SUMMARY OF ACnONS NEEDED 



Hie following is a summary of the activities needed to make 401 certification a 

 more effective tool to protect wetlands. States can undertake many of these 

 activities right away, while also taking other actions which lay the groundwork for 

 improving future 401 certification decisions. Tribes, who primarily are just 

 beginning to develop wetlands programs, should consider these actions (along 

 with developing water quality standards) as first steps to becoming more involved 

 in wetlands regulatory efforts. The actions below are discussed throughout the 

 handbook. 



* All states should begin by including wetlands in their definitions of 

 state waters. 



* States should develop or modify their existing 401 certification and 

 water quality standard regulations and guidelines to accomodate 

 special wetland considerations. 



* . :.... States should make more effective use of their existing narrative water 



quality standards (including the antidegradation poliqy) to protect the 

 int^rity of wetlands. 



* States should initiate or improve upon existing inventories of their 

 wetland resources. 



* States should designate uses for these wetlands based on wetland 

 functions associated with each wetland type. Sudi estimated uses 

 could be verified vdien needed for individual applications with an 

 assessment tool such as the Wetlands Evaluation Technique, or Habitat 

 Evaluation Procedure, or region-specific evaluation methdds. 



* States should tap into the potential of the outstanding resource waters 

 designation of the antidegradation policy for their wetlands. 



States should incorporate 401 certification for wetlands into their water 

 quality management planning process. This process can integrate 

 wetland resource information with different water management 

 programs affecting wetlands (including coastal zone management, 

 nonpoint source and wastewater programs). 



