Wetland classificatin, Identification, Delineation report-2006

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, � the general latitude of the Twin Cities) according to the 1987 Manual (Table 5 pg. 36), the area may be wetland but usually is not. However, the standard practice of the St. Paul COE is to � declare any areas that exceed the 5 percent criteria to be judged jurisdictional wetlands. Areas with water levels within 12" of the surface in excess of 12.5 percent of the growing season are wetlands. � No one has ever undertaken a scientific study to evaluate the relationship between the hydrological requirements and the presence of various wetland or non-wetland plant species. � This is a critical, yet unanswered question. Some studies have been completed examining soil types and hydrological responsiveness but the link between plants and hydrology has yet to be made. Given the annual cost of jurisdictional decisions in terms of "lost land" opportunities, � perhaps such a study would be prudent. The implications of regulatory misinterpretation are enormous in that it is likely that hundreds of � acres of Type 1 wetlands are avoided or mitigated for each year when legitimately these areas are non-jurisdictional and could be developed. � Avoidance or impact and mitigation can cost developers and ultimately, homebuyers, millions of dollars annually just in the developing seven-county Metropolitan Area. Mitigating a non- jurisdictional Type 1 wetland impact at a 2:1 ratio reduces the usable land base unnecessarily. � For every 50 acres of non-jurisdictional impact, 100 acres are removed from the land supply. At an average cost of $100,000 per acre, the cost to developers and ultimately to homeowners is $10,000,000 in just one year for just 50 acres. ' Type 2/3 Type 3 wetlands create the greatest classification difficulty from the perspective of de minimus � qualification. A Type 3 wetland that is seasonally flooded (C) is typically characterized by reed canary grass whereas a Type 3 semi-permanently tlooded wetland is more likely characterized by a growth of cattails. The reed canary wetlands are generally dry by late spring to early � summer. By late summer, the water tables have receded to well below the surface (> 18 — 36"). In contrast, Type 3 cattail wetlands still contain water above or very near the surface during � normal growing seasons. The WCA permits the use of de miriamus filling of Types 1, 2, 6 and 7 wetlands. Clearly it is not � the intent of the WCA to allow the application of the de minimus criteria to fens since the WCA specifically addresses fens as a special category for protection. Therefore, the Type 2 designation must apply to the "C": modifier Type 3 wetland. Further, Type 3 wetlands in excess of 2.5 acres � in incorporated areas and in excess of 10 acres in unincorporated areas are protected under the DNR protected waters statute. In the DNR wetland inventory and classification process, the Type 3 wetlands were clearly dominated by cattails hence the inference that reed canary grass � wetlands were Type 2. Type 7/Type 1L � Inconsistencies in technical descriptions regarding the hydrological regime of these two wetland ' �