CRS-117 



SUMMARY 



State and local programs to manage decisions about wetlands use are di- 

 verse. They range from strong regulatory programs to weak review and comment 

 programs. The interest in changing the balance between State and Federal pro- 

 gram roles in the seven States contacted seems high. State representatives 

 feel they can manage programs more effectively and be more responsive to local 

 considerations and needs than can the Federal government. They also implied, 

 through their responses, a frustration with the organization and operation of 

 the Federal program. Two of the representatives commented that they could do 

 the same job better than the array of Federal agencies at a fraction of the 

 cost. This contention may be important as reauthorization of the Clean Water 

 Act (including review of section 404) is debated in the Congress. 



The diversity of State programs frequently conflicts with the uniform and 

 relatively inflexible qualities of the Federal program. This conflict is 

 largely a measure of the variation between national and more local goals for 

 managing the wetland resource and it has repeatedly surfaced in Congress. In 

 Chapter V, that conflict, as measured through the variety of wetland legisla- 

 tion lation introduced and debated since 1973 is examined. 



