also known as the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended). Section 404 of the Clean Water Act establishes the federal authority to regulate activities in wetlands. Under Section 404, jointly administered by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the discharge of material into waters of the United States, including wetlands, requires a permit from the Corps based on regulations developed in conjunction with EPA (Winter 109). Failure to obtain a permit or comply with the terms of a permit can result in civil and/or criminal penalties. Other federal regulations and guidelines have been issued which further the goal of wetland protection and improved wetlands management. Many state and local governments have also enacted regulations and ordinances protecting wetlands. One cause of wetland depletion is the construction of roads and bridges across wetlands since wetlands have low land value. It is often considered to be more cost effective to build roads or bridges across wetlands than around them (Winter 213). Roads can impound a wetland, even if culverts are used. Such inadvertent impoundment and hydrologic alteration can change the functions of the wetland (Winter 223). Road and bridge construction activities can increase sediment loading to wetlands (Mitsch and Gosselink 96). Roads can also disrupt habitat continuity, driving out more sensitive, interior species, and providing habitat for hardier opportunistic edge and non-native species. Roads can impede movement of certain species or result in increased mortality for animals crossing them. Borrow pits (used to provide fill for road construction) that are adjacent to wetlands can degrade water quality through sedimentation and increase turbidity in the wetland (Irwin 34). The maintenance and use of roads contribute many chemicals into the surrounding wetlands. Rock salt used for deicing roads can damage or kill vegetation and aqua...
