201 



segment of American agriculture without any environmentally-based policy justification. 

 Among the commodities suffering from this disparate treatment is turfgrass sod. 



How this disparate treatment came about requires an understanding of the agricultural 

 exemptions under both the Clean Water Act and the Swampbuster Program: 



Clean Water Act . The Act contains a narrow exemption for "normal ranching and 

 farming activities." This term is very narrowly construed and varies from region to region. 

 Although turfgrass sod production is clearly a farming activity under federal law, the Army 

 Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for enforcing the Act, considers turfgrass within 

 the definition of farming in some regions, while in others it does not. There is no clear-cut 

 definition to provide guidance as to exempted agricultural commodities. 



Swampbuster Program . The Swampbuster Program was created in 1985 to 

 discourage farmers and ranchers from draining swamps and otherwise eliminating wetlands in 

 order to bring more of their property into agricultural production. The penalty for doing so 

 is loss of program price supports and other benefits. The program affects only those 

 involved in producing "program crops." Those agricultural property owners involved in the 

 conversion of such land prior to the Swampbuster Program's enactment on December 23, 

 1985 are given a "prior converted cropland" exemption from its enforcement provisions. 



