SWANCC (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

1. How Science Can Inform CWA Jurisdiction and Policy After SWANCC:Hydrological Connectivity in Stream NetworksMark Cable Rains1 and Tracie-Lynn Nadeau21University of South Florida2U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2. SWANCC(Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) • Key Issue – Can isolated waters be considered “waters of the United States” and thus be subject to Corps regulatory authority under CWA § 404 based solely on its use by migratory birds? • Key Finding – No, the CWA is not intended to protect isolated, intrastate, non-navigable waters based solely on its use by migratory birds. • Key Finding – Non-navigable, isolated, intrastate waters need a “significant nexus” to the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of navigable waters to be jurisdictional.

3. Post-SWANCC Actions • EPA and Corps decide against proposed rulemaking (December 2003) • Corps Districts providing regional guidance without much national guidance • Consultants providing guidance without much agency oversight • Legislation (e.g., Federal Wetlands Jurisdiction Act of 2004) • Litigation (e.g., Rapanos and Carabell)

4. Special Session & Collection • Special session at the American Water Resources Association 2005 Annual Meeting (November 2005) • Special collection in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association (February 2007)

5. Guiding Questions • To what degree are headwater streams and downstream waters hydrologically connected? • What roles do headwater streams play in maintaining the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of downstream waters and the larger stream networks? • Over what spatial and temporal scales are processes relevant? • What are some of the possible consequences of eliminating or otherwise impacting headwater stream resources?

6. Special Collection • Winter - The Role of Ground Water in Generating Streamflow in Headwater Areas and in Maintaining Baseflow • Izbicki - Physical and Temporal Isolation of Headwater Streams in the Western Mojave Desert, Southern California • Triska and others - Mississippi River Hypoxia: In the Beginning…

7. Special Collection • Alexander and others - The Role of Headwater Streams in Downstream Water Quality • Wipfli and others - Ecological Linkages Between Headwaters and Downstream Ecosystems: Transport of Organic Matter, Invertebrates, and Wood Down Headwater Channels • Meyer and others - The Contribution of Headwater Streams to Biodiversity in River Networks

8. Special Collection • Hauer and Stanford - Pattern and Process in Northern Rocky Mountain Headwaters: Ecological Linkages in the Headwaters of the Crown of the Continent • Freeman and others - Hydrologic Connectivity and the Contribution of Stream Headwaters to Ecological Integrity at Regional and Global Scales • Nadeau and Rains - Hydrological Connectivity Between Headwater Streams and Downstream Waters: How Science Can Inform Policy

9. Headwater Streams

10. Headwater-Mainstem Continuum • Hillslopes, headwater streams, and downstream waters are best described as individual elements of integrated hydrological systems • No scientific evidence exists supporting the existence of a bright line separating headwater streams from downstream waters • This implies that a “significant nexus” exists between headwater streams and navigable waters

11. One size does not fit all….

12. Hydrologic Landscape Units

13. Interacting and Cumulative Effects?

14. Discussion….