ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY UPDATE ARTICLES

The EPA has proposed significant new protection for tens of thousands of acres of environmentally valuable wetlands across the United States. Under this action, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are proposing to address a major regulatory loophole in the Clean Water Act by clarifying the types of activities that can harm wetlands and thus, require regulation.

The new wetlands proposal is expected to protect tens of thousands of acres of wetlands from destruction each year. In addition to realizing no net loss of wetlands through the Clean Water Act regulatory program, the Clinton-Gore Administration’s Clean Water Action Plan has already committed to an annual net gain of 100,000 acres of wetlands beginning in 2005 though wetlands restoration programs.

The proposal to change the definition of dredged materials has been published in the Federal Register. A fact sheet, additional information and the Federal Register notice are available on EPA’s Office of Water home page at http://www.epa.gov/ow/new.html.