Agenda

This seminar will now take place online as a webinar.

To register, please visit: https://www.halfmoonseminars.org/seminars/133332/wetland-compliance-and-permitting-seminar/online

 

 

Registration:                        8:00 – 8:30 am

Morning Session:                8:30 am – 12:30 pm

Lunch (On your own):         12:30 – 1:30 pm

Afternoon Session:             1:30 – 4:00 pm

Identifying Wetlands 
J. Larson, PhD

    Presence of wetland vegetation
   Identification of wetland soils
   Importance of underlying wetland hydrology

Local Stream Restoration and Monitoring Projects 
R.P. Sliwinski

   Wildlife habitat
      • Fish
      • Mussels
      • Macroinvertebrates

Case Study 
D. Eubanks, A. Dodd

   Converted a township administrative campus into environmental   
      campus by converting a floodplain to wetland with other native
      plantings and community garden

Wetland Permitting Process 
M. Machalek, B. Cummings

   Clean Water Act Section 404 overview
      • USACE jurisdiction
      • Jurisdictional determinations
      • Appeals process
   Wetland determinations and delineations
      • Applicable regional supplements
   Permitting process
      • General permit
      • Mitigation requirements
   Enforcement actions

Focus on Benefits and Preservation  
of Wetlands on Agricultural Lands 
S.W. Chu

   Identifying farmed wetlands
   Farmed wetlands benefits to downstream flood attenuation and water quality
   Preservation of wetlands typically increases floristic quality 
      assessment and wildlife habitat use
   Farmed wetlands provide great opportunity for wetland mitigation projects
   Potential wetland mitigation banks with farmed wetlands

Credits

Attorneys
     6.0 Illinois CLE Hours

Professional Engineers
     6.0 PDHs

Landscape Architects
     6.0 HSW Continuing Ed. Hours
     6.0 LA/CES HSW PDHs

Architects
     6.0 HSW Contact Hours
     6.0 AIA LU|HSW

Floodplain Managers
     6.0 ASFPM CECs

Continuing Education Credit Information

This seminar is open to the public and offers 6.0 PDHs to professional engineers, 6.0 HSW contact hours to architects, and 6.0 HSW continuing education hours to landscape architects licensed in Illinois. Educators and courses are not subject to pre-approval in Illinois.

The Illinois MCLE Board has approved this course for 6.0 MCLE general credit hours for attorneys.

This course is approved by the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System for 6.0 LU|HSW (Sponsor No. J885) and the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System for 6.0 HSW PDHs. Visit www.halfmoonseminars.org for complete AIA/CES information under this seminar listing. Only full attendance is reportable to the AIA/CES and LA/CES.

The Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System has approved this course for 6.0 HSW PDHs. Only full attendance is reportable to the LA/CES.

The Association for State Floodplain Managers has approved this event for 6.0 CECs.

Speakers

Stephen Chu

Arcadis U.S., Inc.

Stephen W. Chu, PWS, is a senior ecologist at Arcadis U.S., Inc. with over 17 years of experience managing and completing complex ecology-related projects for both public- and private-sector clients in transportation, oil and gas, renewable energy, and commercial/residential development. He is a professional wetland scientist, a certified senior ecologist with the Ecological Society of America, and a certified arborist, and he is recognized as an assured wetland delineator with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Chu’s areas of expertise include wetland delineation, wetland mitigation design, wetland restoration, wetland and native area monitoring, habitat surveys, tree surveys, threatened and endangered species surveys, environmental permitting, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) environmental documentation. He has extensive experience with fieldwork and permitting projects throughout the Midwest. Mr. Chu also serves on the Society of Wetland Scientist Professional Certification Program Review Panel.

Brielle Cummings

Chicago District Regulatory Branch

Brielle Cummings, USACE, has worked with the Chicago District Regulatory Branch for three years, serving as the primary project manager for McHenry and DuPage Counties in Illinois. She holds a BS degree in Biology with GIS Technology Certification from University Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and an MPA degree in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Bloomington. During her three years in Chicago, Ms. Cummings has reviewed and issued 444 permits, and has finalized 634 actions across all counties of the district, including Indiana. Ms. Cummings also serves as a geospatial technology point-of-contact for the Regulatory Branch and a member of the national USACE GIS emergency response team.

Alicia Dodd

Alicia Dodd is Fremont Township’s recently-appointed Highway Commissioner. Ms. Dodd is known for her creative problem solving, community education and resource management. Her involvement with Fremont Township started in 2014 with the creation of a volunteer community garden built on permaculture principles. Ms. Dodd’s role on the Parks Committee resulted in converting numerous problem areas to native plants and reducing routine maintenance by using no-mow fescues. With the help of Dave Eubanks, Fremont was awarded a ComEd Green Regions Grant to transform their administrative property to an Environmental Campus, showcasing native landscaping and green infrastructure for stormwater management. Her involvement with the Highway Department has included erosion control, stream bank restoration, tackling invasive and aggressive species, responsible use of salt in winter operations, and public education on native plants for improving water quality and stormwater management.

David Eubanks

David M. Eubanks is an ecologist and environmental planner with his own consulting practice based on 30 years of professional experience in the civic and public sectors. Since 1997, Mr. Eubanks founded and built a successful ecological restoration and consulting firm that focuses on native landscape design and shoreline erosion control using bioengineered plant solutions. In 1997 through 2000, he served as the consulting aquatic curator to launch the Aquatic Initiative for the Chicago Botanic Garden, a major effort to improve and stabilize water quality, shoreline, and aquatic plant collection. Mr. Eubanks has led numerous ecosystem projects, working with hundreds of clients across 500 acres of land and lakes owned by homeowners, government, civic land trusts, private institutions, corporations, homeowner associations and private estates. He has facilitated some major planning/restoration efforts.

John L. Larson

Applied Ecological Services, Inc., Brodhead, WI
Mr. Larson is a principal ecologist at Applied Ecological Services (AES) and a certified senior ecologist with the Ecological Society of America. During his 28-year tenure at AES, he has focused on wetland restoration and design, wetland construction and construction oversight, and vegetation/hydrology monitoring of mitigation sites. His experience at AES includes acting as project ecologist for The Nature Conservancy’s 7,200-acre Kankakee Sands wetland and prairie restoration in Indiana and a 575-acre wetland restoration project in Seneca Falls, New York. He has also been involved in over two dozen wetland mitigation banks in the Midwest, has recently permitted a wetland mitigation bank in Iowa and is currently preparing a mitigation banking instrument for a site in Wisconsin. Dr. Larson has been a lead scientist at AES in the ecological monitoring of hundreds of wetland restoration and mitigation projects. Additional areas of expertise include ecological restoration and management planning and design, environmental review documents, floristic analysis, land cover-type mapping, threatened and endangered species investigations, and stormwater management design for flood control and water quality. He has also completed over 300 wetland delineations throughout the Midwest. 

Michael Machalek

Chicago District Regulatory Branch

Michael Machalek, USACE, has worked for the Chicago District Regulatory Branch for 28 years, serving as the senior enforcement officer. Working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Machalek has accumulated approximately $25 million in civil penalties throughout his career, and has a 100 percent conviction rate when going to trial. The bulk of the money received has gone to fund the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s Wetland Conservation Account, as well as help other non-profit agencies such as the McHenry County Conservation District and the Openlands Project to acquire property and restore natural areas. He was also the team leader on all of the field testing for the Midwest Supplement for the 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual in our region, and he helped write the manual with the national team. Mr. Machalek also serves as the local expert for Jurisdictional Determinations within the Chicago District

Robert Sliwinski, MS, CPESC

Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd

Mr. Sliwinski, MS, CPESC, is a senior environmental resource specialist/senior wildlife biologist at Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. Mr. Sliwinski has 28 years of experience, of which 23 years has been with the Environmental Resources Department at CBBEL completing wildlife related projects that include endangered species studies, fish and wildlife surveys, wetland and natural area restoration, controlled burns and airport wildlife hazard assessments/plans/training in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. He has worked on projects such as Baker’s Lake Heronry Restoration in Barrington, Illinois; Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary in Evanston, Illinois; and Tyler Creek Stream Relocation projects in Elgin, Illinois. Additionally, Mr. Sliwinski is on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association of Environmental Professionals and is adjunct faculty at DePaul University in Lincoln Park Chicago teaching bird identification and aquatic fauna classes.

AIA Info

AIA Provider Statement:

HalfMoon Education Inc. is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number J885. All registered AIA/CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider of learning program may be sent to AIA/CES (cesupport@aia.org or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).

This learning program is registered with AIA/CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.

AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA/CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA/CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.

Course Title: Illinois Wetlands Compliance and Permitting

Delivery Method: Live

Course Description: This six-hour, live lecture presentation examines identifying wetlands, local stream restoration and monitoring projects, wetland permitting process, and the focus on benefits and preservation of wetlands and agriculture lands.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objective 1:
Learners will be able to identify the presence of wetland vegetation and wetland soils and the importance of underlying wetland hydrology.

Learning Objective 2:
Learners will be able to identify wildlife species found in local streams, including how they are monitored.

Learning Objective 3:
Learners will be able to be able to describe the wetland permitting process, including wetland delineations and the determinations, wetland permitting, and enforcement.

Learning Objective 4:
Learners will be able to identify farmed wetlands and discuss how they provide great opportunities for wetland mitigation projects, increased floristic quality assessments, and wildlife habitat.

LUs: 6.0                                                                                              LU Type: LU|HSWs

Prerequisites: Experience with site development

Advance Preparation: None

Program Level: Intermediate

Course Expiration Date: 01/16/2023

Complaint Resolution Policy:

Complaints regarding this course can be emailed to doug@halfmoonseminars.org or by calling (715) 835-5900. A HalfMoon Education representative will respond within 72 hours to resolve the complaint, which will include, but not limited to, access to another CE activity at no or reduced cost or a full or partial refund. Each instance will be resolved on a case-by-case situation.

Streamable MP4/PDF Price: $279.00