However, if your site has a significant amount of wetland disturbance, or if the wetlands are closely connected to rivers or lakes, the process could be much more cumbersome. The federal stormwater management and erosion control planning is gradually becoming a commonplace requirement. This is not a complicated process, but from the onset the project design must recognize the ramifications it will present. A civil engineer is usually required to make an assessment of the watershed in pre and post development conditions, and then to mitigate the changes to stormwater run-off conditions and sedimentation through the design of various holding structures usually constructed of earth or relatively inexpensive materials. Some states have had this requirement for several years, while other communities in the Northeast have required a Soil Conservation Service or District review and approval.
Local review is difficult to predict.
In some states such as Maine, the permitting process is administered by the State with little more than an informational review by the community, if there are no serious local issues. This can be particularly disconcerting because sometimes the issues that may be holding up your project may not be related to environmental or engineering principles, but to local political squabbling. Regardless of the permitting scenario, there is no substitute for a sound design process that thoroughly analyzes alternatives. This type of process is required in Corps of Engineers procedures for wetland disturbance, and is the basis for the nation's original environmental law, the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969. Many of our environmental regulations since reflect the nearly universal acceptance of the principles set forth in that law.