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major bills, one by Mr. Edwards from California, which pleases 

 many in the environmental community, one by Mr. Hayes of Lou- 

 isiana, which pleases many of those, if there is such a thing, in the 

 development — I hate the word "community," it is overdone. 



As I understand it, and as the administration's approach general- 

 ly concedes, you are coming down on something of a middle line 

 between the two. 



I am sure you would characterize that as a moderate, responsible 

 middle ground. I assume in the process you have engendered some- 

 thing ranging from the anger to the suspicion of those on both 

 sides, which is inevitable. 



Let's see if we can be real people. Take off your governmental 

 hats. I will ask one of you to be an environmentalist, one of you to 

 be a farmer, and one of you to be a Cape Cod cranberry grower. 

 Now, we have the three major national issues here. 



Mr. Davison, you be the environmentalist; Mr. Bridge, you be a 

 farmer; and Mr. Wayland, you can be the cranberry grower. Now, 

 as best you can, being a citizen in each category, tell us in English 

 why it is that the President's program speaks meaningfully to your 

 concerns in this matter. 



Let's start with Mr. Davison and the environmentalist. 



Mr. Davison. I think the first thing I would identify where the 

 President's program speaks meaningfully to things I am concerned 

 about as an environmentalist would be the closing of existing loop- 

 holes. Right now the program only regulates the filling of wet- 

 lands. It doesn't regulate draining and other activities that have 

 the effect of destroying wetlands. 



I think that would be the first and most significant thing that I 

 would point to as something that environmentalists would be inter- 

 ested in. 



There are other aspects, as well, in terms of making the permit 

 program work more effectively. I think the benefits accrue to 

 anyone who is interested in the program; permit deadlines, those 

 types of things. 



Mr. Studds. Mr. Bridge, you are a farmer, why do you support 

 this program? 



Mr. Bridge. First, I would support it because I can find the 

 people who are going to make the wetland determinations on my 

 land. They are local. They have offices at the county level. I can go 

 in there and get answers as to both Swampbuster and 404 permit- 

 ting. 



I think the second thing that is really important to me is that 

 they are no longer putting under jurisdiction land that I have con- 

 tinuously farmed and produced real crops on every year, a term 

 called "prior converted cropland." Now those would be removed 

 from regulatory oversight. 



Mr. Studds. Now, to the cosmic. Mr. Wayland, you are a Cape 

 Cod cranberry grower, why do you like this? 



Mr. Wayland. I did have an occasion a little over a week ago to 

 visit some cranberry bogs in Massachusetts. One of the opportuni- 

 ties that is afforded here is for the expanded use of programatic 

 permits by State government. Indeed Massachusetts is looking to 

 supplement the Federal Program through the use of general per- 

 mits. 



