Chapter 9 



Capabilities of the States in 

 Managing the Use of Wetlands 



CHAPTER SUMMARY 



Almost all 30 coastal States (including those bor- 

 dering the Great Lakes) have programs that direcdy 

 or indirectly regulate the use of their coastal wet- 

 lands. These programs often rely on Federal fund- 

 ing from the Department of Commerce's Office of 

 Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM). 

 Only a few inland States have specific wedand pro- 

 grams. Through a combination of the program to 

 enforce section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) 

 and State programs, most coastal wetlands are 

 regulated reasonably well; inland wetlands general- 

 ly are not regulated by the States. 



Representatives from most States with wetland 

 programs feel that State and Federal programs com- 

 plement one another. Corps districts often let State 

 agencies take the lead in protecting wetlands, using 

 the 404 program to support their efforts. Other 

 States rely on Federal programs. State influence on 



Federal programs, local regulation, and State pro- 

 grams that may indirectly affect the use of wedands 

 in the course of performing other primary func- 

 tions. 



States can assume the legal responsibility for ad- 

 ministering that portion of the 404 program that 

 does not cover traditionally navigable waters if cer- 

 tain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re- 

 quirements are met. Twelve States have evaluated 

 or are evaluating this possibility, and four are ad- 

 ministering pilot programs to gain practical experi- 

 ence prior to possible program assumption. In gen- 

 eral, most States have neither the capability nor the 

 desire to assume sole responsibility for regulating 

 wetland use without additional resources from the 

 Federal Government; some States would be reluc- 

 tant to do so even with resources. 



GENERAL STATE WETLAND CAPABILITIES 



States may assume the legal responsibility for ad- 

 ministering portions of the 404 program if certain 

 requirements established by EPA are met. The ad- 

 ministration and the leadership of the U.S. Army 

 Corps of Engineers have also stressed the desirabili- 

 ty of transferring a large proportion of the respon- 

 sibility for regulating the use of wetlands to the 

 States. This could be done by decreasing the area 

 regulated by the Corps to historically navigable 

 waters, thereby de facto increasing the State role; 

 increasing funding for State regulatory programs; 

 granting additional powers to States to regulate 

 broad areas under general permits without formal 

 assumption of the 404 program; and easing the 

 standards for such assumption. 



During the course of this study, OTA examined 

 the capabilities of the States in managing the use 

 of wetlands. Although a thorough review of the 

 capabilities of individual States was beyond the 

 scope of this study, OTA did examine many State 

 programs through a State survey, to which 48 States 

 responded, and 10 regional case studies, which 

 commented on 21 State programs. 



Of all 30 coastal States (including States border- 

 ing the Great Lakes), the majority claimed high 

 State coverage of coastal wetlands. About 20 indi- 

 cated that their programs are more dominant than 

 the 404 program in their State; half of these States 

 said the 404 program was completely redundant. 



137 



