39 



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 (SCS) will be the lead federal 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. Recent reorganization of USD A, providing a new 

 emphasis on conservation programs, will enhance SCS ability to fulfill the expanded 

 wetland responsibility. The possible need for additional budgetary and personnel 

 resources to carry out these new responsibilities will ultimately depend upon the 

 details of the final agreement established between SCS, FWS, the Corps, and EPA 

 defining the scope of SCS involvement in Section 404, and will be addressed in the 

 President's P/ 1995 budget. 



In addition, the Administration has issued a final rule that affirms t^e exclusion 

 of an estimated 53 million acres of prior converted croplands from CWA jurisdiction. 

 These are areas that, prior to December 1985, have been cropped'and hydrologically 

 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. 



