Clinton Proposes Tighter Rules for Wetlands Projects

President Clinton announced new rules Wednesday intended to limit the ability of property owners to short-circuit the federal application process for developing wetlands, even in cases where their projects would have only a minimal effect on the environment.

The proposed regulations require developers to go through a full-scale application process--complete with hearings and an opportunity for public input--for most such proposals, particularly if the wetlands are near specially protected or low-quality waters.

The regulations also would cancel a proposal by the Army Corps of Engineers to allow developers to increase from 3 acres to 10 acres the maximum size of projects eligible for such short-cut procedures.

Administration officials said the president’s decision, announced in a speech before the League of Conservation Voters, would take hundreds of thousands of acres out of the quick-permit program, including about half the wetlands in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

They said the tightening was needed, not because of any widespread abuses, but because the cumulative effect of the short-cut procedure had resulted in the loss of far more wetlands than expected.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality has warned that widespread destruction of wetlands areas heightens the risk of flooding and makes it more difficult for authorities to maintain the quality of water in the area involved.

Environmental groups, which have been pushing vigorously for such action, praised the announcement. Drew Caputo, an attorney for the National Resources Defense Council, said the effect could be “significant.”

Land developers, however, who have been among the principal users of the short-cut procedures, were expected to protest the action. Some have complained that the full-scale application process is too costly and time-consuming.

U.S. officials said the changes that Clinton announced will be made to a package of revisions to the wetlands regulations that the Corps of Engineers proposed last July. The revisions are due to go into effect next year.

Although destruction of wetlands has been reduced in recent years, White House officials said almost 100,000 acres disappear each year and more than half the wetlands in the 48 contiguous states already have been lost.

Officials said the restrictions announced Wednesday would prohibit the use of short-cut procedures on projects involving wetlands in a 100-year flood plain; in waters already impaired by wetlands losses; or in “pristine” areas that are under special protection.