On July 1, 2021, amendments to Indiana’s State Regulated Wetland Law became effective. The changes are the result of SEA 389 (Public Law 160) which greatly reduced the number of non-federal wetlands regulated by the state. It is important to note the law did not eliminate protections of state wetlands; regulations governing wetlands remain at both the state and federal level. In order to confirm that a wetland is not regulated, a person seeking to impact the wetland must take certain steps.
First, they must confirm that the wetland is not a Water of the United States (WOTUS) regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) by getting a jurisdictional determination from the USACE. Only the USACE can make a definitive jurisdictional determination.
As a result of these changes, IDEM has worked to establish various technical guidance documents which support updates to implementation of the State Regulated Wetland Law to provide transparency, consistency, and reproducible results to the public and regulated community.
Additional information may also be found on the Frequently Asked Questions page, Project Planning Page and Application Materials Page.
- Wetland Classification Form (available on the IDEM Forms page)
- State Regulated Wetland Class Determination Technical Guidance [PDF]
- Class III Wetland Guidance [PDF]
- Development in Cropland Exemption Technical Guidance [PDF]
- Tile Maintenance General Permit [PDF]