Wetlands Overview: Problems With Acreage Data Persist
Released: 1998-07-16T00:00:00

Letter

Background

“Wetland” is a generic term used to describe a variety of wet habitats. In general, wetlands are characterized by the frequent or prolonged presence of water at or near the soil surface, soils that form under flooded or saturated conditions (hydric soils), and plants that are adapted to life in these types of soils (hydrophytes).

The United States contains many different types of wetlands, from swamps in Florida to peatlands in northern Minnesota to tidal salt marshes in Louisiana. Figures 1 and 2, respectively, show two types of wetlands found in the United States—coastal salt marsh wetlands commonly found along the East and Gulf coasts and prairie pothole wetlands commonly found in the plains of the North Central United States.

Wetlands were once regarded as unimportant areas to be filled or drained for agricultural or development activities. However, wetlands are now recognized for a variety of important functions that they perform, including providing vital habitat for wildlife and waterfowl, including about half of the threatened and endangered species; providing spawning grounds for commercially and recreationally valuable providing flood control by slowing down and absorbing excess water during storms; maintaining water quality by filtering out pollutants before they enter streams, lakes, and oceans; and protecting coastal and upland areas from erosion.

Over 25 federal statutes have been enacted relating to wetlands. These laws have resulted in the (1) regulation of activities undertaken in areas designated as wetlands; (2) acquisition of wetlands through purchase or protective easements that prevent certain activities, such as draining and filling; (3) restoration of damaged wetlands or the creation of new wetlands; and (4) disincentives to altering wetlands or incentives to protect them in their natural states. (App. I contains a brief discussion of the principal wetlands-related statutes.)

Despite the passage of numerous laws and the issuance of two presidential executive orders protecting wetlands, no specific or consistent goal for the nation’s wetlands-related efforts existed until 1989. On February 9, 1989, President Bush, in response to recommendations made by the National Wetlands Policy Forum, established the national goal of no net loss of wetlands. The current administration has also supported wetlands protection. In its wetlands plan, issued in August 1993, the administration included an interim goal of no overall net loss of the nation’s remaining wetlands and a long-term goal of increasing the quality and quantity of the nation’s wetlands. In its Clean Water Action Plan, issued on February 19, 1998, the administration included a strategy to achieve a net gain of up to 100,000 acres of wetlands each year, beginning in the year 2005.

Thirty-Six Federal Agencies, to Varying Degrees, Were Involved in Wetlands During Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1997

At least thirty-six federal agencies, to varying degrees, conducted wetlands-related activities during fiscal years 1990 through 1997. The activities conducted by these agencies included acquiring, regulating, restoring, enhancing, mapping, inventorying, delineating, and conducting research relating to wetlands. Six agencies—the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Environmental Protection Agency—are the primary agencies involved in and responsible for implementing wetlands-related programs. The involvement of the 30 other agencies was generally limited to (1) general monitoring or stewardship roles or (2) the avoidance and mitigation of potential impacts to wetlands from their own projects and activities. As figures 3 and 4 show, the six primary agencies accounted for most of the funding and full-time-equivalent staff-years associated each year with the wetlands-related activities of federal agencies.

Fiscal year Appendix II provides a brief description of some of the principal wetlands-related activities of each agency, and appendix III contains detailed information on the funding and full-time-equivalent staff-years associated with the agencies’ activities during fiscal years 1990 through 1997.

Consistency and Reliability of Wetlands Acreage Data Reported by Federal Agencies Are Questionable

The consistency and reliability of wetlands acreage data reported by federal agencies are questionable. Although both the Department of the Interior’s FWS and the Department of Agriculture’s NRCS maintain inventories that produce estimates of the nation’s remaining wetlands acreage and rates of wetlands gains and losses, the two inventories’ estimates are not completely consistent. In addition, the current reporting practices of the agencies do not allow the wetlands-related accomplishments of the agencies to be determined. These reporting practices include a lack of consistency in the use of terms, the inclusion of nonwetlands acreage in wetlands project totals, and the double counting of accomplishments. Despite the efforts of several interagency groups to address problems with wetlands data, the problems persist. In its Clean Water Action Plan, the administration recently announced new plans to improve wetlands data. As called for by the administration, the Interagency Wetlands Working Group has developed an action plan to guide its efforts to produce a single wetlands status and trends report. However, as of June 10, 1998, strategies had not yet been developed to address the other actions planned by the administration to improve wetlands data.

Two Agencies’ Estimates of the Nation’s Remaining Wetlands Acreage and Annual Gains and Losses Vary

No single set of numbers representing the nation’s remaining wetlands acreage and annual gains and losses is available. Estimates made by two federal resource inventories, the National Wetlands Inventory and the National Resources Inventory, maintained by the FWS and NRCS, respectively, are not completely consistent.

The National Wetlands Inventory, established to generate information on the characteristics, extent, and status of the nation’s wetlands and deepwater habitat, is to provide an update of the status and trends of the nation’s wetlands at 10-year intervals. The broader National Resources Inventory is an inventory of land cover and use, soil erosion, prime farmland, wetlands, and other natural resource characteristics on nonfederal lands in the United States. It provides a record of the nation’s conservation accomplishments and future program needs. The National Resources Inventory has been conducted at 5-year intervals to determine the conditions and trends in the use of soil, water, and related resources nationwide and statewide. However, it is now making the transition to an annualized inventory process.

Each inventory uses the wetlands data it collects to produce estimates of the nation’s remaining wetlands acreage and the rate of wetlands gains and losses. The estimates made by each inventory are based on sampling. However, the two inventories use different sampling techniques and their estimates cover different time periods. The inventories also have used different land-cover/land-use classifications categories for the causes of wetlands losses. Although both reported that the rate of wetlands loss has declined, as shown in table 1, the estimates produced by FWS’ National Wetlands Inventory and NRCS’ National Resources Inventory are not completely consistent.

As the table shows, the two inventories differ, sometimes substantially, in their estimates. Although the two inventories’ estimates of the nation’s total remaining wetlands acreage varied only about 10 percent, their estimates in other categories varied more significantly. For example, FWS reported that agricultural activities were responsible for the loss of over 1.4 million acres of wetlands—more than 4 times the loss attributed to agriculture by NRCS. NRCS, on the other hand, estimated that development was responsible for the loss of 886,000 acres—about 11 times the number of acres that FWS reported.

Questions have been raised about the validity of the wetlands acreage estimates made by both inventories. Officials from each of the agencies responsible for the inventories have questioned the estimates made by the other, and officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have expressed concern about the estimates of both inventories. The issues raised by officials of the two inventories and EPA include the adequacy of quality control of the data and of quality assurance procedures, the dates of the aerial photography used, and the methods used to develop the estimates.

Agencies’ Accomplishments Cannot Be Determined

The agencies use such terms as protection, restoration, rehabilitation, improvement, enhancement, and creation in describing and reporting their wetlands-related activities and the resulting accomplishments. However, federal agencies are not consistent in the use of these terms. Even when the same terms are used, the agencies do not define them in the same way. For example, depending upon the agency, the term “restoration” has different meanings and different results. At Interior’s FWS, restoration is considered the reestablishment of a degraded wetland to its former state and therefore generally would not result in a net gain of wetlands acres. At Agriculture’s NRCS, restoration is considered to be the reestablishment of a wetland where it previously existed and would result in a gain of wetlands acres.

The agencies also often include nonwetlands acreage when reporting their accomplishments. Nonwetlands acreage, such as adjacent uplands, are often included in wetlands project totals but are not identified or listed separately. For example, the NRCS’ Wetlands Reserve Program, which acquires wetlands easements from landowners and shares in the cost of restoration, might report that a wetlands restoration project restored a total of 25 acres. However, the 25 acres reported might include not only 10 acres of former wetlands that were restored but also 10 acres of existing degraded wetlands whose functions were enhanced and 5 acres of adjacent uplands. The FWS’ North American Wetlands Conservation Program also includes nonwetlands acreage in its project totals. Program officials estimate that about 75 percent of the acreage reported by habitat restoration projects are uplands.

Adding to these reporting problems is the double counting of accomplishments. Federal and state agencies and private conservation organizations are often involved in joint projects. When each reports the accomplishments resulting from these joint projects, the actual accomplishment is overstated. For example, the total number of wetlands acres that FWS’ North American Waterfowl Management Plan reports as restored includes the results of activities that involve FWS and other federal agencies, such as the Forest Service and the NRCS, and other state and private conservation organizations. These agencies would also report the acreage restored as the result of these joint projects.

Past Efforts Have Not Solved Wetlands Data Problems, but New Efforts Are Under Way

Since 1989, at least five interagency groups, established to better coordinate federal wetlands programs, have attempted to improve wetlands data. These task forces and the purposes for which they were established are described below.

Inter-Agency Task Force on Wetlands. On May 23, 1989, the White House established an Inter-Agency Task Force on Wetlands under the Domestic Policy Council’s Working Group on Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources to examine ways to achieve no net loss of wetlands as a national goal. The task force’s objectives included (1) providing clear direction to federal agencies for strengthening, implementing, and enforcing wetlands protection, maintenance, and restoration; (2) coordinating agencies’ involvement in achieving the no net loss goal; and (3) assessing implementation of the no net loss goal by federal, state, and local governments to determine what further steps might be necessary.

Wetland Inventory Subgroup of the Domestic Policy Council ’s Interagency Wetlands Task Force. The Domestic Policy Council’s Interagency Wetlands Task Force established a Wetland Inventory Subgroup in October 1990. Three agencies—Interior’s FWS; Agriculture’s then-Soil Conservation Service, and Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—agreed to cochair the Wetland Inventory Subgroup. The subgroup was charged to evaluate existing inventory programs as well as propose potential improvements.

Interagency Federal Lands Wetlands Restoration and Creation Committee. As a result of President Bush’s comprehensive plan for improving the protection of the nation’s wetlands, in August 1991 the Interagency Federal Lands Wetlands Restoration and Creation Committee was established. This committee was charged with coordinating federal restoration and creation projects and with establishing criteria and recommendations for redirecting agencies’ future spending in restoring and creating wetlands.

Wetlands Ad Hoc Integration Working Group of the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s Wetlands Subcommittee. The Wetlands Ad Hoc Integration Working Group was established in June 1992 at the request of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council to attempt to integrate and reconcile the National Wetlands Inventory’s Status and Trends and the National Resources Inventory’s reports on the amount of wetlands lost and remaining.

Interagency Working Group on Federal Wetlands Policy (White House Wetlands Working Group). In June 1993, this working group was formed to address concerns about federal wetlands policy. The working group established five principles for federal wetlands policy that served as the framework for the development of the administration’s package of wetlands reform initiatives. The principles included (1) support for the interim goal of no overall net loss of the nation’s remaining wetlands and the long-term goal of increasing the quality and quantity of the nation’s wetlands, (2) reduction of the federal government’s reliance on the regulatory program as the primary means to protect wetlands resources and accomplish long-term wetlands gains by emphasizing nonregulatory programs, and (3) basing federal wetlands policy on the best scientific information available.

With the exception of the last one, these working groups have been disbanded. However, because either the members of these interagency groups could not agree on the actions needed or the adoption of their recommendations was left to the individual agencies, the problems with the consistency and reliability of wetlands acreage data persist.

Recognizing that these problems still exist, the administration recently announced new plans to improve wetlands data. In October 1997, the Wetlands Subcommittee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee decided to develop consistent definitions for wetlands gains, losses, and modifications for use by all federal agencies. In addition, the Wetlands Subcommittee proposed the development of a reporting system that would standardize reporting procedures and provide for a mechanism to collect and compile data on the agencies’ accomplishments. Additional efforts to improve wetlands data were included in the administration’s Clean Water Action Plan, issued on February 19, 1998. These actions include the following:

Complete a plan to use existing inventory and data collection systems to support a single status and trends report by the year 2000 and convene a peer review panel to evaluate, by June 1998, a plan to track annual changes in the nation’s wetlands of less than 100,000 acres. Issue technical guidance, by October 1999, on the restoration, enhancement, and creation of wetlands functions.

Establish an interagency tracking system, by October 1999, that will more accurately account for wetlands losses, restoration, creation, and enhancement. This system will also establish accurate baseline data for federal programs that contribute to net wetlands gains.

The administration’s efforts to implement the actions contained in the Clean Water Action Plan are under way. In May 1998, the Interagency Wetlands Working Group issued an action plan developed to guide its efforts to produce a single wetlands status and trends report in the year 2000. However, much remains to be done before such a report can be produced. Many of these actions outlined in the plan will not occur for more than a year and are dependent upon the successful completion of other steps contained in the plan. For example, the plan calls for a three-stage quality assurance process to be developed to ensure that the National Resources Inventory’s l997 data meet FWS’ standards and needs for the year-2000 status and trends report to the Congress. Stage 3, which involves the review and analysis of preliminary estimates, is not scheduled to be completed until April 1999 and is dependent upon the successful completion of stages 1 and 2. In addition, a long-term commitment and considerable time and effort from the agencies involved will be required to successfully implement the plan. (A copy of this plan can be found in app. VII.)

Details of the administration’s plans to accomplish the other actions, such as establishing an interagency tracking system and issuing technical guidance on the restoration, enhancement, and creation of wetlands functions, have not yet been drafted. However, according to the Chairman of the Interagency Wetlands Working Group, the actions planned by the Wetlands Subcommittee to develop consistent definitions and reporting standards for use in reporting the wetlands-related accomplishments of federal agencies will be folded into the administration’s efforts.

Conclusions

Over $500 million each year is associated with the efforts of federal agencies to protect and restore wetlands. However, the consistency and reliability of the estimates made of the nation’s remaining wetlands acreage and the data reported by the agencies on their accomplishments are questionable. Despite the efforts of five interagency task forces established since 1989 to resolve them, these problems persist. As a result, the progress made toward achieving the goal of no net loss of the nation’s remaining wetlands, the administration’s new goal of gaining 100,000 acres of wetlands each year beginning in the year 2005, or the contributions made by the agencies in achieving these goals cannot be measured.

In its recently issued Clean Water Action Plan, the administration announced new efforts to improve the wetlands acreage data reported by federal agencies. Although a plan has been developed to accomplish one of the actions—producing a single wetlands status and trends report—much remains to be done before such a report can be issued. Many of the steps outlined in the plan are not scheduled to occur for more than a year and are dependent on the successful completion of other steps contained in the plan. Furthermore, a long-term commitment and considerable time and effort from the agencies are crucial to the successful implementation of this effort. In addition, details of how the other actions announced by the administration will be achieved have not been developed. Unless strategies are developed and implemented for all of the wetlands-related actions contained in the administration’s Clean Water Action Plan, the latest attempts to improve wetlands data will likely be no more successful than previous ones. Without consistent and reliable wetlands acreage data, decisionmakers (the Congress and the administration) will be hampered in their ability to make sound decisions about necessary adjustments to federal wetlands policies and programs that would allow the nation’s wetlands goals to be achieved.

Recommendation

To ensure that the consistency and reliability of wetlands acreage data are improved, we recommend that the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, in consultation with the Chairman of the White House’s Interagency Wetlands Working Group, develop and implement a strategy for ensuring that all actions contained in the Clean Water Action Plan relating to wetlands data are adopted governmentwide. Such actions should include, in addition to the ongoing effort to develop a single set of accurate, reliable figures on the status and trends of the nation’s wetlands, the development of consistent, understandable definitions and reporting standards that are used by all federal agencies in reporting their wetlands-related activities and the changes to wetlands that result from such activities.

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report to the Army Corps of Engineers; the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior; EPA; and the Chair of the Interagency Wetlands Working Group for review and comment. The Interagency Wetlands Working Group consolidated the comments of the principal agencies involved in wetlands, except for Commerce, and included the agencies’ input to the working group in its response. The agencies commented on a variety of issues. For example, the Working Group and EPA expressed concern that our report did not adequately clarify the level and nature of the involvement of federal agencies in wetlands-related activities. In addition, the Working Group and EPA believe that we emphasized the differences in the wetlands acreage estimates produced by FWS and NRCS without adequately noting that both inventories generally agree that the rate of wetlands losses has declined and that efforts are under way to reconcile the differences.

We believe that our report accurately characterizes both the level and nature of the involvement of federal agencies in wetlands-related activities and the differences in the estimates produced by the two inventories. We point out in the report that while 36 federal agencies are involved in wetlands-related activities, 6 of these agencies account for the majority of funding and staffing associated with such activities. We have added a statement to the report to further clarify the roles of the various federal agencies in wetlands-related activities. In addition, while we report that the wetlands acreage estimates produced by FWS and NRCS are not completely consistent, we also acknowledge that both have reported that the rate of wetlands losses has declined. Furthermore, we have included a discussion of the efforts recently undertaken by the Interagency Wetlands Working Group to produce a single wetlands status and trends report.

With the exception of the Department of the Interior, which agreed with our recommendation, neither the Working Group nor the other principal agencies specifically commented on our recommendation.

The Chair of the Working Group enclosed a copy of the action plan recently developed by the group to guide its efforts to produce a single status and trends report. We revised our report to include a discussion of the Working Group’s plan. This plan, which appears in appendix VII, was referred to by several agencies in their individual comments.

A more complete discussion of the comments provided by the Working Group and the agencies and our evaluation of their comments are contained in appendixes IV, V, and VI.

We performed our work from July 1997 through June 1998 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. A complete discussion of our objectives, scope, and methodology appears in appendix VIII.

As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 15 days after the date of this letter. At that time, we will send copies to the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and the Interior; the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; the Chair of the Interagency Wetlands Working Group; and other interested parties. We will also make copies available to others upon request.

Please call me at (202) 512-3841 if you or your staff have any questions about this report. Major contributors to this report are listed in appendix IX.

Wetlands-Related Presidential Executive Orders and Laws

Executive Orders

Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands, May 24, 1977. Executive Order 11990, as amended, directs each federal agency to take action to minimize the destruction of wetlands and to preserve and enhance the benefits of wetlands in carrying out certain responsibilities. These responsibilities include (1) acquiring, managing, and disposing of federal lands and facilities; (2) providing federally financed or assisted construction; and (3) conducting federal activities and programs affecting land use, including water and related land resources planning, regulating, and licensing activities. Each agency shall also, to the extent permitted by law, avoid undertaking or providing assistance for new construction located in wetlands unless (1) there is no practical alternative and (2) all practical measures to minimize harm to wetlands are included.

Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, May 24, 1977. Executive Order 11988, as amended, directs each federal agency to take action to reduce the risk of flood loss, to minimize the impact of floods on human safety, health, and welfare, and to restore and preserve the natural and beneficial values served by floodplains in carrying out certain responsibilities. These responsibilities include (1) acquiring, managing, and disposing of federal lands and facilities; (2) providing federally financed or assisted construction; and (3) conducting federal activities and programs affecting land use including water and related land resources planning, regulating, and license activities. Each federal agency must evaluate the potential effects of any actions it may take in a floodplain. If an agency proposes to conduct, support, or allow an action in a floodplain, it shall consider alternatives to avoid adverse effects and incompatible development in the floodplains.

Laws

The Coastal Barriers Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). The Coastal Barriers Resources Act, as amended by the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act, prohibits most new federal expenditures and financial assistance for development of coastal barriers, included in the Coastal Barrier Resources System, a major portion of which is wetlands. The purpose of the act is to minimize the loss of human life, wasteful expenditure of federal revenues, and damage to fish, wildlife, and other natural resources associated with the development of coastal barriers.

The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3951 et seq.). This 1990 act authorizes spending for coastal wetlands conservation and restoration projects and designated 18 percent of the total amount in the Sport Fish Restoration Account for these projects. The act created a task force, composed of the Secretary of the Army, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Governor of Louisiana, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior, to develop a comprehensive approach for protecting and restoring coastal wetlands in Louisiana. Seventy percent of the revenues go to restoring Louisiana’s coastal wetlands.

The act also contains a provision for the remaining 30 percent of the revenues. The act created two coastal wetlands cost-sharing programs open to all states. Fifteen percent is for the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program for coastal habitat projects in all coastal states, except Louisiana. The remaining 15 percent is for coastal-only North American Waterfowl Management Plan projects that are approved under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant program. These two programs are administered by FWS.

The Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.). Under the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 (subtitle C of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990), the Secretary of Commerce sets guidelines and provides funding for states to carry out coastal zone management programs. The term “coastal zone” includes wetlands. For states without a coastal zone management program, the act provides funding to develop such a program. It also provides coastal zone enhancement grants to coastal states to improve (1) coastal wetlands protection, (2) natural hazards management, (3) public beach access, (4) marine debris management, (5) assessments of coastal growth and development, and (6) environmentally sound siting of coastal energy facilities. The act amended the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972.

The Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.). This act promotes the conservation of wetlands in order to maintain the public benefits they provide. The purpose is to intensify cooperation and acquisition efforts among private interest and local, state, and federal governments for the protection, management, and conservation of wetlands. The act authorized the acquisition of wetlands consistent with a National Wetlands Priority Conservation Plan. It also (1) contains options for generating revenues to acquire and protect wetlands, (2) requires that statewide comprehensive outdoor recreation plans specifically address wetlands, (3) directs the completion of the map inventory of the nation’s wetlands and the production, by September 30, 2004, of a digital wetlands database, and (4) requires a study of the impacts of federal programs on wetlands. The act raised the price of duck stamps, required entrance fees at selected units of the national wildlife refuge system, and required that an amount equal to the annual duties on imported firearms and ammunition be paid into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. The act requires FWS to complete its wetlands inventory mapping of the contiguous United States by 1998.

The Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). This act prohibits any federal agency from undertaking or funding a project that will threaten a rare or endangered species. Some wetlands development is restricted by this statute. The act can be used to prevent alterations of wetlands necessary to maintain a species’ critical habitat— i.e., the geographical area that has the physical or biological features essential to conserve the species and that may require special management consideration or protection.

The Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act of 1989 (16 U.S.C. 410r-5 et seq.). This act provides for the acquisition of 107,600 acres to be added to Everglades National Park in southern Florida and provides for an increase in the water flow to the park to help restore and protect its water-dependent ecosystem. The additional acres would expand the size of the park to 1.5 million acres.

The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (1996 Farm Bill). Established by section 334 of the 1996 Farm Bill, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) (58 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) combines four Department of Agriculture conservation programs: the Agricultural Conservation Program, the Water Quality Incentives Program, the Great Plains Conservation Program, and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Program. EQIP offers farmers and ranchers 5-year to-10-year contracts that may make up to 100 percent incentive payments and provide up to 75 percent cost-sharing for conservation practices to combat serious threats to soil, water, and related natural resources, including wetlands. The Congress authorized $200 million annually for EQIP through fiscal year 2002 to be paid by the Commodity Credit Corporation.

The Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.). The purpose of this act is to provide assistance to the states and territories in carrying out projects to restore, enhance, and manage wildlife resources and habitat.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (“Clean Water Act”). Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) provides the principal federal authority to regulate the discharge of dredged and fill material to waters of the United States, including wetlands. Under section 404, landowners and developers must obtain permits to carry out dredging and fill activities in navigable waters, which include wetlands. This act specifically exempts certain activities—normal agriculture, silviculture (forestry), and ranching—provided they do not convert areas of U.S. waters to uses to which they were not previously subject and do not impair the flow or circulation of such waters or reduce their reach.

Section 402 (33 U.S.C. 1342) authorizes a national system for regulating sources of water pollution, which can affect wetlands, either by the Environmental Protection Agency or through approved state programs. The Clean Water Act prohibits pollution discharges without a permit. Pollutant discharges are allowed subject to statutory restrictions under this section.

The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742 et seq.). This act established the Fish and Wildlife Service and authorized the Secretary of the Interior to take such steps as required for the development, advancement, management, conservation, and protection of fish and wildlife resources. Such authority can be used to protect wetlands vital to many fish and wildlife species.

The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.). This act requires that wildlife conservation be given consideration equal to that given other purposes of water resources development projects constructed by federal agencies. This act empowers FWS and the Department of Commerce’s National Marine Fisheries Service to evaluate the impact on fish and wildlife of all new federal projects and federally permitted projects, including projects granted under section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (1990 Farm Bill). Established by the 1990 Farm Bill, the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) (16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.) is a voluntary program to restore and protect wetlands. Under WRP, farmers can apply to enroll prior converted wetlands, degraded wetlands, and buffer areas under permanent easement. Landowners are paid up to the agricultural value of the land for granting the government a permanent easement or 75 percent of this value for 30-year easements. They may also receive a large part of the costs to carry out conservation measures and to protect wetlands functions on lands subject to an easement.

The 1990 Farm Bill established the Farmers Home Administration’s Conservation Easement Program (7 U.S.C. 1985), under which lands that either have reverted or may revert to the Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Home Administration can be preserved or restored, for example, wetlands. The Secretary of Agriculture may grant or transfer easements on land obtained from farm foreclosures or voluntary conveyance to federal or state agencies.

The Prohibition on Loans to Fill Wetlands (7 U.S.C. 2006(e)) provision of the 1990 Farm Bill prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from approving any loan to drain, fill, level, or otherwise manipulate a wetland.

The Food Security Act of 1985 (1985 Farm Bill). Section 404 of the Clean Water Act does not regulate activities such as drainage, ditching, and channelization for agricultural production, which are major causes of past losses of wetlands. To fill this gap in coverage, the Food Security Act of 1985 was authorized to reduce the amount of wetland conversion directly related to agricultural production and included two major wetlands-related provisions, the Swampbuster and the Conservation Reserve Program.

The Swampbuster Provision (16 U.S.C. 3821 et seq.) denies federal farm program benefits to farmers who produce a commodity crop on a converted wetlands. Wetlands which were converted for agricultural purposes prior to the passage of this act are exempt from this provision. Landowners who want to convert wetlands may offset losses of wetlands through mitigation efforts, including enhancing, restoring or creating wetlands. Farmers can regain federal benefits if they restore converted wetlands. The Secretary of Agriculture has discretion to determine for which program benefits violators are ineligible and to provide good faith exemptions.

The Conservation Reserve Program (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) is a voluntary program offering annual rental payments to farmers to protect highly erodible and environmentally sensitive lands, including wetlands, with grass, trees, and other long-term cover. The 1996 Farm Bill extended the program until fiscal year 2002, capped overall enrollment at 36.4 million acres, and provided funding through the Commodity Credit Corporation. Annual rental payments are based on the agricultural rental value of the land and can cover up to 50 percent of a participant’s costs. Participants may also receive an additional 25 percent of their costs for the restoration of wetlands.

The 1990 and 1996 Farm Bills modified these programs.

The Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941 et seq.). Concerned about the damage done to the Great Lakes Basin and its fish and wildlife resources, including the loss of 80 percent of the wetlands in the basin, the Congress passed legislation to address this problem. The Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act directs the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service to seek to achieve several goals in administering the agency’s programs. One of these goals is protecting, maintaining, and restoring fish and wildlife habitat, including the enhancement and creation of wetlands.

Sections 1006(d) and 1007(a) Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (33 U.S.C. 103 (i)(11) and 133 (b)(11)). The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 provides that federal funds apportioned to a state for the National Highway System and the surface transportation program may be used for wetlands mitigation efforts related to projects funded under these programs. These mitigation efforts may include participation in wetlands mitigation banks, contributions to statewide and regional efforts to restore, conserve, enhance and create wetlands, and the development of statewide and regional wetlands conservation and mitigation plans. Contributions toward these efforts, subject to certain conditions, may take place before a project is constructed.

The Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l et seq.). This act supports the purchase of natural areas, including wetlands, at federal and state levels. The Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 amended the Land and Water Conservation Act to (1) permit the funds to be used to acquire wetlands and (2) require the states to include the acquisition of wetlands as part of their comprehensive outdoor recreation plans.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Amended on October 11, 1996 by the Sustainable Fisheries Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Act calls for direct action to stop or reverse the continued loss of fish habitat. The act requires cooperation among the National Marine Fisheries Service, eight Regional Fishery Management Councils, fishing participants, federal and state agencies, and others in achieving the essential habitat goals of habitat protection, conservation and enhancement.

The Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 715 et seq.). This act established a Migratory Bird Conservation Commission to approve areas recommended by the Secretary of the Interior for acquisition with Migratory Bird Conservation Funds. The Commission also approves wetlands conservation projects recommended by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (16 U.S.C. 718 et seq.). Passed in 1934, this act requires waterfowl hunters aged 16 and older to purchase “duck stamps,” the proceeds of which are deposited into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to be used to acquire small wetland and pothole areas and rights-of-way providing access to such areas.

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This act provides that environmental impact statements be prepared for major federal actions. The statements must include assessments of the environmental impacts of proposed actions, any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided should the proposals be implemented, and alternatives to the proposed actions. Assessments under this act have been applied to major federal actions affecting wetlands.

The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.). This act requires communities to develop federally approved floodplain management programs. Administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the act provides subsidized flood insurance to property owners in communities with approved programs. Communities that do not adopt an approved program to regulate future floodplain uses are ineligible for most federal financial assistance, including federal disaster assistance in case of flood. Property owners whose land is in a floodplain cannot get federally guaranteed mortgages, loans, or other forms of financial assistance unless the property is covered by flood insurance. In general, the programs apply to structures in floodplains. Although not the act’s primary focus, wetlands development is covered in the programs, since nearly all coastal and most inland wetlands occur in floodplains.

The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.). This act established a National Wildlife Refuge System by combining former “wildlife refuges, areas for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife threatened with extinction, wildlife ranges, game ranges, wildlife management areas, and waterfowl production areas” into a single refuge system. The system currently includes 513 national wildlife refuges. FWS estimates that about 33 percent is wetlands.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989 (16 U.S.C. 4401 et seq.). The act encourages voluntary public-private partnerships to conserve North American wetlands ecosystems and wetland-dependent migratory birds in support of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in an effort to increase waterfowl populations. The act authorizes the Congress to appropriate up to $30 million annually for its implementation. The act is financed, in part, by funds received from the investment of unobligated Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act funds, which are derived from excise taxes on ammunition and sporting arms, handguns, and certain archery equipment, as well as fines, penalties, and forfeitures associated with Migratory Bird Treaty Act violations. Between 50 and 70 percent of the available funds are to be spent on wetlands conservation projects in Canada and Mexico; the remaining funds are to be spent on projects in the United States. Projects are recommended to the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission for funding, and costs are shared with state and private organizations working toward the goal of wetlands preservation.

The Resources Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 1342 et seq.). This act, which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, controls the disposal of hazardous waste and could reduce the threat of chemical contamination of wetlands.

The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403). Section 10 of this act requires that permits be obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers for dredge, fill, and other activities that could obstruct navigable waterways, which can include wetlands.

The Water Bank Act (16 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.). Passed in 1970, this act authorized the Water Bank Program to provide funds to purchase 10-year easements on wetlands and adjacent areas. The act’s objectives were to preserve, restore, and improve the wetlands of the nation and thereby (1) conserve surface waters, (2) preserve and improve migratory waterfowl and other wildlife resources, (3) reduce runoff and soil and wind erosion, (4) contribute to flood control, (5) contribute to improved water quality and reduced stream sedimentation, (6) contribute to improved subsurface moisture, (7) reduce the number of new acres coming into production and retire lands now in production, (8) enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, and (9) promote comprehensive and total water management planning. Under the act, private landowners or operators enter into agreements with the federal government in which they promise not to drain, fill, level, burn, or otherwise destroy wetlands and to maintain ground cover essential for the resting, breeding, or feeding of migratory birds. In exchange, the landowners or operators receive annual payments.

The Watershed Protection and Flood Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1003a). The Secretary of Agriculture may provide cost share assistance to enable project sponsors, often local flood control districts, to acquire perpetual wetland or floodplain conservation easements. The easements would perpetuate, restore, and enhance the natural capacity of wetlands and floodplains to retain excessive floodwater, improve water quality and quantity, and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. Project sponsors must provide up to 50 percent of the cost for acquiring such easements.

The Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2294). Section 1135 of this act authorized the Secretary of the Army to review water resources projects constructed by the Corps to determine the need for modifications that would improve the quality of the environment. Projects that address the degradation of the quality of the environment caused by the Corps may also be undertaken. Nonfederal parties must agree to provide 25 percent of a project’s cost and usually 100 percent of the operation, maintenance, replacement, and rehabilitation costs. Up to 80 percent of the nonfederal share may be provided as work-in-kind.

The Water Resources Development Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2317). Section 307 of this act includes, as part of the Army Corps of Engineers’ water resources development program, (1) an interim goal of no overall net loss of the nation’s remaining wetlands base and (2) a long-term goal to increase the quality and quantity of the nation’s wetlands. The act also requires the Secretary of the Army to develop—in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, and other appropriate agencies—a wetlands action plan to achieve the goal of no net loss of remaining wetlands. This action plan, to be completed by November 28, 1991, was never published. The act also authorized the Secretary of the Army to establish and implement a demonstration program for the purposes of determining and evaluating the technical and scientific long-term feasibility of wetlands restoration, enhancement, and creation as a means of contributing to these goals.

The Water Resources Development Act of 1992 (33 U.S.C. 2326). Section 204 of the act authorized the Secretary of the Army to carry out projects for the protection, restoration, and creation of aquatic and ecologically related habitat, including wetlands, in connection with dredging for a navigation project. Nonfederal parties must agree to provide 25 percent of a project’s construction cost and pay 100 percent of the operation, maintenance, replacement, and rehabilitation costs of the project.

The Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (33 U.S.C. 2330). Section 206 of this act authorized the Secretary of the Army to carry out aquatic ecosystem restoration projects that will improve the quality of the environment, are in the public interest, and are cost-effective. Individual projects are limited to $5 million in federal cost. Nonfederal parties must contribute 35 percent of the cost of construction and 100 percent of the cost of operation, maintenance, replacement, and rehabilitation.

Principal Wetlands-Related Programs or Activities of Federal Agencies

At least 36 federal agencies are, to varying degrees, involved in wetlands-related activities. This appendix briefly describes some of the principal wetlands-related programs or activities of these agencies.

Department of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a number of programs designed to promote wetlands protection. Some of these, such as the “Swampbuster” provision and the Conservation Reserve Program were included in the 1985 Farm Bill and later modified in the 1990 and 1996 Farm Bills. The Wetlands Reserve Program, also included in the 1990 Farm Bill, represents one of Agriculture’s major programs to restore wetlands. These incentive-based conservation programs were established to restore and protect wetlands and to minimize the detrimental impacts to those wetlands already converted. Although other Agriculture agencies are also involved in wetlands-related activities, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Farm Service Agency are primarily responsible for administering the Department’s wetlands programs.

Natural Resources Conservation Service

The mission of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly the Soil Conservation Service, is to assist in the conservation, development, and productive use of the nation’s soil, water, and related resources. NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to landowners to achieve conservation objectives; this assistance includes the restoration and enhancement of wetlands. NRCS is responsible for delineating wetlands to implement the 1985 Farm Bill (Swampbuster); the 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act; and the 1996 Farm Bill. In addition, it administers the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Water Bank Program, and the National Resources Inventory.

Wetlands Reserve Program

The Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary program to restore and protect wetlands on private property. Landowners have an opportunity to receive financial incentives to enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring marginal agricultural land. A landowner voluntarily limits future use of the land, yet retains private ownership. The landowner and NRCS develop a plan for the restoration and maintenance of the wetlands. According to agency officials, more than 600,000 acres had been enrolled in the program as of April 15, 1998, at a cost of about $500 million. Although not more than 975,000 acres can be enrolled in the program by the year 2000, the administration included a proposal in its Clean Water Action Plan to expand the Wetlands Reserve Program to allow the enrollment of up to 250,000 acres of wetlands each year.

Water Bank Program

The Water Bank Program was established by the Water Bank Act in 1970. This program provides funds to purchase 10-year easements on wetlands and adjacent areas. It provides annual rental payments to landowners for preserving wetlands in important migratory waterfowl nesting, breeding, or feeding areas. The program focuses primarily on contracts with landowners in several central and western flyway states. Over $80 million was spent on the program in fiscal years 1990 through 1997. Although the last contract was awarded in 1995 and no new funding has been put into the program since then, a small amount of funds becomes available each year because of landowners’ withdrawals. These funds have been used to enroll a few new easements in North Dakota during fiscal years 1996 and 1997. Program funding will expire in fiscal year 2005.

National Resources Inventory

The National Resources Inventory (NRI) is an inventory that determines the conditions of land cover and use, soil erosion, prime farmland, wetlands, and other natural resource characteristics on nonfederal rural land in the United States. Inventories have been conducted at 5-year intervals by NRCS. The program is currently making the transition to an annualized inventory process. The 1992 inventory covered some 800,000 sample sites representing the nation’s nonfederal land—some 75 percent of the nation’s land area. The purpose of the NRI is to provide information that can be used for effectively formulating policy and developing natural resource conservation programs at the national and state levels.

Farm Service Agency

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) manages the Conservation Reserve Program. The Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary program offering rental payments to farmers to protect highly erodible and environmentally sensitive cropland. Wetlands and land to be restored to wetlands are enrolled through a competitive bid process in which offers are evaluated on the basis of their relative environmental benefits. An estimated 692,000 acres of wetlands are currently protected or have been restored by the program. The Conservation Reserve Program also protects a significant amount of upland acres associated with wetlands. The program provides an estimated $40 million each year for the protection of wetlands.

In addition, the Farm Service Agency administers the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program under the Conservation Reserve Program. This program provides the opportunity to partner with state governments to target the most environmentally critical areas.

FSA also administers and enforces the Swampbuster provision of the 1985 Farm Bill. FSA provides wetlands information to producers and third parties, monitors compliance with regulations, responds to public complaints and producers’ appeals of FSA decisions, and deals with violations of the regulations. In each state, FSA’s operations are carried out in conjunction with a state committee appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. In each of over 3,000 agricultural counties throughout the United States, a county committee is responsible for the local administration of FSA’s operations.

Forest Service

The Forest Service administers over 191 million acres of land containing an estimated 9.1 million acres of wetlands. The majority of these are in Alaska and in National Forests east of the Mississippi. The Forest Service is headed by a Chief who has six deputies reporting to him. Three of the six deputies have areas of responsibilities that include wetlands program elements.

The National Forest and Grasslands have an active wetlands restoration program in wetlands assessment, restoration, and compliance. Many staff share these responsibilities: Watershed and Air Management; Wildlife, Fish and Rare Plants; and Range Management are the most active in wetlands assessment and restoration. The Forest Service has recently joined in partnership with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in instituting an assessment method called Proper Functioning Condition in the western states to assess the condition of riparian (stream-side) areas and wetlands.

The Forest Service also provides USDA leadership for forestry on nonfederal lands with an emphasis on management and protection of the estimated 52 million acres of nonindustrial private forest lands, including wetlands, in the contiguous United States. The Forest Service also works with other USDA agencies in implementing the Wetlands Reserve Program.

The Forest Service also has a program of research on forested wetlands that emphasizes developing and testing management that restores and maintains wetlands. Riparian ecosystems and their associated wetlands are studied in many parts of the country. Region-specific research focuses on southern coastal plain wetlands, south-central bottomland hardwood swamps, northern peatlands in the Great Lakes states, and wetlands in interior Alaska.

Overall, the Forest Service employed 93 full-time-equivalent staff for a total wetlands-related program cost of $16.5 million in fiscal year 1997.

Agricultural Research Service

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) conducts research on the cost-effective practices and environmental benefits associated with maintaining and enhancing existing and constructed wetlands. ARS spent about $8.8 million (in 1997 constant dollars) and 20 scientific years (similar to full-time-equivalent staff-years) from fiscal year 1990 through 1997 on wetlands-related research.

Economic Research Service

The Economic Research Service (ERS) performs research and policy analysis at the national level and identifies long-term trend information. ERS has studied wetlands-related issues since the mid-1970s when a major conversion of wetlands to cropland occurred. Although ERS does not appropriate funds specifically for wetlands-related research, an ERS official estimated that about 1.25 full-time-equivalent staff-years (about $120,000) are spent on wetlands-related research each year.

Department of Commerce

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible for protecting and conserving living marine, estuarine, and anadromous fish resources and habitats. In addition to performing administrative, management, and regulatory wetlands functions, the Service analyzes and comments on construction proposals and applications for dredge and fill permits issued by the Corps of Engineers. It is also an active member along with the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency in projects funded under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act of 1990.

Through its Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses monetary awards from polluters and other responsible parties to “restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of” marine resources damaged by oil spills, hazardous releases, or other human-induced environmental disturbances. To date, this program has initiated restoration activities at over 25 sites around the country.

The National Ocean Service, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service are also involved in wetlands-related activities. Wetlands-related responsibilities include implementing the Coastal Zone Management Program, improving the health of the nation’s estuaries and coastal habitats, and performing coastal land and ocean sensing mapping and monitoring. For example, the National Ocean Service’s National Estuarine Research Reserve Program has placed about 440,000 acres of estuarine waters, wetlands, and uplands into active management and stewardship. This is accomplished with the cooperation of the coastal states and territories and of constituent groups.

Department of Defense

Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy

All three military services were involved in a variety of wetlands-related activities in fiscal years 1990 through 1997. Although involved in restoration, creation/construction, research, and other wetlands-related activities, enhancement, mapping, inventorying, and delineation were the primary activities conducted during this period.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the primary federal agency responsible for regulating wetlands development under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Section 404 authorizes the Corps to issue or deny permits for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into U.S. waters. Of the approximately 12,000 to 15,000 project-specific permit applications the Corps evaluates each year, about 8,000 are issued and 200 denied. The remaining applications either qualify for authorization under a general permit, are withdrawn by the applicant, or are canceled by the Corps when the applicant fails to provide the information required for a decision. The Corps also verifies authorization of approximately 75,000 minor activities each year under the terms and conditions of regional and nationwide general permits.

Under the President’s Wetlands Plan, issued in August 1993, the Corps was to establish an administrative appeals program whereby the public could appeal decisions of permit denials and jurisdiction determinations. The adoption of this program has been held up because of funding limitations; however, a partial appeals program, for denials, is expected to be in place in fiscal year 1999. Without such an appeals system, the public must resort to litigation to challenge a regulatory decision by the Corps.

Both the Corps and EPA have enforcement responsibilities under section 404. EPA has statutory enforcement authority to deal with discharges of dredged or fill material where no permit has been obtained. The Corps has similar authority for dealing with violations of permit conditions. In January 1989, the Corps and EPA entered into a memorandum of agreement that established the Corps as the agency primarily responsible for initial investigations of reported violations. Both the Corps and EPA have authority to seek civil or administrative remedies for unauthorized discharges in wetlands. In addition, the agencies can, under appropriate circumstances, pursue criminal action in their enforcement cases. During fiscal year 1997, 6,300 unauthorized discharges were reported to the Corps. The Corps resolved 6,350 reported violations by requiring restoration of the damage to wetlands or other actions. (Some of those were reported in fiscal year 1996.) Some violations remained open at the end of fiscal year 1997. In addition to the unauthorized discharges, the Corps conducts compliance inspections of about 7,000 permitted activities per year. Almost 500 violations are noted as a result of these inspections.

The Corps is also involved in ecosystem restorations, many of which address wetlands, riparian, and aquatic ecosystems. The Corps’ restoration projects may be linked with modifications to the operation or structure of existing projects. Dredged material can also be used to benefit aquatic ecosystems. The Kissimmee River project is one example of a major Corps effort to restore the environmental value of an area. The project will require over $247 million in federal funds and will enhance wetlands by establishing a more natural timing and flow through the Kissimmee basin.

Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act Program

Public Law 101-646 stresses the nation’s concern for conserving and restoring coastal wetlands. Because Louisiana faces the most alarming wetlands loss rates, the law’s primary focus is on the restoration and protection of those wetlands. The law calls for a Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force made up of representatives from five federal agencies and the Governor of Louisiana to develop a comprehensive plan for addressing coastal Louisiana’s severe wetlands loss problem. Every year, this task force approves and provides to the Congress priority lists of projects. Since 1991, this law has provided an average of over $38 million annually in federal funding for Louisiana restoration projects.

Office of the Secretary of Defense

In addition to the activities conducted by the military services, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program funded a study in 1993 to, among other things, identify installation requirements relating to wetlands protection and management.

Department of Energy

Department of Energy Program Offices and Facilities

A number of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) programs were involved in wetlands-related activities through field and operations offices, national laboratories, and research facilities during fiscal years 1990 through 1997.Although wetlands-related activities conducted by these program offices and facilities ranged from complying with regulations to education and public outreach, research and restoration were the primary wetlands-related activities conducted. Over half the estimated $46 million (in 1997 constant dollars) spent in fiscal years 1990 through 1997 were associated with these two activities.

Bonneville Power Administration

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), one of the five federal power marketing agencies within DOE, supplies about half of the electricity used in the Pacific Northwest. Some of BPA’s power projects affect wetlands, and it has developed wetlands programs to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife. BPA has spent about $10 million (in 1997 constant dollars) since 1990 on its wetlands-related activities, primarily to acquire land for mitigation purposes.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is an independent regulatory agency within the DOE whose responsibilities include approving the construction of natural gas pipelines; the rates for oil pipelines; the licensing and inspection of private, municipal, and state hydroelectric projects; and the overseeing of related environmental matters. The Commission’s wetlands-related activities involved reviewing proposed projects for environmental impacts, including impacts to wetlands.

Western Area Power Administration

Western Area Power Administration, a federal power marketing agency within DOE, supplies hydroelectric power to over 600 wholesale power customers. Western Area Power’s wetlands-related activities consisted primarily of creating or constructing new wetlands as mitigation for expansion projects that affected existing wetlands.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has very little involvement in wetlands-related activities. However, in the few cases in which its programs are used to assist housing and community development for proposed projects that are located in wetlands, the Department requires compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and Executive Order 11990. The Department could not provide information on the staffing and funding associated with these activities.

Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior has a number of programs addressing various aspects of wetlands ranging from the protection, restoration and enhancement efforts by the Fish and Wildlife Service to the research efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

FWS is one of the primary agencies responsible for wetlands. In addition to reviewing section 404 permit applications and making recommendations to the Corps of Engineers on whether to approve a permit application and on any conditions that should be incorporated into it, FWS is active in programs that protect, restore, and enhance wetlands.

Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program began in 1987, restoring wetlands functions and values on private lands through voluntary cooperative agreements. Since then, the program has expanded to include habitat restoration of other important wildlife habitat, including native-grass prairie, riparian habitat, in-stream habitat, and declining-species habitats. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has entered into over 17,000 voluntary cooperative agreements with private landowners for the purposes of restoring habitat. The program also provides technical assistance to other federal agencies with conservation programs, primarily the Department of Agriculture. In fiscal years 1990 through 1997, the program received $123.4 million in funds. To date, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has restored over

360,000 acres of wetlands,

128,000 acres of prairie grassland,

930 miles of riparian habitat, and

90 miles of in-stream aquatic habitat.

North American Waterfowl Management Plan

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan has the goal of restoring continental waterfowl populations to numbers seen in the 1970s. To do this, it joins the efforts of public agencies and private conservation groups by applying the joint venture concept to develop partnerships and matching grant funding arrangements to carry out wetlands protection and restoration. The initial plan was created in 1986 involving Canada and the United States; it was updated and expanded to include Mexico in 1994. There are 11 habitat joint ventures in the United States and 3 in Canada. The plan calls for 11.1 million acres of wetlands and associated uplands to be protected and 14.7 million acres to be restored or enhanced. Habitat goals for each of the plan’s joint ventures are identified in the plan update. Actual joint venture projects are funded individually by the joint venture partners involved. FWS receives some appropriations for associated administrative efforts.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant Program

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant Program was authorized by the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989. The program encourages voluntary public-private partnerships to conserve North American wetlands ecosystems. Principal conservation actions include the acquisition, creation, enhancement, and restoration of wetlands and wetlands-associated habitat. From fiscal year 1991 through March 1998, 576 projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, involving over 900 partners, have been approved for funding. Approximately 3.7 million acres of wetlands and associated uplands have been acquired, restored, or enhanced in the United States and Canada, while nearly 20 million acres have been affected in large biosphere reserves through conservation education and management plan projects in Mexico.

National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program

National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants are authorized by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act of 1990. The source of funding for the grant program is a portion of the revenues deposited in the Sport Fish Restoration Account of the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund. Program eligibility extends to all states bordering on the Atlantic, Gulf (except Louisiana), and Pacific coasts, as well as states bordering the Great Lakes and U.S. territories, trust areas, and Puerto Rico. The share of project costs funded by the federal grant cannot exceed 50 percent, unless the coastal state has established a trust fund or a fund derived from a dedicated recurring source of moneys for the purpose of acquiring coastal wetlands, other natural areas, or open spaces, in which case the federal share may be increased to 75 percent. Since 1992, the program has protected almost 64,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands through acquisition and restoration.

National Wildlife Refuge System

FWS administers the 92 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats. The Service estimates that about one-third of these acres are wetlands, excluding tundra in Alaska. The 513 national wildlife refuges and 37 wetlands management districts, located in all 50 states, encompass a tremendous variety of wetland types providing important habitat for migratory birds, anadromous fish, and species threatened with extinction. Refuge managers use water control structures, moist soil management, prescribed burning, and other techniques to restore, maintain, and enhance refuge wetland habitats.

National Wetlands Inventory

The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) program began in 1978 and has had two goals since its inception: to produce (1) detailed maps for the country and (2) comprehensive, statistically valid acreage estimates of the nation’s wetlands. The Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986, as amended, required the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Fish and Wildlife Service, to complete maps for the conterminous United States by September 30, 1998, and to update the report on wetlands status and trends on a 10-year cycle. To date, three congressional reports have been generated by the status and trends efforts.

National Park Service

As the manager of more than 16 million acres of wetlands, the National Park Service is a key participant in the preservation, restoration, and management of wetlands habitats across the United States. Although many wetlands in National Park System units are in essentially pristine condition, others have been damaged by drainage, pollution, diking, and filling. In 1991, the National Park Service initiated a Service-wide program designed to enhance its wetlands protection, restoration, inventory, applied research, and education efforts. This program is implemented through project funding and technical assistance from the Service’s Water Resources Division.

Bureau of Land Management

The mission of the Bureau of Land Management is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public land for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. For riparian-wetlands areas, this involves inventory/classification, project development/maintenance, monitoring, protection/mitigation, and acquisition/expansion of riparian-wetlands areas through Land and Water Conservation Fund purchases and land exchanges. Bureau of Land Management field offices develop and carry out site-specific management needs, proposals, and work plans for a variety of wetlands projects, ranging from prescribed grazing management to protective enclosures around small springs, to larger wetlands development projects. The Bureau is also engaged in several joint venture partnerships that focus on regional wetlands protection and development relative to the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Bureau of Reclamation

The Bureau of Reclamation’s mission has evolved over the past 10 years from one focusing on the development of water resources and civil works construction projects to one emphasizing water resources management, protection, and development and maintenance and enhancement of existing facilities. The Bureau’s wetlands activities include compensatory mitigation required to address unavoidable impacts caused by the construction and operation of projects. Compensatory mitigation may entail wetlands restoration, enhancement, and/or development. The Bureau also voluntarily participates with cost-sharing partners in developing, restoring, and enhancing wetlands to establish and improve wetlands functions and values associated with its projects.

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey’s wetlands-related activities are predominately research and mapping; the agency does not directly carry out restoration, protection or enhancement efforts. Its primary efforts are focused on obtaining an increased understanding of the structure and function of wetlands, both as individual units and components of large hydrologic systems. In many cases, the scientific information produced feeds directly into the wetlands restoration and management activities of other agencies.

Examples of research efforts include the following: Inventorying and monitoring Louisiana’s coastal wetlands. The Survey documented wetlands loss through a time series of habitat maps and reports and provides spatial databases for planning and monitoring large-scale wetlands restoration projects of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act.

Science for the restoration of the south Florida, San Francisco Bay, and Chesapeake Bay ecosystems. Most of the wetlands work of the Integrated Natural Resources Science Program (formerly Ecosystem Program) was conducted in south Florida. The program’s costs were $3.7 million, $7.4 million, and $7.3 million for fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997 respectively.

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs administers and manages approximately 52 million acres of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans. Most Indian land is located in arid regions not known for their wetlands values; however, approximately one million acres of trust land contain wetlands that possess significant fish and wildlife resources. Approximately 400,000 acres of wetlands are located on 18 Indian reservations in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Tribes in these three states, in conjunction with the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, have developed a consolidated set of wetlands management and development project proposals for their reservations. According to a Bureau official, there is no other budget or program for addressing wetlands located on reservations in other states. Approximately 34,000 acres of wetlands were restored, enhanced, created or constructed through 1997. The Bureau has no staff funded for this work.

Office of Surface Mining

The Office of Surface Mining’s mission is to carry out the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, as amended, in cooperation with the states and tribes. The Office is responsible for ensuring that any wetlands that may be affected by mining are addressed in the permitting process, coordinated with the Corps of Engineers, and mitigated if necessary. Furthermore, the Corps’ nationwide permits require the Office of Surface Mining or the state regulatory authority to approve wetlands mitigation plans prior to submission. In addition, the abandoned mine land program has encouraged the construction and enhancement of wetlands as part of the Federal Reclamation Program and the abandoned mine land program’s state grant process. In fiscal years 1990 through 1997, the Office spent a little over $1 million dollars on wetlands-related activities.

Minerals Management Service

The Minerals Management Service manages the Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas program. The Service’s responsibilities, as set forth in the Outer Continental Shelf Act, include assessing the potential impacts of oil and gas activities on the coastal environment, including wetlands, and managing oil and gas activities to minimize any impacts. Most of the major wetlands studies sponsored by the Service were funded prior to fiscal year 1990, although, in fiscal years 1990 through 1997, approximately $507,000 was spent on wetlands research in the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, in fiscal year 1997, the Service initiated a cooperative study of coastal wetlands impacts related to pipeline canal widening rates with the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Minerals Management Service funding of this 4-year study was $106,000.

Department of Justice

Within the Department of Justice, lawyers in the Environment and Natural Resources Division and the 94 United States Attorney Offices handle all wetlands-related litigation, including affirmative and defensive civil cases and prosecution of criminal violations. This work includes litigation to enforce the law when individuals and/or companies fill wetlands without a permit, to defend legal challenges to section 404 permits that have been issued by the government, and to defend inverse condemnation cases filed against the government because of permit decisions. An Environment Division official estimated that in fiscal years 1990 through 1997, its attorneys addressed 1,010 cases at an expense of $19 million (in 1997 constant dollars). In fiscal years 1992 through 1997, the U.S. Attorney Offices addressed 67 section 404 cases.

Department of State

The Department of State supports the Ramsar Wetlands Convention through voluntary contributions to (1) the Ramsar Bureau’s core budget, (2) Conference of Parties meetings, and (3) wetlands projects. The Convention on Wetlands, adopted in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is the only international accord dedicated to the protection of wetlands. The 106 nations that are parties to the Ramsar Convention have designated over 900 wetlands sites of international importance to promote their sustainable use and management. The United States contributes about 25 percent of the total Ramsar Bureau’s budget.

The Department of State also provides funding for the Wetlands for the Future project, whose goals are to train wetlands managers and improve their expertise in wetlands conservation in the Western Hemisphere. The Department spent about $4.3 million (in constant 1997 dollars) on its wetlands-related activities in fiscal years 1991 through 1997.

Department of Transportation

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard must comply with the provisions of sections 404 and 401 of the Clean Water Act and Executive Order 11990. According to the Coast Guard, consideration is given to the impacts on wetlands before any new real property acquisition, new construction projects, or maintenance projects for its shore facilities is undertaken. However, although the Coast Guard conducted a number of wetlands-related activities in fiscal years 1990 through 1997, including restoration, enhancement, and creation as mitigation, it does not keep records of such activities or track the funding or staffing associated with them.

Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration administers the Federal Aid and Federal Lands Highway Program. As part of the highway development process, state departments of transportation carry out components of the wetlands management and compliance process, including identification, delineation, and mitigation of highways’ impacts on wetlands. Neither the Federal Highway Administration nor the state departments of transportation regulate wetlands. However, time is spent in the regulatory compliance process performing tasks primarily for the section 404 process. Most of the over $523 million (in constant 1997 dollars) spent by the Federal Highway Administration in fiscal years 1990 through 1997 was related to mitigation for highway construction.

Environmental Protection Agency

As one of the primary agencies responsible for wetlands, the Environmental Protection Agency has regulatory and enforcement responsibilities under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. EPA also has regulatory functions that include the control of discharges of pollutants in all waters of the United States, including wetlands. In addition, EPA performs wetlands-related research. EPA also has established programs that improve wetlands protection by increasing the emphasis on watershed or ecosystem management approaches; support and improve capabilities of state, tribal, and local wetlands programs; provide technical assistance, including scientific information and tools; and support outreach and education to meet the needs of its partners. As part of these programs, EPA provides wetlands grants to assist state, tribal, and local government organizations in building their wetlands expertise, capabilities, and programs. EPA has spent $241 million (in constant 1997 dollars) and over 1,450 full-time-equivalent staff-years on its wetlands-related activities in fiscal years 1990 through 1997.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has no specific wetlands programs, but it does operate programs that affect wetlands, such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the Public Assistance Program, and the National Flood Insurance Program.

FEMA’s Public Assistance Program provides funding to state and local governments and nonprofit entities to repair damaged facilities and also funds other disaster response and recovery activities, such as debris removal and disposal. The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program assists states and local communities to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures that substantially reduce the risk of future damage. In addition, FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program maps flood hazard areas and makes flood insurance available only in those communities that adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances that meet or exceed minimum standards. Many of these floodplains are also wetlands. The National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System provides discounts on flood insurance premiums that take actions beyond the program’s minimum requirements.

Federal Emergency Management Agency staff also review some of the Corps’ permitting decisions relative to section 404 of the Clean Water Act and other agencies’ National Environmental Policy Act documents.

General Services Administration

The General Services Administration’s wetlands-related activities are related to fulfilling the “only practical alternative” requirement of Presidential Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management. Agency officials responsible for leasing actions or for site acquisitions must certify that the site selected is the only practical alternative despite the impacts on wetlands. In fiscal years 1990 through 1997, the administration spent about $90,000 (in constant 1997 dollars) and no identified full-time-equivalent staff-years on wetlands-related activities.

International Boundary and Water Commission (U.S. Section)

The International Boundary and Water Commission is a bi-national commission created by the governments of the United States and Mexico to apply the provisions of various boundary and water treaties and to settle differences arising from such applications. The U.S. Section’s wetlands responsibilities include maintaining the Lower Rio Grande Flood Control Project by mowing and clearing brush growing within the river floodway, where needed. The Commission’s U.S. Section is also creating a wildlife refuge primarily focused on waterfowl habitat in a moist soil managed wetlands in El Paso, Texas. About $834,000 and six full-time-equivalent staff-years were associated with these wetlands-related activities in fiscal year 1997.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is involved in a number of wetlands-related activities. These activities include restoration, construction, research, mapping, delineation, and education. In fiscal years 1990 through 1997, the agency spent about $1.6 million (in constant 1997 dollars) and six full-time-equivalent staff-years on these activities.

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation was involved in a number of wetlands research and research-related activities. Although research accounts for a majority of its activities, the National Science Foundation was also involved in wetlands mapping, restoration, and education/public outreach activities. In fiscal years 1990 through 1997, the National Science Foundation spent almost $47 million (in constant 1997 dollars) and 27 full-time-equivalent staff-years on its wetlands research and research-related activities.

The Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution’s wetlands-related activities range from acquiring easements to education/public outreach efforts. The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center provides public education and professional training on the tidal and freshwater wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay region.

Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority has been involved primarily in wetlands research and, to a limited extent, other activities such as restoration, mapping, inventorying, and delineation. In fiscal years 1990 through 1997, the Tennessee Valley Authority spent about $15 million (in constant 1997 dollars) and 115 full-time-equivalent staff-years on its wetlands-related activities.

Funding and Staffing Associated With Federal Agencies’ Wetlands-Related Activities, Fiscal Years 1990 Through 1997

Totals may not add because of rounding.

N/A indicates that the agencies did not provide the requested information.

With the reorganization of the Department of Agriculture in 1994, the management of some programs, such as the Water Bank Program, were transferred from the Farm Service Agency (formerly the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service) to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service).

Funding associated with NRCS’ wetlands-related activities do not include the cost of performing wetlands delineations under the Swampbuster provision from fiscal year 1992 through 1996. According to NRCS officials, the costs of performing wetlands delineations were not tracked during this period. The costs of wetlands delineations are reflected in the totals shown for the remaining years. Funding associated with these efforts in 1990, 1991, and 1997 was $73.6, $38.1, and $33.8, respectively.

The funding data shown includes the expenditures associated with the Corps’ regulatory program. Although most of the Corps’ regulatory funding is devoted to the section 404 program, the costs of regulating other activities are also included. However, the Corps does not separately track the costs of regulating wetlands. The staffing data shown for the Corps are primarily for the regulatory program and do not include staff involved in the Corps’ other wetlands-related activities.

Less than $.01 million These numbers represent the resources associated with the efforts of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s headquarters staff. Although United States Attorney Offices are also involved in prosecuting and defending section 404 cases, the Executive Office of United States Attorneys could not provide funding and staffing data.

Comments From the Clinton Administration Interagency Wetlands Working Group Including Input From Individual Agencies

The following are GAO’s comments on the Clinton Administration’s Interagency Wetlands Working Group’s letter dated May 15, 1998.

GAO’s Comments

1. The report notes that the agencies are involved in wetlands-related activities to varying degrees. Not only do we point out that 6 of the 36 agencies are the primary agencies involved in and responsible for implementing wetlands-related programs, but we state that these 6 agencies account for more than 70 percent of the funding and 65 percent of the staffing associated with such activities. In addition to the five agencies cited by the Interagency Wetlands Working Group as the primary wetlands agencies, we included the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. During the period covered by our review, the Farm Service Agency accounted for a significant amount of the funding and staffing associated with wetlands-related activities because of its involvement in such programs as the Conservation Reserve Program and Swampbuster.

In addition, appendix II of the report contains detailed information on the types of wetlands-related activities that each agency conducts. However, to further clarify the roles of the various federal agencies in wetlands-related activities, we revised the caption in the report to highlight that agencies are involved to varying degrees and included a statement in this section to indicate the nature of the wetlands-related activities of the other 30 agencies. 2. We reviewed the administration’s national wetlands plan during the course of our work and made several references to it in our report. However, we did not include a more in-depth discussion of the plan because the administration’s national wetlands plan dealt primarily with streamlining and improving the wetlands regulatory program, not improving wetlands data. 3. The report acknowledged not only the different mandates and methods used by the National Wetlands Inventory and the National Resources Inventory, but also recognized that both have reported a decline in the rate of wetlands loss. However, as we point out, the estimates of wetlands acreage made by the two inventories are not completely consistent—a fact also recognized in the administration’s Clean Water Action Plan. Furthermore, the previous efforts of interagency task forces as well as the current efforts by the Interagency Wetlands Working Group, taken in response to the Clean Water Action Plan, emphasize the need to reconcile the differences in the estimates of the two inventories.

We added information to the report recognizing the effort undertaken by the Interagency Wetlands Working Group to reconcile the two inventories and produce a single wetlands status and trends report. We also included a copy of the Interagency Wetlands Working Group’s May 1998 action plan in appendix VII. 4. The agencies provided editorial changes, technical corrections, and clarifying information that have been incorporated in our final report where appropriate. 5. We revised the report to reflect the development of the Interagency Wetlands Working Group’s May 1998 action plan. This plan addresses how one of the three actions intended to improve wetlands data contained in the administration’s 1998 Clean Water Action Plan will be accomplished. Details of how the other actions will be accomplished have not been developed. 6. We did not revise the title or first sentence of this section as suggested by EPA. However, its comment indicates that EPA generally agrees that the consistency and reliability of wetlands acreage data reported by federal agencies are questionable. 7. We revised this sentence to clarify our point that the estimates produced by the two inventories are not completely consistent. As we previously noted, the report already acknowledges the different mandates and methods used by the National Wetlands Inventory and the National Resources Inventory as well as recognizing that both have reported a decline in the rate of wetlands loss. 8. The numbers shown in table 1 were provided by FWS and NRCS, respectively. The numbers shown in this table served as the basis for FWS’ September 17, 1997, news/press release in which the Service reported that the annual rate of wetlands loss had declined to about 117,000 acres. Subsequent to receiving agency comments on our draft report, we contacted FWS and were told that the FWS numbers shown in the table were correct and had not been withdrawn. However, FWS noted that in its final report only one wetlands loss number will be shown. The losses attributed to the various causes, e.g., agriculture, development, etc., will not be reported. In addition, as we have previously noted, we revised our report to reflect the recent efforts undertaken by the Interagency Wetlands Working Group to reconcile the differences in the two inventories’ estimates and produce a single wetlands status and trends report. 9. The information presented in this section is merely to provide the purpose(s) for which the various task forces were established. Therefore, we did not add the additional material provided by EPA. 10. We did not revise the title of our report because we believe that it accurately reflects the current situation. Although we recognize that the administration has recently undertaken efforts to resolve the wetlands data problems identified in our report, these actions will not be completed for several years. 11. The estimates presented in our report for the NRI are the 1982-1992 NRI wetlands estimates. As noted in our report, questions and concerns about the NRI’s 1992 estimates were raised by officials from both the National Wetlands Inventory and EPA. 12. The section in question provides supporting details for our finding that the consistency and reliability of the estimates made by the two federal resource inventories and the data reported by the agencies on their accomplishments are questionable. USDA may be correct in its assertion that users of inventory data incorrectly add figures to the inventory estimates and cause overstating of accomplishments. However, as this section points out, the current reporting practices of the agencies include the double counting of accomplishments as well as a lack of consistency in the use of terms and the inclusion of nonwetlands acreage. 13. We revised the report to reflect the development of an action plan by the Interagency Wetlands Working Group. However, although the action plan addresses one of the actions contained in the administration’s Clean Water Action Plan—the development of a single wetlands status and trends report—it does not address how the administration plans to accomplish the other actions it announced. In addition, the success of the Working Group’s efforts will require a long-term commitment as well as considerable time and effort by the agencies. We have therefore revised our conclusions to reflect that although the administration has undertaken efforts, much remains to be done before the administration has resolved the wetlands data problems identified in our report. 14. As we point out in our report, not only did EPA express concern about the estimates of both inventories, but officials from each of the agencies responsible for the inventories have questioned the estimates of the other.

Comments From the Department of the Interior

Comments From the Department of Commerce

The following are GAO’s comments on the Department of Commerce’s letter dated May 15, 1998.

GAO’s Comments

1. Appendix I is an update of the statutes presented in our previous report Wetlands Overview: Federal and State Policies, Legislation, and Programs (GAO/RCED-92-79FS, Nov. 22, 1991). Because the purpose of the appendix is to highlight major statutes dealing with wetlands issues, we did not revise our report.

Action Plan: Developing a Unified Wetlands Status and Trends Report

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Concerned about the lack of consolidated information on the federal commitment to wetlands, you asked us to (1) develop an inventory of the federal agencies involved in wetlands-related activities and the funding and staffing associated with their activities during fiscal years 1990 through 1997 and (2) determine if the wetlands data reported by these agencies are consistent and reliable.

To develop an inventory of federal agencies involved in wetlands-related activities, we reviewed studies and reports on wetlands-related policies and programs. We also contacted officials from six agencies—the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency. These agencies were identified in a prior GAO report as the federal agencies primarily responsible for administering wetlands-related programs. We asked officials from these agencies to identify other federal agencies that had either requested technical assistance or had been involved in joint wetlands projects. Thirty additional federal agencies were identified through these efforts.

To identify the funding and staffing associated with federal agencies’ wetlands-related activities in fiscal years 1990 through 1997, we contacted officials from the Army Corps of Engineers, five U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies, eight Department of the Interior agencies, the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We obtained and reviewed documentation on the wetlands-related activities conducted and the funding and staffing associated with these efforts. We also surveyed 18 other federal agencies identified as being involved in wetlands-related activities to determine the extent of their involvement and to obtain information on the funding and staffing associated with their efforts.

We attempted to obtain information on the actual expenditures and full-time-staff equivalents associated with the agencies’ wetlands-related activities. However, because some of the agencies do not track their wetlands activities separately or have integrated their wetlands-related activities into other program activities, the agencies were not always able to document the resources expended. In most of these instances, the agencies provided estimates of funding and staffing associated with their efforts. Because the volume of data collected would have required a significant investment of time and resources, we did not verify the completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data provided. We attempted to reconcile inconsistencies in the data provided. However, reconciliation was not always possible because many of the agencies do not have a focal point for wetlands or, in some cases, a clear understanding of all wetlands-related activities occurring within the agency and the associated funding and staffing.

To determine the consistency and reliability of wetlands acreage data reported by the agencies, we interviewed officials and obtained and reviewed documentation on two federal resource inventories—the National Wetlands Inventory and the National Resources Inventory maintained by Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service and Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, respectively. In addition, we discussed and reviewed documentation on the practices used by the federal agencies to report their wetlands accomplishments. We also discussed recently announced initiatives to improve wetlands data with officials of the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s Wetlands Subcommittee and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) who chairs the White House’s Interagency Wetlands Working Group.

To obtain additional perspectives on the various wetlands-related activities, we visited Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act projects in Louisiana and met with responsible federal and state officials to discuss the program’s operations.

Major Contributors to This Report

Energy, Resources, and Science Staff

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