CRS-109 



The Clean Water Act Amendments of 1977 allow EPA to delegate program 

 responsibility for dredge and fill permits in areas outside navigable waters 

 and adjacent wetlands, sometimes referred to as Phase II and Phase III waters, 

 to States that meet a variety of requirements. To date, States have been 

 deterred by these cumbersome requirements and regulations, issued in 1980. 154 / 

 Some States have been dissuaded because the Act offers no direct financial 

 support for such a program. 152/ Others may object because they can only 

 assume management of certain waters within their jurisdiction. Further, EPA 

 can always override a State decision to award a permit. In summary, States 

 would assume a potentially large workload without a desirable level of control 

 over the program or a desirable geographic range of control. For these rea- 

 sons, no State has submitted a program proposal, although several have received 

 small grants to conduct feasibility and pilot studies. 153 / State interest 

 has been revived recently, according to an EPA representative, by a combination 

 of problems with Corps' inactivity in Phase II and Phase III waters, and an 

 expression of States' rights. 154/ 



151 / U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Consolidated Permit Regu- 

 lations. Federal Register, v. 45, no. 98, May 19, 1980. p. 33290. 



152 / Moreover, in view of current Federal budget cutting efforts which have 

 included reduced grant support for State environmental programs generally 

 (for FY 1983 the Administration proposed a 20 percent reduction in grants 

 for State water quality programs), many States may find it increasingly diffi- 

 cult to assume new responsibilities, such as section 404 permitting. 



153 / Phone conversation with Lauri Williams, EPA Office of Federal Activi- 

 ties. She stated, during a conversation in January, 1982, that eight states 

 had received grants, averaging about $60,000 to conduct feasibility studies. 

 If these studies are successful, funding is then provided for pilot studies. 

 She believes one or two states may assume programs by the end of 1982. States 

 participating (and their status) are: Rhode Island (pilot), Pennsylvania 

 (feasibility), Michigan (pilot), Oklahoma (feasibility), Nebraska (feasibility), 

 Wyoming (feasibility), Washington (feasibility), and Alaska (feasibility). 



154/ Ibid. 



