Ch. 4 — Wetland Programs That Affect the Use of Wetlands • 83 



In cases where several agencies within a State com- 

 ment on an appUcation and conflict, and no agen- 

 cy has been designated to provide a single State po- 

 sition, the Corps will ask the State's Governor to 

 designate such an agency to provide his/her views 

 directly.'^ Finally, division engineers will refer per- 

 mit applications to the Chief of Engineers in cases 

 where the recommended decision is contrary to the 

 stated (1982 revisions: written) position of the Gov- 

 ernor of the State in which the work is to be per- 

 formed.*^ The Corps generally will issue a permit 

 following receipt of a favorable State determina- 

 tion unless it finds "overriding national factors of 

 the public interest" that cause it to overrule the 

 State permit decision.'* 



Section 401 of CWA provides that no Federal 

 license or permit for an activity that may result in 

 a discharge into navigable waters shall be issued 

 unless the State in which the discharge originates 

 certifies that such a discharge will comply with the 

 provisions of CWA. The main application of this 

 section is to 404-permit requests. Generally, the 

 State agency responsible for water quality decides 

 on certification. A few States use this section as their 

 chief means of regulating wetland development. 



Coastal Zone Management Act 



Section 307(c) of the Coastal Zone Management 

 Act (CZMA) of 1972 requires that all Federal ac- 



"Clean Water Act, sec. 320.4(j)(3). 

 "Clean Water Act, sec. 325.8(b)(2). 

 "Clean Water Act, sec. 320.4(j)(4). 



tivities significantly affecting the coastal zones of 

 States with CZM plans approved by the Secretary 

 of Commerce be conducted in a manner consistent 

 with such State CZM plans. In States with ap- 

 proved CZM programs, applicants for 404 permits 

 must include in their application to the Corps a cer- 

 tification that the proposed activity complies with 

 the State's program. If within a 6-month period the 

 State agency responsible for coastal zone manage- 

 ment informs the Corps that it does not concur in 

 the applicant's certification of consistency, the 

 Corps may not issue the permit, unless the Secre- 

 tary of Commerce overrides that State's objection 

 on grounds that the activity is consistent with the 

 purposes of CZMA or is necessary in the interests 

 of national security. 



Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 



Under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

 and the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970, any 

 Federal agency that proposes to control or modify 

 any body of water must first consult with FWS, 

 NMFS, and the head of the appropriate State agen- 

 cy administering the wildlife resources of the State 

 concerned. While the Act does not give State agen- 

 cies a concrete power to veto or modify Federal pro- 

 posals, it does mandate a certain level of State in- 

 volvement in the consideration of many projects 

 potentially affecting wetlands. 



LOCAL PROGRAMS 



In some areas of the country, the principal means 

 of wetland protection outside of the 404 program 

 come from local programs. Some localities have ac- 

 quired wetlands directly or have included wetland 

 parcels along with other land acquisitions for parks 



and other protected areas. In addition, some pro- 

 tection is afforded by local implementation of State 

 or Federal regulations. For instance, State shore- 

 land zoning administered by localities in several 

 States (e.g., Wisconsin) has provisions that protect 



