Laws addressing seasonal pools are provided at federal and state levels.  Federal laws supercede state laws, and state laws are used to fill in gaps that federal laws do not cover or address. 

                   
FEDERAL LAWS

Federal Clean Water Act

Prior to 2001 under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulated navigable and interstate water bodies, as well as all other water bodies such as lakes, streams and wetlands that were not navigable or were completely contained within one state.  Isolated wetlands were included because the use, degradation, or destruction of these wetlands could affect interstate commerce. 

In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled on Solid Waste Authority of Northern Cook County versus the United States Army Corps of Engineers (531 U.S. 159, 2001).  In this case (called SWANCC), the Corps had asserted jurisdiction over a group of isolated wetlands because they were used as habitat by migratory birds and therefore had an interstate connection.  The Supreme Court decided that the Army Corps could not regulate isolated waters under the CWA.  Isolated waters were defined as water bodies (including wetlands) that are not connected to or adjacent to navigable waters or waters that cross state boundaries.  This decision effectively placed the protection of isolated waters in the hands of state and local governments. 

Under current laws, an isolated wetland must be hydrologically connected to a navigable stream or the tributary of a navigable stream in order to be protected under the CWA.   The U.S. Army Corps and EPA issued a joint memorandum to provide guidance to their field offices in light of the SWANCC decision. 

They recommended considering jurisdiction over "other waters", which are isolated, non-navigable, and intrastate, on a case-by-case basis.  They may still exert jurisdiction over certain isolated wetlands based on factors such as hydrological, chemical, and physical connections to and proximity to navigable waters.  Cases to further define what constitutes “hydrologically connected” are still being decided in the courts.
                
Endangered Species Act
                             
When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, it recognized that our rich natural heritage is of “esthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value to our Nation and its people.” It further expressed concern that many of our nation’s native plants and animals were in danger of becoming extinct. The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It is administered by the Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Commerce Department’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The major habitats required by a federally endangered species may be protected under the Endangered Species Act.  Currently there is one federally endangered element, the Northeastern Bulrush (Scirpus ancistrochaetus) that has seasonal pools listed as a major habitat under the Endangered Species Act. 

STATE LAWS
                
Seasonal pools are provided protection in Pennsylvania under Dam Safety and Waterway Management (25 Pa. Code Chapter 105).  They are not specifically defined in the legislation, but fall into the category of a "body of water" according to the regulations (105.1).  Chapter 105 protects waters of Pennsylvania from encroachments, which are any structures or activities which change the course, current, or cross section of a body of water.  Permits are also necessary to directly impact seasonal pools by fill or excavation.
                 
Additional protection for some seasonal pool species is provided under the Endangered Species section of the Pennsylvania Code (58 Pa. Code Chapter 75).  Pennsylvania protects any species that is on the state’s threatened or endangered species lists.  Section 75.1 of the Pennsylvania Code states that “…The catching, taking, killing, possessing, importing to or exporting from this Commonwealth, selling, offering for sale or purchasing of any individual of these species, alive or dead, or any part thereof, without a special permit from the Executive Director is prohibited.”  According to the Pennsylvania Code (Section 75), the Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii) is the only species considered Threatened or Endangered that uses seasonal pool habitats (last accessed March 1, 2006).

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION ON LAWS ADDRESSING SEASONAL POOL WETLANDS

To see the EPA / U.S. Army Corps joint legal memorandum on the scope of the Clean Water Act jurisdiction in light of the SWANCC ruling (January 2003):
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/SWANCC/Joint_Memo.pdf

For information on species covered under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Act:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html#Species

For information on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act:
http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/cwa.htm

To see the current Pennsylvania Code Title 25 (Environmental Protection) Chapter 105 (Dam Safety and Waterway Management):
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/025/chapter105/chap105toc.html

To see the current Pennsylvania Code Title 58 (Recreation) Chapter 75 (Endangered Species): http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/058/chapter75/chap75toc.html