Mr. Johnson. I thank the chairman. 



I now recognize the gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Barrett. 



Mr. Barrett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the interest of time, 

 let me simply welcome the panel to the committee this morning to 

 talk about this very important issue. Water is of the utmost impor- 

 tance to all of us but I think we are all concerned as well about 

 preserving the environment. We are all interested in doing every- 

 thing we can to ensure that the water that we use is safe but, at 

 the same time, how do we pay for it without running the farmer 

 out of business. 



Welcome. I look forward to the testimony. Thank you, Mr. Chair- 

 man. 



Mr. Johnson. The gentleman from North Dakota, Mr. Pomeroy. 



OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. EARL POMEROY, A REP- 

 RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NORTH 

 DAKOTA 



Mr. Pomeroy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to commend 

 you for holding this hearing. 



This is an issue of particular importance to North Dakota where 

 we have more that 2 million wetlands basins including more than 

 1.7 million acres. North Dakota comprises a significant portion of 

 the prairie pothole region, where an aerial map of the country 

 shows many small wetlands but they are not necessarily big 

 enough to support wildlife. Past regulation has taken many of 

 these lands out of agricultural production, which raises important 

 policy questions. I am pleased that testifying today will be Profes- 

 sor Jay Leitch of the North Dakota State University. He is here to 

 share the results of a study recently concluded by the Council on 

 Agricultural Science and Technology. 



Wetlands definitions and delineations must be made in the ap- 

 propriate context of competing uses of natural resources. As policy- 

 makers, it is our role to protect the resources and our economies 

 that depend upon them. It is this subcommittee's primary role to 

 make sure that agricultural uses are considered, and that is why 

 I commend you for holding this important hearing. 



Mr. Johnson. The gentleman from Colorado, Mr. Allard. 



OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. WAYNE ALLARD, A REP- 

 RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF COLO- 

 RADO 



Mr. Allard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I again would like to 

 commend you for holding these hearings. This is an important 

 group of pieces of legislation that we're dealing with affecting agri- 

 culture. I come from the State of Colorado. It has been my observa- 

 tion that the Clean Water Act has been working. And how far be- 

 yond what we now have on the books do we need to go; what kind 

 of modifications do we need to make to make it function better and 

 provide, I think, the flexibility that the States ought to have that 

 they don't currently have with the Clean Water Act. 



So I hope that in all this discussion that we may get some com- 

 ments on whether the Clean Water Act is working or not, because 

 I think it is. Also, what can we do to enhance our provisions there 

 that allow for flexibility so that perhaps the States can have a little 



