Proposed "Waters of the U.S." Rule: Can Significant Nexus Be Clarified?
There is, however, variability in the size of the floodplain, which is dependent on factors such as the flooding frequency being considered, size of the tributary, and topography. As a general matter, large tributaries in low gradient topography will generally have large floodplains. . . whereas small headwater streams located in steep gradients will have the smallest floodplains. It may thus be appropriate for the agencies to consider a floodplain associated with a lower frequency flood when determining adjacency for a smaller stream, and to consider a floodplain associated with a higher frequency flood when determining adjacency for a larger stream. When determining whether a water is located in a floodplain, the agencies will use best professional judgment to determine which flood interval to use (for example, 10 to 20 year flood interval zone).
In other words, the agencies have elected to define floodplain so that its size will vary from case-to-case, reducing clarity. What Is a Riparian Area? The meaning of the term riparian area is even harder to divine. The agencies define it asan area bordering a water where surface or subsurface hydrology directly influence the ecological processes and plant and animal community structure in that area. Riparian areas are transitional areas between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that influence the exchange of energy and materials between those ecosystems.
None of the associated terms, like "ecological processes" "plant and animal community structure" or "exchange of energy and materials" are defined. Nor, for that matter, is the "area" of the necessary structure, which creates a circularity "“ one must look at an unidentified ecological "area" to determine the riparian "area." The most impenetrable phrase, though, is the area's "ecological processes and plant and animal community structure." All areas, upland and wetland, have such processes and structures. Where one begins and one ends can border on the metaphysical. Perhaps more unfortunately, this test is no more clear or more expeditious than the eight-year old "significant nexus" test, discussed yesterday and which this test is supposed to clarify. Identifying an area whose hydrology directly influences the ecological processes and plant and animal community structure in an area will have to be done case-by-case, just like the current significant nexus test. And how to do so is no more obvious than how to identify an area under the significant nexus test that has chemical, physical and biological impacts on a downstream water. Thus, in the end, the Agencies have provided two tests in order to clarify the "significant nexus" test. One is the significant nexus test itself. And the other is no more clear or expeditious. This is the fifth in a series of posts regarding EPA and the Corps' proposed rule redefining "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act. Photo credit: Nelson Minar / Foter / CC BY-SA