Right now, the US Army Corps of Engineers is considering the best way to protect America's wetlands, rivers, and streams—and you have a limited amount of time to add your input.
We need to ensure they implement the best available rules. First, we need to ensure that "living shorelines" that protect our communities from floods using natural methods like wetlands and marshes are considered preferable to building bulky concrete structures that put ecosystems at risk. And secondly, we need the Army Corps to use the best possible impact measurements to guarantee that projects minimally affect the environment.
Take action: Make sure the US Army Corps protects America's waters.
Docket COE-2015-0017: Please improve Corps' Nationwide Permits so they have minimal adverse effect on the environment.
Dear Chief of Engineers,
I am writing today to request that you revise the proposed Nationwide Permits to better ensure adequate protection of the environment.
Specifically, I oppose modifying the definition of "Loss of waters of the United States" if it allows for impacts to stream systems to be measured using area. Rivers and streams are difficult-to-replace resources that, when healthy, provide multiple benefits to human, plant and animal communities. By introducing flexibility in measurement criteria, the Corps is permitting greater impacts to streams than should be allowed under the standard of minimal adverse environmental impact. I urge the Corps to measure impacts to stream bed using only linear feet.
I support a new Nationwide permit for living shorelines. Due to adverse impacts of habitat loss associated with hardening shorelines, the Corps needs to indicate a preference for living shorelines to stabilize eroding banks. The proposed Nationwide Permit B, Living Shorelines, should be combined with Nationwide Permit 13, bank stabilization, with a requirement to document when a living shoreline isn't feasible before permitting bulkheads.
[Your comments here]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
