Thousands of acres of wetlands across the United States will be saved if a federal proposal to close a loophole in the Clean Water Act becomes law. The proposal, announced Thursday, would clarify the types of activities that require regulation because they can harm wetlands.
Wetlands come in many forms.
In June 1998 by the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the district court's decision, resulting in a loophole in the wetlands regulatory program that allowed developers to excavate, ditch or drain wetland areas as long as they did not dump soil on the site. Since the 1997 district court decision, the EPA and the Corps estimate that almost 20,000 acres of wetlands have been destroyed and more than 150 miles of streams channeled without environmental review or mitigation. The Clinton-Gore administration is committed to protecting America's environment. Environmentalists were delighted with the proposal. We fervently hope that the administration's proposed rule will go a long way towards stopping the large scale destruction of wetlands and streams we have experienced throughout the country.