CWD Environmental Impact Assessment 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which wetland type is MOST likely to provide the greatest carbon sequestration function relevant to EIA climate change analysis?
- Freshwater emergent marsh
- Peatland (bog or fen) (Correct answer)
- Seasonal playa wetland
- Tidal freshwater swamp
Correct answer: Peatland (bog or fen)
Peatlands accumulate carbon in thick organic soil layers over millennia, giving them the highest carbon sequestration capacity per unit area.
Question 2: Under the Clean Water Act Section 401, a state water quality certification may be denied if:
- The project lacks a Section 404 permit application
- The proposed discharge would violate state water quality standards (Correct answer)
- The applicant fails to pay EPA review fees
- Federal lands are involved in the project footprint
Correct answer: The proposed discharge would violate state water quality standards
Section 401 certification can be denied or conditioned when a state determines a federal permit activity would violate its water quality standards.
Question 3: A delineation report prepared for EIA purposes must identify the wetland boundary based on which three criteria?
- Soil color, plant height, and proximity to open water
- Hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils, and wetland hydrology (Correct answer)
- FEMA flood zone, soil drainage class, and vegetative cover
- Ordinary high water mark, bankfull discharge, and floodplain width
Correct answer: Hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils, and wetland hydrology
The 1987 Corps Wetland Delineation Manual requires the presence of hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils, and wetland hydrology for a positive wetland determination.
Question 4: Which agency must concur with a 'no effect' determination for threatened or endangered species before a Section 404 permit can be issued?
- No agency concurrence is needed for a 'no effect' determination (Correct answer)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or NOAA Fisheries
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- State wildlife agency with co-management authority
Correct answer: No agency concurrence is needed for a 'no effect' determination
A 'no effect' determination by the action agency does not require concurrence from USFWS or NOAA Fisheries; only 'may affect' determinations trigger formal consultation.
Question 5: In an EIA alternatives analysis for a project requiring Section 404 authorization, the 'no-action alternative' serves primarily to:
- Establish the regulatory baseline against which project impacts are measured (Correct answer)
- Demonstrate that the project is economically infeasible
- Satisfy the public participation requirement under NEPA
- Define the compensatory mitigation ratio for the preferred alternative
Correct answer: Establish the regulatory baseline against which project impacts are measured
The no-action alternative establishes the environmental baseline and context for comparing the impacts of proposed project alternatives.
Question 6: Which wetland assessment method quantifies function by scoring indicators such as landscape position, buffer condition, and water storage capacity?
- Routine Determination Method
- Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach (Correct answer)
- Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP)
- National Wetland Inventory classification
Correct answer: Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach
The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach assesses wetland functions by scoring functional capacity indicators calibrated to a wetland's geomorphic class and regional subclass.
Question 7: When the Corps of Engineers determines that a proposed project is the 'least environmentally damaging practicable alternative' (LEDPA), this finding is required under:
- NEPA Section 102
- EPA's Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines (Correct answer)
- Executive Order 11990 on wetland protection
- Endangered Species Act Section 7
Correct answer: EPA's Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines
The Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines prohibit permit issuance unless the proposed discharge is the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.
CWD Environmental Impact Assessment 3
Which wetland type is MOST likely to provide the greatest carbon sequestration function relevant to EIA climate change analysis?