Number: 1992-12
WHEREAS, the goal of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is to “maintain and restore the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters”; and
WHEREAS, wetlands are valuable resources which serve man and wildlife by providing important habitat, flood control and water quality functions; and
WHEREAS, over 50 percent of the nation’s wetlands have been destroyed and these losses continue today at a rate of approximately 300,000 acres per year; and
WHEREAS, wetlands are critical in contributing to and attaining the goals of the CWA; and
WHEREAS, in enacting Section 404 of the CWA, Congress intended wetlands to be considered waters of the United States; and
WHEREAS, many activities that destroy wetlands, such as drainage, inundation and excavation are not regulated under Section 404 of the CWA; and
WHEREAS, in 1989 four federal agencies, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, jointly developed and issued the scientifically based Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands that was to be used in delineating wetlands subject to Section 404 of the CWA; and
WHEREAS, in August 1991 the Bush Administration proposed major revisions to the 1989 Manual for the purpose of excluding many wetlands from Section 404 regulation; and
WHEREAS, the scientific community and the Bush Administration’s own wetlands experts have concluded that the proposed changes are scientifically flawed, technically deficient, difficult to use, and would remove at least 50 percent of the nation’s wetlands from the Section 404 program;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 19-22, 1992, in Portland, Oregon, urges that an independent body, such as the National Academy of Sciences, be commissioned to conduct a study to develop a scientific definition of wetlands and a scientifically-based wetlands delineation methodology that considers regional approaches to wetlands delineation and currently unprotected wetlands including riparian areas; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Administration’s August 1991 proposed revisions to the Manual not be adopted until after completion of said study; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in reauthorizing the CWA, Congress strengthen and improve the Section 404 wetlands regulatory program to ensure that all wetlands which contribute to the attainment of the CWA goals are better protected.