The Utah Division of Water Quality (UDWQ) eliminated their Wetland Program in February, 2021. The Utah Wetland Program is now run entirely from the Utah Geological Survey. Programs within and outside UDWQ share responsibility for the regulation and management of Utah’s wetlands.
UDWQ Partners
UDWQ 401 Water Quality Certification
The purpose of the UDWQ 401 Water Quality Certification program is to ensure that federally permitted or licensed activities (such as 404 permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) will be conducted in a manner that will comply with applicable Utah discharge and water quality requirements in order to maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of waters affected by the project.
- Meghan Albers (malbers@utah.gov), (801) 536-4193
401 Water Quality Certification Coordinator
Willard Spur Water Quality Study
The Willard Spur Water Quality Study’s goal was to determine appropriate and defensible modifications to Utah’s water quality standards to ensure long-term protection of Willard Spur’s aquatic life.
- Jeff Ostermiller (jostermiller@utah.gov), (801) 536-4370
Nutrient Reduction Coordinator & Willard Spur
Utah Water Quality Standards
Standards for Quality for Waters of the State are contained in UAC R317-2. DWQ maintains an informal copy of the standards, download the document (245 KB). The official version of R317-2 is maintained by Division of Administrative Rules. The water quality standards are intended to protect Utah’s waters and improve the quality for beneficial uses. Beneficial uses include drinking water, fish and aquatic life, wildlife, agricultural, industrial, and recreational uses. Once the beneficial uses are established, criteria that are protective of the beneficial use are set.
- Chris Bittner (cbittner@utah.gov), (801) 536-4371.
Standards Coordinator
Utah Geological Survey
The Utah Wetland Program is run through collaboration between UDWQ and the Utah Geological Survey. UGS works on wetland mapping and classification and conducting wetland rapid assessment surveys with the goal of providing data on Utah’s wetland resources to decision-makers to inform management, restoration, conservation, and mitigation decisions.
- Diane Menuz (dmenuz@utah.gov), (801) 538-7436
Utah State Wetlands Coordinator - Visit the Utah Wetland Information Center
- Visit the Utah Wetland Mapper
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources manages wetlands within several state waterfowl management areas, including a number located around Great Salt Lake.
- Chad Cranney (chadcranney@utah.gov), (801) 388-3942
Manager, Public Shooting Grounds and Salt Creek WMAs - Jason Jones (jasonjones@utah.gov), (801) 678-6781
Manager, Farmington Bay WMA - Rich Hansen (richhansen@utah.gov), (801) 391-1454
Manager, Ogden Bay, Harold Crane, and Howard Slough WMAs
Federal Partners
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires permits to modify wetlands through dredging and filling. The program is run jointly by the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Violations
Questions about potential violations of the CWA in Utah wetlands should be directed to:
- The USACE Intermountain Regulatory Branch (cespk-regulatory-info@usace.army.mil) (801) 295-8380
Utah is located within EPA Region 8 (Mountains and Plains) (r8eisc@epa.gov), (303) 312-6312
