Project Location: RP 39 authorizes work associated with the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into all WOTUS, including wetlands, under the jurisdictional of the Rock Island District located within the State of Iowa. This permit may be used on tribal lands within the state of Iowa; however, an individual 401 Water Quality Certification must be obtained from the Meskwaki Nation – Sac and Fox Tribes of the Mississippi in Iowa and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska in Iowa, as applicable, for the use on tribal lands, prior to authorization.
Project Description:
(a) Regional General Permit 39 (RP39) authorizes the discharge of dredged and/or fill material in waters of the U.S (WOTUS) in the State of Iowa to create/restore wetlands through the construction of earthen embankments and/or dams when funding or technical assistance is being provided through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) with Corps approval in compliance with the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
(b) The purpose of these project is for activities in WOTUS including jurisdictional wetlands that are part of a watershed strategy to improve water quality. This will be implemented by limiting the number of agriculture pollutants (mainly nitrates) entering the nation’s rivers and ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico, and restore functions that support and/or enhance aquatic biological resources at the project site. The constructed/restored wetlands will slow storm water and agricultural drain tile water runoff and provide habitat for microorganisms which will allow a large percentage of nitrates to denitrify before they enter large waterways, control erosion, and improve wildlife habitat. Wetlands, through the accumulation of organic matter, also act as sinks for nutrients and other chemical compounds, reducing the amounts of these substances in the water column. The activity must be designed to avoid and minimize adverse effects, both temporary and permanent, to WOTUS to the maximum extent practicable at the project site.
(c) Permanent impacts to WOTUS authorized by this permit shall not result in the permanent loss of greater than 2,500 linear feet of streambed or 2 acres of wetland. The combined loss of all waters shall not exceed 2 acres in total. The loss of streambed should not exceed a wetland-to-watershed ratio of 2%.
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