Volume 24, Number 11 ● November 16, 2016
In This Issue:
Flagging Wetlands: A Permit Requirement to Avoid Unintended Impacts
Corps Provides Jurisdictional Determination Guidance
WSSI Archeologist Earns Brenman Award for Hotel Indigo Work
Higher Flood Resiliency Development Standards Proposed for HUD/FHA Assisted Properties
Inaugural NOVA Dove Hunt Was a Huge Success
Environmental and Cultural Resource Performance Metrics Available at Virginia Performs Website
Flagging Wetlands: A Permit Requirement to Avoid Unintended Impacts
Pink flagging alerts construction crews to the locations of preservation areas.
When a proposed development project has wetlands and streams, state and federal laws require a permit for any impacts. There is a laundry list of requirements that must be addressed after WSSI’s team of regulatory specialists procure a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Virginia Water Protection (VWP) Permit Program for impacts to selected wetlands and other Waters of the U.S. (with compensatory mitigation as needed) on behalf of our clients. These range from construction notifications and completing regular construction monitoring reports to compensatory mitigation and counter-sinking culverts.
Corps Provides Jurisdictional Determination Guidance
On October 31, 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) 16-01 to clarify the differences between an Approved Jurisdictional Determination (AJD) and a Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination (PJD), and when each one should be issued (or no JD should be issued at all).
WSSI Archeologist Earns Brenman Award for Hotel Indigo Work
WSSI’s John Mullen (left) received the Brenman Award along with Michael Wilson (middle) and Dr. George Schwarz (right) .
John Mullen, Principal Archeologist for Thunderbird Archeology, a division of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI), was given the 2016 Outstanding Professional Archeologist award – the Ben Brenman Award – by the City of Alexandria on October 5, 2016. John was recognized for his “high standards of archaeological investigation and historical study at the Hotel Indigo site, providing new insights into the founding and development of Alexandria’s 18th-century waterfront.”
Higher Flood Resiliency Development Standards Proposed for HUD/FHA Assisted Properties
President Obama's Executive Order 13690 of January 30, 2015 called for the creation of a new flood risk reduction standard for federally funded projects in an effort to improve the Nation's resilience to current and future flood risks. In response, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has acknowledged the need to make structures more resilient and on October 28, 2016 proposed higher flood resiliency regulations in accordance with EO 13690 to help ensure federal funds are not wastefully spent on projects built on land that is more prone to flooding. Any property located in these higher flood hazard areas that require HUD assistance or Federal Housing Administration financing or insurance will be required to meet these new development standards.
Inagural NOVA Dove Hunt Was Huge Success
This young man walked away with a lifetime hunting license after the hunt! Passing the hunting tradition along to the next generation is a critical mission of the WFV.
The Wildlife Foundation of Virginia (WFV), a nonprofit group dedicated to enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities within the Commonwealth, hosted the inaugural NOVA Dove Hunt on September 10, 2016. The hunt was held at Jefferson Farm in Nokesville, Virginia, adjacent to WSSI’s Cedar Run Wetlands Bank, with help from WSSI staff volunteers. A delayed corn harvest at the hunt’s originally scheduled site required a quick change in venue, and Mike Rolband offered his property for the day.
Environmental and Cultural Resource Performance Metrics Available at Virginia Performs Website
The Council on Virginia's Future recently updated the Environmental Indicators section of the Virginia Performs website, a public platform for sharing a variety of indicators that measure the Commonwealth’s performance relative to economy, education, health and family, public safety, natural resources, transportation, and government & citizens. The site also provides background information and data along with the steps Virginia is taking to achieve each goal.