Section 401 Water Quality Certification
Isolated Wetland Permit
Wetland Ecology Section

For information about environmental mitigation requirements, surface coal mining projects and Ohio Department of Transportation projects, go to the Environmental Mitigation and Special Permitting Section page.

Recent Activities

•  Isolated Wetland Permits and 401 Water Quality Certifications in Ohio - State Fiscal Year 2010
• Illegal Fill Complaint Form
• Proposed 401 Water Quality Certification rule revisions are available for review and comment
• Process Improvements for the 401 Water Quality Certification Process
• Revised ORAM Form
• Ohio EPA 401 Water Quality Certification and Isolated Wetland Permit Kaizen Event
• Final Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the U.S. EPA Vessel General NPDES permit
• Wetland/Stream Mitigation Rules Workgroups

401 Water Quality Certification and Isolated Wetland Permits

The 401 Water Quality Certification and Isolated Wetland Permit Section reviews applications regarding projects that would physically impact waters of the state, including streams, lakes and wetlands. The responsibilities of the 401 Water Quality Certification and Isolated Wetland Permit Section are regulatory, and include: 

• 401 Water Quality Certification application reviews -
  Pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act, anyone who wishes to discharge dredged or fill material into the waters of the U.S., regardless of whether on private or public property, must obtain a Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and a Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) from the state.
   

• Isolated Wetland Permit application reviews -
  Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 6111.02 to 6111.028, anyone who wishes to discharge dredged or fill material into isolated wetlands in Ohio must obtain an Isolated Wetland Permit from Ohio EPA.

      Links to Section Pages:

       Links to Documents:

• Pre-application request form with instructions [PDF 282K]
  The form can be completed and saved using the free Adobe Acrobat™ reader (version 7.0 or later)
• General pre-application guidance [PDF 198K] 
• Application for Ohio EPA Section 401 Water Quality Certification
• Active Ohio Wetland Mitigation Banks
• Review Process Flow Charts
  • Public Noticing Process Flow Chart [PDF 176K]
  • Wetland Impact Evaluation Process Flow Chart [PDF 14K]
• Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) [PDF 435K]
• Environmental Covenant Template [DOC 59K]
• Ohio Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands (ORAM)
• Amphibian Index of Biotic Integrity (AmphIBI)
• Vegetative Index of Biotic Integrity (VIBI)
• Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index
• Headwater Habitat Evaluation Index
• IBI and ICI for Streams [PDF 395K]
  (From Biological Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Life (Ohio EPA, Feb. 1988) 

Wetland Ecology Group

The Wetland Ecology Group performs wetland research with the goal of developing wetland biocriteria for Ohio. The responsibilities of the Wetland Ecology Group are non-regulatory, and include:

• Wetland research 
• Wetland bioassessment
• Wetland biocriteria development

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