§ 13-11-2-74.5 — "Exempt isolated wetland"

Indiana § 13-11-2-74.5

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 11: DEFINITIONS

Text

5. (a) "Exempt isolated wetland", for
purposes of IC 13-18 and environmental management laws, means an
isolated wetland that:
(1) is a voluntarily created wetland unless:
(A) the wetland is approved by the department for
compensatory mitigation purposes in accordance with a permit
issued under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act or IC 13-18-22;
(B) the wetland is reclassified as a state regulated wetland
under IC 13-18-22-6(g); or
(C) the owner of the wetland declares, by a written instrument:
(i) recorded in the office of the recorder of the county or
counties in which the wetland is located; and
(ii) filed with the department;
that the wetland is to be considered in all respects to be a state
regulated wetland;
(2) exists as an incidental feature in or on:
(A) a residential lawn;
(B) a lawn or landscaped area of a commercial or governmental
complex;
(C) agricultural land;
(D) a roadside ditch;
(E) an irrigation ditch; or
(F) a manmade drainage control structure;
(3) is a fringe wetland associated with a private pond;
(4) is, or is associated with, a manmade body of surface water of
any size created by:
(A) excavating;
(B) diking; or
(C) excavating and diking;
dry land to collect and retain water for or incidental to
agricultural, commercial, industrial, or aesthetic purposes;
(5) is a Class I wetland;
(6) subject to subsection (c), is a Class II wetland that:
(A) is not located within the boundaries of a municipality, and
has an area, as delineated, of not more than three-eighths (3/8)
acre; or
(B) is located within the boundaries of a municipality, and has
an area, as delineated, of not more than three-fourths (3/4) acre;
(7) is located on land:
(A) subject to regulation under United States Department of
Agriculture wetland conservation programs, including
Swampbuster and the Wetlands Reserve Program, because of
voluntary enrollment in a federal farm program; and
(B) used for agricultural or other purposes allowed under the
programs referred to in clause (A); or
(8) is constructed for reduction or control of pollution.
(b) For purposes of subsection (a)(2), an isolated wetland exists as
an incidental feature:
(1) if:
(A) the owner or operator of the property or facility described
in subsection (a)(2) does not intend the isolated wetland to be
a wetland;
(B) the isolated wetland is not essential to the function or use
of the property or facility; and
(C) the isolated wetland arises spontaneously as a result of
damp soil conditions incidental to the function or use of the
property or facility; and
(2) if the isolated wetland satisfies any other factors or criteria
established in rules that are:
(A) adopted by the board; and
(B) not inconsistent with the factors and criteria described in
subdivision (1).
(c) The total acreage of Class II wetlands on a tract to which the
exemption described in subsection (a)(6) may apply is limited to the
larger of:
(1) the acreage of the largest individual isolated wetland on the
tract that qualifies for the exemption described in subsection
(a)(6); and
(2) sixty percent (60%) of the cumulative acreage of all individual
isolated wetlands on the tract that would qualify for the exemption
described in subsection (a)(6) but for the limitation of this
subsection.
(d) An isolated wetland described in subsection (a)(5) or (a)(6) does
not include an isolated wetland on a tract that contains more than one
(1) of the same class of wetland until the owner of the tract notifies the
department that the owner has selected the isolated wetland to be an
exempt isolated wetland under subsection (a)(5) or (a)(6).

Legislative History

As added by P.L.282-2003, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.52-2004, SEC.3; P.L.241-2005, SEC.3; P.L.113-2014, SEC.47; P.L.160-2021, SEC.4; P.L.1-2024, SEC.3.