have established critical area programs to identify and protect unique and highly 

 sensitive land and water resources. These programs can provide data to the State •. 

 water quality certification office and therel^ strengthen the scientific basis for 401 

 certification decision making.^^ 



Another potential source of information which might identify wetlands 

 appropriate for designation as Outstanding Resource Waters are the wetland plans 

 which each State is required to develop to comply with the 1986 Emergency Wetlands 

 Resources Act Beginning in fiscal year 1988, Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor 

 Recreation Plans (SCORP) must now contain a Wetlands Priority Conservation Plan ' 

 approved by the Department of Interior. Although these plans are primarily focused 

 on wetlands for acquisition, they are a potential source of data on wetland locations 

 and functions. The wetlands identified may also be suitable for special protection under 

 the Outstanding Resource Waters provisions of the antidegradation policy. 



The Advance Identification program (ADID), conducted by EPA and the 

 permitting authority, may also furnish a considerable amount of useful informatioiL 

 EPA's 404(b)(1) Guidelines contain a procedure for identifying in advance areas that 

 are generally suitable or unsuitable for the deposit of dredged or fill material^ In 

 recent years, EPA has made greater use of this authority. ADID is often used in 

 wetland areas that are experiencing significant development or other conversion 

 pressures. Many ADID efforts generate substantial data on the location and functions 

 of wetlands within the stucfy area such as wetland maps, and habitat, water qualify, or 

 hydrological studies. 



Special Area Nfanagement Plans (SAMPs) are another planning process which 

 may yield useful information. SAMPs refer to a process authorized by the 1980 

 amendments to the Coastal Zone Management Improvement Act, which provides grants 

 to States to develop comprehensive plans for natural resource protection and 

 "reasonable coastal-dependent economic growth."^ The SAMP process implicitly 

 recognizes the State water qualify certification process, directing all relevant local. State, 

 and federal authorities to coordinate permit programs in carrying out the completed 

 SAMP. The Corps of Engineers has supported and initiated several of these processes. 

 In addition, other SAMPs have been completed by several States. 



Much of these data can be collected, combined, and used in decision making 

 with the aid of geographic-based computer systems that can store, analyze, and present 

 data related to wetlands in graphic and written forms.^ A reviewing official can quickly 

 access and overlay a range of different existing information bases such as flora and 

 fauna inventories, soil suryeys, remote sensing data, watershed and wetland maps, 

 existing uses anu criteria, and project proposal information. 



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