Maryland Wetlands Law and Compliance Seminar
Agenda
Registration: 8:00 – 8:30 am
Morning Session: 8:30 am – 12:15 pm
Lunch (On your own): 12:15 – 1:15 pm
Afternoon Session: 1:15 – 4:00 pm
Understanding Federal and Maryland Wetland Laws
Clean Water Act
Scope and reach of CWA jurisdiction
Regulated activities
Key court decisions
Implementing/enforcing Federal agencies
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Other relevant federal laws
Endangered Species Act
National Historic Preservation Act
National Food Security Act of 1985
Coastal Zone Management Act
National Environmental Policy Act
State criteria
Nontidal wetlands
Waterways and floodplains
Tidal wetlands
Section 401 water quality certification
Stormwater management law and Chesapeake Bay TMDL
Maryland tidal and nontidal wetlands protection acts
Scope and reach of jurisdiction
Regulated activities
Maryland Department of the Environment interface with federal agencies
Wetlands Permitting Process
CWA jurisdictional determinations and judicial review
The joint federal/state permit process
Determining applicability of regulations
Notice provisions
Public interest review process
Mitigation/compensation requirements
NEPA documentation
Nationwide permits and Maryland State program general permit
Appeals process
EPA veto and Corps permitting
Getting a Wetland and Waterway Permit
What are waters of the U.S. and waters of Maryland?
Types of wetlands
How are they permitted by the state and Corps of Engineers?
Waters delineation
Avoidance/minimization and project purpose
Mitigation (wetlands, streams, forests, out-of-kind)
What is a complete application?
Construction compliance
Getting Other Approvals from, and Coordination with,
Other Regulatory Criteria
Rare Species
Stormwater management and erosion and
sediment control
Water quality certification
Higher quality waters
Chesapeake Bay Critical Area
Forest Conservation Act
Credits
Attorneys
Maryland: Non-Credit CLE
6.0 New Hampshire CLE Hours
7.0 New Jersey CLE Hours
7.0 New York CLE Hours
6.0 Rhode Island CLE Hours
6.0 Vermont CLE Hours
Professional Engineers
6.0 PDHs
Floodplain Managers
6.0 ASFPM CECs
Landscape Architects
6.0 HSW PDHs
6.0 LA/CES HSW PDHs
Continuing Education Credit Information
This seminar is open to the public and offers Maryland attorneys 6.0 non-credit CLE hours. HalfMoon Education is a New York-approved provider of CLE. This traditional format, seminar offers 7.0 Areas of Professional Practice CLE hours to new and experienced attorneys. HalfMoon Education is approved as a CLE provider in New Jersey, and this course qualifies for 7.0 CLE hours. This course offers 6.0 CLE hours to New Hampshire attorneys. Course approval is not required in New Hampshire. HalfMoon Education is an approved Vermont CLE provider and this course offers 6.0 CLE hours.
This course offers 6.0 PDHs to Maryland professional engineers. Those seeking continuing education credit in other states will be able to claim the hours earned at this seminar, in most cases. Refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility.
The Association of State Floodplain Managers has approved this course for 6.0 CECs.
This program offers 6.0 HSW PDHs to Maryland landscape architects. It is approved for 6.0 HSW PDHs by the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education Sytem. Only full attendance can be reported to the LA/CES.
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.
Speakers
Andrew Der
Executive Principal of Andrew T. Der & Associates, LLCAs a regionally-recognized water resources practitioner and leader for 32 years, Mr. Der provides regulatory and scientific expertise for public and private sector clients, with a commitment to equitable and sustainable solutions to complex projects while specializing in creative linkages between ecology and engineering. Mr. Der has been in private consulting practice since 2001, first as an associate and director of Environmental Services for two civil engineering firms, then, since 2013, principal of his own consulting firm, Andrew T. Der & Associates, LLC. He previously completed 17 years of service with the Maryland Department of the Environment as a manager successfully leading major new initiatives to regulate and restore Chesapeake Bay water resources. His specialties include water resource permitting, compliance, assessment, Clean Water Act, wetland and waterway compliance, NPDES, TMDL, and stormwater management. Mr. Der is an appointed industry representative of the U. S. EPA. He is a member of the Chesapeake Bay Program Executive Council Citizens Advisory Committee, Maryland Patuxent River Commission, and Montgomery County, Maryland Executive’s Water Quality Advisory Commission.
Larry Liebesman
Smouse & Mason, LLCMr. Liebesman is a nationally-recognized environmental lawyer and litigator with more than 40 years of experience. His practices emphasizes wetlands, water pollution, and coastal issues, as well as environmental impact assessment and endangered species law. Mr. Liebesman represents a range of clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors on a broad range environmental issues at the federal and state levels. He has negotiated Clean Water Act (CWA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) permits and approvals for commercial, residential, public works and environmental restoration projects, and he has defended challenges to those permits and approvals in court. Mr. Liebesman has also participated in landmark CWA and ESA cases and has authored amicus briefs in seven major environmental cases before the United States Supreme Court. This included the Rapanos case regarding the geographic reach of CWA jurisdiction and submitted comments on the highly-controversial EPA and Corps regulation defining Waters of the United States in response to the Rapanos. He advises clients on stormwater permitting issues and sits on the Maryland State Water Quality Advisory Committee which provides advice to the Maryland Secretaries of Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture on Chesapeake Bay water quality issues. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Liebesman spent 11 years as a senior trial attorney at the Environment Division of the Department of Justice including a one year detail to the President’s Council on Environmental Quality during the Carter Administration helping to develop regulations to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). While at DOJ, he handled landmark cases under Superfund, the Clean Water Act and NEPA. Mr. Liebesman was lead counsel in NRDC v. EPA which upheld major portions of EPA’s CWA permitting program. Prior to his DOJ service, he spent two years at EPA’s Office of Federal Activities, EPA’s NEPA oversight office. Mr. Liebesman received Special Achievement and Special Commendation awards for his outstanding service at DOJ. He is a Phi Beta Kappa Graduate of Rutgers University and earned his law degree from George Washington University Law School.