192 • Wetlands: Their Use and Regulation 



struction of surface-water management systems do 

 not adversely affect water resources. The district 

 has authority to designate conservation areas; how- 

 ever, since it can only obtain easements for water- 

 flow, damage to wetlands from development still 

 can occur (1). 



Implementation Procedures 



The implementation procedures of some State 

 programs ensure better compliance with wetland 

 regulations than do some aspects of the Corps' 404 

 program. For example, the Mississippi program has 

 a reporting requirement for exempted activities. In 

 addition, exempted activities must be granted an 

 exemption and must still comply with the public 

 purpose of the wetlands law, which is to preserve 

 coastal wetlands except where a higher public in- 

 terest is served that is consistent with the public trust 

 (2). The Mississippi program also has a mechanism 

 to eliminate unnecessary wetland alteration from 

 activities of State agencies. Four agencies must ap- 

 prove State activities (2). 



The State general permit program of the South 

 Florida Water Management District has notifica- 

 tion requirements that differ from those of the 

 Corps (1). To obtain a general permit, an appli- 

 cant must have the project reviewed to ensure that 

 certain standards will be met. 



Some States administer programs on a regional 

 level. This practice is thought to provide greater 

 opportunities for monitoring and enforcement, to 

 ensure that decisions are made with a better under- 

 standing of local circumstances, to reduce travel 

 time and other costs, and to provide applicants with 

 better access to regulatory personnel (1). 



State and Federal procedures for making deci- 

 sions about wetland use may not be the same, al- 

 though a similar decision may give the impression 

 that the programs are duplicative. For example, 

 Alaska requirements for oil and gas activities on 

 State lease sale tracts of wet tundra often duplicate 

 requirements on the activities imposed through the 

 404 program. The State review of operational plans 

 for these activities is conducted by four State agen- 

 cies. But the review process does not involve the 



general public or local governments; the 404 review 

 of the same project application may. Critics of the 

 State review process note that the State agency with 

 responsibility for decisions on these operational 

 plans also has primary responsibility for develop- 

 ing State oil and gas resources and for accounting 

 for State revenues (5). 



Several Corps districts have been working with 

 State program officials to reduce regulatory overlap 

 and permit processing delays. For example, the 

 Wilmington District's efforts include (10): 



• Joint applications: the Corps and North 



Carolina Office of Coastal Management 

 (NCOCM) developed a single permit applica- 

 tion for obtaining necessary State and Federal 

 approvals for regulated projects. 



• Joint public notice: a single public notice was 



prepared to meet both State and Federal 

 requirements. 



• Joint preapplication meetings and onsite visits: 



applicants meet with Federal and State officials 

 to review potential projects. For nonroutine 

 projects, a joint onsite meeting is held prior 

 to the submission of a permit application. 



• Joint postapplication meetings: when review 



agencies have objections to a proposed project, 

 the Wilmington District typically will call a 

 meeting to work out the differences between 

 the Federal and State agencies and the appli- 

 cant. The Corps acts as an arbitrator and has 

 full knowledge of the decisions that are made. 



• Joint enforcement meetings: since 1972, the 



Wilmington District and NCOCM have met 

 regularly with other interested Federal and 

 State agencies to discuss policies, regulations, 

 procedures, specific problem permits, and vio- 

 lations. 



• State-program general permit: perhaps the 

 most far-reaching effort by the Wilmington 

 District and the State of North Carolina to 

 reduce regulatory overlap is the State general 

 permit. This type of permit covered 80 per- 

 cent of all major projects in 1981. If a permit 

 application qualifies for this general permit, 

 the application is processed by the State, and 

 the Corps and other Federal agencies are given 

 the opportunity to comment. The Corps coor- 



