bodies were unable to agree in the Conference Com- 
mittee, and the 94th Congress adjourned without 
taking final action on the amendments. 
Recent amendments to Section 404 of the FWP- 
CA enacted by the 95th Congress (Clean Water 
Act of 1977) provide for increased State determina- 
tion of normal farming, silvicultural, and mining 
activities and also for the issuance of general, re- 
gional, or national wetland management permits.°° 
The amendment conforms to the recommendations 
of President Carter in his environmental message to 
allow States to “assume responsibility for carrying 
out major portions of this [Section 404] program.” °° 
The amendments to Section 404 also exempt Fed- 
eral projects from the permit requirements if the 
project is undertaken solely by the Federal Govern- 
ment, subject to procedural limitations. To qualify 
for exemption from dredge or fill permits, projects 
must, in addition to being fully funded by the Fed- 
eral Government, be directly authorized by the Con- 
gress. Moreover, an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) must be submitted to Congress before authori- 
zation or appropriation action. The EIS must in- 
clude a detailed description of all environmental 
effects expected to result from the project. 
Estuarine Sanctuaries (Coastal Zone Management 
Act) 
The Coastal Zone Management Act [Section 
315(1)] authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to 
make matching grants of up to 50 percent to States 
setting aside estuarine areas for research purposes. 
The concept is that by keeping a representative 
number of estuarine areas in natural or near-natural 
states, field laboratories will be provided to re- 
searchers to measure changes in similar, but unpro- 
tected, areas. 
Five national estuarine sanctuaries were desig- 
nated at the end of fiscal year 1977. They are: 
1) In Florida, the Rookery Bay Sanctuary, 
totaling 8,500 acres (6,000 acres of which are al- 
ready protected). It is an example of a West Indian 
biogeographic region estuary. Federal grant: $1,- 
500,000. 
2) In Georgia, a 6,150-acre sanctuary has been 
established on Sapelo Island. It is a sample of the 
Carolinian biogeographic area estuary. Two grants 
totaling $1,550,000 have been made, and acquisition 
has been completed. 
3) A grant of $200,000 has been awarded to 
* Hawaii to assist in acquiring the Waimanu Valley 
estuary on the north coast of the island of Hawaii. 
95 U.S. Senate. Clean Water Act of 1977. Report. Washington, 
D.C., Government Printing Office, 1977, pp. 199. 
26 U.S. Office of the President, op. cit. note 82, p. 13. 
This 5,900-acre sanctuary is representative of the 
insular biogeographic region. 
4) A grant of $894,152 has been made to the 
State of Ohio to assist with acquisition of the Old 
Woman’s Creek Sanctuary. The 637-acre site will 
be a sample of a Great Lakes biogeographic region 
estuary. 
5) In Oregon, the South Slough of Coos Bay is 
the site of a 4,200-acre sanctuary, a sample of the 
Columbian biogeographic region. Grants totaling 
$1,804,813 have been made, and acquisition of the 
land was 74 percent complete at the end of fiscal 
year 1977. 
Both the Sapelo Island and South Slough sanctu- 
aries are considered operational; the other three are 
in the real estate appraisal stage. 
The Coastal Zone Management office projects a 
total of 18 to 20 different types of estuarine areas 
in the country as the optimum number needed for 
acquisition to preserve a sample of each type of 
estuarine area. 
Other Related Federal Statutes 
The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (Title 16 
U.S.C. 661—667a), operating through an interagency 
agreement, provides for all Corps permit applications 
to be reviewed by the Fish and Wildlife Service of 
the Department of the Interior as well as by the En- 
vironmental Protection Agency, and the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
in the case of permits affecting the marine environ- 
ment. Any Federal agency’s proposed modification 
of a water resource is subject to review. 
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA) (Title 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) is landmark 
legislation that requires Federal agencies to consider 
all environmental aspects of each perrnit application, 
or other “Federal action,” and provide for citizen 
participation and public intervention in the decision- 
making process. 
Three Federal assistance programs have been in- 
strumental in acquiring, protecting, and, in some 
cases, developing wetlands and beach areas. The 
Pittman-Robinson Act of 1937, based on a tax on 
sporting goods earmarked for the States, has been 
used extensively in coastal States to acquire and 
protect wetlands. The Fish and Wildlife Service has 
administered the act. Funds from the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund have been used for coasta} 
acquisition, protection, and development as well as 
for developing boat launching areas and access ways, 
constructing fishing piers, and developing artificial 
reefs. The Dingell-Johnson program (based on a 
Federal tax on fishing equipment) has been ear- 
marked for the States and administered also by the 
Fish and Wildlife Service. It has been used to pur- 
chase fish habitats, thereby providing additional wet- 
land protection. 
TV—45 
