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STATEMENT OF AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION 



TO THE HOUSE MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES COMMITTEE 



REGARDING WETLANDS PROVISIONS OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT 



REAUTHORIZATION 



American Farm Bureau Federation 



October 29, 1993 



The American Farm Bureau Federation, the Nation's largest farm organization, 

 appreciates the opportiuiity to provide comments about the reauthorization of 

 the Clean Water Act and the Administration's proposed wetland provisions. 

 From the perspective of farmers and ranchers, wetlands is one broad aspect of 

 the Clean Water Act that needs your attention. 



The Problem 



From Farm Bureau's perspective, there are many problems with the current 

 wetland regulations. The Clean Water Act was not designed to preserve 

 wetlands-- it was designed to prevent discharge of toxic materials into waters 

 of the United States. Current wetland regulations fail to respect private 

 property rights. Wetland policy was developed through litigation and 

 regulation, not through an open and public legislative debate. Even the 

 bureaucratic expansion of federal control over farmed land did not allow for 

 public review and comment. It is bad public policy if only professional 

 government regulators can identify a wetland. And finally, many farmers' 

 attempts at good-faith compliance have been frustrated and proven 

 prohibitively costly to resolve, thus placing the viability of the farming or 

 ranching operation in jeopardy. 



In order to protect and enhance quality wetlands Congress must: 



• Develop a clear definition of wetlands; 



• Clearly identify which wetlands are important enough to be federally 

 regulated; 



• Compensate landowners for wetlands protection; and 



• Provide adequate resources to make it work. 



Private Property Rights 



Central to the wetlands issue is the question of private property rights. More 

 than 75 percent of wetlands are on private property. The 5th Amendment to 



