Ch. 8— Limitations of the 404 Program for Protecting Wetlands • 169 



as the resulting dredged material is disposed of on 

 a nonwetland site. The wetland area may be exca- 

 vated to provide a source of fill, to provide greater 

 storage area for drainage of other wetland areas, 

 or to create reuse pits or dugouts to store water and 

 improve irrigation efficiency (e.g., Florida (1), 

 Nebraska (4)). 



Lowering Ground Water Levels 



Reducing the supply of water to wetlands 

 through pumping is not covered under 404. This 

 is an important activity for irrigation of cropland 

 in some regions, such as the Central Platte River 

 Valley and the Sandhills of Nebraska (4). It also 

 may impact wetlands in a few isolated locations, 

 such as the California desert, where limited water 

 supplies are in demEind for mining, agriculture, and 

 ranching (3). Pumping to drain wetlands is also a 

 technique that has been used in conjunction with 

 excavation and fill projects by developers to im- 

 prove the quality of a site prior to construction (1). 



Flooding of Wetlands 



Flooding wetlands or creating reuse pits for irri- 

 gation is not covered under the 404 program. These 

 practices, which occur in places like the prairie-pot- 

 hole region (2) and the Rainwater Basin in Nebras- 

 ka (4), may significantly change the character of 

 a wetland and alter its habitat values. Flooding of 

 wetlands involving construction of an impound- 

 ment most likely would involve the discharge of fill 

 material and would require 404 review unless the 

 project was exempted from coverage for some other 

 reason, such as exemption for farm ponds, nation- 

 wide permit for headwaters, and exempted Federal 

 construction projects. 



Deposition of Material Other Than Dredged 

 and Fill Material 



The Corps regulates the discharge of fill material 

 if "the primary purpose is to replace an aquatic 

 area with dry land or change the bottom elevation 

 of a water body. "' The Corps' authority to regulate 

 the disposed of waste materials, such as wood waste, 

 construction rubble, and household garbage in wet- 

 lands is not clear. The Corps has asserted that these 



'33 CFR 323.2 (m). 



materials should be regulated by EPA under sec- 

 tion 402 of CWA because the primary purpose of 

 the activity is to dispose of waste. EPA contends 

 that the Corps should regulate these activities under 

 section 404. This controversy, which is apparently 

 close to resolution, has been an issue in cases in- 

 volving disposal of logging slash and expansion of 

 landfills into wetlands. 



Removal of Wetland Vegetation 



Activities resulting in a gradual transition of an 

 area to nonwetland can take place without 404 re- 

 view in most regions of the country. For example, 

 during the dry season in western Broward County, 

 Florida, sawgrass has been mowed and chopped 

 into the soil (1). Grass seed and fertilizer are then 

 spread by aerial application. When the sawgrass 

 sends up new shoots, cattle are introduced. Since 

 they feed on the sawgrass preferentially, the seeded 

 grass becomes the dominant species. The area is 

 then no longer a wetland as defined by the Corps, 

 and jurisdiction is lost for regulating development. 

 In other circumstances, removal of vegetation in- 

 volving the incidental discharge of dredged or fill 

 material from activities with the purpose of bring- 

 ing an area into a new use may require a permit 

 under section 404(F)(2). 



Activities on Nonwetland Areas 



Activities on nonwetland areas also can injure 

 wetlands. For example, in the Platte River Valley 

 and the Sandhills, land-use changes from ranching 

 to irrigated cropland result in seasonal and long- 

 term ground water drawdown and the subsequent 

 conversion of wetlands. Upstream withdrawals of 

 surface water can have adverse impacts on down- 

 stream wedands. Diversions for irrigation and other 

 uses, especially when accompanied by impound- 

 ments, reduce peak and average annual flows, 

 which are important for maintaining some wet- 

 lands, such as the wet meadows along the Platte 

 River in Nebraska (4). Erosion from land-disturb- 

 ing activities and runoff containing pesticides and 

 herbicides used on agricultural land can all impact 

 wetlands. 



These development activities cannot be viewed 

 in isolation from other gaps in the 404 program for 

 providing wedand protection. A development activ- 



