|
 n August 10, 2000, the Clinton- Gore Administration
proposed significant new protection for tens of thousands of
acres of environmentally valuable wetlands across the United
States. Under this action, the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Army Corps of Engineers are proposing to address a major
regulatory loophole in the Clean Water Act by clarifying the
types of activities that can harm wetlands and thus, require
regulation.
 "The
Clinton-Gore Administration is committed to protecting America's
environment. Wetlands are essential to preserving clean and healthy
water for all Americans," said EPA Administrator Carol M.
Browner. "Unfortunately, due to a legal loophole that has
been exploited, an additional 20,000 acres of wetlands have been
lost in this country over the last two years. The action we take
today strengthens the protection of these vital resources for
future generations."
"Today's
proposal will allow us to go as far as we can through administrative
reforms to close this loophole and protect wetlands. We also
call on Congress to strengthen the Clean Water Act to fully protect
and restore America's wetlands," Browner added.
Wetlands are
a collective term for marshes, swamps, bogs and similar wet land
areas generally located between dry land and bodies of water.
They are an invaluable part of the ecosystem, filtering and cleansing
the nation's waters, helping to retain flood waters, and harboring
emerging fish and shellfish populations.
Destruction
of wetlands can increase flooding and runoff potential, harm
neighboring property, cause stream and river pollution, and result
in the loss of valuable habitat.
Since the
late 1700s, over half the nation's wetlands have been lost to
development and other activities. Seven states have lost more
than 80 percent of their original wetlands.
EPA and the
Corps are proposing to regulate certain activities that often
destroy or fill in wetlands. Today's proposal will clarify the
current regulations under the Clean Water Act, Section 404, to
address environmentally destructive earth-moving activities (such
as mechanized land clearing, ditching, channelization, and in-stream
mining) associated with draining wetlands.
Under Section
404 of the Clean Water Act, the Corps issues permits after it
completes a careful environmental review of dredged material
from proposed projects, including the potential adverse effects
on wetlands. This permit program is designed to minimize the
environmental impact on wetlands, while also requiring offsetting
actions, such as creating or restoring other wetlands.
To protect
wetlands, EPA and the Corps first clarified in August 1993 that
Clean Water Act permits were required for any discharges associated
with draining wetlands. Referred to as the "Tulloch"
rule, that definition was challenged by a number of trade associations
and overturned in January l997 by the US District Court for the
District of Columbia. Affirmed in June 1998 by the US Court of
Appeals, the Court's decision resulted in a loophole in the wetlands
regulatory program, leaving certain forms of environmentally
destructive activities essentially unchecked.
Since the
l997 District Court decision, EPA and the Corps estimate that
nearly 20,000 acres of wetlands have been destroyed and more
than 150 miles of streams channeled without environmental review
or mitigation.
Today's new
wetlands proposal is expected to protect tens of thousands of
acres of wetlands from destruction each year. In addition to
realizing no net loss of wetlands through the Clean Water Act
regulatory program, the Clinton-Gore Administration's Clean Water
Action Plan has already committed to an annual net gain of 100,000
acres of wetlands beginning in 2005 through wetlands restoration
programs.
The proposal
by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Corps of Engineers
would enhance protection of the Nation's aquatic resources, including
wetlands, by clarifying those types of activities that are likely
to result in a discharge of dredged material subject to Clean
Water Act section 404 permitting. The proposed rule would establish
a rebuttable presumption that because of the nature of the equipment
and activities, mechanized land-clearing, ditching, channelization,
in-stream mining, or other mechanized excavation activity in
waters of the United States produce more than incidental fallback
and result in a regulable discharge of dredged material subject
to environmental review under Section 404 of the Clean Water
Act. The presumption of discharge can be rebutted by a case-by-case
showing that the activity was designed and conducted so as to
result only in incidental fallback.
The proposal
to change the definition of dredged materials will be published
in the Federal Register soon and will be open for public
comment for 60 days. A fact sheet, additional information and
a pre-publication version of the Federal Register notice
are available on EPA's Office of Water home page at: www.epa.gov/ow.
Click on "What's New" or contact the wetlands helpline
at (800) 832-7828. 
|
