‘‘(C) to inform the public of the value in
preserving wetlands.
‘‘(2) MATERIALS.—As part of the program to
be established under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall provide private landowners with technical mate-
rials to assist with wetlands identification, evalua-
tion, and mitigation and with the development of
restoration plans.’’.
SEC. 15. SECTION 404 DEFINITIONS.
Section 404 (33 U.S.C. 1344) is further amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(a)(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the
following definitions apply:
‘‘(1) DISCHARGE OF DREDGED OR FILL MATE-
RIAL.—The term ‘discharge of dredged or fill mate-
rial’ means—
‘‘(A) any addition or redeposit of dredged
or fill material into the navigable waters which
is incidental to any activity, including draining,
dredging, excavating, channelizing, flooding,
pumping, driving of pilings or placement of
other obstructions, mechanized land clearing,
ditching, and diversion of water; and
‘‘(B) any activity specifically referred to in
subparagraph (A) conducted in or near the nav-
igable waters which, without adding or redepos-
iting dredged or fill material into the navigable
waters, otherwise impairs the flow, reach, or
circulation of surface water or results in a sig-
nificant change in the hydrologic regime, bot-
tom contour, or configuration of such waters or
in the type, distribution, or diversity of vegeta-
tion, fish, and wildlife that depend on such wa-
ters.
‘‘(2) PRIOR CONVERTED CROPLAND.—The term
‘prior converted cropland’ means wetlands that were
drained, dredged, filled, leveled, or otherwise manip-
ulated before December 23, 1985, for the purpose
of, or to have the effect of, making the production
of an agricultural commodity possible, and that no
longer meet the definition of the term ‘wetlands’
contained in section 1201(a) of the Food Security
Act of 1985.
‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief
of Engineers.’’.
SEC. 16. GENERAL DEFINITIONS.
(a) NAVIGABLE WATERS.—Paragraph (7) of section
502 (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by inserting ‘‘and wet-
lands’’ before the period.
(b) WETLANDS.—Section 502 is further amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(21) The term ‘wetlands’ means those areas that are
inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water
at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that
under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of
vegetation typically adapted to life in saturated soil condi-
tions. Wetlands include, but are not limited to, bogs,
marshes, fens, pocosins, playa lakes, prairie potholes,
swamps, and vernal pools.’’.
SEC. 17. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING WETLANDS RE-
SERVE PROGRAM.
It is the sense of Congress that the Wetlands Reserve
Program authorized by the Food, Agriculture, Conserva-
tion, and Trade Act of 1990 is an effective wetlands con-
servation and restoration program which has the potential
to benefit agriculturists, rural communities, and the Na-
tion’s wetlands resource base. Further, it is the sense of
Congress that the Wetlands Reserve Program should be
fully funded to achieve its acreage enrollment goals, and
should be actively promoted by the Department of Agri-
culture to achieve full subscription.
Æ
HR 3465 IH——2
HR 3465 IH——3