’s original wetlands and stream-side (“riparian”) habitats have been destroyed or modified. For nearly 40 years, the CWA has been a cornerstone of EPA’s effort to ensure that Americans have clean and healthy waters. The draft guidance, part of the Obama Administration's national clean water framework, implements recent Supreme Court decisions addressing what types of waters could be subject to traditional CWA protections. The framework outlines a series of actions across federal agencies to ensure the integrity of the waters Americans rely on every day for drinking, swimming and fishing, and that support farming, recreation, tourism and economic growth.

Source: EPA