33 



JOINT TESTIMONY OF 



ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 



DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY 



DEPARTMENT OF A GRICUL TURE 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



NA TIONAL OCEANIC AND A TMOSPHERIC ADMINISTFiA TION, 



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 



BEFORE THE 



SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES 



OF THE 



COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES 



U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



September 28, 1993 



Good morning Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee. 

 We are pleased to appear before you today to outline the Clinton Administration's 

 wetlands policy. This statement is being presented on behalf of the Environmental 

 Protection Agency, the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department 

 of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, and the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce. This joint statement 

 demonstrates the tremendous cooperation and coordination among the federal 

 agencies that participated in the Interagency Working Group on Federal Wetlands 

 Policy that^ produced the Administration's wetlands policy. 



Last month the Administration released a comprehensive package of 

 improvements to federal wetlands policy. This package reflects a broad-based 

 consensus within the Executive Branch, and is a departure from the gridlock of the 

 past. It contains a balanced, common sense, workable set of initiatives that will make 

 federal wetlands policy fairer, better coordinated with State and local efforts, and 



