compliance with "Swampbuster." While it has no 

 formal method for delineating wetland boundaries, 

 the FWS has established guidelines for identifying 

 wedands in the form of its official wedand classifi- 

 cation system report (Cowardin, et al. 1979). 



1.6. In early 1988, the CE and EPA resumed pre- 

 vious discussions on the possibilities of merging 

 their manuals into a single document, since both 

 manuals were produced in support of Section 404 

 of the Clean Water Act. At that time, it was recom- 

 mended that the FWS and SCS be invited to partic- 

 ipate in the talks to take advantage of their technical 

 expertise in wetlands and to discuss the possibili- 

 ties of a joint interagency wetland identification 

 manual. On May 19-20, 1988, the first meeting 

 was held in Washington, D.C., to discuss technical 

 differences between the CE and EPA manuals. Af- 

 ter the meeting, it was decided that a second meet- 

 ing should be held to resolve technical issues and 

 to attempt to merge the two manuals and possibly 

 develop an interagency manual for the four agen- 

 cies. This meeting was held on August 29-31, 

 1988, at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Each of the 

 four Federal agencies (CE, EPA, FWS, and SCS) 

 was represented by three persons, with outside fa- 

 cilitators moderating the session. During the three- 

 day meeting, the four agencies reached agreement 

 on the technical criteria for identifying and deUneat- 

 ing wetlands and agreed to merge the existing pub- 

 lished methods (CE, EPA, and SCS) into a single 

 wetland delineation manual. A draft combined 

 manual was prepared, and then reviewed by the in- 

 teragency group. On January 10, 1989, the manual 

 was formally adopted by the four agencies as the 

 recommended manual for identifying and delineat- 

 ing wedands in the United States. 



Federal Wetland Definitions 



1.7. Several definitions have been formulated at 

 the Federal level to define "wetland" for various 

 laws, regulations, and programs. These major Fed- 

 eral definitions are cited below in reference to their 

 guiding document along with a few comments on 

 their key elements. 



Section 404 of the Clean Water Act 



1.8. The following definition of wedand is the reg- 

 ulatory definition used by the EPA and CE for ad- 

 ministering the Section 4()4 permit program: 



Those areas that are inundated or saturated 

 by surface or groundwater at a frequency 

 and duration sufficient to support, and that 

 under normal circumstances do support, a 

 prevalence of vegetation typically adapted 

 for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands 

 generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, 

 and similar areas. 



(EPA, 40 CFR 230.3 and CE, 33 CFR 328.3) 



1.9. This definition emphasizes hydrology, vegeta- 

 tion, and saturated soils. The Section 404 regula- 

 tions also deal with other "waters of the United 

 States" such as open water areas, mud flats, coral 

 reefs, riffle and pool complexes, vegetated shal- 

 lows, and other aquatic habitats. 



Food Security Act of 1985 



1.10. The following wetland definition is used by 

 the SCS for identifying wetlands on agricultural 

 land in assessing farmer eligibility for U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture program benefits under the 

 "Swampbuster" provision of this Act: 



Wetlands are defined as areas that have a 

 predominance of hydric soils and that are in- 

 undated or saturated by surface or ground 

 water at a frequency and duration sufficient 

 to support, and under normal circumstances 

 do support, a prevalence of hydrophytic 

 vegetation typically adapted for life in satu- 

 rated soil conditions, except lands in Alaska 

 identified as having a high potential for agri- 

 cultural development and a predominance of 

 permafrost soils.* 



(National Food Security Act Manual, 1988) 



^Special Note: The Emergency Wedands Resources 

 Act of 1986 also contains this definition, but with- 

 out the exception for Alaska. 



i^^ 



