Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Status and Trends
Inland Wetlands and Watercourses
Status and Trends
Pursuant to Section 22a-39(m)
of the General Statutes of Connecticut, and Section 22a-39-14
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, a municipal inland wetlands agency must complete the Statewide Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Activity Reporting Form for each action taken by the agency.
Actions include but are not limited to: permit granted, permit denied, permit extended, approved map amendment, enforcement order, jurisdictional ruling, and agent approval of activity.
See the reporting form instructions for a complete list of actions.
As part of a project funded by an EPA Wetlands Program Development Grant, the DEEP’s Inland Wetland Management Program (IWMP) has updated and migrated the previously used paper form to an online-submittable, GIS-connected form which will eliminate the need for municipalities to mail in paper forms, and ensures the information collected will be immediately accessible for data analysis.
Please see the Frequently Asked Questions below for more information!
Why is the form changing?
- The existing paper forms are entered by hand into an online database that is no longer supported by State Information Technology departments, and which doesn’t optimize analysis of the current status and trends of inland wetlands, including losses and gains. Moving to a GIS-connected database in conjunction with the online form, similar to DEEP’s wildly successful wildlife sighting online forms and database, allows for instantaneous, up-to-date record-keeping, improves analysis of inland wetlands data, and eliminates the need for municipalities to mail in forms.
Who can fill out the form?
- Authorized personnel, such as a member of the Inland Wetlands Agency, a duly appointed wetlands agent, or other municipal staff member who can reasonably verify that the information entered is correct.
Previously, the paper form was included in our application packet and filled out by the applicant. Can applicants fill out the online form?
- While the paper form identified a section that may be filled out by the applicant, it also required that a municipal personnel member complete a section of the form and then mail it in. Likewise, municipalities are free to provide a similar paper version of the online form as part of their application packet to more easily collect the necessary information, but we ask that the online SIWWARF be filled out and submitted by the municipality, not the applicant, to ensure conformance with regulations that require that the inland wetland and watercourses agency report actions to the Commissioner.
Our town has a backlog of paper forms that haven’t been mailed in yet. How should those forms be submitted?
- We encourage all municipalities to use the online form as soon as possible and to submit any paper forms that haven’t already been mailed in. The IWMP has developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for transcribing paper forms onto the online SIWWARF for submission. Please note that the forms are not identical. The online form may ask for information not included on the existing paper form and vice versa. Use your best judgement based on the information available to complete the online form to the best of your ability.
But wait, I have more questions!
- DEEP’s IWMP will be holding monthly office hours, starting March 10, 2026 at 2:00 pm to answer questions that may come up as you use the form. A link to register for these office hours has been sent to all municipalities, along with the link to the online form and the SOP developed for transcribing unsubmitted paper forms. If you are concerned that your town has not received that information, please reach out to Kristen O’Neill, IWMP program administrator, at Kristen.oneill@ct.gov.
Content last updated on March 30, 2026.