W&M Environmental (now owned by Braun Intertec) completed a determination for the presence of waters of the U.S. and wetlands at proposed gas well pads, access roads, and pipeline easements associated with numerous gas well pads. The gas well pads are associated with the Haynesville Shale Gas play in Louisiana.
This determination was conducted on behalf of a Texas-based natural gas company, for the purpose of determining the aerial extent of jurisdictional waters of the U.S. and wetlands within the pad sites. The wetland determination was conducted in general accordance with the Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual, Technical Report Y-87-1 (January 1987) and applicable amendments and supplements including the October 2008 Interim Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Region. Other waters of the U.S.(i.e., streams) were delineated based on the presence of an ordinary high water mark (OHWM) as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 33, Chapter 2, Part 328.3 (33 CFR 328.3e) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Regulatory Guidance Letter 05-05, dated December 7, 2005. Our team also presents data and our opinion of whether the waters of the U.S. delineated at the site are under the jurisdiction of the USACE as currently defined.
