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A FAI R. FLEXIBLE. AND EFFECTTVE APPROACH 13 



There is cuircntly no scientific basis for a nationwide ranking of functionally distinct and 

 diverse wetland types; any such scheme would be extremely difficult and require many 

 yeais to develop. The suggestion contained in one legislative proposal that the Federal 

 government buy all 'high-value" wetlands would be infeasible from a budgetary 

 standpoint. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the acquisition costs alone for the 

 lower 48 States to range between $10 billion and $45 billion. 



Finally, an a priori categorization and ranking ^proach would not provide for 

 consideration of the individual impacts associated with specific projects. This makes little 

 sense bom the standpoint of either development or wetlands protection. For example, 

 small projects with minor impacts would be arbitrarily prevented from proceeding in a 

 *higb-value' wetland area. At the same time, large and envirormientally damaging 

 projects would be automatically approved if they were located in "low-value" wetland 

 areas. A nationwide a priori categorization scheme would further complicate the Section 

 404 program and would conflict with the Administration's goals of administering a 

 scicntifiully sound regulatory program that is efficient, predictable and understandable. 



In contrast to nationwide a priori categorization, opportunities exist to provide greater 

 predictability and certainty in the regulatory process while increasing participation at the 

 State and local levels. Local or regionally developed "advance plarming at the watershed 

 level can provide a scientifically sound and woricable framework for early consideration 

 of variations in wetland functions within the Section 404 program, impropriate functional 

 assessment techniques can be applied to all wetlands within the boundaries of a particular 

 watershed or plaiming area, and reasonably foreseeable development needs can be 

 su(>erimposed upon this inventory and assessment to identify appropriate regulatory 

 responses in advance of specific permit applications. Highly functional and ecologically 

 significant wetlands can be identified as deserving a very high standard of protection; 

 conversely, wetlands with limited function and ecological significance, or activities that 

 would cause minimal environmental harm, can be identified as appropriate for general 

 permits or other regulatory streamlining methods. 



In the context of individual permit reviews, the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines currently 

 provide the Corps and EPA with the flexibility to ^propriatcly scale the regulatory 

 response to reflect the relative function of the affected wetland, the character of the 

 prop>oscd discharge, and the probable environmental imijact. 



The Administration recognizes that "all wetlands are not the same" and that permit 

 applicants deserve a timely and prediaabic regulatory response that is appropriate for the 

 projca being proposed. To this end, the Administration proposes the following actions: 



• Issue Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines Flexibility Guidance. EPA and the Corps have 

 issued guidance to their field staff to clarify and standardize implementation of the 

 flexibility afforded by the 404(b)(1) Guidelines to make regulatory decisions regarding 

 the analysis of projea alternatives based on the relative severity of the environmental 



