Botany and Wetlands Study Report - McMillen, LLC

Botany and Wetlands Study ReportSoutheast Alaska Power AgencyD. Cooperate with state and Federal agencies having overlapping resource managementresponsibilities for wetlands, including the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, AlaskaDepartment of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Natural Resources,Corps, EPA, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.E. Mitigate to minimize impacts caused by activities when BMPs do not perform asexpected.G. When decommissioning roads through wetlands, restore natural drainage patterns.H. Timber harvest may occur on forested wetlands that meet suitable criteria and are indevelopment LUDs.1.4.2 Clean Water ActDischarges of dredged or fill material into wetlands are regulated through Section 404 of theClean Water Act by the Corps and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). TheCorps and EPA regulate wetlands on private, state, and federal land.Under Section 404, the Corps issues a number of nationwide permits for different types ofactivities that result in minimal individual and cumulative adverse effects on the aquaticenvironment. Permanent wetland losses greater than 0.5 acre or stream impacts greater than300 linear feet require an individual permit.1.4.3 Other RegulationsOther applicable regulations include the following:The National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA) states that forest planning must“provide for the diversity of plant and animal communities based on the suitability andcapability of the specific land area” (Forest Service 1976).USDA Departmental Regulations 9500‐004 states that the National Forest will providehabitats for all existing native and desired non‐native plants, fish and wildlife species tomaintain at least a viable population of such species (USDA 1983).36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 219.19 (2000) states “For planning purposes, aviable population shall be regarded as one which has the estimated numbers anddistribution of reproductive individuals to insure its continued existence is welldistributed in the planning area. In order to insure that viable populations will bemaintained, habitat must be provided to support, at least, a minimum number ofreproductive individuals and that habitat must be well distributed so that thoseindividuals can interact with others in the planning area.”Swan Lake Hydroelectric Project January 2013FERC Project No. 2911 Page 5 Version: Agency Review