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NAHB Members Urged to Write Letters on Isolated Wetlands

Isolated wetlands have become a major issue for environmental groups and property owners alike ever since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 2001 ruling in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) that Congress did not give the Corps the authority to regulate activities in isolated wetlands and that decisions about what waters the Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate should be based on their “navigability.”

The Corps estimates that there are more than 8.3 million isolated wetlands in the U.S. According to federal agencies, these can be defined broadly to include dry areas that are wet as little as seven days a year, 18 inches below the ground surface.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, home builders and developers have had to contend with vague Corps rules and Corps district offices that continue to regulate activities in isolated wetlands illegally.

The Corps is now soliciting public comments on this issue under an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

According to some estimates, the federal government has received more than 30,000 letters from environmental groups urging protection for isolated wetlands by extending the legal definition of “navigable waters of the U.S.”

All letters commenting on this matter are due by April 16.

NAHB members can click here to download any of three sample letters outlining home building industry concerns. An informational flyer is also available. Members will need to type in their user name and password to access the “SWANCC ANPRM Sample Comment Letters” writing section, which can be found in the “Look at Us Now” box.

In its letters, NAHB is urging the Corps to establish a practical set of criteria allowing landowners and regulators alike to determine in the field the waters that can be regulated and those that cannot.

For more information, e-mail Chandler Morse or call him at 800-368-5242 x8327.

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