13 



The administration will seek to have this program fully funded and 

 expanded in the fiscal year 1995 Farm Bill. 



In addition, the administration is examining opportunities to 

 expand existing Federal programs that seek to restore wetlands 

 through cooperative, voluntary agreements with private and other 

 non-Federal landowners. 



To increase State and local roles in wetlands protection and to 

 reduce duplication between wetland protection programs on differ- 

 ent levels of government, the administration encourages Congress 

 to adopt several measures. 



The first is to authorize the development of State/Tribal water- 

 shed protection programs which should provide for local and re- 

 gional involvement and Federal approval of State programs, includ- 

 ing minimum requirements for wetlands protection and restoration 

 planning. 



In addition, the administration recommends that Congress pro- 

 vide EPA with the authority to use its Wetlands Grant program to 

 fund both the development and implementation of State/Tribal 

 Wetlands Conservation Plans. Congress should also authorize par- 

 tial assumption of the Section 404 program by States and Tribes as 

 an interim step toward full assumption. 



Finally, the administration recommends that Congress amend 

 Section 404(e) of the CWA to provide explicitly for the issuance of 

 programmatic general permits with appropriate environmental 

 safeguards for approved State, Tribal, regional, and local regula- 

 tory programs. 



The administration policy is streamlining and clarifying wet- 

 lands programs affecting the agricultural community. At the heart 

 of this effort is a commitment on the part of all Federal agencies to 

 minimize duplication and reduce inconsistencies between the 

 Swampbuster and Section 404 programs. 



To that end, the Soil Conservation Service will be the lead Feder- 

 al agency for wetlands determinations on agricultural lands for 

 both programs, in consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 and under the programmatic oversight of EPA and the Corps. The 

 SCS will use agreed-upon methods that will be consistent with 

 those used by EPA and the Corps, and will participate fully in an 

 interagency training program to ensure that field personnel are 

 properly trained. 



The recent reorganization of USDA, providing a new emphasis 

 on conservation programs, will enhance SCS's ability to fulfill the 

 expanded wetland responsibility conferred by the President's plan. 



In addition, the administration has issued a final rule that af- 

 firms the exclusion of an estimated 53 million acres of prior con- 

 verted croplands from Clean Water Act jurisdiction. These are 

 areas that, prior to December 1985, have been cropped and hydrolo- 

 gically manipulated to the extent that they no longer perform the 

 functions they did in their natural condition. 



The administration recommends corresponding Congressional 

 action to define the term "waters of the United States" in the 

 CWA to exclude prior converted croplands. 



The administration policy also addresses landowner concerns re- 

 garding the Section 404 program. The Corps is developing, through 

 rulemaking, an administrative appeals process under the regula- 



