Worrying About Wetlands

The status of America’s wetlands as a vital national resource was affirmed in dramatic and gratifying fashion this month both by the U.S. Supreme Court and by Congress. Now, perhaps, there will be new vigor in efforts to stem the unrelenting drive to drain, dredge and develop the nation’s estuaries, marshes, bogs, swamps and marshes.

First, by unanimous vote, the Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Army Corps of Engineers to regulate the development of wetlands under a broad interpretation of the Clean Water Act of 1977. In a nine-year-old Michigan case, the court ruled that housing contractors must receive a corps permit before they can fill and develop seasonal wetlands that are adjacent to navigable waters.

In a separate and unrelated action, Congress included provisions in its new farm bill to protect agricultural wetlands and erosion-prone soils. Up to now, the law actually encouraged farmers to drain wetlands in order to put more crops into production.

When the first European settlers came to America, the continent contained an estimated 215 million acres of wetlands teeming with fish, animal and bird life and unique vegetation. Development and cultivation have reduced that total to an estimated 99 million acres; 15 million acres have been lost over the past three decades, most of that area going into agriculture production. Only about 10% of California’s original wetlands remain, according to state officials.

In the Michigan case, the Reagan Administration suit was supported by 20 states, led by California; by the California Coastal Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and by a variety of environmental groups. Rarely has there been such unanimity on a major conservation issue.

Most coastal states, including California, have legislation to protect their immediate shorelines, but they rely on the Corps of Engineers to enforce the Clean Water Act on inland wetlands.

By coincidence, on the same day on which the court ruled, the Senate voted 60 to 34 to confirm the appointment of Robert K. Dawson to head the Corps of Engineers. Some Democrats opposed Dawson’s confirmation because he had argued that Congress did not intend the Clean Water Act to be used to protect wetlands. We assume that Dawson has now got the message and will vigorously enforce the law as written by Congress and resoundingly upheld by the Supreme Court.